by shrimper » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:35 am
Danny Carlton
Chris Blackburn
Perks
Thommo
Newbs
Carl Baker
Not shooting anyone down because it's all good debate.
If you're saying we've lost some good players and not replaced them with players who are as good, then I don't think you'll get much of an argument.
If you're suggesting the club could have done something different with regards to those players, I'm not sure I'd agree.
With the exception of Newby all those above left our club to join others from a higher division. I don't think the club could do much about losing Danny, Blacky, Thommo and Carl Baker.
I think they were all offered improved contracts to stay with us - in Thommo's case it was reported as being a record offer for a Morecambe player. Anyway, there's no doubt that we wanted them to stay and they decided to leave.
With Perks he was kicking up a fuss (and you may say rightly) about not being first choice every week but, at the time, I didn't hear many Shrimps fans saying he should have been. There were others performing well in the positions he usually occupied. He asked for a transfer.
Newby may have still been here had he been on a longer contract but, with the need to get new players in, he was one who could easily be discarded to make way. Now you can argue about whether, say, O'Carroll is better than him - but that was the swap at the time.
Baker and Thommo would be hard for anyone in our division to replace. They had pace and skill and, whether they were playing brilliantly in a game or not, they always put opposition defenders on the back foot.
We don't have that at the moment (but it's not easy to find - we looked at Smith but he didn't prove the answer) and sides are not being cautious against us.
That's why we are really having to work hard to grind out results. But - until Saturday - that was kind of working okay and we were at least hard to beat.
Gillingham may turn out to be a turning point and we may go from bad to worse. We all hope not and that, instead, it can serve as the kind of boot up the proverbial that makes everyone realise just how hard it will be for us this season (if they didn't already) and the need to graft and keep concentrated for 90 minutes each week.
Is the glass half full or half empty? Mmmm? hard to say - but it does look like there's room for more beer!