Summer window

Lol, unfortunately or fortunately depending on your persuasion, it’s not true

 

LG is very versatile but ZJ has also played at full back.

 

He has played at fullback but hes a CB and is most likely a CB at senior level.

When hes given a chance he needs to play in his best position which is CB so I wouldnt be using him as a RB

 

Modern football is a squad game and all players, especially young ones have to be adaptable - I'm sure that he will be.

 

Agree. If we take the squad as being 2 players for every position,a third goalie and two utility players,notwithstanding the possiblity of adding to it from the younger lads...e.g.Rigg, Johnson etc.,then we are more or less lined up,but for the big unknown,to us at least,the injury situation.
Defensively, Aji's injury means we will need cover,which may stop Anderson going out on loan,although both Luke and Lyndon have played there in the past....not great....we may need to add.
In the midfield,if we assume Corry will be out for more months, do we think Matete can support Neil and Ekwah in that role,or should we add?
Given that we have Abdou and Jobe in the more creative positions,how do Embo,returning from injury and Pritch fit into that...especially if Rigg might be ready.It may be that 2 of those will go.
Up front,everything depends on Roscoe.If he's fit and he stays,we look good with him and Hemir,and we look balanced on the flanks with 2 on either side. Without a fit Roscoe,we will need another Championship ready striker,maybe two.

 

As it stands today I would shift Stewart before Gooch. I know that probably sounds daft, but I have no idea how Stewart will return from injury. Same reason I would have Gooch ahead of Huggins, who I think might well be a hell of a good player, but again you need people who are fit to contribute.

I agree on 30 man squads being too big. I would day 25 might be the maximum. I would lose Stewart, Matete (reluctantly), Anderson (loan), Lihadji (loan), Pritchard. We will still be carrying Evans who is long term injured. Not sure on Alese fitness.

Of course it isnt that easy. We need clubs to want players to move them on. Maybe if Gooch is in demand our hand might be forced a bit. He will be a big miss though in my opinion.

 

I agree players need to be adaptable but i know from coaching that if you put a young player in and hes playing a position hes not that confident in and they have a shocker it can really set them back. Not saying it would to johnson but hes playing CB at u18 n u21 level so would be a huge ask for him to play RB at senior level

Personally i think a loan move would be great for johnson, needs to get used to playing against physical players and route 1 type teams

We have to be senisble with using the loan market to get our young players minute, unless they are going to get plenty of minutes with us

 

SPL would be an ideal place for me, can go under the radar abit, tough conditions, physical league and big occasions with the old firm etc

 

What options did we have at right back in L1 the season we went up? He played because we had nobody else, Carl Winchester was playing there at times

He didn’t even stand out in L1 and as you’ve mentioned is now 27 so he was hardly a kid learning his trade when we got promoted.. He’s not quite Callum MacFadzean ****e but he’s awful in comparison to other championship full backs, I don’t know what people are watching to think he’s decent unless it’s the whole red and white tinted glasses thing of thinking our players are all world beaters.

 

If I remember, his first appearance for us was as a right back. In some respects, learning the pro game from a different position can be helpful and he would be less likely to be bullied there than as a young CB.

 

Could be that you've got brown tinted glasses on, which make you think our players are ****ter than they actually are.

 

Agree to a point as we are so well organised now, the team will now keep evolving and that means losing some of our popular players.
Although O9 has a bit more flexibility I would keep him and make him club captain.
Keep a place on the bench for him and get him involved in his coaching badges.
He is infectious and such a positive role model.

By January possibly losing
Evans, Gooch, Stewart, Taylor and even Embleton and Pritchard.
All good lads and servants of the club. But we evolve to hopefully better things ahead

 

Nail on head. Having a couple of players such as Gooch and O'Bein who can play in multiple positions is a luxury a lot of other clubs won't have.

 

OK. You've name your mind up. He's rubbish, and that's it.

The fact that professional judges, with many decades of experience between them do not share your, set in stone, and rather jaundiced opinion will be irrelevant.

 

My personal opinion is that no player is indispensible and every one of them who pull on the shirt should realise they are only a game or two away from losing their place in the starting eleven. Competition for places should keep them on their toes and those not starting games should impress in training and be ready to perform when they are called upon. To do that successfully we need players who are not only grafting but capable of stepping up.

We all have our opinions and can quote FFP, squad sizes, career progression etc. But none of us are aware of all of the facts and have to accept that our opinions might be based on incorrect information.

As a club, we are obviously on the right trajectory and I trust Mowbray and Speakman, as professionals, to continue that progress and build a team to get us where we all want to be.

 

ZJ is irrelevant to this discussion, nowhere near ready for Championship football yet from what I've seen. Needs a season long loan to L1 or Scottish Championship, imo.

 

I’ve mentioned it before but having Gooch and Onion on the bench means they can cover for about 7 or 8 different positions and that means we can include game changers such as Rigg and Pritchard on the bench instead of having half the subs as defenders.

Just as an aside, I wonder if the Saudi branch of the nufc owners will be offering about £100 million transfer fee for Alan Sent Maximum to get round the ffp.

 

not directly

but a lot of the time last year, gooch was right back and O’Nien centre back. Gooch leaving would mean O’Nien shift to right back and a centre back role freed up

I am only using this as an example but my point purely being that a player leaving doesn’t just free up opportunities in that exact position

 

I also think Gooch and O’Nien are both going to find this season that their best chances of playing are at right back. Unless of course Batth does leave and I think then O’Nien plays more at centre back.

but if batth stays? Then Batth, Ballard, Alese, Triantis and Seelt are surely our CB options and that’s before you consider Johnson and Anderson, both of whom I’d like to see go on loan.

 

I get that, i just think its a risk to get rid of gooch with the question marks over some of our CBs and fullbacks. Gooch still offers something going forward from a fullback position so i would like him to stay, at least until january

Anderson and johnson will hopefully go out on loan as neither are reqdy for 1st team football

That way we will have 5 Cbs, 2 rbs n 2 lbs then gooch who can cover rb n lb. Alese n huggins injuries are a worry for me. Look how much gooch played last season n we havent signed any fullbacks

O9 for me needs to be used solely as a CB as thats by far his best position