How do Chelmsford City replace their key players?

Chelmsford City finished the season in 2nd place, but ultimately missed out on a spot in the play-off final after a hotly-contested, extra-time defeat against Braintree Town on Saturday.

It means that The Clarets will be in the National League South again next year, and they will no doubt be looking to try and get promoted out of the division without the need for the play-offs.

By virtue of missing out on promotion, there are a couple of players within the Chelmsford City side who will no doubt attract interest from teams higher up the pyramid and who could be on the move during the summer.

The four main culprits are Finlay Barbrook (who will return to Portman Road at the end of his loan spell), England C-capped Luke Jenkins, speedy wing whizz Jermaine Francis, and all-action, attacking maestro Charlie Ruff. There are no guarantees that they will get moves, but you’d imagine that the later three will have all interest, while Barbrook’s impressive loan may have earnt him a higher loan opportunity than the sixth tier next term.

However, fear not, Clarets fans! One thing that The Clarets have done really well under the guidance of Head of Recruitment Adam Drew is recruit smartly, and I have no doubt that in the event that any of them do depart the football club in the close season then he will have his finger on the pulse – as he always does – to bring in the next batch of “starlets” to replace them.

With that in mind, I take a look at four players that City could look at as possible replacements.

Luke Jenkins Replacement – Cameron Evans (Taunton Town)

In choosing a replacement for Luke Jenkins, I think it is important to establish what type of player Jenkins is and what skillsets a prospect player has to have.

Jenkins is a right-sided defender, capable of playing as a right-back or more predominantly as a centre-back. Ideally, he has have to an EFL, youth academy grounding. They have to be well-built, a good athlete, comfortable on the ball and more so than anything else have to a strong, out-and-out defender. On all of those fronts, Evans represents a good fit.

Evans is currently on the books of Taunton Town, and prior to signing for The Peacocks was with Swansea City in their academy. An academy with a proven track record for bringing through young players, Evans has been coached in the “Swansea Way” and thus has a proficiency with the ball, therefore is able to maintain the ball-progression qualities that Jenkins displays in passing out from the back and being forward-thinking in possession.

The former Swans youngster is a really good athlete and has the recovery pace that Jenkins displays. And, Evans has been part of a Taunton Town side who despite their struggles at the bottom-end of the division, The Peacocks have shown themselves to be a diligent, hard-nut to crack in the defensive third and have one of the best defensive records in the division. Playing under a good coach in Rob Dray and one with a track record of bringing through defenders, he has been coached to defend properly.

With The Peacocks being relegated from the National League South, Evans is one of a few in Town persuasion that will no doubt be looking for moves this summer to remain at the level. He is still only young and so is in-keeping with The Clarets’ focus on bringing in a younger profile with a view to developing them long-term, and I think every box that they would need to tick with Luke Jenkins’ exit they get.

Finlay Barbrook Replacement – Frankie Terry (Colchester United)

One player that I would not be wholly surprised if The Clarets went back in for this summer, and especially in the event that Finlay Barbrook does not return to the club on loan from Ipswich Town, is centre-back Frankie Terry.

Terry provides a local option for The Clarets, and is on the books of a strong Colchester United academy that is one of the best in the Football League when it comes to developing a good level of young players. As such, that immediately ticks the box over the strength of their technical grounding, and that gives me a general level of confidence that Terry has been well-coached.

Indeed, Terry is one that will be no stranger to Chelmsford City supporters and indeed management given that he has spent time with The Clarets before. If they do look for a replacement for Barbrook, left-footed Terry would – I feel – offer better balance on the left of the centre-back pairing over and above Finlay Barbrook who has played on the left at times this term.

The youngster comes off the back of a spell in the National League South with Aveley, and he showed development in his game during his time under Danny Scopes. Indeed, Terry is part of a strong footballing family with father Paul – formerly of Grays Athletic and Thurrock, who are of course local, and if he ever needed a role model to learn off to be a top centre-back then having John Terry in his closer circle can’t be half bad.

Despite only being 2- years of age, Terry has a good number of games under his belt at the level and I think it is now time for him to go somewhere on a more permanent basis – be it indeed on a free or on a season-long loan – and coming in as a replacement for the departed Finlay Barbrook would be ideal. He provides a familiarity of type given his loan previous, and that would – in turn – give Robbie Simpson a more ready-made option in theory and one that is going to cause least disruption to a City backline that has been strong this term.

Jermaine Francis Replacement – Dion Sembie-Ferris (Scunthorpe United)

Replacing the explosive, direct pace of Jermaine Francis will be a tough task for The Clarets; I haven’t seen that dynamism from many – if any – players for a long time. However, one player who I think City should consider and who I feel has the qualities capable of being a top-end performer in the National League South is Dion Sembie-Ferris.

Sembie-Ferris is on the books of National League North side Scunthorpe United and has spent time out on loan with Peterborough Sports for parts of this campaign. After The Iron dropped short in their ambitions of promotion, I think that Sembie-Ferris may well be one that pays for that with being let go in the summer as the scrutiny on Jimmy Dean and his side to get it right intensifies. If that is the case, I feel he’d represent a really smart pick-up.

The Iron attacker is someone I have been a fan of since his Peterborough Sports days prior to his current move to Glanford Park. One of the best players below the National League divisions, Sembie-Ferris provides a right-sided, direct, pacey attacking option who perhaps doesn’t have the explosive power or pressing ability of someone like a Jermaine Francis, but I do feel he offers a tricky and skill with the ball to evade defenders.

While with The Iron at present, Sembie-Ferris is one that hails with local links given he came through the academy set-up at Colchester United, while he also spent time at Concord Rangers; as such, Sembie-Ferris will be a player that Head of Recruitment Adam Drew has first-hand knowledge of. In terms of trying to find players who Simpson can develop long-term and improve, I feel that there is untapped potential with Sembie-Ferris – having had his big move to Peterborough United and it not quite working out – and I think at 27 years of age, this is the time to really knuckle down.

Given that he was born in Peterborough, and indeed spent parts of this term with Peterborough Sports, the chances are – I feel – that he will try and go back to Sports in the summer on a permanent basis. However, I think he has the attributes to be the perfect replacement for Francis. He is dynamic, skilful, has an unpredictability to him which I like, perhaps a more capable finisher than Francis, and provides a little bit more nous and experience than the former Hashtag United man.

Charlie Ruff Replacement – Jack Wood (Southend United)

The final player on this list is Southend United’s Jack Wood. The feeling by many in a United persuasion is that Wood will be allowed to leave the football club in the summer, and the likelihood is that he will be of interest to a side either in the National League or at the top end of the National League South; The Clarets obviously fall into the later.

Ruff is a rather unique profile, someone who is diminutive and nippy but has a strength in carrying the ball and a trickery to create and evade defenders in the final third. In this regards, I think Jack Wood is well-aligned with that, with the Blues man a skilful and energetic attacking player that has a confidence and trickery with the ball to drop into pockets, get on the turn and then play delicate balls into the final third; very much like Ruff does.

Charlie Ruff’s best position has come off the left for The Clarets, while we have seen Wood in more of a central role. I think that given Wood is predominantly right-footed, playing off the left would suit Wood in being able to cut inside and have a greater number of passing options available to him, more so than he would drifting in off the right.

Wood has spent time in the National League South with Tonbridge Angels on loan, but now is the time for him to sign somewhere permanently and properly knuckle down with his development; a long-term project with The Clarets in trying to get them promoted from the National League South and establishing them in the fifth tier could be an attraction there for him. He is a talented player who has perhaps not been given the chances a player of his ability deserves, and so if there is anywhere for a local, young player to go that is in needed of an environment to flourish, Robbie Simpson has proven himself quite the coach.

While not a direct replacement in terms of style, Wood is capable of being that effervescent, mobile attacking player that Ruff has been; dropping into pockets, coming deeper, and getting on the spin and causing havoc with perfectly weighted through balls. One thing I think he does do really well that Ruff has done this term is make clever runs from deep and get beyond the play, with Wood having shown glimpses of a box-breaking midfielder with an eye for goal and the composure to finish when he gets in position.

I think that he is a really talented player, and one that – if allowed to leave – The Blues may regret as they have done Jon Benton. He is a less finished article than Ruff, but he is a young player of promise and who I feel can be one of the better performers at National League South level; a lovely player.