Current Squad.

[SuffolknWhat]

I see another Ben Davies situation, goes to a big club and ruined , I don’t want to deny the lad his fortune but really has his career improved??? We should be trying to keep Barky and build something, bloody hell if Bournemouth and Brentford can do it why can’t we, the lack of ambition is criminal.

let's not get carried away.
Barky isn't even the standout player in the current crop of shite.
he's a solid enough Championship player but not Prem quality imo.
however I don't think there'll be a shortage of offers.

 

[PNE04]

Mansfield have a strong side for their level and have an extremely experienced manager (especially compared to ours). It won't be an easy game at all.

Worried me there a bit mate, I’m heading down there tomorrow.

 

[Bren27]

let's not get carried away.
Barky isn't even the standout player in the current crop of shite.
he's a solid enough Championship player but not Prem quality imo.
however I don't think there'll be a shortage of offers.

If a half decent player is in a team of fighters he generally ups his game, Barky and am not getting carried away will blossom in better company, trouble is we have too many average players at Preston now. As a lifelong fan it’s hard to swallow that all our best players go elsewhere? Billionaire owner ? Maybe it’s no longer enough.

 

[Bren27]

Worried me there a bit mate, I’m heading down there tomorrow.

Go enjoy, it just maybe a good night 👍

 

[Vinylman]

I about 8/9 but like JK that includes 2 loan players.We are in a right mess and it’s difficult to see a way out of it.

 

[PNE04]

Go enjoy, it just maybe a good night 👍

I’ll definitely make the most of it, win or lose.

 

[SuffolknWhat]

If a half decent player is in a team of fighters he generally ups his game, Barky and am not getting carried away will blossom in better company, trouble is we have too many average players at Preston now. As a lifelong fan it’s hard to swallow that all our best players go elsewhere? Billionaire owner ? Maybe it’s no longer enough.

Maybe you're right, and he isn't going to blossom here as you have said.
If he goes, he goes with my thanks ( unless it's to the lashers).

 

[NG White]

It’s going to be interesting on here if we get done by Mansfield tomorrow 😳 Surely not ?

Me and my mate are going, also going Reading. Its going to be an interesting week.

 

[Bren27]

Am 60 now and I started off with Gerry Ingram as my hero , great centre forward for us , I’ve been to the foot of division 4 with fewer than 2,000 fans probably fewer than a 1,000 ! I’ve seen some great players in the Lillywhite shirt , Ingram , Bobby Ham , Alex Spark , the great Alan Spavin , Mike Elwiss , Ricky Heppolete , Brian Mooney , Tony Ellis ( I know you all hate him coz he signed for the scum but what a striker) Andy Saville, John Thomas it just goes on and on ! All I want is England to win something and my team to play in the top league even if it’s only once , and I’ll die a happy white ....Not too much to ask for is it ?????

 

[Bren27]

Maybe you're right, and he isn't going to blossom here as you have said.
If he goes, he goes with my thanks ( unless it's to the lashers).

They couldn’t afford him 😂

 

[Desperate Scouse White]

Its scary isn't it? I actually think the team we got promoted with at Wembley would wipe the floor with this current one.

That team had some proper leaders throughout - Clarke & Welsh were key in that side.

Others on here have mentioned the lack of leaders & especially a commanding CB & CM. I totally agree.

Two good acquisitions in those positions could make a huge difference.

As for the question in the OP, I’m too feckin scared to answer!!!

 

[Mancunian White]

Its scary isn't it? I actually think the team we got promoted with at Wembley would wipe the floor with this current one.

Any of Grayson's sides 2015-onwards would've wiped the floor with this one.

14-15
Johnstone, Clarke, Hunts, Wright, Woods, Gally, DJ, Welsh, Kilkenny, Garner, Beckford.

15-16
Pickford, Woods, Clarke, Huntington, Wright, Cunningham, Browne, Gally, DJ, Reach, Garner.

16-17
Maxwell, Baptiste, Clarke, Wright/Hunts, Cunningham, McGeady, Pearson, Gally, Robbo, Hugill, Barky.

Come to think of it, I can't really say I'd pick any of our current players over any of the players in those 3 teams. (Obviously I've skipped a few in each who deserve honourable mentions)

Iversen gets into 16-17 but he's not ahead of Johnstone or Pickford for me. Kilkenny maybe misses out for Ledson?

 

[sedgwick__7]

That team had some proper leaders throughout - Clarke & Welsh were key in that side.

Others on here have mentioned the lack of leaders & especially a commanding CB & CM. I totally agree.

Two good acquisitions in those positions could make a huge difference.

As for the question in the OP, I’m too feckin scared to answer!!!

I think where the club got it right between 2015-2018 was that there was a good balance between experience and leadership, and youth and pace.

That experienced core of Clarke, Huntington, Gallagher, and 1 or 2 others set an example on the pitch and on the training ground for the younger players. They gave young lads like DJ, Robinson, Barky, Hugill, Pearson and others a real platform to go and express themselves.

The problem now is that we have neither element. There's little leadership throughout the squad. I would imagine that the reaction to the defending for the 3rd and 4th goals on Saturday by someone like Tom Clarke, for example, would've been very different to that of the players we had on the pitch, who seem to wallow in self pity and it wasn't really a surprise at all that we ended up getting battered, Barky even said that on iFollow. Alan Browne is our captain yet he seems to be as quiet as a mouse on the pitch. He talks a good game to the press after a bad defeat but can't seem to get a response from his teammates ?

The club have also stripped the side of any youthful exuberance or pace. We tend to sign slow, pedestrain players. And when we do sign an exciting one like Anthony Gordon, they sit in the stands. I said on another thread after the Hull game that if we had Keane Lewis-Potter, we probably wouldn't even play him.

The whole squad at the moment just seems rudderless, vulnerable, lacking in creavity and quality, and to top it all off the guy at the helm may or may not have a clue what he is doing as a manager.

 

[NG White]

I think where the club got it right between 2015-2018 was that there was a good balance between experience and leadership, and youth and pace.

That experienced core of Clarke, Huntington, Gallagher, and 1 or 2 others set an example on the pitch and on the training ground for the younger players. They gave young lads like DJ, Robinson, Barky, Hugill, Pearson and others a real platform to go and express themselves.

The problem now is that we have neither element. There's little leadership throughout the squad. I would imagine that the reaction to the defending for the 3rd and 4th goals on Saturday by someone like Tom Clarke, for example, would've been very different to that of the players we had on the pitch, who seem to wallow in self pity and it wasn't really a surprise at all that we ended up getting battered, Barky even said that on iFollow. Alan Browne is our captain yet he seems to be as quiet as a mouse on the pitch. He talks a good game to the press after a bad defeat but can't seem to get a response from his teammates ?

The club have also stripped the side of any youthful exuberance or pace. We tend to sign slow, pedestrain players. And when we do sign an exciting one like Anthony Gordon, they sit in the stands. I said on another thread after the Hull game that if we had Keane Lewis-Potter, we probably wouldn't even play him.

The whole squad at the moment just seems rudderless, vulnerable, lacking in creavity and quality, and to top it all off the guy at the helm may or may not have a clue what he is doing as a manager.

I noticed the reaction to the 3rd and 4th goals on Saturday. It was piss poor, they looked like if there was more time left they'd have conceded another 3 or 4 in no time at all.

I'm a big Alan Browne fan but he's never a captain in a million years. Another really poor, lazy decision.

 

[PN9]

That current squad, the only players who stand out to me are Iversen who is not are player and Johnson. On his day he is a quality player, apart from that the rest are not good enough. We're in for a long season unfortunately and I'm putting all of the blame on Hemmings and that fraud of an advisor Ridsdale!!

 

[Regardless]

10. But that's generous.

 

[pne1881]

I see another Ben Davies situation, goes to a big club and ruined , I don’t want to deny the lad his fortune but really has his career improved??? We should be trying to keep Barky and build something, bloody hell if Bournemouth and Brentford can do it why can’t we, the lack of ambition is criminal.

Barky is decent enough at this level (sometimes) but he's nowhere near Ben Davies in terms of quality IMHO.

Agree we should try & keep him though.

If it's true we haven't even started talking to him Riddler either hasn't learnt his lesson from BP / BD or the owner doesn't rate him so doesn't want to give him a new deal which is laughable.

 

[pne1881]

I can get to 7 or 8 being generous & that includes Sepp & Iversen who obviously aren't our players.

The most worrying part for me is that the powers that be think the squad is good enough.

 

[Staffordwhite]

Just seen someone raise this on twitter in terms of how big our squad is and how many of them are actually good enough or should need moving on.

Not counting the new professionals and kids, frighteningly I only counted 8 who I would defiantly not want to lose and given two of them are loan players that is deeply concerning.

I have deliberately not picked on individual players but looking at this across the board.

How Peter and Trevor Hemmings can continue to push this line that the squad is good enough is probably what is concerning me the most. We simply can not go into the next four months of matches without improving the quality of our first team.

What numbers could you get up to?

Transfer Window Overview - Summer 2021

CURRENT SQUAD GK: Oliver Lombard* (Contracted to June 2022 + 1Yr option) GK: Matthew Hudson (Contracted to June 2022) GK: Connor Ripley (Contracted to June 2022) GK: Daniel Iverson (Season Loan) GK: Declan Rudd (Contracted to June 2023) DF: Lewis Coulton* (Contracted to June 2022 + 1Yr option)...

www.pne-online.net

View attachment 4396

Leaving aside the kids and the loans, I’d say two (Hunts and Rudd). 😐

The bigger question isn’t how the squad became so poor, it’s ‘who was handing out these contracts?’

Our biggest problem isn’t on the pitch, in the dug out, or even on the Isle of Man . . . he’s sitting in the director’s box.

Amazes me how he’s got away with it for so long.

Until he goes, the club is going nowhere but down.

 

[From91]

Iversen, Rudd (as back up), Sep, Bauer, DJ, Barky, Evans, maybe Sinclair at a push. Whiteman it’s early days and not seen anything of Olosunde yet. Include the youth that’s just been promoted and possibly Earl and that’s half a squad to take a hit on and replace.

It’s a bad situation when there’s so many players at the club who know this is the best they are going to get, there’s no incentive for them to get any better as they can sit on a comfy contract no matter how bad they are.

We’ve always been a stepping stone club for ambitious players but it’s like we’ve moved away from that.