running repairs on the small squad

nlondonimp

nlondonimp

Vital Champions League
the accident waiting to happen.
danny constantly says we have a great sports science/physio/medical team. but is maintaining a fully fit squad too much of a lottery? was it always a risk to have a small squad?
also the overall match fitness has not really been maintained considering it is a small squad. are they really all equally able to step into the first team?

out injured:
rowe.
dc finally admitted he was out for the season when a picture of rowe in hospital appeared.
vickers.
has been ‘nearly fit’ for ages.
habergham.
? ‘back in training’. which could be dc smokescreen - see rowe. clearly injured badly enough to not even be on the bench - see long.
freck.
‘back on the grass’? which could be dc smokescreen. clearly injured enough to not even be on the bench - see long.

risk of injury:
eardley
playing when not 100%. carrying a hamstring injury. high risk injury.
long
on the bench and then brought on, but carrying a knock of some kind.
bostwick
playing but carrying a back injury.

possibly injured:
wharton
ankle injury serious enough to prevent him continuing. most likely aggravated by carrying on after initial assessment by wharton/physio. bobbly pitch a factor?

not match fit/getting match fit:
wilson - just back from ankle injury.
pett - hardly played
williams - hardly played.
farman - on the bench but hasn’t played since february 3rd.
chapman - on the bench but hasn't ever played a league minute.
o’hare - on the bench but hasn't ever played a league minute.

total 14


fully fit/fully match fit:
allsop
waterfall
woodyard, whitehouse
anderson
green, rhead, palmer

total 8
 
I said at the time when we didn't strengthen fully that having a small squad may come back to bite us. Think we have done very well under Danny and Nicky to avoid most niggles and certainly bad longer term injuries. Still feel that had we got a proven goal scorer in we might have had a real chance of the autos but hindsight is easy to talk about.

Hoping next season we hit the ground running from the start and I fully expect that we will be competitive whatever division we end up in.
 
I don't think the squad size is totally by design though. I think we're in the red zone on squad size, imagine Danny would like to be amber but not diluted all the way to green.

We're really well positioned to push on next year because we haven't compromised too much which is why these play offs are absolutely a free hit.
 
It's also a question of quality rather than quantity. If the right player came up I am sure we would have been in for them irrespective of the squad size.

None of us want to go back to the Holdsworth school of transfers do we
 
Need to be looking at 23/4 with regular use of squad rotation next season.

Agree the playoffs are a free hit, though.
 
Depends what the injuries are. For example, impact ones or dodgy landings are just part and parcel of football.

We've not had too many muscle injuries over the last two seasons.
 
i agree that we have generally added quality... and some players capable of L1 too. maybe the aim was to add three/four each window.

to some extent we are a victim of our own success. where the progress [and expectation] keeps outstripping the squad building. not a bad problem to have.
 
on the point of squad building and progression, where do our academy players sit? the ones that were good enough for the system two/three years ago when we were mid table national league. or even the ones one year ago when we were up to top of non-league...
 
This is the art of management on a budget. It is not going to be perfect. If you consider that Man City with all their resources couldn't source a decent left back all season after Mendy got injured then it tells you what a great job all the management/coaches/sports scientists are doing at SB to get us within a shot of the play offs - magnificent effort and one that was bound to have risk management permutations due to them having to red line it. What I am sure of is that additional resources linked to the ongoing success will make it easier, allied to the experience and knowledge that the Cowleys will gain from this. We are ahead of schedule and as DC keeps reminding us there REALLY is no pressure on us this time around.
 
All the fans of the other clubs think (and I use this term lightly because it is on the various Banter pages) that Rhead is injured. I think it might be bull but there may be a case of there being smoke.
 
There is not that many injured players, lots of players play with niggles.
Wharton landed awkwardly on his ankle when he went up for a header.
They are not going to reveal what the injuries are.
Wilson was a contact injury at Cambridge.
Danny Rowe was a contact injury was talking to him he was taken out at Port Vale.
Most injuries we get are contact and that’s due to the rigorous training methods we use.
 
nlondonimp said:
on the point of squad building and progression, where do our academy players sit? the ones that were good enough for the system two/three years ago when we were mid table national league. or even the ones one year ago when we were up to top of non-league...
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All of the under 21s bar Walton were released I believe, most can be seen around tier 8. Our youth team now, including the trio that are knocking on the door of the first team, are under 18s meaning they have more time to develop to the higher level.
 
Dreaming of McAuley said:
EXACTLY. Gets pretty tiring seeing "we need another striker and attacker". Everyone knows that's our weakest area, including the Cs. But we don't 'need' anything, we're doing great.
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To be fair DC also rightly says that we are a good cup team, Quarters FA Cup, Semi's FA Trophy, Winners Checkatrade. 90 mins (maybe 120) from another final and a squad that will run through walls for the badge, for the shirt, for the club, for the fans, for the manager and for each other.
 
UnbelievableJeff said:
Thrust Ellis into the mix. Why not? He's class. The stage is his and I reckon he'd excel
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Agreed - wouldn't hurt to give him a go, would it? As long as he went on with the message to enjoy himself and no pressure. Only doubt is the level of game he'd be thrust into, but if there really is no pressure on us ...?
 
PerthImp said:
Agreed - wouldn't hurt to give him a go, would it? As long as he went on with the message to enjoy himself and no pressure. Only doubt is the level of game he'd be thrust into, but if there really is no pressure on us ...?
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If you're going to make it as a player, you should be able to cut it in any sort of game. Agreed. The pep talk about the freedom would be ideal. Something like "Go and enjoy yourself."

I would love to see him play. He may be the creative flair we need.
 
UnbelievableJeff said:
If you're going to make it as a player, you should be able to cut it in any sort of game. Agreed. The pep talk about the freedom would be ideal. Something like "Go and enjoy yourself."

I would love to see him play. He may be the creative flair we need.
Click to expand...
I think Pett would argue he is ahead of Ellis in the pecking order at the moment.
 
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