new players after this promotion push???

[Sour Mash]

Aside from your timeline on the Seaborne/Hooiveld thing (see the post above), yeah I agree with that, we've slowly evolved and that's the way to do it - I think the only difference here is I'm expecting 4 or 5 new players if we go up, and others think 2 or 3 will suffice - which up until now I'd have agreed with, but I see the changes other promoted teams have had to make and hopefully we've learned from those. As mentioned above, QPR have changed almost everyone in a pretty adhoc fashion and it's not working as well as Swansea and Norwich's gradual changes.

 

Regarding Jaidi and Barnard, I suspect they're nothing like as "injured" as had been reported, same with Butterfield, but it explains them not being in the squad without affecting their possible transfer value or professional reputations, and I think that's one of the reasons Adkins gets the players' respect, he looks after them.

 

We were always going to sign "upgrades" in those positions even if they stayed fit, the Sharp/Maynard/Rodriguez rumours were around in the summer, and I know the bloke who took Ammar Jemal back to the airport after his trial.

Yep, agree with all that.

[The9]

Incidentally, the reason I knew we'd signed Hooiveld first is because I remembered the tactless Echo story which mentioned Hooiveld having signed at the end of the report about Seaborne fighting for his life, implying that he was going to be replaced anyway.

Edited 21 February, 2012 by The9
Dunno why I've started misspelling Seaborne again...

[Saintjersey]

New Goalkeeper, as mentioned someone like Schmeichel would be perfect.

 

Another top central defender would be good to push Fonte and Hooiveld for places. Martin is a good backup.

 

A fast pacy winger, Matt Philips or Redmond would be perfect IMO.

 

We don't want to make wholesale changes and I don't believe Adkins would do that anyway, but 3 or 4 players who improve the team would certainly give us a very good shot at survival.

[Sour Mash]

Incidentally, the reason I knew we'd signed Hooiveld first is because I remembered the tactless Echo story which mentioned Hooiveld having signed at the end of the report about Seaborne fighting for his life, implying that he was going to be replaced anyway.

That's the article I remembered, just couldn't work out how it fitted with the timing of the two, remember the tactless comment about signing another centre back.

[Dig Dig]

I don't have many concerns about Adkins but one of them is this.

 

He demands high-level loyalty and commitment from his players and he gives exactly the same in return. A lot of the squad closeness comes from this quality - they seem a very tight bunch.

 

The question is whether he will be able to see the need to upgrade on all those players that are key members of the current squad but may well be unable to cut the mustard in the Premiership, and there are quite a few. Kelvin is a good example of the dilemma - one of the best regarded keepers in the Championship but IMO well short of what we'd need one division up.

 

My worry is that Adkins' track record - getting promoted but arguably failing to consolidate - suggests that he might have problems in this area. My hope is that this occurred for budgetary reasons rather than excessive loyalty or tactical inability.

 

I agree that it's too early for this discussion but I sure hope that someone at the club is thinking about it.

 

Bit harsh to judge him on the events at Scunny. They really are a tiny club with vey limited resources. They would always be punching above their weight in the championship. I think NA has show this year that he's capable of signing players in key positions and then slowly integrating into the team. Hammond at the moment is a case in point... Captain of the team all of last season and start of this and now is being phased out by Morgan and Cork. I think he knows how and when to improve the team.

[Thedelldays]

I

My worry is that Adkins' track record - getting promoted but arguably failing to consolidate - suggests that he might have problems in this area. My hope is that this occurred for budgetary reasons rather than excessive loyalty or tactical inability.

 

 

are you serious...?

[CanadaSaint]

Bit harsh to judge him on the events at Scunny. They really are a tiny club with vey limited resources. They would always be punching above their weight in the championship. I think NA has show this year that he's capable of signing players in key positions and then slowly integrating into the team. Hammond at the moment is a case in point... Captain of the team all of last season and start of this and now is being phased out by Morgan and Cork. I think he knows how and when to improve the team.

 

Fair comment, and I agree completely about Scunny. However, Morgan and Corky are two of the players who IMO have yet to deliver the kind of consistent, high-level performances that would suggest they can be comfortable one league up.

 

are you serious...?

 

Yes - that was a "knock" on him when he arrived, deserved or not, although he's answered it very well this year.

 

He's done well in not just consolidating but setting the pace, but we had (as a number of posters pointed out at the time) a lot of Championship-standard players in League One, with some who even seemed capable of playing at Premiership level. That was something he never had at Scunny, but now we're talking about a much bigger jump, and that's why I have some reservations.

 

I hope - and believe - that he does know who needs replacing, and that he'll do a good job of it despite the high value he places on loyalty and togetherness. He has certainly made some very good acquisitions and worked them into our systems, as Dig Dig points out.

 

My comment wasn't a criticism of his ability so much as a concern about the dangers of excessive loyalty to players who have been great for us but probably won't be able to cope anywhere near as well in the Premiership (Kelvin being a very good example but certainly not the only one). We have to recognize and act on that before the end of August or else we have to wait an agonizing four months before the next window opens.

 

I'm voicing the concern precisely because I think he's a very loyal kind of guy.