major surgery needed these players are not good enough for the Prem - Taylor, Meyler, Junior, Clucas, Diomande, Aluko, - not sure where we stand with Akpom or Powell but I'd pass on them both these players are good back up - Dawson, Maguire, (both too slow but can do a job) Snodgrass, Livermore Elmo (our midfield has been poor - it really needs to be strengthened) couple of concerns - Odubajo and Robertson - push forward and get caught out of position all too often - would be much better as wing backs with a couple of new faces as full backs couple of forwards needed to partner Abel - still not 100% convinced he's good enough for the Prem but deserves another chance so we need - two full backs, one centre back, two central midfield and 2 forwards and maybe a keeper - even if we got Brady and Chester back it would be a start
I'd be quite happy with Odubajo & Robbo as first choice FB's & Tymon & Lenihan as back up. I'd only encourage a signing who could cover both LB & RB! Can't think of anyone off the top of my head!
I think Clucas will prove you wrong. He is a very bright footballer and has been excellent for most of the season. And of course , I think Meyler will still have a part to play, but then Hull City fans will never agree about him.
I thought twice about Clucas and in some ways I don't disagree - however I don't think we've got time to find out - we need to hit the ground running otherwise we'll be in trouble - with all that money available to bring players in we need to invest in some proven talent
I really don't think either of them are good enough defenders - Odubajo is better than Robertson but is often hopelessly out of position - they are both much better pushing forward
If we are talking about becoming a team that stays in the PL rather than a yo yo club we need to sign PL proven players not players from abroad or the lower divisions. By all means invest in the Academy and bring players through for the future but we need PL experience to keep us up and that I suspect is going to cost us a shed load pf money.
Blimey- it isn't FIFA and we aren't Real Madrid. Full backs are both fine and capable of doing a job in the Premier League. Odubajo has tightened up and improved markedly as a full back. Not sure who you think we could get that would be better? Livermore is fine in midfield and Diame will be better next season, though we definitely need a couple of fresh faces in there. Snodgrass is good enough and has excellent delivery from set pieces. Clucas will be ok- he has the energy and attitude to at least make a good squad player. Obvious problem is up front and getting a couple of strikers in. Hernandez may be up to it, but none of the others we have are- unfortunately, they are the riskiest and most expensive options, and they also seem to be Bruce's achilles heel.
you have to remember that most of our squad is the same one that struggled and got us relegated 12 months ago - with all that money coming in we really need to up our game - everyone else will - if we sell the club any new owner will certainly want to invest to stay in the Prem and if we don't sell, then Allam will want to make sure that we don't mess up again as the value of his investment will collapse - either way sticking with the same is out of the question - even though we deservedly got promotion, its not been easy and the standard next year is significantly higher
It's also a lot better than the one that finished 16th. There were a lot of extenuating circumstances around that relegation. Injuries being the main on field one.
Exactly. Not just injuries, but also a wild drop-off in the form of key players in our survival the previous season (McGregor, Davies, Huddlestone and Livermore all had dire seasons - Livermore for more obvious reasons than the others).
Sure - I thought I was agreeing with you. My point was that players are human beings and there are countless factors behind how they perform as individuals and as a team. There'd have to be some terrible luck and dreadful mismanagement to repeat a season like 14/15, even with a lot of the same players. Leicester, Chelsea and Bournemouth have shown this season that anything can happen, regardless of how a squad looks on paper.
Togetherness will be key; Davies admitted (whether you put it down to Bruce or the players) that too often in our relegation season they were too timid. Key players like Diame, Snodgrass and Livermore (and Davies himself) were also either missing due to injury, or had poor seasons.....Hernandez didn't make the transition either. There is no reason to think that those 5 cannot make the step-up this time around, and with a bit more belief and positivity (along with 4 quality additions) we cannot compete with the likes of Palace, WBA etc. Get midfield right, and get someone to help out Hernandez, and we could well be all-right.
Is this supposed to be, we can compete? Because if we can't compete with the likes of them, then we don't stand a chance!
Sunderland, Bournemouth, WBA, Watford, Boro, Burnley, Palace, are all sides we should be looking to finish above.
Keep the squad together - and we will finish a good few places above the bottom 3. Huddletone, Diame, Livermore etc. will come good in the PL. In my opinion, we need to be signing people who want to prove themselves in the PL who have a good track record in the Championship/League 1 and who are hungry to play Premier League football e.g. McCormack, Tom Bradshaw, Hourihane at Barnsley. No more Stelios or Amr Zaki's for me please!
Gestede from Villa might be a good shout? He looked decent for them. In a better set up might flourish.
