Callum Jones

Quoted from Poojah

36 since the 8th of January last year. How I long for those halcyon days in the 90s, where between getting promoted at Wembley in 1998 and the end of the 99/00 season two years later, we made a grand total of 4 permanent signings (Stacy Coldicott, Lee Ashcroft, Danny Coyne and Bradley Allen), two loan signings (Mark Nicholls and Ian Hamilton) and one short-term contract (Jim Dobbin).

The stability was remarkable looking back. A reminder of how times change in football, but we do need to get back to a point where we’re not signing double figures worth of players every transfer window.

I think that comes with longevity of a manager. We all know the financial landscape of the game as a whole is massively different now and clubs try to cut their cloth accordingly and have to balance short term contracts against wages and ensure they don't place themselves in financial difficulty 'going for it'.

To try and recreate that level of stability you have to do as much as you can to back a manager long enough to find the players who perform, try and build trust and environment they want to be part of and keep building a nucleus year on year. It can be a slow and sometimes painful process but there isn't a fast way to achieve stability. This is one of the reasons I am a big PH fan. It can be frustrating at times - Tuesday night being a good example - but in the Mk1 version we were better each season. Maybe only marginally but I don't  believe we ever took a backward step.

36 signings in 14 months is OK if you're getting to where you want to be. Whilst admitting that Holohan and Mcguire- Drew look decent, other than McAtee, we haven't signed anyone else on a permanent who you would absolutely want in your team next season. Most of the best players that have come in are loans.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

36 signings in 14 months is OK if you're getting to where you want to be. Whilst admitting that Holohan and Mcguire- Drew look decent, other than McAtee, we haven't signed anyone else on a permanent who you would absolutely want in your team next season. Most of the best players that have come in are loans.

Waterfall needs an extension, Pearson I wouldn't do without in the squad, Efete is a decent non league right wing back, Sousa, juries out tbh
I'd take Crocombe as a number. 2 but we could with a better keeper imo
Amos and Fox buck that trend, as a left wing back I've enjoyed watching young Amos and Fox has been v.good as a battling midfielder.
Burgess, meh, cant pass a ball, tackle or do much in all honesty.
Holohan and JMD look good, very good, Macatee needs to stop being a one man army and Taylor, well, good hold up forward but ain't getting you 25 goals a season is he?
So, for saying most of our nest players have been loans I disagree, we do have good players on the books and a decent spine, just needs a bit of fettling and not major surgery like last season's squad required.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

36 signings in 14 months is OK if you're getting to where you want to be. Whilst admitting that Holohan and Mcguire- Drew look decent, other than McAtee, we haven't signed anyone else on a permanent who you would absolutely want in your team next season. Most of the best players that have come in are loans.

Waterfall needs an extension, Pearson I wouldn't do without in the squad, Efete is a decent non league right wing back, Sousa, juries out tbh
I'd take Crocombe as a number. 2 but we could with a better keeper imo
Amos and Fox buck that trend, as a left wing back I've enjoyed watching young Amos and Fox has been v.good as a battling midfielder.
Burgess, meh, cant pass a ball, tackle or do much in all honesty.
Holohan and JMD look good, very good, Macatee needs to stop being a one man army and Taylor, well, good hold up forward but ain't getting you 25 goals a season is he?
So, for saying most of our nest players have been loans I disagree, we do have good players on the books and a decent spine, just needs a bit of fettling and not major surgery like last season's squad required.

Quoted from gtfc_chris

I think that comes with longevity of a manager. We all know the financial landscape of the game as a whole is massively different now and clubs try to cut their cloth accordingly and have to balance short term contracts against wages and ensure they don't place themselves in financial difficulty 'going for it'.

To try and recreate that level of stability you have to do as much as you can to back a manager long enough to find the players who perform, try and build trust and environment they want to be part of and keep building a nucleus year on year. It can be a slow and sometimes painful process but there isn't a fast way to achieve stability. This is one of the reasons I am a big PH fan. It can be frustrating at times - Tuesday night being a good example - but in the Mk1 version we were better each season. Maybe only marginally but I don't  believe we ever took a backward step.

That's not quite true, the season we actually got promoted we finished on less points and one place lower than the previous season.

As for changing manager, I bet Stockport hadn't changed theirs.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Waterfall needs an extension, Pearson I wouldn't do without in the squad, Efete is a decent non league right wing back, Sousa, juries out tbh
I'd take Crocombe as a number. 2 but we could with a better keeper imo
Amos and Fox buck that trend, as a left wing back I've enjoyed watching young Amos and Fox has been v.good as a battling midfielder.
Burgess, meh, cant pass a ball, tackle or do much in all honesty.
Holohan and JMD look good, very good, Macatee needs to stop being a one man army and Taylor, well, good hold up forward but ain't getting you 25 goals a season is he?
So, for saying most of our nest players have been loans I disagree, we do have good players on the books and a decent spine, just needs a bit of fettling and not major surgery like last season's squad required.

Good summary I reckon, I was trying to think who from the above had promotions on their CV? Pearson, Taylor, Holohan and Waterfall? Not sure it’s a big factor just wondering really.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

36 signings in 14 months is OK if you're getting to where you want to be. Whilst admitting that Holohan and Mcguire- Drew look decent, other than McAtee, we haven't signed anyone else on a permanent who you would absolutely want in your team next season. Most of the best players that have come in are loans.

Of the current squad, assuming we remain in this division next season, I’d say the following would be worth retaining either as first team players or to make up the wider squad:

Crocombe
Efete
Pearson
Waterfall
Clifton
Fox
Holohan
Sousa
Maguire-Drew
McAtee
Taylor

That’s 11 players, plus probably another 3 or 4 about whom there remain some question marks - Amos, Crookes, Scannell, Wright etc. That gives you something to build on, and a summer where ‘only’ 7 or 8 signings are needed, rather than the almost total rebuild needed last summer.

You stand a better chance of recruiting well when you can concentrate your efforts in a few key areas rather than a whole squad, and so if 5 or 6 of those signings are improvements on what you’ve got then it should be sufficient to have a really good crack at the title. Whoever goes up this season (and I hope it’s Stockport and Wrexham if it’s not us) will be a lot stronger than what comes down - Scunny and one of Oldham or Stevenage, most likely.

This season was always going to be transitional. My personal opinion is that we are not capable of winning the play-offs should we make them, but I think it’s a decent result that we’ll go into the final 10 games of the season with a realistic shout of getting there. Some will disagree, I get that, but this is a tough league to get relegated into because the only style you can do it in is one of total disarray, and the competition this season is tougher than ever.

Steady away - lots still to be done but I reckon we’re in the best place we’ve been as a club in some considerable time, on balance.

Quoted from arryarryarry

That's not quite true, the season we actually got promoted we finished on less points and one place lower than the previous season.

As for changing manager, I bet Stockport hadn't changed theirs.

Fair point on the actual points tally but we did get promoted. I'd argue that trumps whether we finished 2nd or 6th with 1 point more or 10 points less.

I think the current squad with an out and out goalscorer alongside Taylor with Macatee behind them would be in the top 3.

We needed to splash out on an out and out striker but perhaps for understandable reasons we didn't, and it will cost us if we don't make the play offs.

If we dont go up we won't need as many summer signings and hopefully can get the quality and sought after striker we need.

Agree with Poojah’s summary - pretty much spot on.

Going on to next season, IF we have any money to spend/use - need a striker obviously, but would Taylor be as good in a 2? I think he’s had a bit of a raw deal by some on Twitter lately - he’s mainly up top on his own and getting some treatment from defenders, works hard for the team with McAtee playing off him but not as a striker. Maybe it’s to Taylor’s detriment at the minute? Would he be better utilised in a ‘proper’ partnership? It would mean a tweak to the system, but I’d look at someone like McAleny from Salford..pretty much used as a substitute, only got 2 goals all season or something, but looked a player at his previous club. A player type that Hurst looks for..someone who’s ‘lost their way’ and wants to improve again.