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How should we Strengthen in Jan?

ally_uk

By ally_uk,
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sambosa75

sambosa75

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Someone to link midfield to attack. I think Jay Rod and Austin are adequate unless someone very special becomes available and more of a problem is getting more bodies in to the box and in attacking positions from midfield. A midfielder with a penchant for late runs, direct dribbling and an ability to smash it in the top corner from 25 yards every so often would be my choice.

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mrfahaji

mrfahaji

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Someone to link midfield to attack. I think Jay Rod and Austin are adequate unless someone very special becomes available and more of a problem is getting more bodies in to the box and in attacking positions from midfield. A midfielder with a penchant for late runs, direct dribbling and an ability to smash it in the top corner from 25 yards every so often would be my choice.

 

I doubt Gylfi Sigurdsson would come to us.

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FriendlySaint

FriendlySaint

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Posted (edited)
Central Defender to blood in before the summer

 

Who?

 

We have Yoshida and Gardos who are good enough for this level. I believe Gardos is back from injury now and obviously fourth choice. He's shown he's good enough for us before.

 

In the mean time we have Van Dijk plus one of Fonte and Yoshida as centre backs.

 

Realistically we are going to have to wait until we've off-loaded a centre back before signing one. There isn't really a viable option out there we can realistically sign that would get game time before the summer.

 

The club seem to have decided Harrison Reed will be defensive midfield back up long term. We have a good squad to be honest, I like the depth of it. We've got decent back up everywhere and it explains our cup run and league position.

 

I'm looking at us and in every defensive position we've got good back up and rotation options. Same for defensive and central midfield, same for both wings and striker. Very good position to be in.

 

I think it will be very very interesting how the second half of the season goes. Last few seasons we've tended to drop off and struggle towards the back end of the season. Due to lack of rotation and constantly picking the same eleven. This season we have rotated massively. As a result despite Europe and a great league cup run the players are looking very sharp. Puel has handled the squad very very well.

 

I'm really struggling to find a position we can realistically strengthen without spending silly money on an attacker. Which would be a gamble. Firstly the player might struggle and not be a success. And with us being loaded with attackers , it might create unrest in the squad as a result of frustration for one or two big name attackers in our squad. The one that is at the front for me is a goalscoring central midfielder, or someone that can make the team tick like Davis did against Bournemotuh..but do it better than Davis. These players are like gold dust though.

 

We need to appreciate we have plenty of internationals. Steven Davis for example is proven on the international stage. I feel like what we don't need to do is replace Davis by any means, we need another Davis type player to rotate with him. If Davis was at his best, or just completely fresh, every game for us we would be a nightmare to play. We need 2 of him to rotate..it begs the question which players are similar to Davis that play in the same mould? And who is better than plays in the same mould? Who is out there that scores often from central midfield...that can defend? They are so rare I can't think of a goalscoring central midfielder (that has defensive IQ) for us to sign, signing a Davis type player is going to be a much easier and safer job probably

 

People think we are weak at right back, or it's been claimed in the past. But who is actually without a question better than Cedric/Martina in rotation? There aren't many right backs better at all, loads are on their level... But the ones better (very very few out there are better. Cedric is a euros winner, yet Martina seems to be on his level. Yoshida has kept Fonte out the side. It's a reflection of how solid Yoshida and Martina are now.) aren't realistic options for us..we've realistically hit the ceiling with our entire side and squad we scout a hidden gem. We are so stacked though in every position I don't know which position we are going to attempt to sign a player in. I think if we don't sell anyone we won't sign anyone in January, our squad is too strong

Edited by FriendlySaint
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Give it to Ron

Give it to Ron

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Posted
Who?

 

We have Yoshida and Gardos who are good enough for this level. I believe Gardos is back from injury now and obviously fourth choice. He's shown he's good enough for us before.

 

In the mean time we have Van Dijk plus one of Fonte and Yoshida as centre backs.

 

Realistically we are going to have to wait until we've off-loaded a centre back before signing one. There isn't really a viable option out there we can realistically sign that would get game time before the summer.

 

The club seem to have decided Harrison Reed will be defensive midfield back up long term. We have a good squad to be honest, I like the depth of it. We've got decent back up everywhere and it explains our cup run and league position.

 

I'm looking at us and in every defensive position we've got good back up and rotation options. Same for defensive and central midfield, same for both wings and striker. Very good position to be in.

 

I think it will be very very interesting how the second half of the season goes. Last few seasons we've tended to drop off and struggle towards the back end of the season. Due to lack of rotation and constantly picking the same eleven. This season we have rotated massively. As a result despite Europe and a great league cup run the players are looking very sharp. Puel has handled the squad very very well.

 

I'm really struggling to find a position we can realistically strengthen without spending silly money on an attacker. Which would be a gamble. Firstly the player might struggle and not be a success. And with us being loaded with attackers , it might create unrest in the squad as a result of frustration for one or two big name attackers in our squad. The one that is at the front for me is a goalscoring central midfielder, or someone that can make the team tick like Davis did against Bournemotuh..but do it better than Davis. These players are like gold dust though.

 

We need to appreciate we have plenty of internationals. Steven Davis for example is proven on the international stage. I feel like what we don't need to do is replace Davis by any means, we need another Davis type player to rotate with him. If Davis was at his best, or just completely fresh, every game for us we would be a nightmare to play. We need 2 of him to rotate..it begs the question which players are similar to Davis that play in the same mould? And who is better than plays in the same mould? Who is out there that scores often from central midfield...that can defend? They are so rare I can't think of a goalscoring central midfielder (that has defensive IQ) for us to sign, signing a Davis type player is going to be a much easier and safer job probably

 

People think we are weak at right back, or it's been claimed in the past. But who is actually without a question better than Cedric/Martina in rotation? There aren't many right backs better at all, loads are on their level... But the ones better (very very few out there are better. Cedric is a euros winner, yet Martina seems to be on his level. Yoshida has kept Fonte out the side. It's a reflection of how solid Yoshida and Martina are now.) aren't realistic options for us..we've realistically hit the ceiling with our entire side and squad we scout a hidden gem. We are so stacked though in every position I don't know which position we are going to attempt to sign a player in. I think if we don't sell anyone we won't sign anyone in January, our squad is too strong

 

Simunovic from Celtic. Semedo or try a punt on Ake

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Toomer

Toomer

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The chances of picking up players that will be an improvement on what we currently have in the January window is highly unlikely we might have to settle for a couple of loans and that will depend on what the so called big clubs have what they feel are surplus to requirement.

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SaintTex

SaintTex

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in January? probably not a whole lot if you look at it. Put yourself in the mind of Katrina, Ralph and Les.. why do we need to strengthen in January if we don't sell any players?

 

01) we don't need to strengthen to avoid relegation

 

02) strengthening would likely not propel us into the Top 6.

 

03) strengthening would have little to no impact on the EFL Cup run. (I guess you could debate that, but how many January transfers make an immediate impact?)

 

04) we really aren't on the cusp of anything that strengthening the team in January would put us over the top.

 

Now I agree, it might be prudent to get a CB in here January instead of late August, as it looks like Fonte is going (possibly in Jan) and VvD is looking around, but honestly.. I would be surprised to see that much movement from the club this winter, especially with historically inflated prices for January transfers.

 

So,

 

if Fonte and VvD go this summer, we are looking at £60mil to play with. Where do you put it?

 

GK

 

For all the whining, we are set here. Good backup too.

 

CB - (£15mil) (add one player)

 

I think we go out and get a real quality CB and give Yoshida a starting nod at the other CB position 2016/2017 (I have been one of his harshest critics, but he has really stepped up this season in the CB role). It's risky, but it's really hard to imagine 2 new CBs in the starting XI next year.

 

FB

 

We are good and have depth. Don't forget, Pied will be back (fingers crossed)

 

midfield - (£33mil) (two players)

 

we have a TON of good (not great players) here. Tons of depth. Defensively sound, but we need to find ways to get more dynamism into the offense via the midfield. Someone mentioned better link up players, those who think forward first, instead of backwards. The bulk of the transfer kitty after getting a CB should be injected here.

 

wingers

 

we are good

 

strikers - (£12mil) (add one player)

 

Maybe we add another in the £10mil to £12mil player to add depth and competition, but really, with proper distribution JRod, Austin, and Long have shown they can get the job done. (Long to a lesser extent)

 

or I could be full it :p

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The9

The9

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What needs to be strengthened? problem areas that need to be addressed?

 

I'd get rid of our entitled whiners and get more people who don't throw childish wobblers every time they don't get their own way with the result.

 

Oh, did you mean the team?

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The9

The9

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I doubt Gylfi Sigurdsson would come to us.

 

He plays for Swansea, in case you hadn't noticed. Aside from their League Cup win against then 4th tier Bradford they've done nothing we haven't bettered in the past 5 years. Whether we choose to try and outbid the likes of Stoke or Leicester is a different matter.

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RobM

RobM

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Realistically we are going to have to wait until we've off-loaded a centre back before signing one. There isn't really a viable option out there we can realistically sign that would get game time before the summer.

 

We signed Austin as Pelle's replacement, before Pelle left, because we knew he was going to leave. There's no reason we can't or won't do the same again, as it seems inevitable Fonte, VVD or both of them are going to leave. Even if by some Christmas miracle both stay another season, Fonte needs proactively replacing before he becomes a risk in a position we can't afford to take risks in.

 

Gardos may well be the answer, but as we've seen with JRod, injuries can either take a very, very long time to come back from, or can change you forever.

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SuperSAINT

SuperSAINT

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Posted
He plays for Swansea, in case you hadn't noticed. Aside from their League Cup win against then 4th tier Bradford they've done nothing we haven't bettered in the past 5 years. Whether we choose to try and outbid the likes of Stoke or Leicester is a different matter.

 

We were mentioned along with Everton as having interest in him before he signed his contract.

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SaffaSaint

SaffaSaint

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Really dont get the constant love in with Sehneiderlin on here. He's a good player but if anyone suggested spunking 20mil on another defensive mid that couldnt get into a top 6 side theyd be laughed out of the place. He did well for us and grew with us as we came up from league one days but on current form he wouldnt displace Davis, Classie or Romeu in our first 11

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Batman

Batman

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Really dont get the constant love in with Sehneiderlin on here. He's a good player but if anyone suggested spunking 20mil on another defensive mid that couldnt get into a top 6 side theyd be laughed out of the place. He did well for us and grew with us as we came up from league one days but on current form he wouldnt displace Davis, Classie or Romeu in our first 11

 

not on current form no. but he is miles better than his current form.

probably better than all of our CMs on a regular basis when given a run in the side

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Graffito

Graffito

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Posted
Really dont get the constant love in with Sehneiderlin on here. He's a good player but if anyone suggested spunking 20mil on another defensive mid that couldnt get into a top 6 side theyd be laughed out of the place. He did well for us and grew with us as we came up from league one days but on current form he wouldnt displace Davis, Classie or Romeu in our first 11

 

Would any club be foolish enough to buy a player based on current form? The club knows this players capabilities inside out so no risk on that score. In any case I believe it's a theoretical discussion because I think he'll sign for Everton.

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St Louis

St Louis

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Posted
No just saying he's a better PL manager than Puel will ever be

 

I dont get on here enough to know which people are the jokers, who is being sarcastic, etc so sorry if Ive bitten here.....

 

Are you talking about the same Alan Pardew who has guided Crystal Palace's most expensively ever assembled squad to the lowest points total of all 92 league teams in 2016? With just 6 wins?

 

Against our new manager who has had to pick up a squad who had lost Mane, Pelle and Wanyama and has guided us to 7th at Christmas and in our first proper Semi Final for years!!? Given there is an obvious 'Big 6' in the Premier League, is 7th not a massive achievement and basically puts us top of our league?

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Chez

Chez

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Schneiderlin left us and it didn't work for him but there is no way he would replace his successors, his day with us is done. He's filled his bank account, we've filled his place

 

With Classie? Do me a favour. Couldn't lace Morgan's boots.

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SKD

SKD

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Posted
Just can't see Reed sanctioning it, even at £10M, but it would make a great deal of sense.

 

But the thing is, it wouldn't.

 

We have the second best defensive record in the league. We need a creative CM, not another defensive one.

 

Agree that MS is, or was, better than what we currently have, but (unless we get two CM's in January, which won't happen) he is not the sort of player we currently need.

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Saint Martini

Saint Martini

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Schneiderlin would be our best cm if he cane back. He's still only 27 and at 15-20 million pounds a worthwhile investment. However we currently have a lot of CMs. Who do you seek if he comes back? Two months ago I'd have said Clasie without hesitating. Now I'm not so sure, he's been very good in recent matches and has finally adapted to the tempo in the PL. Loaning Read to a Championship team would only postpone the problem to the summer.

 

A new CM would be a luxury, a new striker is a necessity. It doesn't have to be a permanent transfer, a loan would work just as well. Especially if you don't want to block Gallagher's path into the first team.

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StDunko

StDunko

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WBA bid is closer to £13m than £18m......apparently

what a cracking signing that would be for that cash

 

Obviously you would need to consider the combination of transfer fee and wages before deciding if it would be cracking signing for the cash.

 

£20m fee and £60k p/w wages would be a much better deal than £10m fee and £150k p/w wages over 5 years.

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