May 2037 - End of season player reports
Goalkeeper - Giuseppe Pizzuti.
First choice keeper and has been brilliant for most of the season. I keep coming back to his bargain fee of £4m, but it really is ridiculous. He is, unfortunately, thinking that he should be looking to move to a bigger club, but I have no intention of letting that happen.
Goalkeeper - Daniel Martin.
Mostly the cup back up although he has had some injury problems meaning he hasn’t been around as much as possible. Martin is a very long term player and is now into his 7th season at the club. He is wanted by a number of players and with reasonable back-ups in the U23s he could be allowed, for the right fee, to leave.
Left-back - Geraldao
Geraldao and Martin can rotate the left-back position fairly freely without much detriment to the team, although Martin is probably the better option. He’s a club-trained player and is valuable in that respect for European registration requirements.
Left-back - Pedro Martin
The 30 year old left-back’s value is not going to go up anymore probably, but he is an excellent option at the back. His presence and ability at the back has led to some very good performances.
Centre-back - Cesar Lopez
Another longterm player - the American centre-back has proved his value over the last 8 seasons and seems to be equally happy being back-up, or standing in as the first team. He;s still only 26 so can be around for quite a while yet.
Centre-back - Delcio Jose
One of the first names on the teamsheet if fit and not suspended, the money laid out for the Portugese star was significant but he is worth it. Another player who is also looking for a bigger club to match his ambitions. He’s not as much of a threat from set-pieces as her perhaps should be though.
Centre-back - Alex Calatayud
Another longterm player who has more than played his part in, firstly, keeping us in the league and then propelling us into European competitions. He hasn’t played as many games this season as he has previously, but that’s more to do with Jose coming in than anything negative on his part.
Centre-back - Amadou Ba
Promoted from the U23’s to replace Mulenda last January and the biggest compliment that can be paid is that we haven’t missed him. The 19 year old has played mostly in the more winnable games we have had, but the experience will be good for him in the longterm. He will develop and will be one to watch.
Right-back - Trausti Gudbartsson
The Icelandic International - now valued at £56m - is probably our best £150,000 paid. Another player who has been around the first team for a number of seasons and, despite a lot of interest, we have resisted several approaches for him over the past few seasons.
Right-back - Mitchell Boldewijn
SIgned from Arsenal and this was his debut season. Had a lot more gametime than anticipated due to Gudbartssson’s injuries, but has looked at home. We are pretty well set for right-backs for the time being and, I think, this is possibly a future England International. He might already have been if he was somewhere other than Oldham.
Central Midfielder - Hamidou Owolabi
The defensive central midfielder is another who has been at the club for sometime. He’s rotated with Kotov in the centre, and most defensive, of the three midfielders and has looked pretty comfortable doing it. He is regularly wanted by Chinese clubs during transfer windows and this could be the one where he leaves as we look to shuffle the pack slightly.
Central Midfielder - Maxim Kotov
The other defensive minded central midfielder has made plenty of appearances from the bench and the wonderkid is the natural progressor into this position.
Central midfielder - Joshua
Has mostly been playing the carrilero role on the left of the three and has been solid, if not spectacular. His output of goals and assists could do with being improved, but he’s not at risk of being sold just yet.
Central midfielder - Bernard Rousseau
Rousseau has played a good number of games, but is more suited to the defensive side of the game which is why Owolabi leaving wouldn’t be the worst thing as Rousseau could fill this void. Another 21 year old who will be clubgrown at the end of the season and shows the youth set-up/progression is working well. First team player.
Central midfielder - Rayco Duro
When signed, I broke the policy a bit, but it was more than worth it to bring in some extra quality in the attacking mezzala role. His disciplinary record is a bit dubious at times, but he does add some skill and ability in that position where is able to attack the box from deep. Should perhaps score more.
Central midfielder - Paul Curtis
Another longterm servant of 158 league games. He’s played a lot this season, always puts a shift in and, more often than not, is capable of creating chances for team-mates. He’s been consistently very good, but is wanted by a number of clubs and at the age of 29 and valued at £44m with 2 years on his contract - that might be too good to turn down.
Attacking midfielder - Carmelo Thiry
Young player of the year and, along with Parker & Lazenby, one of my genuinely brilliant world-class players. Has attracted a lot of transfer interest but I have no need or desire to let him go. Perfectionist mentality and goals/assist output means he is a very valuable team-member.
Attacking midfielder - Aaron Wilson
Has not played as often this season because, weill, Thiry but he has always performed when he has come in. Leads the team in numbers of assists - mostly because of his set-piece delivery and pops up with goals of his own as well. Love this guy.
Attacking midfielder - Barrington Parker
The inside forward has progressed from his £55m signing and developed into a world class player and an absolute star for Oldham. His goal output of 12 in the league is his best so far and he’s set for many more if I can stop the vultures from circling. Like Thiry - there are a LOT of big names interested.
Attacking midfielder - Maxim Krylov
He had a blistering start last season which he hasn’t yet managed to match, but he has been playing second fiddle to Parker. Has performed well in his cameos though and his goal/assist return is not terrible.
Striker - Lucas Lazenby
Record Oldham signing, record fee for an English player and top wage earner. He had a slow-ish start to his first season here, but has kicked on and produced a number of match-winninng performances to win us points by himself. Key player.
Striker - Jens Jansen
Jansen has had to make way to accommodate Lazenby given that we only play with one striker, but he’s done so apparently happily. A team leader in the changing room, the captain, record goalscorer for the club, massive influence in the mentoring groups. Is caught offside a lot though...