could we cope?

[doogull]

Iv'e been thinking about the last time we went up to L1 under rosenior and was also thinking if we have (including loan players in current squad) a very like minded squad and not much between them in quality so with that do fellow posters feel we could survive in L1, remember last time we were there we didn't have mr graham or mr fowler(due to injury)

[royalgull]

I think football generally is weaker than it was then, I also feel if we could keep (ideally all) but the majority of our loanees + 1 or 2 players naturally we'd be ok.

Exeter survived with a lot of the lads that were in the Conference with them.

Something inside is telling me we're going to go close this year, our squad is vastly underrated and has most bases covered.

[doogull]

that's what ive been thinking and the fact that there a several clubs in freefall finacially and strength of playing staff, I have a very strong belief that we will go up this year we have very hungry players and a positive brand of football (at last) that lends itself to scoring goals and winning matches

[Dave]

Could we cope?Not overly sure the answer is yes or no to that question,the club certainly is in a better position to have a good go at surviving in league 1 should promotion be gained,than it was last time around.

Off field our club has a far greater professional infrastructure now than it has ever had,with the youth set up starting to provide some players ,and expect more in the future with our centre of exellence picking up players from across the south west as a whole,the main improvements however are the coaching set up ,when has a TUFC manager ever had the luxury off an assistant and goalkeeper coach,and some exellent coaching staff we have with the youth set up like Goeff Harrop,and Robbie herrera.

Coupled with the reserve side,which we have seen what benefit that can bring to the first team,with the like's of LRT who came in to the first team for Nicholson and covered the left back position so ably,because he had played games,there really is no substitute for playing games.

Plenty of positive's,but there are a few negative's aswell,i actualy think the current number of loan players is a diss-advantage,some of them i do not think the club will able to keep no matter what,like pringle/murray who are more likely to be for the future of there parent club's,and Tomlin who i think is on a long term comtract with the daggers,very suprised if the Daggers will let him go with out a decent fee.

And the playing budget,i should imagine it will be increased next season regardless,however would the club be able to increase it enough to attract the sort of players it will need to stay in league1,promotion would surely put the club in pole position to keep hold of Robinson and Stanley,however they alone would not be enough, a striker with the ability to hold the ball would be a must,and our defence would need an awful lot of tweaking for our club to have a chance of league 1 survival.

My view is ,i would rather our club get promoted to league 1 and give it the best shot of staying up,than suppprt the view that,we are now a competative league2 club and not ready for league 1 ,lets be happy and stick around league 2(even if it did mean we came straight back down)

[MidDevon]

When the club moved back into the league, some players did not perform as well as most hoped they would. I would include Hargreaves and Sills in this list.

I think it would be very similar if they get into league 1. Just because the likes of Stanley, Zebroski, Robinson and Branston have been our most consistent performers in recent weeks (according to you lot in the MOM awards) ,does this mean they will be our best players at league 1? Obviously not necessarilly.

My best guess is that Buckle would stick with a promotion winning squad and move those on who are not good enough pretty quickly as he did last time....and no one should argue with that, altough people will if Torquay are not on a 100% record at Christmas!

[bobby93]

im not sure the gulf between leagues one and two is that great at times. certainly the top of L2 and the bottom of L1. look at some of the cup runs we've been on, we can handle bigger teams.

i just worry about the amount of loanees we have. if they were all permanant id be a lot more optimistic, not about getting there, but about getting off to the right start next season. IF we get there and they all go back, we're in trouble.

[Fletch]

im not sure the gulf between leagues one and two is that great at times. certainly the top of L2 and the bottom of L1. look at some of the cup runs we've been on, we can handle bigger teams.

i just worry about the amount of loanees we have. if they were all permanant id be a lot more optimistic, not about getting there, but about getting off to the right start next season. IF we get there and they all go back, we're in trouble.

One off cup matches are a bit different though. You only have to look at our cup results in the conference compared to our initial struggle last season. As already said, those that have the ability to play at L1 will stay, those that havnt will be moved on. The main concern for me is I dont think (although would love to be proved wrong) that there would be many left from the squad next January, that are playing this season. That would be a huge financial hit in mid winter when crowds (and income) are at their lowest ebb.

[doogull]

some very good views here and here is another one, it was mentioned earlier about our youth set up and it now bearing some new fruit well it's worth mentioning that back in the 90's we had a very good record in churning out players from our youth system and the majority of them came from the midlands which would say that we had a man in the north at that time now we have mr harrop who has a proven track record for scouting and youth development, I hope with the current demise of argyle we will now be a better move for a young lad than our bigger neighbours as they will not want to go to a club with sod all, probally off topic but worth mentioning.

[Trojan 67]

Could we cope. Mmmm.

Affirmative.

For this reason : we have a capable manager (at the moment) who happens to have the characteristic that all managers wish for.

Aye, PB at crucial moments is a LUCKY B*STARD !

Is this the reason his critics loathe him. :na:

[doogull]

all buckle critics are very shortsighted imo, yes we can all scratch our heads at time when he makes certain substitutions and certain tactics but he is still learning and he has done very well with the travesty that he found here when he arrived, he has moved on players when they should have gone for the good longterm of the club and he has also brought in some excellent staff too. is he doing a good job no.........he is doing a brilliant job!

[Fletch]

some very good views here and here is another one, it was mentioned earlier about our youth set up and it now bearing some new fruit well it's worth mentioning that back in the 90's we had a very good record in churning out players from our youth system

I think that owed most to Johnny James (Lee Sharpe etc), who is still doing it for the Gargs as far as I know, after MB dispensed with his services =Z

[Trojan 67]

If Yeovil can stay up there and have a run then so can we. And they went mighty close to getting Championship status aswell !

First things first : get there first, League One that is.

[wodger of awabia]

The answer to the question may lie in the current L1 table;

Last seasons promoted teams

Bournemouth 6th. (play off spot)
Rochdale 9th.
Notts C. 17th
Dag. & Red 20th. ( last seasons play off winners, not safe yet! )

I.M.O. somewhere around 17th. would be very decent!

[doogull]

The answer to the question may lie in the current L1 table;

Last seasons promoted teams

Bournemouth 6th. (play off spot)
Rochdale 9th.
Notts C. 17th
Dag. & Red 20th. ( last seasons play off winners, not safe yet! )

I.M.O. somewhere around 17th. would be very decent!

tell me wodger do you belive we will get promoted?

[Gulliball]

If we did go up at any time in the next few years I think we'd be able to make a very strong attempt to stay up, certainly more than anything we did in the past. There's a number of good examples to follow from the last few years, including Exeter.

One thing I think we would benefit from this year if we went up is that we only have 11 players contracted beyond the summer (according to what's been published on .com), and four of those are youngsters. That's quite a lot of scope to bring new players in for a new level:

Ellis, Robertson, Nicholson, Rowe-Turner
O'Kane, Mansell, Lathrope, Macklin, Halpin
Zebroski, O'Kane

I think with Ellis, Robertson, LRT, O'Kane, Mansell, Zebroski and Kee as a base, we should be able to build a squad for a L1 relegation fight.