by Gulliball » 03 Jul 2012, 16:48
The squad is now starting to really take shape. We have 23 out of 24 of the players Martin Ling wants here, so it looks like just a centre back to come, unless someone moves on.
I think there's a few distinct groups within the squad, and as we saw last season Martin Ling doesn't change the line-up too much without good reason.
(9) First Team:
Poke, Nicholson, Oastler, Saah, Lathrope, Mansell, O'Kane, Bodin, Howe
(5) Squad Players:
Cruise, Easton, Stevens, Jarvis, Morris
(9) Development/Back-Up:
Rice, McKenzie, Thompson, Yeoman, Leadbitter, Macklin, Craig, Halpin, McPhee
Obviously that's only my personal view, and there's a few players who can fit into different groups. By the time you have Rice and another CB, that's 16 players in the match day squad, leaving room for two development players to make the bench and challenge. I think that balance is pretty good for a club our size, with the majority of players first team regulars or youngsters to develop into first team players and the minimum number of squad players.
If we could shift McPhee out and bring in another striking option, then that would be the icing on the cake. Otherwise we need someone to really step up like Danny Stevens did last season.
The even better view is that quite a few of the first team players are contracted here for 2 more seasons, whereas the squad and development players are out of contract next summer, leaving Ling with some extra room in 12 months time to ship out the players he doesn't want and improve the squad again year on year. With that, the new stand, and new training ground, the future is looking pretty good right now. Devon's Number One Club.
The squad is now starting to really take shape. We have 23 out of 24 of the players Martin Ling wants here, so it looks like just a centre back to come, unless someone moves on.
I think there's a few distinct groups within the squad, and as we saw last season Martin Ling doesn't change the line-up too much without good reason.
(9) First Team:
Poke, Nicholson, Oastler, Saah, Lathrope, Mansell, O'Kane, Bodin, Howe
(5) Squad Players:
Cruise, Easton, Stevens, Jarvis, Morris
(9) Development/Back-Up:
Rice, McKenzie, Thompson, Yeoman, Leadbitter, Macklin, Craig, Halpin, McPhee
Obviously that's only my personal view, and there's a few players who can fit into different groups. By the time you have Rice and another CB, that's 16 players in the match day squad, leaving room for two development players to make the bench and challenge. I think that balance is pretty good for a club our size, with the majority of players first team regulars or youngsters to develop into first team players and the minimum number of squad players.
If we could shift McPhee out and bring in another striking option, then that would be the icing on the cake. Otherwise we need someone to really step up like Danny Stevens did last season.
The even better view is that quite a few of the first team players are contracted here for 2 more seasons, whereas the squad and development players are out of contract next summer, leaving Ling with some extra room in 12 months time to ship out the players he doesn't want and improve the squad again year on year. With that, the new stand, and new training ground, the future is looking pretty good right now. Devon's Number One Club.
