Aye and Kennedy will be gone, along with Rondon, but we will have Gayle back. So we'll have no Rafa and won't be far off the first 11 we were promoted with. Holy **** I hope Mike gets us sold this season.
So in two premiership seasons we will have gone from: Dubravka Yedlin Clark Lascelles Dummet Ritchie Shelvey Diame Atsu Gayle Perez Darlow Yedlin Clark Lascelles Dummet Ritchie Shelvey Diame Atsu Gayle Perez The only difference is the Keeper:
Forgetting Lejuene, know he's injured but he was a bit of the unsung hero last season. I'd also replace Atsu with Murphy from both squads. Understand what you mean though if we are going on our strongest XI of players we actually own.
Yes I was going to include Lejuene but he has been injured quite a bit. I like him though. Its bizarre that we have more or less the same 11 as the promotion season which backs up my argument weeks ago that we are no stronger now than we where when we got promoted basically because it is the same team. When you think about the signings we have made over that period we have not signed a single player who has in fact replaced any players!
Mainly because we won't spend at the right level to do so. Joselu at £5M was never going to improve the team. Loan signings never in the long term improve a team. If you make a profit in a transfer window (except if you've had a "Carroll" type sale) will very rarely improve a team. People shouldn't get side tracked from the only reason why the team hasn't improved; Mike Ashley.
Agreed and looking at it that squad from the promotion season was Elliot, Yedlin, Clark, Lacselles, Dummett, Shelvey, Diame, Ritchie, Atsu, Perez (all in the first team still) Gayle (probably should be). I mean we haven't really improved the first team since coming up and have barely bettered the back up: Hanley < Schar Mbemba = Fernandez Gamez > Manquillo Haidara > Lazaar (who was here and till couldnt get a game...and for DPP) Anita - not really replaced Colback ? Ki Goufran > J Murphy (just) D Murphy > Joselu Mitro - not replaced So effectively in three windows in the EPL we've bettered our keeper, a CB whos out injured for the year and a few back up players.
Plus Diame will be out of contract and I don't believe for a second he'll be offered another under MA. Not at his age.
Cheaper than signing a replacement though, probably. Whoever the manager is next summer, they shouldn't be put in the position where they want to or have to re-sign Mo; they should be backed by the vast resources the club generates to replace him with a better player.
Aye, I wish. Maybe Mike's squirelling away all his pennies to spunk on a new manager. Or maybe Mike's a **** and will say bye to Diame and say the replacement was bought last season (Ki) and we have a CM from the academy (Longstaff)
