Next season's team - what you'd like/what you think.

[bigfatjoe1]

I'd like to see a general improvement in quality. There's been a net dip in quality on last year. Harkins, Smith and (eventually) Oxely are better than their counterparts, but over the last 12 months we've lost Smith, Baxter, M'Voto, Tarky, Croft and even Wabara. They're not been bettered. Lanzoni came and went. A great deal of crap and has also come our way this season.

 

That brings me onto another annual gripe. This really irritating revolving-door model to transfers/players coming in and out. No stability, no coherence. It doesn't work.

 

We keep going sideways, at best. The club's badge might be changed to a crab at this rate.

 

Everything has changed, and absolutely nothing has changed. Same old :censored:.

 

More quality and stability needed...and has been for years.

[HarryBosch]

I'd like to see a general improvement in quality. There's been a net dip in quality on last year. Harkins, Smith and (eventually) Oxely are better than their counterparts, but over the last 12 months we've lost Smith, Baxter, M'Voto, Tarky, Croft and even Wabara. They're not been bettered. Lanzoni came and went. A great deal of crap and has also come our way this season.

 

That brings me onto another annual gripe. This really irritating revolving-door model to transfers/players coming in and out. No stability, no coherence. It doesn't work.

 

We keep going sideways, at best. The club's badge might be changed to a crab at this rate.

 

Everything has changed, and absolutely nothing has changed. Same old :censored:.

 

More quality and stability needed...and has been for years.

And it's a false economy.

 

If we get a player who's even half decent we should tie him down to a decent contract. It'll be cheaper in the long run than paying signing on fees every 3 or 6 months for the next here today, gone tomorrow gap fillers.

 

We don't need 11 world beaters - you can make a good team out of 7 or 8 half decent players if they're given long enough to learn each others games and maybe start to give a bit of a :censored: about the club.

 

Apart from strikers - the other players learning their runs only goes so far if they still can't finish.

We need two new ones. At least.

[Latics_Fanatic]

It's not easy to add quality to our team though, on our (supposedly) low budget.

 

You just have to look at the players we have brought in this year, most are other teams cast-off's, who aren't good enough (or seemingly not) for their previous team. Obviously, we'll get a couple of quality players within the bunch we sign, but any real quality players will only be playing for those with bigger budgets.

 

Look at Baxter, he had real quality. When he joined us he was a cast-off from Everton and latterly Tranmere, i think. We won the raffle to get him, but as soon as a big team came in, he went. Money talks even in our league.

 

It's a shame, but that's the way it is for us and many others in and around us in the league.

[bigfatjoe1]

The point remains. Only a year ago we had more quality in the squad, so it's not that difficult. The manager has diluted the overall quality. We haven't progressed. It's as crap as ever, especially at home. my idea of a decent squad isn't a bunch of grafters and cloggers. I repeat, I want to see some quality. Oh, and Baxter turned down a contract offer from Everton. He was rated well before he joined us.

[RobOAFC]

 

Look at Baxter, he had real quality. When he joined us he was a cast-off from Everton and latterly Tranmere, i think. We won the raffle to get him, but as soon as a big team came in, he went. Money talks even in our league.

 

Soon as a big team came in, he signed a 2 and half year deal with us.

[leeslover]

The point remains. Only a year ago we had more quality in the squad, so it's not that difficult. The manager has diluted the overall quality. We haven't progressed. It's as crap as ever, especially at home. my idea of a decent squad isn't a bunch of grafters and cloggers. I repeat, I want to see some quality. Oh, and Baxter turned down a contract offer from Everton. He was rated well before he joined us.

 

I doubt the offer from Everton was much of a serious one, if it existed at all. His physical shortcomings wouldn't be easy to hide in the Premiership and he did enough around Merseyside to make a club wonder if they should bother.

[jw_oldh857]

I know I'm stating the bleeding obvious but when you look at the league table we've played 34 an if we had won 3 more games puts us on 47 points 5 off playoffs.

such fine margins when you think about it with being :censored: or great so when we crave investment it won't need need much to turn us into a good side

an I agree with people on here about continuity regards wes grounds

[Latics_Fanatic]

 

Soon as a big team came in, he signed a 2 and half year deal with us.

 

Which he stayed for all of 8 months? Then signed for a bigger team.

 

As is the natural evolution of football.

[aaronoafc]

Is Mills out of contract with burnley in summer? If so would love to see us make him an offer for a move her permanently. Not sure how he's getting on at shrews but he was top quality

[Roger Ritchie]

Why would people want rid of Philliskirk do we honestly think we can do better on our budget?

[Butter]

Another Dickov-ism. The similarities between the two of them is quite unbelievable. We managed to get a good 6 months out of Dickov though.

 

The issue of next seasons team is one that irks me because when the season started, I watched on at Stevenage with a great deal of excitement for the season ahead. The line up was Oxley, Brown, Tarkowski, Grounds, Mellor, Dayton, Smith, Baxter, Montano, MacDonald, Rooney. With the exciting Clarke-Harris and Schmeltz coming on from the bench, and experienced clogger Byrne seeing the game out. The whole gameplan was to play out from the back, and use the wingers pace and trickery to supply chances to the goal poacher MacDonald and reliable 1 in 3 Rooney.

 

Against Tranmere yesterday, There was no Tarkowski, sold for a pittance, no Baxter, sold for a pittance, No Montano (which isn't LJ's fault) and no Rooney, released before he ever really got going.

 

Clarke-Harris hasn't improved to the level we all hoped, Schmeltz is another who has been let go prematurely too, and Byrne has been replaced by another aging clogger, we may as well have kept him, who was doubling up as coach and also liked being around the place, and someone the other players looked up to.

 

The decision to release Rooney was an awful one, the lad should at least have been given a full season and now Aberdeen are reaping the goalscoring rewards.

 

What has happened? Why has LJ had a 'Dickov moment' and bottled his gameplan? What happened to due diligence on signings and them being well thought out? I don't recognise the team now, it has been littered with loans and short term deals, Lockwood, Worrall, Harkins, Dunfield, Stead, Kissock,,Turner, Wilson, while he's binned off new signings from the summer after 6 months. The football is also awful, everyone raved how good it was to watch us, we were always the better side but we just couldn't win (a comment that always made me chuckle) now we still don't win but the football is shocking, we were awful against both Bristol City and Gillingham, it was penny-esque.

 

I still think we'll go down, which could be positive if it means Johnson getting the boot, i'd then like to see a mixture of young vibrant players with a sprinkle of older heads. And i'd like to see a return of the 'pretty football' that was so enjoyable in August and September.

 

And just to update, we have now only won 4 out of 17 in the league, and our next few fixtures are Preston, Rotherham, Crewe, Crawley, Orient and Brentford. I can see one win against Crawley and one draw against Crewe. Relegation form.

Absolutely bang on

[the_mighty_bosh]

 

Another Dickov-ism. The similarities between the two of them is quite unbelievable. We managed to get a good 6 months out of Dickov though.

 

The issue of next seasons team is one that irks me because when the season started, I watched on at Stevenage with a great deal of excitement for the season ahead. The line up was Oxley, Brown, Tarkowski, Grounds, Mellor, Dayton, Smith, Baxter, Montano, MacDonald, Rooney. With the exciting Clarke-Harris and Schmeltz coming on from the bench, and experienced clogger Byrne seeing the game out. The whole gameplan was to play out from the back, and use the wingers pace and trickery to supply chances to the goal poacher MacDonald and reliable 1 in 3 Rooney.

 

Against Tranmere yesterday, There was no Tarkowski, sold for a pittance, no Baxter, sold for a pittance, No Montano (which isn't LJ's fault) and no Rooney, released before he ever really got going.

 

Clarke-Harris hasn't improved to the level we all hoped, Schmeltz is another who has been let go prematurely too, and Byrne has been replaced by another aging clogger, we may as well have kept him, who was doubling up as coach and also liked being around the place, and someone the other players looked up to.

 

The decision to release Rooney was an awful one, the lad should at least have been given a full season and now Aberdeen are reaping the goalscoring rewards.

 

What has happened? Why has LJ had a 'Dickov moment' and bottled his gameplan? What happened to due diligence on signings and them being well thought out? I don't recognise the team now, it has been littered with loans and short term deals, Lockwood, Worrall, Harkins, Dunfield, Stead, Kissock,,Turner, Wilson, while he's binned off new signings from the summer after 6 months. The football is also awful, everyone raved how good it was to watch us, we were always the better side but we just couldn't win (a comment that always made me chuckle) now we still don't win but the football is shocking, we were awful against both Bristol City and Gillingham, it was penny-esque.

 

I still think we'll go down, which could be positive if it means Johnson getting the boot, i'd then like to see a mixture of young vibrant players with a sprinkle of older heads. And i'd like to see a return of the 'pretty football' that was so enjoyable in August and September.

 

And just to update, we have now only won 4 out of 17 in the league, and our next few fixtures are Preston, Rotherham, Crewe, Crawley, Orient and Brentford. I can see one win against Crawley and one draw against Crewe. Relegation form.

 

Aside from Clarke-Harris' development (I see him as a 3-4 year project who I didn't expect much from this year) there's a lot of really good points here. I'm a fan of LJ personally but, while I think he needed to make additions in January, there's a fair possibility that a lot of good work from earlier in the season could be in the process of being undone.

 

Saying that, providing that we stay up, I think we can only really consider him to be bottling his original strategy/style a few months into next season. Between now and early May there's a certain amount of "needs must" about the current situation. It's a tricky balancing act for any manager.

[BristolOwl]

We had to buy in January, firstly because LJ finally realised that Corney wanted to sell Tarkowski off, or at least wouldn't kill himself to keep the player. More fundamentally, Johnson knew that in his keen naivity, he had neglected experience. We now have that to carry us over the line and some of those recent permanent signings can do a good job next season. Corney is running out of players to flog off cheaply and I think LJ will stand up for himself more than Dickov ever could or would. He was very unlucky with Montano and that episode hit himself and the club rather badly. All is not lost, much can be regained and if we can keep Harkins, things will improve next season.

[deyres42]

We had to buy in January, firstly because LJ finally realised that Corney wanted to sell Tarkowski off, or at least wouldn't kill himself to keep the player. More fundamentally, Johnson knew that in his keen naivity, he had neglected experience. We now have that to carry us over the line and some of those recent permanent signings can do a good job next season. Corney is running out of players to flog off cheaply and I think LJ will stand up for himself more than Dickov ever could or would. He was very unlucky with Montano and that episode hit himself and the club rather badly. All is not lost, much can be regained and if we can keep Harkins, things will improve next season.

Naive, baseless twaddle.

[youngen]

The fact we have no pace in the starting 11 except for a 32 year old striker whos a bit 'nippy' is mainly the reason were not as exciting. Harkins is a quality player, but moves in slow motion, Worrall wants to load the ball into the box asap, to the one player we can get in the box. Given the fact neither of our central midfielders are likely to carry the ball 40 yards forward in Dale Stephensesque roles, and the wingers lack of pace, were effectively lumping the ball up to 2 midgets, unless Philliskirk drops in, and by the time hes broke with it, half of their team are back.

 

Whilst I think hes pretty poor and has an awful football brain, JCH is one of the players who can help change this, hes strong and scares defenders into making rash decisions. He just needs to switch on and read the game better. But should balls end up lumped forward at least hes likely to muscle his way around a back 4 on his own. Next season we need a new central midfielder who can go forward, Wes and Smith are great, but together they have minimal attacking threat. You need someone quick in the midfield or out wide to shift the team up from defense to attack, otherwise youre having to rely on 'pieces of magic' week in week out, which only our left winger seems capable of.

 

I dont think their is much wrong with the back 4 that started the weekend, except maybe Lockwood is another year older and we could do with someone else in alongside Grounds. Other than that I though Brown and Mellor do more than enough to be full backs at Oldhams level.

[slystallone]

The fact we have no pace in the starting 11 except for a 32 year old striker whos a bit 'nippy' is mainly the reason were not as exciting. Harkins is a quality player, but moves in slow motion, Worrall wants to load the ball into the box asap, to the one player we can get in the box. Given the fact neither of our central midfielders are likely to carry the ball 40 yards forward in Dale Stephensesque roles, and the wingers lack of pace, were effectively lumping the ball up to 2 midgets, unless Philliskirk drops in, and by the time hes broke with it, half of their team are back.

 

Whilst I think hes pretty poor and has an awful football brain, JCH is one of the players who can help change this, hes strong and scares defenders into making rash decisions. He just needs to switch on and read the game better. But should balls end up lumped forward at least hes likely to muscle his way around a back 4 on his own. Next season we need a new central midfielder who can go forward, Wes and Smith are great, but together they have minimal attacking threat. You need someone quick in the midfield or out wide to shift the team up from defense to attack, otherwise youre having to rely on 'pieces of magic' week in week out, which only our left winger seems capable of.

 

I dont think their is much wrong with the back 4 that started the weekend, except maybe Lockwood is another year older and we could do with someone else in alongside Grounds. Other than that I though Brown and Mellor do more than enough to be full backs at Oldhams level.

 

Agree with big chunks of that post.

 

The one standout bit I don't agree with though is that bit I've bolded.

 

IMO; we have that back 4 next season, and we once again will be in for a struggle. Lockwood is a clogger - nothing more, nothing less; an experienced one granted, but still a clogger. Grounds appears to have forgotten how to play the game this season, and both Mellor and especially Brown aren't anything more than average at best League One full-backs.

Wilson has shown glimpses of promise, but again, IMO nothing more than that.

 

As things stand, with Oxley back to Hull, and I doubt Grounds nor Kusunga will be here, I feel we need to rip it up and start again. I'm usually an advocate of continuity across the side & squad, but only when it's warranted. Our defence needs attention, just as much as up front does too.

 

[OAFC_Ryan]

Will LJ go back to the energetic football we saw at the start of this season next season and give it time or will we continue to see the :censored:e we have been doing for a good few months now?

[bigfatjoe1]

36 players and the seasn's not over. It's the same year after year. How the hell are you supposed to build anything with this ridiculous policy?

Just think, our team/squad could now line up as:

Oxley

 

Lanzoni/Brown

Tarky/Kusunga

M'Voto/Lockwood or Wilson

Grounds/Mellor

 

Croft/Worrell

Smith/Rodgers

Wes/Winchester

Harkins/a.n.other

 

Baxter/Philiskirk/Miller

 

Smith/JCH/McDonald

 

Now, i admit at least two of these would've gone and we would've still needed another couple of players, but the fact is that we would be building a side that could go places.

What about the money!! Yes, what about the fact that we've got three good cup payouts to have subsidised the squad for a while. None of that has been ploughed back in. Rather, we're giving our best players away for peanuts.

 

So, i'd like a bit of quality. Stop the revolving door - it hasn't worked in all these years. Stop giving players away.

 

The fact is that we've been stuck in this league for too long. It was depressing when crowds went beloww 4,000. Now they're below 3,000. Invest or die.

[bluehobbit]

Fairly certain that this year will finally see the end of a lot of younger latics players that haven't made it over the years

 

Mellor, Millar ,Winchester will all be let go I think. I don't think Dunfield will be kept on (not sure why he signed to be honest). Oxley will return to Hull. Worrall may go back to Rotherham or pastures new,

I think we may get small free for Korey Smith. Charlie Mac might be let go due to injuries same reason I think Kusunga will leave.

 

Harkins I would love to stay but will probably go back to an SPL side. What are his ties to Scotland?

 

Lockwood, Grounds, Wilson, Wes Danny P, JCH,Brown will all stay I think

 

so it begins again...getting tired of it I must admit...at the start of the season there looked to be something about us but that 1st half against MK has really gotten me thinking we are turning into a Dickov team yet again...

[leeslover]

Surely the point about consistency has to mean keeping a group of players together even if they aren't world beaters? It's a no brainer to keep 11 stars together if you can afford to, consistency means letting the likes of Brown, Mellor, Winchester play together and improve as a team, not bin them off for short term improvements

[Oh Heck C-Beck]

36 players is alarming. i think this rapid turnover of players and manager is certainly not positive in keeping the fans returning, you want to go and watch players you know well. I don't know how we will change this though. Aside from having no investment, everyone from fans to chairman to manager seems to panic at the R word so whenever it comes around which is quite often the club goes into short-term mode as we strive to keep our status in L1. This sees underperforming players shipped out and a plethora of stop gaps come in. Maybe the fans, chairman and manager all need to get behind a clear long-term plan, that will be adhered whatever happens on the pitch and to be fair putting that in place should be Corney's job.

[Zorrro]

I know most people won't agree with this, for various reasons, but I couldn't give a stuff if we fielded a different XI every week as long as we were winning.

[OAFC_Ryan]

I know most people won't agree with this, for various reasons, but I couldn't give a stuff if we fielded a different XI every week as long as we were winning.

That's the point- we aren't.

[Zorrro]

I didn't say we are. Essentially I'm saying continuity - or a lack of - ultimately means nothing if results aren't going our way.

[deyres42]

I didn't say we are. Essentially I'm saying continuity - or a lack of - ultimately means nothing if results aren't going our way.

Spot on, you could pick the same squad for every game, if most of them are no good you won't be winning many.