Guess the first team

Lewis Grabban's signature today is the sixth of Andy Scott's close season transformation of the first team. It's pretty clear that next season's team will be very different to last season's. So, what will it look like?

The easy bit is who won't be in it. Ryan Taylor's departure to Bristol City and Nicky Law's to Motherwell create two first team spaces and it seems unlikely that Tom Pope or Mark Bradley are going to fill them.

In goal, Jamie Annerson looks like being first choice, or, at least, Andy Warrington doesn't.

The defensive squad suggests a flat back four, presumably consisting (from right to left) of Brown, Cresswell, Foster and TBC (given Scott's lack of tolerance for some players who did ok last year, you'd imagine the inconsistent Newey isn't earmarked as a first choice). Still lacks a seasoned campaigner to me, and unless Cresswell's injury struggles last year truly were freakish bad luck, it's possibly light on numbers, given Mullins' long term injury and Foster's somewhat suspension-prone disciplinary record.

After the defence, it gets very hard to work out the line up.

There's no obvious front two pairing. Holroyd and Le Fondre seem to be similar sort of players, so look an unlikely partnership. Evans and Grabban are both six foot, but neither seem to play the "target man" that a Le Fondre or Holroyd might play off. Indeed, both are the sort of forward who can play on the wing, which suggests they're not really equipped for back-to-goal hold-up play.

A front three looks the most likely possibility, with Grabban or Evans aiming to stretch the play, allowing Le Fondre and Holroyd to sniff out space, which would leave a midfield three of Taylor, Pringle and Schofield. Whether Taylor, with his propensity to over-reach himself and get caught challenging for possession too far forward, can anchor a midfield trio is an open question, as is who provides the challenge in the centre of the pitch should he get injured or suspended.

The old saying is that you judge a team by looking down the middle and across the back and on that basis we look ok, but nothing more.

If Annerson starts we've got a potentially good 'keeper, but one who's prone to mistakes and to lose confidence thereafter. Cresswell and Foster are the right size, but Cresswell's easily turned and Foster's never featured as a regular first team player in the League. Taylor is a decent defensive midfielder. Up front, we look to have competition, finishers and pace, but no obvious battering ram, which successful sides in League Two tend to have as an option and in many cases as plan A. Assuming we bring in another left back, the defensive squad as a whole looks good, if a little callow.

The supporting cast (Schofield in particular) look impressive, but a blunt instrument up front and wise counsel at the back are still needed, in my view, to turn pretenders into contenders.