JA606 - Im back!

and me

good indepth point there

Oh what joy.

Bookies are crazy didn't they have us as favorites last year and look how that started.

Sorry to hear you had some bad news. Hope all is well.

Yep, def a concern, but I'm starting to think that maybe the impending signing of Malaury Martin was seen as a replacement for Hadouir not agreeing terms. They are both attacking midfielders.

However, Martin seems like he may be more of a central midfielder, and Hadouir has the ability to play on either wing (apparently good with both feet) as well as a forward. Options on the right of midfield are bare thin, unless we rely heavily on Luke Williams and Franks to play there should Zemmama inevitably pick up an injury, and technically that position isn't natural for either of those youngsters. So, purely for versatility, experience and the benefits that come with additional options, I hope that we can strike a deal for Hadouir. Either way I'm still confident that we have a decent amount of strength in depth (albiet with some youngsters thrown in at the deep end) to be able to compete at the right end of the table. Blocking their development by over-compensating in some areas may be a bad idea. And with some many young exciting options, some might sink, but surely some will swim.

The question is, will Mowbray deviate from the strict wage bill plan he has set out since Hadouir rejected the initial contract offer? I assume it was to do with wages.

Oh, and as for the bookies making us favourites for a top 6 finish (I actually think we're 7th favourites on some sites now) - I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Mowbray is now in charge. Technically our squad has been weakened. But the bookies made us favourites previously because of the supposed surplus of stars we had at our disposal. Now they see the style of football we play and have faith in that. The reliance on youth and inexperience is probably why we're not bigger favourites.

Whether they're right (or wrong again) only time will tell. Finger crossed.

Fingers crossed*

Might have some difficulty crossing just the one!

Thanks 2plus2 for the kind comment - getting there slowly.

Interesting views, I assumed our tag as a favourite was down to the end of last season, which was in part due to Mowbray... but I cannot for the life of me see anything better than a top half finish without new signings.

Martin would be a welcome addition, the fact he has represented france at various levels is encouraging, although being released from Blackpool not so much so. He could well be a Hadouir replacement, think that makes alot of sense, although I am very worried by our lack of depth... hopefully the man in charge knows what he is doing.

I dream of the day I can watch Boro on MOTD again...

the thing that worries me is the fact we seemingly have no room to bring any players in whatsoever... a Blackpool cast off & a teenager from Darlington...

We've still got a very good championship first team on paper though, but like you say it's the lack of depth inn a few key areas that is the issue - especially given our terrible track record with injuries.

Thompson looks like he's starting this season how he spent the entirety of last - injured.

Hopefully we'll keep Rhys Williams, which is kind of like a new signing, given that he was out all of last year pretty much - same with Johnny Franks & McManus. Luke Williams might prove himself to live up to the hype too...

We also have some promising young players who will hopefully come to the fore next year - Smallwood, Halliday, Park etc.

We should have bought Paul Smith on the cheap though...

I think we can still push for a play off, but we'd have to stay clear of the injuries.

It's hard to look beyond Leicester, West Ham, Birmingham, Forest etc for the top positions though...