Sheffield United have just announced some Brazilian midfielder I’ve only seen on football manager, but plays the same role as Smallbone on that
I wonder if we have someone else lined up as a full back given we apparently bid for Aarons. And who that might be
I think it’s fair to say it’s been a rough couple of days for the club, but mostly expected (bar Gillingham). Fingers crossed that there are solid recruitment plans in place that can be enacted quickly, followed up swiftly by a decent result against Norwich.
If we did put in a bid for Aarons then presumably we must be pretty sure KWP is off soon too. We don’t need KWP, Aarons and Bree.
I think Bree is one of those players who I was thinking about before where if he is sold we won’t sign a replacement. But Tino, JWP and Lavia likely aren’t (although we might only get one new CM) My reasoning here is that on the opening game despite all the injuries and 9 subs he did not make the bench. And bench with only two defensive players. So I think he is someone who is not in any kind of contention unless our recruitment falls apart. And last night’s result reinforced that.
Bree gets a lot of unfair abuse. Probably in part because he was Jones man. He’d be a starter for most teams in the league and was one of the best RBs at this level when we bought him. The only question marks for me with Bree are can he play Martins style? I have no idea. If not then yeah, we could look to cut our losses now and replace him. Feels more likely that KWP will be off though.
Not out of the question that they both might be. If he doesn’t make the bench again this weekend that would be somewhat telling
That would be quite the turnaround from easily our strongest position with KWP, Tino and Bree to none of them Given Brees poor performance last night I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t make the bench on Saturday. If it goes beyond Norwich that he’s not involved then I’ll suspect he doesn’t fit with RMs style of play and we could be looking to replace him too.
Only if one assumes that we bring no replacement in. Which would be a ridiculous assumption to make. And as already alluded to - Bree might not even count. He didn’t make a 9 man bench when we have a swath of defensive injuries. It seemed like square pegs of Lyanco, Charles, Djenepo and presumably Stephens moving across were all seen as better cover on match day Wasn’t Martin quoted as mentioning doing something in the market due to Tino’s sale. And KWP would probably also fall into the category of a player we do something in the market for in response to a sale. I’m just not convinced Bree is. Or that he is seen as someone who can step into the squad spot of either Tino or KWP. Even in the championship. But that said - it will be tough trying to recruit a reserve full back who is better unless he really can’t play in Martin’s system (which I’m not sure he can). Would likely need to be a backup who can play in more than one position.
We will see the value of this JWP deal on Saturday. I expect we will play very differently and not in a good way, there will be a massive hole in the middle of the pitch for the fans and the players.
your skepticism about this season is interesting. Most of us seem optimistic and the opening win certainly showed that we could be a contender. Martin has shown something different at least which is more than can be said of the last 2 managers. However, everything hinges on sales for me. If JWP, Tino, KWP, Lavia, Sulemana, Adams all leave then we will struggle I think. Getting Grimes has to be part of the JWP plan. Mature, Experienced, a leader and knowledgeable of the system and the coach. Essential qualities now.
Struggle in what context ? To get promoted or just struggle in general? And again, your comment about struggling should we lose all those players seems like it only would really apply if we get no replacements in. Which is bonkers. Sure if we sell Adams and don’t sign a striker we will struggle. I just don’t see us sanctioning that scenario. If we are left with Bree as first choice right back - same thing. But the Aarons bid has already revealed that this would not be our plan. Sulemana is an interesting one. I don’t know how you can make the claim that we will struggle if he was gone. He basically did nothing in his time at saints. On paper he could tear up the championship. But that doesn’t mean we are guaranteed to struggle if we lose him. Although talk of a loan with an option seems rather daft (unless the option is voided if we get promoted). Unless it is a very hefty loan fee that can fund a couple of loan fees of our own
