Cheltenham Town 2018/19 Preview
2017/18 wasn’t the season we had hoped for. We went into the season with aims of a solid mid-table finish with the possibility of pushing for playoffs. There were positive and negatives, but overall it won’t be looked back on very positively.
The main outcome was Mo Eisa’s explosive start to his professional career. He scored 23 league goals and was then sold to Bristol City for a few rising up to £1.5m. Money which will hopefully be reinvested in the club effectively.
Other positives included survival, George Lloyd and some other good signings. We had one of the best attacks in the league, but also one of the worst defences. Errors cost us and we leaked goals too easily, regularly conceding 3 or more goals in a match. We also went the whole season without a natural right back. Jordan Forster began the season there before his injury and then Winchester and Taylor Moore shared the position for the rest of the season.
New Signings
Manny Duku
Duku is a 25 year old striker who signed from Hayes & Yeading. Last season he scored 33 goals in the league and helped Hayes finish 3rd. He’s a physical target man and constant goal threat. I’m really behind this recruitment strategy of signing players from non-league. Hopefully his goal scoring record can continue to some extent and become a force in League 2. We’ve needed a solid target man since Danny Wright’s decline and I hope Duku can fill that role.
Johnny Mullins
Mullins is 32 and brings vast EFL experience. He has been promoted from League 2 three times before and is a leader. With the clubs aims of promotion, Mullins is a key piece of the puzzle. I think he can start a great partnership with Boyle and help Boyle, Forster and Bower really develop.
Ryan Broom
Bristol Rovers academy graduate who was released after six years at the club. During that time he made 9 appearances for the club and three loan spells with non-league giving him valuable experience in men’s football. Broom is 21 and an energetic winger with tight control and a burst of pace. He looks to cut in and attack the goal and will be competing for a starting spot. He also offers useful cover at right back and would be a good wing back.
Liam McAlinden
A young striker who spent 15 years at Wolves before 2 years with League 2 Exeter. He spent last year playing off target man Jayden Stockley, a role he seemed to carry out quite well by making runs off of Stockley and chasing knock ons. So, hopefully he can play well with Duku as the team’s target man. His movement can be good and makes him a threat. McAlinden has admitted he was disappointed by his goal record at Exeter but says he is confident in having impacts on the game and creating chances. A promising player that could push on for us or be a good option off of the bench. However, isn’t a proven goal scorer.
Ben Tozer
Tozer signed from Newport County and is a very experienced League 2 player. He has a large physical presence in midfield and will allow Atangana to get forward more. Tozer is known for his very impressive long throws. This is a really valuable asset to add the to team and I hope that we utilise it and create chances from it.
Conor Thomas
Thomas is a 24 year old central midfielder but brings valuable experience to the squad. He has spent four seasons in League 1 and a season in the Championship with Coventry. Thomas also spent last season playing in India. He adds defensive solidarity in midfield and can play different roles as well as another physical presence.
Sean Long
We signed a right back. Long is 23 and signed from Lincoln. He’s had five loans in the last three seasons and okay experience in men’s football. He also played a part in Lincoln’s side that won the Conference two seasons ago. The Irish youth international looks to play long balls, creating counter attacks and quick play. Long also is a decent crosser and got a good assist rate last season.
Aden Baldwin
Our first loanee from Bristol City. He’s a natural right back and can also offer depth at centre back. He is a Forest Green academy graduate who has had two loans at Weston-Super-Mare. Baldwin is 21 and I’d expect another loanee at least to give us some more depth, and with Long still recovering from injury he may be called upon at right back early on.
Alex Addai
Addai is the signing that I am most excited for this season. Johnson has described him as the fastest player he’s worked with. He showed off some of his electric speed against Evesham and what he can do to defences. He doesn’t look short of confidence and I’m looking forward to see him use his pace to tear apart the opposition. Another signing from non-league with a lot of potential.
Kalvin Lumbombo Kalala
It took a while to get international clearance but KLK has finally signed. He’s a versatile attacker who can play across the front three and adds important depth to our squad. He’s fast and can dribble at pace and beat a man in a 1v1, something I felt we lacked at times last year.
Chris Hussey
Another experienced EFL player joining the squad at full back. He got promoted from League 2 with Bury and reached the Playoff final with Burton Albion. He’s also played in League 1 and the Championship. With Bury he got 0.28 assist per 90 minutes over two seasons. He can also play left midfield if needed and would be a good wing back option.
Josh Debayo
Another physical, versatile defender. Debayo is young and came from the Chelsea academy before moving to the renowned Southampton academy. He was then spent two years at Leicester before being released and joining Cheltenham for first team football. He offers important cover and can compete with Hussey over the starting spot.
Tom Smith
Smith was signed after being released from Swindon after 9 years at the club. He is only 20 and has spent some successful loan spells at Bath City where he impressed. He’s a stocky, young central midfielder with a power right foot and is confident to shoot from range.
Jacob Maddox
Maddox is an attacking midfielder who signed on loan from Chelsea. He’s young and brings attacking flair to the side with good dribbling and playmaking ability. He’s highly rated and could really push on this season for Cheltenham.
Squad Depth
Here is our squad depth chart. This shows my preferred starting 11 in a 433 and the cover for each position. There are no clear gaps in the squad that need depth, especially with the amount of versatility in our players such as Broom, KLK and Baldwin.
Here is the depth chart showing the depth in each position. This ranks in order how I see the strength in each position and the versatility in the squad. I am sure that my opinions will change a lot over this season and by October this grid will look very different and I’m sure some people will disagree with some of my rankings.
Conclusion
The club’s goal will always to be promoted. We have a whole new squad with fourteen new signings and potentially more to come. We got a lot of business done early which hopefully should improve the squad’s chemistry which is a worry with so many new players.
We’ve built important depth and added much needed experience, something we lacked last season. The new squad has pace and physicality that we needed more of least year as well. This season promises a lot more as we look to push for the playoff positions.
A more realistic ambition for this season is the middle of the table for me. I see us finishing 10th-14th with some hope for playoffs with a good turn of results.
I don’t know how we will line up this season. Presumably it will be a 442 or 433. McAlinden said in his recent interview that Johnson wants to play attacking and pressing football. We played some good football at times last year but had weaknesses in the squad and felt fragile defensively.
Below is a tweet showing how I’d personally lineup. It is probably too much, especially for this level, but it’s how I’d lineup in a 433 and look to attack and defend.
Here is another alternative with a three at the back. The same applies that it is unlikely but possible.
Overall, I’m looking forward to this season. The main concern is where our goals will come from. Duku is a goal scorer and hopefully he can adapt to the higher level. McAlinden isn’t really proven goal scorer and Lloyd has done well but in limited minutes.
This time last year we didn’t know that Eisa would push on and score the goals that he did. But, we sold Eisa late on and haven’t had much time to reinvest in goal scorers. John Akinde was the striker I wanted to bring in with the cash but he went to Lincoln several weeks ago.
We might struggle to replicate the goal scoring of last year but hopefully the goal scoring duties can be shared across a few players. But, if we can strengthen our defence then ideally it would even out.
There is still time though and we seem to be looking to bring in another goal scorer.
Make sure you’re following me on twitter and let me know your starting XI.
