I agree @NCFCGuy if we get up (and it’s a big if) we need to focus on staying in league one, after all the hard work getting there we don’t want to come straight back down.

Hopefully, there'd be more scope for a more expansive budget in League 1 - with extra TV revenue, aswell as the higher EFL 'Basic award' and 'Solidarity payments' and hopefully extra revenue from attendance increases and larger away followings

Now is the time clubs start to announce who is leaving and which players they have re-offered contracts too. The latter is usually a good sign, I expect we'll be in for a few players in this situation.

I would go for Mark Helm 100%, a really good attacking midfielder who is more than accustomed to the hustle and bustle of League 2 football. Fleetwood are skint, losing tons of money and he only has 1 year left on his contract, so if we can offer a decent fee it might well be worth it before the out of contract scramble.

I wonder if we’ll be back in for Charlie McCann, he’s a player we’ve tried to sign before and I always thought he could be the potential successor to Palmer. He could be cursed though because every time he plays in League 2 he gets relegated.

Jordan Thomas who I really rate will be leaving Cheltenham, but he’s a winger and unless we are planning on changing formation I can't see how he fits in here.

For release/re-sign decisions, I hope performances in these crucial play off games are weighted x 10 compared to regular league matches

If we’re ever to get promoted we need players who can perform when the stakes are at their highest

Agreed. If we do get promoted, or not for that matter, we need battlers with talent. On that basis, I’d keep McD & Platt for certain. Not sure about Norburn tbh.

I’d probably let Kouhyar & Bennetts go - Maz just doesn’t quite “cut the mustard” and Bennetts is simply too inconsistent. We ought to be able to do better and, with a bit of luck, “can” this fixation with wing backs altogether.

I am aware that in the past Notts would tell players ahead of time, hence why some just didn't lok interest andothers would suddenly seem to be trying. This mindset isn't present in the way the Reedtz run the club, but I would suggest it might be a case of Notts being aware of who they will keep or let go, but wanting the playoffs to be out of the way first.

Personally, I expect the retained list to come after our league status is known.

5 hours ago, YoopEyes said:

Agreed. If we do get promoted, or not for that matter, we need battlers with talent. On that basis, I’d keep McD & Platt for certain. Not sure about Norburn tbh.

I’d probably let Kouhyar & Bennetts go - Maz just doesn’t quite “cut the mustard” and Bennetts is simply too inconsistent. We ought to be able to do better and, with a bit of luck, “can” this fixation with wing backs altogether.

I mostly agree, although I would pass on McDonald. I think he was probably brought in as cover for Platt and Bedeau and his injury record hasn't been great.

I think Notts need to hedge their bets to a Degree and look for players that have 40+ games under their belt. I listened to Patto's Chesterfield presser and he said something along the lines of "Its hard to be consistent when the team is frequently having to change because of injuries" and I think that has been the crux of why we aren't celebrating automatic promotion.

23 hours ago, menzinho said:

Jordan Thomas who I really rate will be leaving Cheltenham, but he’s a winger and unless we are planning on changing formation I can't see how he fits in here.

That's a really good shout, although I think we're able to adapt wingers and deploy them as Attacking Midfielders behind the Striker. Callum Stead from Barnet really impressed me when we played them and both of these would potentially offer the 'value for money' and the 'develop and sell' aspect the brothers like to talk about.

I wonder how much we'll rely on players that offer flexibility in where they can play. I think Myles Hippolyte (AFC Wimbledon) is out of contract and plays LWB or CM or Lewis Billington (Crewe) a RWB who at 6'2" could slot in at Right Centre Back.

I was reliably informed that actually McD & Ness were actually signed as the main centre backs but both got injured pre season and Platt & Bedeau started ahead of them last season. They were intended as the cover as I understand things.

In respect of composure, awareness & positional sense I’d say McDonald is, by a distance, the best defender we have. He’s the bloke I’d build the defence around tbh.

Bedeau has been effective as an attacking left sided defender and, after a brief spell where he’s been out of sorts, he looks back to normal. I’d prefer him at lb in a back 4 and do away with the wing backs.

18 hours ago, YoopEyes said:

I was reliably informed that actually McD & Ness were actually signed as the main centre backs but both got injured pre season and Platt & Bedeau started ahead of them last season. They were intended as the cover as I understand things.

In respect of composure, awareness & positional sense I’d say McDonald is, by a distance, the best defender we have. He’s the bloke I’d build the defence around tbh.

Bedeau has been effective as an attacking left sided defender and, after a brief spell where he’s been out of sorts, he looks back to normal. I’d prefer him at lb in a back 4 and do away with the wing backs.

Interesting how things worked out if that's the case - Jacob has played in every league game since he joined and Matty played in every league game last season. Despite his undeniable attributes, I still think with his age and his issues with injury I'd look for someone who like McDonald is Left footed and could play central and cover the left side if anything happens to Jacob (I think he's got the left side spot nailed down).

I agree about the formation, I think we need to be able to change it up as we look one dimensional sometimes. We could also make use of players like Enoru and Bennetts who seem to look like a round peg in a square hole in some games.

i would avoid selling players to maximise the budget, i dont think jodi jones would have much value in a transfer due to his age and injury issues. i think we only need to fix what we lose and add on to strengthen areas. another keeper, if kelle roos can be moved on. a centre back who is not injury prone and good enough for the first team, a winger, striker and the rest could be players that are looking to establish themselves .

the trtained list may change my thoughts tho.

Time to chip in on this debate...players out of contract next month

McDonald - I think we can be a little less sentimental than we when came up to L2, but this guy is a hero of our promotion. And a class player, whose reading of the game can help stretch his career into his mid-30s. I say we offer him a new 2-year contract.

Norburn - Ditto. We can avoid his slow start now, and he'll bring the calmness and nous that'll be important in L1

Tsaroulla - don't let him do to us what he did to Crawley. Tie him down through his peak with a 3 year deal

Platt - having two defenders out long-term to start life in L1 is a big handicap. How convenient it would be to cut. But we just can't. Reputation around football and within our club dictates that we have to look after him. Also, he's too good. If we ever did slip back down, having a warrior like him would mean we'd never slip down to far. Length of contract to offer though is tricky

Bennetts - we have to say goodbye and good luck. We can't ride with a player who'll struggle at the level and won't score or assist. We have to take a punt of someone else, or use the salary slot, combine it with another ,and get a top first teamer in. The consolation for Bennetts is that his association with a promotion team will land him another team in L2

Kouhyar - exactly the same. I think he'd be closer than Bennetts, but we needed to see much more in the games he started.

Tangan - unless they've seen great things in training, I don't think we should pick up the option to buy. He's not always involved and we can't afford that type of player in L1 matches. It's still a gamble and we need sure things in the No 10 positions

Perott - keep

Edited May 26May 26 by theAnticlough

I've been thinking about this myself. After promotion from the NL we held on to players who, with hindsight, we should have moved on. However, the warning signs had been there. This time, some of the players out of contact have been top performers.

I'd renew with McDonald for the reasons stated above. Norburn has grown into a key player and has League One experience, he's good for another year minimum. I'd also give Platt another year, although this is a risk for the club due to his injury.

Tsaroulla is the one I think other clubs might be interested in and we look much better when he's in the team. Tie him down, physically if necessary.

Kouhyar has done well given the step up and is clearly trusted by MP to do a job when we'reclosing a game out. However, he has never seriously looked like holding down a first team spot and has little goal threat. I think L1 is a step too far for him.

Bennetts has played above League One level, but has only really looked good for us when coming off the bench. Even then, there's often been little to no end product. I doubt the club will renew and suspect he'll be heading back to Germany.

Tangen is the wild card. We've had glimpses of a quality player who is comfortable on the ball and can play in both attacking midfielder and in the Palmer position. He could blossom in L1, but he would be a gamble. I'd personally pass and go all in on the AM positions over the summer, but he could be an interesting one to watch if he does join permanently.

I'd give both Platt and Rod a year extension. Platt can go out on loan if he doesn't perform. If we go down, at least we could tie him up for a season in league 2.
Tsaroulla I'd give an extra year and extend Norburn as well. 

Hinchy, Grant, Roos, Bennetts and Maz I'd respectfully release and I wouldn't sign Tangen. Enoru and Griffiths I'd loan out. Traore will almost definitely be sold as well.

Main priority is those AM spots and obviously I'd love to see Luker and Iorpenda back, so that's imperitive. Also depends what happens to Jatta as his price will be premium and we're likely to get above a mil for him. If that happens I'd be straight in for John-Jules at Kilmarnock and ask if they'd take Roos as part-exchange.

I agree with most of the above. Despite saying I'd release McDonald and Norburn earlier in the thread - They both deserve another year with us. Tsaroulla should get another 2-3 years. All others I think we should pass on. Matt Dennis Looked a bit subdued in the promotion Celebrations. Is this a sign he's on the move over the summer? He'd command a decent Fee with his goalscoring record this season and his spell during the 2nd half of last season with Carlisle showed it's not a one off season of decent Goalscoring.

Its looking like Cal Roberts is our first signing from what's been circulating online. If so, I hope he's used as an Attacking Midfielder and not at Wing Back.

GK - I think we need to offload Roos as he is reported to be on a hefty salary. Whether we mutually terminate or move him on for a free, I think Belshaw needs someone who will provide genuine competition for the No 1 spot.

With us only having Jones and Tsaroulla at Wing Back (If Bennetts and Khouyar are released) we'd need 1-2 Right footed WBs. Ilmari Niskaned would be at the top of my list - a free agent and got 3 goals and 13 assists in League 1 for Exeter City.

CB is such a hard one to recruit for. Platt and Macari will likely be out for a good chunk of the start of the season and were going to need 2-3 new signings in this position. do we go for a solid performer in league 2 and hope they can step up? or should we tak a gamble on someone like Ricardo Santos? he had a few solid seasons with bolton before an injury that hampered his first season with Swansea.

I think the biggest Transition is going to be our Attacking ranks. I think Iorpenda is going to be unrealistic. Huddersfield are likely going to tie him down and offer a new Deal. Do we throw money at Bristol Rovers for Issac Hutchinson? Tangen is an interesting prospect - showed real potential in spells but looked a little light physically. However, I think promotion might suit him better. Playing in a league that is more technical and less physical might play in his favour.

As well as Cal Roberts coming back, does anyone see any familiar faces returning? Maybe a move for McGoldrick could be made - I think we could use him as a squad player and give him 15-20 starts and possibly another 10 sub appearances. Also could we move for a loan for Macaulay Langstaff? He's familiar with our style of play and could offer something different to Jatta or even operate along side him. Jatta is someone who creates a lot of chaos and Macca would thrive in a poaching role and could rediscover his goalscoring form.

56 minutes ago, NCFCGuy said:

I agree with most of the above. Despite saying I'd release McDonald and Norburn earlier in the thread - They both deserve another year with us. Tsaroulla should get another 2-3 years. All others I think we should pass on. Matt Dennis Looked a bit subdued in the promotion Celebrations. Is this a sign he's on the move over the summer? He'd command a decent Fee with his goalscoring record this season and his spell during the 2nd half of last season with Carlisle showed it's not a one off season of decent Goalscoring.

Subdued is generous, largely absent would be more accurate. If you look at the line receiving and lifting the trophy, Bennetts and Kouhyar look halfway out and Dennis isn't there at all. Looked like he gave it a miss then had a change of heart, but still didn't really enter into the spirit of it.

So, selling for a small fee seems likely to me. He started so well, but doesn't seem to have reacted well when the going got tough. His substitute appearances got worse as the season went on, and there's no excuse for that.