posted 23 hours, 41 minutes ago
Well if we do go down and it’s looking quite likely unless we somehow get two or three decent signings ( which will mean selling the likes of Faes and Okoli to raise some money ) done before the end of the window.
If we drop back down I fear we may become a mid table team for sometime due to many of the reasons in the “authors “ post.
posted 6 hours, 10 minutes ago
As I mentioned on 98's thread there is some hope for next year given how readily we dispatched QPR in the FA Cup. Also one of the 'benefits' of having such a poor squad is that they will mostly stay with us.
Hopefully Soumare will be on his way in the same taxi as Danny - despite his much improved showings recently he just doesn't cut the mustard defensively. I'd like to see the back of Vestergaard too as he would no doubt go back to looking dominant and being a key figure in the team at the lower (his?) level - which if we were to have a successful season would then set him to be shown up again in the EPL. I'm just hoping Ben Nelson can recover from his injury as he looked really promising.
Even with a swingeing points deduction we may be competitive enough to make the playoffs, automatics would be a tall order.
I'm still hopeful that we could have a reasonable time next year but the key point against this is it appears that Top does not have the nous to realise that the change that's desperately needed is in the DoF position.
posted 5 hours, 6 minutes ago
Soumare is an interesting one. He was poor under Rodgers and Cooper, but showed glimpses under Smith and has been one of our better performers in recent weeks under RVN. There is definitely a player in there, but he seems to struggle with his application. He only has a year left so I think it'll be difficult to shift him out the door - if he could apply himself correctly, he could be a cheat code in the Championship, or just a complete waste of space if he doesn't.
I am certainly hoping that we see Ben Nelson return from injury and start to show his worth in the first team. I have never rated Souttar and would think he will end up being sold to Sheff Utd, which leaves us with Vestergaard and Coady as aging CBs. We need some young talent to come through, as one of the downsides of our strategy last season was that only McAteer really came through from into the first team.
The performance of Burnley and Sheff Utd this season shows that poor PL teams can still compete for automatic promotion. But they had Championship standard teams to start with, and that is probably their natural level. We have a mix of aging PL players and those from abroad who haven't showed they can compete at PL level and may lack the application for the Championship. That's why I am not as confident that we can achieve top 2 next season, with or without a points deduction. Players like Praet, Iheanacho and Casadei struggled to get into our first team last season, yet would arguably walk into this year's team.
Preparing for next season
Page 1 of 1
posted 23 hours, 41 minutes ago
Well if we do go down and it’s looking quite likely unless we somehow get two or three decent signings ( which will mean selling the likes of Faes and Okoli to raise some money ) done before the end of the window.
If we drop back down I fear we may become a mid table team for sometime due to many of the reasons in the “authors “ post.
posted 6 hours, 10 minutes ago
As I mentioned on 98's thread there is some hope for next year given how readily we dispatched QPR in the FA Cup. Also one of the 'benefits' of having such a poor squad is that they will mostly stay with us.
Hopefully Soumare will be on his way in the same taxi as Danny - despite his much improved showings recently he just doesn't cut the mustard defensively. I'd like to see the back of Vestergaard too as he would no doubt go back to looking dominant and being a key figure in the team at the lower (his?) level - which if we were to have a successful season would then set him to be shown up again in the EPL. I'm just hoping Ben Nelson can recover from his injury as he looked really promising.
Even with a swingeing points deduction we may be competitive enough to make the playoffs, automatics would be a tall order.
I'm still hopeful that we could have a reasonable time next year but the key point against this is it appears that Top does not have the nous to realise that the change that's desperately needed is in the DoF position.
posted 5 hours, 6 minutes ago
Soumare is an interesting one. He was poor under Rodgers and Cooper, but showed glimpses under Smith and has been one of our better performers in recent weeks under RVN. There is definitely a player in there, but he seems to struggle with his application. He only has a year left so I think it'll be difficult to shift him out the door - if he could apply himself correctly, he could be a cheat code in the Championship, or just a complete waste of space if he doesn't.
I am certainly hoping that we see Ben Nelson return from injury and start to show his worth in the first team. I have never rated Souttar and would think he will end up being sold to Sheff Utd, which leaves us with Vestergaard and Coady as aging CBs. We need some young talent to come through, as one of the downsides of our strategy last season was that only McAteer really came through from into the first team.
The performance of Burnley and Sheff Utd this season shows that poor PL teams can still compete for automatic promotion. But they had Championship standard teams to start with, and that is probably their natural level. We have a mix of aging PL players and those from abroad who haven't showed they can compete at PL level and may lack the application for the Championship. That's why I am not as confident that we can achieve top 2 next season, with or without a points deduction. Players like Praet, Iheanacho and Casadei struggled to get into our first team last season, yet would arguably walk into this year's team.
Page 1 of 1