Squad Watch 2022/23

[blythspartan]

I have seen Twitter murmurings from Derby fans about signing Junior Hoilett. Probably just wishful thinking. Also, some Forest fans talking about a top 6 finish

[Franchise FC]

I have seen Twitter murmurings from Derby fans about signing Junior Hoilett. Probably just wishful thinking. Also, some Forest fans talking about a top 6 finish

That well known font of all things true and real (Twitter not you)

[From Despair To Where?]

It's an East Midlands thing.

By which I mean inbreeding.

[Snowflake Royal]

I would doubt he has any assurances this season. But with Ince in his 30s and Meite ooc next year, it would be easy to try to sell to him on being the built in replacement for transition.

And, of course, for all we know PInce doesn’t view Meite as a wide player and Azeez is second choice... although I don't think that would be good management of Meite.

Yeah that's why potentially a loan move this season with Meite and Ince in front and then maybe more involved next season. Although if we plan to use Meite as a striker, then it would make sense to keep him, just not sure how we fit Meite in as a striker considering we have Joao, as he won't get the minutes really.

We will have a tiny squad and Meite and Joao are prone to injury. We are also likely paying Azeez the top wack we are allowed to pay him. Why on earth do you think we would loan him? He will be playing every week either starting or off the bench. Crazy opinion.

It won’t be that tiny.

Probably have about 30 players with first team appearances even if a lot are the odd one from Academy players.

Current capped squad size is about 24, not counting Clarke. And we've got about 3/4 trialists in.

[SCIAG]

Now the squad is starting to take a bit more shape, thought I might take a look at depth by position.... assuming for now we play the same shape.

GK: Lumley, Bouzanis
RB: Yiadom, Abrefa
LB: ?, ?
CB: Holmes, Dann
CB: McIntyre, Dorsett
CM: ?, Tetek
CM: ?, ?
AM: ?, Camara
RW: Ince, Azeez
LW: Ejaria,
ST: Joao, Meite, ?

Obviously we could move Ince to LW (or even AM), Ejaria to AM and Meite into the first XI at RW to fill one of the four empty first XI slots. We could also put Dann in CB and move McIntyre into CM or LB and trust Tetek as first choice to bring us down to just one empty first XI slot. But neither of those is ideal.. quite risky.

Leaving out Southwood, Moore and Puscas as they are actively on the transfer list for the club.

Academy back up with senior appearances.

GK: Andresson
RB: ?
LB: ?
CB: Stickland
CB: Abbey (has he had a senior appearance yet?)
CM: Osorio
CM: Craig (no appearance but just signed)
AM: ?
RW: Leavy(?)
LW: Scott
ST: Melvin-Lambert

Leaving out Clarke and Ehib as not sure if they're under contract.

Abbey has two appearances, both in the League Cup. You could add Holzmann, either shift him to right back or Abbey to left back. On the other hand, Jokull hasn't played for the first team yet.

Other than that I don't think you've left anyone out.

[Snowflake Royal]

Now the squad is starting to take a bit more shape, thought I might take a look at depth by position.... assuming for now we play the same shape.

GK: Lumley, Bouzanis
RB: Yiadom, Abrefa
LB: ?, ?
CB: Holmes, Dann
CB: McIntyre, Dorsett
CM: ?, Tetek
CM: ?, ?
AM: ?, Camara
RW: Ince, Azeez
LW: Ejaria,
ST: Joao, Meite, ?

Obviously we could move Ince to LW (or even AM), Ejaria to AM and Meite into the first XI at RW to fill one of the four empty first XI slots. We could also put Dann in CB and move McIntyre into CM or LB and trust Tetek as first choice to bring us down to just one empty first XI slot. But neither of those is ideal.. quite risky.

Leaving out Southwood, Moore and Puscas as they are actively on the transfer list for the club.

Academy back up with senior appearances.

GK: Andresson
RB: ?
LB: ?
CB: Stickland
CB: Abbey (has he had a senior appearance yet?)
CM: Osorio
CM: Craig (no appearance but just signed)
AM: ?
RW: Leavy(?)
LW: Scott
ST: Melvin-Lambert

Leaving out Clarke and Ehib as not sure if they're under contract.

Abbey has two appearances, both in the League Cup. You could add Holzmann, either shift him to right back or Abbey to left back. On the other hand, Jokull hasn't played for the first team yet.

Other than that I don't think you've left anyone out.

Cheers... including Jokull because he's had over 40 professional appearances including at L1, so not an untested youngster... but yeah fair enough. Will add those two.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

I would doubt he has any assurances this season. But with Ince in his 30s and Meite ooc next year, it would be easy to try to sell to him on being the built in replacement for transition.

And, of course, for all we know PInce doesn’t view Meite as a wide player and Azeez is second choice... although I don't think that would be good management of Meite.

Yeah that's why potentially a loan move this season with Meite and Ince in front and then maybe more involved next season. Although if we plan to use Meite as a striker, then it would make sense to keep him, just not sure how we fit Meite in as a striker considering we have Joao, as he won't get the minutes really.

We will have a tiny squad and Meite and Joao are prone to injury. We are also likely paying Azeez the top wack we are allowed to pay him. Why on earth do you think we would loan him? He will be playing every week either starting or off the bench. Crazy opinion.

Because maybe you'd think our squad will get bigger perhaps over time? I'd like to think we'd loan him so he would get a good amount of minutes, just in case that isn't the plan here, if Meite plays as a winger. If the opinion is Meite will operate as a striker and Azeez will be an important part of our squad, then I'd happily keep him. I'm not actively saying we should loan him out, hence the word "potentially".

You got me at the bit when you said Meite is injury prone when he's had 3 injuries in his entire career and he's 26, granted a very serious one last season, and you dig at me saying my opinion is crazy?

[NathStPaul]

Yeah that's why potentially a loan move this season with Meite and Ince in front and then maybe more involved next season. Although if we plan to use Meite as a striker, then it would make sense to keep him, just not sure how we fit Meite in as a striker considering we have Joao, as he won't get the minutes really.

We will have a tiny squad and Meite and Joao are prone to injury. We are also likely paying Azeez the top wack we are allowed to pay him. Why on earth do you think we would loan him? He will be playing every week either starting or off the bench. Crazy opinion.

Because maybe you'd think our squad will get bigger perhaps over time? I'd like to think we'd loan him so he would get a good amount of minutes, just in case that isn't the plan here, if Meite plays as a winger. If the opinion is Meite will operate as a striker and Azeez will be an important part of our squad, then I'd happily keep him. I'm not actively saying we should loan him out, hence the word "potentially".

You got me at the bit when you said Meite is injury prone when he's had 3 injuries in his entire career and he's 26, granted a very serious one last season, and you dig at me saying my opinion is crazy?

So are you suggesting we sold Azeez on signing a new contract with the promise of him being surplus to requirements and loaned out to a League 1 club? That's what you actually believe?

Or you could look at it the way anybody sensible would and realise he's here to start games and it's likely Joao/Meite/both will be sold.

[blythspartan]

Please can someone who is good at setting up polls set one up in a week or 2 about where people believe we’ll finish next season. Personally, I am positive about next season but it would be good to know other peoples opinions. Hopefully, over the next 2 weeks we should see a few more signings.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

We will have a tiny squad and Meite and Joao are prone to injury. We are also likely paying Azeez the top wack we are allowed to pay him. Why on earth do you think we would loan him? He will be playing every week either starting or off the bench. Crazy opinion.

Because maybe you'd think our squad will get bigger perhaps over time? I'd like to think we'd loan him so he would get a good amount of minutes, just in case that isn't the plan here, if Meite plays as a winger. If the opinion is Meite will operate as a striker and Azeez will be an important part of our squad, then I'd happily keep him. I'm not actively saying we should loan him out, hence the word "potentially".

You got me at the bit when you said Meite is injury prone when he's had 3 injuries in his entire career and he's 26, granted a very serious one last season, and you dig at me saying my opinion is crazy?

So are you suggesting we sold Azeez on signing a new contract with the promise of him being surplus to requirements and loaned out to a League 1 club? That's what you actually believe?

Or you could look at it the way anybody sensible would and realise he's here to start games and it's likely Joao/Meite/both will be sold.

Why would we sell our best goalscorers when we can't reinvest? Unless we really had to sell to stay in line with FFP regulations, why would we sell the two players whose goals would potentially keep us up, knowing that the players we would get in would likely be worse?

No, what I am suggesting is that the club have sold his pathway into the first team, be it this season or next, in the short, medium and long-term. I never said anything about surplus to requirements either, I said what I felt my opinion would be. I would rather him go out on loan in L1 for 35+ games as opposed to being 3rd in line behind Meite and Ince, but if he has been told different and we decide to use Meite as a striker and Azeez would get the minutes, then that's fine.

But you keep talking to me about being sensible whilst just disregarding half of what I've said.

[Nameless]

If we were planning on sending Azeez on loan surely a 3 year deal, or at least a 2 with an option would have made sense. Send him on loan and as soon as he comes back he’s in ‘last season’ territory.
He’ll be a full part of the squad, he’ll get plenty of games off the bench.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

If we were planning on sending Azeez on loan surely a 3 year deal, or at least a 2 with an option would have made sense. Send him on loan and as soon as he comes back he’s in ‘last season’ territory.
He’ll be a full part of the squad, he’ll get plenty of games off the bench.

It's better than being on the fringes though, which was the point I was making.

As I say, if he is involved throughout and that's his role then obviously I'd rather keep him, but if it's more sparing usage that we were thinking for him, for this season anyway, he may be better off just having a seasons loan elsewhere. Either way, both would be good for his development.

[Zip]

If we were planning on sending Azeez on loan surely a 3 year deal, or at least a 2 with an option would have made sense. Send him on loan and as soon as he comes back he’s in ‘last season’ territory.
He’ll be a full part of the squad, he’ll get plenty of games off the bench.

Yep because having options off the bench is going to be important when you can make five subs
He won't be going anywhere.

[NathStPaul]

If we were planning on sending Azeez on loan surely a 3 year deal, or at least a 2 with an option would have made sense. Send him on loan and as soon as he comes back he’s in ‘last season’ territory.
He’ll be a full part of the squad, he’ll get plenty of games off the bench.

It's better than being on the fringes though, which was the point I was making.

As I say, if he is involved throughout and that's his role then obviously I'd rather keep him, but if it's more sparing usage that we were thinking for him, for this season anyway, he may be better off just having a seasons loan elsewhere. Either way, both would be good for his development.

He won't be on the fringes though hence why he's signed a new deal. He had bigger clubs than us after him who'd like pay more money but chose to stay at Reading for limited game time? He's clearly been told he's a huge part of things next season.

[Elm Park Kid]

When people say that the 'squad is shaping up' - do you mean in a kind of "We'll at least put up a decent fight in the relegation battle" or are you more optimistic?

I am more optimistic as I feel like Bowen knows what’s needed to avoid relegation and he’ll ensure we have a better balance to the team. Also, we’ll have a lot of new players who aren’t associated with the dross of the last 18 months.

I think this time last year Huddersfield were one of the favourites to go down and we know what happened there. If Pince and Bowen can make us hard to beat we’ll have enough firepower up top to punish teams in this league. We need to keep Joao fit and make sure we have other players that can share the load.

I'm much less optimistic. Creating a new team does provide the opportunity to get rid of old bad habits and mentalities. But fans tend to overlook the importance of having players who know how each other play. There's little point having quality up front if the rest of your team can't keep possession and supply them. And we have to compare ourselves to the rest of the league obviously - there are decent teams that get relegated every season.

I suppose my biggest concern is that we get a few months into the season and are struggling for results and the fans decide to turn on the team/management. There is no surer way of us getting relegated than Pince not being given complete support over the next season.

[Hound]

I’m not especially optimistic but am certainly more so than I was a couple of months ago

Obvs need to find that LB and and CM pairing but not miles away after that. And there is enough familiarity in the team that they should know each other pretty well with still a month or so before the new season

[YorkshireRoyal99]

If we were planning on sending Azeez on loan surely a 3 year deal, or at least a 2 with an option would have made sense. Send him on loan and as soon as he comes back he’s in ‘last season’ territory.
He’ll be a full part of the squad, he’ll get plenty of games off the bench.

It's better than being on the fringes though, which was the point I was making.

As I say, if he is involved throughout and that's his role then obviously I'd rather keep him, but if it's more sparing usage that we were thinking for him, for this season anyway, he may be better off just having a seasons loan elsewhere. Either way, both would be good for his development.

He won't be on the fringes though hence why he's signed a new deal. He had bigger clubs than us after him who'd like pay more money but chose to stay at Reading for limited game time? He's clearly been told he's a huge part of things next season.

Ok, we will see how the season plays out. Providing he isn't just wasted with limited minutes here and there, I'm not really bothered because I can see him being a success if we play our cards right.

[NathStPaul]

It's better than being on the fringes though, which was the point I was making.

As I say, if he is involved throughout and that's his role then obviously I'd rather keep him, but if it's more sparing usage that we were thinking for him, for this season anyway, he may be better off just having a seasons loan elsewhere. Either way, both would be good for his development.

He won't be on the fringes though hence why he's signed a new deal. He had bigger clubs than us after him who'd like pay more money but chose to stay at Reading for limited game time? He's clearly been told he's a huge part of things next season.

Ok, we will see how the season plays out. Providing he isn't just wasted with limited minutes here and there, I'm not really bothered because I can see him being a success if we play our cards right.

Not convinced Ince trusts Meite, I could see a scenario where Azeez will start ahead of him come the first game.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

He won't be on the fringes though hence why he's signed a new deal. He had bigger clubs than us after him who'd like pay more money but chose to stay at Reading for limited game time? He's clearly been told he's a huge part of things next season.

Ok, we will see how the season plays out. Providing he isn't just wasted with limited minutes here and there, I'm not really bothered because I can see him being a success if we play our cards right.

Not convinced Ince trusts Meite, I could see a scenario where Azeez will start ahead of him come the first game.

It's tough to say because of his injury and apparently there were reports he was struggling with an ankle problem after his knee injury as well, so he probably struggled to get fit really, as Ince did point out after Meite started against Peterborough.

I could see it as well, it would just seem a bit mad to drop Meite considering the threat he poses. Goals will be important next season, so it's imperative, for me anyway, we get Meite and Joao on the pitch as often as possible really.

[NathStPaul]

Ok, we will see how the season plays out. Providing he isn't just wasted with limited minutes here and there, I'm not really bothered because I can see him being a success if we play our cards right.

Not convinced Ince trusts Meite, I could see a scenario where Azeez will start ahead of him come the first game.

It's tough to say because of his injury and apparently there were reports he was struggling with an ankle problem after his knee injury as well, so he probably struggled to get fit really, as Ince did point out after Meite started against Peterborough.

I could see it as well, it would just seem a bit mad to drop Meite considering the threat he poses. Goals will be important next season, so it's imperative, for me anyway, we get Meite and Joao on the pitch as often as possible really.

Meite is a huge threat against tired defenders though. To have the luxury of bringing him on after 70 minutes would be great to have. He's obviously a decent player but do I see him having the discipline to track back early on in games? Maybe not.
The rumours of Shane Long coming back are growing too. If I had to pick one of our existing players that had the greatest chance of leaving it would probably be Meite, can't see why you'd need Long, Meite, Azeez, Joao and Ince.