Transfer Policy and Squad Size - what do you read into it?

[brendywendy]

i was simply pointing out that actually we have only got the shorey shaped hole to fill so far
in terms of actual numbers required

Did you not watch or learn anything from last season?

We need to improve the squad and the team irrespective of the shaped holes that are apparent.

i wouldnt be so hasty in writing cisse off as a championship midfielder, or brynn, or even karacan

i agree with freshening up the squad, but surely that will depend on who goes 1st

which is what i was saying by currently only needing to replace shorey

would be silly to get rid of some almost prem class players, then lose a load more and have to replace the whole darned squad

[Wycombe Royal]

Have a guess about how many new players will appear in the starting line-up for the opening game of next season. Mine, I'm depressed to say, is two.

I wouldn't be depressed at two as the nuceus of this squad is good enough for the Championship. Too many new faces and it takes time for them to settle into a "team". It has been shown before that a team of above average players can perform better than a group of higher rated players.

[Royal Rother]

Some new faces to freshen things up would certainly not be unwelcome but I think at this stage it is reasonably realistic to think our 1st team of the season could be something like this:

Hahnemann
Rosenior
Duberry
Sonko / Ingimarsson / Cisse
Shorey's replacement
Little
Matejovsky
Bikey
Hunt
Kitson
Doyle

Bench taken from Karacan / Henry / Federici / Pearce / Long / Murty / Sonko / Ingimarsson / Cisse

Only one new face, but that team would certainly not depress me and is surely capable of making a big impact on the Championship.

Papereyes, do you not think that, in Bikey, we just might have the midfielder you desire?

[Ian Royal]

We certainly need a new Shorey.

I think Bikey/Cisse can cover Gunnar's previous back up role leaving Gunnar as extra squad cover. Harper and Marek will make a decent championship pairing, but I think we still need at least 1 more midfielder, preferably a goal scorer.

We also need a right winger. Bringing through Henry is great, but with Little likely to spend half the season injured that leaves our only other option being a man who falls over his own feet.

After that we'll obviously need a left winger if Convey can't get fit/Hunt goes and strikers should any of the current 4 go.

We could afford to lose a centreback and still not get a replacement IMO.

Good enough for me =
Hahnemann, Murty, Rosenior, Sonko, Bikey, Ivar, Duberry, Harper, Matejovski, Hunt, Kitson, Doyle, Lita
With slight question marks over: Little, Convey, Long, Cisse, Federici
Big question marks over: Henry, Pearce, Kebe, Golbourne, Karacan

[Southbank Old Boy]

Can I answer your question to papereyes instead?

I can't see Bikey playing centre mid for us. He might do ok in there but he's proven before that he's not as good as the likes of Gunnarsson or Harper in there. We should be aiming to do better than that, especially if we're trying to build a side to go up again.

Bikey should be considered a centre back. He has lapses when he's back there but it's by far his most natural position.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

Bikey best position is at centre half.

He can play in front of the back 4 in a 451.

When he played in a 442 and centre mid, the game has passed him by.

Last season we had too many players, out of position. Bikey being one of them. He's a centre half, we have to sign a centre mid better than him.

Last season proved, as many already knew, standing still takes you backwards.

If we just make do, with players out of position (Bikey, Rosenior) or players out of their depth (Cisse, Oster) we'll never move forward.

He'll play Harps and Marek if we don't sign anyone and we all know why that partnership doesn't work, trying to patch it up with a player who should be leading our back 4 isn't the answer anyway.

The complacency returns. Importantly Coppell won't be allowed to make the same mistakes again.

Not massive changes, as Brendy says 3 - 4 new players. But the key is, unlike last summer, they have to be better than what we're left with.

[Royal Rother]

I can't see Bikey playing centre mid for us. He might do ok in there but he's proven before that he's not as good as the likes of Gunnarsson or Harper in there.

Has he?

He's only played there a handful of times but has shown a lot of promise, and certainly has more presence and strength than the ones you mention. I'd be happy for Harper to stay of course, but for me the artist in Matejovsky paired with the muscle of Bikey would work better than any other pairing I can come up with from our existing squad.

Whatever / wherever, I shall be very disappointed if Bikey is not a mainstay in the team, as he is, and always has been to my eyes, a real star.

[Platypuss]

Papereyes, do you not think that, in Bikey, we just might have the midfielder you desire?

It spoke volumes for me that at Derby, in what was arguably our biggest game of the season, Bikey didn't figure in the starting eleven.

With Lita almost certainly out of the door, who will be our 4th striker?

[Royal Rother]

What exactly did it say to you?

[brendywendy]

Bikey best position is at centre half.

He can play in front of the back 4 in a 451.

When he played in a 442 and centre mid, the game has passed him by.

Last season we had too many players, out of position. Bikey being one of them. He's a centre half, we have to sign a centre mid better than him.

Last season proved, as many already knew, standing still takes you backwards.

If we just make do, with players out of position (Bikey, Rosenior) or players out of their depth (Cisse, Oster) we'll never move forward.

He'll play Harps and Marek if we don't sign anyone and we all know why that partnership doesn't work, trying to patch it up with a player who should be leading our back 4 isn't the answer anyway.

The complacency returns. Importantly Coppell won't be allowed to make the same mistakes again.

Not massive changes, as Brendy says 3 - 4 new players. But the key is, unlike last summer, they have to be better than what we're left with.

im still not sure if if cisse is out of his depth at championship level-but i will concede we dont know

[brendywendy]

bikey is one our very best players in my eyes

and i dont remember many lapses of any kind

just some great performances

[Southbank Old Boy]

I can't see Bikey playing centre mid for us. He might do ok in there but he's proven before that he's not as good as the likes of Gunnarsson or Harper in there.

Has he?

He's only played there a handful of times but has shown a lot of promise, and certainly has more presence and strength than the ones you mention. I'd be happy for Harper to stay of course, but for me the artist in Matejovsky paired with the muscle of Bikey would work better than any other pairing I can come up with from our existing squad.

Whatever / wherever, I shall be very disappointed if Bikey is not a mainstay in the team, as he is, and always has been to my eyes, a real star.

Yes he has.

He certainly has his moments, but thats the type of player he is. He'll pull out a great bit of defending one minute (like the one people always remind us about when he made a fool of Rooney in the last few minutes against United) but then he'll look all over the place for most of the next 20 minutes. That's why Coppell hasn't trusted him, even though he has the best hollywood moments in the team. I do think he's got a future though.

When he's played in midfield he's just looked like a fish out of water. Perhaps he could be moulded into a holding midfielder but if he's going to fulfil his potential he needs to concentrate on one position, and his lack of mobility and fleetness of foot means he's always going to struggle against good midfielders.

[loyalroyal4life]

can see mullins coming in, he could well be a decent partner for marek!!

and i think people are writing off kebe too early. i think he will more than likely do well if given a chance in the championship

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

Bikey best position is at centre half.

He can play in front of the back 4 in a 451.

When he played in a 442 and centre mid, the game has passed him by.

Last season we had too many players, out of position. Bikey being one of them. He's a centre half, we have to sign a centre mid better than him.

Last season proved, as many already knew, standing still takes you backwards.

If we just make do, with players out of position (Bikey, Rosenior) or players out of their depth (Cisse, Oster) we'll never move forward.

He'll play Harps and Marek if we don't sign anyone and we all know why that partnership doesn't work, trying to patch it up with a player who should be leading our back 4 isn't the answer anyway.

The complacency returns. Importantly Coppell won't be allowed to make the same mistakes again.

Not massive changes, as Brendy says 3 - 4 new players. But the key is, unlike last summer, they have to be better than what we're left with.

im still not sure if if cisse is out of his depth at championship level-but i will concede we dont know

I just can't see it with Cisse. Not good enough on the ball to play midfield, not good enough in the air to play centre half.

He could do it in the Championship, we don't know, was more making the point that last season he wasn't good enough and we still didn't bring in anyone better. I think we carried some players last season.

[loyalroyal4life]

Papereyes, do you not think that, in Bikey, we just might have the midfielder you desire?

It spoke volumes for me that at Derby, in what was arguably our biggest game of the season, Bikey didn't figure in the starting eleven.

With Lita almost certainly out of the door, who will be our 4th striker?

we are being linked with emile mpenza from man city along with 3 other clubs.

[brendywendy]

i cant remember many lapses from bikey that resulted in goals as a CB-do remember him racing back and robbing the ball easily from some of the worlds best players on many more than the one occasion listed above
and i can remember cisse having a couple of superb games at CB also against some of the worlds best players

i just think a year at championship level will do them good, and they will be good enough

but then i am an ex member of the RTGB so i would think that wouldnt i

[Southbank Old Boy]

i cant remember many lapses from bikey that resulted in goals as a CB-do remember him racing back and robbing the ball easily from some of the worlds best players on many more than the one occasion listed above
and i can remember cisse having a couple of superb games at CB also against some of the worlds best players

i just think a year at championship level will do them good, and they will be good enough

but then i am an ex member of the RTGB so i would think that wouldnt i

Not all mistakes lead to goals. There are plenty our defenders make that they get away with.

I've tried to remove most of last seasons games from my limited memory. I struggle to remember passages of play the next day these days, let alone months later. I do remember the number of times I've winced and screamed at times when he's lost his man, gone wondering or needlessly given away the ball.

He is now past the need for Murty to teach him how to kick a ball midway through a game though

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he cost us loads of goals, he was probably our most effective defender for periods of the season, but he is by no means, IMHO, the complete defender that many make out.

[Royal Rother]

he is by no means, IMHO, the complete defender that many make out.

No, but he looks like a keen and quick learner. It's a damned good start.

[Royal Rother]

With Lita almost certainly out of the door, who will be our 4th striker?

I've hardly seen him play but hasn't Henry been showing promise as a striker? Is that a possibility however slim...?

[Leamington Royal]

Most people would agree that defenders need a run of games in a stable back 4 to build their understanding. Maybe Bikey's wobbly moments have come due to the fact that he has not been given a good run of games. When he eventually got a small run of games in the second half of this season I thought he made a real difference. I'd like to see a back 4 with Bikey and Ingi as the mainstays and Rosenior + new left back alongside them. Much as I am a big fan of Bikey, I agree that he needs to focus on CB and not be played out of position at CM. We need to buy a new, strong holding midfielder with decent distribution for that.