I think if we switch to 4 at the back it'll be harsh on whichever defender gets left out out of Greaves, McLoughlin and Jones, but I guess having one of them as a bench option gives us a strong cover anyway.
Plus with a significant change apparently planned to the playing squad this Summer, for me any player who can 'do a job' and is already with us, will help minimise any disruption to the overall squad.
It’s nice to have the option when you’re chasing a game but without top full backs you cant play 4-3-3 and at present I don’t think we have good enough full backs to do so
For me if we’re going to play a back 4, we’ll need a new centre back to play alongside Greaves as first choice. Then McLoughlin and Jones as back up.
He's in a similar mould to Coyle really. I think Elder's better personally but in an ideal world, I wouldn't keep either
I know I go on about it a lot but I really don't understand this narrative that Coyle and Elder aren't good enough. They seemed to get scapegoated last autumn for the team being **** and it's just stuck ever since. Both have been really good for us.
In an ideal world we keep both for this summer then upgrade both next summer. You can't just change 15 players in a squad of 25 and think that it's a game of FIFA and everyone will just gel. You keep the serviceable players for a year as a bridge to the new squad, then replace them.
Elder was one of our best in L1, but maybe because he's not home grown he doesn't get the same love that Greaves et al. get. He's never going to be PL quality, nor even top 6 Championship quality, but he's more than good enough for what we need.
From what you know of the situation, would you expect Honeyman to sign a new deal? Also, amongst many other things, the old regime were known for their 'prudence' in contracts, do you have any inside on how the new regime does business? Are they similarly tough negotiators, managing the pennies so to speak? Are they trying to maintain a wage structure at the club? Cheers.
Coyle and Elder are fine as back-up. They can step up and do a job. Don’t for one second think they should be first-choice if we’re serious about challenging top 6 though.
They are both good enough for where we are now, but I think theres a question mark as to if they are good enough consistently for a top 6 champ team. But I'd say ok for squad players
Even from Tan's public comments it sounds like they're quite prudent with the funds, which is actually quite reassuring to hear. They have ambition, but aren't going to mortgage the club's future. They won't throw 50k a week at Honeyman to keep him, which I'm happy with, but I would hope they're still offering contracts at what the player's are worth.
If Fleming improves as exponentially as he has this season, he should be our first choice LB, with Elder a competent deputy.
I think he will sign a new deal, I'd say the new regime are just as tough from what I know ( but find me someone who's made that kind of fortune that isn't ) but the main difference is the budgets are more realistic
I think with increased sponsorship and other revenue streams we should be able to offer more competitive contracts regardless.
You could've said that about Ashbee, Dawson and the like at several points, but good players often step up and improve. I don't see any reason why they couldn't be good players for a top 6 side championship side, both of them are good all-rounders. All we can do is sign players for the positions that we currently need them in and worry about who is or isn't good enough for future levels we find ourselves at when that time comes. Right now we've got two good full backs on each side so we don't need to be worrying about that position at all.
I feel like I'm repeating myself a bit but honestly think our entire back 6 (keeper + wing backs + centre backs) are all top 6 quality, and it's really in the attacking positions that we need to focus our strengthening. The amount of goals we conceded relative to our finishing position is honestly ridiculous. You look at patches of the season where we were struggling and we never got thrashed in games.
