After the recent departure of the loaners and Daveys decision to get shut of or not stand in the way of several other pros and youngsters im a bit concerned we are looking a bit weak in depth. This will hurt us if we start to pick up injuries/suspensions such as possibly Foster and Muller missing tommorow Letheren Bruma Hassell Souza Kozluk The defence is virtually picking itself. Not a good thing. Even when Foster is fit we still dont have much cover. Why isnt Atkinson being brought back in if Reid is no longer wanted Up front we have Ferenczi, Mostto, Odejayi, Christensen and Coulson. None of which look like scoring regularly. In midfield Howard and Campbell Ryce have done enough to justify their places but Devaney is unpredicatable and Leon may take time to settle. In back up we have McCann who is obviously surplus, Togwell who fills in when needed and then we are down to Ricketts who Davey doesnt seem to now rate for one reason or another and Mattis when fit For me the side is looking very weak right now and although you would expect us to get a result against a struggling side i think we might struggle.
Strange reply but i wonder what your reaction would be if Mick was ever offered the Barnsley managers job? I'd be pleased on two counts. in reply to your reply though i think its more a case of Mick having a bit of money to spend and deciding to spend it on a striker (goals being Wolves key problem this season) who actually has proven himself at this level. In any case arent all managers in a desperate situation seeing as the average job length is just over a year?
No But Davey is clearly trying to bring in players to increase the size and strength in depth of the team. We don't have a masive budget so to bring players in some will have to leave, hence why Reid and Johnson are transfer listed and McCann can go. I don't see the point of Rickets, he seems an expensive sub to me, and I'd rather some young lads be given the chance. Unfortunately our back up players consist of honest but limted players so, although we have some back up they're not of a sufficient quality. I'm happy for the players mentioned to leave as long as they are replaced and I think Davey is well on the way to achieving that. If it means allowing Reid, McCann, Johnson, Colgan and Rickets to leave so we can sign Nyatanga, Macken and Anderson then I'm all for it.
Agreed More quality less quanitity. I think it's a myth that you need a big squad. Would it have really mattered if Colgan, Reid, Ricketts, Johnson, Christensen etc hadn't been at the club this season? Look at Aston Villa, one of the smallest squads in the country, play the same team week in, week out when they can, and they are doing ok. You always get a few injuries and suspensions, but the regular subs should be able to step in for a game or two, and the Academy Graduates should be able to go on the bench. We've got a first team squad of approx 24, it could be trimmed by 4 or 5 and wages re-invested in quality.
For me this was my main problem with Davey. he was like a kid in a sweet shop buying players in July/August. Really we could have bought half of those and kept hold of one or two of those here already till January then released them to create funds. I think 20 players and 4 or 5 youngsters would have been enough.
The side will continue to improve and automatic promotion next season is a realistic goal if the next stage of building the team is completed successfully. Davey knows that it's impossible for every signing to be a winner and has proven brilliant in axeing his own signings .... many managers don't have the balls to do that. I also believe that he really does know the players that are capable of delivering the goods when he observes them in training. Assuming fit, there is potential for Mostto playing every match until the end of the season. He is a natural finisher and might just be regarded as the best signing to date when he gets into the groove. Odejaye will gain confidence from this and also prove many critics wrong. In conclusion, we don't have a strong enough squad and Simon Davey will address that in stages. I agree with the view he expressed re making Macken, De Silva, + Nyatanga priority targets.
Strong Enough For What? Last season we finished 21st and at this stage of the season we were lower. Now we are 13th, so the squad is stronger. Our aim this season was to improve on last season - it looks like we will achieve that, so the squad , especially first team, is strong enough to achieve the goal. Yes, we need some decent back up players and to replace the loanees that have gone, but it seems that for some being 13th is not good enough and we need to be building a team to aim for the play-offs.
RE: Strong Enough For What? yes off course stronger than last season, but not strong enough to be at least on play-off
Upon what is the thoery that Coulson is not likely to score regularly based? Goals per minute in the first team must be close to the best we ever had!!
