Post-Beast
Akinfenwa will be 36 years old come the end of the season.
Now, by no means do I want to stop this man from doing anything. He's had an impact to the side I haven't seen by a player in a long time. I wasn't happy when we did sign him, and thought it no more than a lazy PR exercise, but his boost to the team is a testament to his work ethic, personality and skill. But, it surely won't last forever. Even if the way he plays doesn't necessarily require him to be as nimble and sprightly as someone in the youth team, flicking through his social-media shows he's fully preparing for life outside the game.
If he does call it a day at the end of this year, what do we do? Our style of play is so moulded around the big man, it would take a long time to change the way we approach the game. Remember the season after we lost the play-offs, when we lost key players too, didn't replace them well enough and ambled around for months finding a new way to play.
Funnily enough, if we did need another big striker, one that we had that season - Aaron Holloway - would seem the perfect fit.
Just wondering, what do we do post-Beast?
Comments
In every conceivable way Bayo, even at 40, would be preferable to Aaron Amadi Holloway but I agree with @fame_46 that conjecture at this stage about next season’s personnel is pretty pointless. It helps no-one.
You both understand that this is a fan forum, and has no impact whatsoever in how the team play?
That it's merely hypothetical chatter, and no matter what happens on this thread it will have zero influence in any decision that is made?
I could argue that your reaction probably does more negativity to the #7cupfinals than a rather speculative thread about Akinfenwa.
Also, the thing that's mostly likely to derail our #7cupfinals is our inability to pass the ball more than twice in the midfield, or score a goal at home to the 20th placed team. But hey, now I'm being negative.
I could be wrong here..but I think when a player leaves the manager and club buy another one although this may mean a change in some tactics. I know it's wild but it's just a theory.
There is no direct replacement for Bayo, he’s a one off. When he does decide he’s had enough I’m sure we’ll look at the options available at that point in time. It will depend on a lot of factors - including whether the other older strikers are staying on, how the Kashket fitness situation has developed, and which league we are in.
Amadi-Holloway I suspect wouldn’t want to come back to Wycombe, and has done nothing since leaving that suggests we should go out of our way to persuade him to do so.
If Bayo retired tomorrow, as @Wendoverman says, I imagine we'd change our tactics and play a pacy, tricky front three combo of Freeman|Kashket/CMS/Tyson/Cowan Hall/R. Williams (remember him?)
What I found most surprising about the original post is that anyone could think a hard up club with massive debts (no Jordan Ibe money at that time) would waste valuable resources on a ‘lazy PR exercise’.
Akinde is the only name that springs to mind. He certainly won't want to play in the Conference with Barnet but I suspect there will be a queue of other clubs after him. Holloway is a poor mans Dean Morgan and would do more harm than good to the current squad.
At the time we signed Bayo, we'd just witnessed months of a dreadful Hayes-Thompson oldies combo that was just completely ineffectual.
There was a worry that we'd added even more age and lack of pace into an already completely undynamic strike force.
However, it's gone brilliantly. Better than anyone could have expected.
Adding Tyson and CMS were marvellous judgements too.
Bayo will of course be looking to the future, and apparently mentioned in his book that this "could" be his last season, but that's just obvious.
I'd be surprised if he didn't want to stay on one more season. However, he might think his record scoring season, and a potential promotion might be the perfect way to go.
even Danny Hylton isn't good enough for League 1, thats why he left Oxford when they went up.
I would say if Ainsworth is in charge next season and we're in League One, at least attempting to sign Akinde so we have a like-for-like replacement is a very likely scenario. If it's another manager, they may consider that the attacking options the club already has, even without Bayo, are sufficient (assuming CMS and Tyson both stay) and look to use whatever resources we have to strengthen the defence and goalkeeping positions. If we don't invest significantly there, we're coming straight back down, in my opinion.
If we don't get promoted I hope Bayo chooses to stay for another year, but something tells me CMS won't, which would be a terrible shame.
To my mind the biggest worry over the summer is that we try to cash in on O'Nien, given he'll be entering the last year of his contract. As we saw on Saturday, without him in the midfield we struggle to beat even bottom of League Two teams.
Anyway, all speculation - but speculation is fun.
Danny Hylton is an excellent footballer, which makes all his shithousery all the worse
Agreed @eric_plant
Also, at risk of contradicting all-knowing Richie, Oxford offered Hylton a better contract to stay with them in League 1. He chose Luton though, no doubt because they offered more money and the opportunity to play for another odious football club.
Hylton is certainly a good player for league 2. That's pretty indisputable I'd have thought and is separate from his absolute hate status as a character.
Not great no, but a good league 2 goalscorer. You don't score goals by accident.
I remember Benyon was described as a "Proven" league 2 goalscorer. He scored a pretty average amount of goals, and seemed to have no physical strengths at all.
Hylton puts in good numbers consistently, so must be something to that
Striker who scores goals on a regular basis must have something. Which is what makes me laugh about the criticisms of The Beast...he's too old, too fat, too slow, too dirty, 18 goals. Too simplistic.
Just enjoy it while it lasts.
Absolutely @Right_in_the_Middle .
@Right_in_the_Middle why enjoy it now when we can start moaning about how bad our team and manager will be in League One?
If we get there of course.
@EwanHoosaami of course...
Talking of which, why hasn't my 18/19 season ticket turned up yet?
And when are the fixtures out?
Why no news of signings? What sort of Trust owned club is this?
I hear Craig Stopsthemall and Nathan Goalsforfun are set to be released soon from Maidenhead Albion...what is Gareth doing?
Absolutely @Right_in_the_Middle .
"We're doomed, I tell you.........doomed!"
Get those Ainsworth Out banners printed.
Graham Westley is available. We need to get in quick before another club snap up his services.