Carlisle United ultimately flattered to deceive last season, finishing eleventh, just three points outside the playoffs after rising as high as fourth at the turn of the year.
Boasting an incredible home record up until January, the Blues harboured automatic promotion ambitions at Christmas but struggled following manager John Sheridan’s mid-season resignation and fell away in the second half of the campaign. Quality loan signings Jack Sowerby, Ashley Nadesan and Jerry Yates undoubtedly boosted their early season form, but the trio’s return to their parent clubs at the halfway point left Sheridan’s replacement Steven Pressley with a weaker squad. The Scot battled on, but won only six of his eighteen games in charge, guiding the Cumbrians to sixty-eight points, a performance deemed good enough by the Carlisle hierarchy, who gave Pressley another year at the helm. The former Coventry City boss will be hoping to go much better in 2019/20 and guide Carlisle to the playoffs.
However, many supporters feel the summer recruitment has been far from impressive and believe the club is regressing rather than progressing. Centre-forward Richie Bennett was released at the end of the season along with Anthony Gerrard, George Glendon, Arthur Gnahoua, Peter Grant, Jason Kennedy, Gary Liddle, and Gary Miller. Fans were then bitterly disappointed by the high profile departure of talented playmaker and heartbeat of the side Jamie Devitt to Blackpool. Experienced defender Tom Parkes joined Devitt in rejecting a new deal and moved to Exeter while fellow defender Macaulay Gillesphey had his contract terminated by mutual consent to allow him to pursue a fresh challenge in Australia with Brisbane Roar. The retirement of long-serving and popular skipper Danny Grainger, at the age of only thirty-two, after one hundred and ninety-seven appearances, also hit fans hard and left big boots to fill.
Pressley and director of football David Holdsworth have been busy in the summer market, making seven signings so far as well as promoting academy graduates Josh Dixon and Keighran Kerr into the club’s professional ranks. Nonetheless, supporters remain concerned over the lack of depth in the squad and the quality of some of the recruits.
Perhaps the pick of the signings is experienced central defender Byron Webster who will bring leadership and experience to the dressing room. If the thirty-two-year-old can remain injury-free and re-capture the form he showed at Millwall, then Pressley will have done an astute piece of business. Indeed, the majority of Pressley’s signings so far have been defenders with another experienced campaigner Nathanial Knight-Percival arriving following his release by relegated Bradford City and fellow free transfer Jack Iredale making a move south from Morton. The capture of Jonathan Mellish from Gateshead and Christie Elliott from Partick Thistle means Pressley will not be short of options at the back, but his squad does look light in other areas.
The signing of Jack Bridge from Northampton will add flair and technical ability to a midfield already boosted by Mike Jones and Stefan Scougil signing new one year deals, but it remains to be seen if the twenty-three-year-old can fill the massive creative hole left by Jamie Devitt’s departure. The continuing speculation over the future of striker Hallam Hope leaves the forward positions looking increasingly threadbare. Harry McKirdy could be a find, but the youngster is raw and arrives from Aston Villa with limited EFL experience. The twenty-two-year-old will need older heads around him to bring out his best and enable him to prosper at Brunton Park.
A proven experienced goalscorer is often the hardest thing to find in League Two on limited funds. The sale of academy graduate Liam McCarron to Leeds United brought money into the club, but there is little sign of this being re-invested into the playing budget. The lack of investment is a source of much annoyance and concern to supporters who also rightly feel the club’s policy of only offering one-year deals is further hampering their chances of signing the goals and creativity they need to be anything other than mid-table next season. Over the summer they have seen former favourites Nadesan and Yates join League Two rivals and Nathan Thomas land at Gillingham in League One, all thought to be transfer targets of the Cumbrians.
Pressley will no doubt look to the loan market to bolster his ranks, and if he manages to unearth another Nadesan or Yates, then the Cumbrians might have a chance of a flirt with the playoffs. He needs to get off to a decent start and hope the new arrivals gel and pick up early points; otherwise, it could be a long hard season.
Apathy appears to be the overriding emotion amongst the fan base, and this could quickly turn to hostility if the team struggles. Supporters are not happy with the club’s direction and a perceived lack of ambition, and it seems likely that a season of mid-table mediocracy awaits for the famous old club.
The lack of any of the usual pre-season optimism suffered a further blow with the recent news that highly-rated youngster Josh Dixon will miss the season with a severe injury after impressing in pre-season, joining Kelvin Etuhu on the long-term casualty list and leaving Pressley’s options even more limited.
The next few weeks will be crucial, and unless the blue and white scarf is seen being held by some quality new additions at Brunton Park, Carlisle supporters could be looking down the table rather than towards its summit next season.
