With the end of the season fast approaching and all of Cheltenham’s squad (bar Marley Watkins) out of contract, Mark Yates will soon be deciding who will be part of his squad for next season. With this in mind, my Dad and I sat down and discussed what our choices might be. In this first part we analyse the goalkeepers and defence.
GOALKEEPERS
Scott Brown
Tony: ‘I think he should stay, because they won’t get better than him. He might make the odd mistake but generally he’s been pretty good.’
Joe: ‘The problem for Scott Brown is that he is in the shadow of Shane Higgs who is a very, very good goalkeeper. Although Brown does make mistakes he is one of the better keepers in our division. He is still young and will improve, also our priorities lie elsewhere on the pitch.’
Will Puddy (Neither of us have seen him play!)
T: N/A
J: N/A
DEFENCE
Lee Ridley
T: ‘I guess stay, because he has got a long throw! He is reasonably steady and doesn’t seem to do anything particularly bad.’
J: ‘He is slow, but then could we do any better? Given how little money we have he might stay. Yates has dropped him before though and played Josh Low at left back, so equally he might get rid of him.’
Shane Duff
T: ‘He is one of the better players, I’d keep him.’
J: ‘There is no questioning his ability, but he is our highest earner and is also injury prone. If he can stay fit then it’s worth having him.’
Michael Townsend
T: ‘He does tend to hoof it, as the captain is he that good? I put a question mark by him.’
J: ‘He is solid and certainly a better player for playing alongside Duff. Townsend is definetely worth something, but I wouldn’t have him as captain next season.’
Andy Gallinagh
T: ‘He’s enthusiastic and has a good attitude. There’s no finesse, but he is eager. I think I would keep him.’
J: ‘He’s certainly not our best player in terms of technical ability, but his attitude is right and that counts for alot at our level. He can play in a number of positions and is an important squad player.’
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