[Devongone]

Dancing, the major reason so many good players can be picked up in non-league football is that top clubs start cutting out deadwood so early it has plenty of green shoots just waiting to flourish.

Dawes and Onuwigan might flourish At Stalybridge. They've been worth a gamble, but if they don't shine it'll be decision-time on their futures (another season to develop or an introduction to the door). There is time for both ..... and the gains are so huge for a small club we can afford to give a player that extra bit of time. Which will be one of the functions of the reserve team.

Broadhead, you are looking at a centre back, where you've got to be physically strong and able to read the game. Centre backs rarely develop quickly. If we had one like that he'd already have gone.

Banks has been a disappointment. I don't know why. Maybe this is as good as he can be. I'll trust Cookie on this one.

Humphreys has done a wonderful job, much as I didn't want him. He's the reason we can afford to send Talbot out on loan. He gives the squad flexibility by covering a number of positions .... and experience when we need it. If you've got him on the bench you can gamble on an extra forward on the bench too. And when he comes into the team we tend to win ....... Replacing what he brings us would be bloody difficult. The big question is not whether he's deadwood, but whether he wants another season before management.

If you were looking for potential pruning, what about Gardner? He picks up a strain during the team talk ..... Or Chapman, whose ankles apparently are on backwards or something? Can they ever last the 90? But they do have talent, deadwood they ain't.

If the miracle happened and we went up, then I'd agree with you Dancing, we'd need to prune and recruit, because a number of our current team probably wouldn't hack it at Championship level. Players like Evatt and Hird aren't anything like deadwood, but they might begin to look it chasing a Nathan Redmond, or Gray at Birmingham or Brett Asseeyoulater at Forest.

Maybe by tomorrow and County have given us a chasing the concerns about being promotion contenders will be tinged with reality. Of course we'll sell and yes we'll prune .... and recruit too, but we need to be aware managers like Paul Cook are tinkering with very small margins when they bring success. Do we really think Yeovil are rubbish? Or Bristol brilliant? Let's get the 4 wins to stay up before we worry about who to ditch.

[bluepooch]

Its too early to say if Dawes,Onofwigun or Broadhead will make it with us but I have to say the signs don't look good at this stage .However I guess they wont be on much money so maybe they are worth persevering with a little longer .Banks hasnt really had a chance this season but there have been glimpses of quality in the little time on the pitch Ive seen him.
I ve heard things about his attitude but Cookie will make the right decision re these players I'm sure.I dont really think anyone can knock Ritchie during his time here and his experience off the pitch as well as on is invaluable .
Anyway I'm off to Notts County tomorrow fully expecting a positive result .

[Devongone]

Hope you're right about today Pooch. I'm sure you are about giving developing players that bit of extra time. Some won't make it. Can Arryibi ever get off the bench? Can Dawes even get back on it? Can Banks keep in mind how keen he was to stop fitting kitchens and get back to playing football full-time? Can Gardner and Chapman stay fit long enough to prove their talent genuine? But if you search hard enough for them there are question marks against all our players; that's why they are our players.

Running at Naas today, first race - LEST WE FORGET trained by EOIN DOYLE. Don't think it'll score though.

[spireitematt]

Well just been reading about Eoin Doyle's debut for Cardiff and he did well until he had to be subbed because he got injured.

[Devongone]

Blimey what has a few days in Wales done to The Ginger Costa? Imagine a Chesterfield player going to Sheffield and upsetting them. Good to see that the Wols remain as elegant and erudite as ever.

Perhaps Lavery will appreciate the temporary improvement in his environment and express a very natural desire to make it permanent (if he can make the grade with us).

[spireitematt]

He got subbed becuase he was being stupid   he had a yellow card for a normal foul if you like ? and then he got a warning from the ref about another foul ? followed by another warning from the ref about kicking the ball away !! and then he kicked the ball away 2 times more    he was lucky the ref was well a ref    or he would have been shown the red    by the way laverey isnt for keeps bluepigs    hes ours and we will have him back  

Cardiff fans said that he had to be brought off because he picked up two knocks.

We're not stupid we know Laverey isn't for keeps he's loaned till March 7th and then his loan may get extended till the end of the season. After that who knows he may want to join us permanently instead of being in the Wendy reserves.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Not knocking anybody Blue and Hump has done a sterling job for us but do you honestly see any of the players I named making it in Championship? I agree Banks looks like he could do it but just doesn't seem to want it. It went tits up for him once before which is why he was at FC Manc. I can see him back there next season.
The point I was making is that before we went up we would need a good solid squad of maybe 18 who could make the move up then draft in a couple of youngsters who show promise. I am struggling to get past 14 of the current squad who I think might make the move up a division. As some of our fringe players are on longer contracts, it would be another year before we could get the squad as we would need it to go up and stay up.

Dev, I have always wanted to see us bring our own youngsters through the academy and into the first team but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to happen that way. At best they get a 12 month contract then disappear into obscurity. The set up now does seem light years away from what we had before so maybe it will change for the better. But if we did go up to the championship any youngster would have to be phenomenal to make it into the first team and kids of that calibre are very few and far between.

[Devongone]

Where I disagree with you Dancing is that I don't think players need to be phenomal to make it at Championship level. Clint bloody Hill gets a game in the Premier League. BUT I agree a club does need to be very good at developing talent.

Premiership clubs have all the right steps in place to develop players, but they also throw in an enormous amount of hurdles that everyone is expected to jump at the same time and at the same age. And then they feed in the buying power to bring in potential first teamers from all over the world ....... No wonder so few home-grown players make it. No wonder clubs make so many mistakes in rejecting future stars too early.

To jump from the Juniors to the first team without any reserve team structure makes it almost impossible to develop younger players. It also makes it very difficult to maintain a subs bench of seven players when your first eleven is staying fit and doing the business. So I don't think we are making a revolutionary move, but we are correcting a fatal error in our structure.

Crewe and Exeter develop a lot of their own players, so it's possible. Getting them to Championship level is harder, but Ajax supplies much of Europe with the talent it develops.

For us what is the alternative? We can only improve by bringing through talent and finding and exploiting that talent rejected by bigger clubs. We will always lack buying power, but there's no reason for us to lack brain power.