Too many midfielders

Currently, as it stands we have , when fit, 12 midfielders who could genuinely be first team regulars, when fit...13 when Nolan signs tomorrow..and that's not including Sears or Rowe.
Surely we can't keep all, so I'm expecting 2 or 3 to leave, most probably on season long loans.
I don't reckon we'll see Adeyami in a town shirt again, Huws will probably get loaned out, most probably in January.
I also think Downes will be loaned out again.. possibly back to Luton.
Bishop, like Huws, if fit, will be loaned out in Jan for a few months and then probably sold/released next season .

 

Major clearing out of those Hurst regards as deadwood or incapable of playing in the system he’s trying to achieve.

The problem is going to be moving them on without paying off their contracts!

 

Too many and at the same time not enough.

Apart from Andre Dozzell and Emyr Huws the rest are dead wood and that's why we have so many players now in the middle of the park.

I like Downes but I think his opportunities will be limited now.

We desperately need to sign Jackson and then get another forward in on loan and we probably still need at the very least one more centre back ( after Nsiala ).

 

Based on the Blackburn game, we are lacking some creativity and attacking nous in the middle of the pitch. With Huws, Bishop, and Adeyemi’s injury records, we’re not exactly stocked with reliable attacking midfield options. We are also linked with a £2m bid for Josh Windass, a 24 year old midfielder at Rangers who scored 18 goals last season. Jon Nolan looks a pretty shrewd move and their fans rate him as one of their best players.

I think it’s the end of the road for Bishop and Adeyemi. Nydam, Dozzell, and Downes potentially to go out on loan (although I think he’ll keep Dozzell and I presume Downes is third choice defensive midfielder).

 

Morning Nuggets.

I think Dozzell will be fighting for a place. I'm not sure about Nydam and Downes but I would be surprised if Bishop and Adeyemi feature for us again.

It tells you something already that Dozzell could walk into Mick McCarthy's team if fit but he is really going to have a battle on his hands to get into Hurst's XI.

 

Morning Hampy, and I agree that there is no harm in having some added competition in the squad. We've lost a lot of squad players over the summer, so bringing in a couple of midfielders is understandable. I think our injury issues there, and the unreliability of a few players is certainly playing a factor in Hurst's thinking. Bringing in two centre-backs is still a priority (and Nsiala and Tilt will hopefully be confirmed over the next couple of days).

Accrington Stanley's striker Kayden Jackson is also heavily linked to us now, so that's encouraging, but I think a second striker will likely be required if Garner also moves out. In terms of striking options, a potential front four of Harrison, Sears, Jackson, and Morris does not stack up well against last season's choice of Waghorn, Garner, McGoldrick, and Sears.

 

Well I think it was a mistake to let McGoldrick (and Hyam) go, but we can't do anything about that now.

Harrison, Sears, Jackson and Morris is a big leap forward from Harrison, Sears and Morris. Sears is a weak link but Harrison and Morris would be dangerous enough. I'd like to see us push players like Edwards forward when we need back up. Even Jaime Peters and Mick Stockwell would cause more problems for defenders than a slow lazy forward.

We are also linked with Josh Windass.

If we did end up with all of Jackson, Windass, Tilt, Nsiala and Nolan you would have to say Hurst has really worked some magic in this window.

 

Well something has to happen soon, the season has started, the window closes very soon, and we have a glut of midfielders and a dearth of strikers so far, times running out Evans for Christs sake get on with it.

 

Don't panic fieldmarshall. There will be a few weeks for loan players. If we bring in 4 or 5 faces in the next couple of days amazing - but we can't expect everything to be put right in one transfer window.

 

With all due respect happy I don't expect everything to be put right in one window, but it can be screwed well and truly up in a transfer window, remember the Murphy fiasco? Selling your top striker without a replacement lined up is moronic to say the least.
Lots of names bandied about but Bogles gone to Cardiff, the name of Windass has come to the fore which would be a good signing I feel, and the rest were playing in the 4th division last season which is a big step up to the Championship, we are getting good money with a huge profit from the sale of players but replacing them with lower league players who may work out well but there's no guaruntees.
The word that keeps cropping up is quality and doesn't take a lot of intelligence to work out that if you replace your top players with poorer ones then you are going backwards, hope I'm wrong.

 

I don't think Waghorn is anywhere near important to us as Murphy was. In fact I think Ben Morris is a better player.

I think that the only real quality we had in the side before Hurst were Bart and some of the youngsters - and then some decent players like Knudsen and Dozzell.

In other words, now that Bart signed his contract there is no possibility of replacing top players with poorer ones because we barely had any to start with.

 

Fair point Hampy but we seem to be diluting what we have and its been going on for years.

 

I think the likes of Harrison, Edwards (as well as Nsiala and Jackson) represent a lot of potential profit.. Which is the reality of where we are as a club. We need to make these type of signings and hope that (for example 1 in 4) really step up and we can sell them for a fee that allows us to go and sign another 4 players etc. Rinse and Repeat and hopefully gradually increase the quality all over the field.

Though I agree the central midfield stockpiling seems a little odd. I'd expect Edun to be seen as as LM and Ward as RM, but even then we have so many bodies in there. Would expect Nydam to get a loan in L1 or L2 and the likes of Bish, Huws and Adayemi are effectively fighting it out between themselves to be included as I can't see all 3 of them being with us this time next season. Though hopefully one or all of them are fit enough for the season to be given a fair chance of impressing

 

The money we've got for Waghorn is ridiculous for the player he is so I'm very happy to let him go for that.

The only thing I want to really stop is letting go of our assets for next to nothing. We could have Marriott and Pitman (a combined 51 League One goals last season) in our forward line and Moore should still be at Town. Hopefully that stops now and we start developing the promising talent in our squad.

 

I think it tells you more that if you're good enough Mick WOULD play the kids despite what many say.

Dozza is absolutely class / will improve / but needs to get fit and that's going to take a bucket load of time.

Amazed you're surprised to see sicknote bang average Hyam go but there we are we all have views.

With ya on Adeyemi though he's done.

Bishop - quality IF fit but we're talking three years ago - loan out.

 

What you've just said is the main issue with ITFC right now.

Lets say they DO all have decent seasons, we'll just cash in on all of them next season ala Webster / Waghorn now.

Promotion anytime soon!? lets not be daft. Happy for Hurst to run us and have a go, but we're very much a selling little club in a big pond.

 

Southampton got to where they are by continually making big profit on players, it may or may not work out for us and it could take time but at least we have a strategy to keep the club going. Whilst we may have a tier two academy some have been poached by prem clubs already. If players see that there is improvement to be made with us (academy, loan or on a permanent) that makes us an attractive club.
It's not what we all want to hear but that's where I think we are at the moment, identifying and buying/training players with potential to increase in value seems to be our thing. I don't mind that, it's better than investing in established players who we make no money on.

 

I agree SD, all us fans want is progress from the previous season. A higher league position, establishing some young home grown talent in the team. If we can do that AND make a profit, then everyone's a winner. To have a younger manager, with fresh ideas, assembling a squad full of hungry players, at good ages, surely is the first stepping stone to this.

 

I’ve no problem with selling players each season as long as ant least some funds are available to replace them.....it’s how it’s always been.

 

Southampton are in a different market place. They weren't selling players for £75m from the Championship and they have a long established academy that must be the very best in the world outside the elite clubs. They didn't get into the Premier League by selling players like Gareth Bale for £5m any more than we are going to do it by selling Martyn Waghorn for £5m. They did it by having Rickie Lambert scoring a hatful and a side that featured Schneiderlin, Lallana, Cork and Fonte and they didn't pay big money for any of them.