Since the closing of the transfer window both Andy Scott (who is still in situ and apparently may have his appointment made permanent) and Dean Holden have provided interviews for their thoughts on the comings and goings. Does what they say alter the pretty negative reaction to the fire sale? Slightly, not fundamentally in a number of respects, but slightly.
Both men were keen to stress the desire for a smaller squad, Holden talking in terms of those remaining being involved on matchdays rather than a number feeling left out, which by implication is not positive for group morale, and Scott indicating that having few players was indeed the desire of Holden. It isn’t easy to get the wordings right when talking of the quality of the squad having been improved and not being detrimental to those who have left, not least as some may return in the summer. But overall both did a fair job of getting the message across, reinforced by the apparent rejection of interest in some players the sale of which would have had us all howling.
Whether the squad is now of higher quality than before only time will tell; Holden and Scott say it is and they know a good deal more about these things than the rest of us. That the full-back options have been strengthened is not in question, but bringing in some to fill gaps here was a necessity and not really the issue. The strengthened argument will only hold good if Hector can get match-fit in a shortish space of time and make a meaningful contribution on the pitch; if Kilkenny can hit the ground running and provide a better option than those who have been playing (a greater contribution than those who have left will not be sufficient given they weren’t getting a look-in); and whether Bonne proves to be an improvement on Stockley. On these three fronts the jury is out but we keep an open mind (if that’s not a cliché too many).
What has not changed is what the changes say about this season being an effective write-off (in the sense of going up or down). Improving the culture and mentality of the squad may be a plus, but it’s a pretty peripheral one when it comes to the summer and inevitably a further substantial reshaping. Basically no team with any play-off pretentions would have knowingly left itself as thin on the ground in certain areas as we have (a fair assessment might be that we have strengthened the starting X1 but weakened the squad). That may be merely an acknowledgement of the reality of our situation, but is true nonetheless.
To recap, we are now light in central defence (assuming Hector is treated with patience, as Holden said he needs to be), in the wide areas (if we stick to our current formation we have only Blackett-Taylor, Rak-Sakyi and Campbell to cover the two spots for all games, fallback positions I guess being Payne – but it’s not his position – or Leaburn – ditto – or even Clayden), and in the central forward position (just Bonne and Leaburn, plus Kanu, unless Aneke surprises us all, which would be nice). An injury or two, a suspension, and we will be back to fitting square pegs into round holes or promoting youngsters perhaps before they are ready (and/or too many at the same time).
It is reasonable to assume we have a sufficient gap and enough quality not to get embroiled in a relegation struggle – but again some bad luck and it is not out of the question. I did take a glance at the current odds on us getting relegated and it seems you can still get 40-50/1. That looks generous to me, I would have thought around 25/1 – still very much a long shot.
After all, it has happened before (almost). Those of us of a certain age will remember the 1977/78 season, when with nothing to play for we let Paddy Powell and Flash Flanagan (and Laurie Abrahams) depart to play in the US. We went into a slump and only getting a 0-0 draw away at Orient in the final game saw us avoid the drop. Let’s please put a stop to such thoughts – and doubts about the window changes – with a resounding win at Exeter followed by some information on the ownership front.
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