Does Ben Garner deserve any credit?

Without knowing who exactly identified these players and who signed them it's a difficult one to form an opinion on.

A club is the sum of the parts, not just one person.

We appear to have the core of a half decent team, with plenty of potential to push on.

However, the manager is that, a manager, who lives and dies by results.

Garner deserves some credit but is outweighed by the results based business.

Tisdale has taken the same players and started to turn it around. Experienced manager.

Will be interesting to see who of BGs signings are still here at the start of next season .... I think a handful will go out on Loan in January to allow PT to balance the squad and he will reshape again in the summer.

In the main though there are some very decent young players ... BG / TW should take credit for assembling what could still turn out to be a very competitive squad.

Wow, I am surprised that question is even being asked. Of course he deserves a huge amount of credit. By all accounts he worked extremely hard whilst he was manager to get the right structures in place (staff, training ground etc). He improved the squad significantly from the one he inherited. We now have a group of players who can produce exciting football, and try and play rather than 'hoof'. Its amusing that some people put any positives in that era down to others (eg good recruitment was down to Widdrington) and any negatives are down to BG. Whilst I am sure TW did (and does) a fantastic job, it would be fanciful to think he was recruiting without the direction of the manager. Its hard to think of any area where BG did not improve the playing personnel. Now Tisdale is giving them the confidence to express themselves. Happy days

I can't believe we've already Gaschat FACTed "Ben Garner built the training ground".

A thing that had been purchased and planned several years before he was recruited.

Good post.  I am interested/worried about outgoings but I understand things need to change for balance and what not

I think everyone would agree that Kelly is most likely to go out either perm or on loan and good luck to the lad after reading about his past somewhere (Bristol Post probs) I hope he finds a team that can really get the best out of him. 

On to JML. If he doesn't have an option to sign then I can see him returning to Derby as he just isn't being used and PT isn't a fan of loans in that way so expect him to be off. 

I think McCormick and Ozzy are very much part of his plans right now even if they don't have option to buy.  On that, I think Frosty said McCormick still has 18 months so it would be a decent signing if he decided that being a Gashead would be better than a number in the huge pot of Chelsea talent.  He does seem to LOVE it here so fingers crossed.

Ozzy, I think his contract might be up this summer... so that could be interesting signing that I would welcome depending on his wage demands.  Really decent player than would have a home coaching those young guns around him a bit too. 

Homegrown talent in these areas aka Hargreaves who has been an ever present on the bench and came on in the last game, so not a forgotten man by any means.  Maybe he will stay on the bench and develop or maybe a short stint with regular football might be on the cards. 

I worry for Dave Tutonda... the fans favourite.  I think he has a role here and I hope he can be somewhat converted as the next ball carrier (in the mold of Sam Nicholson) seems to have the skills but not so great defensively which wouldn't be so bad further up the pitch as long as the good outweighed the bad.  I'm thinking he may loan back to Barnet... don't know why just a feeling.  In addition to that, we have that wonderkid from Weston Super Mare that will be looking at game time next season so even more competition on the left side.

Koiki seems to have impressed PT and that goal at Leyton O would have done him the world of good.  Imagine he will stay and compete for the attacking places.

I could see Liddle go out on loan to gain some experience although you get the feeling that he has decent development ahead of him in one of the 3 holding mids (either the no.6 or no.8 roles could suit)

I would NOT like to see Barrett loaned out... I reckon he has really good attributes and is waiting to explode into the starting XI when he gets his chance.  It's coming I reckon (That ball to Nicholson against Plymouth during his 2 minute cameo - niiiiiice)

Harries... not sure about him.  That you tube video and a few of his passes have been awesome and he has decent tackling and clearence stats to be fair, but out of favour at the minute, but maybe he is being developed as a defensive midfielder instead in the background... thoughts?  Wouldn't expect him to go out on loan.

For me his other signings are all staying very much in the first team set up:  Ehmer, Baldwin, Nicholson, Hanlan, Westbrooke, Grant, Daly and Ayunga.

The only thing Ben Garner can take credit for is being bold enough to rip up a squad that was riding high in 4th and assemble his own.

As that decision probably means that we have a squad that will have more longevity and long term potential than the one he inherited.

However, he had a head of recruitment to sign the players who are lauded.

And to credit him for the training ground is laughable. Wael and Starnes are behind that improvement, Ben just picked the paint for the changing rooms.

It was clear as muck, even before the season started, that he was unable to get the best out of these players. We’ve had a good run over the last few games from the tutelage of a proper experienced manager but there are still gaps in our side that will need to be filled. And those gaps are criminal - four left backs and three strikers. And question marks over the heads of some of those players. We need a few more games, or more importantly Paul does, to figure out who stays and who goes so we can push on.

Playing wise starting with Ben has meant that we’ve lost 14 odd games and have had to start our push late. We could have been punching at the top end of the table if we’d have started with a manager like Paul.

He deserves some credit but anyone could see we needed to move the team up the pitch and switch it a little, he oversaw some good signings but am critical that he left us short up front.

I liked what he stood for develop young players and keep possession but too much was between the back three, I wish him well, seemed a nice bloke.

Yes, deserves credit for making it through the job interview process, after that....nope!....worst manager in our entire history.

Whooosh