? Equals a new signing or youth team player Manager - Magath Assistant Manager - Murphy Keepers - Stockdale is good enough for first choice and a couple of our youngsters having been doing quite well out on loan 1. Stockdale 2 Etheridge 3 Bettenelli Defenders - Needs a complete overhaul to many high earners and thirty year olds, Amorebieta gets one more season as South Americans always take a season to settle. New left back a must. 4. Burn 5. Amorebieta 6. Grimmer 7. Burgess 8. Passley 9. ? 10. ? 11. ? Midfield - Need to get rid of a lot of dead wood but with the below 5 players all prob good enough only a couple of good additions will see us quite strong in this positio. 12. Sidwell 13. Roberts 14. Dejagah 15. Richardson 16. Kvist 17. Kasami 18. Kacanickilic 19. ? Forwards - Think we are ok in this position with a few of the youngsters another year older. Trotta has had a couple of good seasons in League 1. I would keep Kotas as a star striker can be the difference in a tough championship, if he does go for a half decent price I would spend the majority of the fee on a good replacement 20. Tankovic 21. Dembele 22. Woodrow 23. Trotta 24. Mitroglu
I would like to add the players who I have left out will reduce the wage bill massively, how next season goes May well depend on how well we replace the above question marks! Mourinho has always had a soft spot for Fulham and stated he would love to see us stay up I would see if we could get a couple of good players on loan from him maybe Patrick Bamford Off the wage bill - Stekelenburg, Hangeland, Riise , Heitinga, Riether, Duff, Parker, Diarra, Holtby, Bent, Rodellega, Boateng, Zverotic, Ruiz
I was going to post something along these lines, but I'll hijack your post instead! Manager I don't see a reason to sack Felix Magath, assuming he wants to stay. He has the experience of bringing a team up from Germany and seems to have something to prove that might well see him stick around. I'd love to get Murphy involved somehow, but I don't know that he'd be willing to give up a promising media career. The most important thing is to have a management team that works - the relationship between Kit Symons and Magath (or whoever the manager is) is crucial in bringing through our younger players. Goalkeeper I think it's important, both for us and for the player, that Maarten Stekelenburg is not a Fulham player next season. We may well end up part funding his wages next season, but he doesn't want to be here any more and he is an expensive back up. David Stockdale is going to be our starting goalkeeper next year. He has earned the chance and certainly has the experience and skills to be a top Championship goalkeeper. I expect our other options to be Neil Etheridge or Jesse Jorenen; I don't expect any signings at this position. Defence John Arne Riise is gone and Johnny Heitinga has made it clear he won't resign to play in the Championship. Do we keep Sascha Riether & Brede Hangeland? Both looked old and uncommitted this season, but both are still under contract. Dan Burn and Fernando Amorebieta are both likely to be around next season; Burn especially is going to be a key part of our back line next year. Whilst I think Matthew Briggs could deliver in the Championship, I think his time here has passed and he needs a change of scenery.No need to comment on Elsad Zverotic. We need to bring through players like Grimmer and Passley, who are should both be pencilled in to a Championship first team squad. We need to sign another centreback and a left back, although the quality required of said centreback will be related to whether or not Brede sticks around. We've been searching for a solution on the left for so long now, there can be no excuses this time around. Midfield Damien Duff is gone. Lewis Holtby won't be signing with us. I would not be surprised to see Derek Boateng leave and Giorgos Karagounis retire. I don't think we'll pick up the option on William Kvist; if we sign him then we will try and renegotiate for a lower fee and lower wages. I really believe that Kieran Richardson can be an important player for us next year, as long as he is on the left wing rather than at left back. I think Steve Sidwell will likely return. We may well struggle to shift Scott Parker (a player who has to take a level of blame for our plight this year) who is definitely overpaid for his current level of ability. Ryan Tunnicliffe could do a job in the Championship, but I think his ego may well see him sold. I hope Pajtim Kasami spends next year finding out what his best position is and Larnell Cole should be an option on the right. I expect us to cash in on Alexander Kačaniklić (who I then expect to light it up in Italy or Spain ). Ashkan Dejagah would be exceptional in the Championship, but I can certainly see him leaving. If Diarra wants to stick around then I have no problem with that, but that decision is up to him. I hope we see Mesca and Freddy Plumain start to get first team exposure next year. We need to identify a midfielder with the energy to play 90 minutes 50+ times in a year, as Sidwell and Parker certainly can't. Maybe that player is Lasse Vigen Christensen or Ronnie Minkwitz, or maybe it's a new signing. Either way, this is an area we really need to strengthen. Forwards Darren Bent is gone. I cannot see a situation when Bryan Ruiz is back. The only two strikers on our books are Hugo Rodallega and Konstantinos Mitroglou. I expect that Mitroglou has a relegation release clause and if someone offers that he will leave. Otherwise I think we could be well set with Rodallega & Mitroglou alongside Cauley Woodrow, Moussa Dembele and Patrick Roberts. If Mitroglou leaves then we need to go out and sign a striker. Players like Jordan Rhodes will be out of our price range and Danny Ings will be plying his trade in the Premier League. Maybe someone like Troy Deeney is an option, not sure. Overall I don't think we need to go and spend a ton of money on new players, but we need to go back to basics with the make up of our squad. Enough with the old overpaid English "stars" like Bent and Parker. It's time to build an identity again. I want to see a team of players who want to get to the Premier League and want to do it in white, rather than a team of players just content to be making Premier League wages. I think we have a core (Stockdale, Grimmer, Burn, Kasami, Richardson, Woodrow) from which we can build a very good team. It's going to be a difficult summer, but let's keep the faith and make a crack at returning first time.
Just one thing, judging on his display yesterday I'd hook Burn out the door. Was woeful - I read in the Guardian that the Michael Jackson statue would have done a better job.
If the chairman is serious about returning quickly, no player should be out of our budget. Well, no player who would be willing to come for the right wages/fee at least. Much as I'd like Toni Kroos to turn up, he won't. We would need to build a Premiership quality squad to play in the Championship. Much like West Ham and Newcastle did when they bounced straight back. We need to think big.
Tend to agree FULHAMAN we must set our sights and minds to believe we are a premiership side thus acquiring players of quality.
Dan Burn would be my first choice central defender next season. For some absurd reason, Magath decided to play 6ft 7" Burn at right back yesterday marking a very nippy winger. Burn didn't stand a chance and predictably got turned inside out for 90 mins.
My counter to that though is that he was a defender asked to defend, and couldn't do an adequate job, whether he is asked to play centrally or 40 feet to the right should be immaterial. He should still be able to tackle, run, track back, mark, jump and be as tactically aware. He wasn't asked to lead the line or marshal midfield, he was asked to defend. That tricky winger could cut inside and come at the centre of defence and what would he do then?
Is that why Messi is turning over every single CB? The centre of gravity is much lower and no matter how good you are can't compete on agility. Look at Smalling as RB.
One of the things we can exploit next season is the loan system as we are in the Championship, more Premier clubs might be willing to farm out their surplus to us. A lot will depend on who is manager. Get some players in who have Championship experience maybe Ross McCormack of Leeds United Adam Le Fondre of Reading Danny Fox of Southampton I guess if Magath is still here we might push the boat out and get a few Germans Aaron Hunt of Weder at end of his contract (Dempsey like player) Inui of Frankfurt (similar to Holtby but scores goals) not been in team recently. Huszti of Hannover (bit like Zoltan Gera) but can be moody Add to a blend of youth and experience for me might be Stockdale Etheridge Betinelli Riether Richardson Burn Hangeland Briggs Grimmer Pritchard Sidwell Dejagah Tunnicliffe Kasami Kacaniklic Boateng David Diarra Williams Boumesca Minkwitz Roberts Rodallega Mitroglou Dembele Woodrow Trotta
That's 27 players. I thought we could only name a 25 man squad, or is that for the Premiership only? If so, we couldn't use all these players let alone any we might sign. I'd trim this list by about 10 players: Reither, Burn, Briggs, Boateng, Rodallega to be transferred and likely that Dejagah, Kacaniklic, Mitroglou would leave anyway plus Roberts and Dembele to be snapped up by a Premiership or top foreign club (hopefully not, but could happen).
Like the case argued by Surly in his first post. As to individual players? I'll wait to see the body language at the end of next Sunday's match.
Not sure of Championship rules, but the younger ones are still home grown some still under 23 years old, even Kasami, Burn, David and Kacaniklic are under 23. Surlyc who would you chose out of Riise, Briggs, Amorebieta or Richardson at LB The LB position has to be addressed in the transfer window along with a few others, I think Richardson prefers to play left wing.
I'd pick Amorebieta or Briggs ahead of Richardson at left back. I'd pick Stockdale at left back ahead of Riise.
Looking at my original squad up above I only have 4 places needing to be filled despite getting rid of 13 players, if we give Tunnicliffe a chance it's only 3 places though all in defence. A good centre back and a good left back are a must if we do get rid of the players mentioned we would surely get about £10 million ( Ruiz could go for 4 alone) Let's pay Ipswich the £5 million they want for Cresswell at left back and get in a centre back
Experience should be limited to Hangeland and Amorebieta at CB, Kvist, Sidwell, Richardson and potentially Parker if we can't sell him in the midfield and Mitroglou, Hugo up front. The rest can go. Riether was poor this season. Kara is too old although he could have played last week. Wish he is given a chance on Sunday. Briggs can play a role... All in good order. If Khan is serious about his investment he will make the funds available for a swift return.
No way do I want to see Briggs as a squad player and the many others suggested. Lets not keep forming permutations of regurgitated under achievers, go out there and buy, and bring on some of our youth squad.
Frankly, if I had my way I'd unload the lot of them and start our U21 team beginning n August. I realize that's not really possible; we'll have too many high-wage rubbish players like Mitroglou we won't be able to off-load, so we'll be stuck with them at least for a while. But quicker we unload the losers from this year, the better off we'll be.
To be fair we don't know for certain Mitroglou is rubbish. He's hardly played so it's difficult to get an impression. I do wish we wouldn't keep going on about Briggs. The lad is never going to make it with us and needs to be moved on. Where has he been playing all season, by the way? Is he on loan? If not, why is he still on the wage bill - unless he is cleaning the training ground changing rooms - what earthly use has he been? So to suddenly bring him into the senior squad and expect him to be the answer is stretching things a bit.
