Quote Originally Posted by Omegstrat6 View Post
Agree with you about Bartley Prando. Given the choice between him and Ajayi (the school boy errors duely accepted) I'd have opted for Ajayi too. Given that I believe we are still in need of a decent central defender to replace the loss of Kipre we cannot-should not-retain both. With Ajayi's contract up and Bartley's extended that decision seems already made however. Hopefully we will be able to get that Kipre replacement and relegate Bartley to squad filler once Taylor is back.

As for the rest, I'd keep Griffiths, Heggem, Styles, Diakite (still think he can offer more), Fellows (if we can), Price, Maja, Dike, Grant and Johnston. Both Swift and Diangana are out of contract so even though we won't get money for them they will be gone and off the wage bill. As for Furlong, his recent performances have been pretty poor but I would not be too unhappy to retain him IF he can replicate previous form.

As others have said, we urgently need to refresh midfield and aside from a decent central defender I think a priority has to be a more energetic and creative midfielder to replace Mowatt. I like the competitive attitude of Molumby and, to be fair, he can spot those forward passes but his petulance is an issue and his quality isn't always the best. A decent squad player but we can surely do better for a first choice. If anyone would take Jed, then he needs to go too.

With loan players Holgate, Armstrong and Lankshear all going maybe some youngsters may get their chances next season? Depth of squad is going to be an issue with the number of departures expected so giving some their chance in conjunction with decent recruitment may be a solution?
Good summary and pretty well as I see it. I would be interested to take a view on whether contract lengths and salaries need to have a bias on decisions.

Furlong’s recent performances have put him in on the exit list, especially with his repeated petulant unnecessary cards. His attitude has similarly deteriorated. Johnston frustrates with his final ball, but on balance always shows the right commitment and spirit, so I think we should persist with Mikey and bottom out the issue with Darnell.

I suspect that a bid for Fellows will determine his departure - to facilitate the number of incoming players. I’m also concerned about Price who may well also be subject to a decent offer.

At least there is the opportunity to show some positivity in the prospective future development.