Defenders that will be kept

[Blues4LifeDan]

As the title states, which defenders will be kept for next season?

It is seemingly apparent that CP is favouring White over Ferdinand at the moment and with talks of a contract for White, it seems CP want a him here too.

Therefore, will Ferdinand be offloaded in the summer?

How do we feel about Turner staying? Ordinarily, lots of us moan about players over 30 being signed up but Turner has been, on the whole, class.

Then there is the forgotten 'wow' signing, Kiernan. Will he get fit over the summer? If so, he and Turner could be a great partnership.

We also have young Elvis, Harry and Hendrie to consider. Loan them out or not?

What are your thoughts about our defence, do we need wholescale changes, or a few tweaks?

 

[Adam]

For me I think Anton will and should be moved on. Turner has been better and with him and hopefully White we have experience.

As you say if, and its a big if, Kiernan can get fit then hopefully that would be a good partnership and with the youngsters we have in Elvis Harry & to a lesser degree Hendrie we should be set.

Coker I think may leave us which would be a huge loss and if he was to go we would need another left back to compete with Hendrie.

 

[wakes123]

I think offloading Ferdinand will be easier said than done. He's contracted here for another year and I can't see Anton agreeing a loan to a league 2 club say and I don't think many clubs will come in with an offer to buy him. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[Adam]

I think offloading Ferdinand will be easier said than done. He's contracted here for another year and I can't see Anton agreeing a loan to a league 2 club say and I don't think many clubs will come in with an offer to buy him. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Yep a very good point

 

[Member]

I'd keep Anton because he has experience and we are going to struggle to offload him. If Kiernan isn't going to be fit (and even if he is, will he be good?) then we need a CB partner for Turner, with White as backup

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

I don't think there will be many changes at the back. Other than a dodgy couple of results the defence have been excellent under CP. I think the attacking areas are where CP will bring in quite a few players. Think only Cox will be kept on as a striker and need some more wingers.

 

[RHB]

Unless he gets injured I reckon Turner is definitely worth another season. At FL1 level he is a very good defender, anything above that, then pace may be an issue. If current team selection is anything thing to go by, then Anton is only going to be a supporting act next season. Will he be prepared to put up with that? your guess is as good as mine, but it would not surprise me if his contract was terminated by mutual agreement. I've already said that John White should be a starter for another year so in the central positions him and Turner for me. The full backs will continue as is, Demi is still under contract and Ben's option will be taken up, no doubts there. I can't see another club coming in for him until he plays some more games and reaches his highest levels of form.

Kiernan and Hendrie are my mystery men. Hendrie has always struck me as a class act waiting to bloom so I would make him Ben's deputy using some Chris Powell man love to bring out the confidence and consistency in him. As for Kiernan, we have nothing to lose. He will get fit, so lets wait and see the results of fitness. After we signed Turner I started to wonder if he was just a figment of my imagination, but he turned out fine so Kiernan is in that category. Elvis and Kiprianou will use this season to press for a starting place, and hopefully this will keep the current occupants on their toes.

 

[Supershrimper]

We all said give Anton another year last year, and now this year we have been be-moaning his performances. Perhaps if we gave Turner another year he could be next seasons Anton?

The youngsters (Elvis and Harry) should be brought more into the squad, otherwise next season our central defence will be consist of John White (32), Michael Turner (34)

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Unless he gets injured I reckon Turner is definitely worth another season. At FL1 level he is a very good defender, anything above that, then pace may be an issue. If current team selection is anything thing to go by, then Anton is only going to be a supporting act next season. Will he be prepared to put up with that? your guess is as good as mine, but it would not surprise me if his contract was terminated by mutual agreement. I've already said that John White should be a starter for another year so in the central positions him and Turner for me. The full backs will continue as is, Demi is still under contract and Ben's option will be taken up, no doubts there. I can't see another club coming in for him until he plays some more games and reaches his highest levels of form.

Kiernan and Hendrie are my mystery men. Hendrie has always struck me as a class act waiting to bloom so I would make him Ben's deputy using some Chris Powell man love to bring out the confidence and consistency in him. As for Kiernan, we have nothing to lose. He will get fit, so lets wait and see the results of fitness. After we signed Turner I started to wonder if he was just a figment of my imagination, but he turned out fine so Kiernan is in that category. Elvis and Kiprianou will use this season to press for a starting place, and hopefully this will keep the current occupants on their toes.

Excellent post that and mirrors my thoughts.

Don't mess around with the defence as we have other areas that need more attention - - we (well, the club) employs a manager to manage ........ and that is what C.P. needs to do - nurture and develop what we have rather than reject players as if their disposable coffee cups - I don't like all this player "churn" anyway. And make sure we get some extension clauses added where possible/sensible please. :thumbsup:

 

[Jay_SUFC]

I think people are being a bit harsh on Anton. Yes he started the season poorly, but we started to see the Anton of last season, until he lost his place due to illness, so I would keep him.

The fact that he has another year left anyway, not sure he would be going anywhere anyway!!

 

[kentblues]

If Ferdinand stays, given Turner & White I am sure will, and given if fit Kieran is also a top CB, its difficult to see how we would be looking to add to that. Kiernan would in effect be the great new signing he was supposed to be this season. Probably in the ideal world Anton calls it a day and we bring one in- on the other hand your a long time retired.

I too can see Mr Powell focused on MF, wide and attacking options..

 

[Member]

If Ferdinand stays, given Turner & White I am sure will, and given if fit Kieran is also a top CB, its difficult to see how we would be looking to add to that. Kiernan would in effect be the great new signing he was supposed to be this season. Probably in the ideal world Anton calls it a day and we bring one in- on the other hand your a long time retired.

I too can see Mr Powell focused on MF, wide and attacking options..

I can see the point - we have 4 CBs (including White) and Kyprianou as a youngster breaking through. So that would on paper mean we would have enough depth to the position. However, SCP actually inherited a squad with 3 CBs over 30 and the other one who has made 4 appearances in the last two years. Kyprianou is a talent but maybe isn't ready to pay a significant role in a promotion challenge.

I think we need another quality CB.

 

[SeaSideDoughnut]

It's interesting to hear some say little or no changes at the back when you look at how we started the season where it was fair to say the overriding opinion was wholesale changes needed. It just show how quickly things can change...

I think we are a bit harsh on AF, he was poor at the start of the season but as mentioned above he wasn't the only one. But he did stand out amongst the rest. When is played under CP his been reliable and much like the AF we want to see. So I see no problem in him seeing out his contract.

Echoing on for Hendrie, what can CP get out of him? I think he can get a lot, and I'm exciting to see Hendrie improve hopefully. He has the vision to put in some great crosses even when his confidence is shot. As with Kiernan, could be like a new signing...

 

[Blues4LifeDan]

I think CP may offload Hendrie, as much as I'd like to see him flourish (because he has potential) I honestly think he'll be gone. To be fair, he's hardly played in the awful SPL. If he's that good, he should be playing a lot more than that. I really think that £1m move has affected him badly. Sometimes the pressure of a move like that can affect players negatively.

As for AF, he may decide to hang up his boots if it becomes apparent that game time will be at a premium. Some players would rather do that graciously, than sit on the bench for the majority of the season. All depends on how much football Anton believes is still left in him. You can't forget motivation too. It doesn't matter how old you are, it's the motivation to play that keeps you going.

As others have said, it's interesting that the very same players that have struggled immensely in defence at times this season, are the very players that a lot of people want to retain.

 

[Shrimp and two veg]

Demi to be moved into midfield with any luck and Hendrie got shot off, neither can defend a paper bag. Elvis playing at right back to provide speed out wide and cover for the aging centrebacks. Like to see Coker stay and Turner and White, all three are good defenders. Keep Anton fit and available as cover, no problem there.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Turner has played for Chris before, and he has always rated him in the past I believe.

Looking at the contracts...

Ben Coker - 2019
Jason Demetriou - 2021 (option until 2022)
John White - 2018
Anton Ferdinand - 2019
Stephen Hendrie - 2019 (option until 2020) (on loan at Motherwell until the end of 2017/18 season)
Michael Turner - 2018 (option until 2019)
Rob Kiernan - 2020 (option until 2021)
Harry Kyprianou - 2021
Elvis Bwomono - 2020 (option until 2021)
Dan Matsuzaka - 2018
Sonny Coutts - 2018 (option until 2019)
Taylor Curran - 2020

I do wonder how things will turn out, some of our less "wanted" ones are the ones under contract! I do also think that Chris is going to want his own "team" to build around. It would seem that Coker is his captain going forward but I can't see him wanting to keep Turner, White and Ferdinand who all play the same kind of role in the club. You can say the same thing across the midfield too though, it's definitely going to be an interesting summer.

 

[fbm]

My two cents -

Turner - will not be offered a deal - too expensive

Ferdinand - Contract will be paid off

White - I think he'll get a year

Hendrie - Sold or contract paid off

 

[Ricey]

I think we need another decent Centre back to partner Turner if he can stay fit. White is alright as a back up and his versatility to play all across the back makes him handy to have. But if we want to push towards getting in the Championship we need upgrades on some of the defenders we already have. Feel for Anton though as before his illness he was playing really well with Turner. Thought he would be straight back in after the absolute mare White had against Plymouth but it wasn’t to be.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

My two cents -

Turner - will not be offered a deal - too expensive

Ferdinand - Contract will be paid off

White - I think he'll get a year

Hendrie - Sold or contract paid off

You claim Turner won't be offered a new deal as he's too expensive, but then suggest we're going to pay 2 players their remaining contracts to leave.

I would be very surprised if we could afford to pay of any contracts and then follow that up with some decent signings.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Turner has played for Chris before, and he has always rated him in the past I believe.

Looking at the contracts...

Ben Coker - 2019
Jason Demetriou - 2021 (option until 2022)
John White - 2018
Anton Ferdinand - 2019
Stephen Hendrie - 2019 (option until 2020) (on loan at Motherwell until the end of 2017/18 season)
Michael Turner - 2018 (option until 2019)
Rob Kiernan - 2020 (option until 2021)
Harry Kyprianou - 2021
Elvis Bwomono - 2020 (option until 2021)
Dan Matsuzaka - 2018
Sonny Coutts - 2018 (option until 2019)
Taylor Curran - 2020

I do wonder how things will turn out, some of our less "wanted" ones are the ones under contract! I do also think that Chris is going to want his own "team" to build around. It would seem that Coker is his captain going forward but I can't see him wanting to keep Turner, White and Ferdinand who all play the same kind of role in the club. You can say the same thing across the midfield too though, it's definitely going to be an interesting summer.

That's quite interesting as I had a feeling Coker was still under contract!