What a goal he scored against Dorados! I know he's unlikely to be getting major first team action this season, but if he can reproduce that on a regular basis it certainly wont hurt his chances. He could be played in the hole or on the wing and looks like a handy back up in the AM position. Obviously a new striker is needed but with the pace and creativity we now have in that midfield I'm actually not so worried about the AM. We have Wes and Howson, who I think will relish being moved into a more attacking role and with Murphy and Bennett and Redmond who can all play in that area, that's not a bad few options. I would be happy if they bought a new AM, Id even encourage it, but I don't think we're in bad shape if nothing materialises.
I think the Murphy's are crying out for a good loan move to further their development, great prospects though. Not for this season but maybe will get a chance in the early cup rounds
Being around the first team squad is only going to help him, and to me it suggests he'll get a chance in cup games when possible, and should injuries mean he's on the bench for league games, I'm not going too concerned by that. I agree with Bath that I'd like to see them get a few cup opportunities this season, and then we can loan them out, ideally to the championship, next season. For 2015-16 (wow that seems a way off...) you'd hope they are competition in the first team squad. As to the AM thing, whilst we've got options should we have injuries, I don't think any are really the calibre of player we need to play 4-2-3-1 effectively. Wessi can create but isn't a genuine goal threat, and Howson isn't the creative presence needed there. I think the club have got the right idea going for someone who's going to create but also could be deployed as a striker. It means we only really need to sign two attacking players rather than 3, so our budget goes further. If we start next season with RvW, "repooH", Becchio, and then someone like Toivonen or Quagliarella, I'll be happy with those options. I'd like to think that if we are going to stick with 4-2-3-1, the DM pairing will at least be mixed up a bit to suit opposition. Ideally Fer will offer a bit more going forwards, and help in creating opportunities in a way that Johnson or Tettey currently don't.
Fer's great player to have as you can go from 4 to 5 attackers in a second when he breaks up the play and burst forwards. With Jonson or Tettey staying back you still have cover. And I agree that we could do with more creativity (Wes is really our only "Creative" player) which is why I'd encourage the signing of a new AM, but it wouldn't be all doom and gloom if we did miss out.
