End of Season Squad Review

silverlion

Well-known member
Staff member
Now that the dust has settled on the 21/22 season it is time to look at who we have, how they performed and who we need to sign

Keepers
Bart has been solid and reliable and is about as good as we are going to get at this level. Lots of clean sheets and good saves and as long as he remains injury free then he should serve us for another season.
Long has played well in the few cup games he played for us. Is on a two year contract so he will be looking to get more games next season and force his way into the side if Bart falters or gets injured.

Defenders
Danny has made great progress this season and has grown into one of the first names on the team sheet. Crisp in the tackle, good going forward and always reliable. He needs to improve his goal scoring record but that will come with more coaching.
Romeo. Back with us now but soon to be on the move. Showed great promise but lost his way for a number of reasons, his loan spell at Pompey was not a great success and spent some time out of the side and on the bench. Time for him to move on.
Hutch. A leader and a worthy captain who drives us on. A very solid year with some great performances and one of the first names on the team sheet.
Ballard. A class act who is destined for bigger things next season, but not with us! Very solid and always reliable and will be a loss.
Cooper. Solid and commanding but odd blips blotted his copy book. Good at set pieces but clubs have recognised his threat and doubled up on him to nullify his impact. Still one of the first names on the team sheet.
Murray. Mr dependable who always gives you everything he has got. Developed well during the season and a worthy member of a good defence.
Malone. Not really a defender….was he ever?….. has some decent flair down the left with some excellent crosses and set pieces. Does give us a good outlet when we move forward.
Leonard. A decent defender and forceful midfielder who is a decent member of the squad as long as he stays fit.
Evans. Not a great defender or midfielder and will have to be content with being a bit part player. If you are desperate he could be a starter but more likely a bench warmer.
Alex Mitchell. Will be back to us from his loan spell at Orient. A friend who is an Orient ST holder raves about him and said that we cant have him back! The jury is out on him really. When KJ moved on he didn’t really start every game and so there are doubts that if he couldn’t be a starter in L2 is he ready for the Championship? GR and AB should know!
Haydn Muller. Has potential but has yet to really have the opportunity to show it at our level. Didn’t get a regular start at St Johnstone so we recalled him but hasn’t had a start with us either. Next season is his last contracted year so he has either got to make it or it is time to move on. If we signed a Ballard replacement then he could go out on loan again.
Dan Moss. He was the best thing since sliced bread on loan at Yeovil and got some starts at Orient with KJ. Lately he hasn’t been part of the match day squad. Could he be the back up to Danny or is another loan spell on the cards? The latter looks more likely.

Midfielders

Billy has grown into a good player this season and needs to improve his scoring record to be the complete midfielder. Lots of potential and next season could be pivotal to see he can be even better.
Saville. A better end to the season where he has shown more of the qualities we expected. Closes down well, tackles crisply, can score and make a goal too. We need more from him every game.
Dutch. Speculation is that he will be offered a new one year deal. Tough tackling and busy but no goal threat and not very creative going forward. The jury is still out on whether he is the best we can get.
Mahoney. On his way out after a disappointing season. Great skills but poor work ethic and flair player who could be a passenger at times. Little to convince us that he is worth his place in the squad.
Ojo. A loan that never really worked out. Good on the ball and could be a real threat but poor in the tackle and could go missing when needed. Could not get in the side at the end so will be no loss.
Freeman. Wage thief.

Attackers
Benik. Divides opinion on here but scored some decent goals and a fair return on the season. Are we likely to find somebody better at our level? If he tempered his wage demands we might sign him.
Bradshaw. Decent at our level and always a pest to mark or keep quiet. A threat most of the time but needs service in the box where he can be very potent. A good partnership with Benik which could develop.
Bennett. Good when fit and a real threat with aggressive play. Needs careful management on the fitness front but is potent in front of goal.
Jed. Could take the game by the scruff of the neck and be a real game changer most of the time. Some frustrating moments when he ran up blind alleys and offered pace but little else. Will be difficult to replace. Not a Premier League player but somebody will take a punt on him. We will miss him for his sheer endeavour.
Burke. Raw pace but little else. Showed flashes but not enough to make me think we will miss him.
Burey. Lots of potential and the goal v QPR was class. Could develop into an important player for us but as a winger or a front man?The jury is out.
Lovelace. Not enough game time to make a judgement but he should get better.
Boateng. As above.

We need another defender to replace Ballard, a back up RB to provide competition for Danny, an attacking midfielder to give us greater threat going forward and another striker if we don’t sign Benik.

All in all a decent season that went right to the wire with some excellent wins at home but some below par performances on the road. An interesting few weeks ahead and I am sure, knowing who was moving on we have some targets to sign.
 
Must get a proper creative midfielder to get away from the long ball game which does not suit any of our forwards, need a forward who can hold the ball up/ target man who can bring players into play .afobie is not strong enough or skillful to do this in at this level
What would help is a first coach with more attacking flair & ideas from corners & Free kicks as we are so predictable & with Jed going someone got to step.up to the plate , defense wise we are solid but coops as got to realize his no dribbler and cut out the mistakes that have left the oppo in great positions
But the biggest improvement must be in our ability to pass the ball to a team mate that actually finds him....too many hapless ones this season
overall we lost ,drew games we should have won but put in some great performances to win matches which cost us at the end but no-one can complain at our season , just have to try and better it next
 
With regards to Romeo, Danny Cowley the big mouth reckons his future lies in the Championship despite hardly getting a game after January for Lg 1 Pompey. Odd.

Romeo's been linked to Cardiff but I can't see that Morison would stand for someone in his dressing room who could potentially be so destructive to the environment. You'd surely think that the way he handled himself would put many managers off of signing him permanently, particularly in our division.

Struggling to get in Pompey's side, you'd think he would have to settle for League 1 football now but with that his wage demands would have to be adjusted.

I think there is a player in there still, and he'd probably make a decent right sided centre half in our current team with his ability to drive forward and make recovery runs. However, he's run his race and the bridge has been burnt, there's no turning back.
 
Train Spotters would be ideal for him. They've got big ideas about themselves as well. Perfect match.
With regards to Romeo, Danny Cowley the big mouth reckons his future lies in the Championship despite hardly getting a game after January for Lg 1 Pompey. Odd.

Romeo's been linked to Cardiff but I can't see that Morison would stand for someone in his dressing room who could potentially be so destructive to the environment. You'd surely think that the way he handled himself would put many managers off of signing him permanently, particularly in our division.

Struggling to get in Pompey's side, you'd think he would have to settle for League 1 football now but with that his wage demands would have to be adjusted.

I think there is a player in there still, and he'd probably make a decent right sided centre half in our current team with his ability to drive forward and make recovery runs. However, he's run his race and the bridge has been burnt, there's no turning back.
 
Now that the dust has settled on the 21/22 season it is time to look at who we have, how they performed and who we need to sign

Keepers
Bart has been solid and reliable and is about as good as we are going to get at this level. Lots of clean sheets and good saves and as long as he remains injury free then he should serve us for another season.
Long has played well in the few cup games he played for us. Is on a two year contract so he will be looking to get more games next season and force his way into the side if Bart falters or gets injured.

Defenders
Danny has made great progress this season and has grown into one of the first names on the team sheet. Crisp in the tackle, good going forward and always reliable. He needs to improve his goal scoring record but that will come with more coaching.
Romeo. Back with us now but soon to be on the move. Showed great promise but lost his way for a number of reasons, his loan spell at Pompey was not a great success and spent some time out of the side and on the bench. Time for him to move on.
Hutch. A leader and a worthy captain who drives us on. A very solid year with some great performances and one of the first names on the team sheet.
Ballard. A class act who is destined for bigger things next season, but not with us! Very solid and always reliable and will be a loss.
Cooper. Solid and commanding but odd blips blotted his copy book. Good at set pieces but clubs have recognised his threat and doubled up on him to nullify his impact. Still one of the first names on the team sheet.
Murray. Mr dependable who always gives you everything he has got. Developed well during the season and a worthy member of a good defence.
Malone. Not really a defender….was he ever?….. has some decent flair down the left with some excellent crosses and set pieces. Does give us a good outlet when we move forward.
Leonard. A decent defender and forceful midfielder who is a decent member of the squad as long as he stays fit.
Evans. Not a great defender or midfielder and will have to be content with being a bit part player. If you are desperate he could be a starter but more likely a bench warmer.
Alex Mitchell. Will be back to us from his loan spell at Orient. A friend who is an Orient ST holder raves about him and said that we cant have him back! The jury is out on him really. When KJ moved on he didn’t really start every game and so there are doubts that if he couldn’t be a starter in L2 is he ready for the Championship? GR and AB should know!
Haydn Muller. Has potential but has yet to really have the opportunity to show it at our level. Didn’t get a regular start at St Johnstone so we recalled him but hasn’t had a start with us either. Next season is his last contracted year so he has either got to make it or it is time to move on. If we signed a Ballard replacement then he could go out on loan again.
Dan Moss. He was the best thing since sliced bread on loan at Yeovil and got some starts at Orient with KJ. Lately he hasn’t been part of the match day squad. Could he be the back up to Danny or is another loan spell on the cards? The latter looks more likely.

Midfielders

Billy has grown into a good player this season and needs to improve his scoring record to be the complete midfielder. Lots of potential and next season could be pivotal to see he can be even better.
Saville. A better end to the season where he has shown more of the qualities we expected. Closes down well, tackles crisply, can score and make a goal too. We need more from him every game.
Dutch. Speculation is that he will be offered a new one year deal. Tough tackling and busy but no goal threat and not very creative going forward. The jury is still out on whether he is the best we can get.
Mahoney. On his way out after a disappointing season. Great skills but poor work ethic and flair player who could be a passenger at times. Little to convince us that he is worth his place in the squad.
Ojo. A loan that never really worked out. Good on the ball and could be a real threat but poor in the tackle and could go missing when needed. Could not get in the side at the end so will be no loss.
Freeman. Wage thief.

Attackers
Benik. Divides opinion on here but scored some decent goals and a fair return on the season. Are we likely to find somebody better at our level? If he tempered his wage demands we might sign him.
Bradshaw. Decent at our level and always a pest to mark or keep quiet. A threat most of the time but needs service in the box where he can be very potent. A good partnership with Benik which could develop.
Bennett. Good when fit and a real threat with aggressive play. Needs careful management on the fitness front but is potent in front of goal.
Jed. Could take the game by the scruff of the neck and be a real game changer most of the time. Some frustrating moments when he ran up blind alleys and offered pace but little else. Will be difficult to replace. Not a Premier League player but somebody will take a punt on him. We will miss him for his sheer endeavour.
Burke. Raw pace but little else. Showed flashes but not enough to make me think we will miss him.
Burey. Lots of potential and the goal v QPR was class. Could develop into an important player for us but as a winger or a front man?The jury is out.
Lovelace. Not enough game time to make a judgement but he should get better.
Boateng. As above.

We need another defender to replace Ballard, a back up RB to provide competition for Danny, an attacking midfielder to give us greater threat going forward and another striker if we don’t sign Benik.

All in all a decent season that went right to the wire with some excellent wins at home but some below par performances on the road. An interesting few weeks ahead and I am sure, knowing who was moving on we have some targets to sign.
Depends what style of football we play. Same as last season keep squad same.with additions where loanees go back.