holt, who goes there?

If true, I''m starting to get rather concerned. I know that the season is still a fair way off however our promotion squad from only two seasons ago has been totally decimated. Now I know that the relegation season and last season weren''t good enough but can you think of any other team who has completely started again and been immediately successful. CJ brings so much to the team, goals, work rate, passion and he appears to be a great pro, so to even consider selling him to a rival (similar to the Howson situation) could be absolute football suicide. I look forward to being proved wrong.

And to answer the initial question I think that team would go down.......minimal first team experience across the entire team would send them straight down to league one. There''s a reason why most teams have a good mix of youth and experience!!!

Interesting development from the OP but worth a good debate regardless. Every team plays with some form of tactics as players all have set positions. If there were no tactics players would be free to roam the pitch at will so we could end up with Jerome at CB and Pinto up front........hmmmm now there''s a thought!!!

I still get the feeling that if he stays next season then he''ll be a massive player for us. After Neil''s departure his performances improved considerably, so if we can keep him happy and settled in the team then we may just have a player on our hands who can drive the team forward to promotion.

Can you guys not see that we''ve gone proper old school and appointed Runar from the ice age films?

I''ve mentioned it on here before but I''m proud of our owners. Regardless of how much they spend/don''t spend they definitely care about the club and that counts for a lot.

I expect us to sign a mixed bag this transfer window and I''m sure there''ll be the odd league one player in there but having looked at the out of contract list for league one players I''d be surprised if any of them come our way.

Wagner would definitely be my choice. His ''tinkering'' may be an absolute stroke of genius but it could also be his undoing as it may plant the seed of doubt in any future employers mind.

Wow.......league 1 free transfers!! Can you possibly imagine this forum come the 1 Sep 17 if we''ve only signed a group of league 1 free transfers? We''ve got to aim higher than that I''m afraid.

Really interesting playoffs this year as I see them all at a very similar level. Five points between all four teams, is nothing but I agree that momentum can be massive, so Fulham for me. On a seperate note, what are peoples thoughts on how Wagner has approached the build up to the playoffs? If they win the playoffs then he''ll be the best thing since sliced bread and we''d have no chance of getting him but if they lose would you still want him here after all his tinkering?

Thanks for the welcome message. I get the age thing completely but I still feel that you''ve got to have an element of experience in any team/organisation. We all want to see a youthful, exciting team, full of enthusiasm but there will be times in the season when you need the more experienced players. Bent wouldn''t be a starter for me but he could definitely do a job imo!!

Some interesting players on that list who could maybe interest us but the majority are pretty terrible or at the end of their careers. Scott Parker stands out on a one year contract and I know this''ll be completely ridiculed but Darren Bent can still do a job on the championship as he''s a finisher......tin hat on!!!!

A confident keeper makes such a difference to the defence. Glad he''s made the no 1 spot his own.

Great post Essjayess!! I''m actually proud to have owners who really care about the club and regardless of decisions, have the best interests of the club at heart. Which other clubs can say that they''ve had a ''let''s be avin you'' moment.....? It was a bit cringey but it showed passion, a will to succeed and a love for the club.

So many options....... maybe she has listened and this is the outcome.

So who should this multi millionaire, business woman seek advice from?

If AN takes us up again, then he deserves another crack at the Prem. If we fail to reach the playoffs then unfortunately he has massively underachieved and should ultimately pay the consequences. Regarding Rowett, if we were managerless and looking for a new manager and AN was at another club, with his current record; who between the two would you choose??

Something appears to have clicked with the squad and I fully believe that our experience from the playoff season will give us a distinct advantage in the run in.

The multi stage fitness test actually goes up to level 21 and like has already been stated, is run over a 20m distance; so I''m not sure where the level 23 came from. There r a few other similar tests including an Australian version but the timings r slightly different. I conduct the test on a daily basis and haven''t seen anyone get over level 17. I''m pretty sure the original test was designed utilising seb coe, who managed level 21; heard he was quite fit in his day. Not sure wes is quite at that level but I may b wrong!!