Is our squad actually weak?

I think up-front we're sorted, in central midfield we have many bodies but little quality. We simply don't have enough quality defenders who can perform on a regular basis.
We have some good squad players who come in and 'do a job' for a couple of games, but if say Tiote broke his leg or did his cruciates, who would replace him? Perch?

 

Guthrie and Cabaye do just fine. I'd like to see Vukic get a few games. Abeid I expect great things from.

And yes, Perch has shown he is very tidy and efficient in a holding mid field role.

Raylor and Gosling are a step down in quality, but are reliable enough.

 

Perhaps this is us being a victim of our success. These are now our neighbours: a squad that looked fine when we were living in Wallsend looks a bit thin now we're in Darras Hall

 

That's my point, its all relative. Why would be comparing ourselves to those guys? They've been at this end of the league for the last 5 years or more in many cases, so have been building and adding all of that time. We're in the next bracket with the likes of Everton and Liverpool. Is our squad stronger than those two? Maybe, maybe not but its in the same ball park.

 

CM we have little quality? What you on about?

Tiote and Cabaye are great players. Guthrie has performed very well most of this season, Perch has good defensive quality. Yes he's not in the same league as Tiote, but he is a good player. He can tackle well, has good pace, has tactical awareness and can be a part of a winning team. Jonas is also a great player in defense and can assist.

We have to get another CB you're right. Saylor and Colo first choice, and a quality CB as back up, and then Willo who can perform well over a certain amount of games.

Simpson is a solid enough RB, Santon needs to develop the tactical side of his game, but most of his performance so far have been good IMO. Good pace getting forward and at the back, can tackle well, is very comfortable on the ball and doesn't lose it often. The only thing that lets him down is sometimes his reading of the game, But he's only 21.

We need another quality full back.

People may not think out back up players are quality, but they are good enough to win games and have played a vital part in where we are now.

Tiote has been out or unfit for most of the season, and has only put in a handful of good performance due to his knocks. Guthrie and Perch have both stepped in and done very well.

Gosling is ****. Totally useless.

Raylor is a useful play. Can do a decent job at fullback. Can play anywhere across in the midfield. He's the best crosser of the ball in the team, and has good passing abilities, scores the odd goal and has decent defensive qualities also.

 

At the end of the day we can say our squads are weaker than there's, but it's not at all about how many great players you have, it's about how they perform and how they fit into the team.

Chelsea may have significant amounts of great players, but they haven't performed better than ours have, so it doesn't matter. It's how players come into the team and help the system.

Ben Arfa has always been the most technical player we've had, but until he fit into our system he was just a luxury player, doing nothing for the team most of the time.

Once he fit into our system, he's been amazing.

It's not about how many great players you have, it's about the team as a whole.

 

Good question. I'd say we have a weak second team but a decent squad overall. For example at the moment we can't afford to field a second string 11 against Championship sides whenever we're engaged in Cup competitions, whereas teams above us can. But you also can't deny that the likes of Guthrie, Perch, Raylor, Best and at some extent Obertan and Willo have done the job whenever they've been called upon ... think that for next season we need at least a CB, CM, a versatile LB/RB, and a striker when the Demba's are gone to the ACN ...

 

The beauty is with us is we have top 4 players in our first team. We have players that would walk into the top 4 sides. That's a good base to build from. The character, make up and balance of the squad is important. We're unbalanced in some areas but we have character in abundance. Its easier to put balance in a squad than it is to put character in it!