The Squad

Also, Livermore's middle name is Cyril - either that's a family name, or his dad was a Knowles fan

Nice one Cyril....







Oops sorry, i mean Kranjc.

its not a great squad though, because as soon as one or two players get injured we suddenly look a lot more shakey.

thankfully this season we have been not too bad with injuries.

but if you take out modric then who exactly comes in to fill his role?

whenever bale or lennon gets injured we act as though our world is caving in...

and if anything happens to ade then well, we are in a bit of trouble.

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To be fair, you can't really judge a player's quality on being an international or not.

Gilberto, the left back we had, was capped for brazil something like 20 times but he was useless. Also, someone could play for San marino and be a full international but that doesn't make him a quality player.

the quality of the squad is there, but the reason that it is not a great squad is because the balance isnt there.

we play a certain way.... but our problem is when someone gets injured, we often dont have a like for like replacement.

bale or lennon injured - vdv/krancjar/peinaar go to the wing... completely different style of play.

ade injured - defoe completely different style of play

modric injured - sandro comes in.. completely different style of play.

walker injured - corluka completely different style of play...

so whilst the reserve players are good in their own right... the squad could be a bit more balanced.

thats why i like the news of hoilett interest, because for me... he is a like for like player for lennon and bale, so whilst not being as good a footballer as krancjar, he has actually made the squad stronger.

Chronic

I dont think anyone is claiming we cant strengthen - just that we have strength in depth at the moment - as has been proven through recent & historic injuries thus far, this season.

Chronic - you could also argue that the "lack of balance" means we've got a versatile squad - a replacement that can do something different may actually be what the team needs

I wouldn't argue that, but you could

I doubt there are many players playing for any of the top six though, that have not been capped.

They give international caps out like confetti today. If you play for a lot of the big clubs, even the reserves get capped.

hedley

They give international caps out like confetti today. If you play for a lot of the big clubs, even the reserves get capped.

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Especially under Capello. Who else would have given caps to Kevin Davies, Carlton Cole & Jordan Henderson?