Mason Bennett

[meadowlane1]

Nolo says he would have him back in a heartbeat. I agree. He looked good in the very short time he was here before his injury. This type of player is who we should be looking for in the summer.

[60YearsAPie]

Nolo says he would have him back in a heartbeat. I agree. He looked good in the very short time he was here before his injury. This type of player is who we should be looking for in the summer.

I agree. If he’d have stayed fit, it’s quite possible we’d have gained automatic promotion. I know some will say he’s injury prone but I’d certainly give him a second chance.

[SwalePie]

Absolutely, he looked the real deal in his brief time on the pitch for us.

[Wedgie_pie]

Yes, but would you swap him with Forte if you only could have one of them.

[tarquinbeech]

He is back in training according to Nolo.....too late to figure in the play-offs apparently

[SwalePie]

Yes, but would you swap him with Forte if you only could have one of them.

If he could be guaranteed to be fit and available for the majority of matches in a season then yes. His undoubted ability on the ball and pace to burn, allied with his youth would swing it for me. The injury record is the worry.

[LaxtonLad]

I'm not knocking Jon Stead here but with Ameobi unlikely to play a major role for us next year I think it's time we got rid of the long ball tactic of hoofing the ball to the pair of them and seeing what happens. With Bennett and Forte the big boot is even more unlikely to produce the goods. Educating the goalie to look to his midfield more and the defender to look for a man who has the ability to pass accurately would seem to be the way forward. Bennett and Forte both have the skills more suited to receiving the ball on the ground, so let's see, eh?

[jackal2]

I didn't really see enough of Bennett to judge how good he could be. He looked reasonably sharp in a couple of cameo appearances and grabbed a goal, but his career goals record is very low for a striker, albeit he's young and probably needs a run of games to really take off.

Overall, I think our forward line needs to be completely rebuilt in the summer, as a priority. Stead has triggered himself a new contract, so we know he'll be here, but I don't see him as anything better than a back-up in future. Ameobi is on his absolute last legs and can only play 60 or 70 minutes and not two games in one week, so he needs to move on if indeed he doesn't retire. And Jon Forte has turned in a few decent performances towards the end of his contract year (funny that!) but hasn't contributed anywhere near enough over two years to make me think he should stay either. His career record is that of a footballing nomad who does just enough to get himself clubs, but not enough to stay long-term.

So, in summary, I think all of our forwards except Stead can move on, and we need to assemble a younger, hungrier, faster strike force of players nearer the start of their career, rather than over 30 and on the downward slope. Mason Bennett could be one of those young recruits if he's fit, but if we also go down the Peterborough route of recruiting some rising non-league stars, then that's fine. Of course, you need to identify the right players and ensure we aren't building a non-league team (!), but that's what our scouting team are paid for.

[legs77]

He looks a good player but same concerns for me about his fitness as other posters.

Clayton Donaldson is certainly someone we should be looking at he might be 34 but on a one year deal he could be very good for us.....we’d probably have to go up to get him though.