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01-08-2019, 08:03 AM
Is our Squad Stronger Or Weaker Than Last Season?
If it's stronger and with no standout team in the Championship this season then I see no reason why we shouldn't be challenging at the top end of the table.
Personally I think it IS stronger as it stands and that it will get even stronger in the coming days.
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01-08-2019, 08:11 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-08-2019, 08:11 AM by the jock.)
i think with adomah/carvalho/silva/lolley/grabban/ameobi upfront we have gotten stronger in the top 4 which will hopefully get us more goals.
we also have players here a year longer which helps.
we have proper cover at left back. a goalkeeper that is better with his feet.
rightback is a concern if darikwa is injured but im sure that will be addressed.
overall. i think we have a more balanced squad which helps us get better results. we will soon find out.
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Good summary Jock, I am in agreement.
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At this movement in time....impossible to say. Maybe in a week's time, after the window has closed we'll be in a better position to judge.
Darikwa's loss is significant, yes we can get a replacement but the new guy is going to have to settle, get fit, get up to pace etc. Whilst all that's happening, Cash is going to be seriously tested.
I'm also no yet convinced by the keeper. He's made a few reckless errors IMO so far but as Jock says, looks comfortable with the ball at his feet. It's important that Dawson plays in front of him for the early games to calm him down.
Semedo has made a steady start but has something and hopefully will improve. Silva looks good quality but can he survive the rigours of the Championship? Colback's loss is huge IMO. He was a rock last year with his tenatious tackling. We're going to have to ensure that teams can't play through us in his absence.
Overall, I don't think we improved massively, we've just changed. We've replaced steady experience with decent inexperience so it's in the balance for me. Wouldn't surprise me if we started well and then did a 'Derby' and fade in the 2nd half of the season.
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Forgot to add, the football on the pitch looks much more sophisticated to me. As much as I disagreed with the unsavory way MoN was dumped, it is refreshing to see the players being coached into a system.
Time will tell if the system can be successful, but it certainly looks like it has a purpose.
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(01-08-2019, 08:11 AM)the jock Wrote: i think with adomah/carvalho/silva/lolley/grabban/ameobi upfront we have gotten stronger in the top 4 which will hopefully get us more goals.
we also have players here a year longer which helps.
we have proper cover at left back. a goalkeeper that is better with his feet.
rightback is a concern if darikwa is injured but im sure that will be addressed.
overall. i think we have a more balanced squad which helps us get better results. we will soon find out. Great summary
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Other than Colback and (to a lesser extent imo) Osborn, we won't really miss the players who have left.
We are stronger but still have a few gaps we need to address.
One area I'm happy with is Central defence, a real problem area last year because of injuries, now we have Dawson, Figgy back, Worrall back from loan, alongside Benalouane, Milosevic and even Robinson, it looks pretty strong.
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We still have at least 4 players to come in, so we will be stronger.
Need more depth upfront but that will come.
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(01-08-2019, 10:36 AM)BadDog Wrote: We still have at least 4 players to come in, so we will be stronger.
Need more depth upfront but that will come. Hope you’re right BD...
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I do not have an actual scooby as to whether we are stronger or not, but voted stronger because there was no 'Don't know' option on the poll.
Without seeing what the new signings can do, in the set up Lamouchi wants to incorporate, it is just not possible to see if there is improvement or not. Getting rid of Dias and the other one (forgot his name already!) and bringing in uncle Albert is definitely a positive. We lost Colback, has that weakened the midfield? We currently only have the one Right Back in Darikwa and if rumours are true, then he could be out for the season. We have brought in Muric in goal, is he better than Pantillimon? If he cuts out the erratic moments in his game, then yes he is. I have never rated Pantillimon and despite him keeping 15 shut outs last season, i still wonder if that was down to him or an improving defence? He was at fault for far too many goals conceded last season.
Are we stronger up top? Last season we had Murphy, whose legs are virtually shot, but was a strong presence on the ball, Grabban, who i think has a massive attitude problem, Lolley and Carvalho. This year we have Grabban, Tyler, who we still do not know if he will cut it at this level or not, Mir, a relatively unknown presence, Lolley, Ameobi,, so for me the jury is still out on that one. So in short, are we stronger? God knows, but we have only 2 and a half days left to find out :D
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Are we stronger? Hmm that is a tough one to answer as we haven’t seen what the new players are like when the game matters and really the players are still unknown to most of us really.
The goalkeeper should be better on reputation but when it comes to making sure the ball does not hit the back of the net I am still to be convinced. Looks a bit more confidence when it comes to wanting to play from the back however. If he can find his groove then yes he will be an improvement
The starting back 4 is the same as last year so no improvement there. It is a more than adequate backline at championship level so was never a top priority just needed cover at full backs which we have done on the left just the right to go. At least we have numbers at CB in case injury crisis strikes again.
Midfield different style and players but has it really improved? Technically, with the ball, it looks like a more dynamic midfield three. Faster movement of the ball and prepared to try the passes that create big chances, going to be exciting to watch I think. But without the ball, they were more open, struggled to close space, stop teams building pressure and dominating play. So we have made a huge gain in one area and lost in others and it’s going to be a real fast learning curve for them which is probably why Watson is going to be very important for the start of the season. Many questions over this midfield that cannot be answered until we get going. Our season will be made or broken by how the midfield cope and how fast they learn.
Two behind striker or wingers I would guess when carv is fit it will be carv and lolley. Adomah better than the two loan boys from Portugal? Yes because of his experience and looks a better crosser of the ball but is he good enough for a team going for promotion? Yes as a cover / impact player. Ameobi is not an improvement on either. Overall on par with last year have not improved first choice pairing which to be fair was always going to be difficult as lolley and carv have the potential to be the best players in the championship this year.
Up front well, that was an issue last year and still an issue this year Grabs still number one and really only recognised goal scorer so no improvement in personnel but with the set up behind I do think we will see more big chances created. The real question is when grabs isn’t playing will we take them.
So the squad has improved in some area and regressed in others. Last year we were good at winning the ball but weak at passing and creating big chances. This season could see us create more chances but allow others to dominate more. Going to make for a very interesting season that is for sure.
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As others have said its largely impossible to tell with the amount of changes. When we were discussing at the end of last season the general feeling was we wanted to add 4 or 5 quality players to add to the squad and clear out the dead wood.
It looks lime by the time the dust has settled we will have added 11-12 players ie a whole new team, moved on some bit parters but the dead wood is still here gathering dust.
The issue then is can the new squad gel in time to make an impact, We will see. I am looking forward to it this season whatever happens, one thing I am confident of is that the football we watch will be more entertaining whatever the results.
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