Morning all ... so Hock feels more players are needed, ok so be it, and then what? If your players openly struggled with motivation at Millwall on the opening day, that wonderful first day of the season buzz game, that first proper game after pre season when everyone is meant to be foaming at the mouth to get on the pitch, that first game where you soak up the wonderful atmosphere of hope for the season ahead, well Hock, how the fcuk is signing more players going to help? If your players, on the back of a rousing win against a promotion favourite comes out at home to a team lacking confidence and ready for a beating and they are so demotivated they turn in arguably the worst performance seen at Elland Road in decades, if they are clearly so very flat because they can see the system you employ simply doesn't work, well then please fcuking tell me how more players coming in will help? I believe that if Cellino went out and signed Dzeko, Kompany, Bale, Robben, Pique and Ibrahimovic right now and entrusted their talent to you, we'd still end up being flat, slow and demotivated ... everyone in football knows this is not going to work, so there really is no point in dragging it out for another month or so, costing us valuable points in the process ... Watford are a dangerous side, and if they sense any mental weakness on Saturday, we will be looking at another Sheff Weds slaughter ... if Cellino is smart, he will visit TA today and sit the players down and explain to them that heartless performances are just not on ... then again, that won't help either, because I can't imagine players looking at Junior putting out cones and not wanting to laugh their tits off ... yes, exactly, I think you get the picture
I had a lengthy chat with my brother who went to Tuesdays match, his comments were: Could not string 3 or more passes together. Players cannot read the game and change there formation of play (Hockaday's fault) Too many sub standard players with a white shirt on, he highlighted Murphy as a very poor midfielder. Big gaps in midfield, and got over run by the opposition (midfield is where the game is won and lost) He has not been for over 3 seasons, and his parting words were shall not be going again. All i can say is wtf is going off, the Italian influx is not going to fix this problem, the only pleasure i have at the moment is that McCormack is doing nothing at Fulham, as i never did like him. Consolation is that its the weekend here at 4.30 and we are going to the golf club to wet the babies head of a friends newly born, same place where David Moyes was the other night with Andy Gray, and a couple of geordies ripped the piss out of Moyes over his managerial skills, Andy Gray asked them to cool it, they told him to GTF and asked the waitress in her black suit to wave a knapkin to him and show a red card, absolutely pissed myself, funny as ****.
We lack quality but we have a ridiculous number on our books in an ideal world where you can simply cast aside the deadwood, this is the squad I would retain: GK Silvestri Taylor DF Byram Berardi Bellusci Cooper Pearce Killock Warnock Taylor MF Bianchi Murphy Austin Mowatt Cook Benedicic FW Sharp Antenucci Doukara Ajose Smith Poleon That's 22. I'd also keep Dawson and Walters around the squad but possibly loan them out (with recalls) if they aren't getting used. That means I'd drop 8 Cairns, Wooton, White, Tonge, Norris, Thompson, Hunt, Morison And that's before you start considering anyone else. If Adryan ends up coming for example, I'd probably have to include either Mowatt onto the 'loan out for development' list, or decide on selling one of the midfield (Austin or Murphy most likely)
That's a great post. But I would be selling Austin and possibly Murphy and replacing them. I would guess we would getting nominal fee for Austin and perhaps £400k for Murphy. Replacements would cost about £2mill. So it's pay up time for Cellino.
If the money is available, then I wouldn't have issue with replacing Murphy and Austin. The 6 midfielders were the hardest positions to pick out of our squad there for me, not particularly attached to any of them. Would like to keep Mowatt, Cook, Dawson around to develop but other than that, couldn't care!
There are players in the lower reaches apart from Agard who would love to join us we don.t need to spend £2m we just need to get off our butts and find them! I agree with letting Austin go along with Norris Byram HUNT morison and Poleon and loan out Mowatt and Dawson
Warnock has been interviewed for the Huddersfield vacancy, hope he gets it and takes some of the useless ****ers he signed for Leeds off our hands
LID when you do your match day thread can you add lose by +3,+4,+5,and possibly +6 or it will be to easy again
you do alright mukka cos i did laugh when i saw the massive letters you announced the winner in ya rotten GIT
Afternoon all... Mirco Antenucci is the first signing we have made that I cannot get remotely excited about, he has been playing at a very low level and constantly loaned out, I wish him well and hope he scores plenty of goals for us but I certainly can't see it. I am surprised that Zac Benedicic has arrived so unfit, let's hope we see him putting in a few good displays soon. I don't really care who plays on Saturday, I always said last years squad without Ross was relegation material, Sharp and Ross are different types of players, I am happy with Sharp but he is a poacher and if you don't create the chances he isn't going to score. Doukoura is out for 4-6 weeks and the rest of the signings are not setting the world alight at the moment. Too many fans are resting their hopes on the next new player to come through the door and it won't be long before more fans start realising that the quality we are signing are nothing special. We might look better than last year on paper but last years squad was unbelievably poor. How many people kept sticking up for Murphy last year claiming you could see he was going to be a quality signing? 14 months on and most reports are that he is still shocking. Sorry call me pessimistic, the truth is we are still a team lacking quality despite 10 signings and we are going to struggle to make the top 15 at this rate.
Ristac I agree with a lot you say, however there are a few shining lights over and above last season Sharp as you say is good but he's a replacement on a like for like with Ross Positives are Cooper is better than Wootton, Lees and Pearce and then factor in Bellusci because he is class. So defence should be much better this term Cook and Taylor are the stand out kids and are better than Murphy and Austin with better cover from Taylor over Warnock plus we have Berardi who is supposed to be better than Byram. So without going through the whole squad, what I will say is that our coach isn't up to it because on paper we are a much stronger outfit now. What is the point in him coming out today and saying yes we have plenty of players but they're not good enough. Sorry he may as well sack himself because these players were brought in by MC.
Don't understand why we still play last years dross, we all know Murphy, Austin, Warnock, Pearce will only up their game 1 in 5, so get rid and start playing Mowett, Cook, and the newbies.