What I find interesting is that this season alot o clubs where Trini players left have either been relegated or battling the drop:
Wrexham
Port Vale
Luton
Southampton
Gillingham (struggling, but that eh nothing new)
Thing is, its got nothing to do with the Trini boys!
I think much of the problem is new managers inheriting a squad they can't get the best from.
Port Vale should have done much better this season. They bought some players who were good enough to stay in league 1, but then a new manager chose not to play them. Tey had also sold some of their better players in the close season, such as Birchall.
Luton had the points deduction to deal with and started the season with 28 first team players. They sold the best and this unbalanced the side. Given the chance to start with zero points insted of a minus and a tight squad of 20 players, they may have performed differently.
Gillingham let too many players go on free transfers in close season. Sancho would have carried on his solid performance, while, Flynn has done well at Blackpool, Jackman has been solid at Northampton and Johnson has been ever present at Wycombe. Also, deciding that Kelvin Jack would not be played in a single match when you have the second worst defence in the league is crazy. They were heading for mid table stability when Jepson went and they brought in a Blue Square manager who set about dismantling the team in preperation for relegation! 9 Blue Square conference players were brought in and experienced players such as Lomas, Sodje and Armstrong were shipped out. Then they let go of Cox!
Southampton just can't seem to get it right, yet Stern has scored something like 18 goals in 26 matches. Outstanding! Again, the change in management has left a manager unable to get the best from someone elses squad.
Same problem with Wrexham. Unfortunately, these guys need a preseason to get their squads right and offload those that can't play their style. Maybe there should be a "transfer" window that only allows change of managers from May to July!