Squad Size post Covid of non-premiership teams

[Clangers]

There looks to be a definite reduction in almost every team in the squad size, Dunfermline we’re very luck last season in almost no injuries, we therefore thought we could carry this luck this season but have be cursed. I think we will be missing 6/7 first choice on Tuesday which is horrible with a starting paper squad.

However we don’t look unique, Arbroath using a keeper out field, Raith signing out of contract. Is it becoming too expensive to run a full squad in the second tier ( United not counting) 

[ExiledLichtie]

Its an interesting question, I was also thinking about this, and I don't know the stats on this, but I don't know if there is that much of a difference in squad size.

I think one key difference is that more subs mean teams are loaning less players out, so I think there are less loans throughout the championship, and similarly, our clubs in turn are loaning less players down the ladder.

I also kind of feel that more subs seems to have also resulted in more injuries.  I'm not saying there's any correlation, but I read something that in rugby, having fitter players and more subs has actually meant that the pace of the game is faster than it used to be, i.e. the game doesn't slow down in the latter stages of the match any more, and players can run all day, meaning harder hits and more injuries for the tired players.  I don't know if this necessarily translates to football, but 3 subs used to generally be enough...

I also wonder if the much improved physical conditioning of football players generally makes them more highly strung and prone to injury?  Again, I have no evidence to back this up.

 

[101]

I'm not sure if we have necessarily cut the squad budget by too much I would imagine however we are paying very decent coin for Kane Ritchie-Hosler and Ewan Otoo so there is probably more nuance to it than us just running with a smaller squad.

But it does seem strange for a team that rarely plays anything other than a 5 at the back to have 3 natural CBs, however maybe getting the right player who can play the system is a stumbling block.

We have obviously had McGowan, Wotherspoon and some guy from Dubai in so I would say there would be money available.

How long until someone in the championship takes a punt on Sam Wardrop

[Dunning1874]

We're certainly running with smaller squads now, but that's largely coincidental in the move to fan ownership happening post-Covid meaning we budget properly and live within our means now rather than handing clownshoe managers too much money to waste on shite.

As ExiledLichtie says the increase in the number of subs that came with the return from Covid certainly means it's harder to get decent loans in from the top flight and this has probably contribured to us being willing to wait until long after the season starts to make some signings in the hope a quality option emerges, with us having no right back until September this season and signing Grimshaw in September last season as well.

In 18/19 we had a squad of 21 come the end of September, discounting fringe youth players, and it stayed at 21 with ins and outs in January.

19/20 it was 23 at the end of summer, and again 23 with players in and out over January.

20/21, despite David Hopkin's ridiculous protests which the media swallowed without question that we "couldn't afford" to sign a second goalkeeper rather than him simply spending his budget elsewhere like an idiot, we had 22 at the end of the summer window and it was 22 again by the end of the season.

21/22 and the introduction of fan ownership was 21 at the start and end.

22/23 was just 18 in summer and 19 after January.

This season was 18 in summer although signing Strapp in December made it 19. I can only imagine the meltdown Hopkin would have had and how bad we'd be if he was working with Imrie's squad size.

[Richey Edwards]

Curly Wurly's have also shrunk.

[Colkitto]

We've had a horrendous time with injuries this season and when you have a small squad it really hits home. I think we only had two 16 year old  youth players who had never played 90 minutes of first team football on the bench for one of our games.

We've started to get our injured players back and climbed the table again. If you have a small squad of players and go through a bit of an injury crises then you can easily slip down the table

[Central Belt Caley]

We had a pretty bad injury crisis last season but don’t think we can blame it on anything other than signing a squad full of folk who have a history of injury problems though. Think our squad size has remained relatively similar since pre-covid but would need to check the numbers.
 

I have noticed a few of the English Premiership teams seem to have injury crisis’ at the moment so not sure if there’s recurring theme throughout football. 

[cb_diamond]

3 hours ago, Colkitto said:

We've had a horrendous time with injuries this season and when you have a small squad it really hits home. I think we only had two 16 year old  youth players who had never played 90 minutes of first team football on the bench for one of our games.

We've started to get our injured players back and climbed the table again. If you have a small squad of players and go through a bit of an injury crises then you can easily slip down the table

Excellent point, we had a significant dip in Q2 of the season which coincided identically with a significant injury crisis in our midfield. When you've got a small squad and a bench of kids it's the options (or lackthereof) that kills you.

Edited December 31, 2023 by cb_diamond

[cb_diamond]

2 hours ago, Central Belt Caley said:

I have noticed a few of the English Premiership teams seem to have injury crisis’ at the moment so not sure if there’s recurring theme throughout football. 

One of the new politics forum aliases will be along presently to blame it on the covid jag...

Edited December 31, 2023 by cb_diamond

[Fuctifano]

Absolutely no need for 5 subs from benches of 9 at this level or indeed any level .

3 outfield plus one emergency goalie from bench if 5/6 is fine. 

[Ranaldo Bairn]

There are certainly enormous and genuine issues in women's football at the moment with injuries - especially CL injuries.

I'm no expert, but it must be to do with the massively increased professionalism and demands on their bodies. Difficult to see how the make allowances for that - strip back playing demands? Unlikely as popularity is increasing.

[Chippyminton]

At the beginning of this season, our squad consisted of around 9 uninjured players, Agnes the Cappielow cleaning lady, her pet Scots terrier, two Norseman bar staff lassies, a Lorne slice, and a dustbin lid. 

[Chippyminton]

22 hours ago, ExiledLichtie said:

I also wonder if the much improved physical conditioning of football players generally makes them more highly strung and prone to injury? 

That’s a great point. Not fitba-related, but thoroughbred racehorses seem to be way more fragile than your general equine plodders. Maybe it’s a case of a tightly-tensioned coiled spring being instantly ready to snap.

[HibeeJibee]

14 hours ago, Ranaldo Bairn said:

There are certainly enormous and genuine issues in women's football at the moment with injuries - especially CL injuries.

I'm no expert, but it must be to do with the massively increased professionalism and demands on their bodies. Difficult to see how the make allowances for that - strip back playing demands? Unlikely as popularity is increasing.

Women already play far fewer games... e.g. only 32 league games + straight knockout League Cup here/22 + 4 in England (with shorter FA Cup); considerably shorter European format; etc.

Not unlike 5 sets v 3 sets in tennis 'grand slams'.

[Thereisalight..]

Our squad seems massive. Mostly filled with mediocre or dross right enough 

[Stuntiethumper]

In the last two seasons, Queen's Park has gone with a core first-team squad of 15, a larger pool of Young Spiders (youth players) with a small pool of them training with the first team and being on the bench for games.  It worked well last season, much less so this season as our starting first-team players are much younger and more inexperienced than last season's.  Hopefully, a few additions in January (probably loan signings) will add some depth and experience.