Summer 2018 - The Rebuild and The Recovery

claretandbluesky

For me Marko is the key, we will get serious bids for him as he is now catching the headlines as a striker, we absolutely must keep him. He is the striker we have needed for so long and with a full season leading the line I feel can get 20 goals next season.

Lanzini, Ogbonna and Masou are also not for sale.

Defensive midfielder and another midfielder to replace Kouyate who I am happy to stay as a squad player but happy to cash in on also.

Agree with Suze the three loan players must go back as none will improve the team in my view. I would pay 10m for Mario but not 25m. Useful back up for Lanzini but no where as good as him.

Ginge must get another contract. I feel he would not be greedy as he is not likely to get too many offers and so I am hoping something can be sorted as we every club need those players who give everything and the fans can identify with. We can also be pretty sure that at some point our defensive group will encounter an injury crisis and Ginge is the perfect step up player in a crisis.

As Aslef has said Carroll going nowhere as no one will offer him half of what we are paying with his injury record. In this last year he will again be our bonus when fit, but unable to be included in our plans as he simply is unlikely to play more than a dozen matches.

ianbishoplegend

Players that don’t turn their back on a shot at goal. Players that can dont think the ball is a hot potatoe (that little fella at Stoke doesn’t). Players with pace, and the energy to use it. A midfield dynamo, someone that is everywhere. Someone in midfield that is genuinely two footed. I actually want rid of Lanzini, Carroll, Hernandez and anyone else who’s heart isn’t in the side.

For me personally it’s been 2 tragic seasons football wise. I haven’t watched the last few months of both seasons, too many better things to do in life than watch that old dross. I need to see a team with 100% commitment every game, and back to passing as a requirement, lose or win, at least we tried to play well.

eskimoking

Morning all! I wanted to get a few thoughts down on this.

GoalKeepers

Adrian - Keep
Hart - Move On - replace with Butland or Forster if Saints go down.

Defenders

Reid - Keep
Cresswell - Keep
Zabaleta - Keep as backup
Collins - Keep as backup
Ogbonna - Keep
Byram - Keep as backup
Masuaku - Keep
Evra - Move on
Rice - Keep

Would like us to sign Fredericks and someone less injury prone that Reid. Rumours that Maguire is unhappy at Leicester


Midfielders

Kouyate - Move on - occasionally has a game to change my mind but he’s been dreadful for most of the season and has no technical ability. Replace with Dendoncker and Cairney as light at CM
Noble - Keep
Lanzini - Keep
Snodgrass - keep as backup
Obiang - Keep
Mario - Move on - He’s good if we’re on top but don’t see him as a game changer. Replace with Shaqiri

Fernandes - Keep as backup
Cullen - keep as backup


Forwards

Arnautovic - Keep
Carroll - keep
Hugill - Move on
Hernandez - Keep but I think will be sold.
Antonio - Keep as backup - even in his good season I didn’t rate him that much. He’s effective but isn’t that good a footballer and has terrible decision making.

Maybe McClean from West Brom, Sessignon from Fulham, Adams Traore. There are quite a few good options for wingers at the moment. I love Albrighton if Leicester will sell. If we need to sign a striker, I would like to get Austin if Saints go down, or maybe Mitrovic. An ambitious one would be Dembele at Celtic.

Just to summarise:
Sell/release
Hart
Evra
Kouyate
Mario
Hugill

Sign
Butland/Forster
Fredericks
Maybe a CB, not sure who’s realistic.
Dendoncker
Cairney
Shaqiri
Sessignon/Traore/Albrighton/McClean
Dembele/Austin/Mitrovic

Realistic? Or not? The squad is definitely light, so we need to sign more than we sell/release.

baracks_a_hammer

If we signed Butland (which I think is unlikely anyway) then it will mean Adrian will be off too (he won’t stick around to be second fiddle). So we would need another back up keeper

whupathman

Drinkwater from the chavs maybe

alderz

I think we need to replace both keepers, Byram, Kouyate and anyone else we sell. We also need an extra CM and maybe a new forward

Lukerz

Hart
Evra
Zabaleta
Byram
Kouyate
Fernandes (loan)
Mario
Snodgrass
Hugill (loan)
Chicharito

I would look to move on those players to be honest, and replace with 10 better versions, if possible. I don’t think 10 new signings is unattainable, we’ve had windows like it before, but if it is Moyes, he needs to get 10 players he wants and which will define the way we play.

jay_in_cpt

I see most would let Cheikh go.
Not for me.
He has IMO been a good player in general for us, fair that he has had a poor season but very few have let's face it impressed this season.

IMO before Obiang had his injury, apart from a few games he also had been having a very average season.
Cheikh is captain of Senegal , like Reid is for NZ, again IMO if I'd have to let 1 leave it would rather be Reid, again IMO sadly he has been on a decline for a while, and his injury record is getting up their with AC etc etc...
Buts it all about opinions..

mike

I would like to keep adrian.I know we have shipped a lot of goals this season but how many have those been down to him or just bad defending?
I don't think there is a plethora of really good keepers around at the moment(besides De Gea)and imo what i have seen of butland this season he is overated.

alderz

Luke

I don’t disagree with any of those individual decisions (except Hernandez), but I think wholesale changes ar massively risky. 10 transfers, all of higher quality, is unlikely.

I think we need probably 4-5 new players for the starting line up, and another couple to be backups where we need them.

It also depends a lot on what formation we play. If we are going to a 4 then we don’t need a CB, but if we stick at a 3 then we do, for example.

ASLEFshrugged

someone less injury prone that Reid

This season Reid has had injury problems but last season he was available for 37 games out of a possible 46 and started 36 of those. Of the nine games he missed seven were because he was injured and two through suspension.

Hardly a "sicknote".

Let Hart go back to City, let Evra see out his contract, sell Snoddy to Villa.

Maybe ask for a season long loan for Mario but I wouldn't buy him right now, we've got plenty of options for the front three. Spend as much as needed to secure Fredericks and Dendoncker.

As someone else says Adrian does not want to spend another season as second choice, if we buy Butland or anyone else then he will ask to leave and we will need a backup keeper

Other than that I'd leave things as they are, too many new faces will only create an unhappy dressing room.

IronHerb

So three games into the new season Dendoncker and Fredericks are injured and we are back where we started and likely struggling. ;hmm

ASLEFshrugged

Seeing that players with previously normal injury records mysteriously turn into basket cases the minute they pull on a claret and blue shirt then that's a risk we're going to have with any new signing.

Yeoldhammer

jay_in_cpt said:

I see most would let Cheikh go.
Not for me.
He has IMO been a good player in general for us, fair that he has had a poor season but very few have let's face it impressed this season.

IMO before Obiang had his injury, apart from a few games he also had been having a very average season.
Cheikh is captain of Senegal , like Reid is for NZ, again IMO if I'd have to let 1 leave it would rather be Reid, again IMO sadly he has been on a decline for a while, and his injury record is getting up their with AC etc etc...
Buts it all about opinions..

I don't think Cheikh is improving and I think he has hit his ceiling of ability. I view him as one of our assets that is sellable and would actually command some sort of fee. I think his position is a fundamental one that we need someone of a high class calibre to come in and fill to move the first 11 forwards.

I think Obiang is a better midfielder but agree even he too is very average but I would expect him to drop back into a backup role assuming whoever we bring in is fundamentally better. You could move Cheikh to a back up role to and have the 4 spots of Noble / Obiang / Kouyate / New Guy, but then that would mean moving on Cullen. Personally would move Chiekh on bring in someone New straight into the first team and see if we can get Cullen going next season around the first team. If not then regardless we would need another new CM the following season.

alderz

I reckon you want a squad balance of

GK x 2 (New & New)
DR / WBR x 2 (New & Zabaleta)
DL / WBL x 2 (Masuaku & Cresswell)
DC x 4 (Reid & Rice & Ogbonna & Collins)
DM x 2 (New & Obiang)
MC x 3 (New & Noble & Fernandes)
FW x 4 (New & New & Lanzini & Antonio)
ST x 3 (Arnie & Carroll & Hernandez)

So I guess to me now I write it down I think we need 7. I think that if we sign a good DM we should move back to 4-3-3, personally.

I guess my preferences would be:

GK: Butland, I think he's quality
DR: Needs to have pace, needs to be able to support in attack
DM: Someone who actually specialises in the role
MC: Pace. We need to be able to break through the middle of the pitch, and a dynamic box to box midfielder is what we need
FW: Pace, again. We need to add pace to the team

horshamhammer

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11679/11364150/yaya-toure-wants-premier-league-stay-after-man-city-exit

No doubt we'll be all over this one like a rash...

PrestonHammer

Yes and hopefully the medics have a fully stocked up cabinet of antibiotics at the ready for that rash.

Fortuneseeker

We need several new players to go straight into the firstXI, a quality Keeper, a Right Back, top ranked Centre Half, CDM, Winger (not bothered if it's left or right sided) plus a partner for Marko. The type of money required to get a striker who can score 12-15 goals a season in tandem with him could be spent elsewhere if someone could see the light and talk Javier around as he is just the type of forward we need and we already have him on board!

Could go in for Dendoncker again or try for Carvalho from Sporting.

billybondsbeard

Pearce was over watching Dendonker the other night. He played as a CB.
(Not Pearce obv's ;ok )

baracks_a_hammer

So, Mawson plus Ki??

Adam

Anyone know if Dendoncker has a chance of going to the World Cup?

If he’s not, then he’s one player we could get in early.

Not sure if I want him though since I don’t watch much Pro League!

Cuz1

Be some players for sale in those teams who’d do a good job for us Mawson, Evans to name two lol

IronHerb

Thing is Adam I don't think you get a say in it. ;wink

ASLEFshrugged

Dendoncker is in te Belgian squad buy he's usually on the bench and usually stays there. Three caps in the last two seasons.

His first name is Leander. Leander Dendoncker.

Finding a song for that is not going to be easy

Cuz1

I’ve served on a Leander class frigate type 21

PrestonHammer

I can only get a second line ending in plonker.

Vorselaarhammer

Leander played a blinder,
He showed up as a minder,
We thought we get him sooner

;hmm needs something...

Cuz1

But bet he becomes a gooner

Bazshuayi

I think stonker and plonker have to included depending on how well/poorly he does game to game ;wink

e.g 'he's had a stonker, Dendonker' Or 'not a plonker like...' (as opposed to him being 'what a plonker') can describe him or someone we dont like at another club

Just saying ;whistle I'll wait for him to sign before creating a song for our footballing generation perhaps

ammerinaberdeen

;wave