So here's who we have got as of today (not added the Development squad members and may have missed some) - who'll be with us come August? Unsure who is out of contract. Marshall, Lewis, Moore Connelly, McNaughton, John, Fabio, Taylor, T-Katherine, Brayford. Caulker, Hudson, Turner, Cala, Medel, Whittingham, Cowie, Gunnarrsson, Ralls, Kim, Noone, Bellamy, Mutch, Daehli, Harris, Kiss, Eikrem Campbell, Beget, Maynard, Jones, Mason On paper that is almost all the Championship winning squad 0f 2012-13. Marshall, Caulker, Campbell & Medel are the favourites to leave with Noone & Mutch possibly also. If that happens then they are 5 automatic starts so 5 new players will be necessary to replace. Is Cala a good enough defender? Will the proposed Spanish striker be the 20+ man needed? Will Jones be worth keeping? Will Fabio be more suited to the Championship? Will City bring in an experienced assistant to work with Solskjaer? Loads more questions. A whole summer now of speculation, rumours and anticipation awaits!
I hope T Katherine is on a ferry back to France as we speak. Maynard has 20+ in him so does Campbell at this level, Joe is a great back up to have, Berget an unknown, however Jones can only be good enough for the County.
I can only see Medel leaving us with the possibility of Caulker going as well. To be honest, if ANYONE leaves, I really don't see it harming us all too much. EDIT: With the exception of Mutch and Noone. The rest, we all know their capability
If the suspected defectors do go, only Marshall will be difficult to replace. There should be no problem doing without and replacing the others at Championship level, though a fit Mutch and Noone in the side would definitely make a big difference unless they can also be replaced like for like. Cala is the type of player I like, though he always seems to have a mistake in him. Also as good as a defender that he can be, Turner frightens the life out of me with the ball at his feet. He often seems lost and needs an outlet like Medel in the middle or a wide man to take it off him, otherwise he just lumps it with that left peg of his. For all the criticism of him this season (and I've done my share as well), do you know who I think will be a star in the side next season in the Championship? Don't shoot me down in flames, but............................Gunnar is going to do the biz for Ole and us.
I agree on the last point Sparks. I think Gunnar will prove his worth if he plays in Medel's position in front of the back four. If he simply gets the ball and gives it to one of the more forward midfielders he will be a valuable asset.
Once whoever is going goes , I think you guys might be pleasently surprized with the connections and ideas that Ole has to put his mark on the team afresh . I expect Cardiff might well be back up right away , which has me worried about the repercussions on here if we struggle ....
Trust me mate, no one knows better than us that you boys have the strongest ability.. Probably better than anyone in the whole wide world, probably better than anyone in the whole wide universe.. of falling in **** and coming out smelling of roses there is absolutely no need in you being worried of us with your special ability
Nin You missed Baby Ben Nugent, Velikonja (who is still on our books with 2 years of a 4 year contract to go) and Tommy Smith. Who are the deadweights OGS will want to offload as he said we have too many players? Connolly - Not played and still injured by all accounts Brayford - Could he possibly return after going away on loan acrimoniously - and Gunnar's bushy beard is enough, can we afford 2? Ralls - I know a few of you like him but he has been an integral part of a side relegated from the Championship, not his fault but is he good enough for what we need? Harris - Went to Brentford on loan, has had injury problems and only played 11 times Kiss - Scored some good goals on loan at Ross County but rarely showed any promise for us in Championship Smith - Contract ends in August, best to go now while he can get a deal elsewhere Velikonja - Hope he understands the sign marked exit Nugent - Didn't get many games at Brentford but played 11 times for Peterboro - had to come back to us before playoffs. Not sure he has what is needed but OGS will want a look at him I think Bellers will retire as a player, Medel will go and I wouldn't be surprised to see Kimbo want to try his luck elsewhere after the World Cup. I want Marshall, Caulker, Mutch and Noone to stay but wouldn't blame them if they took offers to stay in the Prem. Tayls is on a contract until 2016 and KTC until 2017. Fabio played well for most of the game yesterday and he seems to be settling with us although he gave his shirt to someone in the crowd almost as soon as the game ended. We're stuck with KWJ for another year. He could terrorise Championship defences but on the other hand............. OGS could really do with an old head assistant who knows the division and players - Warnock anyone?????? Whatever happens it will be an interesting 8 weeks or so ahead. I hope OGS gets most of his business done early.
Am I the only one who thinks that Declan John can't defend ? get beat far too easy that pulls Turner too wide and leaves a gap between the two centre halves.
Declan has got a lot to learn about defending - in fact you say the same about Fabio on the other side. Both players are quick and can get forward in support of their widemen, but leave huge gaps behind them. They would be far better suited to playing in a 3 CB system to allow them the scope to do that. I agree, the CB pairing is all too often pulled wide in their support of those two, and the inevitable happens.
It's a bit chicken and egg though. Conelly and Taylor don't attack with any real threat or get high up the field. They also only move forward when it is definitely safe to do so. The empathise has to be on the team organisation, when the full backs bomb on the DM has to cover. It the CB is drawn to the FB zone to defend then the other cB and remain FB should move across leaving the empty space on the opposite wing rather than through the middle. If the gap between the CB's is big then they and the DM have got it wrong. You can't expect an attacking fb to go past his winger then magically reappear at the back. I think Fabio and John can tear the Championship a new one if given the chance next season. I also think Declan is learning at a rate of knots, he was very responsible a couple of times v Chelsea covering the back post. I know that's his job but he did it well. In fairness to Fabio, Hazard didn't get an ich from him and had to be moved to start effecting the game. A prime example why I'd stick with Declan was when Torres won the flick on and set Salah away. Declan had the recovery pace to get us out of trouble. If that was Taylor we'd have conceded or he'd have been sent off.
City's defending all season has been dire, and got gradually worse since January. They should be able to get away with a lot more in the Championship. As for John, he certainly found it difficult to defend last season (understandable given it was his inaugural season) but he was up against world class players; he also struggled with keeping in a flat back 4 line. He will only get better, and be as good as Adam Matthews would have been had Jones not ruined his Football league career.
a bit of tweaking to the squad should see us comfortably in the top 6. we still need 2 wingers (how long have we been saying that?), time for a few to move on (smith, Connelly,) and time for a few loanees to return. If we lose FC we hold on to Maynard (both if possible) with Jones as the target man with Healey as back up. The CM is reasonably strong. As with most seasons, you look to move a couple players on of you can bring better in. We no longer need bodies for the sake of it as we have done in the past just to give the squad depth. Hang on to Taylor unless we can sign better than John, ditto for Kev on the right. Ralls back as cover for Mutch, Whitts and Daeli to be the players and a couple defensive mids to replace Medel who I assume will move on. As much as anything we need to settle on a style of play. We criticised DJ for only having a plan A. For the second half of this season, we didn't have a plan A, but did have plans B to Z, often utilising multiples per game. I thought when we played 3 at the back and got a win and a draw we were getting somewhere, but more changes (and defeats) followed, including the return of Cowie (on the wing)!!!! In the place of Medel maybe, but not on the wing. Anyway, the manager merry go round has started with players to follow in June. 6 or 7 players out and 3 or 4 in would be my hope, with those 4 to be recruited with a game plan in mind. Will it be Ole doing the recruiting though???
Cowie on the right made sense on Sunday though. We had been opened up by Chelsea overloading that side and Daehli not doing his defensive job properly. Problem is Chelsea went the other side and undid us there! They seem sure the Spanish guy is coming, I think that'll be it upfront with FC probably leaving. If he can finish at a ratio better than 1 from 5 chances that'll leave us stronger.
the core of our squad is actually very strong, if we keep most of the players that got us up, with the exception of people like medel and caulker leaving, i can't see any interest in the rest (apart from marshall). we won't need a massive overhaul IMO.
