" Joel Colwill "

Cheltenham Town manager Michael Flynn says he remains confident of keeping Joel Colwill until the end of the season.

He says no talks have taken place with Cardiff City about a possible early return to the Championship club.

The more I think about it, the more inclined I am to let him stay there for the rest of the season.

Whilst I think he could add something to our squad, he isn’t guaranteed to get game time here, whereas he is probably one of the first names on the team sheet at Cheltenham.

Not playing week in week out could harm his development.

The stats:

6 League Goals
3 Cup Goals
3 Assists
20 League Started
22 League Matches
6 Cup Matches
1,656 League Minutes played
7.07 Rating
2 Yellow cards
0 Red cards

That's a goal or assist every 138 mins (or crudely 1 1/2 games)

Strong fotmob rating over that range of games. To forge a comparison; Alex Robertson is our current best 'rated' player on 7.08, followed by O'Dowda and Joels older brother with 6.98 and 6.89 respectively (at the time of writing). There are only 2 other Cheltenham players rated higher; they are bang mid table at the time of writing.

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My opinion is, he's performed well at that level. I'd try and get him into a mid-table L1 club. I agree with Roath_Blue, it's pointless if he doesn't play though. I'm not sure if he's ready for Championship; but if he went to L1 and posted similar return as above, then he's got to be in contention for next season.

Ashfords recent form, O'Dowda linking up well with Willock and a returning Tanner slightly calms down the need for Joel to get a recall, for me.

Great to see a loan going well though.

The stats:

6 League Goals
3 Cup Goals
3 Assists
20 League Started
22 League Matches
6 Cup Matches
1,656 League Minutes played
7.07 Rating
2 Yellow cards
0 Red cards

That's a goal or assist every 138 mins (or crudely 1 1/2 games)

Strong fotmob rating over that range of games. To forge a comparison; Alex Robertson is our current best 'rated' player on 7.08, followed by O'Dowda and Joels older brother with 6.98 and 6.89 respectively (at the time of writing). There are only 2 other Cheltenham players rated higher; they are bang mid table at the time of writing.

- - - - - - - - - -

My opinion is, he's performed well at that level. I'd try and get him into a mid-table L1 club. I agree with Roath_Blue, it's pointless if he doesn't play though. I'm not sure if he's ready for Championship; but if he went to L1 and posted similar return as above, then he's got to be in contention for next season.

Ashfords recent form, O'Dowda linking up well with Willock and a returning Tanner slightly calms down the need for Joel to get a recall, for me.

Great to see a loan going well though.

Thanks for posting those stats, all very positive.

He does have a good average rating and other great stats but obviously there is a massive difference between League Two and the Championship.

I would agree that a loan to League One for the rest of the season would be a good option. Not to a top team in League One, because we need him to continue playing games.

The flip side is you could argue that at Cheltenham he's happy, playing well and getting plenty of minutes. So you could say he's better off staying there for the whole season.

The fact that Cheltenham isn't far away from Cardiff helps as it's easy for people from the club to go and watch him play.

That wouldn't be the case if he went to a League One club like Wigan, Blackpool or Bolton.

Yeah, agreed. I wouldn't be too miffed if he stayed at Cheltenham and bagged close to 20 goals and assists. That's the type of player we'd probably be looking at, considering age etc.

Needs to see the season out. 15 goals in midfield will be a decent experience and let's see what he does in league 1 next season with us.

Apparently Bolton, Bristol Rovers and Exeter are keen for a loan if recalled.

I just saw it on X. Not a robust source, but nice to hear the goss.

Apparently Bolton, Bristol Rovers and Exeter are keen for a loan if recalled.

I just saw it on X. Not a robust source, but nice to hear the goss.

Bristol Rovers would be a decent club for him to go to.

They're in League One but not a top team in that league, they're struggling at the bottom, so he's more likely to get the game time we want.

Would also still be at a club quite near to Cardiff.