Albion retain 11 out of the 15

[Icy Gull]

Well, fine. And I am sure the club has it in hand.

Shall we panic when it comes to April 2008, and he still hasn't been offered an extension - or shall we go into meltdown now?

I reckon we'll leave it on hold until at least July

 

[Les Biehn]

I was only joking.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Having been in sunny Ipswich yesterday sheep worrying I have just seen this.

Is it really the right way to go? To me the squad seems stale and needs to be freshened up.
This may happen with a few new faces, but the release of only 4 players may not free up that much in the way of funds to do this.

 

[Turkey]

To be honest I like Mourinho's 24 player squad philosophy. 21 outfield players and 3 goalkeepers.

1. GK1. Michel Kuipers - Good Enough
2. GK2. John Sullivan - Fair enough
3. GK3. Chris Winterton - Fair enough

4. DR1. - Not Good Enough Sign WING!
5. DR2. Adam El-Abd - Okay backup
6. DRC1. Adam Hinshelwood - Good Enough
7. DRC2. Tommy Elphick - Good Back Up
8. DLC1. Joel Lynch - Good Enough
9. DLC2. Guy Butters - Good Enough
10. DL1. Sam Rents - Not Experienced Enough (Inconsistant)
11. DL2. Kerry Mayo - Okay back up

12. MR1. Paul Reid - Good Enough
13. MR2. Gary Hart - Okay back up
14. MRC1. Dean Hammond - Good Enough
15. MRC2. Tommy Fraser - Good back up
16. MLC1. Alexis Bertin - Good Enough
17. MLC2. Doug Loft - Not Good Enough Back Up but potential (Loan Out)
18. ML1. Dean Cox - Not Experienced Enough (Inconsistant)
19. ML2. Alex Frutos - Not good enough (based on last season)

20. SC1. Alex Revell - Good enough
21. SC2. Jake Robinson - Good back up
23. SC1. Bas Savage - Good enough
24. SC2. Nathan Elder - Could be good back up (Loan Out)

Loan Out: Sam Gargan
Loan Out: Sonny Cobbs
Loan Out: Lloyd Skinner
Loan Out: Joe Gatting
Loan Out: Scott Chamberlain
Loan Out: Wes Fogden

?:Charlie Oatway

Conclusions:

Sign a right back, a left back, central midfielder, left midfielder, goalscoring striker.

If we don't get a left back or left/central midfielder play Rents, Cox and Loft to build up experience/give a chance.

Priorities: Right back, Goal Scoring Striker.
Targets?: Andrew Whing, Leon Constantine (if his wish to step up to CCC fails).

 

[Trigger]

Why loan out the best left back at the club?...

 

[The Large One]

Why loan out the best left back at the club?...

OK, I'm biting.

How do you know Sonny Cobbs is the best left-back when he has never played in the first-team, and people in the club are saying he is still quite a distance from doing so?

 

[Trigger]

 

[Uncle Buck]

OK, I'm biting.

Why do you consider Sonny Cobbs the best leftback when he has never played in the first-team, and people in the club are saying he is still quite a distance from doing so?

Phyisically he looks to be in front of Rents. Defensively solid, not bad going forward and good in the air.

Would say he is the long term solution to the left back spot, just a matter of when he gets a run in the first team.

 

[chez]

Kuipers

 

[Dave the OAP]

OK, I'm biting.

and people in the club are saying

who?

 

[Silent Bob]

who?

Kerry Mayo?

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

To be honest I like Mourinho's 24 player squad philosophy. 21 outfield players and 3 goalkeepers.

1. GK1. Michel Kuipers - Good Enough
2. GK2. John Sullivan - Fair enough
3. GK3. Chris Winterton - Fair enough

4. DR1. - Not Good Enough Sign WING!
5. DR2. Adam El-Abd - Okay backup
6. DRC1. Adam Hinshelwood - Good Enough
7. DRC2. Tommy Elphick - Good Back Up
8. DLC1. Joel Lynch - Good Enough
9. DLC2. Guy Butters - Good Enough
10. DL1. Sam Rents - Not Experienced Enough (Inconsistant)
11. DL2. Kerry Mayo - Okay back up

12. MR1. Paul Reid - Good Enough
13. MR2. Gary Hart - Okay back up
14. MRC1. Dean Hammond - Good Enough
15. MRC2. Tommy Fraser - Good back up
16. MLC1. Alexis Bertin - Good Enough
17. MLC2. Doug Loft - Not Good Enough Back Up but potential (Loan Out)
18. ML1. Dean Cox - Not Experienced Enough (Inconsistant)
19. ML2. Alex Frutos - Not good enough (based on last season)

20. SC1. Alex Revell - Good enough
21. SC2. Jake Robinson - Good back up
23. SC1. Bas Savage - Good enough
24. SC2. Nathan Elder - Could be good back up (Loan Out)

Loan Out: Sam Gargan
Loan Out: Sonny Cobbs
Loan Out: Lloyd Skinner
Loan Out: Joe Gatting
Loan Out: Scott Chamberlain
Loan Out: Wes Fogden

?:Charlie Oatway

Conclusions:

Sign a right back, a left back, central midfielder, left midfielder, goalscoring striker.

If we don't get a left back or left/central midfielder play Rents, Cox and Loft to build up experience/give a chance.

Priorities: Right back, Goal Scoring Striker.
Targets?: Andrew Whing, Leon Constantine (if his wish to step up to CCC fails).

Agree with most, but a left back? How many do you need?

 

[Uncle Buck]

Agree with most, but a left back? How many do you need?

I guess this is where the number of games player option in Mayo comes back to bit us.

Rents has had a decent debut season, although he needs to bulk out. Cobbs has looked good in the reserves and has deserved a deal and we have had to be loyal to Mayo.

 

[Turkey]

Agree with most, but a left back? How many do you need?

Even though it's not ideal to have so many left backs I don't think its too bad a scenario. Talented english left backs are in short supply - as we've seen with Dan Harding's inclusion in the U21's and subsequent move to Leeds.

To have two decent young left backs at the club in Rents and Cobbs isn't a bad thing. However, in an ideal world, we would like a decent left back now.

Mayo fulfils a role, an experienced left back, a good pro. When its backs to the walls stuff he's decent because his pace isn't so exposed.

Ultimatly though, he's not the left back we'd like to have. Unfortuantly a left back of sufficient quality would probably be hard to come by and probably cost more than we'd like to spend on a left back.

So I expect it'll be Mayo/Rents at left back next season dependent on the opposition. If we're likely to be on top, Rents will play, if not Mayo.

If we want to be a stronger side pushing for the top places, we probably need a new left back. If we can get one, Mayo's surely had his last contract. History shows we don't tend to get good left backs though..!

 

[The Large One]

Phyisically he looks to be in front of Rents. Defensively solid, not bad going forward and good in the air.

Would say he is the long term solution to the left back spot, just a matter of when he gets a run in the first team.

Maybe, but has he been tested against league-quality players? Until then, he can't be judged as the 'best left-back'.

 

[B.W.]

Am I the only one who thinks that Lynch's departure is FAR from certain? To me, it doesn't make sense.

I can't help feeling that there's a sense of presumptuous arrogance (not necessarily from your good self unameable) from some that because he is a half-decent talent at Brighton, it's automatic that he is a dead-cert for a transfer. Sure, some managers have come and had a look at him, but so what? He is nothing like ready for the big step-up. At best, he is a punt for the future for any manager. Don't get me wrong, I think his talent and temprament are certainly enough to take him far higher than we are at, but... just not yet.

My excessive gut feeling is that he is a nailed-on cert for him to be still here in August. We shall see.

Not sure he is a nailed-on cert to be here at the start of next season, but I agree with most of what you say there... you are not alone!

 

[The Large One]

who?

Well, I'm not naming names on the board on this one, but it was two people in a position to be able to say this with authority. They weren't dismissive of Cobbs - far from it, but were acknowledging that, in a tussle of Mayo, Rents and Cobbs for left-back, the latter is still third in that pecking order. This was about six weeks ago - whether the situation changed between then and the end of the season, I don't know. However, quite pertinently, with Rents AND Mayo playing in the first-team in the last couple of games of the season, Cobbs was still not part of the first-team set-up.

So, as much as there is a Sonny Cobbs Fan Club on here saying he is the best left-back at the club, the management team don't agree. Yet.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

The thing about Lynch is he is not ready yet for a step up in my view, he still makes basic mistakes.

For example he will tackle someone well and then miss place a 3 yard pass back to the other side.

 

[Les Biehn]

The thing about Lynch is he is not ready yet for a step up in my view, he still makes basic mistakes.

For example he will tackle someone well and then miss place a 3 yard pass back to the other side.

It's difficult at this stage to say whether he wil be a bit Rio Ferdinand or a bit Titus Shambles. Think this will mean any potential buyer will hold out for another season. Mind you still don't think it is outside the realm of possibility that someone will see him as a work in progress and want to get him involved in their way of playing and coaching at an earlier stage.

 

[B.W.]

i would be very surprised if there wasn't one single player who at the moment is not looking around to see if they can get a better club, even those who have been offered/given contracts.

ie If say Bournemouth came in with an offer of player coach with paying for coaching badges etc to say Guy, I would venture he would be offski....

But the chances of that are almost zero, and Bournemouth are hardly a better bet as a club than us, are they?