Quote jeffvickers="jeffvickers"Saltonstall is the best attacking fullback I have seen, but he made way for Greenwood, then Johnson this season. Wasted on the wing for me.'"
Got dropped earlier in the season for going on the slash the night before training so you have to wonder if there is an attitude problem. I know he has been playing injured the back end of the season but he has not been good enough to justify his place in the team IMO. I agree he has looked better for us at fullback though but Marshall seems intent on having a ball playing full back which teams at this level simply can not afford for a player who has the sort of talent that SL play in those positions. We end up playing half backs out of position and trying to teach a half back how to be a full back in a part time environment just can not work.
For me its more a question of who I think justifies keeping rather than who I would get rid of. Of the undroppables I would keep Murrell, G Moore, Tyrer, Manning, Tangata, Grix, Cahalane, Ambler although only Manning and Tangata actually justify that tag and the others certainly need to improve their performances. Of the others I would keep Johnston, Potts, Sharp, Heaton, Saltonstall, Kaye, Fairbank, B Moore, I would have kept R Moore as well. By process of elimination that would mean getting rid of Bennion, Greenwood, A Robinson, C Robinson, Barber, Boyle.
I would keep a few of the fringe first teamers but only if we could afford it and it did not effect our ability to improve the quality of the team. I think all the players to leave could do a job mid table and below this level but for a team that hopefully has top 4 ambitions its a struggle to keep them and even a few of the others I would be touch and go on if the right player became available.
How I would like us to line up next year:-
1. New Player
2. Sharp
3. Rawsthorpe/Tyrer
4. Grady/Heaton
5. New Player
6. Moore
7. Johnston
8. Cahalane
9. Kaye
10. New player
11. Tangata
12. Manning
13. Grix/Murrell
We could rotate Murrell at hooker as Marshall does not see him as a LF but B Moore has to have a place in the team on performances this season. Thats would leave Ambler and possibly Fairbank on the bench but would mean we need a big impact player to toughen up or pack. We simply can not have G Moore and Murrell at half back together next season as they are too alike and are one of the main reasons our attack has looked so slow and laboured for most of the season. Keep them there and we may as well just stick some average forwards in our centres and wing as they don't get time to move as it is.