It was a two year plan this time last year... My purple polo shirt will be worn tonight... I hope he is going to the game, I want a few words. WJ are you going. How about the empress pub 6 p.m ish?
The ones I would get rid of are Ajose Doukara Wootton Bianchi Morrison Byram but only if we got £6m this would bring in much needed funds into the club to buy better players
I'd agree with Morison, Wootton and Byram going, and Ajose if he does sod all on wing. Reason I mentioned Byram is A, he hasn't been the same player since his injury B, when Redders brought him in at RB players were getting around and behind him, which I think is the reason Redders moved him up to RM rather than drop one of his boys and bring a Cellino signing back in C, 6mill can get us a better player than Byram. I know some will disagree, but he also did same with Cook, Mowatt and his other favourites, hence why he kept playing Morison, Murphy and Austin; I feel the jigsaw pieces are starting to fit. Last season our midfield kept getting steamrolled and over run, this kept putting extra pressure on our defence which, all things considered did a good job to soak it up. The other problem with our mids was they didn't know how to feed our strikers, if they did we would've scored a lot more goals imo, and Antenucci would probably be around 20 goals. Situation we have, or Rosler has is, our mids, the ones Redders kept picking will have to learn all over again with a 4-3-3 system and probably a faster game which is really going to test their durability, flexibility and abilities. I think Murphy may find it tough to get back in team full time after his injury. What's left of Cellino's signings, such as Bianchi, Sloth and the Duke will step up and play more regular. Rosler thinks Bianchi was under rated last season, not to mention being continually played out of position. I think we're going to see a few surprises this coming season. We have a good keeper and defence, we have good strikers, if Rosler fixes our midfield problems then there's no reason why we can't finish at least in playoffs, and possibly top 2.
Have to disagree with you about Byram, LL. And if you give it some thought, you might retract your statement. When Byram played at RB, he was our main right-sided creative force. He was up & down the wing like a train. And when you spend so much time overlapping, you're going to get caught out. Wootton looked more solid as a RB, but only because he rarely foraged forward, so it was always going to be difficult to get in behind him. Over on the left, we had Warnock, who didn't have the engine he once had. He tended to stay back more than Byram, although it's fair to say that he got forward more often than Wootton did. Berardi is a similar type of player to Warnock in that respect, and tbh, it could be that everyone was 'acting under orders' to ensure plenty of opporunity was given to Byram to go forward. When Byram didn't play, we were a different team - and I don't mean improved! If you look at the games where Byram was was playing RM, he still got back to defend - in fact, he ended up directing Wootton a lot of the time. One thing that rarely gets mentioned about Byram at RM was his ability to ghost in at the back post, and was a real threat, whether in the air or on the deck. It's something that's been missing at ER for quite some time - regular ghosts in the box. As for the others: - I wait to be surprised by Ajose. I hope he has been impressing Rosler, but suspect it's 'put him in the shop window' talk. I expect him to go. - Wootton might surprise us all yet. He's never been given a run at CB, which is what he was signed for. Scum let him go with some reluctance, so there's something there that we haven't seen yet. I'd keep him, if nothing else, as cover at CB & RB. - Always been a fan of Bianchi, so can't wait to see him being played by someone that knows how to coach a good player. He's committed to the club & has turned down flat one approach to sign him back in Italy. On his day, he reminds me of Gary McAllister. Deffo keep! - Doukara might surprise us all. I think he's suited to a 4-3-3, playing on the left. Needs to up his work-rate, and as Leeds60 says, he needs to learn how to head the ball. I'd keep, but wouldn't be upset if he goes. - Morison. I'll piggy-back him to Sydney if that's what it takes. Surprise that Sharp wasn't on 60's list. I would have been happy if we'd never signed him. Here' a talking point for you - I really worry about Mowatt in a 4-3-3. I don't think he's got the speed, stamina or skills to play that system. I hope I'm hugely wrong, but I have strong doubts. If a decent bid came in for him, I'd probably accept it. I know I haven't seen enough of him to make a judgement, but I have a feeling in my bones that this could be Dawson's big chance. Hope he takes it.
WJ you reread my original statement I said that Sharp was going to Sheff U and I would get rid of a further 6 players.LL asked me who these were hence my list I would replace them with Sidwell Jamie Murphy Goldson because he seems the type that I like young and hungry Darikwa why do they have such difficult surnames Patterson Cost £3.5m after deducting Sharps fee Let me know how they fare tonight please take a good look at Erwin I thin k this boy will be something special so I can see the wolves already sniffing ready to strike still my backs certainly big enough!
Agree with you here WJ, Mowatt had his hot and cold spells last season, and did get subbed (cos his name wasn't Cook,) a few times, plus he had a few mediocre games without being subbed. Many have said that Mowatt doesn't have much pace or turn of speed and from what I saw of Mowatt, I agree. I don't think he'll be a regular somehow, only 3 in mids and a faster game will probably be too much for him. Scrawny little Dawson hey, mind you, I remember watching the little Dynamo Brian Flynn, he covered a lot of ground and did a great job in midfield. We've also had Bremner and Giles in past, but the 3 I mentioned had more beef on'em, they were more solid than Dawson; unless Dawson beefs up a bit he's going to be easily hussled of the ball like he was in his couple of appearances last season. Many fans are going to want Mowatt, Cook and Byram in midfield, thing is, they were part of the 5 midfielders last season who were getting steamrolled more often than not. 3 midfielders have more ground to cover in every direction, and, they got to know how to feed our strikers or our strikers will look like mechanised statues, and we don't need hoofball from our defenders. Couldn't agree more about players acting under orders, not so sure it was for Byrams benefit but many couldn't understand why both LB and RB were acting as wingers too when we had 5 mids. Like you said, when Wootton came in he didn't get forward that much, but Berardi did at LB. Whatever happens, it's going to be a very interesting first 5 games or so to begin with.
LL mowatt needs to be more aggresive he loses the ball to easily Dawson should be loaned out for next season look how Taylor responded last season I really think this lad will be a future star
I think Dawson's got more meat on him than Messi! Never stopped Messi, did it? Or my most favourite player ever - Jimmy Johnstone of Celtic. I was the same height as him in 1968 when I stood beside him at the age of 11. And heavier!
I remember watching Jimmy Johnston a couple of times, from my memory he wasn't scrawny, fairly muscular for his size. With his short red locks he always looked like a roughy toughy in appearance, but a very good player none the less.
