By Neil Ravenscroft
November 17 2004

Paul Merson caused something of a fuss yesterday when, following a meeting with the Chairman, he said that he had been told that he could restructure the squad, even if it meant the paying off of contracts The assumption seemed to be amongst many fans that this meant that several senior members of the squad, who they perceive as underperforming, would be the ones to suffer. A closer analysis of what was said, however, not only gives a slightly different picture.

In his interview on Sky Sports News, Merson said something slightly different. In effect, he says that there are several players who aren't anywhere near getting a game and that there is no point in keeping these players. Presumably, he is prepared, therefore, to release some others in the same way as he has with Kris Taylor. There is some other evidence pointing at this in his interview in the Evening Mail following Saturday's disaster, when he mentioned that the defeat would not hurt enough for some players, but also made a comment that some of the younger ones did not understand that the result would be all over the papers on Monday morning.

Whether this is a conclusion he's come to off his own bat, or whether Mr Bonser has said something, but the realisation seems to have sunk in at last that a squad of 29 professionals (granted one on loan in and one on loan out), is around seven too many for a club in this Division. After all, 22 would give us the possibility of two for each position!

It seems to be that we are likely to see the departures of Bewers, Bazeley, Dakinah, McKinney and (possibly) Broad permanently, and, either on loan or permanently, Jameson, Williams, Willetts and Dann. With Taylor, that could reduce us to as few as eighteen pros, which would give the opportunity to bring in another, say four or five.

The other points to be made, of course, are that he said the process could take some months, but he didn't say was whether this meant he has written this season off and that, if that is the list, virtually every one of those are players he has either brought in, or given a contract to.