22/23 Squad Building Introduction - The Goalkeepers
(Image: HTAFC)
Matt Shaw, Founder.
Twitter: @TTCMatt
Hello! Well, I did promise I’d write another article and this one might get a bit long and wordy so I apologise in advance! On the plus side, if you’ve got a touch of the old Charles Insomnia then here’s your cure. Ok, so what is the meaning of this and why have you thrust this on our timelines I hear you ask? Well, I kind of thought it’d be fun in the very loose sense. So, the point of this article is to analyse the squad and look at areas where Town may look or need to strengthen over this summer window and to further try understand what shape the squad is in going towards the 2022/23 season.
I started to write this article just before the playoff final but obviously had to park the idea because the content would have differed vastly had we won on the 29th of May. So, with my natural writing lethargy kicking in I’ve missed the opportunity to predict the retained list and the signing of Will Boyle. Not to worry, I’m sure by the time I’ve finished typing this all out there will be more through the door and will more than likely render a lot of this pointless, but I did say it would be fun! I promise! (I don’t promise…)
First of all, as everyone is aware by now Carlos Corberan is a highly flexible manager. His tendency to switch systems, styles and formations requires players with a similarly flexible and tactical mindset. Players like Duane Holmes may not always wow Town fans as an attacking force but Swiss army footballers like Duane are incredibly important to the Carlos system. Duane is capable of playing in several positions within the same game, possesses attacking and defensive qualities and most importantly, reliability. Ollie Turton is also another example of a reliable player who may not catch the eye in a traditional sense but Ollie can cover several positions in defence and midfield due to his defensive awareness which allows him to cover key spaces and regain 2nd balls. Neither of these players would have been regarded as ‘sexy’ signings but both have played key roles in Town’s rise over the last 12 months. Spoiler, more players like this are likely to be sought after.
The systems of Carlos Corberan
I’m going to try and pre-empt the market a bit and suspect that Lewis O’Brien will be on his way to the Premier League. O’Brien is a player that epitomises the moniker, Terrier Spirit. He has tenacity, grit, speed and his ball recovery and dribbling are unparalleled in this division. He would be a huge miss, but a player that I would wish very well, although if I catch him making masturbatory motions over a badge on what looks like an 80’s PE Kit I’ll probably be less enthused but such is life.
Attack of the Killer B’s
If you’re expecting Town to throw money about in response to any potential sale of O’Brien and/or Pipa then I feel that disappointment is about to slap you around the back of the head. Town still have a significant debt to repay to Dean Hoyle (although how this is to be recouped with him re-purchasing the club is yet to be confirmed), and are sans parachute payments for the first time since our return to The Championship. What Town do have though is an exciting crop of B team players that has tongues wagging down at Canalside. The B team is supposed to engineer an individual training regime and pathway to the first team and it is imperative that the club pushes players through or their bargaining power with prospective youth players becomes severely diminished. If any fringe players have left the club, it is likely that their first team slot will go to a B teamer providing that they are ready to make that step up, even then you may get a hybrid B/first team squad player who is in the process of transitioning to the first team squad so a departing first team squad member may not necessarily be replaced by another incoming transfer. I’ll also analyse the B teamers as well so that we look at any potential breakout stars.
OUTS
Jamal Blackman - released.
Max Dearnley - released.
Preamble
Town’s Head of Goalkeeping Paul Clements will feel like quite the giddy leprechaun as he is potentially sat on a pot of gold (do leprechauns sit on pots of gold? Let’s pretend they do to humour me). Town’s goalkeeping department boasts five internationals past and present with six of the seven keepers aged 22 and under, just wee bairns in goalkeeping terms! The only keeper over 22 is Lee Nicholls, the current Championship goalkeeper of the season, so we’re not in bad shape. However, you can see from the scatter diagram above that Town do lack experienced cover should Nicholls succumb to injury or a suspension for shithousing. Let’s take a walk through each one and their merits.
Lee Nicholls
Age: 29
Contract: Expiring 2023 (1 year option).
Verdict: New long-term contract.
The best goalkeeper in the Championship last season and will be Town’s number 1 going into 2022/23 season barring any mishaps. Securing the long-term future of Nicholls should be at the top of Town’s agenda and a new long-term contract needs to be tabled asap by the club to make sure that the stopper sees his prime years between the sticks for the greatest team in football (that’s us by the way).
EDIT - Too slow Matt, the new deal got announced.
Ryan Schofield
Age: 22
Contract: Expiring 2023
Verdict: Loan out.
I’ve said this on the podcast on more than one occasion that if I had to root for just one player in our squad it would be Ryan Schofield. He was thrust into the starting XI a little before time and despite some good early showings he desperately needed taking out of the firing line several months before the misery that was the 1-5 drubbing against Fulham. Schofield has exhibits bundles of nervous energy, tension and anxiety which showed no sign of dissipation in January when he played in the FA Cup against Burnley after four and a half months out of the side. I don’t think time on the Town side-lines will heal the scars of some of those latter 21/22 season performances and I would implore the club to seek a long-term loan for him so that he can play weekly and rebuild his confidence. Ryan Schofield has the physical attributes to be a very good goalkeeper, but how his emotional state is now managed will dictate the rest of his career. I genuinely wish him the very best of luck.
Jacob Chapman
Age: 21
Contract: Expiring 2024
Verdict: Loan out.
I’ve only seen Chapman on a couple of occasions but was quite impressed with his shot stopping ability. Last season Chapman played 26 games for Gateshead in tier 6 of the football league pyramid and needs to continue his ascent upwards if he’s to ever impact the first team at Huddersfield. The Aussie u23 international has some good competition in the youth ranks at Town so incremental improvements are essential. His next stop needs to be either League 2 or the top end of the Vanarama National League.
Giosue Bellagambi
Age: 20
Contract: Expiring 2024
Verdict: Loan out.
I seem to be loaning out all of our keepers! Bellagambi is a difficult one for me to comment on because I’ve not seen a lot of him lately. I saw a couple of his games in 2018/19 and I was a little underwhelmed with what I saw but understand from a trusted source that he has shown much improvement over the last 12-18 months. Bellagambi was called up to the Uganda national side last season after previously being called up to the Italian youth setup which is testament to the hard work, he and head of goalkeeping Paul Clements have put in. Bellagambi though doesn’t have much first team football under his belt bar a handful of games at Brighouse and Ebbsfleet so the next step on his road to the top needs to be a loan stop off at a decent none league level. Ideally Bellagambi will play 20+ games out on loan next season which should stand him in good stead to push higher the following season.
Nicholas Bilokapic
Age: 19
Contract: Expiring 2026 (1 year option)
Verdict: Hang fire.
If there’s one young keeper to get excited about, it’s Bilokapic. Last season Bilokapic signed a new long-term contract, made his Town debut, played a couple of games on loan in League 2 for Hartlepool and was capped at u23 level by Australia which all in all represents a very successful season for the gigantic Aussie! Bilokapic ideally needs more games at a lower level to keep improving but alternatively if Town’s senior goalkeeper department is depleted then a season as understudy to Lee Nicholls with a league cup appearance or two would also benefit Bilokapic hugely.
Michael Roxburgh
Age: 19
Contract: Expiring 2023
Verdict: Under 19/B Team minutes/short loan.
Roxburgh appeared on the Town bench last season and had a good spell at Stocksbridge Park Steels on loan. More of the same next season should see the young keeper on the right path.
Michael Acquah
Age: 18
Contract: Expiring 2023
Verdict: Under 19/B Team Minutes
Michael Acquah is quite well regarded down at Canalside and showed some potential out on loan at Emley last season. There might be a queue of keepers in front of him but that will allow him to develop at his own pace with another potential short loan on the cards with minutes across the youth sides.
Keepers Verdict
Lee Nicholls is undoubtedly Town’s no1 and as good as it gets at this level. Any problems Town have in this area occur when/if Nicholls is unavailable. I think it would be detrimental to Ryan Schofield’s development if he was installed as this season’s no2 but below that Town’s options are a little green (Not Rob). Having had similar conversations with podcast regular Phil Senior there is genuinely no substitute for games for a young goalkeeper and periods of inactivity can lead to stagnation, so it’s important Town don’t bog down their talented kids by parking them on a bench all season. The solution of course is to bring in a replacement for Jamal Blackman but there are many factors at play here.
The first factor is the budget. With Town constantly cutting their cloth, a signing in an area whereby they have arguably the best player in the division doesn’t scream of priority. So, the second factor is bringing in a keeper who will be happy to sit on the bench as cover. With the young lads pushing year on year, it’s also important to not saddle a squad member with a long-term contract which then also blocks the pathway to the first time for the likes of Bilokapic and Chapman.
So, I see Town having two options. The first option is to play Nicholls in every game he is available for and put Bilokapic on the bench. Bilokapic at 19 would learn an awful lot from being with the first team week on week and could also play in the B Team and perhaps the cups. If Town find themselves in a scenario whereby, they lose Nicholls and Bilokapic isn’t quite ready then they could use the roulette of the emergency loan market. The benefit of this is that it allows Town to stretch the budget elsewhere and offers Bilokapic an insight into first team football at HD1. The negative impact could be any periods of inactivity for Bilokapic or also a situation in which Ryan Schofield was thrust into where it was too much too soon if the ball on the roulette of the emergency loan market doesn’t drop our way. The alternative is to sign a keeper who may be coming towards the end of his career who doesn’t necessarily want to play every week and is happy to support Nicholls, Clem and the young lads coming through. If anyone expects an Alex Smithies type signing as mooted briefly on Twitter then that thing called disappointment looms, but I know that you know that!
I think Town will go with option 1 and push Bilokapic up but if they were to bring in a keeper then these are available on a free and possibly within the wage budget we would look at:
Joel Coleman. Age 26. Things haven’t really worked out for Joel Coleman since leaving Town. A move to Fleetwood saw Coleman fail to play a league game and his time at League 2 Rochdale has been chequered to say the least. A jump back up to The Championship as backup may appeal.
Mark Howard. Age 35. Howard has played a lot of his career at League 1 with some previous experience as Championship backup. Released by Carlisle after playing 40 games last season Howard boasts 341 games under his belt accrued over the last 17 years and had the 3rd best penalty area saves per game ratio in League 2.
Eldin Jakupovic. Age 37. The former Hull City keeper has just left Leicester where he was 3rd choice. A chance to challenge Lee Nicholls for the #1 shirt may appeal but wages may prove a stumbling block.
David Martin. Age 36. Martin has been released by West Ham where he made 5 appearances in the last 3 seasons. Martin will be familiar to Town fans for his time in goal at MK Dons from 2010-2017.
Right, from here I’ll start to mark out the players that we’d class as players in or around the first team. Ideally we want 2 players for each position in the first team squad. Some may be square pegs in round holes but that’s the way a lot of Championship squads operate, money is tight and those swiss army players I mentioned earlier are vital.
