Without getting ahead of ourselves we can at least now say that promotion this season is a distinct possibility. That being the case, who in our current squad do we think could cut it at the higher level? For me the entire back 5, partly because they are a good unit as opposed to being great individuals. I'd worry a bit about Solly's size but much less than I used to as he's been a revelation this year. From the midfield I'd be confident that Hollands, Green, JJ and possibly Stephens ( remember him?) could pass muster and Kermorgant and BWP are both way better than league 1 standard. So that's a solid nucleus but its as far as it goes. So eyes open CP in the window. Am I being harsh or optimistic?
Dont forget Solly made his debut in the Championship, albeit it last game of the season against another relegated team. The interesting fact is that Chris Solly might be small but surely he's no smaller than the Da Silva twins @ Manchester United. I do feel though that when Chris Powell made his signings he also looked at the majority of them managing to hold their own in the Championship else we'd get promoted and have to buy yet another Squad
I would have thought teams like Norwich would have struggled with their teams. Alas the win promotion.. It really is too hard to say.
The back 5... seems fairly unanimous. JJ - definitely, though he was off the pace a bit today. Hollands - definitely... needs the right person next to him though... which brings us to... Stephens, Pritchard, Bover, Hughes, Alonso... all great back up but I'd want to see a stronger attacking force in here, or someone like Hughes but better who can free up Danny to go forwards Green/Waggy - Jury's still out for me, both show great moments, but neither are consistently putting in performances as strong as some others in the squad Kermit - Definitely BWP - Definitely... but maybe not as effective, so this'd be the other area of investment... there's a small club in Yorkshire who failed to win promotion and we'll take their guy (I'll leave it to your interpretation whether I mean Rhodes, Evans or Madine...) Cort is probably good enough, but I'd want to see more. Need a reserve left-winger and right-back.
Exactly A4L... Barring some of the fringe players I beleive that all are more than capable of holding their own in the Championship. However, lets concentrate in the job at hand and not count our chickens before they've hatched...!! Yes we're looking great but, there's a hell of a lot of fotball to be played and some stiff oppostion to contend with along the way.
Hamer Solly Morro Taylor Wiggins ? Hollands ? ? The Kerminator ? I may get slated for this, but I really don't think JJ, Green, Waggy, Hughes, BWP and Pritchard would offer much above League One level. The jury is out on Stephens.
I'm with Ponders to a certain extent if I'm honest. BWP has never done anything at Championship level, a large amount of his goals for us have come from him capitalising on lazy League One defences, whereas Championship defences are for more disciplined. That said, I reckon the vast majority of our current starting 11 would do well in the Championship, and players like Hughes, Hayes, Cort, Waggy would be acceptable back up.
Michael Morrison done a job for us a right back in the championship but looked mistake prone at centre half, but maybe now after more time in league 1 he should be alot better for it. Part of the problem was when a big striker was put on him and got too easily bullied
But sometimes finding the right club/team helps players achieve where they may have previously failed. In recent premiership seasons there have been players who were playing in the bottom divisions a few years prior, and they've handled themselves back in the big time. I think we could handle the championship- but good management with hard work appears to be what's worked for teams like Norwich, stoke, burnley and hull in previous years. All have shown you don't need the best team.
ProudFox, Morro only played one game for us at RB this season, which I missed, but most reports seem to suggest he seemed awkward playing there. On the other hand, at CB he has been an absolute beast this season. There's no other CB in this division who I'd rather have, and there's no striker in the division who can bully him. Hopefully that means he's now more comfortable in the CB position. I'm adamant he could do as good a job in the Championship as he is doing so far. Afterall, compare him to the CB's we had whilst in the Championship (McCarthy, Sodje, Hudson, Ward, Primus, Bougherra etc), and I'd say the only CB out of all of them who is better is Madjid Bougherra.
Thats a very good point. If i'm not mistaken, Norwich's winning side last season was mainly the same from their L1 days, and Southampton side this season is essentially the same as last season - I think the majority of players in the team now will flourish in Champs, with a couple of add-ins - CP will know who. Then again, i'm not counting my chickens. BTW, phoned the ticket office today to see if there were returns for the Fulham game only to be told that there was a (long)shortlist of people queued up for any tickets. I've got a feeling that the club is asking Fulham to accomodate more of our fans somehow-if Fulham dont sell out their portion (unlikely) then i dont think even they could turn down 25 (or whatever it is) x 1,000 pounds. However, also a small concern is that only 500 tickets have been sold for the Sheff Wed game so far, although i suppose money is a bit tight at this time of year.
Morro bullied... Really? I'm not questioning your judgement mate. Especially considering you've been bang on the money in the past with your assessment of Morro and Kermit. It's just he's the last bloke I could ever Imagine being bullied by anyone. Bully maybe but bullied, surely not!!
Agree, cant imagine him being bullied - he's a monster- i'm surprised he doesnt have a bolt through his neck !
Totally agree, although I think your last sentence should have read something like "... you don't need the best collection of players" because all your examples were of teamwork overcoming the limitations of invidual players.
... In fact i can see him resembling your profile pic, when he hangs up his boots and piles on the pounds.
