7 key players

[FlyBee]

Keeping the backbone of the side in tact for continuity is often mentioned as being the key to building a successful team. So, who make up the spine of our team? Who are the key 7? At the moment I'd say:

Tony Craig. Reliable dependable solid, contracted.
Harlee Dean. Young, talented, committed.
Bidwell ditto.
Forshaw, out and out talent and ours.
Douglas, makes it tick when he's in the groove,plays a stupid number if games a season.
Donaldson. Proved a lot of us wrong and overall contribution is immense.

It's a toss up for slot 7. Simon Moore is obvious choice but with Richard Lee around is probably less of a key. Could be Harry, but in and out performances and may be departing.

So who is your spine?

 

[sonofabee]

Spine for me is through the middle so key for us next season the following are at their best

Moore
Harlee
Adam/JD
Clayton

 

[stano]

Would not include Craig. There are far better CBs in this league and Dean is much better than him. IMO we looked more solid with Kev at CB

 

[burnhambee]

Would not include Craig. There are far better CBs in this league and Dean is much better than him. IMO we looked more solid with Kev at CB

Totally disagree.

 

[Holysmit]

Totally disagree.

I wouldn't say that there are far better centre backs then him, but I think we need to change the pairing up as neither has pace and they both have a tendancy to back off, which has resulted in us letting in a lot of goals from distance.

 

[sonofabee]

Would not include Craig. There are far better CBs in this league and Dean is much better than him. IMO we looked more solid with Kev at CB

Not sure about that, I think there are better centre backs than TC but he and Harlee are a good partnership. People forget we were very sloppy at the back against Hartlepool away and Kev had nothing to do against Donny so presumably based on one decent game against Swindon away?

 

[grepo]

Shaleum
Bidwell
Craig
Toums
Adam
Clayton
Sam

 

[sonofabee]

Shaleum
Bidwell
Craig
Toums
Adam
Clayton
Sam

No Keeper or Harlee?

 

[GABS]

Would not include Craig. There are far better CBs in this league and Dean is much better than him. IMO we looked more solid with Kev at CB

Kev is way past it as a CB. Horrible lack of pace leaves him and thus the goal exposed.

 

[TuckerBee]

The spine of a team would usually consist of 3 or 4 regular players 7 is more then half the team.. Anyway I would say Simon , Harlee, Dougie. (when fit) & Clayton .

 

[Bill Benn]

Would not include Craig. There are far better CBs in this league and Dean is much better than him. IMO we looked more solid with Kev at CB

Name them then, Craig has been as good as Dean for us last season IMHO

 

[Billy Hunt]

Name them then, Craig has been as good as Dean for us last season IMHO

 

[BrentfordGersLoyal]

Moore, Dean, ? , Donaldson. (sidenote; as mentioned, a spine of a team isnt 7 players)

For me I don't think we have a strong midfielder who I would say is the spine of the team. Closest would be Douglas (but here's his stat's.. Games: 46, Goals:4, Assists:1, Shots:62) For me that just isnt good enough... obviously needs to stop shooting!

 

[sonofabee]

I wouldn't say that there are far better centre backs then him, but I think we need to change the pairing up as neither has pace and they both have a tendancy to back off, which has resulted in us letting in a lot of goals from distance.

Reckon McCormack will help address that problem.

 

[stano]

Name them then, Craig has been as good as Dean for us last season IMHO

From memory players like rob jones, aden flint, dan burn, darius Charles looked class when we played Stevenage away, I actually thought Sodje was impressive ! Although I think he may have stepped his game up for us.
IMO Craig is weak in the air, slow, hesitant and has poor distribution. I think he scored 3 or 4 own goals last year. He is an experienced Leon Legge but without the heading ability.
I think in this league a centre back needs to be either strong, good in the air and generally imperious i.e. Leon Legge. Or quick, and classy on the ball i.e Karleigh Osborne.
Craig is neither of these and I think Harlee while naïve possesses elements of both these which is why he'll go on to play at a higher level.

I think that, and I'm being harsh as there was no obvious weak-link as the whole squad was excellent, Craig was our weak-link last year. Not bad for a weak-link but still I think he's an area we could improve on.

However most people disagree with me on this so I'm willing to admit I might be wrong.

 

[Bigbee]

another stating the bloody obvious thread

 

[GP200]

.............Craig weak in the air??????.............Craig our weak link................oh dear not from what I saw from the few games I managed to get to............

 

[stano]

Kev is way past it as a CB. Horrible lack of pace leaves him and thus the goal exposed.

Is Craig quick though? I don't think there's much between them in that department. Anyway I'm not suggesting Kev's the answer I just think Craig isn't either.

 

[stano]

.............Craig weak in the air??????.............Craig our weak link................oh dear not from what I saw from the few games I managed to get to............

Sorry, weak is harsh, he's ok in the air, not outstanding.

 

[beebopalula]

Not sure about that, I think there are better centre backs than TC but he and Harlee are a good partnership. People forget we were very sloppy at the back against Hartlepool away and Kev had nothing to do against Donny so presumably based on one decent game against Swindon away?

Agree .They work well together. TC is the ' thinking' partner, he anticipates and covers well and distributes the ball well. He aint great at defending balls into the box but he's OK and we are good as a team at defending corners etc. TC type defenders are part of the change in playing style. Overall IMO we defended pretty well last year but did make silly errors which cost us. That had nothing to do with the type of player TC is. For me, the big issue was at the other end but maybe Farid will bury those.

 

[sonofabee]

Agree .They work well together. TC is the ' thinking' partner, he anticipates and covers well and distributes the ball well. He aint great at defending balls into the box but he's OK and we are good as a team at defending corners etc. TC type defenders are part of the change in playing style. Overall IMO we defended pretty well last year but did make silly errors which cost us. That had nothing to do with the type of player TC
is. For me, the big issue was at the other end but maybe Farid will bury those.

Agree, defence is not a major concern, just need cover. Lack of creativity and goals is the priority that needs addressing for me.

 

[BrentfordGersLoyal]

From memory players like rob jones, aden flint, dan burn, darius Charles looked class when we played Stevenage away, I actually thought Sodje was impressive ! Although I think he may have stepped his game up for us.
IMO Craig is weak in the air, slow, hesitant and has poor distribution. I think he scored 3 or 4 own goals last year. He is an experienced Leon Legge but without the heading ability.
I think in this league a centre back needs to be either strong, good in the air and generally imperious i.e. Leon Legge. Or quick, and classy on the ball i.e Karleigh Osborne.
Craig is neither of these and I think Harlee while naïve possesses elements of both these which is why he'll go on to play at a higher level.

I think that, and I'm being harsh as there was no obvious weak-link as the whole squad was excellent, Craig was our weak-link last year. Not bad for a weak-link but still I think he's an area we could improve on.

However most people disagree with me on this so I'm willing to admit I might be wrong.

I can remember OG's against Yeovil and Hartlepool (thats off the top off my head - so you're probably right it was 3 or4). Pretty sure he didn't score for us either.

However with that said, I think he is good enough to be in a team in league 1 who are hoping to get promoted. IMO there are better defenders in the league than him - but not that much better.

 

[Bill Benn]

From memory players like rob jones, aden flint, dan burn, darius Charles looked class when we played Stevenage away, I actually thought Sodje was impressive ! Although I think he may have stepped his game up for us.
IMO Craig is weak in the air, slow, hesitant and has poor distribution. I think he scored 3 or 4 own goals last year. He is an experienced Leon Legge but without the heading ability.
I think in this league a centre back needs to be either strong, good in the air and generally imperious i.e. Leon Legge. Or quick, and classy on the ball i.e Karleigh Osborne.
Craig is neither of these and I think Harlee while naïve possesses elements of both these which is why he'll go on to play at a higher level.

I think that, and I'm being harsh as there was no obvious weak-link as the whole squad was excellent, Craig was our weak-link last year. Not bad for a weak-link but still I think he's an area we could improve on.

However most people disagree with me on this so I'm willing to admit I might be wrong.

Ok looking at that response think most wall fans would have Craig back,Flint 350k would we pay that?Rob Jones 33 really ? Leon Legge sodje and Charles would you be excited if we signed them and moved Craig on?

 

[favershambee]

I'm quite happy with TC and Harlee to marshall the defence. Whilst we did make errors in conceeding goals our biggest problem was lack of goals scored and the contribution of goals from midfield. The area of a midfield dynamo to score goals is one area where are lacking. However, I'm quite content to watch the same style of football again and give the team a second bite of the cherry.

 

[stano]

Ok looking at that response think most wall fans would have Craig back,Flint 350k would we pay that?Rob Jones 33 really ? Leon Legge sodje and Charles would you be excited if we signed them and moved Craig on?

I'm not saying Craig is bad, he's ok, our team is good not ok. Therefore we don't need a new first choice CB but could do with better. It all refers back to the argument that I don't see Craig as part of our 'spine'. Of course I wouldn't be excited if we signed the latter 3 but I certainly would if we signed Flint or Jones or Ward regardless of age although 350k is obviously too much. I can't think of others off the top of my head as to truly judge a player in this position you have to see them regularly. I'm sure we could do better than Craig though as I judge him as an average league one CB although I can see others think he's better.

 

[SmiffyBee]

Just 4 in my spine
Moore. Dean. Diagawara. Donaldson.

 

[monkeymagic]

Keeping the backbone of the side in tact for continuity is often mentioned as being the key to building a successful team. So, who make up the spine of our team? Who are the key 7? At the moment I'd say:

Tony Craig. Reliable dependable solid, contracted.
Harlee Dean. Young, talented, committed.
Bidwell ditto.
Forshaw, out and out talent and ours.
Douglas, makes it tick when he's in the groove,plays a stupid number if games a season.
Donaldson. Proved a lot of us wrong and overall contribution is immense.

It's a toss up for slot 7. Simon Moore is obvious choice but with Richard Lee around is probably less of a key. Could be Harry, but in and out performances and may be departing.

So who is your spine?

Definitely Simon in there - it's obvious for a reason .
Likewise GK is the one position you can probably get away with playing more games than less over the course of a season. Feel for Richard Lee but I don't think anyone saw this coming !
Looking at the rest of our ,current, squad Sammy gets the nod over JD alongside Adam as midfield. JD very strong but can be too negative whilst Harry can be anonymous if not on his 'A' game.
If he was consistent it would be nailed on but the determination Sam showed in the second half of last season gets him the slot - on form.

Simon Moore
Tony Craig.
Harlee Dean.
Jake Bidwell
Adam Forshaw,
Sam Saunders,
Clayton Donaldson.

 

[absenteebee]

Shame we haven't got Mickey SPI(lla)NE anymore.

 

[shouldbee]

The TEN key players for us are;

Simon Moore
Shaleum
Jake
Harlee
TC
Toumani
JD
Adam
Sam
Clayton

 

[SlumanBee]

Would not include Craig. There are far better CBs in this league and Dean is much better than him. IMO we looked more solid with Kev at CB

Far better?

 

[hanworthbee]

The TEN key players for us are;

Simon Moore
Shaleum
Jake
Harlee
TC
Toumani
JD
Adam
Sam
Clayton

one new player isn't going to get us up this season..

 

[The Pipe]

The argument about TC is interesting, will agree there are better out there but equally a lot that are much worse!! I do beleive that whilst he has limitations we should not underestimate the guiding effect that he has on HD

Would love better but equally would love better for every position

In my eyes the defence is probably an area that needs little change unless we get someone both brilliant and cheap, the problem is the other end in putting the ball in the net. If we can get that sorted from both forwards and midfield then the pressure is taken off the defenders

Must be concerning for the defence that we do not score sufficient goals and therefore one slip can cost us points, if we were a high scoring team then any mistake is unlikely to be terminal!!

 

[shouldbee]

one new player isn't going to get us up this season..

Of course, I was just listing who I think are our KEY players, the rest are IMO fringe players.
I am assuming Forrester is not re-signing so he will have to be replaced, Farid who knows, Reeves can get better and Dallas is a complete unknown. So I think Uwe will bring in at least 4 new faces.

 

[nick logan]

Would not include Craig. There are far better CBs in this league and Dean is much better than him. IMO we looked more solid with Kev at CB

eh ? Craig was very good last season. Good player

 

[mattbee]

We were definately vunerable in the air defending crosses which cost us some points.
At the other end of the pitch I can only think of Wembley when one of our centre halves won a header from a corner and found the net all season, when i think thats an area you should be looking to get half a dozen a season from.

I think winning balls in the air both ends of pitch should be area we are looking at to strengthen and improve in.

 

[londondude]

Moore
Logan ? Dean Bidwell
? Forshaw Douglas ?
Donaldson ?

The important ones

 

[MetalBee]

Moore

Dean Craig

Douglas Dave Forshaw

Donaldson

Craig is replaceable but good enough atm whilst we strengthen other areas.

Bidwell signing is great news. Logan on the other side.

Alagui plus at least one more option alongside Donaldson.

Saunders and Dallas along with a new signing or 2 to play around the midfield.

Also McCormack may well become an influential figure as could Kev if he stays fit.

 

[smiffy superbee]

More height and power through spine please!

Spine for me is through the middle so key for us next season the following are at their best

Moore
Harlee
Adam/JD
Clayton

Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but for me:-
Moore
Flint
Adeyemi
Matt Smith (missed out, gone to Leeds) So SIMILAR.

Don't think we'd get bullied out of games......and would score far more vital goals from set pieces.

 

[SmiffyBee]

Matt Smith was a breath of fresh air (if that air carried a simplistic menace and a one dimensional threat)
It will be interesting to see how Leeds use him
Not sure we would have enjoyed him in a high flying league one campaign.

 

[garybee99]

The Spine of a side as mentioned above is the key but the key players also need players around them that enhance their game.

So for me dean and Craig bring the best out if each other
Dougie has been immense but needs either dave Tom or Adam to enhance his input into the game to bring the best out of him.

Donaldson is the only one who seemed to work harder than any other frontman bar possibly farid when fit. So the basis above the spine should be

Moore
Xx. Dean. Craig. Xx

Xx Dougie (Toums/Tom/Adam) xx

Clayton x

We got done a few times against tall players far post ball so Uwe will need to address that and possibly tweak how we go about getting a 10-12 goal a season midfield or defender.
Farid will improve the side but BWP would be a fantastic signing and I would like to see Fabian Brandy or a poacher type.

 

[jlove]

Every Harlee Dean needs a Tony Craig as a partner. A centre back need not be a sprinter but the pair must complement each other. For all Harlee's inexperience, there is Tony's experience; for all Harlee's rush-of-blood, there is Tony's calm assurance; for all Harlee's power headers, there's Tony's distribution. Of course, there will always be better player than each on them but they've not been bad; every player makes mistakes. I always find it interesting to watch Tony when a big ball comes into a centre-forward and Harlee goes in for the challenge - he'll drop off in case there is a flick-on or go forward if there are deep midfielders... just watch.

 

[condorman]

Every Harlee Dean needs a Tony Craig as a partner. A centre back need not be a sprinter but the pair must complement each other. For all Harlee's inexperience, there is Tony's experience; for all Harlee's rush-of-blood, there is Tony's calm assurance; for all Harlee's power headers, there's Tony's distribution. Of course, there will always be better player than each on them but they've not been bad; every player makes mistakes. I always find it interesting to watch Tony when a big ball comes into a centre-forward and Harlee goes in for the challenge - he'll drop off in case there is a flick-on or go forward if there are deep midfielders... just watch.

Dean (and Simon Moore) certainly seemed to play better with Craig than with Liam Moore.

 

[condorman]

Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but for me:-
Moore
Flint
Adeyemi
Matt Smith (missed out, gone to Leeds) So SIMILAR.

Don't think we'd get bullied out of games......and would score far more vital goals from set pieces.

So a defender that has gone for £300k to Bristol City and a striker that has gone to Leeds in the Championship and a midfielder that we'd like to sign but who hopes to get a Championship deal.

Why stop there. Let's go in for Jordan Rhodes.

 

[BURFORD BEE]

We were definately vunerable in the air defending crosses which cost us some points.
At the other end of the pitch I can only think of Wembley when one of our centre halves won a header from a corner and found the net all season, when i think thats an area you should be looking to get half a dozen a season from.

I think winning balls in the air both ends of pitch should be area we are looking at to strengthen and improve in.

The problem was literally hammered home by Swindon at Griffin Park and then by Yeovil at Wembley. Yeovil showed up both of our main defensive weaknesses, the ability to close down the man running at us before he gets a shot in and Moore getting muscled out of it by big, strong opponents.
Moore needs to work on this as its his only real weakness. It cant be difficult to practise in training getting a few of our lads trying to get at him as the ball comes over. Trying to solve the other problem is not so easy but I lost count of the number of times it cost us last season

 

[Wouldbee]

Dave Chubb
Simon Yale
Colin Mortice
Clark Masters (geddit?)
Fred Skeleton
Darren Lockwood
er
Rachel Yan-Key

I trust this assists.

 

[smiffy superbee]

So a defender that has gone for £300k to Bristol City and a striker that has gone to Leeds in the Championship and a midfielder that we'd like to sign but who hopes to get a Championship deal.

Why stop there. Let's go in for Jordan Rhodes.

Fair play....... but didn't know Flint had signed for Bristol.
However, I had been on a long while ago about Matt Smith.
Also, still a chance with Adeyemi

But you get my drift..........taller, physical players, down the spine, complimented by flair players (which are sometimes hit & miss) either side of them......would do it for me.
(Last sentence a little harsh......although we still might be able to get JR......(Ewing, of course!)

 

[Lestabee]

Every Harlee Dean needs a Tony Craig as a partner. A centre back need not be a sprinter but the pair must complement each other. For all Harlee's inexperience, there is Tony's experience; for all Harlee's rush-of-blood, there is Tony's calm assurance; for all Harlee's power headers, there's Tony's distribution. Of course, there will always be better player than each on them but they've not been bad; every player makes mistakes. I always find it interesting to watch Tony when a big ball comes into a centre-forward and Harlee goes in for the challenge - he'll drop off in case there is a flick-on or go forward if there are deep midfielders... just watch.

Great post

 

[FlyBee]

I think I forgot to add Shay. Always a key player for me.

 

[YORKIE]

Agree with the majority here:
Moore
Bidwell
Dean
Douglas
Forshaw
Logan
Donaldson
I just hope we don't go for too many big/rugged/in your face types. The standard of football this season is way above what I have seen for many years (admittedly I don't get to see the same number of games as in my younger days living up here in York). I would not want to see us in a higher league playing like the Doncaster/Sheff.Utd/Stoke et al. And I for one would not want promotion playing the way some of these teams do -- we would lose support and we would lose our good players (remember what Scott did with Sam, the same goes for Forshaw, Forrester, Toumani,Donaldson).
Tough but above all skilful on the ball

 

[sonofabee]

Fair play....... but didn't know Flint had signed for Bristol.
However, I had been on a long while ago about Matt Smith.
Also, still a chance with Adeyemi

But you get my drift..........taller, physical players, down the spine, complimented by flair players (which are sometimes hit & miss) either side of them......would do it for me.
(Last sentence a little harsh......although we still might be able to get JR......(Ewing, of course!)

So basically, back to hoofball and rely on set pieces - thanks but no thanks to Adam, Harry, Toumani, and Jon Douglas, we plan to bypass you boys. Sorry, I get the need for an aerial threat at corners but not to set up with obelisks and direct football- it won't work and we won't enjoy it.