Apps (Goals): 39(0) League: 33(0) Apps (Goals): 22(0) League: 15(0) West Ham PL2 30/08/16 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Swindon Town 06/08/16 Walsall 22/04/17 Lee Burge looked to have fallen irretrievably behind Reice Charles-Cook in the goalkeeping pecking order at the start of the season, however, he was back in the team following Tony Mowbray's departure in September and he has seized the opportunity to re-establish himself as the best goalkeeper currently on the club's books. His kicking remains his biggest weakness, however, this has improved slightly with greater experience this season. Furthermore, the lack of confidence that has dogged his career seems to have become less of an issue, leading to fewer erratic performances. Many still refuse to trust him, but he's become a solid League One keeper and deserves the chance to remain number one next season. Score: 6/10 On his day, he is one of the most genuinely entertaining goalkeepers to watch - remarkably skilful with the ball at his feet and capable of making some excellent reaction saves. However, he has struggled with the less spectacular elements of goalkeeping this season, costing the team points on several occasions. Score: 4/10 Apps (Goals): 1(0) League: 1(0) Apps (Goals): 18(0) League: 18(0) Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Bolton Wanderers 02/01/17 Peterborough United 08/04/17 Having primarily played for the under-18s this season, Chris Camwell's debut on the last day of the season against Scunthorpe came purely out of neccesity due to injuries to more senior players. An energetic and strong left-back at his age group level and an excellent free-kick taker, Camwell could be someone to keep an eye on for the future. A steady debut saw Camwell earn praise from Mark Robins, and he may have an opportunity over pre-season to earn a place in the first-team squad. However, we have seen how long it can take young defenders to develop, and it may be not be in a position next season to take risks on young players with winning promotion so vital to the club's future. Score: N/A With the ball in the air and no-one trying to run in behind him, he's a solid defender. However, a lack of pace and an impulsiveness in the challenge has left holes in the defence against quicker, more dynamic opponents. There was an argument for keeping him around for the purposes of continuity and experience in League Two, but he's no great loss. Score: 5/10
Apps (Goals): 4(0) League: 0(0) Apps (Goals): 12(0) League: 12(0) Portsmouth 09/08/16 Chesterfield 14/01/17 Walsall 22/04/17 Wycombe Wanderers 07/02/17 Held up as the player who symbolised the failings of the Russell Slade-era, Kevin Foley has come in for a lot of criticism during his spell at the club. Not only was he played under Slade ahead of homegrown players at either rightback or in central midfield, but his lack of fitness and level of performance made his presence at the club difficult to justify. His career seems to have been held back due to a lack of centre-backs coming through at youth-level, forcing him to play in what is probably his weaker position for the under23s. Finch looked like he could develop into a decent holding midfield player a few years ago, but he's going to have to prove his talent elsewhere. Frustratingly, Foley has shown in the final few games of the season under Mark Robins that he could have been a steady presence at right-back if fully fit. Nonetheless, it feels like both the club and the player have wasted four months of each others' time by being together. Score: N/A Score: 5/10 Apps (Goals): 16(0) League: 8(0) Apps (Goals): 27(4) League: 19(0) Swindon Town 06/08/16 Wycombe Wanderers 07/02/17 Swindon Town 06/08/16 Charlton Athletic 14/04/17 Score: 6/10 Score: 6/10
Apps (Goals): 33(0) League: 25(0) Apps (Goals): 26(0) League: 22(0) Swindon Town 06/08/16 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Peterborough United 31/12/16 Shrewsbury Town 13/08/16 Signing an inexperienced left-back on loan to cover a position already filled by an inexperienced left-back made little sense other than to simply add numbers to the squad. Lewis Page did little during the half season he had at the club to provide a compelling reason as to why he was signed, providing neither additional quality or a presence to a defence that badly lacked those qualities. Aside from one or two good performances where he demonstrated his ability to pick a cross, Page's time at the club was almost entirely unremarkable. It was a surprise to see another League One side in Charlton choose to pay a fee for him, although he may develop into a decent player at this level. Score: 6/10 Score: 5/10 Apps (Goals): 14(0) League: 14(0) Apps (Goals): 10(0) League: 7(0) Fleetwood Town 21/01/17 Walsall 22/04/17 Swindon Town 06/08/16 Charlton Athletic 15/10/16 Despite a relative lack of experience, Rawson's two loan spells with Rotherham at a higher-level provided the impression that he was going to be a high-calibre signing. What we got was an inexperienced-looking centre-back who appeared to be very much of League One standard during an unremarkable loan spell. Being kind to Sam Ricketts, he wasn't as bad in the appearances he made this season compared to how he was playing towards the end of last year. In an ideal world, he probably would have retired in the summer, or at least played a very limited role, once Tony Mowbray had secured his preferred defensive targets. Aerially, he's a good defender, and he seemed to relish engaging in physical battles with rugged centre-forwards. However, he was very limited with the ball at his feet and seemed pretty naive with the tactical elements of defending. He's someone likely to be spending at least another season at League One level to further improve his game. Clearly a class act off-the-pitch, Ricketts showed at the start of last season that he was a very intelligent defender. The problem was that his physical state detoriorated during his time at the club and he lacked the pace and strength to make the most of his footballing intelligence. He seems like someone who will make a good coach. Score: 5/10 Score: 5/10
Apps (Goals): 20(1) League: 16(0) Apps (Goals): 9(0) League: 7(0) Fleetwood Town 03/09/16 Bolton Wanderers 02/01/17 There was more sense to signing Jamie Sterry than there was in signing Lewis Page. The alternatives at right-back in the summer were a very inexperienced Dion Kelly-Evans and a Jordan Willis who ended up being used more often at centreback, so there was probably a need for a first-choice rightback, although maybe not such an inexperienced one. To his credit, Sterry didn't look like a player making his first few appearances at senior level, but it was hard to see what he was adding to the side other than holding his own. A decent defender, decent going forwards, if Sterry is remembered in years to come, it will be as someone who was simply there for a few months and left without making much of an impression. Brighton Under-21s 10/01/17 Walsall 22/04/17 Provided Stokes is retained for next season, the one good thing to have come out of his season is that we got him fit again. An injury picked up last March and was aggravated on several occasions could have meant that we had seen the last of one of last year's most reliable players, instead, he was able to make a handful of appearances and remind us that he was still there and as solid as ever. The remarkble thing about Stokes is that he's an okay leftback but he has shown on several occasions that he could well be a more natural and composed player at centre-back. Playing right-sided centre-back at Wembley demonstrated Stokes' stoicity and talent as a defender - qualities that will be very useful in League Two next season, should he stay. Score: 5/10 Score: 6/10 Apps (Goals): 46(2) League: 36(0) Apps (Goals): 46(4) League: 36(3) Bradford City 20/08/16 Swindon Town 06/08/16 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 The reasons why Jordan Turnbull was brought to the club in the summer - the release of Aaron Martin and the sale of Romain Vincelot - along with a littany of error-strewn displays could well be one of the biggest reasons why we went down this year. However, Turnbull has shown over the second half of the campaign that Tony Mowbray wasn't completely mad for bringing him in on a three-year deal. Comfortable in possession, fairly mobile and increasingly competitive with the physical side of the game, Turnbull could prove to be a real asset for us next season, should he stay, and may even be someone we could end up being worried about losing if he can continue to improve as he has done. Score: 6/10 For someone who has made over 100 league appearances for the club, it still feels that we're not quite sure just how good Jordan Willis is or even his best position. At both right-back and centre-back this season, Willis has put in some very solid performances, however, this season has also included some very poor performances in either position as well. Although he's been the captain this season, Willis looks like someone who requires leaders alongside him to excel. At his best, he's both hard to get past and has pace to cover his and his team-mates' errors. With rumoured interest from other clubs, it looks like Willis could be sold without us seeing one really good, consistent season from him. Score: 6/10
Apps (Goals): 39(2) League: 30(0) Apps (Goals): 22(2) League: 14(1) Swindon Town 06/08/16 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Northampton Town 27/08/16 Given the near-hero status that he's currently enjoying following his man-of-the-match display at Wembley, it's easy to forget just how underwhelmed, and even annoyed, many were when Gael Bigirimana re-signed for the club this summer. Yet, most of this season, not just the Checkatrade Trophy final, has seen Bigi re-capture the kind of form that saw him earn a move to Newcastle early in his career. A genuine all-rounder in midfield who is hard to pin a defined role upon, Bigi covers a lot of ground, can snap into challenges and can control games with his passing ability. His main issue is a tendency towards erraticness, but he seems to have identified himself as a leader, leading to more consistent and controlled performances. Score: 7/10 Two good performances towards the end of the season demonstrated the player Tony Mowbray thought he had signed and it may have been the case that none of our managers found a system suited to his abilities. However, he was generally sloppy and slow in most of his appearances this season and it would have been foolish to hand him a new contract based on a couple of better showings in meaningless games. Score: 4/10 Apps (Goals): 1(0) League: 0(0) Apps (Goals): 37(5) League: 27(1) Norwich City 23/08/16 Norwich City 23/08/16 Swindon Town 06/08/16 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Although he wasn't exactly first-choice under Tony Mowbray, Ruben Lameiras was someone who you felt would struggle under any other manager. It was certainly true under Russell Slade, however, Lameiras demonstrated a mental, and at times physical, fortitude to force his way into the line-up under Mark Robins. It's become appaent this season that Lameiras is more a number 10 than a wide player, due both to his lack of pace and also his preternatural talent for sliding reverse passes through tight defences. There was the tantalising prospect of him forming a devastating relationship with George Thomas next season, however, Lameiras will have to demonstrate his obvious talents elsewhere. Score: N/A Score: 6/10
Apps (Goals): 7(0) League: 3(0) Apps (Goals): 18(1) League: 13(1) Morecambe 06/11/16 Southend United 10/12/16 Bury 16/08/16 Peterborough United 31/12/16 Although he maybe lacks the natural ability that Ben Stevenson has, Maycock could potentially be someone who could step up were Stevenson to be sold and were he personally to have a strong pre-season. Maycock should at least provide useful first-team cover for next year. Score: 5/10 Score: 6/10 Apps (Goals): 37(2) League: 29(2) Apps (Goals): 20(0) League: 18(0) Swindon Town 06/08/16 Rochdale 17/04/17 Bolton Wanderers 02/01/17 Rochdale 17/04/17 We didn't really see enough of the good Callum Reilly to balance out those poorer performances, so he has to go down as a fairly poor signing even though he looked like he could have been a useful player. With his contract up at Burton this summer, there may be a temptation to try and sign him, but the preference would be for a more physical, experienced and consistent player in the middle of the park. Score: 6/10 Score: 5/10
Apps (Goals): 28(3) League: 21(2) Apps (Goals): 1(0) League: 1(0) Swindon Town 06/08/16 Shrewsbury Town 04/03/17 Walsall 22/04/17 Walsall 22/04/17 Coming on for his debut in the final home game of the season, Jordan Shipley demonstrated the strength in depth of our current academy ranks. Although he sits below Ben Stevenson and Callum Maycock in the midfield pecking order, Shipley looked perfectly comfortable and assured with his first few touches on the ball at senior level. Having played at wing-back in pre-season, Shipley is a versatile and dynamic sort of player who can play in a variety of systems. The key for Shipley is establishing his best role over the next year, before making a more concerted push for first-team involvement. Clearly, another promising young talent from the academy. Score: 5/10 Score: N/A Apps (Goals): 2(0) League: 2(0) Apps (Goals): 36(2) League: 28(2) Shrewsbury Town 23/08/16 Norwich City 23/08/16 Portsmouth 09/08/16 Rochdale 17/04/17 Aside from a few struggles under Slade, it's been a remarkably smooth transition to first-team football for Stevenson. Not only does he possess the technical ability that marks him out as a special talent, but there is an intelligence to his game in the timing of Stevenson's passes and challenges, as well as his positioning on the pitch. Sadly, it's exactly why he's so unlikely to be sticking around for next season. Score: N/A Score: 8/10
Apps (Goals): 19(5) League: 16(4) Apps (Goals): 3(0) League: 3(0) Bradford City 20/08/16 Bristol Rovers 26/12/16 AFC Wimbledon 14/02/17 Swindon Town 25/02/17 Not only was it bizarre that Russell Slade turned to a geriatric Yakubu at all, it was especially so as the squad was already packed with strikers. The rush to sign a player who hadn't played in nearly a year spoke to the desperation that quickly set in over Slade. It was a decision that played out almost exactly as expected. Scoring four goals in 16 league appearances is not to be sniffed at given our struggles in attack this season, however, Agyei just looked an immature player who wasn't quite sure of how to make the most of his talents. For that very reason, the decision not to stick with him for the season was justified, particularly as he was replaced in the side by a more useful player in Stuart Beavon. Score: 6/10 Overweight and unfit, Yakubu showed glimmers of his quality via his touch of the ball and hold-up play. It was utterly inevitable though that his season was ended by injury before he could even get up to something approaching match fitness. Score: N/A Apps (Goals): 17(3) League: 14(2) Apps (Goals): 1(0) League: 1(0) Bolton Wanderers 02/01/17 Charlton Athletic 14/04/17 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Initially, the deal to let Marvin Sordell leave and replace him with Stuart Beavon and Callum Reilly looked like a very good piece of business from Russell Slade. Beavon's work-rate and oddly excellent physicality from a relatively short man gave us a real attacking presence and threatened to be the key signing that kept us up. This issue with Beavon though was that he broke down physically too often to be relied upon and there was no genuine alternative to him in the side. A self-sacrificing striker who would score more if he was more selfish. Beavon is potentially a really important player for us next season, although it's a big concern that he'll only be older and less fit, as well as him having the option of leaving. Score: 6/10 Score: N/A
Apps (Goals): 45(2) League: 34(1) Apps (Goals): 6(0) League: 2(0) Swindon Town 06/08/16 Morecambe 06/01/16 Crawley Town 07/12/16 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17, rather than someone to build an entire team around - the pressure on him to be this team's key player can't have helped. On his day, he can beat players for fun, possesses quality in his delivery and has a fairly accurate shot on him. One of his biggest problems has been both the predicatability of his propensity to cut inside but also a lack of conviction when opportunities to do so have presented themself to him. He's someone you'd expect to be better next season, but he needs to provide a more convincing case to be a regular starter. Score: 6/10 Score: 5/10 Apps (Goals): 26(7) League: 20(4) Apps (Goals): 36(9) League: 28(5) Swindon Town 06/08/16 Swindon Town 06/08/16 Peterborough United 31/12/16 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Marvin Sordell was a signing that was almost openly derided by many, myself included, upon his arrival at the club, having been released by a side relegated from this level last season. After a shaky first few appearances, Sordell grew in confidence once he scored a spectacular first goal for the club against Millwall. After a difficult start to the season, George Thomas looked to have blown his biggest, and seemingly last, opportunity to establish himself in the first-team. Clearly very solid technically, capable of a decent burst of accelaration, and intelligent in his off-the-ball movement, Thomas' biggest weakness was a lack of belief - particularly in his finishing. He really should have scored more goals for us, and assisted a few as well, had it not been for the decision by Mark Venus and Tony Mowbray to consistently use him out wide. Whenever Sordell was used centrally, both he and the team played better, so he left the club in January having impressed but with the feeling that we should have gotten more out of him. Thanks to the EFL Trophy, and Russell Slade's use of him as a right-sided attacking player, Thomas was allowed to build confidence as a first-team player over the course of the campaign and has memorably set himself a place in the club's history with a superlative goal at Wembley. After building on that performance subsequently, there is a genuine concern that we'll struggle to keep hold of him. Score: 7/10 Score: 7/10
Apps (Goals): 14(3) League: 14(3) Apps (Goals): 35(4) League: 28(4) Swindon Town 06/08/16 Portsmouth 09/08/16 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 Scunthorpe United 30/04/17 From his first few appearances for the club where he looked ungainly, flat-footed and unsure of what to do on the pitch, Kwame Thomas has improved markedly following an extended spell out injured. Two of his three goals have been headers, while the other was an intelligent back-heel, demonstrating both his ability to get into good positions but also a fair amount of technical ability. There is still a rawness to his game that needs to be ironed out, and it's hard to feel like he's a player who could be trusted to score the goals to get us out of League Two. However, Kwame Thomas has shown that he deserves the chance to be a key member of the first-team squad next year. Score: 6/10 However, he is a fairly inconsistent performer and still has that issue of being neither a goalscorer nor a target-man as a striker. At an advanced age, there was little reason for continuing to persist with him, especially with Stuart Beavon now fulfilling a similar role in the squad and looking a better player. Score: 6/10 Apps (Goals): 4(0) League: 4(0) Apps (Goals): 12(2) League: 11(2) Fleetwood Town 03/09/16 Sheffield United 15/12/16 Northampton Town 28/01/17 MK Dons 18/13/17 worse than the one he replaced, and couldn't even make it onto the bench for much of his loan spell. Given his lack of appearances, it's difficult to have a definitive opinion on Charles Vernam, other than he was a waste of a signing However, he looked nothing more than a tidy player in posession - not quite a number nine, not quite a number 10. It will be interesting to see what happens with him next season, if only to find out whether we didn't use him correctly or if it was just a bad signing. Score: 4/10 Score: 4/10