A squad or not a squad..?

[glostervic]

……..That is the question.
Some fairly forthright thoughts on the Eastleigh thread about our current subs bench. Some of this might be from a personal viewpoint, but I suspect that given the reluctance (again) to use any replacements in recent matches there is some substance to them. As others have pointed out to bring Kieron on when he himself admits he is nowhere near fit enough tells a story. Surely other experienced managers would have made a couple more substitutions in the closing minutes to get the team over the line in the Cup match. Besides Finn and Tyler it seems Aaron Simpson is still having a really hard battle with long covid. Oliver is probably longing for a call from Maidstone to get him back playing again. I am not sure where our record goalscorer was on Saturday. Perhaps I have missed something if he too is injured. This situation is not going to improve with the number of games piling up due to the excellent cup run. The boys have been magnificent in their endeavours so far but need help, with the weather turning and heavy pitches soon to take their toll. If that means changes in personnel then so be it. There should be some extra funds in the club now from the increased attendances and FA cup receipts to allow some additions to the excellent eleven who are doing their best every game.

[xjr]

If Neil does not trust his bench then he needs a new one. But personally i think Finn needs a bit of game time to get his confidence back, we have seen that Oliver can play, the only question mark is Tyler. If he is not ready then he should go out on loan to get game time and fitness. You are right that one or two players should be brought in, if we are serious about promotion then the team needs the resources to see it through. If either of the wing backs get injured they will be hard positions to fill, so we would maybe need to change the formation to suit what we have available.

[Deleted]

Unfortunate Aaron Simpson is no longer in the club’s plans, which was a big blow.

[Deleted]

And yes, we now have 6 midweek fixtures in a row, although a win tomorrow night should get 2 of those postponed and will, strangely, ease the fixture congestion.

[glostervic]

Oct 18, 2021 10:12:48 GMT @obertan said:

Unfortunate Aaron Simpson is no longer in the club’s plans, which was a big blow.

When we did get told this? When did Aaron leave?
Ian Draycott injured?
I would suggest recruits are needed urgently.
A certain record playing midfielder down the hill gets glowing reports I understand.

[Deleted]

Oct 18, 2021 10:32:50 GMT glostervic said:

Oct 18, 2021 10:12:48 GMT @obertan said:

Unfortunate Aaron Simpson is no longer in the club’s plans, which was a big blow.

When we did get told this? When did Aaron leave?
Ian Draycott injured?
I would suggest recruits are needed urgently.
A certain record playing midfielder down the hill gets glowing reports I understand.

Due to the nature of things it was decided not to make a big issue about the situation, so this is the first time anything has been said publicly. Who knows what happens in the future but right now there’s no expectation we will be seeing him play here or indeed anywhere else in the near future.

[stumpy]

That is a real shame, for us of course, but more so for Aaron. It does suggest we need to recruit though, because we are badly short on defensive/midfield cover.

[invictasaint]

I'm really sorry to hear of Aaron's plight. My very best wishes go to him and I think it's a shame we only got a glimpse of his talent and potential.

[colash]

Ian Draycott was at his sisters wedding. He is not injured.

[glostervic]

Thank you. Hopefully he can bang another goal in tomorrow

[andyb]

In answer to the title of the thread…no, it's not much of a squad really and could be our biggest problem with the volume of upcoming games.

- Tyler is a bit of a liability on and off the pitch, Neil doesn't trust him.
- Finn isn't match fit and again, doesn't appear Neil really rates or trusts him. He didn't even start when JV was injured which is kind of the point of him as a squad player (isn't it?)
- Mev is a club legend but he's 38 (?) and has barely played all season. He's not going to play.

That leaves Kieran, Freeman and Draycs/Heard. Good players but all attackers so we're very lopsided.

We're essentially in the same position in years gone by. Relying on 13/14 players to see us through the whole season. It's how Cugs manages. The quality is good, I love how we play at times & the effort of the players (who play) is undeniable, but if we keep as we are it will continue to come back to bite us. It already has with having to play RJ at CB and having no real cover in CB or DM positions.

We have to be developing the squad in the coming months in my opinion. We have had a good cup run, good gates, we must be able to afford to bring some better players in to challenge for the first XI. I'm not buying this previous attitude we've had from the club of "we're just a small club with no money for players". There's ambition to get promoted but we need a credible squad to achieve this.

P.S I was at the game on Saturday

[paul All Type pumps]

Socal media is it a good thing or a bad thing? Sometimes I think it’s a good thing and sometimes I think it’s a bad thing and personally I think reading most of these comments it’s a bad thing.
I do agree with a few comments but most of them I don’t. What I would like is for some of you to think about your comments and to think would it damage the confidence on that player and in my opinion is yes. Tyler is a young lad and to read some comments I personally would be devastated and maybe think about either giving up football or move on which I hope does not happen as he does have a talent which everyone has seen. So please think before you post because some comments are damaging this football club. We can’t be doing to bad at moment sitting 6th in league with 2-3 games in hand and if we win them go top.
So please get behind the boys

[tom]

I blame “coops”. The man has no shame and he is prone to stealing people’s chips on match days whilst never sharing his own.

[invictasaint]

Whereas some fans are just prone to lying prone!

[Ads]

Oct 19, 2021 6:57:56 GMT invictasaint said:

Whereas some fans are just prone to lying prone!

Cousin Dave ? 😎

[xjr]

Oct 19, 2021 5:25:22 GMT paul All Type pumps said:

Socal media is it a good thing or a bad thing? Sometimes I think it’s a good thing and sometimes I think it’s a bad thing and personally I think reading most of these comments it’s a bad thing.
I do agree with a few comments but most of them I don’t. What I would like is for some of you to think about your comments and to think would it damage the confidence on that player and in my opinion is yes. Tyler is a young lad and to read some comments I personally would be devastated and maybe think about either giving up football or move on which I hope does not happen as he does have a talent which everyone has seen. So please think before you post because some comments are damaging this football club. We can’t be doing to bad at moment sitting 6th in league with 2-3 games in hand and if we win them go top.
So please get behind the boys

Paul, I think most of us are fully behind the boys and as you say Invicta are well placed to do well. But the winning sometimes takes the attention off our shortcomings. This post is discussing them, we may be right or wrong and we certainly do not have the final say. The general opinion is people want to see Tyler play, so that should give him some confidence, but if he is not going to feature for the club at the moment. Then sitting on the bench is doing him more harm than good, get him out playing somewhere else. Get him sharp and fit then hopefully Neil will find a place for him. 

[ade]

Come on boys we all want the same thing success at this club we have just taken a National league side to two games plus extra time there a full time outfit we’re part time and we have our all I’m so proud to be a small part of this club we all need now to get behind the team and get some league points starting on Saturday against Kingstonian then again on Tuesday down at Bognor Regis Town

[glen]

Oct 19, 2021 6:51:58 GMT tom said:

I blame “coops”. The man has no shame and he is prone to stealing people’s chips on match days whilst never sharing his own.

if some one pinches your chips they deserve to be named and shamed ,.

[lancegcdali]

I found the latest interview from Cugley interesting .He mentioned Mev and Edgy having a big say in the team ,I'd have thought they'd be more squad/rotation orientated.He mentioned Freeman and Tyler as alright and Finn no mention at all ,hardly reassuring for the young players.I,d like to see them playing ,showing trust and giving them confidence.The season ,on and off the pitch, has been amazing and long may it continue. Over the years we get to end of the season ,in the play-offs ,with a tired team and a subs bench that hasn't been used.Just my opinion but a squad needs to be just that ,not a team with others .Looking forward to the next 2 games and just a quick thank you to John Laws for arranging the away travel 👍

[glostervic]

[quote I would suggest recruits are needed urgently.
A certain record playing midfielder down the hill gets glowing reports I understand.[/quote]

Hmmm- too late, just signed for Dorking
Will be a big step up I would imagine

www.dorkingwanderers.com/post/oldaker