Agreed!!! We really need some so..me defensive reinforcements - sooner than rather later if we're to mount a serious challenge for top 10
We are obviously trying to recruit new defenders. If Laurent Cilan joins this will be a major step forward. Keep the faith folk.
will we win the league? unlikely but not impossible. i think on paper we have the most exciting looking team in the division but defensively neil adams appears to be falling into the trap many novice managers fall into. he is trying so hard to do the complete opposite to his predecessor and make us exciting to watch going forward that he is neglecting the most important part of any team - the defence. it doesn't matter how good you are going forward, if you constantly have to score 3 or 4 goals to win a game it will take its toll. that's why people build from the back. last season we struggled to score goals but we also lacked organisation and leadership at the back - only one of these issues has been looked at. a new centre half is absolutely essential if he doesn't rate ryan bennett (its probably essential anyway!) i think the season will be entertaining but ultimately unsuccessful and therefore a massive missed opportunity considering the clubs strength on and off the pitch. we shall see but i think top is more likely to go to derby or wigan. to me, they look the best equipped for the long slog, the most organised and the best balanced sides in the division. we look naive in comparison. i think we'll challenge for top six but that really should be the absolute minimum requirement.
I'm not saying we will win the league but I'm confident of at least a play-off position. Anything less and the forthcoming season should be regarded as an absolute failure with the squad we have. I still think that the defence will sort itself out with at least one new face coming in. We will be promoted, Superman take note
The number 4 keeps flashing up in my eyes - that's were I think we will end up with a very good chance of winning the play-offs. I see the top three as Wigan, Fulham, Derby and then City in fourth.....
It'll depend on many things, like how well our new strikers do, how many injuries, whether any more players leave and so on. At the moment we have the same defense we had starting last season. Bassong looks like leaving, but until he does we can't replace him. Even without Snodgrass, we are stronger in midfield than we were last year with the return of Bennett and Surman and the likely addition of O'Neil, not to mention the ever improving Murphys. I don't see any reason why Grabban shouldn't produce another 20 goal season, and Hooper and Lafferty will provide their share as well. Redmond has another year of experience and a more attacking approach that suits him down to the ground. The key will be finding replacements if anyone else leaves, but so far so good, IMO.
Can't see it i'm afraid. A championship winning side is based on a watertight back 4 (Cardiff tybl and Leicester last year, even going back to Fleming and Mackay) we just don't have that
I agree wholeheartedly with this summary. The fundamental error is trying too hard to overcome the negativity that CH instilled and he has over-compensated by going what looks on paper to be gun-ho. I am sure we will score a lot of goals but if we are leaky at the back then the good work will be constantly undone and ultimately this will undermine the confidence of the team. It is a hard balance and I do appreciate NA's motives, but someone has got to have a word and get the balance right. If that is achieved then we could and should be in the play-offs as a minimum requirement, the automatics are possible but I would say 7/2
We have a much stronger defense than when we came 2nd a few years back, the reason we were found out last season was we were playing against Suarez Aguero etc some of the best finishers on the planet. Any mistake was punished, slide in and they get a free kick back off and they thump one in from 30 yds...
