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big squad with depth or small team with quality?


liampie

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i was just thinking about this seasons recruitment compared to the players we have released, some of the out of contracted players like lewis allesandra are doing well and are scoring for the new clubs. will patching and andy kellett never earned much game time for notts, such as waste of potential and money.

do you feel its better to have a big squad with depth or a small team with quality?

its really a tough ask for any manager, being able to rotate players due to fitness/injuries and still have a competitive squad.

i personally think the healthy squad size is around 25-28 players covering each position at least twice.

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Personally, I think squad sizes over 30 is quite excessive and something which most cash strapped smaller teams should avoid - regardless if some of the players are earning far less than others.

You have to have depth and quality in any team, though, it's not so much about the numbers.

It's important to have players who can cover other positions whilst giving a good consistent performance. At the same time, I don't like seeing players become unsettled by moving around too much - as I feel they need to settle. You can tell someone is quality, though, especially if they give the same level of performance regardless where they play.

26/27 is where I think the right balance lies.

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I think the priority after getting the first team squad (11 to 15) settled and working as seamlessly as possible is the need to reestablish a reserve set up to give the developers and other players a platform for fitness and to impress the manager; also players returning from injury need a fitness regime and games in the reserves provide just that.

i think the manager has brought in players who can cover different roles which should reduce the size of the squad required but a few injuries and results might suffer in the long term.

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Smaller squad sides are good, but with experienced players and those who might be prone to injuries it could lead to other issues. I think the balance comes from having quality more than quantity, the club could always rely on a young team player if they prepare them mentally before.

This is always a good fall back plan if the quality isn't there in some departments.

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46 league games. 2 cup competitions. So at least 48 games. 23 players is plenty. Might get away with 20, but you'd want a decent youth team to cover in case of injury. I think Notts are pretty well covered at the moment. 

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I think a squad of about 18-20 is perfect. Your main 11 then 8/9 for rotation and injury’s. A small squad for me is perfect because you only get the players you know will play for the team. And if you get the right squad everyone will pull in the same direction. Small but mighty for me I think

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It's all about striking the right balance - if the squad is too big, you inevitably have players who are left out in the cold and team spirit suffers. If it's too small you can easily find yourself in a situation where you have to play players out of position or change the team due to injuries and suspensions.

You should really have two players for each position with at least a year's experience of senior football. The youth team graduates would then come on top of that, so they'd have the chance to make the breakthrough, but we'd not be dependent on them (many don't make the grade after all).

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I could ask is it best to have experience or young players with potential, it's all about balancing the squad.

If you have good players, but few who can play in other positions than it will lead naturally to a bigger squad. You have to have a good amount of depth to cover any potential issues, but not that big that there's players who will never feature.

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Small squad with loads of quality.

I think the best teams that play good football usually have a squad age of around 26, Notts has a tendency of signing older experienced players and those who are out of favour elsewhere. Would encourage the solid recruitment of this season myself.

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