Turnbull added ... free transfer from Barnsley so keeper cover looks better now Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sharp removed ... still need to lose Morison as a minimum ... Antenuci won't be going, and we seem to be struggling to offload Ajose so that extra quality striker looks like a pipe dream right now ... will Billy going pave the way for that winger we need? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I honestly believe that Drury could have been the answer on the left wing. We'll need to watch him progress elsewhere now.
Sharp gone, hopefully Morison next, sell Ajose and Wootton. Dawson is very lightweight, he gets bundled off ball a lot, he should go out on loan and bulk up a bit. Strikers, Erwin, Wood, Anti and Duke. Erwin and Wood still need to prove themselves so we'll have to wait and see. Beginning of last season Ant and Dec, sorry, Ant and Duke were scoring fairly regularly untill our then coach tried to fit square pegs into round holes. I can't see why that pairing can't combine well together again, I think Rosler will bring Duke along. Midfield, with the exception of Byram, only just, I'd be replacing Murphy, Cook and Mowatt where I could. Cook creates no impact in team for me, doesn't know how to feed our strikers, doesn't help in defence much and his stats were woefull. Mowatt lacks pace and goes missing during matches but does contribute the odd goal every now and then. Murphy came back to the fold last season after his second chance and didn't do much after. Our midfield were regularly mowed down last season, only reason some made the headlines was cos Redders kept leaving other players out and talking up his own academy boys, and the media kept quoting him. This season is make or break for them, but I don't think they'll be regulars. Our defence showed last season they're capable of soaking up and handling the onslaughts from opposing attacks (one thing our midfield was good at was testing our defence on a regular basis). I'd replace Wootton, which I think Rosler will do, if not eventually. I agree that youth is the way forward, after all, every player was young at one stage but they have to bring something special to the team to break through. Many will leave, others may not make it, we can't accommodate every academy player, it's just impossible. Fans have their favourite players, happens everywhere, but if players were selected cos some fans liked'em, then all that is happening is what Redders did, picked favourites and got no where. Our first 5 games are going to paint a pretty clear picture this season.
Agree Loverboy, first five games will be very telling ... we may still see late transfers come in on deadline day if we're struggling early doors Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Again! Panic buys after giving the main contenders 8-12points starts doesn't tend to work. Here is a novel concept. The league season is 46 games long it might be a plan to be ready from game 1!
I'm not convinced by the strikers: Wood has an okay - but not exceptional - record at this level, Erwin is going to be very, very raw, Antenucci would be wasted out wide (which is where I imagine he'll end up in a 4-3-3) and needs to play in a two, and for such a big lad Doukara seems to be lacking in pace, strength and aerial ability. Tidy finisher when given the chance though. Morison and Ajose look likely to leave, and I'd send Walters out on loan unless he's going to be in and around the first team. As for the midfield, last year we were constantly overrun, as LL points out. The youngsters were very inconsistent, but it was to be expected when Redders relied on them to the point of running them into the ground. Still not all that fussed about Bianchi (although I know many like him), but he does keep the ball, I suppose. Doesn't impose himself enough for the Championship for me though. Cook and Mowatt could do with a more experienced player in the midfield with them because they do make careless mistakes, but without Rudi I think Cook is the only player we have who can carry the ball, drive forward and put the opposition on the back foot from a deep position. Sloth deserves a chance in the middle as he has decent pedigree and looked classy on the ball at times last year, but definitely needs to work harder off the ball. Murphy had a very good middle part of the season, but tailed off towards the end of it (although so did the rest of the team, to be honest). He's a tidy player though, and does score a few goals. Adeyemi I'm not particularly enthused about, but he does seem to have a decent reputation and if he has a bit more footballing sense than Rudi did, that can only be a good thing. Still baffles me that we haven't signed a holding midfield player. I don't think Phillips is ready so I'd loan him out. Surely Dawson must be set for a loan too? Even if it's to a Conference side, he needs the game time otherwise we may as well let him go. Defensively, I still think we need another CB and a LB, if only for cover. Bamba was good on the whole last year, but he's by no means infallible and makes silly errors. Bellusci is a decent enough defender, but he's a liability at times - very likely to pick up red cards and suspensions, and doesn't seem all that popular with the fans either. Cooper is very raw but has talent - I wouldn't like him to be first choice all season though. Wootton isn't a bad defender, but he offers no threat going forward from RB, and is outclassed by all other options at CB. If we can find a decent CB to partner Bamba, I'd let him go. Taylor is excellent, but he's a young player - can we rely on him to be consistently excellent for an entire season? If he goes through a dodgy patch of form, we're going to have to switch Berardi back over to LB and bring the brightest spark in our team in Byram back to RB, or play Wootton. Not an ideal situation. Berardi I've warmed to after a very average first half of the season, compounded by a few ridiculous red cards. Much better defensively than Byram. Byram himself is wasted at RB - needs to play on the wing, and he needs to be tied down to a new contract else we may as well sell him for £8m and use the money to bring in two or three quality wingers instead. I'm actually more comfortable with the goalkeeping situation than anywhere else - Silvestri is a great shot stopper, and is improving on coming off his line for corners and crosses. His kicking is still woeful, but he could easily just roll it out to a defender instead if necessary. Turnbull is excellent back up for him, too. I don't expect him to usurp Silvestri, but it's nice having him available in case Silvestri is injured for any length of time. Overall, I still think we're desperately short of where we need to be. We need a top class CB to partner Bamba, another full-back (preferably one who can cover both full back positions, but definitely LB), a Barton-esque midfielder (not Barton himself, but a player with his ability and pedigree) to anchor the midfield, two wingers - preferably with pace and crossing ability, and I'd still like another striker as well.
To summarise.... We need cellino the crooked egotistical mad man to **** off back to Italy and do some porridge.
Yes, but preferably after spending some of this money he continually tells us we have on the type of players we actually need.
Kiwi, I agree with a lot of what you say. I'll try to keep it brief .... Attack: Strangely, of all our attackers, it's Wood that worries me most. He's got a lot to do to convince me. Doukara will be fine, especially playing on the left. Rosler has made it perfectly clear that he's got to get back & help out. That's the only poor aspect of his game that worries me. I have every confidence in Erwin from what I've seen, but think he's some way of a 20 goals a season haul. Antenucci - you're right, more of link player, but a good option if we change tactics. Midfield: I thought Adeyemi was bought as a holding player. If not, then you're right, we're in trouble. My personal view is that Phillips could be a good DM, but not sure if that'll be this season. Agree that we've still got to see the best of Bianchi, but he was bought as an attacking CM, but never played there. Same for Sloth. And yes, we need to tie Byram down to a lucrative contract ASAP! Defence: I've been comfortable with our defence to date, but actually agree with your analysis more than you think. Oddly enough, we may already have a partial answer in Lewie Coyle. From what I've seen, he doesn't need to go out on loan - could easily slot in at RB & free up Berardi to cover LB. We've another lad coming through at LB who looks like the real deal in the making, but I can't remember his name (EDIT: Tyler Denton). Wootton has always been a worry to me, but to be fair to him, we've really only seen him as a covering RB, and rarely as a CB. Wouldn't get upset if we replaced him with an experienced CB. He could be a revelation, but I doubt it - our coaching staff see him on the training pitch. 'Keepers: Fully agree.
I'm not fully confident about Wood, either. It's not that he's a bad player - if he'd been available on a free I would've been more than happy to take a punt on him - but spending £3m on him suggests the team is going to be built around him and I'm not convinced he's quite that good. A decent option, but a focal point? I'm not sure. He's certainly not in the Chris Martin/Jordan Rhodes bracket, anyway. I really hope Doukara proves me wrong, but every time I've seen him he's looked slow and lethargic. Hopefully Rosler will get him fit and firing. I have heard good things about Erwin but I wouldn't expect more than 5-8 goals this year - if he gets that many he'll have done a good job in my book. From what I've heard/read, Adeyemi is very much a box-to-box player in the Austin mould (although I could be wrong, I've never seen him play myself) - a fair option to have in a squad, but we desperately need a defensive midfield player. Bianchi, Murphy and Cook all played a more defensive minded role last season at various times, and it hinders each of their games. A natural holding player would be a fantastic addition. Coyle seems to earn rave reviews for the U21s, wasn't sure if he'd be ready for this season though. Would be great to have him as back-up so we can prioritise whatever money we have available on the more pressing issue of attacking width. Still a bit gutted we didn't sign Drury - he sounded like he'd made a real impression, and from what little I've read about him, it seemed like he was versatile enough to cover RB, LB, RW and LW. Doubt he would've asked for all that much in wages, either. We may live to regret that one.
I agree he has got pace ones but what now since he has been injured a lot that is the question also Erwin can play on left and right of midfield and Ajose will no longer be with us
I think we listen too much to the doom and gloom merchants on here I feel very positive that we will have a good season Why?Well the youngsters such as Cook Taylor will be that more experienced Erwin I really rate Wood will score a plenty in this league he's only 23 and can only get better Adeyemi looks big and strong whilst surprise surprise Doukara has tried to head a ball and seems much more confident last season he was very nervous so I would like to give him one more chance to prove he his not such a weakling and maybe we could have a winner .Yes I admit when I could be wrong so Douk if you reading this keep practising the headers who knows you may surprise yourself and score with one I hope so because ypou have all the attributes lets hope you have a much more determined outlook
Wrong again when will you ever get things right please find where I said we would get promotion in my top6 I believed that Derby Boro Norwich FOREST WOLVES would be there or there abouts I still believe in MC far better than BATES its like comparing Thatcher with Scargill if you get my meaning
Next season I expect Forest Derby Boro Brentford to be in the top6 but if we can get some pace in the team I don't see why we can't be there or there abouts remember we beat Boro Twice Bourne mouth the best team in the league twice so we have to get consistent at least you are that .The most depressing poster we have!
Did I say you said we would get promoted? I said you said we would hav a good season. I am not going to get all fight gob but please read what I actually post if ur going to comment on it.
