Now that the season has finally been ended, we now await a result on league reconstruction. Other than our views on league reconstruction (which are in the relevant thread), we now have nothing to discuss so I thought I'd start a thread regarding building for next season. 

First things first, I'm worried that Hearts will come in for John Robertson, especially if Hearts the restruction vote and indeed get relegated to the Championship, which would then result in Daniel Stendel resigning. 

Hopefully the majority of our squad stay so that we can present a strong fight with Hearts and Dundee, in the push for ending as league winners. 

Imho, we need to sign quality rather than quantity and also utilise some of our promising youngsters in the first team squad. 

At the moment, we have signed Shane Sutherland and are losing Shaun Rooney to Saint Johnstone and possibly White to Motherwell (taken from Scott Burns Twitter account). 

My take on what we need in order to compete with Hearts and Dundee, which I'm happy for you to disagree with, add to or even debate 😛

Imho, our defence and a 20-25 goals a season striker would be what I'd be prioritising.  I do understand that we need money to get these, hence why I said that we need to utilise the youngsters into the first team.  Players like Cammy Mackay, Cameron Harper, Roddy Mcgregor and Daniel Mackay (there are probably more that I've forgotten to mention) are, in my opinion, capable of becoming first team regulars and making a difference :ictscarf:

If only we had a rich business man/woman that could back Robbo, like Utd (Ogren) and Dundee (Nelms) have 😟

I seem to remember eyebrows being raised last year by some folk wondering why Motherwell were signing Polworth when they thought he wasn't good enough to be in our starting line up.  Some players just need better players around them to show what they are capable of.  Polworth would see the clever ball into space but far too often those around him just weren't on the same wavelength.  This season he has been a major reason for Motherwell's good performance in the Premiership.

I think White is also an intelligent player and his problem has been that he makes the runs into the space where the midfielders should be playing the ball but all too often, don't.  I can see Polworth and White combining pretty well.

Despite the frustrations and un-called for criticism from some of the fans, big Jordan always gave 100%.  I'll be sorry to see him go but wish him the good fortune he deserves.

Yes, both Polworth and White got more than their fair share of stick, especially from some posters, (you know who you are!), on here.  Wonder who they will pick on next?

Polworth was a good player for us, but became frustrated as the team got weaker , it stands to reason that in a better team where he wasn’t the focal point of every attack (Motherwell) he would get back to his form of a few years ago, when he used to score goals too. 
Never aware of the alleged abuse at games, tho I did see him react to crowd comments and also attack someone in the dugout one day. 😉

Jordan is just Jordan , tried hard but never really cut the mustard, whoever was making the passes. 
Seen some fine forwards at the stadium over the years, I’ll enjoy the memories of some of these guys. 

Polly's finest hour 😎

 

18 hours ago, DoofersDad said:

I seem to remember eyebrows being raised last year by some folk wondering why Motherwell were signing Polworth when they thought he wasn't good enough to be in our starting line up.  Some players just need better players around them to show what they are capable of.  Polworth would see the clever ball into space but far too often those around him just weren't on the same wavelength.  This season he has been a major reason for Motherwell's good performance in the Premiership.

I think White is also an intelligent player and his problem has been that he makes the runs into the space where the midfielders should be playing the ball but all too often, don't.  I can see Polworth and White combining pretty well.

Despite the frustrations and un-called for criticism from some of the fans, big Jordan always gave 100%.  I'll be sorry to see him go but wish him the good fortune he deserves.

 Polworth and White will link up well as you say at Motherwell if that is club  where Big Jordan is going to .

However life will go on and maybe some will get their hopes of Storey through the middle for next season whenever it may begin.

My sentiments are exactly the same as yours which I have highlighted in bold from your post as you have put it better than I could have.

 

 

Jordan mentioned on a podcast how he has missed playing with Polly. He knew that Polly would look for a pass into his feet for him to hold it up and lay it off. He said Keats is more of a striker and looks to shoot before a pass. Other podcasts iv listened too have talked about how the system revolved around Polly as he was the most creative/influential player. Crazy that he was chastised by a small number of numpties in the crowd because he showed frustration at times. Wonder if Polly has had an influence in Motherwell's move for white.

White just didn't fit in to our hoof it forward system was on a looser here straight away he's not got the attributes to play lone striker which is why he got slated but tbf he sometimes showed good link up play when he had somebody up top with him in a front 2 with a decent midfield which Motherwell have White may well become the player formerly known as the traffic cone! Motherwell and St Mirren both bid for the Cone start of last season so they must think he'd fit in to there system of play better than he did ours good luck to the big man he was at least wholehearted might even stick a £10 on him been leading scorer in the prem nxt season just for old times sake

Buzzing to see Storey playing up top nxt season is Walsh staying great player when he's not out injured what's his contract situ?

Not sure. There is a list somewhere showing when all contracts expire but I can’t locate it. 

Goodness knows what our squad will be or when we will next have a match but I hope we all get behind whoever is playing, whether experienced players or youngsters. 

As others have said, survival has to be the club’s focus and anything more must be seen as a bonus. Most other teams are in the same position. 

I am undecided on reconstruction. Going up would be good but we could be the whipping boys and come straight back down. 

I wish White well. No one can question his commitment and, unlike some, I think he has done a pretty good job for us. 

Storey up front could be interesting: he can’t head the ball either...  lol!!

Edited April 30, 20206 yr by Robert

I'd like to see us going up don't think it'd be the glory days under Butcher and Yogi but with a few wise signings there's a lot of out of contract players mind don't think we'd be right whipping boys either the bottom of the prem and top of the championships not a huge gulf even if we did go straight back down be a richer club and have the parachute payments again 

Tremarco is away. 

Where to?

Realistically I don't think we can resign any of those who are out on contract. Clubs may gamble hoping to gain an advantage but if it may well backfire badly on them

16 minutes ago, Stirling Observer said:

Where to?

Nowhere. For now at least...

Aye, Carly isn't getting his contract renewed apparently, basically the same situation as two seasons ago with Gaz. Like I said about Doran, I can't see him moving down south seeing the time he's been up here for, and I can't see him moving to C*unty given the reputation he has here with the fans.

But he also has his coaching school too, so he can't move too far away from that, so he's probably going to hang up his boots, and hop into a coaching role with us, or look for a management role in the Highland League.

If that was the club's decision to release Tremarco, then, in my view it was the wrong one for a number of reasons.

Firstly, he had at least one and possibly two decent seasons left in him at Championship level. Secondly, at this time of great uncertainty on every level we should be trying to maintain some level of experience and continuity. Thirdly, and no less importantly, he has shown great loyalty to the club and, even in this time of crisis, deserved better in return.

IF  it wasn't the clubs decision,  or perhaps a mutual agreement then...it might just be the sign of the times.

We can't move forward to a younger squad and keep our top earners and stay afloat with no idea when we will have the money to pay them.

Maybe he has received better offers, there is sure to be something on the table for him,  and I wouldn't rule out going across the bridge either. Its not far to drive.🙄

Edited May 4, 20206 yr by Satan
Sp

I wonder if the decision can be reversed at some point. It is unlikely that many if any clubs are in a position to be signing players so if the reconstruction sees us up (doubt it) then maybe we can offer him a deal later one if he hasn't already moved on. Down here Colchester United have released most of there out of contract players including a number of first team players that they would likely have wanted to keep because of the uncertainty. They did say though that if they get clarity then they would be happy to reverse the decision. But clarity is hard to give as i saw something last night that suggests the premier league are looking at the impact playing a whole season behind closed doors as experts don't believe a vaccine will be ready until mid way through next year.

Perhaps on Friday when we sing "We'll Meet Again" we could direct it at our current squad of players as well as the WW2 veterans !!

Obviously it's a huge shame to let go a club captain and stalwart. In an ideal world we would hang onto him as a squad player, dressing room presence and possibly a future coach.

But...

- even before Covid we were not exactly rolling in it. It's hard to believe that our club captain wasn't one of our higher earners. If this helps us retain Doran and/or Walsh I would say it is worth it

- We have a young left-back in Cameron Harper who the club seem to think highly of, and who will be much cheaper

- Age is a bigger issue than it ever was in football. Given the pace of the modern game and fitness requirements too, it's not exactly common for players to keep going into their mid-to-late thirties even at this level. The only outfield players at full-time Championship clubs who are older than Tremarco: Mark Kerr, Christophe Berra, Brian McLean, John Sutton, Darian MacKinnon and the mighty Stephen Dobbie. Only MacKinnon plays a role that involves a lot of running up and down the pitch, and he's regressed rapidly in the last year or so. Tremarco has still put in great shifts this season but he's already a bit slower than at his peak

I do wish the club could have kept this under wraps until they were ready to announce it, rather than it getting to the press first. Carl certainly deserves better.

Contract not being offered or renewed is different to being released or terminated - once the contract expires he is already a free agent so no need to 'release'. This is different to Warren in many ways as he had a valid contract and was told to leave and the club spun media stories to help force him out.

I'm sure there will be other players not getting contracts renewed at this stage by ICT and many other clubs, only once there is a defined path to restarting football do clubs need players and I'm sure there will be a significant pool all desperate for clubs at that stage. Those on contracts extending beyond this summer are a commitment that clubs will have to try maintain or renegotiate terms for deferrals or reductions.

I notice Robbo being linked to the St Johnstone.vacancy.

Probably get 2 or maybe even 3 guys in for what Carlo was being paid.

1 hour ago, caleyboy said:

Probably get 2 or maybe even 3 guys in for what Carlo was being paid.

Recall being quite shocked at a Sponsors Night event, when Richie Foran was asked what was the best part of being Captain  of the Club.  His answer, and he wasn’t joking, was “The Money”.   So, being captain and vice captain brings extra  spoondoolacks.  

 

14 hours ago, RiG said:

Tremarco is away. 

I hope that is not the case: what is the source of the information?

He took a pay cut when he renewed his contract after relegation so I would hope we can give him an extension when his contract expires. 

As it is almost two months until then, I hope this is just rumour and speculation. 

Edited May 4, 20206 yr by Robert