Squad.

redandbluescb
Posts: 4276
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 9:29 pm
Location: Broadstairs.Kent.
Squad.

Post by redandbluescb »

Out on loan.

Byrd
Anderson
Bray
Turner
Nash
Vaughan
Milner-Smith
Maja

Injured

Ellison
Jenkins
Ghandour
Harfield

In on loan

Armatige
Stuttle

16 other players.

So a squad of 30 players. Far too many for this league, should be 22 national league standard players.
Dom Sterlings Left Leg
Posts: 616
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 4:00 pm
Re: Squad.

Post by Dom Sterlings Left Leg »

If you ask me the clubs management have got carried away with their own hype regards unearthing Gems from the lower leagues after the success of Stokes.

These are very rare finds and I'm not saying we shouldn't be looking but out of all the above I dont suspect any will make it to a level where they will be a financial asset.

We need a smaller squad made up predominantly of the Frosts of this world, ie good solid national league standard players, complimented with a couple of prospects and an old pro or two (ie Henry).

I doubt these lads cost the club much but it's still vital resources used up.
Mick Earls Fan Club
Posts: 1204
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 11:54 am
Location: Elvetham Heath , Fleet
Re: Squad.

Post by Mick Earls Fan Club »

Dom Sterlings Left Leg wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 3:39 pm If you ask me the clubs management have got carried away with their own hype regards unearthing Gems from the lower leagues after the success of Stokes.
100% they have
Northcampshot
Posts: 141
Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2018 12:35 pm
Location: Christchurch
Re: Squad.

Post by Northcampshot »

Dom Sterlings Left Leg wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 3:39 pm If you ask me the clubs management have got carried away with their own hype regards unearthing Gems from the lower leagues after the success of Stokes.

These are very rare finds and I'm not saying we shouldn't be looking but out of all the above I dont suspect any will make it to a level where they will be a financial asset.

We need a smaller squad made up predominantly of the Frosts of this world, ie good solid national league standard players, complimented with a couple of prospects and an old pro or two (ie Henry).

I doubt these lads cost the club much but it's still vital resources used up.
Yep agree 100%, from my understanding TW already know of Josh Stokes before he came to us, so i'm not even sure we can say we unearthed him either.
Adzy
Posts: 202
Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2018 3:39 pm
Re: Squad.

Post by Adzy »

I will never understand why the club don’t spend a little extra to get someone in that can put the ball in the back of the net. I get that it’s a risk financially but it’s a bigger risk putting together a NLS squad. A goalscorer attracts crowds and a successful one should ultimately end up paying for themselves with greater success in cup competitions, bigger crowds and hopefully a transfer fee at the end of their stay.

Instead it seems like we are trying to sign the best youngsters of the leagues below which won’t cut it at this level.

I believe over 1000 people bought a season ticket this year which was more than usual. That was because of the success of last season. Now how many of those are going to renew after the shambles of this season? Not many I don’t think. So now we are going to have a case of being in a financially worse position next season with probably an even worse squad.

It’s been said that we used last seasons profits to pay off debts instead of investing it in the squad. They’ve assumed that the manager, that let’s be honest got lucky with a few signings last season, is capable of doing it again. Not investing in the squad was always going to come back to bite us. The players that we sold last season were not replaceable with a small budget.

The club have once again messed up big time and with Azeem in control I will never feel that the footballing side of things will be taken seriously, I think every decision being made is going to come down to money which is sad to see.
chimpster99
Co-owner
Co-owner
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Location: Alton
Re: Squad.

Post by chimpster99 »

Adzy wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 5:07 pm I will never understand why the club don’t spend a little extra to get someone in that can put the ball in the back of the net. I get that it’s a risk financially but it’s a bigger risk putting together a NLS squad. A goalscorer attracts crowds and a successful one should ultimately end up paying for themselves with greater success in cup competitions, bigger crowds and hopefully a transfer fee at the end of their stay.

Instead it seems like we are trying to sign the best youngsters of the leagues below which won’t cut it at this level.

I believe over 1000 people bought a season ticket this year which was more than usual. That was because of the success of last season. Now how many of those are going to renew after the shambles of this season? Not many I don’t think. So now we are going to have a case of being in a financially worse position next season with probably an even worse squad.

It’s been said that we used last seasons profits to pay off debts instead of investing it in the squad. They’ve assumed that the manager, that let’s be honest got lucky with a few signings last season, is capable of doing it again. Not investing in the squad was always going to come back to bite us. The players that we sold last season were not replaceable with a small budget.

The club have once again messed up big time and with Azeem in control I will never feel that the footballing side of things will be taken seriously, I think every decision being made is going to come down to money which is sad to see.
All very true, but in addition to decisions coming down to money, I think Shahid is hoorrendously risk averse. He's run the club very cautiously throughout his tenure, which served us well for a time - especially after the administration.

Last season, Tommy got the club on a roll financially that gave Shahid some comfort that money wouldn't be wasted. But this season he's clearly clamped down again and will resist taking the perceived risks that Tommy probably needs if he wants to bring in decent NL standard players.

It's also that risk averse attitude that stops Shahid taking decisive action against under-performing managers until it's too late.
'Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes. ' Brian Clough
Steve Melledew
Posts: 189
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2020 8:27 pm
Re: Squad.

Post by Steve Melledew »

And I wonder what Ellison’s injury is and how long before he returns, Oh I forgot we fans are not worthy of such information 😉
Alex
Posts: 3245
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:56 pm
Re: Squad.

Post by Alex »

Adzy wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 5:07 pm I will never understand why the club don’t spend a little extra to get someone in that can put the ball in the back of the net. I get that it’s a risk financially but it’s a bigger risk putting together a NLS squad. A goalscorer attracts crowds and a successful one should ultimately end up paying for themselves with greater success in cup competitions, bigger crowds and hopefully a transfer fee at the end of their stay
Who do you expect the club to be going after?

I’m not happy with recent form, and a few off the pitch matters, but this whole goal scorer chat always makes me laugh!

Every team up and down the country is usually looking for one and I’m sure other teams attract them before ATFC.

Also, if we had one at the start of the season and he had 10-15 goals by Xmas he probably would’ve moved on in January anyway!

We should concentrate on picking the correct starting XI with players in their favoured positions, then we might score a few more.
Mytshot
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Location: Mytchett
Re: Squad.

Post by Mytshot »

Steve Melledew wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 5:52 pm And I wonder what Ellison’s injury is and how long before he returns, Oh I forgot we fans are not worthy of such information 😉
Isn't it something to do with not letting the opposition have too much information? The fact they know that we NEVER change our formation, make 2 subs after an hour and another 2 on 75 minutes and will ALWAYS have a statue in midfield seems a bit of a giveaway.
Adzy
Posts: 202
Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2018 3:39 pm
Re: Squad.

Post by Adzy »

Alex wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 5:56 pm
Adzy wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 5:07 pm I will never understand why the club don’t spend a little extra to get someone in that can put the ball in the back of the net. I get that it’s a risk financially but it’s a bigger risk putting together a NLS squad. A goalscorer attracts crowds and a successful one should ultimately end up paying for themselves with greater success in cup competitions, bigger crowds and hopefully a transfer fee at the end of their stay
Who do you expect the club to be going after?

I’m not happy with recent form, and a few off the pitch matters, but this whole goal scorer chat always makes me laugh!

Every team up and down the country is usually looking for one and I’m sure other teams attract them before ATFC.

Also, if we had one at the start of the season and he had 10-15 goals by Xmas he probably would’ve moved on in January anyway!

We should concentrate on picking the correct starting XI with players in their favoured positions, then we might score a few more.
I couldn’t tell you who the club should be going after because I don’t have a scouting network at my disposal and it’s not pre-season. And yes, every team up and down the country is looking but we never put ourselves in the running because we are scared to take a little risk.

It’s no coincidence that we had one of these players last season and we were successful and probably produced record income for the club and every season we don’t have one we are threatened with relegation.

Having one that moves on in January after scoring 15 goals is far better than not having one at all.

And to be honest, I don’t think any combination of XI is going to suddenly turn around our fortunes. There’s better choices that can be made obviously, but I don’t think we have the personnel at the club to be anywhere near successful.
Alex
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Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:56 pm
Re: Squad.

Post by Alex »

Take a risk, go bust, then have no club at all?
brian bloomfield
Posts: 539
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:00 am
Location: London
Re: Squad.

Post by brian bloomfield »

We've not had so many ins and outs since the days of Dean Holdsworth.
steveshot
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Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:41 pm
Re: Squad.

Post by steveshot »

Hello Brian 👍
I am NOT stevieshot
Josh
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Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 4:34 pm
Re: Squad.

Post by Josh »

brian bloomfield wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:57 pm We've not had so many ins and outs since the days of Dean Holdsworth.
Said last night there are many parallels between DH and TW
Marcus ex W.Midlands Shot
Posts: 171
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:25 pm
Location: Newmarket
Re: Squad.

Post by Marcus ex W.Midlands Shot »

Josh wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 7:32 pm
brian bloomfield wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:57 pm We've not had so many ins and outs since the days of Dean Holdsworth.
Said last night there are many parallels between DH and TW
Temperamental parallels between TW and George Borg. That's not a good thing.

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