To be fair you tend to move the proverbial goalposts when debating with me so I don't know what you're complaining about. For example earlier you said that we bottle it when "it really matters" then you say that "all the games matter" so are you saying we bottle it every game?
OK, so what do you mean by a "significant" clearout? Tbh, though, I don't call letting go of Becchio, Bunn and a couple of others nowhere near the first team a "significant" clearout. I don't think it's a clearout at all, and is all that is necessary. Significant or wholesale, either way I don't see any need for a clearout
IF we get promoted loads of posters who stated categorically that we have zero chance of going up and Ipswich will definitely finish above us will just say it was because Adams left. There are many factors throughout the season Ruddy or all 3 strikers could have been injured ,we could have sold players in January but our chances were completely written off by most . I think we could have even gone up with Adams still in charge, I wasn't sad to see him go and Alex is getting amazing results and for me a better option but 7th place was not dead and buried by any stretch of the imagination.
Back to the potential team for next year if we go up, it'll be interesting to see if Wes is still in and around the team. It seems every season for the past 3 or 4 we've been wondering if Wes can continue on the cutting edge. He was poorly used by Hughton, in my opinion, and Adams didn't play in a manner that suited him, too often leaving him isolated on the wing or just uninvolved. He's really recaptured that mercurial style he's known for in the last few weeks and it seems a lot of that is owed to AN playing him in a free role with 2 strikers ahead of him. I doubt we'll be playing that way in the Prem. I'd be happy to have Howson playing the CAM role with Johnson and Tettey sitting in defence. It would be nice to find a new, younger player with the same style as Wes.
FWIW I have been saying all season that I was perplexed by the Binfolk's lofty perch.Not on here admittedly but amongst friends in conversation.I don't know how they came within an ace of top spot.It wouldnt surprise me to see them end up mid table.Interesting to see how much flak poor old MM is drawing from their posters.It's really the tightwad owner they need to target.
Terrible terrible shame, especially as we effectively dumped them out of the top 6 after inflicting the double over them.
I guess as a manager you broadly speaking have 3 tiers of players 1) Your prefered starting 11 plus a couple of key subs 2) Players that you feel that can do a job for you on the bench to cover injury, supensions etc i.e. exciting youngster or seasoned pros 3) Younger players that you hope within a year or 2 will move into 1 or 2. So if we get promoted I would expect 3 or 4 players that currently fit in tier 1 to become tier 2 players. I would review the tier 3 players at the end of each season. So it really depends on how they develop. Also there may be players in this group that had good potential to become quality championship players, but not good enough for the premiership. Clearly if we want to become an established Premiership team, which I believe was the 7 year plan, we need to raised the quality of players within all 3 tiers year on year. On top of this some players will just not suit Neil's management or playing style, some players will want to move on for all sorts of reasons personal, not happy with new management, want more regular football / money etc and on top of this you have financial reasons / contract issues / players ages etc. So I would say we need at the least another 2 quality CB's. Turner face doesn't seem to fit, Cuellar is getting too old. I don't think Miguel is good enough for the premiership and I'm not convinced Bennett will make the grade (athough I hope I'm wrong). If Martin is going to be a CB then I think we need another RB. I don't think Whittaker is good enough to be our tier 1 player in that position and even if Neil thinks he is he need competion for his place. We need another LB either to replace Olsson as our tier 1 LB or provide him with some meaningful competion for a starting 11 place. I don't think Hoolahan is consistant enough or good enough for the premiership. I think we need another winger and can see Murphy & E Bennett being move on, or in Murphy's case possibly a season loan. I think we have too many good chapionship midfields, but would like to see us bring in a proven quality premiership midfielder and can see us moving 2 of O'Neil / Tettey / Ofoe / McGrandles assuming that we sign Dorrans. I think we would need a top quality striker and would keep Hooper, Jerome and Grabban, but would move Wolfswinkel & Lafferty on. I would keep either Loza or Murphy, but not both.
Wasn't complaining just highlighting the difference between what I said and what some people think I was saying. It's a recurring theme. Clearly all games matter and 3 points is 3 points, winning games at the end of the season gets you no more points than winning them at the start of the season. Clearly winning against your direct competitors is particularly useful. Not because it gets you more points, but because it denies them points. I'm not going to waste my time going back and evidencing what I said, however from my memory this season we seem to have done better against the top teams. There has been several occasions this season when some of the top teams have dropped points and we have failed to take advantage by losing to bottom half teams. It seems that some other posters can see where I coming from.
Another 2 quality CBs? I think that's highly unlikely, apart from not being quite clear what you mean. Is Martin a "quality CB"? Spending big on one CB like we tried to do with Alderweireld two summers ago is exactly the sort of thing we should be doing and would be enough (though I accept Alderweireld's level might be aiming a bit high at this stage...) I'd rather our club doesn't spend the transfer funds by spreading it thinly, but focuses on real quality in specific areas. Agree on a fullback. I also agree on one winger and one striker. So I'm not convinced we're far apart at all. The real oddity I find is you wanting to offload so many midfielders. There's no way Tettey is leaving unless it's for good money as Neil has said how much he rates Tettey. I can't see why you would think McGrandles would go anywhere as he is so young. Vadis maybe, but that would be because he hasn't settled rather than due to a lack of ability, presumably, given that we splashed £5m on him and the little I've seen of him he looks class. So only O'Neil for me, as mentioned earlier. But so far you have said offload E Bennett, RvW and Lafferty. Presumably you are suggesting Cuellar, Turner and one of our fullbacks too. I think we're unlikely to get rid of both Cuellar and Turner, personally. But totalled up, that's only a bunch of players nowhere near the first team under the current manager. That doesn't look like a "clear out" to me, more just natural moving on. Fewer players than were let go in the Lambert and Hughton seasons, at least in terms of those who played for the first team.
Agree with all of that Rob. I think either Turner or Cuellar might leave along with Garrido. O'Neil might leave if we could find another DM who can play the Tettey role. that would leave room for a quality CB, quality young, pacey LB and a quality striker as well. Odjidja-Ofoe lit up the U21 game yesterday against a good Southampton side. Along with Dorrans and Andreu (who also had a good U21 game) we now have a solid mid-field. Not much more needed beyond that IMO. http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...norwich_city_u21s_beat_southampton_1_3985466?
