Title says it all really. Don't get me wrong, both Turner and Bennett improved in the latter stages of last season. And Rusty is a more than decent option in the centre. But my blood still runs cold at the thought of Bassong being out for any length of time. I think that all of the others perform well ALONGSIDE Seb. But our goals against tally took a pounding when the big man was absent. Iknow that scoring goals needs sorting. And concentrating on the defence gets a lot of people all huffy. But shouldn't a top class CB be on the radar?
i'm torn to be honest. i was 100% for signing davies or whoever hughton felt would do the job but having thought about it a bit more, i think we are far better off trusting the guys we have to do the job and invest as heavily as possible in attacking areas. the problem is, to sign a centre half who improves our team (and i'm not totally sure davies is better than any of turner, bassong or bennett but at least on a par with a couple) we would need to shell out a large chunk of our budget - i imagine £3m+ - and would it improve our starting XI? who knows but probably not a great deal - it would definitely improve the squad! but we could invest that money into attacking players who will definitely improve our starting XI. as i say, i am torn but i think i've come down on the side of 'leaving it'.
Of course, if we could get someone better in, no player is irreplaceable. However, I think the cost to benefit ratio is prohibitive. I think the rapid improvement in Bennett has also satisfied me for now. I take your point about the loss of Seb, but we have not seen our defence perform with Ruddy behind, e.g., Turner and Martin/Bennett recently - I think now this would be a very decent combination. In an odd way (and without wishing an injury to Seb, god forbid!), it would be nice to see this combo tested very early in the season when we still have time to get cover. I would much rather we focused our cash on signing a left back than a centre back because if we can pay a little to get someone better than Garrido, I think that would be well worth it. Garrido would make a very good back up player. I also think Ayala has a real future with us. He has looked class (or at least the potential for class) every time I've seen him. If he can keep his head a little better and shake off the recurrent injuries, I see no reason why we need another centre back. I certainly think we would pay through the nose for any worthwhile improvement on our current 5 (including Martin and Ayala).
I agree with the logic that City should strengthen the attacking positions first. With RvW already in, the next priority is an ACM to replace Fox, then another striker to replace Jackson, another LB, then, if the budget allows, a fourth CB and/or LM player.
I'm with the majority on this. I can see the argument on strengthening the back line but I think that unless we spend a lot the benefit will not be great as this area was strengthened last summer and we have seen RB develop into a decent player. I agree with Rob about Ayala - I hope that he is given a chance as he could develop into an able squad member. I also completely agree about the Ruddy factor which hopefully will come into play and shore up the back line further next season. Personally I'd much rather see the rest of the kitty spent on another forward and a decent midfielder. If you could throw in a LB as well so much the better but I'd prefer to see a couple of guys capable of being first team regulars than shoring up the squad with five or six little or no better than we already have.
good point about ruddy being back. our team suffered as a result of his loss. i personally believe we'd have been safe by mid-april had he been in sticks all season
I'm not 100% convinced about the need to replace Fox? Maybe with some new, more mobile frontmen to work with, assuming Hooper does end up here, he may still be the guy to provide them with some ammunition.
Also, I know it's not a permanent solution, but Whittaker has already proved he can be a competent LB if required, so that position is surely not quite such a priority?
I did hesitate about Fox, but then he played so little last year and I can't see that changing this year. The crucial thing to me is a 'goal-scoring' ACM and that is not Fox. Great passer yes, but not much in other areas. Howson showed some excellent skills in this regard in the final matches and I hope that continues, but we need another who can set up and score goals.
I think we absolutely need another CB. We only have 3 and although we have additional cover I think we would be horribly exposed if we got a long term injury to Bassong, Turner or Bennett.
Not for me unless they are going to improve the starting 11. We still have Ayala and Barnett on the books as well as the top 3 as well as a better centre back than we could get for a few million in russell martin. Not a priority in my eyes. I'd much rather we got a quality left back in as i'm not convinced by garrido especially long term
A really good first choice LB would then give us so many options at the back. Plus, a quick LB - and competition for Pilks wide left would give far more balance to the side. Much of our good work came from Martin and Snodders linking down the right. Similar options down the left side and we'll create so much more for RvW to latch on to
The trouble with the centre back situation is that they've done well but they have been over protected by the midfield in front of them. It is hard to ascertain whether they are significantly better than before and whether they need improvement (if a change in style is to happen). Would that defence have coped better than the previous when they were being left exposed for counter attacks as under Lambert. I'd say its certainly better, but I also firmly believe it was the system that contributed more to the goals against than the players themselves. I think Bennet (and I certainly don't mean Elliott) is going to be a fantastic player for us next season because his reading of the game and positioning is exceptional for his age.
I agree that Ryan Bennett developed tremendously in the final run of games after Turner's injury. He reads the game well and uses his pace and positioning to very good effect. Similarly with Howson who came on well once he got a run of games and at last looked like the player he can be against WBA and ManCity. If they can carry that forward into next season, it will be like having two new players in the side.
If we don't sign a CB, then a LB is a top priority. We have 2 Premier League quality RBs, plus 3 CBs with Ayala providing good backup, if required. However LB is a serious area of weakness. Outside of Garrido, we have zero back-up, besides canabilising Whittaker from RB. Worst case scenario is Martin and Garrido injured for ~ 1 month simulatenously, theoretically we could cover with R.Bennett as RB and Whittaker as LB, but this leaves the bare bones with just Ayala as backup for the entire defence...Bennett Bassong Turner Whittaker. IMO that is an unacceptable risk! Hence we need a LB, especially with Whittaker's injury record not exactly being squeaky clean... My Expectations are two incoming signings: RB (Whittaker, Martin) CB (Bassong, Turner, Bennett, NEW, Ayala) LB (Garrido, NEW)
In our 1st PL season, we were at our most devastating when attacking with the Tierney/Pilkington and Martin/Bennett pairings either side of the pitch. Our defence is now at a high enough level, compared to that season to warrant dropping a DM and playing another CM/AM, in a 4-1-4-1 formation
Ok. So I can see what the majority view is on my original question. I guess we won't know for sure until injuries/suspensions start to kick in amongst the back line or we play with a bit less cover in front of them. Hope we really are strong enough in depth.
I think LB definitely needs looking at, but with regards the CB, I guess it depends how much of the budget is left. I'd like to see us be prepared to play with 1 DM more often, but to me there's two ways to achieve that: A really good DM or a really good CB. Neither are going to be cheap if they're going to seriously improve the side. Personal preference is for the DM, as we've still got Ayala on the books if we get really desperate, and with a new LB, we'd have 4 full-backs and 5 CB's, if you count Martin as both. What would be ideal I guess is a left-sided equivalent to Martin, covering both positions in one go.
Remember that if we start playing two up top, Surman starts to come into the playing equation, uniquely in that LM position. He is still PL quality, but he would never ever have fitted with our 4-2-3-1 formation even without his injury problems last season, purely because he isn't an out-and-out winger. IMO he is the 3rd biggest goal threat (completely lacking in Tettey or Johnson) that we possess in midfield, after Snodgrass and Pilkington. I think that we can get away this season with the following summer transfers in: CB, LB, DM, Striker (just the four more required - personally I would bag Naughton, Davies, Bridcutt and Hooper - all of which is manageable for £20m max., within our budget constraints). Play Howson further forward, Butterfield as 3rd choice AMC. Play with 2 strikers, also brings Fox (as well as Surman) back into the starting XI competition. However defence is an area of concern. With those two mentioned, this solves all of our problems and provides the necessary competition for places.
