Connor

[nickbrod]

National League fixtures out on September 8.

[culmstockgull]

I totally agree with DWB, our midfielders of varying permutations were bullied last season, mind you come to think of it so was our defence.Regardless of Johnsons philosphy of playing quick attractive football you have to play the league you are in. Hall has the size and acumen to put it about but his age counts against him playing every game.Out of the others, two have recovered from serious inuries which if they occur again could be career ending so defineyely will not be going tot to toe with the likes of the Rooney from Barrow, all our midfielders are very good technical footballers, certainly for this league, but cannot physcially cope with the rampaging second row forwards that this league seems to specialise in.
I Do not see Nemane and Buse being anything other than fringe squad players this year, Nemane has pedigree but no where the speed to be a winger, although Whitfield has said he prefers to be in the middle his skill places hm on the wing everytime. Buse, to my mind is totally baffling, yes, he tops the weekly run rates most matches he plays, but does precious little else, he does not have the size or footballing brain to replace lttle in central midfield and andrews and lemonheigh are miles ahead of him for the other two positions.

[portugull]

John Rooney has left Barrow to sign for Stockport County so it looks like we will see him at Plainmoor next season.

[Modgull]

In fairness to Buse, Matt Hockley was a similar player and did all the dirty work allowing Alex Russell and Jason Fowler to demonstrate their skills.

[happytorq]

In fairness to Buse, Matt Hockley was a similar player and did all the dirty work allowing Alex Russell and Jason Fowler to demonstrate their skills.

Definitely - Fowler and Russell wouldn't have been anywhere near as effective were it not for Hockley running around the midfield like a terrier chasing next door's cat.

[Teigngull]

Couldn't agree more.
In Leroys auto biography ' It's only banter '
He remarks on how 'Hockers' was an integral part of that 03/04 squad .
Would we have been as effective without him ? No definitely not, every squad needs a 'Hockers' , can Buse fulfill that roll ? or more importantly will GJ adopt a position within the match day team for that type of player ?

[Wubble U]

Yes, good to see CLE back!! Squad taking shape. I make that 2 keepers, 4 Centre backs, 2 full backs, 7 midfielders and 3 forwards all signed up. I expect a couple of loans to come in before the start. Will Liam Davis and Armani Little be fit for October?

My take on it is that Johnson will be going with 3 at the back primarily. Wynter and Davis fingers crossed stay fit to last the season as wing backs, meaning no wingers in the squad but plenty of contenders for the Number 10 role... CLE, Whitfield and Nemane plus others.

So what looks like a Midfield-heavy squad I would expect to turn out to be 3 central midfielders with Nelson/Wright up front and a number 10 off them

[tomogull]

In fairness to Buse, Matt Hockley was a similar player and did all the dirty work allowing Alex Russell and Jason Fowler to demonstrate their skills.

Yes - I agree, although Matt Buse is no Matt Hockley yet! Let's not forget that last season was his first season as a full-time pro. He works hard and more importantly, he gets his tackles in and is a ball winner which has been lacking in our midfield, apart from Asa Hall. He was unlucky to become a victim of the 'injury jinx' that hit us hard last season. I think if he is able to stay injury free and gets more games under his belt, he could well become a surprise package next season. Time will tell of course. Obviously, GJ thinks he has potential otherwise he wouldn't have offered him a new contract.