Any changes?

[zebra]

Given our excellent season thoughts of areas of improvement were quite rightly kept offline given the need for everyone to back the team through to the conclusion.

Time to open the taps for more frank discussion.

Whilst acknowledging the fantastic contribution of Joe in the past, particularly in 2012/13 when he may have kept us up, I would like Lewis Carey to be our keeper next season.

Thoughts?

[Pete from Barnsley]

Judging by the tweets Lewis sent out when he left us, and what he's been saying recently about being disillusioned with football, I think there's doubt over him being a footballer next season. Let alone playing for us.

[mikeyh]

I rate Joe highly but if we could not do a deal for him then Lewis would be a good keeper ,he did well for us & it must have been a tough call to let him go ,also Howard has just been let go by Gillingham .Also non goalkeeper related Ryan Hall was released by MK Dons today.

[bromley]

May 16, 2014 20:50:52 GMT mikeyh said:

I rate Joe highly but if we could not do a deal for him then Lewis would be a good keeper ,he did well for us & it must have been a tough call to let him go ,also Howard has just been let go by Gillingham .Also non goalkeeper related Ryan Hall was released by MK Dons today.

Both good keepers, get one of them back if Welchy leaves. Wouldn't surprise me if Ryan Hall came back for pre-season either.

[exiled]

The first priority for me at this stage would be getting PJD, Anderson and Waldren signed up again. With those 3 plus Swainey we have a great base to build the defence and midfield. Clearly it would be awesome to retain Jack and Brad too but I would expect those 2 to be playing either in league 2 or for an ambitious conference premier side. If they do go, the first priority will be covering their loss and the attack in particular may need a fair amount of re-shaping, but equally I'd like to see Dennis given a chance up front. As to the rest of the team, I'd be very happy to retain the vast majority. Joe's a good goalkeeper for this level, reliable and pulls off the odd fantastic save - if his distribution matched the rest of his game he'd be excellent.

[col]

I'd keep all of the back five, Joe rarely let's us down and the four in front had great seasons.
If we do lose Jack and Brad to the pro game, then we need a solid quick centre back and the holy grail of a twenty goal a season striker.
The midfield was a real plus last season, if we can add another experienced head in the middle alongside Danny, Ash if he keeps playing and Ali plus keep PJD, Louis and Brendan it's looking good.
A few guys have left Conference clubs recently due to travelling problems, Clark from Welling? We shud be on their case.
Without Brad goals are the real problem, I can't think of a striker we could get who will get close to his total and although May is an excellent foil, he didn't reach double figures.

[Pete from Barnsley]

May 20, 2014 5:30:09 GMT col said:

A few guys have left Conference clubs recently due to travelling problems, Clark from Welling? We shud be on their case.

Clarke's already signed for St Albans.

[Swaine's Ginger Cat]

If we lost Jack to a higher level, Paul Lorraine has left Ebbsfleet due to changes on their training times next year.

Joe's distribution isn't great for this level but his shot stopping is. Unless someone like Foderingham suddenly became available then I certainly wouldn't want to lose Joe. He helped keep us in this league for 2 seasons & helped us nearly get promoted this time, he's good enough for me.

[martinr]

are people seriously questioning Joe's position?? ............... jesus christ, what has this come to!!

[mikeyh]

Paul Lorraine is a great centre back but he is probably to similar to Swaine ,Ebbsfleet lost the other centre back too Sanokfo ? Dont think too many people would be unhappy if Joe stayed he has done well for us but its one hell of a trip for him to keep doing .

[mcfromthebar]

I can't believe people are questioning Joe. He may not of maintained the level he was at the previous season when voted Player of Season, but he is head, shoulders & gloves above Lewis Carey. He was toilet & should never of kept Joe out of the side at the start of the season as long as he did. Thankfully Goldberg saw sense in the end.!!! We need to try and keep hold of him along with the rest of the back 4. For Swainey to have already put pen to paper speaks volumes, hopefully the rest will follow..

[crouchm]

Top of my wish list would be a big old central midfielder [that's a B••••D] and a centre forward that gets stuck in to unsettle defenders. The lad we got in from Concord stands a chance. Bound to be a few let go . But if most stay would only need a few new faces to fancy our chances.

[rappers]

Can't believe the comments about Joe Welch not being up to it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be careful of what you wish for and we may end up with another Lloyd Anderson.

Interesting names being put about , but what happened to Alfie May , a direct replacement for Bradley if / when he does go .

[col]

Tyrone Sterling has just left Dartford, we should be right on his case, a great defender and very quick.

[exiled]

Easy tigers! I don't think Zebra (or anyone else) has said that Joe is not up to it or is calling him into question. As far as I can see Zebra has expressed a preference for Lewis Carey, which is far from amounting to something he should be sectioned for! As I said in my last post, Joe is a good, reliable keeper at our level and (as Zebra himself has pointed out) in his first season and a half with the club he contributed in no small way to keeping us in this league. The biggest compliment I'd pay him is that you can count on one hand the number of mistakes he makes in a season, which is no mean feat for a keeper at this level. In my eyes, the only thing that holds him back from breaking into that group of the top 3/4 keepers at our level is his distribution, which is one area where Carey is definitely better than him. As to Carey generally, I thought he was very unlucky to be let go, lets not forget that he was our keeper during a terrific start to the season and filled in for Joe admirably. Can't agree in any way that he was "toilet" during our time with us. That said, if the choice was between the 2 I would stick with the original decision and keep Joe. With rumours flying round of a big increase in budget you never know what is going to happen over the next few months tho...

[devonraven]

If we are throwing out names apparently Stacy Long has been released from Ebbsfleet. He is a born and raised in Bromley and is very much rooted to the local area with family/work connections ect. Very experienced midfielder won the FA trophy with the Fleet, then went with Stevenage from the conference national all the way up to league one. Dropped down to league two to captain Wimbledon for a season. He returned to fleet last season taking a massive pay cut in order to play football but also start setting up a business on the side. No doubt he is experienced and has quality, from what I read of the fleet forum they were really shocked at how little he was played (sort of a club hero to them). Was loaned out to Eastbourne for a large part of last season and played against Bromley when we went to there ground. Throwing out his name for if we are keeping the belief alive that we can push for another promotion attempt next season, he is the sort of player you want on your squad. Hard working, experienced and knows what it takes to for promotion. The only problem with signing a player like him might be the wage bill.

[AlanPep]

Zebra and I have talked about Joe and whilst we have slightly different opinions, I totally understand the question. Joe in my opinion is more than a match for any keeper in our league and has been since he arrived. What would help him push onwards and upwards is his distribution and this can be worked on so for his sake and ours (I want him to stay long term!) I hope our coaching staff are supporting him and helping him develop in this area. I think everyone needs to consider exactly how a defence is built and whilst skill, ability etc play a role, it's confidence in each other, belief and trust that are truly key, believe me I played in goal for nearly 25 years and it starts with number 1. Joe is trusted and believed in by our back 4 and that means one hell of a lot to the unit as a whole

[jamestanner]

Blimey don't see why people are getting so picky about things like Joe's "distribution". I acknowledge that you have said he is a great keeper but in my eyes is is one of about 3 or 4 that were consistently outstanding last season. His kicking is fine, as long as he gets it up field you can then let the out field players do the work. Joe's main aim is to stop the ball entering his goal. And he does that superbly.

I think there will be a few changes, I'm certainly looking forward to hearing any news of the coming weeks!

[AlanPep]

May 21, 2014 10:31:02 GMT AlanPep said:

Zebra and I have talked about Joe and whilst we have slightly different opinions, I totally understand the question. Joe in my opinion is more than a match for any keeper in our league and has been since he arrived. What would help him push onwards and upwards is his distribution and this can be worked on so for his sake and ours (I want him to stay long term!) I hope our coaching staff are supporting him and helping him develop in this area. I think everyone needs to consider exactly how a defence is built and whilst skill, ability etc play a role, it's confidence in each other, belief and trust that are truly key, believe me I played in goal for nearly 25 years and it starts with number 1. Joe is trusted and believed in by our back 4 and that means one hell of a lot to the unit as a whole

Don't want to spend time looking backwards, but I do think my comment above from May last year is valid when looking at current defensive frailties.

Keep the faith, onwards and upwards

[armchairraven]

You're quite right to congratulate yourself on that post, Al