SD to be judged on next 6 matches

[jamesdad]

SD has stated that he wants to be the one who gets the Alex back into Division 1 at the first go. I want to see in the next few games how he is going to do this . One option is for him to not play players he knows are going to be released and use the young academy to gain experience. The result is not important but for him to show the fans what he is planning, In my opinion he has till the end of the season to show fans the direction he will take the club. If he gets it wrong then season ticket sales will fall. I will not renew mine if he fails to impress in these six games.
Money will be even tighter next year , lower budget for the team , travel costs up and more overnight stays ( if overnight stays do not happen and the team travel on the day of a game they are going to arrive in a tired state ) maybe some backroom staff will get laid off. Visiting fans numbers well down - will any club fill the Ice Cream Stand next year .
At the moment it all looks bleak

[Timmy58]

Many have judged already. Personally. I would expect to see him still in situ in August. A poor first two months may see him depart before Christmas but I suspect we will do better next season. Damn it all, we should do although I will be surprised to see us occupying the top 6 at any point next season and certainly not before Christmas

[Furberstreet]

Agree that Davis should start to blood those youngsters that he sees as playing a part next season. No point playing anyone now who is not going to be offered a new contract. Results clearly no longer important this season, but it will be important to the fans how the team lines up and plays. Whilst many will not want Davis to remain, the reality is that he is almost certain to be manager in August. Do not see the Club challenging for promotion next season, but would hope that the team demonstrates that it is a positive work in progress. I would give it 2-3 seasons to build a team to challenge realistically for promotion AND to have a decent chance of staying up.

[bigroof]

Results may not be important in terms of the League table, but they could be important to the young players emerging into the team. The likes of Kirk & Ainley are showing promise, but are starting their professional football lives in a losing team, amidst disgruntlement from the crowd. Although it's tempting to say, make wholesale changes, and not play those whose contracts are not being renewed, how is playing an even more inexperienced team going to help those players? As it stands, four of our opponents have worries about relegation; S****horpe are on a good run and may even think they have a chance of the play-offs. Playing a raw team in these circumstances is surely neither fair to those young players, nor to the other teams in the relegation battle.
At the moment we can only guess at who won't be offered terms; maybe the management haven't decided yet either; so these five games are important to quite a few, and from our point of view we're more likely to see our team have a bet

[ALEXKNOWALL]

If the club don't know which of the experienced men out of contract they hope to keep then its even worse than we thought

Haber, Inman, Atkinson, Fox, LDV and Bakayogo are the men who we should be offering deals to or sending on gardening leave now!

For me only one (two at a push) would get an offer but we all have our views

There is no point in playing the ones we don't want or who wont stay (Inman, Haber?)

Our younger players are highly likely to sign contracts if offered so the "14 out of contract" line from SD is simply spin

None of our young players are going to suffer permanent psychological damage if they are asked to play in the remaining games and the crowd are less likely to turn against our own.

Personally I don't care either
about being fair to other teams in the relegation battle. In fact, cynically I would like Colchester to escape the drop because its a pig of a trip for our team and supporters despite the fact that we always win there!!!

[Timmy58]

Bakayogo, I imagine, will be offered a deal. Inman is unlikely to sign anyway. Haber, I would offer but Atkinson is unlikely to be wanted. Fox is a difficult one as us LDV. Fox as looked ok in midfield 3 but that doesn't suit Haber.

[Furberstreet]

Would think that Haber, Fox, LDV and Bakayogo are the men who could offer deals to. Atkinson did not do much at Crawley recently when on loan and, on his rare appearances for Crewe, has worked hard without looking effective. Not sure about Fox, but he may be the experienced head we will need in a younger Crewe team. Inman could be very effective in League Two, but can we guarantee that he will turn up? He must be one of the leading wage earners and that may determine his fate - would he accept a pay cut to stay?

I agree that the younger players will almost certainly sign contracts if offered to them and should be picked now. All we have to play for this season is pride and preparation for next season. I do not care whether or not this is fair to teams fighting against relegation. After 46 games, they will be where they deserve to be in the table.

[ALEXKNOWALL]

Atkinson could go on holiday now

Inman will move. He has had 3 easy years at Crewe anyway for his wages but his odd decent goal catches the eye and his agent will find him a League One club

Fox won't get any better at 32 and Turton needs to move into midfield picture anyway to allow Ng or Bailee to step up

Haber would be okay in League 2 but he will get a better offer elsewhere and his Canada commitments are a pain. He also forces a 4-4-2 approach as he is lost in 4-3-3 or similar

Keep Bakayogo and try to move a centre back on or out (4 is too many and will block youngsters if we have any!)

LDV depends on attitude, fitness and how we see our emerging young forwards - Saunders, Murdock, Brown,

[bigroof]

Atkinson could go on holiday now

Inman will move. He has had 3 easy years at Crewe anyway for his wages but his odd decent goal catches the eye and his agent will find him a League One club

Fox won't get any better at 32 and Turton needs to move into midfield picture anyway to allow Ng or Bailee to step up

Haber would be okay in League 2 but he will get a better offer elsewhere and his Canada commitments are a pain. He also forces a 4-4-2 approach as he is lost in 4-3-3 or similar

Keep Bakayogo and try to move a centre back on or out (4 is too many and will block youngsters if we have any!)

LDV depends on attitude, fitness and how we see our emerging young forwards - Saunders, Murdock, Brown,

Pretty accurate assessment I reckon, Alexknowall. I think the bench is important in the next games, but I don't think they'll go with too much youth in the starting line-up. When we played the all-Academy team v Walsall, they