I agree .. I've been banging on about a proper player in CM since Cabaye left ... none of what we have is good enough ... shelvey is dreadful in too many areas of the game. cm you need to be able time I it all these days... shelvey excels in only one area ... Cyprien or soumaure would both improve us 10 fold
See I like the idea of retaining Hayden and Shelvey. I have never been the biggest fan of either, but Hayden seems to get the most of what he has. Shelvey has had an outstanding season I have to say. He's had poor games but his overall level has been good. Both would be good back up to help transition to a better team. Reality is that's our first choice again next season unless a takeover occurs. Cabaye is the last proper ball playing midfielder we've had in my eyes. Pardew put a good first xi together. Him and Tiote, Ba, HBA and Cisse - proper options.
oh yes retain the 1st 11 ... then you have a fall back and can rotate.. fans seem to be like get rid of this player and get this one, but that's incredibly shot sighted and foolish...players flop, get injured etc so you need a safety net .. players that can perform .. you don't want getting one injury and and turning to an unknown u23 or a player you know is ****e already
The problem is I'm sure Bruce, Rafa, Pardew etc would all like the luxury of having a squad. However if you want a squad then you have to do it like Rafa. No special talents, just a lot of solid players who you can rotate to achieve a mid to lower mid table finish. Otherwise you can have a few special talents and pay for them, but the money must come from the rest of your squad. More Pardew and Bruce style. So then you have a great first xi but nothing underneath. So if you get injuries your level drops. And you will get injuries because you can't rotate. Its been the same vicious cycle for 12 years. Its remarkable really that he seems to know what the minimum budget is to achieve safety. He presents it as managers then having freedom, but reality is you can cut it one of two ways, and both have their drawbacks. Its a very clever model from Mike which is all centred around staying in the division and advertising his sportswear company globally.
Problem is that Ashley doesn’t know what the minimal budget for safety is otherwise we wouldn’t have been relegated twice in his time here which very roughly equates to failing once every 5 years.
Indeed that is football biting him in the arse, because its not a high street shop. Its complex with lots of moving parts. I think he has just come to the conclusion that approach is still correct, because he has bounced back by investing ridiculous amounts when we've gone down. When you consider that isn't an option in the PL even if the money is there, to a fan it seems stupid. But its a risk assessment for him. The risk when in the championship is lower because money does tend to get you out. Whereas money in the PL guarantees **** all because everyone has it. So one relegation every 5 years becomes completely acceptable. To him anyway.
Oh different ball game, and even more important you build from the good bits as you say. Its what we've never done under Mike where we've had a one in one out policy (Sometimes 1 in 2 out ). It would be nice to be in that position finally, being allowed to make progress. If they come in I want nothing to do with Bruce, Rafa etc either. I'd hope we will be looking to do something special and entertaining.
Necroing this thread Has anyone bought this yet? I'd like a review. I havent bought a Toon shirt in years, this one has grew in me.
I'm sound for sizes, always get medium and never ever have problems. I like the stripes and the sleeves. Looks a goodun.
Dhgate £13, the sizes though are a lottery. Last seasons I bought XL and it's like a dress, this season I bought XL and it looks like it's sprayed on
I'll use kitbag, theyre decent. Because of import tax here im paying out the ****ing nose anyway, may well get a size that fits
