Summer Clearout Who Would You Let Go?

[nw6pie]

I know some are under contract but if it was a perfect world:

Stone
Nemane
Cameron
Brindley
Baldwin
Morias
Randall
O Brien
McGoldrick (possibly)
Slocombe

I’d rephrase the question to get a similar answer: which of these players is not good enough to get us promoted?

Stone
Nemane (as a wing back)
Cameron
Chicksen
Brindley
Morias
Randall (still unproven, but can never stay fit)
Rawlinson
O’Brien
Slocombe
Adebayo-Rowling (can never stay fit)
Austin

(And I think McGoldrick should be an impact sub at this stage of his career, not playing 90 minutes every game.)

The obvious problem here is that this is the majority of the squad.

I asked at the fan forum last November about signing more physically powerful athletes and LW noted that everyone’s after these players, making it harder for us to land them. But isn’t that the whole point of Football Radar - to find such players? What it suggests to me is that we’ve failed to appreciate that part of the game at this level.

Right now, I’m just happy we have enough points on the board to be safe this season - I will be amazed if we get back into the playoffs this season based on the past few months. In fact, I can’t see where the next win is coming from - but hopefully it’s Wales. But it shows the huge job we’ve got in the summer to improve the squad.

[the_anticlough]

I’d rephrase the question to get a similar answer: which of these players is not good enough to get us promoted?

Yes, it's a really good way to look at it. The long NL years, plus following NBA (where it's done all the time), encourages you to gauge the level of the players on your team like this

We knew it at the time and so it was proved, we had so many promotion-level players last year.

Ruben was a borderline Championship/L1 player
Maca threatens L1
Baldwin at his best is well beyond L2. Palmer/Cameron/Jones/Bostock were all above NL level therefore promotion level.
(just like Schmeichel in the Munto team belonged in the Prem)

With that, you don't need the others to be at the same high level. As long as they don't drag you down so you can't achieve your goal

This year though?

We have a smattering of above the level players.
A few more who can feature at the top end of L2.
A few who are not out of place in L2. And a few too many question marks...

When players move on, levels are quickly revealed. Ruben becomes a star man of a L1 play-off team. We've had players leave us only to turn up next at Kidsgrove, Buxton, Nuneaton, Boston

We don't have a promotion-worthy squad at the moment. We're not far off but it needs work and some changes.

[Observerpie]

It's more pertinent to ask who we should keep. Apart from the ones that we would like to see gone I reckon we can add Langstaff and Jones given that I can't see either being here next season. We won't be left with much.

[drillerpie]

This looked like a stupid appointment from the outset and results so far are bearing that out.

Most of the criticisms being levelled at Maynard were also levelled at LW when he came. Didn't LW say in his interview last week that he had registered to train as an electrician when Notts came calling?

LW didn't have a stellar CV by any means. LW didn't have a great win ratio. LW's first few results with us were poor. There were comments (and I don't mean isolated comments, I mean pretty widely shared views on here) like: "Notts really scraping the barrel with him", "What was he, eighth choice?"

LW turned out to be pretty good. I think it's way too early to say Maynard won't either. I think it's just pure scapegoating as fans are angry and need a lightning rod for their anger. I think Maynard is an easy target here because he used to have a proper job and is quietly spoken. That has very quickly translated into being "out of his depth" and having "no motivational skills". It's harsh on Maynard IMO.

[upthemaggies]

Most of the criticisms being levelled at Maynard were also levelled at LW when he came. Didn't LW say in his interview last week that he had registered to train as an electrician when Notts came calling?

LW didn't have a stellar CV by any means. LW didn't have a great win ratio. LW's first few results with us were poor. There were comments (and I don't mean isolated comments, I mean pretty widely shared views on here) like: "Notts really scraping the barrel with him", "What was he, eighth choice?"

LW turned out to be pretty good. I think it's way too early to say Maynard won't either. I think it's just pure scapegoating as fans are angry and need a lightning rod for their anger. I think Maynard is an easy target here because he used to have a proper job and is quietly spoken. That has very quickly translated into being "out of his depth" and having "no motivational skills". It's harsh on Maynard IMO.

Expecting lightning to strike twice with this sort of punt seems mighty hubristic.

We got lucky with LW for sure. I think they only considered him out of desperation, after numerous others had turned the job down. He did actually have a reasonably decent unbeaten start though - won his opening game, drew the next three (the last of those being *that* Chesterfield game) and then went on a winning streak. Had he had the sort of start Maynard has had, things may have worked out quite differently.

Seeing that we didn't have anybody lined up this time around, despite knowing LW would likely leave for many many weeks beforehand, it could well be that Maynard wasn't first choice either.

It probably is unfair to judge Maynard after 3 games, but looking at the other names who made a bad start and factoring in most of those walked into a club down at the bottom of the table as opposed to a play off position, it's definitely not a promising start.

I'm sure he'll do OK-ish once we run into those fixtures against lower-mid table opponents but can't see him being a success. I'd anticipate we're gong to waste 18 months on him similar to Burchnall, though in this case it'll end by "mutual consent" rather than him being poached by another club.

[drillerpie]

If one of the best supported Premier League teams (Man Utd/Liverpool/Spurs) were going to poach somebody from an unfashionable championship club (Bristol City/Preston/Rotherham), you'd expect their results to be absolutely outstanding and fighting for auto promotion, not "acceptable" and merely maintaining their position.

Sorry I forgot to reply to this bit. None of the teams you mentioned are part time and working with very low crowds (I suppose Rotherham in the Championship would be the nearest of the three to Wealdstone in the National League).

For sure if Maynard had got Wealdstone to the automatic promotion fight and getting absolutely outstanding results in the NL then it would've been a remarkable feat, but the Notts hierarchy obviously felt that keeping Wealdstone where they were in the NL on those resources, while not training full time, while playing good football showed that Maynard is a good manager.

Thay may or may not turn out to be true in the long term, but I don't think it was a stupid or illogical decision to give him a try.

[jackal2]

For sure if Maynard had got Wealdstone to the automatic promotion fight and getting absolutely outstanding results in the NL then it would've been a remarkable feat, but the Notts hierarchy obviously felt that keeping Wealdstone where they were in the NL on those resources, while not training full time, while playing good football showed that Maynard is a good manager.

Thay may or may not turn out to be true in the long term, but I don't think it was a stupid or illogical decision to give him a try.

Totally agree. He was doing a very good job not only keeping Wealdstone in the National League, but making them a respected side within it.

The silly comments being made against Maynard at this point are exactly that. It will be a while yet before we know what a Stuart Maynard team truly looks like in terms of style and results. At the moment we've got a team going through a transition stage not just between managers but also leagues, which at the moment involves some fairy hash lessons about League Two and the need to defend much better, but it's what Maynard and his coaching team manage to do in the coming months, not weeks, that will tell us what he's really got to offer.

[matt_magpie]

Totally agree. He was doing a very good job not only keeping Wealdstone in the National League, but making them a respected side within it.

The silly comments being made against Maynard at this point are exactly that. It will be a while yet before we know what a Stuart Maynard team truly looks like in terms of style and results. At the moment we've got a team going through a transition stage not just between managers but also leagues, which at the moment involves some fairy hash lessons about League Two and the need to defend much better, but it's what Maynard and his coaching team manage to do in the coming months, not weeks, that will tell us what he's really got to offer.

Silly? Their absolute bonkers. If it had been Warnock people would have said it was the squad, because it’s a young lesser experienced manager it’s him, it’s as simple as that, as you can’t judge a manager after 3 games.
He’s shown he will try different things, the biggest criticism of LW was he didn’t have a plan B, Maynard seems to want to change things in set up and then in game, maybe it will be his downfall but maybe it will kick us on. He’ll be here till the end of the season.

[jackal2]

Silly? Their absolute bonkers. If it had been Warnock people would have said it was the squad, because it’s a young lesser experienced manager it’s him, it’s as simple as that, as you can’t judge a manager after 3 games.

Warnock when he joined us was a part-time chiropodist with no experience of managing in the Football League. He didn't shape up too badly in the long run!

[upthemaggies]

Warnock when he joined us was a part-time chiropodist with no experience of managing in the Football League. He didn't shape up too badly in the long run!

Wrong.

He was in his 2nd season in the Football League and in a play off position when he joined us.

And IIRC he was only looking after his players feet by then, he wasn't practicing generally.