With the current transfer window seemingly being used to ship players surplus to requirements, the news that Aji Alese has joined Portsmouth on loan prompted me to take a look at a typical team from last
season and see how they have fared this year.
To do this, I dipped into my box of programmes and fished one out at random. And the game in question is Derby away on 21 January, which was a midweek game on a dank Tuesday night.
We had just had the chastening experience at Burnley the preceding Friday night, where Wilson Isidor failed to score two penalties in injury time.
We won the game at Derby 1-0 thanks to an Eliezer Mayenda goal in the 28th minute and Wilson inexplicably had a goal struck off, for reasons nobody was able to fathom. Even the scoreboard took ages to revert from 0-2 back to 0-1.
The team that night was: Patterson, Cirkin, O’Nien, Mepham, Hume, Le Fée, Jobe, Neil, Rigg, Isidor, Mayenda.
Roberts replaced Mayenda and Ballard, Cirkin on 74 minutes; Abdul Samed replaced Rigg on 86 minutes and Leo Hjelde came on for Le Fée on 89.
It was only the second time Régis Le Bris had listened to my pleas for 4-4-2 all season. As it had worked so well against Sheffield United on New Year’s Day, I was desperate to see it again. The only memorable thing about the game was how stultifyingly boring it was. Pride Park is situated in the middle of a soulless industrial estate and there was no pub near that I could find.
The combined number of appearances that team (including used substitutes) have made this season is 119. Which ticks up to 132 if you include all players who played last season.
The departures of Dan Neil and Aji Alese this week have triggered much hand-wringing about the fact that these hard workers have been ruthlessly jettisoned this season in order to ensure we maintain our position in the Premier League. But the cold, hard facts are that these players haven’t been good enough to play in the Premier League. In fact you could say that the club has done well by the players in allowing them to go off on loan to showcase their talents. Especially in the case of Dan Neil, who has been allowed to go off to Ipswich on loan, until his contract winds down.
The trio who have stepped up from last season’s side are Enzo Le Fée, Dan Ballard and Trai Hume. All could be considered first-team regulars this season and make up just under half the total appearances from last year’s team. Le Fée was bought from Roma in Italy’s Serie A in the January transfer window and was brought in on loan as a statement with half an eye on us being in the Premier League this season. He is a bit of an outlier in this analysis.
Jenson Seelt can consider himself to be unlucky, as he made an assured debut against West Ham on the first day of the season, only to be injured in the second half and replaced by Omar Alderete. He was subsequently shipped out on loan to German side Wolfsburg.
Of the team involved that night, two returned to their parent clubs from loan: Mepham and Abdul Samed; Roberts and Neil have been loaned out, seven have started matches this season and two (including Neil) have come on from the subs bench.
To be honest, more have been involved this season than I expected, with seven making more than ten appearances this season.
The club do seem to be doing well by those players as they look to find pastures new. Which will enhance the club’s reputation as looking after players’ interests.
But at the end of the day, the fans care about staying in the Premier League and this has to have been the best season most can remember. So it’s thanks to those who got us here, but it’s time for the baton to be passed on.
