Is The Momentum With Us?

Spot on.

I can see Cambridge recalling Bennett and putting him straight into their team given that they are struggling a bit - and as he was born and raised not too far from there, and signed a new long term contract, youā€™d presume heā€™d be happy with that as ā€œone of their ownā€.

Hiwever, I donā€™t think theyā€™ll take him back just to sell him. But if Cambridge are willing to listen to offers it would be a real statement of intent from Trivela if they they put in an offer.

I think the squad has gelled well, just key to keep the team on the whole together. If we can keep Bennett and DJ, Iā€™d be happy for the transfer window to stay shut. Not sure we need anymore reinforcements, maybe a backup 'keeper as an insuranceā€¦

We have a big game on Saturday, despite winning today Salford have been out of form, and weā€™re the in form team, a win would put us in a really strong position. Then boxing day game against Swindon and entertaining Mansfield on New Yearā€™s Dayā€¦ Itā€™s a big month of fixtures, and some tricky games before the transfer/recall loans window opens.

Playing devilā€™s advocate, post January we might have lost DJ and Bennett, and we could see Manny Monthe out for a period if the ongoing tendonitis he has canā€™t be managed. Last two matches heā€™s been limping towards the end, so thatā€™s not too far fetched.

If that happens then weā€™d really have a problem.

doomed

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Interesting two months ahead. This is the run up to start of February:

Salford away
Crewe home
Swindon away
Stockport home
Mansfield home
Tranmere away
Swindon home
Bradford home
Northampton away

So playing pretty much exclusively the top 9. However we know how confident the team is playing at home currently and 5 of those 9 fixtures are on home turf.

I think a good haul from that would be 15 points. Would put team on 45 points with 17 games left so youā€™d then be looking at 8-9 wins needed for play offs, 12-13 wins needed to have a serious go at 3rd spot.

Actually week after Northampton is then Leyton Orient at home. After that there is then pretty much a two month period of playing relegation battlers and teams just floating around mid table so that would be a real opportunity if team can keep in touch with the top 7 or even be in it soon. Fingers crossed.

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Anything less than 27 points from those games, and Iā€™ll be incandescent :rage:

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Do you think weā€™d need to go that big with him, or that maybe even the club will want to / see it as the right thing to do?

3 years on 5K a week is a lot to commit to (not saying we shouldnā€™t if that is what he is commanding, we really want to keep him, and other clubs are prepared to pay).

I get the transfer fee of 150k, despite 6 months only left on his contract at Mansfield, but Iā€™m not sure weā€™d offer him 5K for 3 years. Would they go as high as that - could or would we get him for 3.5 / 4K a week? Are there other clubs who would pay 5K a week for him (outside of silly moneybags clubs we know about)? I know Miller was on 5k but that was coming from Middlesbrough and Barnsley, which Johnson hasnā€™t. Iā€™d be surprised if Donny are paying him that much at this point.

Either way, I hope we can keep Johnson, and if it means paying him more than we would normally, then that would show a good deal of intent, as you say. I just wonder if weā€™ll ever stretch that far, or have the desire to do so.

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Getting Clarke off the wage bill in January needs to be a priority, Iā€™d say his wages would be a decent chunk of what DJ will want so thatā€™s an obvious swop in squad with an experienced signing that hasnā€™t worked out and isnā€™t even needed as cover now to get in someone who could not just be the difference for 7th but potentially 3rd aswell in the long run.

He probably is on 5k a week at Mansfield, they pay stupid wages for this level. Only someone like Salford could probably match that at this level and as usual they have 3-4 experienced strikers so hopefully wonā€™t be in the market for one.

Is that anywhere near Marbella ? :grin:

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I think thatā€™ll be his and his agentā€™s starting position once somebody has met a Mansfield valuation. I doubt weā€™ll be the only ones meeting that valuation.

That weekly wage isnā€™t unheard of at our level - and even the one beneath - for a ā€œprovenā€ scorer. For Johnson it is potentially his last chance at making good money as a footballer.

Thereā€™s a half way house of course. We could pay Mansfield a loan fee to secure him on current terms until the end of the season. That loan fee would need to be the same as the transfer fee unfortunately and then DJ is still on the market come June.

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Good points and obviously we are going to be competing against some teams who will be interested, given his form, as well as his agent and him wanting a decent contract / wage as he is now nearly 30 (understandable).

I just hope we have a head start as we (supposedly) had an agreement with Mansfield, the player has been with us since the start of the season and will feel part of what we are doing, settled etc, and he may see that other teams may match the wage but heā€™ll be one a pool of strikers (e.g. at a Wrexham, Salford etc) so may see it better to be more of a main man with us. If we can keep this form up and even get promoted this season too, that could also sway his decision a bit.

I donā€™t know whether trying to extend the loan (but pay for the privilege) till the summer or just buying and securing him in Jan is the better option or not tbh!

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Football is a game of opinions, of course, and I always read and respect yours, BS. However, I think many more Saddlers fans would share my opinion of Labadie than would disagree. No-one would be more pleased than me to be proved wrong but somehow doubt it.

I think a lot of peopleā€™s opinion of Labadie is coloured by his sending off at Bradford - which, to be honest, I thought was a harsh decision

He doesnā€™t help himself by always being in the refā€™s face - which probably winds them up enough to card him on the slightest pretext (which then gives him a bit of a reputation for other refs to be aware of before they officiate one of our games) and taints their view of the whole team who he is representing as captain - but is his actual play that bad?

Iā€™d say he is a physical, hard (but mostly fair) tackler (more in the mould of Tommy Smith than Graeme Souness), and picks out more forward passes than Comley or Kinsella to get us on the front foot.

Does his manner negate his abilities? Would he be a better player without the weight of the armband?

Donā€™t get me wrong, he wasnā€™t great by any stretch, Iā€™d say disappointing. I also donā€™t have great expectations of him returning and making any kind of impact, Iā€™ll judge him if and when he does return. At this moment in time, we appear to have a good balance in midfield so it isnā€™t like he will walk straight back into the team.

I donā€™t believe he was our worst player last season though. We were so poor for most of the season that it is hard to pick individuals out. Better times ahead and if that doesnā€™t include Labadie that is also fine with me.

I have been studying the league tables with my cup of tea this morning. I must say it is far more enjoyable looking up the table for a change.

I had a look back at points totals over recent years. There is a significant difference depending on the year. Since 2014/15 (not including the year the league was stopped because of Covid) To get 7th spot it ranged from as little as 70 points up to 77 which was last season.

To get automatic promotion in 3rd place 85 is the most that have been required. As little as 77 points have been enough a couple of times- Doncaster and MK Dons. Bristol Rovers did it with 80 points last season. Not trying to get carried away but if you look at where Bristol Rovers were at one point last season, it isnā€™t impossible.

There is usually a team or two that come from nowhere. Hopefully, we will be one of them. I still think Stockport could be a threat. Wimbledon is on a similar sort of run that we are on. Interesting that Barrow has lost two more games than us, but has only drawn one game. Shows the value of those 3 points.

Not sure I am making any decent points here, just a bit of Sunday morning rambling from me!

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