Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: Branton Rover on March 25, 2024, 08:00:03 pm
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I must admit the lad has proven me wrong. In the first part of the season I was struggling to see what he actually brought to the team especially when he was playing second fiddle to Close. However since the turn of the year he’s certainly done enough to get another contract especially as we’ve now discovered his best position as the ball player in a midfield 3 with 2 runners behind him doing the leg work that’s certainly not Harrison’s specialty. It’s a big statement that since Ben Close has been injured, Biggins has stepped out of his shadow and is now largely the main man in the middle.
In addition to Biggins we’ve also got Westbrooke, Close & Rowe out of contract & of them I’d be offering Zain 2 years and Tommy one year’s contract extensions. The quandary lies with Ben Close who I think is probably the best midfielder at the club but his game doesn’t seem to suit the division we’re in. I feel he would be a good signing for a League One team probably southern based when his injury clears.
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I’m really struggling to see why people are so keen on giving Westbrooke a contract. He’s a half a season player, we’ve surely had our fill of players that spend that amount of time on the treatment table.
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I think that is not how GM will see it and expect him to make offers to ZW ,Biggins and a reduced salary renewal to Close provided he recovers from his injury over the summer .He is sure to keep TR too .
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Westbrook and close will be lucky to get an extra year close will be on good money as well like Taylor
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I can see where you’re coming from, DVR, but GM has gone on record as saying he doesn’t want a massive turnover of players. 4 midfielders contracts up so you would think at least 1 of them will be offered something?
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Westbrooke is a good signing at this level and gives our midfield something different. He's 27 though and has only ever managed to get through more than half a season of league games twice, and one of those was 25 league games so only just more than half. We do not have a player who has managed at 27 to prove he can consistently churn out 35+ league games a season. We need that really if we are going to re-sign him.
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I think Charlie Lakin would be a really good signing, he’s been superb at Sutton by all accounts and got 3 assists at the weekend. His contract at Burton is up this summer.
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I think Close will be on his way
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The question is: Can we get better suited players?
It's sometimes difficult to see beyond what you have. This is in football and life.
I know all players can get injured but we must consider injury records too.
We need to move some players on.
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Westbrooke on the ball is the best contracted midfielder we have, I would offer him another year with another year activated if he makes a set number of appearances.
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Better than Bailey?
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Better than Bailey?
On the ball as a playmaker Alan then yes.
Bailey is more of a ball winner. 2 different players.
Bailey is player of the season for me though just ahead of Ironside.
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I’d be disappointed if Biggins (drifts around mostly unnoticed) Close (no stomach for Lge2) and Rowe (time is up, sadly) are still with us next year. We need better Craig coming in has proved that and I’d keep Bailey over anyone. Westbrooke I like but only the club will know the injury situation and if the newish medical team can get more than a half season from him.
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There aren’t many midfielders with Westbrooke’s composure on the ball at this level. He has a lot more of an engine than Close too.
His injury record seems to be under more scrutiny since he was absent through illness for the Swindon game, which is unfair. He has played more games than Maxwell this year.
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Bailey isn't on the level of Close and Westbrook technically. He's our more robust player though and perfect to have with 2 players like that. Westbrook and Close just need to go. Poor record with injuries. If Biggins gets a contract after 3 or 4 okay games I'd be shocked.
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It’s a good job GM sees them from all angles every working day and only he knows where he wants to arrive by the end of next season and who he will need to achieve that goal .I think he holds most of our current midfielders in higher regard than we suspect .
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It’s a good job GM sees them from all angles every working day and only he knows where he wants to arrive by the end of next season and who he will need to achieve that goal .I think he holds most of our current midfielders in higher regard than we suspect .
Grant & Cliff seem to be good at getting the best out of players. I think, as Grant's already alluded to, the core of next season's squad is probably in the house already, I've no doubt there'll be some in's & out's & once again the quality we can get from the loans will make the difference.
Personally, I trust em to get it right, more than any management team we've had since last time they were here.
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Didn't GM get rid of Rowe lsst time was here before he went t'Hull
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Didn't GM get rid of Rowe lsst time was here before he went t'Hull
He was out of contract and offered a new contract, declined and signed for Bristol City instead
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Worth remembering that despite our recent upturn in form we're still odds on to finish in the bottom half of the bottom division of league football, and these are the players who got us there.
To get promoted we need to be looking at a few players who can at least compete in the league above. None of those midfielders currently out of contract fit that bill for me. I think we should be looking at better than all of them. Close is probably the closest to that standard but is always injured and his face has never quite fit here for whatever reason, probably on decent money too, so I expect he'll be released as well.
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Worth remembering that despite our recent upturn in form we're still odds on to finish in the bottom half of the bottom division of league football, and these are the players who got us there.
To get promoted we need to be looking at a few players who can at least compete in the league above. None of those midfielders currently out of contract fit that bill for me. I think we should be looking at better than all of them. Close is probably the closest to that standard but is always injured and his face has never quite fit here for whatever reason, probably on decent money too, so I expect he'll be released as well.
this!!!!!!!!!
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Midfield is the area of the team that can have us a lot more consistent next season. Consistently a whole lot better!
After we signed a bit of quality in January, we started picking up points regularly, so I’m hoping GM & Co are looking to put that right in the summer.
We have to get off to a really positive start next season.