Blueprint For The Future (from the past!)

[Shrimpy]

I've been reading the recent threads regarding the squad for next season, who should stay and who should go and I think we need a blueprint for the type of player we want at this club and simply stay away from anyone that doesn’t fit it.

We need to hit the ground running too, having the majority of our squad in place before the first pre season game rather than continue adding to it throughout August, September and October with whatever players are left on the scrap heap that no one else wants (Shuker, Brown, Capaldi all spring to mind).

There also needs to be an emphasis on youth too. Look at two clubs similar in size to us in Accrington and Torquay, currently pushing for a promotion place, in their squads they both have only 6 players over the age of 25. We have 17 over that age. Obviously experience costs money and I dread to think the size of our wage bill compared to theirs. A club of our size can't continue to spend this kind of money on the playing squad, losing money left, right and centre only to end up in a relegation battle. We need change.

Basically every player in our squad and potential new signings should be placed into three categories of player with us only interested in (a) and (b)

(a) Players 24 and under who given two years with us should hopefully have improved enough to be saleable assets. Any older than 26 and clubs generally won’t see them as good investments although there are exceptions (Carl Baker for one). We should be prepared to release anyone before reaching category (b) if we think we’ve seen enough to know that they aren’t going to progress into that category.

(b) Players over 26 who are going to be top performers in our first team. There’s no point having someone in our squad who is over this age only for them to spend the majority of their time sat on the bench, a role which could easily be done by a player that falls into category (a).

(c) Any players currently at the club that don’t fall into category (a) or (b) should be released and any players that we sign in category (a) in the future that don’t progress into category (b) by the time they are 26 should be released to make way for more category (a) players.

1 Barry Roche (28) (b) - Keep
I don't think there's much explanation needed here. Great keeper and will hopefully be our goalkeeper for the next 7 or 8 years.

2 Andy Holdsworth (27) (c) - Get Rid
In the few games he's played he has looked ok but at his age and with a history of injury problems will not improve as a player. There will be plenty of players just as good that fall into category (a)

4 Paul Scott (31) (c) - Get Rid
Whilst he looked ok playing in midfield at the start of the season he is too old and displayed a terrible attitude which has seen him benched for the majority of the season.

5 Jim Bentley (34) (c) – Get Rid
Jim no longer offers anything to the first team unfortunately but should be promoted to assistant manager in the new managerial setup. I would like to see him continue playing in the reserves to help teach the youngsters coming through.

6 Craig Stanley (28) (b) - Keep
Providing we can somehow convince him to stay after the absolutely horrendous way he's been treated by Sammy this year he should be installed as first team captain and heart beat of our team. He's one of the few players that would appear to care about the club and has an affinity with the fans. He will be a great role model to the young players at the club.

7 Adam Rundle (26) (c) - Get Rid
Hasn't produced anything on the field and doesn't seem to be that bothered. The sooner we are rid of him the better.

8 Garry Hunter (26) (c) - Get Rid
Great servant to the club but at 26 he's no longer a promising young player and is unlikely to be anything more than a squad player at League Two level. Such a role should be given to someone that falls into category (a). He would be an excellent signing for a top Conference team.

9 Chris Shuker (28) (c) - Get Rid
With his reputation he should have produced a hell of a lot more than he has this season. In our new squad focused on youth there is no room for players like him that fall into category (c).

10 Phil Jevons (31) (c) - Get Rid
What a difference a year makes. His recent performances have been half hearted and he looks like a man who is simply playing out his contract. Thanks for all you did last season but you are now too old and too costly and haven't produced this season.

11 Neil Wainwright (33) (c) - Get Rid
A complete waste of a wage this season, god knows why he was even given a contract, his release will be a year overdue.

14 James Spencer (19) (a) – Get Rid
We've seen him for a whole year now and he hasn't tore up any trees or look like he's going to develop into a good player at League Two level. As far as loan options go there should be far better prospects out there from the likes of Blackburn, Preston, Burnley etc that we can take advantage of.

15 Chris McCready (29) (b) - Keep
Has been the best of the centre backs this season and will be decent to have around for one more year before being replaced by a younger model after next season.

16 Stewart Drummond (35) (c) - Get Rid
Too old and his legs have gone, we need more energy in midfield. He may well be a possible candidate to take over from Jimbo as reserve team manager if he fancies a career in coaching.

17 Andy Fleming (23) (a) - Keep
Has shown promise this season but needs to start stamping his authority on games rather than just blending into the midfield. Hopefully he can learn from Stanners, develop into a category (b) player and re-discover his goal scoring form from the start of the season. Needs to improve though to escape being released at the end of the following season.

18 Kevan Hurst (25) (a) - Get Rid
Has looked nothing more than ordinary in his time with us. We need pace throughout the side and out wide is a key area for this but he doesn't possess any. Will have reached category (b) status next season so no point keeping him.

19 Laurence Wilson (24) (a) - Keep
Has always been far more effective playing at left back and he needs to be put back in this position on a permanent basis and given a license to bomb forward as he was last season. Having a good winger playing in front of him will help his game too.

20 Stuart Hendrie (21) (a) - Get Rid
Hasn't managed to break into the team this year and has apparantly been poor at Tamworth. I want to see more signings like this one though as you can unearth a gem, unfortunately Stuart wasn't one of them.

21 Paul Mullin (36) (c) - Get Rid
Shows great commitment when he plays and is a model professional but he is unfortunately too old now for us to be keeping on as a squad player and needs to make room for a category (a) player.

22 Andy Parrish (22) (a) - Keep
Fantastic young player and the only one on our books who we could potentially sell on to a bigger club for profit. He needs to be held up as an example to all the young players as what can be achieved at our club if you work hard and take your chance in the first team.

23 Gavin Clark (19?) (a) - Get Rid
I've never seen him play but going off previous years youth team players he won't be good enough.

24 Niall Cowperthwaite (19?) (a) - Get Rid
I've never seen him play but going off previous years youth team players he won't be good enough.

25 Chris Wraight (19?) (a) - Get Rid
I've never seen him play but going off previous years youth team players he won't be good enough.

26 Tony Capaldi (29) (c) - Get Rid
One of the worst signings of Sammys time at the club, especially considering we had the chance to get rid of him in January but decided to sign him again until the end of the season.

27 Kieran Charnock (26) (c) - Get Rid
He offers nothing special, he's a typical League Two clogger centre back that are ten a penny. We could pick up such a player who has just been released by a Premier League or Championship club who falls into category (a)

28 Will Haining (28) (c) - Get Rid
Too injury prone to be worth keeping on.

29 Scott Brown (25) (a) - Get Rid
He falls into the same bracket as Keiran Charnock in that he's just average and we could get someone to produce exactly the same level of performance that he does but is a good 5 or 6 years younger. Will reach category (b) status during next season.

30 Danny Carlton (27) (c) - Get Rid
In terms of his natural level he's a Conference striker and that's it. He works hard and cares about the club but at 27 we know that this is pretty much the peak of his abilities and will never be a 20 goal a season striker at this level. Time to move on and look for a younger striker with potential.

31 Laurie Walker (21) (a) - Get Rid
His recent Facebook posts suggest he doesn't want to be here, that's fair enough, his career will probably be better for finding a job as first team keeper lower down the pyramid.

32 Joe Anyon (24) (a) - Get Rid
With Walker going we'll need a new backup to Barry and I think we can all agree that Anyon isn't that man. At 24 he's too old for such a role anyway.

We also need to drastically reduce the squad size as well as the balance of the squad.

We should have roughly 5 or 6 category (b) players (Roche, Stanley, McCready + two or three others) who will be first names on the team sheet when fit. The rest of the squad should be filled with category (a) players to bring the squad total up to roughly 20. If we suffer an injury crisis then the loan market should be used to cover rather than having an inflated squad.

The management team needs to be fully on board with this plan too and unfortunately I feel that Sammy and Mark aren't the men to take us forward in this new era so a new manager will be required who is willing to take Jim Bentley on as part of his coaching staff too.

I understand that a few of the above players that I would like to get rid of are likely to still be here next season due to their contract situation (Kieron Charnock for example) but I think this kind of approach is one that Morecambe Football Club should adopt going forward as the way we're operating now will lead to either bankruptcy, relegation or both.

[Lloydie]

You couldn't post this through to Sammy could you?

[Ntini]

I think that this is a rather bizzare system and not sure that people are past developing when they reach 24. I understand where you're coming from, but I don't think you can have a set rule like that. If we were able to buy a really good player, who was say 28, then you wouldn't? I think experience (in one or two positions) is important at this level, but I agree that the age of our squad is too high.

Recruitment policy is certainly an issue, but different managers have different approaches. We certainly need to let the older end of the scale go in the summer, but I do have a few problems with your assessment of our younger players based on past players. Cowperthwaite must be doing something right to be reserve team captain, and so I would guess that he will be kept. The same would go for some of the other younger lads who have featured most weeks in the reserve team.

[Shrimpy]

If we were able to buy a really good player, who was say 28, then you wouldn't?

Not at all, if we could get a really good player who was 28 then I'm all for it, having a few experienced heads is essential in any team.

My issue is more with signing up a boat load of these players in their late 20's and have them warming the bench every week. Would you rather have had Chris Shuker at the club this season or a 20 year old who has just been released by a Premier League or Championship club?

That's what I'm trying to say.

[Ntini]

If we were able to buy a really good player, who was say 28, then you wouldn't?

Not at all, if we could get a really good player who was 28 then I'm all for it, having a few experienced heads is essential in any team.

My issue is more with signing up a boat load of these players in their late 20's and have them warming the bench every week. Would you rather have had Chris Shuker at the club this season or a 20 year old who has just been released by a Premier League or Championship club?

That's what I'm trying to say.

Fair enough and I get your point, I'm just not sure you can blanket all players in the way that you set out. I honestly thought that Shuker was going to be a really good signing for the club, but it hasn't worked out. So you could say that Sammy got it wrong, and in that case so did I!

[Shrimpy]

Obviously I wouldn't suggest that we rigidly stick to such a plan but it's more like a set of guidelines about the types of players we want.

Young, hungry players with something still to prove in the game who if they turn out to be good can be sold on for a profit like we did with Baker, Duffy, Hardiker and others.

We really should be looking at Accrington as an example of how to put together a team of young players with a few older heads dotted here and there. It will be cheaper and bring us a more satisfying match day experience.

You only have to look at the difference in level of application between Jevons and Aley when they were brought on on Tuesday. Aley was darting about everywhere, he also sprinted to retrieve a ball that had gone out of play when we were awarded a free kick so we could get on with things. Jevons just lumbered about like his mind was elsewhere.

You can't undersetimate the power of youthful enthusiasm and a will to prove yourself when it comes to playing at this level. You only have to look at the last 10 or so meetings against Accrington to see that where each game could be summed up with "they wanted it more than us".

[shrimper]

I'd debate one or two of shrimpy's individual assessments (on the right deal I'd keep Hurst and I wouldn't get rid of the likes of Hunter, Charnock and Brown UNLESS we could bring in someone younger and of the same ability - they are good squad players at least).
I'd also only consider making a big effort to retain Wilson (a great player who's gone right off the boil recently) IF we could be assured of a renewed commitment from him.

But otherwise I go along with the general thrust.

Yes, we will need a few older heads in there but they need to be of the right mentality and attitude, so I'd include another (sub) section of those 'experienced players whom we can rely on to be dedicated and honest professionals capable of doing a good job and passing on their experience'. Even then, they'd be the exception to the general rule and I'd only want one or two at most.

Apart from setting up a 'type' of player we want - as described in the original post, the other main issue is we need to be chasing our targets NOW. I have a few in mind who fit into the profile, are out of contract in the summer AND are realistic targets for a club like ours AND who will be expecting to listen to other approaches before deciding whether to re-sign for their current clubs.

[The Fury]

I'd debate one or two of shrimpy's individual assessments (on the right deal I'd keep Hurst and I wouldn't get rid of the likes of Hunter, Charnock and Brown UNLESS we could bring in someone younger and of the same ability - they are good squad players at least).
I'd also only consider making a big effort to retain Wilson (a great player who's gone right off the boil recently) IF we could be assured of a renewed commitment from him.

But otherwise I go along with the general thrust.

Yes, we will need a few older heads in there but they need to be of the right mentality and attitude, so I'd include another (sub) section of those 'experienced players whom we can rely on to be dedicated and honest professionals capable of doing a good job and passing on their experience'. Even then, they'd be the exception to the general rule and I'd only want one or two at most.

Apart from setting up a 'type' of player we want - as described in the original post, the other main issue is we need to be chasing our targets NOW. I have a few in mind who fit into the profile, are out of contract in the summer AND are realistic targets for a club like ours AND who will be expecting to listen to other approaches before deciding whether to re-sign for their current clubs.

This. Unfortunately, I do not have any faith that the current set-up has made any attempt to begin to identify such targets.

[Little Shrimp]

I've been reading the recent threads regarding the squad for next season, who should stay and who should go and I think we need a blueprint for the type of player we want at this club and simply stay away from anyone that doesn’t fit it.

We need to hit the ground running too, having the majority of our squad in place before the first pre season game rather than continue adding to it throughout August, September and October with whatever players are left on the scrap heap that no one else wants (Shuker, Brown, Capaldi all spring to mind).

There also needs to be an emphasis on youth too. Look at two clubs similar in size to us in Accrington and Torquay, currently pushing for a promotion place, in their squads they both have only 6 players over the age of 25. We have 17 over that age. Obviously experience costs money and I dread to think the size of our wage bill compared to theirs. A club of our size can't continue to spend this kind of money on the playing squad, losing money left, right and centre only to end up in a relegation battle. We need change.

Basically every player in our squad and potential new signings should be placed into three categories of player with us only interested in (a) and (b)

(a) Players 24 and under who given two years with us should hopefully have improved enough to be saleable assets. Any older than 26 and clubs generally won’t see them as good investments although there are exceptions (Carl Baker for one). We should be prepared to release anyone before reaching category (b) if we think we’ve seen enough to know that they aren’t going to progress into that category.

(b) Players over 26 who are going to be top performers in our first team. There’s no point having someone in our squad who is over this age only for them to spend the majority of their time sat on the bench, a role which could easily be done by a player that falls into category (a).

(c) Any players currently at the club that don’t fall into category (a) or (b) should be released and any players that we sign in category (a) in the future that don’t progress into category (b) by the time they are 26 should be released to make way for more category (a) players.

1 Barry Roche (28) (b) - Keep
I don't think there's much explanation needed here. Great keeper and will hopefully be our goalkeeper for the next 7 or 8 years.

2 Andy Holdsworth (27) (c) - Get Rid
In the few games he's played he has looked ok but at his age and with a history of injury problems will not improve as a player. There will be plenty of players just as good that fall into category (a)

4 Paul Scott (31) (c) - Get Rid
Whilst he looked ok playing in midfield at the start of the season he is too old and displayed a terrible attitude which has seen him benched for the majority of the season.

5 Jim Bentley (34) (c) – Get Rid
Jim no longer offers anything to the first team unfortunately but should be promoted to assistant manager in the new managerial setup. I would like to see him continue playing in the reserves to help teach the youngsters coming through.

6 Craig Stanley (28) (b) - Keep
Providing we can somehow convince him to stay after the absolutely horrendous way he's been treated by Sammy this year he should be installed as first team captain and heart beat of our team. He's one of the few players that would appear to care about the club and has an affinity with the fans. He will be a great role model to the young players at the club.

7 Adam Rundle (26) (c) - Get Rid
Hasn't produced anything on the field and doesn't seem to be that bothered. The sooner we are rid of him the better.

8 Garry Hunter (26) (c) - Get Rid
Great servant to the club but at 26 he's no longer a promising young player and is unlikely to be anything more than a squad player at League Two level. Such a role should be given to someone that falls into category (a). He would be an excellent signing for a top Conference team.

9 Chris Shuker (28) (c) - Get Rid
With his reputation he should have produced a hell of a lot more than he has this season. In our new squad focused on youth there is no room for players like him that fall into category (c).

10 Phil Jevons (31) (c) - Get Rid
What a difference a year makes. His recent performances have been half hearted and he looks like a man who is simply playing out his contract. Thanks for all you did last season but you are now too old and too costly and haven't produced this season.

11 Neil Wainwright (33) (c) - Get Rid
A complete waste of a wage this season, god knows why he was even given a contract, his release will be a year overdue.

14 James Spencer (19) (a) – Get Rid
We've seen him for a whole year now and he hasn't tore up any trees or look like he's going to develop into a good player at League Two level. As far as loan options go there should be far better prospects out there from the likes of Blackburn, Preston, Burnley etc that we can take advantage of.

15 Chris McCready (29) (b) - Keep
Has been the best of the centre backs this season and will be decent to have around for one more year before being replaced by a younger model after next season.

16 Stewart Drummond (35) (c) - Get Rid
Too old and his legs have gone, we need more energy in midfield. He may well be a possible candidate to take over from Jimbo as reserve team manager if he fancies a career in coaching.

17 Andy Fleming (23) (a) - Keep
Has shown promise this season but needs to start stamping his authority on games rather than just blending into the midfield. Hopefully he can learn from Stanners, develop into a category (b) player and re-discover his goal scoring form from the start of the season. Needs to improve though to escape being released at the end of the following season.

18 Kevan Hurst (25) (a) - Get Rid
Has looked nothing more than ordinary in his time with us. We need pace throughout the side and out wide is a key area for this but he doesn't possess any. Will have reached category (b) status next season so no point keeping him.

19 Laurence Wilson (24) (a) - Keep
Has always been far more effective playing at left back and he needs to be put back in this position on a permanent basis and given a license to bomb forward as he was last season. Having a good winger playing in front of him will help his game too.

20 Stuart Hendrie (21) (a) - Get Rid
Hasn't managed to break into the team this year and has apparantly been poor at Tamworth. I want to see more signings like this one though as you can unearth a gem, unfortunately Stuart wasn't one of them.

21 Paul Mullin (36) (c) - Get Rid
Shows great commitment when he plays and is a model professional but he is unfortunately too old now for us to be keeping on as a squad player and needs to make room for a category (a) player.

22 Andy Parrish (22) (a) - Keep
Fantastic young player and the only one on our books who we could potentially sell on to a bigger club for profit. He needs to be held up as an example to all the young players as what can be achieved at our club if you work hard and take your chance in the first team.

23 Gavin Clark (19?) (a) - Get Rid
I've never seen him play but going off previous years youth team players he won't be good enough.

24 Niall Cowperthwaite (19?) (a) - Get Rid
I've never seen him play but going off previous years youth team players he won't be good enough.

25 Chris Wraight (19?) (a) - Get Rid
I've never seen him play but going off previous years youth team players he won't be good enough.

26 Tony Capaldi (29) (c) - Get Rid
One of the worst signings of Sammys time at the club, especially considering we had the chance to get rid of him in January but decided to sign him again until the end of the season.

27 Kieran Charnock (26) (c) - Get Rid
He offers nothing special, he's a typical League Two clogger centre back that are ten a penny. We could pick up such a player who has just been released by a Premier League or Championship club who falls into category (a)

28 Will Haining (28) (c) - Get Rid
Too injury prone to be worth keeping on.

29 Scott Brown (25) (a) - Get Rid
He falls into the same bracket as Keiran Charnock in that he's just average and we could get someone to produce exactly the same level of performance that he does but is a good 5 or 6 years younger. Will reach category (b) status during next season.

30 Danny Carlton (27) (c) - Get Rid
In terms of his natural level he's a Conference striker and that's it. He works hard and cares about the club but at 27 we know that this is pretty much the peak of his abilities and will never be a 20 goal a season striker at this level. Time to move on and look for a younger striker with potential.

31 Laurie Walker (21) (a) - Get Rid
His recent Facebook posts suggest he doesn't want to be here, that's fair enough, his career will probably be better for finding a job as first team keeper lower down the pyramid.

32 Joe Anyon (24) (a) - Get Rid
With Walker going we'll need a new backup to Barry and I think we can all agree that Anyon isn't that man. At 24 he's too old for such a role anyway.

We also need to drastically reduce the squad size as well as the balance of the squad.

We should have roughly 5 or 6 category (b) players (Roche, Stanley, McCready + two or three others) who will be first names on the team sheet when fit. The rest of the squad should be filled with category (a) players to bring the squad total up to roughly 20. If we suffer an injury crisis then the loan market should be used to cover rather than having an inflated squad.

The management team needs to be fully on board with this plan too and unfortunately I feel that Sammy and Mark aren't the men to take us forward in this new era so a new manager will be required who is willing to take Jim Bentley on as part of his coaching staff too.

I understand that a few of the above players that I would like to get rid of are likely to still be here next season due to their contract situation (Kieron Charnock for example) but I think this kind of approach is one that Morecambe Football Club should adopt going forward as the way we're operating now will lead to either bankruptcy, relegation or both.

If my counting is correct, we now apparently have 6 players next season. I agree with some of the get rids, but just because someone is over 24 or not an amazing player does not mean we should get rid of them. Charnock is a good example. He has never been mind bogglingly amazing but he is a good league two centre back. Looking at our current position, we're not going to attract 15 great players to the club for next season!

[Peckishparrish13]

Im sorry but you are getting rid of nearly all the squad, i agree with all the keeps but Capaldi(helped us score 2 at Barnet) Brown (has been excellent for us) Hurst (Thought he has been a very good player) and a lot more players should stay. i think you are more over-reacting to the Macclesfield defeat than anything... well Capaldi has been a d**k so id get rid of him actually

[RedRedWine1]

The two posters above have completely missed the point. Shrimpy (great first post by the way) is basically suggesting that we need a plan and thought out approach to player recruitment. It is fairly obvious that at the moment we seem to be signing whoever is available and then hashing a team together out of it. Bury have a similar plan to the one that is outlined above, except they won't sign anyone over 26 and they look to develope local youngsters.

We need a proper football league academy structure in place first and foremost. That may require a management team that are interested in the long-term developement of the club. Whilst I love Sammy to bits, what's his incentive to implement an academy that he won't be around to gain any benefit from during his own tenure? What we are doing at the moment to cheat death isn't viable in the long-term and will ultimately catch up with us.

Will people also stop going on about Crapaldi being vital at Barnet. Whilst they rightly point out that two goals came from his throws, they also gloss over the fact that he was at fault for Barnets opener which was the result of a really poor and lethargic bit of defending on the left hand side. He has cost us more points than he has gained for us this season. Oh yeah, and he's a twat! Shoot Crapaldi! Shoot shoot Crapaldi!!!

[Shrimpy]

If my counting is correct, we now apparently have 6 players next season. I agree with some of the get rids, but just because someone is over 24 or not an amazing player does not mean we should get rid of them. Charnock is a good example. He has never been mind bogglingly amazing but he is a good league two centre back. Looking at our current position, we're not going to attract 15 great players to the club for next season!

Yep, 6 players is fine from the ones we currently have. Clubs up and down the country have overhauls like this every year, we've just never been in a position before where we've needed to do it.

Charnock isn't essential, you can find plenty of players like him at the age of 19, 20, 21 who will possibly blossom into excellent defenders. Charnock isn't going to get any better at the age of 26 so why not get rid of him and bring in someone who might?

[Shrimpy]

Im sorry but you are getting rid of nearly all the squad, i agree with all the keeps but Capaldi(helped us score 2 at Barnet) Brown (has been excellent for us) Hurst (Thought he has been a very good player) and a lot more players should stay. i think you are more over-reacting to the Macclesfield defeat than anything... well Capaldi has been a d**k so id get rid of him actually

What's wrong with getting rid of nearly all the squad? The squad that still might get us relegated this year.

Since when has Brown been excellent for us? He's a squad player and nothing more.