Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Bare Bones....

[Worthy4England]

I like Bod and we’ve missed him. But if we extend his deal that’s four strikers contracted for next year (Dion, Ade, Jerome). That’s presumably our lot. Are we happy with it?

Need also note that strikers’ wages tend to be the highest, especially if they’ve come from a higher division, as Bod did. It is, unquestionably, a risk.

As BWFCi says, depends on the money and the alternatives.

If you're trying to improve on your striking options you start with 4th best and work from there...usually...

I'd certainly argue that given we've had three goes at improving on Bod in January (one involving our biggest paid fee in a decade or more) and none of them are close to being as good that the idea we will upgrade on him easily is probably for the birds. If we're looking to upgrade on what we've got available start at the other end of the quality list....

I'm going to be really realistic...whilst he will command good wages we don't have the resources to sign a better striker. Even if we said bye to him. He's our ceiling right now I'd say in terms of striker quality.

If you're selling cars, you don't usually start with the shiny new one that you've just bought!

I don't see, unless there's something going on like he's homesick etc. that we wouldn't go into next season with Dion/Vic...Jerome similarly was on a deal that takes him through next year and as TW15 said, I think that was with a view to some sort of coaching role?

I do agree though that Bod is probably our natural second pick to Dion, right now. It's one of those conundrum thingies...

[Worthy4England]

All fine but let’s put it another way. Would we be wise to give one of our highest contracts to a bloke the wrong side of 30 who scored three league goals this season? I’ve seen that sort of stuff go wrong before…

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a good player and a good man and I won’t wail if he’s retained. But I reserve the right to worry.

Would we be wise to bank our biggest transfer fee and a high wage and then rely on a bloke who has hit double figures once in his career?

If we're shifting risks then Victor goes before Bod....

You mean as oppose to relying on a bloke who has hit double figures, never? And actually got 1 in 38 in his last season at Millwall?

Do you realistically see us unloading Vic unless (as I mentioned), there's some sort of "not settled and never going to settle" scenario going on?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

All fine but let’s put it another way. Would we be wise to give one of our highest contracts to a bloke the wrong side of 30 who scored three league goals this season? I’ve seen that sort of stuff go wrong before…

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a good player and a good man and I won’t wail if he’s retained. But I reserve the right to worry.

Would we be wise to bank our biggest transfer fee and a high wage and then rely on a bloke who has hit double figures once in his career?

If we're shifting risks then Victor goes before Bod....

It’s not necessarily a view I agree with, but if (if) we’ve made one risk-mistake does that legitimise making another?

We are also veering into the territory of saying we should get rid of contracted players, which is a whole heap harder than releasing lapsing players.

On the latter, by the way, the decision has got a lot harder than it seemed a couple of months ago, when many/most fans would probably have let go of Sheehan, MJ, Kacha… players are making cases for retention, which is good in itself, but makes the summer upgrade harder…

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

For the record, players out of contract in summer:

Dixon (DOB 9/12/93)
MJ (6/11/95)
Lee (22/6/88)
Sheehan (30/3/95)
Isgrove (12/1/93)
Kachunga (22/4/92)
Bodvarsson (25/5/92)

Plus loanees Traf, (Mbete), Bradley, Shoretire, Nlundulu
Nlundulu (5/2/99) - loan

[BWFC_Insane]

All fine but let’s put it another way. Would we be wise to give one of our highest contracts to a bloke the wrong side of 30 who scored three league goals this season? I’ve seen that sort of stuff go wrong before…

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a good player and a good man and I won’t wail if he’s retained. But I reserve the right to worry.

Would we be wise to bank our biggest transfer fee and a high wage and then rely on a bloke who has hit double figures once in his career?

If we're shifting risks then Victor goes before Bod....

You mean as oppose to relying on a bloke who has hit double figures, never? And actually got 1 in 38 in his last season at Millwall?

Do you realistically see us unloading Vic unless (as I mentioned), there's some sort of "not settled and never going to settle" scenario going on?

Who has played at a higher level generally.

The point I’m making is not that we sell Victor. It’s that we go in with Charles and Bod as our top two. Victor as cover and Jerome…we maybe need a fifth but we can see.

If Bod goes we need a first choice striker better than any of the ones we bought in January. Way better. And I’m asking how likely that is?

We need realism. We have a budget. Bod has shown his value here and we’ve tested the market and still he’d be first choice were he fit.

I don’t realistically see us getting better. And one can argue that Victor being here now makes us more likely to retain Bod as we have a younger player to take the load off him and to learn.

[Worthy4England]

All fine but let’s put it another way. Would we be wise to give one of our highest contracts to a bloke the wrong side of 30 who scored three league goals this season? I’ve seen that sort of stuff go wrong before…

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a good player and a good man and I won’t wail if he’s retained. But I reserve the right to worry.

Would we be wise to bank our biggest transfer fee and a high wage and then rely on a bloke who has hit double figures once in his career?

If we're shifting risks then Victor goes before Bod....

You mean as oppose to relying on a bloke who has hit double figures, never? And actually got 1 in 38 in his last season at Millwall?

Do you realistically see us unloading Vic unless (as I mentioned), there's some sort of "not settled and never going to settle" scenario going on?

Who has played at a higher level generally.

The point I’m making is not that we sell Victor. It’s that we go in with Charles and Bod as our top two. Victor as cover and Jerome…we maybe need a fifth but we can see.

If Bod goes we need a first choice striker better than any of the ones we bought in January. Way better. And I’m asking how likely that is?

We need realism. We have a budget. Bod has shown his value here and we’ve tested the market and still he’d be first choice were he fit.

I don’t realistically see us getting better. And one can argue that Victor being here now makes us more likely to retain Bod as we have a younger player to take the load off him and to learn.

Maybe despite the evidence of our eyes, Evatt thinks he's got the better option and after a summer in camp, it'll start to deliver. I'm sure Evatt understands the intricacies of whatever choice he makes

[BWFC_Insane]

All fine but let’s put it another way. Would we be wise to give one of our highest contracts to a bloke the wrong side of 30 who scored three league goals this season? I’ve seen that sort of stuff go wrong before…

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a good player and a good man and I won’t wail if he’s retained. But I reserve the right to worry.

Would we be wise to bank our biggest transfer fee and a high wage and then rely on a bloke who has hit double figures once in his career?

If we're shifting risks then Victor goes before Bod....

You mean as oppose to relying on a bloke who has hit double figures, never? And actually got 1 in 38 in his last season at Millwall?

Do you realistically see us unloading Vic unless (as I mentioned), there's some sort of "not settled and never going to settle" scenario going on?

Who has played at a higher level generally.

The point I’m making is not that we sell Victor. It’s that we go in with Charles and Bod as our top two. Victor as cover and Jerome…we maybe need a fifth but we can see.

If Bod goes we need a first choice striker better than any of the ones we bought in January. Way better. And I’m asking how likely that is?

We need realism. We have a budget. Bod has shown his value here and we’ve tested the market and still he’d be first choice were he fit.

I don’t realistically see us getting better. And one can argue that Victor being here now makes us more likely to retain Bod as we have a younger player to take the load off him and to learn.

Maybe despite the evidence of our eyes, Evatt thinks he's got the better option and after a summer in camp, it'll start to deliver. I'm sure Evatt understands the intricacies of whatever choice he makes

Evatt has signed Bod too.

I don’t think the argument is sell one or the other. Bod has shown enough quality to be more than worth another deal.

If he goes then we need a very very big signing and it will almost certainly cost considerably more. If we are shopping in the championship striker market then I will be delighted. I just don’t see it.

[truewhite15]

I think an argument can be made for any/all of the contracted lot to be improved upon in summer, but equally a case can be made for any/all of them (with the obvious exception of Dixon) to be retained too.

I wouldn't say it's a bad position to be in - I'd rather this than have 7/8 wasters that we're counting down the time to discard - but it's certainly an interesting conundrum.

[Worthy4England]

The argument certainly isn't sell one or the other. One has an expiring contract!

Whilst his total pitch time has been ~8 games, he's had 21 league appearances this season which is less than 40 minutes a game...prior to the last 3 that he started, he was sub 13 occasions vs 5 starts. Early doors I could never quite make out if he was fully fit and IE didn't fancy him starting, or whether he was carrying knock(s) so Evatt was using him sparingly...

[Worthy4England]

I think an argument can be made for any/all of the contracted lot to be improved upon in summer, but equally a case can be made for any/all of them (with the obvious exception of Dixon) to be retained too.

I wouldn't say it's a bad position to be in - I'd rather this than have 7/8 wasters that we're counting down the time to discard - but it's certainly an interesting conundrum.

Yeah mate - we'd much rather this problem, I suspect...whatever fans think of Kacha, IE was generally starting him in front of Dad Bod early doors, so there's another decision to make there too...

[Mar]

The argument certainly isn't sell one or the other. One has an expiring contract!

Whilst his total pitch time has been ~8 games, he's had 21 league appearances this season which is less than 40 minutes a game...prior to the last 3 that he started, he was sub 13 occasions vs 5 starts. Early doors I could never quite make out if he was fully fit and IE didn't fancy him starting, or whether he was carrying knock(s) so Evatt was using him sparingly...

I think it was a clear rotation policy in play. Think earlier in the season Evatt was using the first choice as much as he could, presumably it was partially to do with expiring contracts or trying to limit game time to unsettle players to get them moving for a fee (Dapo? Baka?). Either way, there's a clear set of business decisions being made to improve the squad, and from a players perspective theres a clear interest in not messing up your next contract gig by getting injured.

[Worthy4England]

One thing clear from tonight's game, is if we stick with what we have, one of them's going to need to get a shit-load more goals than this season, whilst Dion has another great season...in round terms, we've scored 10 less than Derby and 20 less than Peterborough....

[BWFC_Insane]

One thing clear from tonight's game, is if we stick with what we have, one of them's going to need to get a shit-load more goals than this season, whilst Dion has another great season...in round terms, we've scored 10 less than Derby and 20 less than Peterborough....

Yep. Indeed. Be a benefit though if one of them is a footballer rather than whatever Nlundulu is…..

[The_Gun]

One thing clear from tonight's game, is if we stick with what we have, one of them's going to need to get a shit-load more goals than this season, whilst Dion has another great season...in round terms, we've scored 10 less than Derby and 20 less than Peterborough....

Yep. Indeed. Be a benefit though if one of them is a footballer rather than whatever Nlundulu is…..

I don’t really get your criticism of Nlundulu - I thought he was good again when he came on last night. He can hold the ball up much better than any of our other strikers, is fast and carries us up the pitch very quickly, and looks to have fairly good feet/dribbling ability. I think he’s a nice option as an impact sub.

[BWFC_Insane]

One thing clear from tonight's game, is if we stick with what we have, one of them's going to need to get a shit-load more goals than this season, whilst Dion has another great season...in round terms, we've scored 10 less than Derby and 20 less than Peterborough....

Yep. Indeed. Be a benefit though if one of them is a footballer rather than whatever Nlundulu is…..

I don’t really get your criticism of Nlundulu - I thought he was good again when he came on last night. He can hold the ball up much better than any of our other strikers, is fast and carries us up the pitch very quickly, and looks to have fairly good feet/dribbling ability. I think he’s a nice option as an impact sub.

He looks absolutely clueless to me. I mean he’s got the physical attributes. Doesn’t look like he knows how to play football though.

[The_Gun]

One thing clear from tonight's game, is if we stick with what we have, one of them's going to need to get a shit-load more goals than this season, whilst Dion has another great season...in round terms, we've scored 10 less than Derby and 20 less than Peterborough....

Yep. Indeed. Be a benefit though if one of them is a footballer rather than whatever Nlundulu is…..

I don’t really get your criticism of Nlundulu - I thought he was good again when he came on last night. He can hold the ball up much better than any of our other strikers, is fast and carries us up the pitch very quickly, and looks to have fairly good feet/dribbling ability. I think he’s a nice option as an impact sub.

He looks absolutely clueless to me. I mean he’s got the physical attributes. Doesn’t look like he knows how to play football though.

I know you're prone to exaggeration, but 'absolutely clueless' I think is really wide of the mark. At this point I think I'd sign him if he were available to us for no fee.

[BWFC_Insane]

One thing clear from tonight's game, is if we stick with what we have, one of them's going to need to get a shit-load more goals than this season, whilst Dion has another great season...in round terms, we've scored 10 less than Derby and 20 less than Peterborough....

Yep. Indeed. Be a benefit though if one of them is a footballer rather than whatever Nlundulu is…..

I don’t really get your criticism of Nlundulu - I thought he was good again when he came on last night. He can hold the ball up much better than any of our other strikers, is fast and carries us up the pitch very quickly, and looks to have fairly good feet/dribbling ability. I think he’s a nice option as an impact sub.

He looks absolutely clueless to me. I mean he’s got the physical attributes. Doesn’t look like he knows how to play football though.

I know you're prone to exaggeration, but 'absolutely clueless' I think is really wide of the mark. At this point I think I'd sign him if he were available to us for no fee.

You're watching a different player to me then. I think if we had Allardyce or Pulis or Parky managing us then I'd say there is something to work with there. He could learn to be a handful as a target. But for an Ian Evatt side? I just do not see it. He's miles off in his overall game and hasn't looked like scoring. His pace is good for a big man but then he has the ball at his feet and looks completely lost.

[Worthy4England]

Deleted - fcuked up quotes

[officer_dibble]

I’m out on Nlundulu…he doesn’t look like he has a goal in him. Which is the same problem with Kacha - we need someone who can complement Charles but weigh in with goals as well!

[Worthy4England]

One thing clear from tonight's game, is if we stick with what we have, one of them's going to need to get a shit-load more goals than this season, whilst Dion has another great season...in round terms, we've scored 10 less than Derby and 20 less than Peterborough....

Yep. Indeed. Be a benefit though if one of them is a footballer rather than whatever Nlundulu is…..

I don’t really get your criticism of Nlundulu - I thought he was good again when he came on last night. He can hold the ball up much better than any of our other strikers, is fast and carries us up the pitch very quickly, and looks to have fairly good feet/dribbling ability. I think he’s a nice option as an impact sub.

He looks absolutely clueless to me. I mean he’s got the physical attributes. Doesn’t look like he knows how to play football though.

I know you're prone to exaggeration, but 'absolutely clueless' I think is really wide of the mark. At this point I think I'd sign him if he were available to us for no fee.

I was about to type to Insano, "Do you think we signed him as a here and now, shoo-in to start every game as a 19 year old?" - then I looked at his age - he's 24...I'm really not sure on this one, unless Evatt thinks he can weave some magic over the summer. He's shown flashes of pace, bits of hold-up - I don't think he's worth retaining, from what I've see thus far - although he could be a late developer and surprise us!