SpoonTon Posted May 4 Posted May 4 At the moment I'm probably more worried about who we'll lose this summer. We've been losing our best players ever year and it puts us on the back foot. If Wilson and Blues leave then that's pretty much the rest of Imrie's best team gone, and we've had a real struggle trying to replace the players from that team. Ever year the list of players we'd most like to keep ends up being the list of the most likely players to leave.
TopCat Posted May 5 Posted May 5 6 hours ago, SpoonTon said: At the moment I'm probably more worried about who we'll lose this summer. We've been losing our best players ever year and it puts us on the back foot. If Wilson and Blues leave then that's pretty much the rest of Imrie's best team gone, and we've had a real struggle trying to replace the players from that team. Ever year the list of players we'd most like to keep ends up being the list of the most likely players to leave. This is an issue we just need to deal with and treat as the norm. We don't have the fanbase or budget to operate at Championship level as anything other than a shop window for players pushing their way up the pyramid. Our whole setup should be geared towards that. The list of players worthy of being poached is also pretty short this year and the tricky bit will be getting a high % of our recruitment correct following a necessary clearout.
dunning1874 Posted May 5 Posted May 5 If we do have the correctly ruthless clearout of around a dozen players and Wilson & Blues both take offers elsewhere then we would go from still having the core of a solid starting XI if we kept the players we want to keep, despite clearing out the majority of the squad, to pretty much needing an entirely new midfield. If it was to be Imrie taking them to Raith then at least we'd probably find out very early in the summer as those offers would be on the table already and it could inform Murray's decisions on others; personally I wouldn't change my mind on either Gillespie or MacPherson based on Wilson and/or Blues going, but I suspect Murray will try to keep them both regardless and it would make that a bit more palatable, although you absolutely cannot be expecting Gillespie to start games next season. Finding the talismanic Wilson replacement who holds the midfield together would be the most important signing of the summer, not that Murray has actually had him doing that anyway. I had a look at the stats with and without him in midfield over the three seasons of his second spell here and while it's not quite Allan Jenkins level, there's still a stark difference. If I've counted correctly it's actually 54 games each way as well. 23/24 to 25/26 league games with Wilson starting in midfield: P54 W17 D22 L15 F63 A58 PPG 1.351 (48.6 points over a 36 game season) 23/24 to 25/26 league games without Wilson starting in midfield: P54 W15 D13 L26 F58 A88 PPG 1.074 (38.6 points over a 36 game season) The difference in goals conceded and the draws turning into defeats is wild. 1 Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Oh Lord, Brian Wake
TopCat Posted May 5 Posted May 5 If Wilson stays and Murray sticks with his 4231, we need a first choice upgrade on Gillespie/Blues as the second deep lying midfielder, which should also make us less reliant on Wilson's fitness. Blues is a great box to box player for this level, but not very convincing sitting further back. Both Blues and Gillespie (pace) struggled at times with the opposition running straight at them this season.
so72 Posted May 5 Posted May 5 1 hour ago, TopCat said: If Wilson stays and Murray sticks with his 4231, we need a first choice upgrade on Gillespie/Blues as the second deep lying midfielder, which should also make us less reliant on Wilson's fitness. Blues is a great box to box player for this level, but not very convincing sitting further back. Both Blues and Gillespie (pace) struggled at times with the opposition running straight at them this season. If we got some quality creative players in the wide areas, Blues could push forward. That should give us more balance than having 3 wingers behind a big lump like Main. However, if we don't have quality in the wide areas then that '10' will need to be someone creative. In which case, Blues won't really have a place in the 4231. 1
RossMcC1874 Posted May 5 Posted May 5 Murray will probably have a few ex Raith players in his sights. Scott Brown and possibly Jack Hamilton might be options.
Jani Inenuot Posted May 5 Posted May 5 Raith Rovers have released a bunch of players and have listed Scott Brown as contracted through till next summer, so that rumour seems unlikely to come to fruition.
Jamie_M Posted May 5 Posted May 5 1 hour ago, Jani Inenuot said: Raith Rovers have released a bunch of players and have listed Scott Brown as contracted through till next summer, so that rumour seems unlikely to come to fruition. It was well known he was under contract, so if you were already giving attention to the rumour then his.presence on their still in contract list doesn't change anything. 1
Mr.Blue Posted May 5 Posted May 5 1 hour ago, Jani Inenuot said: Raith Rovers have released a bunch of players and have listed Scott Brown as contracted through till next summer, so that rumour seems unlikely to come to fruition. Jack Hamilton, Josh Mullin, Ross Matthews and Shaun Byrne all released. Assume Murray will considering them at the very least although Matthews and Byrne have struggled with injuries. There's a storm on the horizon And for that I can't see the sun For I'll keep a waiting on the pavement For the ice cream van to come
Mr.Blue Posted May 5 Posted May 5 Main confirmed as leaving Ayr. There's a storm on the horizon And for that I can't see the sun For I'll keep a waiting on the pavement For the ice cream van to come
SpoonTon Posted May 5 Posted May 5 38 minutes ago, Mr.Blue said: Main confirmed as leaving Ayr. I got the impression from his post match interview on Friday that he was keen on remaining with us. I mean, you've got to think he would be, what other full time club is there in Scotland if you're getting released by Ayr in that manner?
Mr.Blue Posted May 5 Posted May 5 17 minutes ago, SpoonTon said: I got the impression from his post match interview on Friday that he was keen on remaining with us. I mean, you've got to think he would be, what other full time club is there in Scotland if you're getting released by Ayr in that manner? Yeah he certainly spoke as of he was coming back. Stevie Mallan been released by St. Johnstone. Seems to have fallen off the radar a bit after coming through the ranks at St. Mirren. Fraser Taylor is rumored to be getting released by St. Mirren as well. I think he'd be an excellent signing. Scott Brown, Taylor and Kerr Robertson would be a good midfield three although I'd rather keep Shug before any of them. There's a storm on the horizon And for that I can't see the sun For I'll keep a waiting on the pavement For the ice cream van to come
Mr.Blue Posted May 7 Posted May 7 Scott Burns in the Record today saying Ballantyne has signed a one year deal. Happy with that. There's a storm on the horizon And for that I can't see the sun For I'll keep a waiting on the pavement For the ice cream van to come
Mr.Blue Posted May 7 Posted May 7 22 minutes ago, Mr.Blue said: Scott Burns in the Record today saying Ballantyne has signed a one year deal. Happy with that. Confirmed. There's a storm on the horizon And for that I can't see the sun For I'll keep a waiting on the pavement For the ice cream van to come
RossMcC1874 Posted May 7 Posted May 7 Happy with that solid player for the level always give his best could do a lot worse. Hopefully one or two to follow.
Hej Posted May 7 Posted May 7 I've come round to Curtis Main the longer he's been here after being initially scathing. Id be concerned if he remained our only striker next season, but wouldn't be upset to have him as an option. 1
dunning1874 Posted May 8 Posted May 8 Really happy to keep Ballantyne, that's a good start. He's definitely the better option between him and Comrie and realistically we can't do much better. While we've had Jamie Brandon and Liam Grimshaw recently, having a right back of that calibre means they're gone in a season and needing to recruit one every summer means you'll eventually end up with a Tyler French level donkey, whereas Ballantyne is still a good Championship player who could feasibly be here for years. 1 Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Oh Lord, Brian Wake
Gmfcrg Posted May 9 Author Posted May 9 Had heard that Wilson and ballentyne where the only two offered new deals from the out of contract bunch, Wilson knocked back (as expected) and obviously ballentyne signed on. If true, I’m happy with how cut throat Murray has been and must be confident of getting a full new squad together. Wouldn’t have minded main being offered, and maybe storer back for a year if atall possible. But I’d make that 12/13 players released so a massive rebuild if so.
Hoofballer Posted May 9 Posted May 9 Both Murray and Imrie struggled to get this group of players to play consistently well as league position has proved, so clear out and reform a smaller squad of players that he thinks can do that possibly be best route ahead. Plans for season ahead should have been ongoing for months already and we’ll find out soon what they are hopefully.
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