Retain List

[CraigUnder]

Who would you want to stay and who would you like to see move on? I can't see much in the way of an improved playing budget next season so my retained list is..

Retain:

MOORE
LRT
GG
MCGINTY
YOUNG
VERMA
SPARKES
KEATING
WILLIAMS

Release:

ANDERSON
GERRING
LATHROPE
CHANEY
HARRAD
RICHARDS
REID - wouldn't renew the loan next season.

[TUST_Member_Rob]

Who would you want to stay and who would you like to see move on? I can't see much in the way of an improved playing budget next season so my retained list is..

Retain:

MOORE
LRT
GG
MCGINTY
YOUNG
VERMA
SPARKES
KEATING
WILLIAMS

Release:

ANDERSON
GERRING
LATHROPE
CHANEY
HARRAD
RICHARDS
REID - wouldn't renew the loan next season.

+ Retain - Nicho

I pretty much agree with that list, Anderson is a possible - who knows whats happening with Raccine who got injured 40mins into his debut he could be one to look at again

Also Lee would be worth inquiring about

but the likes of Chaney & Richards arent good enough their absence in the side shows that. Lathrope is an injured man and Harrad on a rumored decent wage isnt worth it!

[Gloomy Gull]

Retain:

MOORE
ANDERSON
GG
MCGINTY
YOUNG
VERMA
SPARKES
KEATING
WILLIAMS

Release:

ROWE TURNER
GERRING
LATHROPE
CHANEY
HARRAD
RICHARDS
REID
NICHOLSON - Ok he was managing the team that managed to scrape survival, but I don't believe that over his ENTIRE tenure he has been good enough as a manager.

I fully appreciate that he "is a great bloke", "his blood runs yellow", "he has been working with both hands tied behind his back" and I believe that he has the desire for TUFC to succeed and has the VERY best wider interests of the club at his core. But my view has not changed since he was appointed ...he does not have the managerial experience to be really successful - YET. I can see he has improved over the last 18 months, but I am fearful that if, as expected, GI make little/no investment in the playing side, that Nicholson will struggle even more this coming season and we will be fighting for our lives again.

Before I get shredded for daring to call the "Saviour's" accomplishment into question, I am merely expressing my concerns for next season which will be tough enough with the current owners in place without relying on Nicholson learning from the many mistakes he has made this season - his words (sort of!), and before the standard question gets thrown at me....I do not have an idea of who may take his place, that is what I expect the management to consider and make a decision on.

[SenorDingDong]

Retain:
MOORE (Solid)
MCGINTY (Was on my release list until the last month. Solid)
YOUNG (Vital to keep again - so long as he remains injury free. Much better chance of keeping him again this season given his known injury problems and his desire to stay local)
VERMA (not to start though, as a utility/bench player)
SPARKES (Equal best player at the club with Young)
KEATING (More than earned his contract - great potential)
WILLIAMS (There's goals in him, whether he'll want to stay another season if a whole different matter)
CHANEY (for one last season - if he doesn't deliver on his potential then that should be it).

Release:
LRT (Very average NL level player)
GG (Very average NL level player)
ANDERSON (Didn't do badly but we can do better if we have a decent wage budget)
GERRING (NLS level)
LATHROPE (Great on his day but too injury prone for his wages)
HARRAD (Too old)
RICHARDS (Not enough leadership ability to be a captain, very average NL midfielder)

As for the manager, he's a great guy, does brilliant community work and seems to be an actual fan of the club but I'm not sure whether it's the right move to trust him with another pre-season. I was very vocal about the fact he should have gone after Sutton/Guiseley but he's dug himself out of a hole again and we have discovered more information about the games GI have been playing and the constraints he's had to work under. So I think he should be given one last chance unless an up and coming well versed lower league manager such as the Cowleys becomes available or indicates their desire to work at the club,in which case it'd probably be time for a sad farewall to KN.

All of this is of course based upon the idea that our budget for next season isn't going to be two magic beans.

[Gulliball]

The only two I would definitely keep whatever the circumstances would be Sparkes and Young. The rest depends on who the manager is and what the budget is. Personally I would keep Nicholson regardless, but it doesn't matter who is in charge if we don't have a competitive budget. The Cowleys did a brilliant job this year, far far better than other clubs with similar (or higher) budgets, but they couldn't have done it without bringing in the players they wanted. In effect they took the best parts of their Braintree side that finished 3rd the year before and added quality around it, which is a great bet to finish quite high up.

If we do have a new manager, the fewer players under contract the better. If we go with Nicho then everything comes down to budget - Sparkes and Young aside I think most players could be replaced by better, but if we have the same budget again then obviously we won't be able to do that, so may as well keep as many of the better ones as we can. I think Nicholson will have learned quite a few things this season, so with the same budget again I think he'd do things slightly differently, within what little wriggle-room you have.

[Goody2514]

I would keep them all minus -

Harrod - too old, slow
Richards - nothing short of useless
Gerring - no better than average
Duke - cant carry him and Chaney on the fact they have potential
Lathorpe - injured too often

Its all about the additions. Lee is defo worth keeping if Bournemouth let us, Keating needs tying down to a contract, and I would give Young and Williams anything they want to stay. We need a bigger squad, at least 10 additions. The wet Tuesday nights away in Nov are tough and injuries have affected us this season.
Onto the additions, Connor Oliver, Number 4 yesterday looked assured and clearly their best player. Worth a punt???

[DevonYellow]

I would be amazed if we retain anyone. Purely for the fact that would mean GI paying their wages over the summer.

[madgull]

Retain:
Moore - Decent enough, just needs to cut out the howlers.
Young - Outstanding.
Sparkes - Also very valuable.
Williams - Looked a class above in the last few matches. Just need to keep that fire in his belly that he's had these last few games.
Keating - Can't imagine he'll cost much, and doesn't stop moving and creating. A massive fan.
Lee - Would have him back on loan again in a heartbeat.

Retain on low wages:
LRT - Has looked far more assured whenever I've seen him than he seems to get credit for.
Verma - Does okay but needs to keep his cool.
GG - He's looked good at right back, but the suspect nature of our defence makes me unsure.
Reid - A dangerous player, if he can get his end product sorted than I think he could be great for us. Loan again.
McGinty - Only doesn't get into the above category due to our leaky back line this season as a whole. Would like to see him develop.
Anderson - Same reasons as GG and McGinty.


Release:
Lathrope - Can't risk the injuries.
Gerring - We can get better, and I imagine if we're lacking in numbers come season start then we could come to some arrangement with him.
Chaney - Can't carry people with our budget.
Harrad - We similarly can't afford strikes who don't score many.
Richards - A great worker, but we've shown that we play well when we pass the ball around. Doesn't fit the bill for this.
Duke - Same as Chaney.
Hancox - Same again.

Manager: Gotta keep Nicho, but at the same time we have to start building a stable squad, cos taking all season to gel a squad will only ever put us in trouble.

[Jerry]

Not sure where this leaky defence myth comes from?

Nobody in the bottom half of the table conceded less than us, whereas only 6 sides in the league scored less than us. Seems to me that our problems were more at the other end of the pitch.

[Zippy]

out
LATHROPE
ROWE-TURNER
RICHARDS
HARROD
HANCOX
DUKE
GERRING

[Jerry]

In both of Nicholson's seasons we have started poorly and finished very strongly. This would suggest that he takes a while to get his message across to the players. So if Nicholson is to continue as manager it would make sense to keep a fair number of the current squad who already get his methodology rather than starting again from scratch.

As for Nicholson himself, obviously when he was appointed he didn't have the experience necessary but after two years at the helm you would struggle to find anyone with more relevant experience. He knows the club and the unique problems associated with it's location and tiny budget.

[SenorDingDong]

As for Nicholson himself, obviously when he was appointed he didn't have the experience necessary but after two years at the helm you would struggle to find anyone with more relevant experience. He knows the club and the unique problems associated with it's location and tiny budget.

He might do but he also has next to no knowledge of the lower league scene beyond the National League and players he's played with. This is vitally important for a club in our situation working on our budget, where picking up unpolished gems from NLS/NLN and below goes a long way to competing in the way that clubs like Boreham Wood, Braintree (last season), Maidstone, Solihull etc do. Whether Dave Hedges can bring this to the table is another matter.

[Southampton Gull]

He's got 3 years of relevant experience at this level actually.

[Richinns]

Well those (myself included) who would not retain Lathrope are going to be disappointed as he has a contract until Summer 2018 (as does Sam Chaney). The only other player who could be under contract is Luke Young who has an option for another year (let's hope he takes it but with the uncertainty hanging over the club I think it would be unlikely if he is not pursuing other options).

[madgull]

Well those (myself included) who would not retain Lathrope are going to be disappointed as he has a contract until Summer 2018 (as does Sam Chaney). The only other player who could be under contract is Luke Young who has an option for another year (let's hope he takes it but with the uncertainty hanging over the club I think it would be unlikely if he is not pursuing other options).

Yep, v.disappointed with the first two, all I can assume is that they're on pennies, cos giving an unproven youngster and an injury-riddled journeyman two year contracts is madness.