All players and most clubs have those . He should expect that unless he think a top club come in for him ?
I respectfully disagree. Deoulefou is better than all the forwards we've signed combined, and our defence is going to be relying heavily on Kiko, Masina, Cathcart/Kabasele. It's dogshit.
Having watched game and the just now the highlights I would say we look well set for counter attacking football. Main problem is we don’t have enough quality in midfield and so end up going long and losing possession , which will put us under too much pressure and better teams will eventually score . If yesterday was any indication of how Cucho can play he should starting every week. A front 3 of him , Sarr and King is exciting . Just lacking quality in midfield area.
Our defence is crap, it is basically the same as last time. But, I think it is better to have a potent attack that can push back the opposition and relieve pressure, or it becomes attack v defence. We obviously couldn't afford to replace the whole team, and I think given the choice it is best to try and have a threat up front Whether we will or not is another matter..
I see Success wasn't involved in either game yesterday, I was hoping he was off but no there he is at the training ground this morning. He's probably got a nicely timed injury meaning he won't be fit until October.
I get what you're saying. It'll be interesting to see who is right if he gets the chance to play on the left. Admittedly he was poor 3 seasons ago on the right. The option of bringing him on if we are defending a lead/draw would definitely make sense.
I do agree Geri is better than what we gave right now, but as a collective we are stronger. He is only one player and I’m not convinced he’s really hit over his injury. I’m not saying our defence is EPL quality as such but it is better than it was. Sierralta has improved the centre, and Troost-Ekong is a good defender. His distribution is his only downfall. Kabs and Cathcart will be squad players only. We do need another CB as well IMO.
I have massive fears about our depth of quality at CB. But there’s every chance Rose is our LB - and we have 2 new starting CB’s. And Ngakia also. None of those were with us in the PL so it’s not the same as last time!
Of a basic predicted starting XI, only 3 were playing regularly in 19/20, and even Sarr, Hughes and Femenia weren't starting every game. If Hughes goes, it will just be 2. Bachmann: New (was Foster) Femenia: Was there 19/20 TE: New (was Cathcart) Sierralta: New (was Kaba) Masina/Rose: New (was Holebas) Hughes: Was there 19/20 Chalobah: New (was Capoue) Louza/Etebo: New (was Doucoure) Sarr: Was there 19/20 King/Pedro: New (was Tom Deeney) Cucho/Dennis: New (was Deulofeu) The team has completely changed, even though only 4 of that lineup were new buys, and 2 of them were Udineses.
Bachmann Ngakia - Troost - Sierralta - Rose Chalobah - Louza/Etebo Cucho Sarr - King - Dennis As a starting 11 that is potentially quite exciting in my opinion. We need another centre back, ideally to relegate Troost to third choice, another CM to replace Hughes, and a left back now that Masina is f**ked, but as I said the other day I am weirdly confident.
Midfielder (Yokuslu? Ferguson?), Doig and a centre back and I'll be delighted, although I suspect Sierralta will be used as an excuse not to sign a centre back
I am not advocating that we keep Deeney, in fact I would be more than happy if he goes. However it is beginning to look that he will not be leaving us, therefore I am suggesting that the deep no10 role is possibly the best way to deploy him if or when he plays and not as a no9.
He seems far more effective at wing back where the flaws of his game are far less obvious. I just don't really rate him as a winger. As you say - he could maybe do a job as a defensive winger where necessary, but if we are playing a striker who doesnt score many goals and a midfield that doesnt score many goals, I don't see how he fits.
I really don't think you can get away with a front 4 as attacking as that. You are basically playing four forwards. I think it is more likely to be something like the below, which shows up that our depth in quality in midfield is seriously poor. Kiko/Ngakia - Troost - Sierralta - Rose/A Trialist Chalobah/- Louza/Etebo Cleverley Gosling/Quina Sarr/ Dennis - King/Pedro/Fletcher - Cucho/Sema I'd like a centre back to offer serious competition to Troost-Ekong, but if we lose Hughes I think midfield has to be the number one priority. I do think there is some quality in that side, but there are some real areas of concern at LB and in central midfield
If Ken had any positional sense I think he'd make a great left back. However some of his awareness at wing back left a lot to be desired last season.
Why? Which 2 players do we have good enough to start in CM? Etebo, plus?? It's also early days to tell whether Cucho will be the answer to the most advanced midfielder position - does he offer enough defensively? Is his passing creative enough? As barelegal says above I still don't see any combination of 3 players in the midfield spots from who we already have that won't get overrun in the PL.
Personally, I'd rather take him rather than Rose. Bit more defensive training, and he could be our No. 1 non-Masina LB. I'd still like us to sign one though, but that is a potential plan if we can't afford a CB and LB. If we get the Hughes money, I'd take decent 6 mil CM and LBs though, and use spare scrapings/deadwood player trade to sign a CB. I was assuming that the rest of the lineup followed the one given, and that people were playing well in their positions given. I am not suggesting that we won't need a quality new CM if Hughes goes. And what happened to Louza and Chalobah in your mind? Not good enough?
Sema over Rose?? I know we all have concerns about Rose's physique but he is a proven Premier League full back. I'm hoping Xisco is the right coach to get the best out of him again.
Why do people EDIT peoples posts when they are criticising what they say and hence show the persons comments out of context. If you are going to reply to someone else's post at least show exactly what they said and NOT try to mislead others by only showing part of what they said to make them look bad See #511 to see what I actually said and #518 to see how lowerrous tried to misrepresent my words
He's not 'editing' your post, he's highlighting the specific part of it that his comment is replying to directly - it's very standard practice, and for very obvious reasons. Apart from anything else, the quote in his comment has a link directly back to your original comment, so I don't see why there need be any fear of misrepresentation, and besides, it's about 3 comments up on the same page; we all saw what you wrote in the first place.
We could get by with Sema as a LWB with us generally not having to weather many serious defensive storms in the Championship, but even at times (QPR and Middlesbrough away most of all), his defensive work was badly exposed. I'd probably keep him, with Sarr and possibly Dennis away in the winter, but he won't be anywhere near the first XI when everyone is available
I don't think there's any chance we would play such an attacking team against prem quality. Only 3 of those front 4 will start, or only 2 if our captain and talisman starts.....
