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Released and retained list

Aye. What made you think he isn't?
Also, from my Liverpool supporting mate: Yes, but if you ask him his preferred position he will say as the main striker. I thought he was a good finisher, but not strong enough for the PL.
 
GK - Maxwell, Sims, Fojticek

DR - Turton, Gabriel, Howe

DL - Mitchell, Garbutt

DC - Ekpiteta, Ballard, Gretarsson, Husband, Thorniley

MC - Robson, Ward, Virtue, Dougall, Williams, Antwi

AMR - Hamilton, Kemp

AML - Kaikai, Lubala

AMC - Anderson, Sarkic

SC - Yates, Madine, Woodburn

0 spots available (remember Devitt was never registered so didn't take up a spot).

I suspect more work will be done on the squad in January, but the turnover this window has been remarkable. Just hope results follow now!
 
GK - Maxwell, Sims, Fojticek

DR - Turton, Gabriel, Howe

DL - Mitchell, Garbutt

DC - Ekpiteta, Ballard, Gretarsson, Husband, Thorniley

MC - Robson, Ward, Virtue, Dougall, Williams, Antwi

AMR - Hamilton, Kemp

AML - Kaikai, Lubala

AMC - Anderson, Sarkic

SC - Yates, Madine, Woodburn

0 spots available (remember Devitt was never registered so didn't take up a spot).

I suspect more work will be done on the squad in January, but the turnover this window has been remarkable. Just hope results follow now!
It’s inevitably going to take time to gel, but that squad is so much stronger than last years.
 
Bodies in but I don't know about how much stronger yet, there's still some big misses from a midtable on PPG team. But it's a different squad at least and hopefully it can become something for the club, whoever they have coaching it.
Who from last year, except Gnanduillet, would get into this side (that we didn’t have on loan)?

Some of the loanees last year were definitely better, but not sure in terms of permanent.
 
Also, from my Liverpool supporting mate: Yes, but if you ask him his preferred position he will say as the main striker. I thought he was a good finisher, but not strong enough for the PL.

He will score plenty for us. If he does I will even forgive him for being Welsh.:grinning:
 
In terms of seeing someone more effective in their role and being able to move on from yet I'd say I'd still favour:

Delfouneso (in support of the attack in a midfield-less midfield. Fonz offered nothing really but made it look like he might do by running at defenders, until his brain didn't kick in as he doesn't have one, whereas Ward just offers nothing)
Feeney (assist machine, indian summer job but it was alright. Every team needs a trick)
Gnanduillet (just a goal threat, improving player. Good defending set pieces as well)
Heneghan (as permanent a loan as you could get at the time, annoyed me at BR away when they made him captain and he wellied into JCH on the touchline and saw red. But still a centre half. See also Edwards as a back three paid to just get in the way and clear the ball)
Spearing (leader that we don't have though was clearly coming to end of finding a 2yr contract in lge1, and didn't like his card count for dissent but scousers for you)
Tilt (best left sided centre half I've seen for ages when he was on it. Could tell straight away coming back after NAPM what the fuss was about. Saw the moment against Cov at Birmingham where he gave up trying to cover everyones arses in the team after Kaikai didn't bother tracking back and knew it was coming to an end then but a talent)

And even they weren't ideal, because obviously it's league one/two level stuff.

One to look at again in January (if the season gets that far) with the new batch and see whether they've started to become something either in their own right or as a team. Or whether the coach/club are bored already or can't get a tune out of those as well and the churn starts over again.
Delfouneso - Delf was a trier, but he scored 3 goals for us last year. I would say Lubala and Kemp both have a much higher ceiling, and they would not have to do much to beat Delfs output.
Feeney - Better than CJ? Get real.
Gnanduillet - Already acknowledged this.
Heneghan - Wasn't even our player!
Spearing - Would he play for us occasionally if he was still here? Probably. But he left us and signed for a League 2 club, don't know how you can say he was better.
Tilt - He left in January.

To say Delf/Feeney would get anywhere near our team now is laughable tbh. Yes i'd like Tilt back, but I think your post proves my point more than anything.
 
The most significant thing is that all of the players we have signed have potential to improve and time to do so.

Fonz is never going to be better than he is. Spearing and Feeney are going into the twilight years of their careers.

I would have liked to see what Tilt could do under the new regime.
 
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The reality is most these teams are setting up with 5 at the back and some clubs higher up the divisions would struggle to break them down we on the other hand set up 433 have possession and do bugger all with it they wait till the time is right and stick one past us, and 4 times in the last match, we need to play ugly to get out of this division at the right end I'm not convinced these kids have got the knowhow to do that
 
The reality is most these teams are setting up with 5 at the back and some clubs higher up the divisions would struggle to break them down we on the other hand set up 433 have possession and do bugger all with it they wait till the time is right and stick one past us, and 4 times in the last match, we need to play ugly to get out of this division at the right end I'm not convinced these kids have got the knowhow to do that
We've only played Plymouth who played with 3 centre halves?
 
Also, from my Liverpool supporting mate: Yes, but if you ask him his preferred position he will say as the main striker. I thought he was a good finisher, but not strong enough for the PL.

BW says left of midfield and then left wing his two preferred positions in his new o/s interview.


Yates has been been given a vote of confidence today so maybe pre-empting dropping him for Woodburn to cut in on his right foot and hope that works instead. But not sure that will be any further on though if everything still goes through Hamilton down the right on the diagonals, and with the front three mostly not set up as a unit.

For me I'd stick him in an advanced midfield role for edge of area pot shots at the end of these possession stints. Like Ward tried first half on Saturday.
 
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Blackpool Football Club is pleased to announce that Matty Virtue has agreed a new contract with the Seasiders, keeping him at Bloomfield Road until at least 2022.
The midfielder, who joined the Club from Liverpool in January 2019, has put pen-to-paper on a fresh two-year deal to extend his stay in tangerine for the foreseeable future.
The 23-year-old has so far made 45 appearances in all competitions for Blackpool and found the net on six occasions.

Matty Virtue said:
“I’m very happy to be a part of what the gaffer is bringing to the club. I think the way he can bring the best out of me was a massive decision in me signing.
“I came here just before the fans started to come back, then the new owner came in that pre-season and there has been massive change. We’re getting loads done for us and the owner is really helping out. You can see the ambition with the potential new training ground and the work that has been sorted out at Squires Gate. It’s a good project and hopefully we can start performing on the pitch.”
Neil Critchley added:
“I am delighted Matty has decided to extend his stay with us at Blackpool until 2022.
“Matty is a combative, determined midfielder and someone who our supporters can identify with.
“At 23-years-old, he has his best years ahead of him and I look forward to continue working with someone who is very highly thought of at the football club.”
 
GK - Maxwell, Sims, Fojticek

DR - Turton, Gabriel, Howe

DL - Mitchell, Garbutt

DC - Ekpiteta, Ballard, Gretarsson, Husband, Thorniley

MC - Robson, Ward, Virtue, Dougall, Williams, Antwi

AMR - Hamilton, Kemp

AML - Kaikai, Lubala

AMC - Anderson, Sarkic

SC - Yates, Madine, Woodburn

0 spots available (remember Devitt was never registered so didn't take up a spot).

I suspect more work will be done on the squad in January, but the turnover this window has been remarkable. Just hope results follow now!
Read the fan's meeting minutes the other day and got confused by Mansford saying that we had 21 players registered (deliberately leaving a spot free in case they need an emergency loan keeper). Realised I've made an error - Ballard counts as an U21. Will update in a min.
 
GK - Maxwell, Sims, Fojticek

DR - Turton, Gabriel, Howe

DL - Garbutt, Husband, Mitchell

DC - Ekpiteta, Ballard, Gretarsson, Thorniley

MC - Robson, Ward, Dougall, Virtue, Williams, Antwi

AMR - Hamilton, Kemp

AML - Kaikai, Woodburn, Lubala

AMC - Anderson, Sarkic

SC - Yates, Madine

1 spot available (in case an emergency loan keeper in required, as above).

You'd imagine they'll try and ship out Howe and Thorniley in Jan and bring in a centre half and a striker.

That said they'll be mindful that if we're still in this division next year, then the squad is capped at 20 players.
 
With us now being in December and the transfer window opening next month, I thought it was worth revisiting this to try and get a steer on what we might do in January.

As explained previously the squad is capped at 22 players aged 21+ this season, but if we're still in League One next season this drops to 20 players and we'll obviously have to have this in mind when wheeling and dealing.

We currently have 21 players, deliberately leaving a space for an emergency keeper loan if Maxwell gets injured (which doesn't say much for Sims or Fojticek!).

Keepers: Starting with the keepers, Maxwell is contracted until summer 2022 with a year's option. After him it gets interesting. Sims is the de facto #2 and currently counts as both a homegrown player I believe (you have to have one of these in your match day squad) and a U21 player. However, next season he'll be classed as over 21 and given that we've left a spot spare for an emergency keeper it suggests to me he'll be gone in the summer. Fojticek's contract runs until the summer with a year's option. He's currently classed as a U21 player and will remain so next season. On that basis I think we'll take up his option (unless he shits the bed in the meantime) and have him as third choice keeper again. Suspect we'll look to bring in a keeper to challenge Maxwell next summer, and in all likelihood they'll be 21+.

Left backs: Garbutt is on a one year deal with no option. He obviously needs a run of games before we can make a judgement, but I like him for his set pieces alone. I think we'll hoping he proves to be the answer in this position. Husband's contract also expires this summer (with no option). He looked dead and buried after his two red cards, but has had a run in the side at left back again and is currently preferred to Mitchell. I think he'll need to play phenomenally well to keep Garbutt out long term though and earn a new deal, particularly as he's on good money. In all likelihood he's gone in the summer. Mitchell has a contract until summer 2022 with a year's option. That leaves Callum Macdonald, who will be a goner in the summer.

Right back: Turton is out of contract in the summer with no option. I think he's played well this season, and this is backed up by him keeping Gabriel out of the side. Could his form + his versatility get him another year? I think so. Gabriel is obviously on loan and is on a long term contract at Forest so won't be here next year. That leaves Howe. He's actually under contract until summer 2022 with a year's option incredibly! I think a loan departure beckons in January, followed by either a season long loan or a permanent departure in the summer. If we do manage to get him off the books in January, it would create an additional squad spot.

Centre backs: We need to try and find out when Ballard's contract with Arsenal runs to. If it expires soon we should be going all out to sign him permanently. If that isn't an option then we need to ensure that we secure him on loan for the remainder of this season. For info, he currently counts as a U21 player but would be 21+ next season, so if we did sign him permanently you're probably looking at an U21 centre half as your fourth centre half next season. Ekpiteta and Gretarsson both have contracts until summer 2022 with a year's option. So too does Jordan Thorniley, but I think he's in exactly the same boat as Howe. Presuming we can extend Ballard and potentially add another centre half, I think he's a goner in January. That would also create an additional squad space.

Central midfield: Dougall has a contract until summer 2022, as does Virtue. Robson has a contract until 2022 with a year's option. Williams has a contract until this summer with a year's option, but the cap of 20 players put him at real risk of being released this summer (whether we play with 2 or 3 central midfielders) - particularly if Antwi continues to develop. Anderson has a contract until summer 2022 with a year's option, as does Sarkic. However, there's very possibly a question mark over Sarkic beyond next summer depending on what we do with Grant Ward. Ward's contract runs until this summer, but he does have a year's option. Surely you can't carry six central midfielders when you're capped at 20 players? (Antwi will continue to be a U21 next season). Garrity and Devitt will both be goners. Woodburn is obviously a loan until January. And then there's young Rob Apter who counts as both homegrown and U21.

Wide midfielders: Kaikai's contract runs until the summer with a year's option, which I suspect we'll take. Lubala has a three year deal with a year's option. Switching to the other side, Hamilton has the same contract term as Lubala. Kemp is on a season long loan, so I'll imagine we'll look to add cover for Hamilton next summer. You then have Nathan Shaw who's obviously homegrown and will still count as a U21 player next season. His contract runs until the summer with a year's option, which I suspect we'll take given his ability to play in several positions. Feeney is a goner.

Forwards: Yates has a three year deal with a year's option. Madine is out of contract at the end of the season. He's on big money but if he maintains his current form I can see us offering him a new deal - you don't get many strikers like him these days. Nuttall, Hardie and Yussuf are all goners.

If we do offload Howe and Thorniley in January (and extend Ballard and Woodburn's loans), that'll leave us with 19 players against a cap of 22 (20 next season presuming we don't get promoted). I suspect the priorities would then be a forward and a centre half (to replace Thorniley).

Then looking forward to next season, based on the players already under contract for 2021/22 (not including anyone who's a goner), we'd already have 12/20 spots filled which would look like this (this would increase to 14/20 if we took up Ward's and Kaikai's options):

Maxwell

Mitchell

Ekpiteta
Gretarsson

Dougall
Robson
Virtue
Anderson
Sarkic

Lubala
Hamilton

Yates
 
With us now being in December and the transfer window opening next month, I thought it was worth revisiting this to try and get a steer on what we might do in January.

As explained previously the squad is capped at 22 players aged 21+ this season, but if we're still in League One next season this drops to 20 players and we'll obviously have to have this in mind when wheeling and dealing.

We currently have 21 players, deliberately leaving a space for an emergency keeper loan if Maxwell gets injured (which doesn't say much for Sims or Fojticek!).

Keepers: Starting with the keepers, Maxwell is contracted until summer 2022 with a year's option. After him it gets interesting. Sims is the de facto #2 and currently counts as both a homegrown player I believe (you have to have one of these in your match day squad) and a U21 player. However, next season he'll be classed as over 21 and given that we've left a spot spare for an emergency keeper it suggests to me he'll be gone in the summer. Fojticek's contract runs until the summer with a year's option. He's currently classed as a U21 player and will remain so next season. On that basis I think we'll take up his option (unless he shits the bed in the meantime) and have him as third choice keeper again. Suspect we'll look to bring in a keeper to challenge Maxwell next summer, and in all likelihood they'll be 21+.

Left backs: Garbutt is on a one year deal with no option. He obviously needs a run of games before we can make a judgement, but I like him for his set pieces alone. I think we'll hoping he proves to be the answer in this position. Husband's contract also expires this summer (with no option). He looked dead and buried after his two red cards, but has had a run in the side at left back again and is currently preferred to Mitchell. I think he'll need to play phenomenally well to keep Garbutt out long term though and earn a new deal, particularly as he's on good money. In all likelihood he's gone in the summer. Mitchell has a contract until summer 2022 with a year's option. That leaves Callum Macdonald, who will be a goner in the summer.

Right back: Turton is out of contract in the summer with no option. I think he's played well this season, and this is backed up by him keeping Gabriel out of the side. Could his form + his versatility get him another year? I think so. Gabriel is obviously on loan and is on a long term contract at Forest so won't be here next year. That leaves Howe. He's actually under contract until summer 2022 with a year's option incredibly! I think a loan departure beckons in January, followed by either a season long loan or a permanent departure in the summer. If we do manage to get him off the books in January, it would create an additional squad spot.

Centre backs: We need to try and find out when Ballard's contract with Arsenal runs to. If it expires soon we should be going all out to sign him permanently. If that isn't an option then we need to ensure that we secure him on loan for the remainder of this season. For info, he currently counts as a U21 player but would be 21+ next season, so if we did sign him permanently you're probably looking at an U21 centre half as your fourth centre half next season. Ekpiteta and Gretarsson both have contracts until summer 2022 with a year's option. So too does Jordan Thorniley, but I think he's in exactly the same boat as Howe. Presuming we can extend Ballard and potentially add another centre half, I think he's a goner in January. That would also create an additional squad space.

Central midfield: Dougall has a contract until summer 2022, as does Virtue. Robson has a contract until 2022 with a year's option. Williams has a contract until this summer with a year's option, but the cap of 20 players put him at real risk of being released this summer (whether we play with 2 or 3 central midfielders) - particularly if Antwi continues to develop. Anderson has a contract until summer 2022 with a year's option, as does Sarkic. However, there's very possibly a question mark over Sarkic beyond next summer depending on what we do with Grant Ward. Ward's contract runs until this summer, but he does have a year's option. Surely you can't carry six central midfielders when you're capped at 20 players? (Antwi will continue to be a U21 next season). Garrity and Devitt will both be goners. Woodburn is obviously a loan until January. And then there's young Rob Apter who counts as both homegrown and U21.

Wide midfielders: Kaikai's contract runs until the summer with a year's option, which I suspect we'll take. Lubala has a three year deal with a year's option. Switching to the other side, Hamilton has the same contract term as Lubala. Kemp is on a season long loan, so I'll imagine we'll look to add cover for Hamilton next summer. You then have Nathan Shaw who's obviously homegrown and will still count as a U21 player next season. His contract runs until the summer with a year's option, which I suspect we'll take given his ability to play in several positions. Feeney is a goner.

Forwards: Yates has a three year deal with a year's option. Madine is out of contract at the end of the season. He's on big money but if he maintains his current form I can see us offering him a new deal - you don't get many strikers like him these days. Nuttall, Hardie and Yussuf are all goners.

If we do offload Howe and Thorniley in January (and extend Ballard and Woodburn's loans), that'll leave us with 19 players against a cap of 22 (20 next season presuming we don't get promoted). I suspect the priorities would then be a forward and a centre half (to replace Thorniley).

Then looking forward to next season, based on the players already under contract for 2021/22 (not including anyone who's a goner), we'd already have 12/20 spots filled which would look like this (this would increase to 14/20 if we took up Ward's and Kaikai's options):

Maxwell

Mitchell

Ekpiteta
Gretarsson

Dougall
Robson
Virtue
Anderson
Sarkic

Lubala
Hamilton

Yates
Interesting cheers. Isn't Nuttall on a 3 year contract? One more after this?
 
Interesting cheers. Isn't Nuttall on a 3 year contract? One more after this?

Suffering with depression according to avttt don't know how true it is but but wish him the best if so I've been there it's not very nice to say the least.