like for like then

[teeboo100]

so its zebroski robinson tomlin stanley branston and bevan out being replaced at the moment by ojelnic saah ledbitter and mcphee with the added bonus of oastler and the worse player ive ever seen stevens bevan v oljenic well i fancy we are ahead in that 1 branston v saah reckon we are behind there zebs v mcphee well no need to compare we no the answer stanley v oastler oh dear it gets worse when we went to manchester it was painfully obvious that are squad was paper thin we had no options whatsoever if it wasnt working hence bringing on oastler for lathrope which did absolulty nothing and rowe turner for nicholson didnt work that 1 out now we seam to be pinning our hopes on lesser players and oastler and stevens 2 lads who hardley got a sniff last season i agree there is still time however we need in my oppinion 7 or 8 new players and quickly we started pre season today didnt we with billy kee also a lad who hardly commanded a 1st team place last year looking our main man i do have faith in mr ling however we need to move and move quick now lets just hope we arnt just committed to a relagation dogfight b4 a ball is kicked

[AustrianAndyGull]

I think we,ve got the makings of a good, solid side teeboo, even Zebs does go as is expected then i am still very optimistic. I was far from it before Ling arrived and a few players had gone though! If we keep the squad together now as it stands with Zebs excluded, the arrival of some strikers and a second keeper will see us do just fine IMO. I am just worried about the style of football Martin will try and adopt. I don't really know what his side at Orient or Cambridge used to play like.

[brucie]

i just don't see how anyone can be at all optimistic with the squad we have. As has been said by teeboo it was patently obvious that our squad was painfully thin, and that was with the likes of Stanley,Zebs,Branno and co.
We our now faced with the like of Macklin,Rowe-Turner,Stevens and Mcphee being regular first teamers.
We look to have the worst squad that we have had for donkey's years.
If we avoid relegation with what we have got this year Ling should get manager of the year.
Don't see the point of building a new stand - ok i appreciate things might be tight but it seems like our board don't even have any ambition to keep us in this league.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I should have really posted that we have a decent first 11 . Our squad in depth excluding that if you include stevens, macklin etc is poor i agree but i feel that they won't be first teamers anyway. Ling needs to start adding some firepower to the squad though pretty soon.

[rumurchap]

Guys whats with all the negative comments...a football hasn't even kicked off yet, give the new guys a chance...still a potential 6/7 signings still to come and you never know who Ling has got lined up. Ling has signed a goalkeeper who many believe could play at a higher standard, Mcphee is a poor signing in my opinion but im basing that on his previous time at club which is probaly quite harsh as during his one season he had 3 managers, played out of position, all the off field troubles and the season ended in relegation so morale was probaly at a low. I believe he COULD come in and think this is his last chance to make the grade in league football and potential be a good signing. Leadbitter, no-one can comment as no-one seen him play.
Billy Kee - big season for him and if he has a good year he could earn a good move on the back off scoring 15+ goals and if he does that surely play offs wouldn't be to far away again. Same goes for O'Kane and a lot of the younger players that if they play well then more than likely bigger clubs will come in for them, if not then relegation is a possibility but until kick off and a few games in you can't really judge the team or martin ling. Support the team, support the players. Zebroski didnt want to play for the team, In Mark Ellis, Eunan O'Kane, Lee Mansell and Billy Kee..this is a decent spine of a team at this level, I really don't think your giving the team enough support, all the negativity will surely spread throughout. Back the team, back Ling until at least a few results to give a fair outcome

[Warwickgull]

i just don't see how anyone can be at all optimistic with the squad we have. As has been said by teeboo it was patently obvious that our squad was painfully thin, and that was with the likes of Stanley,Zebs,Branno and co.
We our now faced with the like of Macklin,Rowe-Turner,Stevens and Mcphee being regular first teamers.
We look to have the worst squad that we have had for donkey's years.
If we avoid relegation with what we have got this year Ling should get manager of the year.
Don't see the point of building a new stand - ok i appreciate things might be tight but it seems like our board don't even have any ambition to keep us in this league.

Truly laughable and so predictable Brucie,

The 4th of July, the first day the players are back, the new manager probably hasn't got his name plate on the door yet and has just begun to shape his squad for the coming season. Yes good players have left the team but good ones have come in, and hopefully more good ones will follow. So far for me Mcphee has been the only questionable signing Ling has made, and why not take a punt on what seems to be a much improved and versatile player who knocked in plenty of goals last season.

Ling has allready said he wants 2 for every position, maybe, just maybe, we should wait a tad longer than 5 weeks before the start of the season to resign ourselves to relegation and forget about having a decent ground. :whip:

[yellowforever]

Can people stop asking people to be negative? We've lost our best players, our manager, and all the rumours of bringing people in are of unproven players. People have every right to be pessimistic about the season ahead.

Not time to give up quite yet though, wages are the main thing, and there must be space in the budget for a couple of half decent signings.

Over to you Ling..

[AustrianAndyGull]

Hey i am such a moaning c**t it is untrue and i was berated before Ling was appointed for being like it on most of my posts but i feel quite positive about this season. We have potentially signed some good, promising players. Yes Stevens has been given a contract - may as well have given one to Shakin Stevens, McPhee is back and might score a goal this season but those apart i think we are progressing again. We definately had the best of Branno and IMO he will have a shocker at Bradford, Robinson was lightweight, a bit like Danny Stevens but can actually play football, Bevan has been replaced by Olejnik, Zebs has gone - whats the big deal? Stanley is the only player i was sad not for him to sign for us. We just need more attacking options which i am sure Ling knows this and we have the makings of a good team. That said, if Eunan or Robbo go then we may have a few problems.

[highweekgull]

Olly (got to call him that) v Bevan - from what I've heard of the former and see of the latter, no competition - I'll take the former

Saah v Branno - again sounds like a good deal, Branno is legendary and we'll miss him but how many times have we all winced when we can see him going in late?

McPhee v Zeb - not a fair contest as they arent like for like but I think McPhee will surprise quite a few people but not those who have seen him get a chance for other teams since leaving us - good utility player - but we do need a good striker in place of Zebs

Taylor v North - haha no contest - bring on the guys who knows about defending!

Ling v Buckle - we'll wait and see but I am more confident than I was after our defeat at Old Trafford

[Southampton Gull]

Exactly how I see it.

Sure it's going to take some time but I'm really optimistic about our future with Ling running things. He can't scrape together a side and challenge from the off but he can, and has, build from the back and lay the foundations of a good squad. I'm pretty confident that in a couple of seasons we'll be thanking our lucky stars that Buckle shafted us and took some of our better players and allowed us the chance to unearth some more and move forward as a club and onto better things.

Not seeing that two-faced pipsqueak and his momentary applause after a game will cheer me up no end.

[highweekgull]

Could have said the same thing word for word Dave - nice one!

[basil75]

Oastler the replacement for Stanley?

Maybe I imagined it all, but I'm sure Oastler was here last season - so really Oastler is simply replacing himself.

Plus I'm much more optimistic about Saah than what I was about Branston when he signed for us.

[ferrarilover]

I love you TeeBoo, (just to appease Dave) but, could someone sum up what he said to save me the torture of trying to decipher what he's written?

Matt.

[Southampton Gull]

He makes more sense than you ever do

[ferrarilover]

For entirely different reasons.

Anyway, I've just read your 'whinging' post, you're right out of legs to stand on regards clarity, Mr.

Matt.