I imagine threads like this will be repeated and repeated all over the summer, but now Wickham has moved on, what would peoples team choices be now, based on the players we have on our books? Fulop Edwards ingimarsson Delaney Cresswell Hyam Kennedy Leadbitter Carson Chopra O'connor (Though more likely to be martin) Personal evaluation of my pick Its not the strongest championship line up available and midfield is still the priority, and provided we dont break the bank for him i would welcome Bullard back, though i'd prefer us to show ambition (although some may call it not moving on) and at least put a bid in for Gio before resorting to Bullard, Spurs want to sell, Gio said he enjoyed it here, and with a manager that could potentially could offer him prem football in the next few years (considering it is what were trying to build for) its not unimaginable that he'd sign a permanent contract, and one that wouldn't involve Bullard range wages. Some may also think it looks youth heavy, i kinda did at first, but, experienced players : inexperienced players is 7:4 I think Carson, provided he carries on the form of last season and Martin,O'Connor gives us pace width and a certain degree of flair. The armchair manager in me says Chopra would enjoy the role as the main man striker wise and if the wing play is as good as I'm imagining it he'll get the 'ammo' needed. Cresswell reportedly gives us crossing and set piece accuracy. I saw Hyam do little wrong when he got his run and with experience in Kennedy by the side of him there shouldn't be too much pressure. Ivar and Delaney at the back gives us an experienced (but new) centre back pairing if they can gel foresee no big problems there. Edwards, not the best option for right back but again adds experience and contributes to the attacking nature (IMO) of the side. Fulop - can have the odd shocker and crisis of confidence but also can be a game saver, i see no reason why he Shouldn't be our number one. As alluded to in gio paragraph the big weakness in this squad is creativity coming through the middle, we just cant rely on Leadbitter being that creative force and pulling the strings, which with a formation that risks the midfield being over run we'd need someone far better at doing that and moving the ball out to the wings/upfront quickly. Also without that creativity in the middle it would pile the pressure on relativity young wingers to provide the creativity all through out the game, which would carry the further risk of play being predictable/easily countered i.e. mark wingers out of the game So all that said I'll break the rules of my own thread and post my 'ideal' eleven and prepare myself to be shot down Fulop New or better right back, Delaney, ingimarsson, Cresswell Hyam, The tough tackling experienced midfielder PJ is after (i have no issues with it being Bowyer) Gio Carson Chopra O'Connor (was tempted to put Treacy simply because of all the 'hype' generated, but cant say i know enough about him to put him in my ideal team) Subs would be: Lee Barrett Peters Whyte (Sp?) Civelli Leadbitter (or to give in to hype again Haroun) Kennedy Ellington
grrr just did this, clicked reply to thread and it vanished ! Forget Gio, he's off to la liga mate haha ! Right, in my mind the current line up is this..... Fullop Edwards, Ingimarrson, Delaney, Cresswell Martin, Leadbitter, Healy, Carson Chopra, Ellington. Reasons for this are...... * Jewell isn't a fan of Scotland or Priskin..... loves Ellington * Likewise he's unsure on Hyam * Jewell ultimately wants to play 4-4-2 I think if we're going 4-5-1 at the moment, which we'd have to do, simply swap out Ellington and put Kennedy at CM. The main issues with this side are: * Centre midfield ! Zero creativity, lack of speed, defensive minded but not that you'd trust them. We need the Derry player ( I remember everyone moaning to high water when we were linked with him... ) Too open, and will cost us many positions. * This carries onto fullback - Edwards + Cresswell need the license to go forwards. HOWEVER, at the minute both would be unsure as to do so, as they'd think " if we lose the ball here, its a major issue " I doubt they'd have faith in cover....... * Central defence. Potentially Ingimarrson is injury prone,,,,,, so will he get through the season ? Delaney to me = will a side get promoted with him playing 46 games in it ? Not a bad player, however not sure I'd want to trust him every game........ These three issues for me are the main ones. In my mind, these players will be moved on from us this summer, or won't feature much next season..... * Priskin * Scotland * Peters * Civelli * MAYBE Shane O'Connor Not a bad side this. Chopra guarantees goals, we look a lot better out wide and a lot of the players have plenty to prove. Also, we have our first actual manager since Joe Royle! In my mind at least, this would get us top half for sure. HOWEVER I think we're still lacking quality and would love to add 2 minimum to the starting line up in all honesty. Also, in certain positions we're certainly lacking depth for the course of a season..... so yeah, time will tell hey !
Hes not signed anything yet, (as far as me and wikipedia are aware anyway) cant harm to at least put in a bid, but anyway, i accept and always have its a long shot. it seems that however we set up we need at least 2 midfielders one creative and one defensive, everywhere else id be happy to start the season with.
There is 0% chance of us landing Giovani Dos Santos mate. NONE. I wish people would get this into their heads, why on earth would he want to come here when he will have offers left right and centre?! Did you see his goal vs the USA the other day!?!?! Check it out on youtube - its INCREDIBLE !
All im saying is that it cant hurt to at least try, even if we do have no hope. i remember us putting a bid in for Bent before he joined sunderland, and although in the world outside my dreams the events are probably not linked ( and im even expecting to be told it happened the other way around) we got gio out of the blue, so, just possibly, asking about Bent opened up communications. and yeah i've seen his goal, i think you'll find incredible is an understatement, even when its written in capitals But this thread wasnt really meant to discuss getting him back, therefore removing him from the equation completely, my ideal line up becomes fulop new RB, Delaney, Ivar, Cresswell Hyam, tough tackling experienced midfielder a creative midfielder who will have Manish and Steve needing lots of alone time - whoever that maybe Carson, Chopra, Martin Before anyone asks i feel i should remind everyone thats my ideal line up, the threads meant to be about suggested current line ups. Also, the reason im loving that formation so much is because ive had so much success with it on FM, simple as that.
as a PJ Favoured 4-4-2 i would go with, Fulop Edwards,Delaney,Ingirmarsson,Cresswell Martin,Hyam,Leadbitter,O'Connor Carson,Chopra How about this as a 3-4-1-2 Fulop Delaney,Ingirmarsson,Smith Edwards,Leadbitter,Hyam,Cresswell Martin Carson,Chopra
Young and energetic,not afraid to have a crack at goal if needs must. could also play just off the main striker.
Fulop Edwards Ivar Smith Kennedy Martin Bowyer* Leadbitter Carson Chopra Ellington *if we sign Bowyer got to say can't see us going 3 up front on a regular basis. But this team should atleast be able to hold their own and challenge at the upper end of mid table.
Fulop Peters, Ingimarsson, Delaney, Cresswell Edwards, Leadbitter, Hyam, Carson Chopra, Ellington I'd rather have a creative midfielder as opposed to Leadbitter or Hyam, but with what we currently have, I think this is a decent line-up. I still think Priskin could be a good player, but he's had his chance, so Ellington would get the nod ahead of him. Scotland, sadly, wouldn't work alongside our best goal-scoring hope in Chopra, in my opinion. Obvious weaknesses throughout the side, but so long as a creative player is brought in, and maybe a new center-back, and we've got a decent side to build with.
