I wasn’t sure on adding Scarr to my list, he looks like he should be a far better defender than he is. I guess we could do worse so I wouldn’t mind keeping him, I think he just frustrates me because I think he can be so much better than he is.
Not sure we can answer this question without knowing what Division we will be in
Rose, Norman, Scarr, Melbourne (if we can purchase him from Lincoln at a reasonable price),
Kinsella, Perry and Holden.
If we can get Wright for another season I would shake Deano’s hand off.
Bates is a decent side to side passer but offers nothing going forward, that’s why I wouldn’t retain him.
There’s something about Osabede that makes me think there’s a player there. He’s got pace, height and a decent shot, he just needs to work on his control and positioning. I would keep him.
We’ve seen cameo appearances for Derik and Reid and have had little time to impress.
The rest of them I would release.
A lot depends on whether the players want to go…some of those mentioned above will go anyway. As others have said those contracted so far are Holden, Bates ,Kinsella and Rose. The youngsters Perry and Willis (If fit) probably deserve another year to see what they can do… Other than those I would want Sadler to stay as Assistant Coach . I would also try to keep Clarke and sign Melbourne.
Its upfront where the real problems lie and it seems to me we need 2 central strikers and 2 creative wingers. They will be more costly so a smaller squad ,hopefully of better quality would be my aim.
If a DoF is appointed soon he will be the recruiter so it is essential we find a really good and experienced guy.
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I agree with the list everyone else said. I’d keep sadler, lavery and James Clarke too. I think Clarke would be alright with a CB who’s more solid next to him.
Scarr, Gordon , McDonald, Sinclair, roberts there’s the door
Rose,Clarke,Scarr,Norman,Melbourne,Sadler,Perry,Bates,Kinsella,Holden,Gordon,Wright.
The rest can go Mcdonald has no fight in him, and very inconsistent.
Sign up Wright & Melbourne, keep Sadler as backroom staff, keep Perry, Norman & Rose The rest, excluding Holden who will be on his way to Burslem anyway, can go shelf stacking, they are all contributors of this seasons problems, some really poor displays from pro footballers most of whom wouldn’t get in to a Sunday morning pub side.
Literally none of them are vital. Even Holden. Wouldn’t bat an eyelid at any of them leaving.
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I think it depends what our aspiration is next season. If you extrapolate our five year trend then the next station is either relegation or something very close to relegation. If next season is about avoiding the drop then we have some adequate fourth division footballers who could be part of a survival bid. In fact most of the team. For extra insurance I’d probably want a goalie and a forward.
If we have aspirations to go up then, oh my, where to start!
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If we wanna go for play offs we need a total reshuffle.
I’d keep rose, Sadler ( player/assistant) Melbourne Norman Bates perry kinsella Wright Holden . That’s it and if any of them go I won’t lose any sleep.
Although you can’t put too much stock in this limited sample size, I do find it interesting that in the only two games Scarr has missed this season, we haven’t conceded from open play.
I honestly don’t get the hype with bates, he offers absolutely nothing, what does he even do when he is on the pitch? He doesn’t create he doesn’t defend just passes sideways and most of the time it’s to the opposition, I know you should give the youth a chance but Sam Perry looks miles ahead of bates and as slot more impact on games
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If you are going to play a possession based style you need someone who can move the ball from one side to the other. You don’t win any awards for being that player or get the plaudits in the same way players who break up the play are often under appreciated.
Bates is also quite good at reading the play and intercepting opposition passes. He should only improve as well due to this age.
Kinsella, Bates, Holden, Perry. Go from there
Not arsed about the rest. I think Norman or White solid league Two fullbacks and Melbourne looks decent. I’d still give Mcdonald a deal but I expect someone will chuck him a few more quid and he’s off.
Rose won’t stay I don’t think, why would he? He’s probably fuming he can’t get a look in.
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Whats happened to Jack Nolan again?
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Any decent, top of the table, team has goals throughout the side - central defenders chip in with a decent number, full backs are capable of a handful, midfield weighs in quite heavily, strikers have to contribute a good share but you don’t have to have the division’s top scorer.
It’s therefore very surprising to see many people saying we should keep Bates and Kinsella, a midfield duo who contribute next to no goals.
The only exception I can think to the above is the success we had whilst playing Chambers at centre midfield. But his reading of a game was truly exceptional and his defensive ability meant that Demetriou and Henry could charge up the pitch at will. Neither Kinsella or Bates offers anything like that ability so, if we wish to be at the other end of the table next season, neither should figure in a Walsall starting 11.
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I would sooner have him coming off the wage bill 
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I’ve watched every match and no team have impressed me. They have all been as crap as we are but with more productive strikers. That’s were we should invest (unless Holden moves on).
This get ‘rid of them all’ approach will only provide a ready made excuse of ‘needing time to gel’. I couldn’t cope with that.
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Whilst I see what you are saying and current stats agree, the problem we have is Clarke trained his team to be hard to beat and have one player responsible in the main for the goals. The current squad may have players that can chip in given time and the freedom to be allowed to do that. What’s more worrying though is we have to survive and assess these players based on games that are going to be scrappy due to our league position and then offer a contract based on that. Option 2 is mass scale releases/ non renewals and we hope we recruit well and it clicks. The damage Clarke has done runs deeper than poor results and leaving us mid table.
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I used to play quite a bit of just for fun 5-a-side with work colleagues. Large organisation with loads of blokes of a certain age so there was always a choice of different games and levels every lunchtime or evening to pick from. At one end of the scale there were (Scottish) ex-pros, amateurs, FL youth teamers who hadn’t quite made it, failed triallists, and school/county level players - and at the other (where I was) the casuals who hadn’t played since PE at school - and even people who could barely run or kick a ball at all.
In one the regular bookings I played in most weeks, we used to take it in turns to pick sides out of the 10 who’d made the cut for that week. Whenever it was my turn I would try and get balanced sides, but one bloke (an average player at best) was notorious for always picking the 4 best players (or so he thought) to be on his side.
On paper his team selection should have walked it every time - but they rarely did. The reason? The 5 average bang players on one side worked with and for each other while the Billy Big ■■■■■■■■ always tried to win the game on their own. Good team work trumps good individual players every time.
So to me it doesn’t matter if we don’t have any individual players good enough to be in the divisional “team of the year” XI, it’s how they work as a collective that counts.
A good example would be the squad that Deano assembled - it was very much greater than the sum of its parts. OK there one or two who were previously undiscovered diamonds in need of polishing (Sawyers, Rico, Bradshaw, etc) but most haven’t exactly set the word alight since and I doubt any of them were the fans’ first choice of players for us to sign - it was how Deano got them working together than was key.
So on that basis, what’s the point in kicking out all the players we already have and starting again (presumably with a shopping list including the L2 version of Messi, Bale, Salah, etc)? Better to develop a team ethos that doesn’t depend on star players - and that means squad, manager and coaches all working together as one.
Don’t get me wrong, if players do have a bit about them it helps, but it is the overall team that counts so they just need to be able to do the basics to a reasonable level.
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