County currently have 11 senior players under contract for next season

GK.= Joe Day & Nick Townsend
Full-backs = Cameron Norman and Aaron Lewis
Central defenders = Mickey Demetriou & Priestley Farquharson
Midfielders Scot Bennett, Matty Dolan and Robbie Willmott
Attacking midfielder James Waite
Forward = Lewis Collins.

A lot of hard work/money needed to bring in players of the wright quality, just hope it`s not more from down the M4.

I hope it is more from Cardiff & Swansea as their squads are by far better than ours. Useful to build relationships with clubs in higher divisions. Was the Bristol City connection only through Flynn?

Why do you hope it's not more from down the M4? Respect your opinion but isn't that exactly what we do want? Especially with JR's Cardiff connections.

I suspect that we are going to have a few Cardiff loanees next season. If they are good for us, bring them in.

If we are going to be a development club for Cardiff and Swansea then should we not spend the summer contemplating whether next season we should play in blue or white shirts?

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 25th, 2022, 12:48 pm If we are going to be a development club for Cardiff and Swansea then should we not spend the summer contemplating whether next season we should play in blue or white shirts?

That's an odd take on the loan system Stan. If we can utilise local, more successful clubs to maintain our league position or indeed get promoted from League Two then why wouldn't we? If we were in the same league as Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol City then you'd have a point.

Chepstow'sFine wrote: April 25th, 2022, 1:03 pm

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 25th, 2022, 12:48 pm If we are going to be a development club for Cardiff and Swansea then should we not spend the summer contemplating whether next season we should play in blue or white shirts?

That's an odd take on the loan system Stan. If we can utilise local, more successful clubs to maintain our league position or indeed get promoted from League Two then why wouldn't we? If we were in the same league as Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol City then you'd have a point.

Let's analyse this. By the way your opinion is as valid as mine and if you disagree with me I would genuinely be interested in your views.

So Cardiff loan us a young prospect. We pay part of the said players wages. We develop that player. It turns out that he is capable of playing League football. Cardiff say thank you very much and take the player back.

If however the player does not progress to the the required standard, Cardiff just walk away.

In terms Cardiff get all the benefits. Newport get limited benefit and take all the risk. Worse if Newport and clubs like Newport didn't go along with this, the likes of Cardiff would not be able to hoover up all the potential talent in the local area.

The loan system is good for the bigger clubs and bad for clubs lower down the pyramid. Unfortunately people think it's a good idea because County get to have the likes of Ben White for a year. But forget that in effect lower league clubs become development clubs. To a degree this was always the case. However in the old days the lower league clubs picked up a transfer fee when young prospects moved on.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 25th, 2022, 12:48 pm If we are going to be a development club for Cardiff and Swansea then should we not spend the summer contemplating whether next season we should play in blue or white shirts?

Afternoon Brendan. I ‘suggested’ that we would have a few more Cardiff loanee players next season because of the previous employment of JR. Whether the loan system is a good or bad thing is another discussion.

Mere mortals like us don’t get to have a major say on the system that football uses to allow players to move between clubs. We all have opinions of course, that is normal and the way it should be. The system is far from perfect, in fact it is not even good but there is sod all we can do about it at the County unfortunately. That said, we have to use it to our advantage until the powers that be decide the system is wrong. If we don’t, we get left behind in the scramble for players. No one wants that surely?

You make some good points Gents, but I’m mindful of the fact we’ve now got a Director of Football whose job it is to hone our recruitment so we cast our net far and wide and don’t rely on signing new players or loanees just because our manager knows them, or they are signed to a particular agent.

I’d be expecting us to look at players released by league 1 teams, youngsters available from the top clubs, plus to offer trials to non-league incl. Welsh league stars. The manager’s job is to mould all these together into a performing squad and to have Plans A, B and C and different formations and playing styles to break down our opponents next season.

Looking at the season as a whole, I think we’ve finished (or will finish) just about where I would expect. The first half of the season was really open with no single club except FGR excelling, but as always it’s the second half which sorts the men from the boys.

Next season will be interesting and immeasurably tougher - Crewe, Doncaster and Wimbledon coming down with (probably) Gillingham also, plus Stockport and another ‘big team’ (Wrexham/Chesterfield/Notts County) coming up. I would argue those six are all potentially looking at getting in the promotion places next season and you’d have to assume clubs like Tranmere, Swindon and Bradford will also be stronger. MF will also rejuvenate Walsall.

It will take a superb season from County to get anywhere near the top ten in 22-23 in my view, so we need our management team to quickly recognise where we fell short this year, such as:

An over-reliance on trusted senior pros, like Day, Dolan, Bennett, Willmot (after MF left) and Big Kev (before MF left) - all five are good honest players who have helped the club but I’m not sure we can carry all five next year in the squad, let alone often trying to shoehorn 4 of them into the starting 11 in most games.

We must, must, must try out some of our youth in the remaining games once a play-off spot can’t be achieved. Collins will do well if given a run if a few 90mins games. Some of the academy first-year pros who can play in midfield need to be blooded. Townsend needs to be given the number one shirt or one of him/Day need to be made available for transfer.

Chepstow'sFine wrote: April 25th, 2022, 11:06 am Why do you hope it's not more from down the M4? Respect your opinion but isn't that exactly what we do want? Especially with JR's Cardiff connections.

IMHO I think the Cardiff way is not the Newport way, (as shown over the last couple of months in our performances) I guess a number of our squad know they wont be getting there contract renewed come June so that may have also played a part in our dip in form.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 25th, 2022, 1:30 pm

Chepstow'sFine wrote: April 25th, 2022, 1:03 pm

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 25th, 2022, 12:48 pm If we are going to be a development club for Cardiff and Swansea then should we not spend the summer contemplating whether next season we should play in blue or white shirts?

That's an odd take on the loan system Stan. If we can utilise local, more successful clubs to maintain our league position or indeed get promoted from League Two then why wouldn't we? If we were in the same league as Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol City then you'd have a point.

Let's analyse this. By the way your opinion is as valid as mine and if you disagree with me I would genuinely be interested in your views.

So Cardiff loan us a young prospect. We pay part of the said players wages. We develop that player. It turns out that he is capable of playing League football. Cardiff say thank you very much and take the player back.

If however the player does not progress to the the required standard, Cardiff just walk away.

In terms Cardiff get all the benefits. Newport get limited benefit and take all the risk. Worse if Newport and clubs like Newport didn't go along with this, the likes of Cardiff would not be able to hoover up all the potential talent in the local area.

The loan system is good for the bigger clubs and bad for clubs lower down the pyramid. Unfortunately people think it's a good idea because County get to have the likes of Ben White for a year. But forget that in effect lower league clubs become development clubs. To a degree this was always the case. However in the old days the lower league clubs picked up a transfer fee when young prospects moved on.

Sorry Stan, didn't mean any disrespect. I was too forthright in my views!

My opinion is that the loan system is vital to a club with our means. We should have the best possible relationships with the professional sides around us in higher divisions and utilise loan signings when and where possible because it allows us to compete and maintain a football league position.

I understand Stan’s dislike of the loan system but it will not change and we have to find more Azaz and Cooper types and less Abrahams - I think that both loans and signings benefit from being relatively local as there are far less issues with relocation / home sickness / long travel home issues to deal with.

Maybe I'm taking an overly simplistic viewpoint, but as others have said the loan system is highly unlikely to change or next season; therefore surely it is for the management team to try and recruit what they believe will be the best possible squad for next season within their alloted budget whether that be by recruiting a number of loanees or not. Don't see that we are in any way able to be fussy about what club they may come from. Let's not kid ourselves that players will be forming an enormous queue desperate to get the chance to play for us.

Chepstow'sFine wrote: April 25th, 2022, 3:14 pm

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 25th, 2022, 1:30 pm

Chepstow'sFine wrote: April 25th, 2022, 1:03 pm

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 25th, 2022, 12:48 pm If we are going to be a development club for Cardiff and Swansea then should we not spend the summer contemplating whether next season we should play in blue or white shirts?

That's an odd take on the loan system Stan. If we can utilise local, more successful clubs to maintain our league position or indeed get promoted from League Two then why wouldn't we? If we were in the same league as Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol City then you'd have a point.

Let's analyse this. By the way your opinion is as valid as mine and if you disagree with me I would genuinely be interested in your views.

So Cardiff loan us a young prospect. We pay part of the said players wages. We develop that player. It turns out that he is capable of playing League football. Cardiff say thank you very much and take the player back.

If however the player does not progress to the the required standard, Cardiff just walk away.

In terms Cardiff get all the benefits. Newport get limited benefit and take all the risk. Worse if Newport and clubs like Newport didn't go along with this, the likes of Cardiff would not be able to hoover up all the potential talent in the local area.

The loan system is good for the bigger clubs and bad for clubs lower down the pyramid. Unfortunately people think it's a good idea because County get to have the likes of Ben White for a year. But forget that in effect lower league clubs become development clubs. To a degree this was always the case. However in the old days the lower league clubs picked up a transfer fee when young prospects moved on.

Sorry Stan, didn't mean any disrespect. I was too forthright in my views!

My opinion is that the loan system is vital to a club with our means. We should have the best possible relationships with the professional sides around us in higher divisions and utilise loan signings when and where possible because it allows us to compete and maintain a football league position.

I didn't find anything you wrote disrespectful. Quite the reverse, this board is at its best when people exchange views.

I do follow Mike's argument which is also made by yourself and others that we don't control the system and therefore have to play it. And of course acting alone there is nothing we can do. My view is that all clubs at our level suffer the system. Some supporters I feel don't realize that just as the loanees who are successful for us exist, so they do for all the other clubs.

It is the system which is wrong. Clubs at our level need to act in unison if it is to be tackled. Similar in my view to the reliance on agents. Only if all clubs act together can anything be done. Do I think anything will be done? Of course not. Doesn't alter my view that the system stinks.

The loan system is a benefit to us when the right players are brought in.Azaz and Cooper have been a reason why we have been up there.The downside is the likes of Abraham who was largely a complete flop.Another downside is having too many,six is far too many.Flynny tended to use a scattergun approach where some will be great and others useless.I expect the SD to do the groundwork and limit it to three quality loans only.I have been banging on about our academy and we have some good uns so let’s utilise them as well.