Retained list ?

[PepesProdigy]

dunn, thornton, walker, osman, webster, harrad, purcell, johnson, crackers, bauza

id love them all to stay.
the rest can just, well... you know, leave please 

[ArmchairCobbler81]

I know he silenced the Kop and all that but I'd let Osman go. Think he's grossly overrated and has gone missing since GJ arrived.

[French Claret]

I would love to keep Davis but i think he only plays well at the end of the season when contract renewals are talked about. He must also be one of the highest paid players. If he stays fit for a whole season then yes, keep him on.

Bauza must be offered a contract.

It's either Nana or Rodgers (unless Johnson has another right back lined up) Difficult choice this as Nana has shown potential as well as being at fault for one or two goals but he has hardly played league football. Then there's Rodgers who shows effort, occasionally has a good game and is versatile (playing left back at Stockport) but can not beat a man when played on the wing. I'd go with Nana

Johnson in his interview afterwards did say that we have already spoken to some exciting players and no one would commit until they knew that we stayed in the football league. Now he can go back to talk to them. He tells the current crop of players on Tuesday and Wednesday if they are to be offered terms for next season.

[Insider]

Osman won't be here next season even though one of the moderators felt it necessary to remove my post explaining why he won't be.

[St Edmundsbury Cobbler]

Bauza, Johnson, Jacobs, Harrad can stay.

[JFcobblers]

Harrad , Bauza , Johnson , Bauza and Jacobs will all stay , would like to add Kevin Thornton in but don't now how GJ feels towards Kev. Byron Webster hopefully is one we can keep hold of as he looked very good. I feel Osman might be on the way out as he hasn't been playing his usual game under GJ. A new goaly might be on the cards ,  but we will have to wait and see, just role on next season.

[auntie]

Bauza, Johnson, Jacobs, Harrad can stay.

+ Gilly, Purcell and Dunn. I think Chris Dunn has conducted himself superbly throughout the last two seasons. He will get better and puts to shame most of our current squad in terms of professionalism. Obviously the odd howler means for some he will never be accepted. GJ clearly rates him and under his management we may get the keeper we all know he can be. And lets be fair, since Mark Bunn left Dunny has never had a full-time keeping coach and at times it was just him and walker left to their own devices. No coincidence that Flowers is suddenly there every game unlike before under sammo.  

[bungle]

I know he silenced the Kop and all that but I'd let Osman go. Think he's grossly overrated and has gone missing since GJ arrived.

Agreed. I've always been an Osman fan: I think he's got a lot of the attributes required to be a very effective defensive midfielder. However, I'm not convinced that he's got the battling qualities - the desire to throw himself in front of a shot to preserve a lead - necessary to boss a midfield at League Two level. A lot of criticism for our poor form has focused on our defence, but I think the central midfielders are equally as culpable due their inability to track runners and block long range shots.


Davis is a tricky one, and as others have said he always seems to improve at the end of the season/his contract. On balance, I'd probably offer him terms.

[DrillingCobbler]

Id keep the following:

Dunn
Collis

Johnson
Rodgers
Nana
Davis - maybe.

Jacobs
Holt
Gilligan

Harrad
Purcell
Michael Uwezu
Bauza
McKay

This is on the basis that a fair few of these would be on pretty low wages. And that this 18 man squad thing that Johnson has talked about isn't strictly followed.

Essentially, the defence needs to be rebuilt and we need at least 2 commanding centre backs. Tozer and Beckwidth haven't shown consistently that they are good enough imo. We also need some proper power in midfield as well as experience. The forwards we have are good enough and provide a fair number of different options. Although a big target man would definitely be handy.

Whichever way you look at it, this team hasn't 'done it' for the time they have been together and whilst we got the win yesterday that keeps us up, even then we needed some huge slices of luck. We even scored from a short corner and no body ever does that!! The likes of Osman, Thornton and Beckwith are without doubt talented but there comes a time when they need to move on. That time is now.

[syd puddefoot]

Id keep the following:

Dunn
Collis

Johnson
Rodgers
Nana
Davis - maybe.

Jacobs
Holt
Gilligan

Harrad
Purcell
Michael Uwezu
Bauza
McKay

I've just looked at your profile which says you joined this site in May last year which means you can't possibly be Gary Johnson. All I can say having looked at your selection is thank f*** for that.

[ntfc_alex]

Who wouldst you keep out of that then?

[Gonzales]

Harrad, Crackers, Holt, Gilligan, Wedderburn and Purcell already under contract next season.

I'm going to split this in half, one half for players who've been here through this entire mess and another half for the loanees and short-term people like Bauza.

The old boys:

Retain:

Dunn - Can be a good keeper at times and playing yesterday proved that he cares dearly about this club. Even if we get another keeper, Dunn would probably be happy to sit on the bench.
John Johnson - The spiritual successor to Andy Holt, may be a bit rash in challenges sometimes but gives his all every game.
Super Kev - Can be a bit inconsistent, but yesterday showed what he is capable of, and keeping him seems consistent with GJ's plan to have a small squad full of quality rather than a lot of crap.
Beckwith - Although incredibly slow, he reads the game quite well and has formed a good partnership with JJ and then Webster. Perhaps not a starter but we do need some backup players.
Davis - Although can go missing in some games and did look quite nervy yesterday, he is now quite versatile being a decent left-back, a position at which he failed in under Gray, and overlaps well with Crackers.

Release:

McKay - Whilst some might feel this is a bit harsh, I think that McKay is not actually very quick, and he also has an annoying habit of always shooting with his left, even when it would be easier to take it on the right. Assuming we keep: Uwezu, Harrad, Bauza and Purcell then there would probably be only room for one more striker, and we still desperately need a target man so unfortunately there isn't room for McKay.
Rodgers - As much as I'd like him to stay, his two own goals in recent weeks, despite being unfortunate with the Rotherham one, have proven that he can be a liability, so we need someone more reliable.
Hall - Too old now, time to hang up your boots.
McKenzie - Again, good player but his knee is knackered and it's time to call it a day before he gets stuck in a wheelchair or something. I hope that he is either made a coach or he could perhaps work with Parrish in the youth system, as McKenzie has said that he likes being at the Cobblers and lives in the area.
Paul Walker - At 5'10 he is just too short for a keeper, and GJ's choice to play Dunn in protective headgear instead of give Walker a chance means that he probably isn't rated.
Osman - He will always be remembered for that penalty, but his attitude has been poor since GJ arrived and it appears that either they don't get on or Osman simply doesn't want to be here (Like he didn't want to be here last summer either).
Herbert - Not very good, and not very quick since he got injured. GJ had decided his fate when he got sent to Cambridge, where he has only made one appearance.
Harris - Thanks for all the effort, but he simply is not a very good footballer, but good luck in non-league though.

The short term/Loanee boys:

Retain:

Bauza - Easy. He has made an immediate impact and has formed a decent partnership with Harrad, although he may be playing in League 1 instead.
Uwezu - Might not be the full package yet, but he has worked his socks off in the games he has played and looks better than Herbert.
Webster - A commanding centre-back, decent on the ball and could make a great partnership with JJ if given the chance. Will probably be released by Doncaster in the summer, but they still have the option to give him another year so it's in their hands.

Release:

Seth Nana (what's your name?) - Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye. Seriously though, whilst being a decent player, he has a bit of a problem with blame, and on a few occasions he was apologising to team-mates for making a mistake rather than getting back and trying to make up for it, and also when going forward he leaves too much space and then doesn't get back quick enough.
Collis - He isn't a bad keeper, but out of the 11 clubs he has been at in his career, he was at 5 of them without making an appearance. Additionally, he has made less than 100 career appearances despite being 30 years old.
Reckord - Played a few times then never to be seen again. We don't need him if we keep Davis.
Walker - PLEASE NEVER RETURN!!!!! It's no coincidence that our run of poor form basically began since he joined (Other than his debut). He has been low on confidence and gives the ball away, and hopefully Wedders will be given a chance next season.
Tozer - I don't think that he'd be first choice in the team, so the wages he'd probably want wouldn't warrant a move for him. Besides, Newcastle probably would want a fee for him which wouldn't be worth paying.
Laurent - Complete mistake. Showed no effort when he played and was completely unfit. Has basically been ignored by GJ.

[syd puddefoot]

I've already stated, the only players I'm fussed about are Johnson, Bauza, Jacobs and Harrad.

If you want a team to win you the title next season it's perhaps best not to pick the majority of a squad that only just avoided relegation with one game of the season to go. It's not fine tuning we need, it's a complete overhaul.

[Welly Cobb]

Defence and midfield are obviously the areas that need the most work. Our strike force is fine, especially if we keep Bauza somehow. We've only drawn a blank twice in the last 22 games, but we've thrown away 34 points in League 2 this year, the highest number in the league. Good luck sorting that one out though, because we sure have tried enough players over the last three years trying to get an actually decent back 4.

The only player I'm really undecided on whether to keep or not is Nana. He's has some great games and some shocking ones - is he willing to have a squad role like Rodgers had this year, for not a lot of money? He's got something about him, but he just looks like he hasn't got the game mentally sussed out yet.

[EastNpton]

Release

Hall
Rodgers
Laurent
Harris
McKenzie

Offer reduced terms to Mckay, Beckwith

Put huge behaviour and fitness clauses into a contract for Thornton

Try and sign

Bauza- definate
Tozer- Think he's potentially decent, ditto Webster
Nana- as the new Rodgers like player
Owuzu possibly if no superior players come along

[DrillingCobbler]

I've already stated, the only players I'm fussed about are Johnson, Bauza, Jacobs and Harrad.

If you want a team to win you the title next season it's perhaps best not to pick the majority of a squad that only just avoided relegation with one game of the season to go. It's not fine tuning we need, it's a complete overhaul.

Well if you read my post as intended, I had factored in wages/use of budget into my thought process. For example the wages of 5 of them are probably still not what Harrod earns. I also stated that the defence needs completely re-buiding and that the midfield needs stocking up with power and experience. Not sure where you are agreeing or disagreeing with me...

At the moment we have about 25 players and I would get rid of around half of them. And make sure that we sign some 'leaders'. Its the lack of those what has cost us; the team hasn't got a spine. Theres not a lot wrong with the branches but the tree doesn't have a trunk. You see what Im saying?

[WFCobbler]

This "overhaul" simply means that a lot more will have to go than Drilling lists.  Shame a couple of contacted players have to stay.

Unfortunately, I would not be surprised to see Jacobs sold off too to a Championship team.

[syd puddefoot]

Theres not a lot wrong with the branches but the tree doesn't have a trunk. You see what Im saying?

To use your analogy, I'd say the trunk is non-existant and the branches are very brittle but we do have a few twigs that could be very effective grafted on to another tree.

[WFCobbler]

A more common analogy - all clubs need a tough spine - GK, CB, CM and Goal-scorer. Simple! GJ will get that and with some tough class acts on wings like Jacobs and Bauza.

[ArmchairCobbler81]

Unfortunately, I would not be surprised to see Jacobs sold off too to a Championship team.

Agreed. If the fee was sizeable enough to provide GJ with funds for a decent promotion push, I wouldn't be against selling Jacobs. Even if he does stay, I doubt he'll be here come August 2012. Cash in for the promotion push