How will the Saints fare in 2010/11?

[Daedalus]

Just a bit of fun in the build up to the start of a new season.

I presume we'd all like to discuss our team and their chances next season, and find out what we all think?

So fill in the following and post your comments.


Best pre-season signing:
Most important/favourite player:
Promising youngster:
Who will be City's top scorer:
Biggest area for improvement:
Where will we finish:


Also be amusing to look at this thread at the end of the season to see just how many people were too optimistic or, more likely, pessimistic.

Incidentally, some of you will remember that we did this last pre-season at around the same time. You can check it out here: www.sacfc.co.uk/index.php/interactive/forum/General-Chat/3269-How-will-the-Saints-fare-in-200910.html#3269

[Daedalus]

Best pre-season signing: Would have been Ben Martin if he was coming back but now looking unlikely. I want to say Inih Effiong who has had a good pre-season. I'm hopeful he could come on a long way this season.

Most important/favourite player: Peter Smith. Also, many of the usual suspects will no doubt be important for us (e.g. Bastock, Everitt, Magwood, Dedman and so on).

Promising youngster: Has to be Rob Magwood and/or Ross Dedman. More of the same from both of them this season would be great.

Who will be City's top scorer: I can't look past Drew Roberts really, especially if he is taking the pens again.

Biggest area for improvement: It really has to be up front, doesn't it. We've had a goalscoring problem for several seasons now and it won't get any better with both Hakim and Cohen going.

Where will we finish: I see another mid-table finish on the horizon and I think, under the present circumstances, Castle and his team will do well to achieve that.

[Saint]

Mine from last year:


Best pre-season signing: Thurlbourne/Shields if he signs.
Most important/favourite player: Bastock/Thurlbourne/Shields/Frater. (Sorry can't really choose between the 4)
Promising youngster: Shields.
Player you'd most like to get rid of: No one at the moment.
Have we got the right manager: Yes, defiantly.
Where will we finish: Mid-table, if we have some luck we can push for the play-offs but that's a big IF.

My views for this season:

Best pre-season signing: Inih Effiong. He could be very important, someone who could be a decent strike partner for Roberts.
Most important/favourite player: Paul Bastock, the old guy who just cant stop being great in our goal.
Promising youngster: Effiong? He's still only 19 and in my eye's should be classed as a youngster still. Also, Ross Dedman and Rob Magwood.
Who will be City's top scorer: Drew Roberts, he takes the pens, gets into good positions and in pre-season, looked good linking up with Effiong, with 14 goals last season, I would expect him to repeat the same feat again this season.
Biggest area for improvement: Up front of course, it's been our weakest position for quite a few seasons now, even with Roberts and Hakim, they never had a partner who would get some of the goals.
Where will we finish: Mid-table, but once again, like last season, I believe we can near those play-offs positions.

[EFMTFTV]

Best pre-season signing: Don't know if you've noticed but we haven't made any, it's all last years mob + Oaklands kids
Most important/favourite player: Bazza
Promising youngster: By November it'll be a team full of promising and not so promising youngsters
Who will be City's top scorer: Iffy with 6
Biggest area for improvement: The Boardroom
Where will we finish Relegation zone

[bovysaint]

I'm afraid that I have to agree with a lot of that EMFTFTV but I do think that we will finish in about mid-table

[St Michael]

The current squad will struggle. Castle is a good coach and there are some some decent youngsters, but this league is going to be tough for us unless we make some better quality signings. The board must see this and should be backing the manager, a bad start and the attendances will fall off a cliff.
As usual we still need a strong and experienced central mid-fielder and a proven goalscorer, and the squad generally is lacking in cover for key positions.
Maybe all this is in hand, and we are just waiting to swoop as other clubs decide not to sign trialists, but i suspect that the money simply isn't there and its going to take another miracle to keep us up.

[EFMTFTV]

Don't need to worry too much about the midfield as we bypass it most games

[Daedalus]

Aug 5, 2010 9:13:11 GMT EFMTFTV said:

Biggest area for improvement: The Boardroom

I want to change my original answer to this.

[Daedalus]

Aug 5, 2010 10:19:23 GMT St Michael said:

The current squad will struggle. Castle is a good coach and there are some some decent youngsters, but this league is going to be tough for us unless we make some better quality signings. The board must see this and should be backing the manager, a bad start and the attendances will fall off a cliff.
As usual we still need a strong and experienced central mid-fielder and a proven goalscorer, and the squad generally is lacking in cover for key positions.
Maybe all this is in hand, and we are just waiting to swoop as other clubs decide not to sign trialists, but i suspect that the money simply isn't there and its going to take another miracle to keep us up.

Welcome to the forums stmichael.

I agree with much of what you say. Personally, I think Castle & Peters will somehow keep us in a safe position but they are going to have their work cut out.

Clearly the board aren't backing him sufficiently, which is why the talk of Ben Martin joining has come to a stop, and it's why we are lacking that goalscorer which we all hoped we would sign up this summer.

On the one hand, there are some positives, because we clearly have a very strong defence and some promising young players in other positions. On the other hand, our options up front are not looking strong at all, and clearly, as you say, there is little depth across the squad.

[Daedalus]

I want to change my answer to the best pre-season signing question. Has to be Ben Martin now.

[barringtongobi]

Best pre-season signing: Ben Martin
Most important/favourite player: Bazza
Promising youngster: let's wait for a loan signing from the Orient youth team
Who will be City's top scorer: Ben Martin or OGs
Biggest area for improvement: totally agree with boardroom. Let's see some directors with a passion for the club, some actual smarts when it comes to running a business and who respect the fans
Where will we finish: in the high court, with a winding up order. Alternatively, looking for directions to grounds in the Zamaretto league.