With the chances of us securing a play off place incredibly slim and suffering relegation also being slim I’m ever the optimistic that DC will use the younger players more to give them experience for next season as I can’t see a number of the current crop being around for next season like Norman or Guthrie (Walsall’s modern day version of Darren Anderton)!!
Agree. Over the past five years the final play-off spot in League Two has required 70-75 points. We’re currently on 36 points with 16 games left to play, so we need more than 2 points per match just to hit 70. Much as I’d enjoy the ride, I can’t see that happening.
Similarly, bottom place in League Two has come in at about 34-40 points over the same period, so we’re pretty much safe, if not yet mathematically. So, yeah. Why not blood our youngsters and find out which players we want to be around next year?
DC could even use the time to choose a settled line-up, though that might take pre-season as well…
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Good for the long term, but christ are the attendances going to take a hit when the crowds work that out.
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Would that not be short changing those that pay to watch the best possible team/players?
Would it be fair on the kids as judging by the reaction of some of our so called supporters every time the kids got tanked they would be petrified of being selected for the next game and ruined before they started.
“Play the kid`s” “blood the youngsters” “time to gel” “plan for next season” and other fanciful cries are mooted out of struggle but in reality have no substance and never happen.
Whilst I agree with you I can’t help but thinking the club and Clarke have ballsed up their first ever January window.
After such a great Christmas period you’d have thought we would have strengthened the team a little bit to give the fans a little excitement over the last four months of the season. Two kids come in, two defeats later and any optimism or excitement has been sucked out.
It’s very much got the feel of same old same old. We certainly ain’t going to get 5,000 people inside the stadium plodding along like this. Something has to change but sadly it doesn’t seem like it will.
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Our kids won’t get tanked in this rag and bone league. Our kids consist of Kory Roberts (proven L1 player) who needs to prove himself after injury, Alfie Bates easilly a Championship player in the next few years if he’s handled right, Sam Perry complete unknown quantity but has come from Villa’s accademy and acquited himself well against a top L1 team the other week, CCM easilly good enough for this league when he’s fit again. Our “so called supporters” deserve something from this “so called football club” for the rest of the season and getting behind a set of promising youngsters would fit the bill a lot better than watching the likes of Guthrie and a bunch of pointless loan players.
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I don’t mind paying to watch an increased youth presence in the first team, to be honest I’m not very impressed with what I pay to watch at the moment. I’m not talking about fielding a youth squad, just giving more minutes and experience to players such as Bates, Kory and Perry with a view to next season. There’s plenty of substance in that given the work Miguel Llera in particular is doing to revive our youth system and bring new, local talent to the first team.
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So called supporters. You complete and utter prat.
Clarke has a rare opportunity whereby he has a few months where results aren’t the be all and end all. Most of us would agree with the sentiments above whereby seeing a decent crop of kids coming through would be a nice if relatively boring end to a pretty lame season. The key is that by the end of the season Clarke has established a way of playing in this league and knows exactly the type of player he needs to supplement and complement a set of young players who each have at least a dozen games under their belt at this level.
If current mood is reflected in early bird sales the budget in the summer will be poorer than this year unless say Henry got sold on. Therefore knowing exactly the type of player upon which to expend those meagre resources is vital.
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Have these youngsters got long term contracts then or will they be gone for nowt in the summer to somewhere bigger or more money than we seem to have, when’s flash’s contract up.
Here’s hoping LP’s decision not to sack DC as other lower half league 2 clubs have pays off and he does as you say use this period of grace I’m going to call it which hardly any managers get anymore to good use I see nothing since he’s took over to suggest he will but fingers crossed.
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All well and good to say chuck this season away and build for next year, but what does that say to your average fan? We are miles away from Pomletts 5K as it is.
There’s no excuse for the lack of investment this window.
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I agree.
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And even less excuse when we are given no reason or explanation after previous promises.
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I think that’s the thing for me.
If they had come out and explained why there is a perceived lack of investment, then it might sit in the stomachs a bit more easily.
I don’t think for one moment that DC is happy with this window.
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Can’t excuse the lack of signings, in fact the club have failed miserably to build on a good December and a decent start to January both on and off the pitch. Feel giving capable young players the opportunity to prove their worth and benefit the first team would prove a silver lining, at least.
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Many read LP’s statement earlier today as the ominous ‘vote of confidence’ but Clarke must be feeling very confident about his job. Managers feeling the heat are usually scrambling gambles like an Ngoo or a shaibu in the last day or so
Love your optimism, and hope you are right, but surely if they are that good why are they still at Walsall?
Don’t think he’s the type at all. To me he seems the type to think well if I get the sack then so be it.
His stubbornness plays a huge part. He has an idea and he sticks to it, if he can’t follow through on that idea for whatever reason (in this case finances) then he won’t change that idea, he’ll just struggle instead. His idea is best and if he fails then it’s because he couldn’t implement that idea fully.
In another thread recently there was mention of the 82-83 season where Buckley blooded a group of youngsters and crowds fell, but that worked out pretty well in the following couple of years .
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