I must confess that I was expecting us to be a bit more active during the transfer window and the now open loan window. However it looks as if our limited financial resources have dictated that we couldn't be a factor in the transfer window and the loan options appear to be disappearing out of the window. This leads me to asking if you think Sean believes that he has enough quality players on board to weather the storm or will he yet get in some loanees if they are available? The overall strength of the squad players has been brought in to question more times than I can count on this forum and yet under Sean's direction we have improved our points tally if not our league position. Are we solid enough with our current staf to give you confidence of survival or are we sticking our collective heads in the sand believing that we are of sufficient quality to beat the drop?
We could break it up into a group of 4 Red Equals Good enough, Blue Equals Not Good Enough Goalkeepers - Heaton and Gerken. Yes both good enough to keep us up Defenders Moloney, Carey, Fontaine, Cunningham, Foster, Nyatanga and J.Wilson More Blue than red so No the defence isn't good enough, Needs 1-2 Additions Midfield - Adomah Elliott Skuse Kilkenny Anderson Pearson Kelly Midfield here would suggest we would be fine but it would help with another addition, But overall yes its good enough to keep us up Strikers - Baldock Davies Stead Taylor Yep all good enough but not all fit enough. This strikeforce WOULD keep us up and it would even see us challenge for a top 6 if they were all fit and the rest of the team was up to scratch So overall Yes we are good enough to stay up but we need a little help in defence. (yes there are some players missing but the above are the more popular to start and see us out.)
S O'D has said he will not bring players in for the sake of it they will have to be significantly better than what we already have so I expect he is still waiting to get the players he wants not those agents and other clubs are wanting to send us.
I think it's a question of policy as much as players mike. SL appears to have set out his stall somewhat frugally and is relying on a respected and resonably proven manager to work with what he's got. The possibility always exists to recruit a loan player or two of some quality for a while, and I would have thought that he would respect O'Driscoll's opinion as to the need. As always, everything is subject to reward and return, but I would have thought that the importance of maintaining Championship status would be well recognised. As to the playing staff already on your books, they certainly haven't performed for you in the first half of the season, so the difference must be seen to be the arrival of SOD. Still plenty of time for both ends of the table to reshuffle - we've experienced that ourselves enough to our detriment - but that time tends to run out pretty damn quick. O'Driscoll appears to have made a remarkable difference already (at least at home), and as long as he doesn't start improving your away results on Saturday, I hope he turns that around as well. From what little I know of your team, if you can bolster that defence to give a freer reign to those in front, you'll win as many as you'll lose - that would be enough.
Kilkenny in blue ? This is a quality player who, SoD proved, was just being given the wrong instructions and role in the team. Given the right impetus, Neil could easily be the creative midfielder we crave - i thought this when we signed him and i have not changed my mind. Put a round peg in a square hole and surprise, surprise it doesnt fit. Kilkenny isnt the only footballer in recent years to have joined us with a good reputation, performed underwhelmingly for us on the pitch, and then moved on to be a better player somewhere else. We can all name a few. Back to the thread, we really do need to take a couple of young premiership standard up-and-coming players whilst we can, on loan. Fergies kids are performing at Posh, whilst Conor Wickham will make a real difference at Sh Weds. We need to do something.
Both Gerken and Heaton are good enough. Neither are spectacular though and wouldn't necessarily get into other Championship teams. Take from that what you will. Defensively, the only players I'd definitely keep are Moloney and Cunningham. When next season comes we absolutely need a long-term replacement for Carey, and if we can get good money for the rest I'd sell them off. Wilson has some potential, but I think this is an area we need to significantly rebuild, ideally with young talent. In midfield we've got numerous players that can do a job in the Championship, but aside from Adomah there are no stand-out candidates. Elliot is a decent player, and Kelly appears to have promise, but other than that I'd be happy to let Skuse, Anderson, Kilkenny and Pearson go if we can get better replacements. I'd really like to see Rhys Jordan make the step up as from what I've heard he has been impressive since joining us. We have four good forwards in Baldock, Davies, Stead, and Taylor. Baldock and Davies could be fantastic, but so far I think we're still lacking a Maynard type with the ability to score from nothing. I'd happily sell Taylor or perhaps Stead if we can acquire a top Championship forward. That being said, I wouldn't sell any of our younger players because we're sold a stupid number of players that have gone on to play great football elsewhere. I'm still pissed off that we sold Pitman, because he's tearing it up with Bournemouth again and if we go down he'll probably leapfrog us and do well in the Championship. We have fickle fans to match a fickle board and management, and hopefully under SOD this will change and we'll collectively see the value in our team. Finally, why the **** haven't we signed NICK POWELL on loan?! The guy wants first-team football in the Championship, his manager wants him to go to the Championship, he turned down Posh and he's a ****ing creative midfielder that scores for fun for United's reserves. It astounds me that out of all the teams that want him we're not on the list.
At the moment I expect S O'D has all his feelers out for Central defenders and Midfielders will come second to sorting the defence out also you say don't sell our best young players then say sell Anderson and Taylor, both of these players are young and look like they could developp into good players.
In answer to the original question, no we don't have the players to stay up. We should of got a replacement defender the day Caulker left, perhaps the board were naive enough to think he would sign another loan season with us. Then last year we got another temporary defender to Sellotape over the cracks in defence but still no new defender. Midfield we could possibly get by till the summer, forwards we can barring injuries but defence no we can't.
Funny how we managed it the last 5 years then.... There ARE enough good players here, especially with the vast majority of DM's PERMANENT sigings improving the quality and as I have stated on many occasions, we WILL stay up and build something much better next year. As far as new players are concerned, the wagebill is already creaking at the seams as it is without adding 4/5 more new signings to completely break it in the months from Jan to end of June. We shipped out 5 in the break and got 1 in and many more will go in the summer with their contracts up. At this point, there will be a glut of decent, younger players on the market and we will get some good, new young blood in at half the cost...
If not for free as clubs have to reduce their squads in order to try and meet FFP as they are unlikely to want to get rid of their expensive signings so there could well be many good young players on the market or on Free's it's a question of how many loanees do we need for this year and whom is available that would be better than what we have, there's no point in signing people who do not improve on what we have on expensive loan deals and we don't have an older relative of any of our players or management running one of the most successful clubs in the country neither do we have owners who own other clubs round europe who can transfer players here there and every where within their own little empire. This time we need to get it right not only for now but the future as well.
Do we have enough of the right players to survive? Short answer like others above is NO. We all know where the weaknesses are; We have eleven defenders currently registered if one includes Bates. It's perhaps unfair of us to name names as players will hear about this one way or another and we need all their effort in the remainder of this season. Personally, I can only see three that will be useful to us whether we stay up/go down. There may be some still in the Under 21's who will be considered good enough to move into the first team squad. So for the first time in several years, we need to recruit several defenders of the right age and quality whichever league we are in. In midfield, the picture is less clear but I think we must face facts; Albert will probably move on during the summer because he is obviously ambitious. I believe that the two Scots, Foster and Pearson will move back to Scotland for personal reasons and in Foster's case because he will not be first choice and Rangers transfer embargo ends in September. That leaves six midfielders in an area where we also need to freshen up the style and quality. Up front we have five, all of whom have different attributes so in this department, we are probably at the mercy of the players who want to go, especially if the drop occurs. Another summer of plenty of movement out and in is looming. But whatever happens and whoever we get, WE HAVE TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AT THE START OF NEXT SEASON. A THIRD SEASON OF STRUGGLE WHICHEVER LEAGUE WE'RE IN WILL DRAIN US EVEN MORE THAN NOW; CLUB AND SUPPORTERS!
Players age. Carey was a great defender, but his age is starting to show. Many others were upcoming talents and have clearly peaked. This is why Lansdown has reiterated his view that new players need to be younger. He's sick of complacency in the squad and although I'm happy to see players like Carey want to stick with us we need to have adequate and superior replacements coming through the squad.
Some very thoughtful replies on my thread and a lot to ponder for the rest of this season regarding our current squad and what will happen in the summer depending, of course, on our end of season status. The comings and goings will determine our future competitiveness no matter where we play next season. Given our ever increasing losses and falling attendances makes me wonder wht no-one at Ashton Gate saw this coming and made the RIGHT moves to increase our ability to compete and reduce our losses by putting a good team on the pitch without breaking the bank by relying on under achievers who were overpaid, to say the least. Extremely poor, if not criminal, management on behalf of the people who were supposed to have only the best interests of Bristol City Football Club at heart, and now we are reaping the whirlwind of those actions. Shameful and disgraceful management in my opinion. The supporters all deserve medals for their perseverance and dedication to the cause, but that's what being a follower of BCFC is all about.
As Ender MB stated, Carey now our best defender at 36!! Others peaking but back your comment How did we manage for the past 5 years? Last year we was rescued by loanee's the year before by another loanee so have we survived the past two years on what we have? No we sellotaped the cracks with makeshift loanee's. The years before that we had a fitter Elliott to drop back to in a defensive midfield when needed a younger Carey who marshalled Fontaine or Nyatanga.
Cidered I don't really expect us to be flying at the start of next season if we have a massive change of playing staff it will take a month or two for them to all gelI would be happy if the team was doing well from October onwards after all as we saw this season you don't win or lose anything in the first month or two.
I agree that we don't want to peak in August but I meant that we want a start whichever league we are in, that has us not lower than 12th for the first couple of months; that would be flying compared with the last two years. All we can do at present is surmise about the personnel in next season's squad. But on the assumption that we keep the following; Heaton* / Lewis Carey / do we need another keeper? Castanheira good enough as third? Moloney / Cunningham / Foster / Bryan / 3 new Centre Backs Adomah / Kelly / Skuse* / Anderson / Reid / Ajana / Elliott and/or Howard / 1 new midfielder Baldock / Davies / Stead* / Taylor / Burns / Krans Total = 24 of whom 6/7 are unproven youngsters. As I'm not a betting man, I would not put money on all of these still being with City next season. Neither would I put money on whether Fontaine* and possibly Louis Carey* will still be there. I think Pearson is on a one year contract and may prefer to return to Scotland? * These players out of contract at end of this season? But that squad of 24 should be good enough with correct management leadership to either ensure comfortable safety in the Championship or a top two/six in League One.
