https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... y-15067078" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I get that Hart will leave and having Pope with Heaton is in my mind the best for the club

Ward's contract not being renewed is ok, just hope we can get Charlie tied down to a new long term deal

Bardsley getting an extra year is ok but would have liked to have seen an improvement on both he and Lowton this summer

But, just can't get my head round the prospect of another year for Crouch - this is going backwards not forwards

https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/fo ... -1-9761889" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He's a good bloke.

A shame about Ward, the wheels do seem to have come off the wagon since the bust up in the Irish squad.
It would be hard for him to regain his place anyway, due to the leaps and bounds Charlie has come on. I hope he lands on his feet somewhere good, I'm sure he still has it in him to be a top fullback. I'll always carry the memory of him putting his body on the line at Stoke, to secure a great win.
Joe Hart is a shame, but completely understandable. You cant keep 3 happy, and we are blessed with 2 better than him. Major League would probably suit him best.
I'm with Dyche on Crouch, he is different. Hell probably only get a handful of cameos late on, when we are chasing games, but as he showed against Saints, that small cameo could be so important.

I reckon with no outgoings apart from Hart, assuming Ward and Wells leave and Crouch stays we have a squad of 21 already which includes Pope Heaton and Ledzgins. That would also mean Mitchell and Agyei leaving as they are too old to keep whereas O'Neill and McNeill don't have to be in the 25 squad

Keeping Crouch will be a tall order.

If Ward goes we need a replacement. Good to see Bardsley getting a further 12 months he deserves it, he is our best right back. Lowton needs moving on now, he is not good enough, although we need to find a quality replacement 1st.

No way do we let Lowton leave unless we have a replacement about to sign.

We really need to invest in some quality this year and particularly in midfield. Making up the numbers just doesn’t cut it imo. Crouch isn’t good enough for Stoke in the division below. I offer something different up front but it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

All these good young players that have been suggested for the last few months look out of our reach now other clubs have got involved.

Dyche knows what he's doing but he will get stick if he keeps crouch on for another year.

This could send some utc posters into meltdown. The transfer window / season not ended and some want players under contract "moved on" and will not be happy with signing crouch. Big money needs to be spent if we are going to finish 7th and win the Carabo cup. No ambition already shown in may!

Surprised no utc posters have taken the opportunity to call Hart out, plenty of time yet though.

I 'll start it then. Crouch was a ridiculous signing and giving him another year would indicate that we are ready to let next year be our last in the PL for the time being. Maybe it's a trick to enable us to get Adams for a decent price.

Term of Endearment From Mr Dyche..."Crouch is a weapon"

He causes panic in any defence whenever tbere’s a cross - there’s value in that

SalisburyClaret wrote:He causes panic in any defence whenever tbere’s a cross - there’s value in that

Does he really? At which end?

Anyone who thinks Crouch will be an asset in the Premier League in his fortieth year really have their head in the clouds.

I would rather we went back in for walters.... juke and sordell!

summitclaret wrote:Crouch was a ridiculous signing and giving him another year would indicate that we are ready to let next year be our last in the PL for the time being.

You might catch a few with that one!

So many people on here stick with Dyche because, whether the football is brilliant or not, he's brought about the success through his man-management and ability to get the most out of the sometimes limited resources at his disposal. Then the first time he intimates specifically that someone is contributing to that facet of what he's built, it's a disgrace. Can't have it both ways

It's not a disgrace but you do have to question this, if it does happen, bearing in mind Crouchs contribution so far. We will have to pay him thousands in wages.

I'd prefer to see a youngster in the squad and save the money.

Given that he can't start a game, due to his age, it leaves us with 3 forwards with Crouch as what I'd class as a 5th choice - someone who probably won't be needed much at all. We still need the 4th forward though to run Barnes/Wood for a starting spot, so we're still a forward light.

Been a complete waste of money since his arrival on what must be big wages.

Thought it was a joke signing at the time, offers very little and makes us a laughing stock to be honest

Would be happy to see him scoring goals but can’t see it tbh,

Another good lad in the dressing room ffs

Good to see the moaning back on this board!

I'd get the moaning if he was going to be first choice. He's not.

More than happy to have an ex-international striker as a squad player. Whether that's an experienced head to bring on for some game management, or someone who's able to pass on experience to others to improve them.

I'd much prefer him coming on for us than against us with 10mins left in a tight match.

If Dyche wants him for another year that's fine by me..I think he knows what he's doing..as regards who else stays and goes lets just get on with it....next season is our 6th season out of the the last 10 that we are in the premier league...amazing UTC

To be fair, we have only seen of him what SD has allowed him to show. A few minutes here and there when desperation sets in doesn't really give him the opportunity to show what contributions he could make. Same as Vydra really, to a degree.

SD and his team see all the players for many hours during training sessions so have a much better understanding of the physicality and skills that Crouch still has to offer. If they, and the stats they are addicted to, believe that Crouch is still capable, value for money (it is a squad game we play now and not everyone will get a chance out on the pitch to prove their worth to the team) and is still mentally prepared then I am happy to trust them.

After all our season after Crouch was signed wasn't that bad, was it?

He wouldn't be coming on against us in the last 10 minutes because he wouldn't get in any other PL team. He couldn't get into a poor championship team before coming to us. Not good enough, get rid.

5k a week max, sure

Top Claret wrote:If Ward goes we need a replacement. Good to see Bardsley getting a further 12 months he deserves it, he is our best right back. Lowton needs moving on now, he is not good enough, although we need to find a quality replacement 1st.

Wouldn’t be surprised if we went in for Bryan at Fulham.

We haven’t yet seen what Crouch has to offer. If he does stay then I’ll pass judgement at the end of next season. He’s certainly different to what we have.

tim_noone wrote:Term of Endearment From Mr Dyche..."Crouch is a weapon"

I'm glad it wasn't just me who wet his undies laughing when I read that from Dyche!!

I was actually seriously underwhelmed when we took Crouch on and thought it was a cr*p move, but I will admit I CAN, just possibly see some potential value in keeping him IF he's not costing us a fortune in wages, just to play a few minutes every other match and IF he comes on with more than 1 minute plus stoppages to go and he actually causes something to happen as in the Soton game AND IF we don't call it a day at re signing him and stop looking for others who may be younger, stronger, fitter and actually at some point in the future potential starters.

If you asked posters on this board what they wanted us to change squad wise a lot would talk about six or seven new signings. The facts are no matter what the board do with the purse strings that is virtually impossible unless we are buying players below the quality level we require or selling some of our better players to bring finances in. Yes the wages need to be reasonable for it to be even considered but if we swapped Crouch, Walters and Wells for Crouch and Che Adams would everyone still go into meltdown?

The biggest issue in our side is the central midfield, if Defour has another injury hit season we will have the same problems as 2018/19, add to this the need for extra quality in the attacking areas of the team and a probable replacement for Ward and then it becomes clear we ain't got enough cash to make many peoples thoughts a reality. Yes we do have to stay up but the other half of the jigsaw could be completed next summer, this window has to be about quality over quantity and keeping Crouch will allow us to keep the necessary funds back to get another forward and central midfielder in who are good enough to start for us, that has to be the priority.

Goody1975 wrote:If you asked posters on this board what they wanted us to change squad wise a lot would talk about six or seven new signings. The facts are no matter what the board do with the purse strings that is virtually impossible unless we are buying players below the quality level we require or selling some of our better players to bring finances in. Yes the wages need to be reasonable for it to be even considered but if we swapped Crouch, Walters and Wells for Crouch and Che Adams would everyone still go into meltdown?

The biggest issue in our side is the central midfield, if Defour has another injury hit season we will have the same problems as 2018/19, add to this the need for extra quality in the attacking areas of the team and a probable replacement for Ward and then it becomes clear we ain't got enough cash to make many peoples thoughts a reality. Yes we do have to stay up but the other half of the jigsaw could be completed next summer, this window has to be about quality over quantity and keeping Crouch will allow us to keep the necessary funds back to get another forward and central midfielder in who are good enough to start for us, that has to be the priority.

Absolutely! And the final sentence puts it in a nutshell. We must not see keeping Crouch as the answer to anything, but simply a stop gap/alternative for certain situations and we must still spend the summer actively looking to (SENSIBLY) recruit potential starters in midfield and up front.
And re Defour: It's a huge gamble if we decide he's fit and he's going to be the linchpin of our midfield come the start of the season because the chances of him breaking down again must be extremely high. We have to assume he'll play little or even no part and recruit accordingly and then if he does really come good and actually stay fit it's a huge bonus.

Quickenthetempo wrote:All these good young players that have been suggested for the last few months look out of our reach now other clubs have got involved.

Dyche knows what he's doing but he will get stick if he keeps crouch on for another year.

Not from me.

I'd be amazed if Crouch is on less than £45k per week. Even if he's only contracted till June 1st (I suspect it's July 1st)
he's already cost us the thick end of £1m. He has been on the pitch for 70mins in that time and got one assist. He'll be in his 40th year next season and we know there's no way he could do a Prem League 90 mins. So he can come on to give us 10 mins late in the odd game here and there and cause a bit of trouble? I could do that, and any number of players younger and cheaper could if that's the only remit, which it appears to be. Giving him another full year's contract smacks of poor scouting and poor foresight. I don't happen to care whether Dyche is ok with it, it's an amateurish, backward step.
Hello Mike Rigg, are you out there? Come on down.

Colburn_Claret wrote:A shame about Ward, the wheels do seem to have come off the wagon since the bust up in the Irish squad.

When did having surgery become wheels coming off the wagon?

Only reason he's not got back in the team is because of Taylor's form but he was called up for Ireland recently although then announced his international retirement. I read a while back that he's keen to move to a club closer to his home in the West Midlands.

Giftonsnoidea wrote:Been a complete waste of money since his arrival on what must be big wages.

Hi Gifton, I'll grant you "tall" wages - but doubt a 38/39 year old footballer will be on "big" wages.

alf_resco wrote:I'd be amazed if Crouch is on less than £45k per week. Even if he's only contracted till June 1st (I suspect it's July 1st)
he's already cost us the thick end of £1m. He has been on the pitch for 70mins in that time and got one assist. He'll be in his 40th year next season and we know there's no way he could do a Prem League 90 mins. So he can come on to give us 10 mins late in the odd game here and there and cause a bit of trouble? I could do that, and any number of players younger and cheaper could if that's the only remit, which it appears to be. Giving him another full year's contract smacks of poor scouting and poor foresight. I don't happen to care whether Dyche is ok with it, it's an amateurish, backward step.
Hello Mike Rigg, are you out there? Come on down.

I tend to agree with you, my point is to reshape the squad fully will take funds we haven't got unless we can find three or four gems on either free transfers or for very low fees (in today's market, circa £5 Million). I can see your point about value for money with Crouch next season, if he spends the majority of it being a 10 minute man then it's an expensive solution, if Dyche wants him to stay then that is where the powers that be have offer him the chance to continue playing at the highest level (he won't get that anywhere else) on a sensible wage (very basic) for a player who won't play anymore than 45 minutes, my bigger concern is getting a sale out of Wells or at least getting his full wage back from a club.

I would like the goalkeepers reduced from three to two, the central midfield increased from four to five and the strikers reduced from six to five.

If rumours are to be believed we could lose two keepers, a left back and a centre half this summer and a few on here want to see Defour moved on, Lennon sold, Brady sold, Wells sold and Crouch released adding to the retirement of Walters.

Mike Rigg needs to put some extra juice in that laptop, to square that circle.

fatboy47 wrote:He's a good bloke.

Proper bloke!

As others have said it is a cheap low risk move. Never had any pace. I d rather have Crouch on the bench than Steven Ward. I’d hope he’d only come on one match in 5 and that Vydra or ANO was getting game time above him. But still likely to cause concern from the opposition for the last 10 mins. His salary hopefully reflects that.

Really hope we don't give Crouch another 12 months, but wouldn't be surprised at all if we did. Barnes and Wood need some serious competition, it's not healthy for those 2 to know that they are guaranteed to start every game no matter what.

Taken from this site at http://www.uptheclarets.com/players/squad-list" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The list shows we are in a position of weakness in some ways and a position of strength in others.

The majority of the squad have two or less years on their contracts, some have an option in our favour but this time next year could be very interesting if players don't sign new deals. It will enable us to release players we don't want but would also expect other players to be negotiating much improved deals, which obviously starts pushing our wage ceiling up or leaves them with one year left on their deals as they run them down.

That is where sensible leadership from the top is key to our continued long term aims, it is easy (as has been seen at other clubs) to get carried away and push the boat out a little too far in terms of contract sizes and lengths, it's fine when you unearth a gem but very difficult when you sign a dud.

As was said above, over to you Mr Garlick, Mr Dyche and Mr Rigg. No pressure.

Somewhat mixed messages coming from SD

He wants the club to back him substantially in the summer window and at the same time hints he wants to keep a 39 year old as 3rd/4th choice striker

Crouch was rumoured to be the highest earner at Stoke, still on around £60k per week, so no wonder they wanted him out, plus he wasn't deemed good enough to play at Championship level

If the club feel they will try to do their best to make funds available I would think they would be looking for more exciting/inventive signings than PC

No matter which positions we are looking to cover, signings this summer have to be seen as improvements on the current squad, unless young guys with a future in mind

Bardsley may not be an improvement but he will be starting some games on merit - God forbid if we have to start a match with Crouch

jojomk1 wrote:Somewhat mixed messages coming from SD

He wants the club to back him substantially in the summer window and at the same time hints he wants to keep a 39 year old as 3rd/4th choice striker

Crouch was rumoured to be the highest earner at Stoke, still on around £60k per week, so no wonder they wanted him out, plus he wasn't deemed good enough to play at Championship level

If the club feel they will try to do their best to make funds available I would think they would be looking for more exciting/inventive signings than PC

No matter which positions we are looking to cover, signings this summer have to be seen as improvements on the current squad, unless young guys with a future in mind

Bardsley may not be an improvement but he will be starting some games on merit - God forbid if we have to start a match with Crouch

If we re-sign Crouch and keep the status quo in our forward line then it won't be a great move in any way shape or form but i'd expect one other forward to come in to replace Walters with Wells either leaving permanently or on a season long loan, that will effectively see him leaving now anyway (as long as his wages are covered 100%).

There is no way Crouch will be 3rd choice striker, he will be 5th choice and an impact sub for games against teams he can make a difference in.

The new signing has to be someone who gives serious competition to Barnes and Wood and expect the club to invest quite heavily in this area if the pursuit of Che Adams was a serious attempt to strengthen.

But that's the point - we don't need 5 strikers (6 if you include Wells)
If Crouch stays there won't be any more signings at that position

jojomk1 wrote:But that's the point - we don't need 5 strikers (6 if you include Wells)
If Crouch stays there won't be any more signings at that position

I disagree, we had six strikers on the books at the start of this season (Barnes, Wood, Vydra, Vokes, Wells and Walters) and five last season (Barnes, Wood, Vokes, Wells and Walters), i'd fully expect us to go in with five again this time around. Walters has gone and Wells will not play a competitive game for Burnley again, he will be loaned or sold so effectively ending his time with Burnley (an expensive stop gap/cover).

If we want to play two up top again can we risk losing one of our front two to long term injury? It's happened to Barnes and Vokes in the past few seasons and would leave us seriously vulnerable to loss of form and other injuries, exactly the same as with the centre of midfield with Defour.

Quickenthetempo wrote:All these good young players that have been suggested for the last few months look out of our reach now other clubs have got involved.

Dyche knows what he's doing but he will get stick if he keeps crouch on for another year.

There's an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that Dyche does know what he's doing... unless it's signing strikers

I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

I'm sure we all agree that the striker we need to sign is one who will compete with Barnes and Wood for a starting place. In my opinion, anything short of that is a waste of money.

Roosterbooster wrote:There's an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that Dyche does know what he's doing... unless it's signing strikers

Wood and Barnes?

jojomk1 wrote:Somewhat mixed messages coming from SD
He wants the club to back him substantially in the summer window and at the same time hints he wants to keep a 39 year old as 3rd/4th choice striker

Not really, he just knows it's still a bit of give and take, making do where we can so we can push the boat a little further out if required. A transfer saved on a 3rd/4th striker may mean the board give him that little bit extra toward a bigger midfield signing who would have a far bigger impact on the overall quality of the team.

I expect Dyche is eyeing the club transfer record, knowing we might have to approach the £20m mark.
A couple squad additions and maybe one 'big' signing (a Che Adams type) is what I see as realistic.

"A couple squad additions and maybe one 'big' signing (a Che Adams type) is what I see as realistic.[/quote]

Sorry, but for me that scenario will see us in a big fight to stay above the bottom 3 next season

Apart from youth with good potential, the only position for which we need a "squad" player is LB

I would also hope that, given SD's comments re needing money to be made available this summer, he is looking for more - we ended up spending around £30m last summer and only ended up with "squad" players