Why we should be worried

Almunia probably going back to Spain
Bond not ready

Bulk not staying thank God
Doyley gradually going downhill alas
Cassetti leaving
Ekstrand wants to leave
Angella off when right offer comes
Brown errr
Hall hospital case
Neill errr
Nosworthy not wanted
Hoban needs to go on loan and get regular games
Pudil lots of effort but no end product

Smith not good enough
Toszer can we sign him
Abdi will probably stay finally some good news
Batto a cliche but not suited to Championship
Merkel not ours and never plays
Mcgugan an enigma wrapped in a mystery
Faraoni a wimp
Murray not ahead of Abdi or Magoo
Anya please stay fit for more than 3 games in a row
Diakite LOL

Fabbrini hates us
Fessi love him
Deeney going
Ranegie jury is still out
Acuna God knows
Ikpeazu raw could be anything

As it stands we potentially have no goalies who are of a reasonable standard or defenders.

Only Abdi and Anya as definite starters in midfield / wing.
Fessi, Ranegie and Ikpeazu up front.

Hopefully we will be able to spend a lot of the Angella, Deeney and Assombalonga sell on money.

 

I'd be more worried if Bulk stayed. car crash of a player.

 

Most won't be here next season, it's their replacements you need to worry about. Of which there will be many I've no doubt.

 

Almunia might stay, but if he doesn't we will be looking for a number one keeper - I doubt Bond will be our first choice next year.
Bond as above, perhaps needs a spell playing somewhere really...

Belkalem could go either way, but he is still young for a CB and should only improve. Either way though I'm not too bothered.
Doyley will continue to be a squad player and Mr Watford, usually putting in good if unspectacular performances.
Cassetti probably will leave, but we will be in the market for a quality CB I am sure.
Ekstrand does apparently want to leave, and if he does then so be it, see above on the quality CB front. I hope he has a change of heart if he does want to leave though, as witht he right mindset I'm sure he could be a very good player.
Angella may be off when the right offer comes in, but I doubt we'll get a big enough offer given how valuable he is to us at the moment as our best defender by some distance.
Brown will probably go to Carlisle or elsewhere - not sure why we should worry about this, it hasn't worked out buy hey.
Hall's contract is up, and we probably can't justify persisting with him due to his injuries. See above re a quality CB.
Neill - who cares, never felt like our player.
Nosworthy appears to be as good as gone now.
Hoban will get more game time next year at Watford hopefully, and will improve.
Pudil is a good player that always gives his all. More useful at the back than going forward. An integral part of the squad.

Smith will need another loan at least.
Tozser will sign.
Abdi - who is the best WFC player I've probably ever seen - will stay not least because his injury means other clubs will probably not be able to sign him.
Battocchio will only get better, especially after a season where he's played a big part.
Merkel, if he stays, will probably have to be more of a squad player, but there's a good player in there I'm sure.
McGugan is a match winner on his day but needs consistency and his decision making needs work - things that improve with age.
Faraoni will only get better.
Murray is a terrier with a good shot. Will hopefully also only get better.
Anya has gone from 'doesn't look like a footballer' to one of the first names on the team sheet when fit in the space of about a year.
Diakite.

Fabbrini had too much on his shoulders but has potential - though I don't know if he'll be back.
Fessi is Fessi.
Deeney is probably going, you're right. I hope he stays but he probably won't I guess.
Ranegie you're right on, the jury is still out, but he looks handy enough with his knack for winning balls in the air. His mobility and lack of pressing ability might affect the way we play though if he is expected to fill Deeney's shoes in the event of his departure.
Acuna I am convinced he could do well here, but I'm not sure whether his loan to Osasuna will have helped him be ready for a season in the Championship.
Ikpeazu could definitely go either way, but he seems to have a good attitude so I'm hopeful.

As it stands we have a whole summer to get replacements in for where holes might appear.

Abdi is potentially the best midfielder in the league (still), Anya is excellent and shows no sign of leaving.
Fessi will surely only get better in this league with experience, and given his improvement from season one to this season, if he improves similarly into next season we could have one of the better forwards we've seen at the Vic in a while. Ranegie and Ikpeazu could go either way, but the former may not be the focal point, and the latter will be backup at most. I'm sure we'll be in the market for another option up top if Deeney goes, and the owners now know where they went wrong with their last signings.

As for the Angella, Deeney and Assombalonga sell on money, I'd be very surprised if all three were sold this summer, it's even possible none of them will leave their respective clubs, but Deeney going does look very much on the cards.

You missed out Riera, who I think will probably stay and over the course of the season he will be an asset I feel.

A bit more positivity. I do think we'll see the odd quality signing in the summer, ones that are expected to be in the first team from the get go. Our signings made at the point of the Pozzo takeover will be yet another season wiser, and hopefully whoever takes charge of the first game in August will have input into the squad and will have ample time to embed their philosophy into the team.

What's needed:

In the event of Almunia leaving, a first choice keeper.

If Ekstrand wants to go, just let him ( :'( ).
Keep Angella, sign a quality CB with leadership qualities and a bit more physicality about them without sacrificing brute strength (a Belk, Angella, Neill Demerit hybrid kind of thing).
Get rid of defensive deadwood - Brown, Hall, Neill, Nos.

Sign Tozser (this will surely happen).
Send Smith out on loan.
Make a decision on Merkel early.

Decide the futures of Fabbrini and Acuna early. Acuna seems more likely to perform well in this division but we'll see.
If Deeney goes, get in a good replacement. Someone with speed to play alongside Ranegie or Acuna.

 

Its all very well posting a 'worse case scenario' proposal. Our core squad now, plus potential summer additions makes for an exciting 2014-15 season. Excuse me for being optimistic.

 

What part of "our squad now" implies an exciting season next year?

 

Certain loanees that we keep, exciting young players, Mensah, Murray, Anya etc. The older guard yet to show their best, Ekstrand, McGugan, Pudil, Ranegie. The loanees who may stay, Angella, Toszer etc. It isnt hard to be positive here. I'd much rather see a line-up featuring McGugan, Ranegie and Abdi, over a line-up with Bouazza, Garner and Jenkins.

 

Our core presumably implies Angella, Abdi, Tozser, Deeney, Anya, maybe even Battocchio, Hoban, Faraoni but I doubt someone on here could suggest as many as eight of our squad are worthy of being excited about.

 

I don't think Faraoni has tackled anyone this season. Seven.

 

Whys everyone so concerned about Ekstrand leaving? Been rubbish nearly all season. Will be surprised if an offer even comes in.

Deeney will hopefully score a Hattrick next week just to put his value through the roof.

Hopefully Belkalem has a chance at he World Cup and impresses there to help shift him.

Angella I can see still here next season, been our best defender but when you look at the table we haven't had a very good defence evidently.

I think we really need to look at bolstering our defence next year and not attack, even without Deeney's goals we've still managed nearly 50 goals. Get a decent striker to complement Ranegie (hopefully Vydra) and use the money to buy some top quality centre backs.

 

Don't know why people think Tozser will return. I hope he does but we can't afford his wages and lets be honest, he can do better than us at the moment.

 

I think it's clear he has some sort of affinity with us, he seems to have fit in instantly and that is important to both parties. I'm sure he'd rather sign on here than go back to Genoa where he was reportedly very unhappy and never played. He will be seen as a high priority in the summer and I'm sure we'll come to some sort of arrangement to keep him at Watford.

 

If we can afford Diakite's then we can afford his. Once all the driftwood has gone we'll have more than enough to cover his wages.

The only stumbling block is if he want to come, I personally think he'll be a Watford player on a 2 year deal.

 

We shouldn't be worried

 

If we send Hoban out on loan I'd be mightily pissed off.

 

Do you have a source for "we can't afford his wages"?

 

We're paying half his wages and Genoa the rest because we can't afford them. If he wants to take a massive pay cut in the summer fairplay to him.

 

Everyone is ****ting themselves at the thought of Tozser not coming back now. LOL

 

Exactly, everyone has forgotten we've still got Ross Jenkins.

 

Jeez, 4 more months of this b****x.

Finger in the air guesses, ITK stuff and not ITK stuff (but we don't know which is which), lies, speculation, rumours, lack of official confirmation, lurking photos, disappointment, excitement over players we've never heard of (but at least the player sounds like he must be good), youtube vids, frustration when our rivals and former rivals sign well established players for millions.

That total lack of helplessness, as we can't even go and cheer them on!

I honestly wish I had the mental strength to turn off the internet. :frown:

 

It's ok mate. I've got a few thread ideas to keep is busy in the Summer months.

Plus, write off the World Cup month as a time where no one will be right about nooz. Nothing happens during a World Cup. Fact.

 

Judging by his celebration last night, Deeney is definitely off. It was a proper "thanks and goodbye" to the away fans.

 

I'm not trying to be awkward but what's the source for that? I'm genuinely interested.

 

That's a pretty good summary of the worst-case scenario, though I have one or two quibbles. Magoo is 25, so if his decision-making is going to improve with age it had better start now. Fabbrini might have too much on his shoulders, but a brain isn't one of them.

We've been told there won't be major changes in the squad this summer, but if our best players leave there will have to be. Hopefully our signings will match the formation the manager (sorry, head coach) wants to play or vice versa, rather than Nani getting in another job-lot who don't fit the system.

 

McGugan's first season away from a club he has always played for. Big changes for him too. I'd expect him to become vital next yea especially with his experience of the championship.

 

I am not a football owner and I am not savvy financially but selling Deeney for financial reason, if you want to succeed in getting in the premiership just doesn't make sense.

His worth should we get up totally outweighs any piddly 10m.

We will have a four sided stadium that we can't fill if we aren't really challenging next season, or the season after.

I appreciate that its a long term investment, but I think maybe a four sided ground may add to the value of the club when the Pozzos realise that the championship is harder to get out of than they thought and try and get rid.

Deeney had a good season last year and wasn't sold, so I am hoping he stays next. I will fully understand if Deeney goes for his own reasons but if it's the Pozzos decision I just do t get it.

 

I think ultimately they have said time and time again there's no time frame on promotion, if selling Deeney means we can further improve our infrastructure and long term are better off he will likely go I believe.

Not only this but the team needs a lot more quality in depth so if we sell Deeney and we can improve the overall quality of our squad then it is the smarter option.

 

I can't see why Deeney will be off. The Pozzos have a track record of selling players at their prime. Troy is 25, therefore in theory he won't reach his prime until he's 27/28. He could well stay another season, notch another 20+ goals and add a few more million onto his price, and possibly even fire us to the Prem (which would be worth a hell of a lot more than Deeney's transfer fee!) So unless Deeney wants to leave (and judging by his interview on hornets player he is already thinking about next season with us), or someone in my opinion offers £10-12 million which is exceedingly unlikely, then Deeney and possibly Vydra could well be premiership strikers with us the year after next!

 

Thanks Northolhon, yes investing in the team would obviously benefit us but our record for bringing in (albeit on pseudo frees) is very poor and we have sent a lot of dross packing and will do this summer. I don't know if I would trust Nani having the say so on who we get.

 

Put it this way, they could have cashed in on a 20+ goal season striker last year but they didn't. He's done it again and increased his value even more. His "prime" value is right now. Big choices to be made.

 

For some reason, I love it.

 

This thread is akin to having a revisionist discussion on Sartre moments before you turn the lights out at night. Maybe i'm just a terrible fan, but I really couldn't give a toss about the state of our squad at the moment.

Admin - time for a "Transfer discussion window"?