Skip to content

Squad looking strong...until January

So things are looking great at the moment, in depth and quality, all over the park. (bar the short term keeper issue, but that seems fairly comfortable to resolve for a few games)

As Gareth alluded to, we have our squad sorted until January, and then we have a real crossroads to face.

Morris - loan expires
Thompson - out of contract
Williams - loan expires
Fred - loan expires

Thoughts on the above?

Thompson has to be worth a deal surely - which is massive credit to him, having come in last season and barely featured, then to my (wrong) eyes, looking utterly average at first. Now he looks a definite starter.

We could probably deal with one of Williams and Fred going such are our options, but if both go, that cuts natural options out wide in half.

Morris would be a great signing too, but will Shrewsbury realise what they have?

«13

Comments

  • I believe you are also allowed to sign people in January

  • Depends how long Tyson stays fit and whether Bloomfield and/or Saunders ever get back on the pitch this season.

  • Bloomfield isn't a long termer is he?

    Saunders' time is surely close to an end, unless we lose Thompson and Morris, but his style doesn't seem to fit anymore

  • Bloomfield wrote in his programme notes on Saturday that he had only just started running again and has been having to recuperate slowly.

  • edited November 2018

    The beauty of the bigger squad is we don't have to rush anyone back these days.
    With the current centre mid options we can allow him to be safely back.

    A real contrast to that Wembley season. I remember the worry when turning up at Shrewsbury away around Christmas to see we had 3 outfield subs, all of them clearly not close to 100%

  • I thought Saunders was fit, just not in the squad.

  • To keep Bryn Morris would be a coup of Gape proportions but don’t rule it out and unless Curtis Thompson (or his agent) is holding out for a better deal than may already have been offered, I feel he will almost certainly be offered a contract.
    @bluntphil mentioned on Tuesday that when he saw Fred Onyedinma playing for Millwall at the end of last season his body language looked all wrong and he didn’t look at all happy. Contrast that with his sparkling performances here and I think there is a good chance that he will be with us at least until the end of the season.
    Not sure about Randell Williams.

  • @micra It was earlier this season when I saw Fred play for Millwall against our friends from Plymouth in the League Cup. He was subbed on the hour and the next day he was back at Adams Park.

    The Lions are currently on a bad run and dangerously close to the bottom three.

  • Smart move by Fred then, Phil. Apologies for misquote!

  • @micra, Gape was a different level of surprise I think, Morris is out of favour at a club at the same level as us.
    However, i'd still be very pleased to see him join properly!
    All the missing O Nien fears disappeared quite quickly

  • Past experience makes me lean towards Gaz being able to do excellent deals which surprise/shock/delight us. (Well, most of us...)

  • Smart move by Fred then, Phil. Apologies for misquote!

  • Different manager, very impressive performances in the meantime @Malone.
    There could well be competition.

  • Just thought @Malone. Maybe you’ve heard that Bryn is still out of favour?

  • Well, let's hope they haven't realised they're missing a trick!

  • I'm not sure Fred is a popular figure back at the Den...something to do with some contract dispute. Thompson has surely done enough to get a deal to the end of the season at least. Randell not getting minutes...but unless there is a chance of a good loan somewhere else he may choose to stay if he has a say. Bryn is the tricky one...if the new manager wants to work with the players he has and perhaps forgets he is on loan?

  • Thompson has a deal to January. Anything beyond that would be at least two years.

  • If I were to guess I would go for:

    Thompson - 2 year renewal
    Williams - loan extension to season end
    Morris - back to Shrewsbury (sadly)
    Onyedinma - loan extension to season end

    Think Onyedinma Morris and Thompson would be the three I'm most keen on. Not that Randel hasn't been impressive - just feel those three have been particularly brilliant so far

  • Williams was the stand out performer in our tricky first 6 or so weeks in the division. That probably shouldn't be forgotten.
    Has real competition to start now, and if Tyson can stay fit, perhaps the easiest to lose of the 4.

  • We seem to agree that we’d like to see Fred, Bryn and Curtis retained at least until the end of the season and that Randell was excellent in quite a few games and we’d be very happy to see him stay (or, if not, for GA to keep an eye on his progress elsewhere.

  • I think we'd definitely miss Williams if we lost him. Some games he absolutely runs defences ragged - plenty of teams cited him as our biggest threat early in the season.

    Saying that, he's probably the loanee I'd be least concerned about losing, which is no disrespect to him and a credit to the others.

    No way Morris will stay and it is a big loss. Hopefully Thompson will repay the faith and belief Ainsworth had in him and sign until at least the end of the season. Why not if you're starting games, and likely to be first name on the team sheet once Morris departs?

    Fred, I don't know. Maybe Millwall will give him another shot but he doesn't look Championship quality to me. Good enough to outdo defenders at L1 level for sure though.

  • Squad is perhaps a little unbalanced at the moment (8 defenders - assuming Fox is still here - 7 midfield -8 forwards). I would have thought at least one forward (Williams the favourite would leave in Jan.

    looks from the "investment deal" timetable that decisions will need to be made on January transfers before the outcome of the vote is known.

  • Squad is 26 including the probably departing Charlie Fox and three ‘keepers.
    Sorry @DevC I thought you’d undercounted but I’d forgotten the three above and only realised my error as I tapped this out.

  • Wasted post.

  • Whoops, there goes another one.

  • You’ll use them all up.

  • you do realise that you don't have to hit "post"????

  • Micra hits post more times that Neil Davis in a mid 90s loan spell

  • Robin Van Persie hit the woodwork 44 times in his Premiership career.

  • I keep getting notifications, and Micra is typically half of them

Sign In or Register to comment.