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is everyone happy ahead of the bolton game?


Dr Gloom
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are you happier than you were this time last season? is the squad big enough? do you expect us to challenge for more with the new players and the new manager than we did under roeder and souness? how many players short are we from challenging the top 4-6? do you expect any more arrivals before the window closes? if you could sign one player or type of player who or what would it be?

 

20 questions i know but i want to talk footie. roll on the weekend. summers with no international football tournament or ashes to keep you distracted are a damp squib.

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I still think we need 2 more players, a versatile backup defender of international quality, and a big strong defensive centre midfielder like Diop, someone to push Butt for a place. I'm very happy with the squad at the moment but I think 2 more would keep us going for the season and we are definitely in for a shout for top 6.

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if we get this serbian centre half i think the defence is looking pretty good for numbers all of a sudden but we could still do with a natural right back to keep carr out of the team, although this is the one area that we can probably get by on given geremi and solano can both play there.

 

i think we're ok actually for holding midfielders - butt, geremi and barton can all do a job in that position. if i was to be really greedy, i'd try and get an attacking flair player that can give us an option out wide or in the middle. someone in the deco mould, but a more realistic target.

 

so just two more signings and i'll be lookign forward to the new season for once - i just hope we can get off to a good start. i can't remember us flying out of the traps since the year we signed robert and bellamy. a good start sets the tone for the season - as does our usual sticky start!

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I'm much happier than 12 months ago. I think another defender or two would be ideal (centre-back & right-back). If I could sign one type of player in addition to that it would be a quality attacking midfielder / playmaker type. I think someone like that would make a top 4/6 push far more realistic.

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are you happier than you were this time last season?

 

Yes - general air of competence.

 

 

is the squad big enough?

 

No - Pattison and Ramage etc too close to the bench for my liking - another couple in please

 

 

do you expect us to challenge for more with the new players and the new manager than we did under roeder and souness?

 

 

Just a prevention of abysmal losses to Wigan, Fulham etc would see us top 7 imo

 

how many players short are we from challenging the top 4-6?

 

2/3 of players who would be in the tops 4s teams/ squads - though we have one "forgotten" one in Duff.

 

 

if you could sign one player or type of player who or what would it be?

 

A "flying" winger would be my priority.

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I'd love to see someone like Riquelme at the club, in fact, not just someone, but him. The trouble with a player like him however is that he needs 2 CMs working with him the whole time for him to be effective, like Argentina have with Mascherano and Cambiasso. It's not just that he can't put himself about and run around like most English type CMs but that he needs people around him to win the ball, and give it to him so he can find his own space to have time on the ball where he can make best use of his stunning technical ability and creative play. I think that in Geremi, Butt, and Barton we have the type of player that can win ball for Riquelme but Sam will be wanting to play 4-4-2 much of the time as we have 6 capable Strikers on our books, especially at home where we should be beating 80% of the league.

Edited by bassplayerjj
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are you happier than you were this time last season? is the squad big enough?

Yes, the general state of the club does look better on paper now. Allardyce proved (without really spending much more) to be far more competent in the transfer market and the squad starts to get depth although there is still a lack of quality in it.

 

do you expect us to challenge for more with the new players and the new manager than we did under roeder and souness?

Difficult to answer. Expecting not, hoping yes. But Roeder and Souness should have reached far better final positions with the squads to their disposal. We do have a fixture lists that suits us and with a good start into the season a lot looks possible. But as long as we see improvement in all areas I will be happy without being too bothered about the final league position.

 

how many players short are we from challenging the top 4-6?

Still a lot. We are lacking genuine class in most areas and it's not yet known how the new players will fit into the league.

 

do you expect any more arrivals before the window closes?

Yes, I think we will still see one or two players arriving.

 

if you could sign one player or type of player who or what would it be?

A creative player for the centre of the park who has flair and can dictate the game (good set pieces would be a bonus).

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I'd love to see someone like Riquelme at the club, in fact, not just someone, but him. The trouble with a player like him however is that he needs 2 CMs working with him the whole time for him to be effective, like Argentina have with Mascherano and Cambiasso. It's not just that he can't put himself about and run around like most English type CMs but that he needs people around him to win the ball, and give it to him so he can find his own space to have time on the ball where he can make best use of his stunning technical ability and creative play. I think that in Geremi, Butt, and Barton we have the type of player that can win ball for Riquelme but Sam will be wanting to play 4-4-2 much of the time as we have 6 capable Strikers on our books, especially at home where we should be beating 80% of the league.

Outstanding player but I'm not sure reqielme would cut it in the premiership tbh.

 

hes got the physique and the strength and obviously the technique but as quoted above he needs to be the focal point ie, the team is built around him in order to help him do his stuff.

 

he certainly wouldnt get the time and space on the ball like in la liga (or in the argie league).

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are you happier than you were this time last season? Yes, by a country mile

is the squad big enough? do you expect us to challenge for more with the new players and the new manager than we did under roeder and souness? Ofcourse

how many players short are we from challenging the top 4-6? Top four, probably 3. A world class play maker, a world class centre back and a new, fairly good right back. Top six I believe we can already challenge.

do you expect any more arrivals before the window closes? Who knows? We've went from not having any money to splashing £12million in the space of a week. Everything pretty much came out of the blue.

if you could sign one player or type of player who or what would it be? I'd love to get a real creative midfielder to supply balls to the front two. We've got so much pace up front I think it'd make a massive difference.

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Overall you've got to be far happier going into this season than last.

We have a manger who's not trying to do a job that's far beyond him,

an new owner who's idea of sucess isn't the be in the papers shouting his fat mouth off every week,

Owen's not out for the whole season,

we have made most of our signings before the season has begun,

we have a leftback for the first time in years,

we've added proven quality in Barton, Viduka, Geremi and Smith and what looks like good quality (judging by what we have seen and the reaction of the Villereal fans),

we've got shot of Bramble so we don't have to wait for his inevitable cock up every game

and it's looking less and less likely that we will need to play Ramage, Huntington & Edgar for large parts of the season.

 

The expectation has got to be that we can do a lot better than last season in every area. That said, I still think we are way off the top four and Spurs but I think we should be a match for the likes of Everton, Blackburn and most of the other teams who finished above us last term.

 

My only worry's are the apparent lack of any real attacking explosion from midfield (N'Zogbia is still working his way back up from where he ended under Roeder, Emre is yet to deliver in anything more than fits and starts while his injuries remain a concern, Duff hasn't delivered at all and tbh looked finished on many occasions last season, Nobby still has quality but offers no pace, and I am still to be convinced by Milner) and our rightback (Carr is a fucking idiot which leaves us with only players who should be nothing more than cover there by rights (Geremi, Nobby, Taylor and Cacapa)).

 

If I had the choice of signings I think there is still three players we need;

A Rightback

A pacy, skillfull attacking midfielder

A defender who can cover leftback and in the middle (like this Drago apparently is).

 

However it is probably asking way too much to get all of those in this summer so tbh I would be more than happy with one of them and if Sam works his magic then I think challenging for 6th place and a Wafa cup spot is what we should be looking to.

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Guest stevieintoon

are you happier than you were this time last season? I'm as happy as Sima on giro day.

is the squad big enough? do you expect us to challenge for more with the new players and the new manager than we did under roeder and souness? Is Skol a nobhead?

how many players short are we from challenging the top 4-6? Genuinely I believe in my heart we can finish above Tottenham. Their defence is shite, and don't give me bollocks about Gareth Bale, he's 18, good going forward, still not the finished product defensively, and has a lot to learn. When King's not there, they're shite, and don't get me started on the differences between Robinson and Given. As for wor midfield, hand on heart I'd rather have wors, and I'd rather have wor strikers than their's (honestly). 5th is not unreasonable.do you expect any more arrivals before the window closes? I would honestly like us to see Juan Roman Riquelme here, he could open a tin of beans from 40 yards, he's slow but so fuck, you can never have too many good players.

if you could sign one player or type of player who or what would it be? As above.

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are you happier than you were this time last season? I'm as happy as Sima on giro day.

is the squad big enough? do you expect us to challenge for more with the new players and the new manager than we did under roeder and souness? Is Skol a nobhead?

how many players short are we from challenging the top 4-6? Genuinely I believe in my heart we can finish above Tottenham. Their defence is shite, and don't give me bollocks about Gareth Bale, he's 18, good going forward, still not the finished product defensively, and has a lot to learn. When King's not there, they're shite, and don't get me started on the differences between Robinson and Given. As for wor midfield, hand on heart I'd rather have wors, and I'd rather have wor strikers than their's (honestly). 5th is not unreasonable.do you expect any more arrivals before the window closes? I would honestly like us to see Juan Roman Riquelme here, he could open a tin of beans from 40 yards, he's slow but so fuck, you can never have too many good players.

if you could sign one player or type of player who or what would it be? As above.

 

These unprovoked attacks are getting fairly tedious Stevie :icon_lol:

 

Care to tell me what i've done now?

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if we get this serbian centre half i think the defence is looking pretty good for numbers all of a sudden but we could still do with a natural right back to keep carr out of the team, although this is the one area that we can probably get by on given geremi and solano can both play there.

 

i think we're ok actually for holding midfielders - butt, geremi and barton can all do a job in that position. if i was to be really greedy, i'd try and get an attacking flair player that can give us an option out wide or in the middle. someone in the deco mould, but a more realistic target.

 

so just two more signings and i'll be lookign forward to the new season for once - i just hope we can get off to a good start. i can't remember us flying out of the traps since the year we signed robert and bellamy. a good start sets the tone for the season - as does our usual sticky start!

 

There's no way you want Barton playing defensive midfield. He's not that type of player.

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Reckon we're good to go for the Bolton game. Would like to think that Sam could bring in a couple of more players - possibly a right back and an attacking CM although we've got Dyer back now and Smith can operate there also.

Personally think we'll be pushing the top 6 provided injuries dont get the better of us again.

One player would have to prioritise and say a RB

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Guest stevieintoon
if we get this serbian centre half i think the defence is looking pretty good for numbers all of a sudden but we could still do with a natural right back to keep carr out of the team, although this is the one area that we can probably get by on given geremi and solano can both play there.

 

i think we're ok actually for holding midfielders - butt, geremi and barton can all do a job in that position. if i was to be really greedy, i'd try and get an attacking flair player that can give us an option out wide or in the middle. someone in the deco mould, but a more realistic target.

 

so just two more signings and i'll be lookign forward to the new season for once - i just hope we can get off to a good start. i can't remember us flying out of the traps since the year we signed robert and bellamy. a good start sets the tone for the season - as does our usual sticky start!

 

There's no way you want Barton playing defensive midfield. He's not that type of player.

I agree, but my mind is buzzing at the amount of possibilities we have. When the whole squad is fit, our second choice team would comfortably stay up. It's a nice problem to have but one of the main difficulties will be keeping everyone happy. I think the player who will find his opportunities most limited will be big Shola. Think what we were going in to the last game of 2005/2006 withm Shola, fuckin Chopra, Pattison and O'Brien getting games. If anyone had've said in 15 months time, we'd have Viduka, Duff, Smith, Martins etc... I'd have thought they weren't aal there.

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I'm much happier than 12 months ago. I think another defender or two would be ideal (centre-back & right-back). If I could sign one type of player in addition to that it would be a quality attacking midfielder / playmaker type. I think someone like that would make a top 4/6 push far more realistic.

 

 

I'm a lot happier now than I was a week or so ago, before we brought in the last crop of signing (before that squad was paper thin even without Europe this year).

 

But yeah, just like last season we still need a quality attacking/playmaking midfielder, if we're looking at Europe anyway (and yeah probably a little bit more defensively too).

 

 

 

 

 

Having said that considering it has effectively been almost a complete team rebuilding off-season, I don't think we can really complain now if this is all we get.

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I'm much happier than 12 months ago. I think another defender or two would be ideal (centre-back & right-back). If I could sign one type of player in addition to that it would be a quality attacking midfielder / playmaker type. I think someone like that would make a top 4/6 push far more realistic.

 

 

I'm a lot happier now than I was a week or so ago, before we brought in the last crop of signing (before that squad was paper thin even without Europe this year).

 

But yeah, just like last season we still need a quality attacking/playmaking midfielder, if we're looking at Europe anyway (and yeah probably a little bit more defensively too).

 

 

 

 

 

Having said that considering it has effectively been almost a complete team rebuilding off-season, I don't think we can really complain now if this is all we get.

That's it. Allardyce had a massive task imo. Could you imagine Roeder trying to get the players in he has? New contract for Bramble would probably have been part of his solution. The manager has done very well in difficult circumstances I think.

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I am 100% happier than I was this time last season and the season before that. Well, truth be told, I havent been this buzzing about a start of a season since SBR was manager. The recent arrival of defenders and Alan Smith has definatley calmed me down compared to a week or so ago.

 

The arrival of Big Sam wouldnt have been my first choice, but now with the methods and the players etc he has brought in I am very impressed by the new era at SJP. He has been saying the right things in interviews etc and it hasnt been easy for him with the goings on in the background with Ashley etc.

 

I think we have recruited well to press and got rid of the players that we all wanted rid of. I would still like us to let Ramage, Carr, Babayaro and Dyer (possibley Owen if his fitness still isnt good by Jan, but who would want a crock?) definatley go but without replacements at the ready we should, for now at least hold onto them before the squad does get paper thin. In my opinion, we still need a RB and a CB/LB or a player that can comfortably play along the whole back four. We still are short of good cover incase the SJP curse falls on any of our new boys.

 

If I could sign one player it would have to be a creative midfielder. I think we have the fire power for sure, but do we have someone who can put the ball into the box enough or do a bit of magic to open the defence?

 

Do we?

 

COME ON THE TOON

Edited by wykikitoon
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if we get this serbian centre half i think the defence is looking pretty good for numbers all of a sudden but we could still do with a natural right back to keep carr out of the team, although this is the one area that we can probably get by on given geremi and solano can both play there.

 

i think we're ok actually for holding midfielders - butt, geremi and barton can all do a job in that position. if i was to be really greedy, i'd try and get an attacking flair player that can give us an option out wide or in the middle. someone in the deco mould, but a more realistic target.

 

so just two more signings and i'll be lookign forward to the new season for once - i just hope we can get off to a good start. i can't remember us flying out of the traps since the year we signed robert and bellamy. a good start sets the tone for the season - as does our usual sticky start!

 

There's no way you want Barton playing defensive midfield. He's not that type of player.

 

i'd sooner play barton alongside someone that can give him more license to attack but i'm pretty sure he's competent enough to do a job there if the likes of butt and geremi are inured.

 

my point was that we're well covered for players that can do a job in that position and we're not blessed with as many creative types.

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what alex said.

 

we aren't currently a top 6 side and we have spent far less than most and have a better first team for it. squad wise we are lacking (honestly i'm a better footballer than that fat dickhead pattison), and despite us getting some good players, we don't have that many players that can create as well as we have in the past. thats my biggest gripe.

 

once the seasons underway i reckon we'll do ok around 7th or 8th. if we find someone that can create goals consistently then we could get top 6. no better than that this season.

 

oh and if we could i'd love to see riquelme here. proper footballer.

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I'm much happier than 12 months ago. I think another defender or two would be ideal (centre-back & right-back). If I could sign one type of player in addition to that it would be a quality attacking midfielder / playmaker type. I think someone like that would make a top 4/6 push far more realistic.

 

 

I'm a lot happier now than I was a week or so ago, before we brought in the last crop of signing (before that squad was paper thin even without Europe this year).

 

But yeah, just like last season we still need a quality attacking/playmaking midfielder, if we're looking at Europe anyway (and yeah probably a little bit more defensively too).

 

 

 

 

 

Having said that considering it has effectively been almost a complete team rebuilding off-season, I don't think we can really complain now if this is all we get.

That's it. Allardyce had a massive task imo. Could you imagine Roeder trying to get the players in he has? New contract for Bramble would probably have been part of his solution. The manager has done very well in difficult circumstances I think.

 

Totally agree but I can't help feeling a 'great' start to the season is imperative, that means don't lose a game in our first 6 and win at least 4 of them. The fans would be right behind the new regime then....happy days

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what alex said.

 

we aren't currently a top 6 side and we have spent far less than most and have a better first team for it. squad wise we are lacking (honestly i'm a better footballer than that fat dickhead pattison), and despite us getting some good players, we don't have that many players that can create as well as we have in the past. thats my biggest gripe.

 

once the seasons underway i reckon we'll do ok around 7th or 8th. if we find someone that can create goals consistently then we could get top 6. no better than that this season.

 

oh and if we could i'd love to see riquelme here. proper footballer.

I was thinking about the same too. Everton have Arteta, Blackburn have Pedersen ... these players can decide a match by a goal or a fantastic assist. We are lacking that type of player at the moment. Ok we have Emre who could be our playmaker but he is inconsistent and injury prone.

 

I don't think we can get that type of player in this summer, but it should be our goal in the next transfer windows.

 

On the topic:

 

I am really optimistic about the new season. Like many of you i was a little afraid a week or so ago, but the singings in defence are really encouraging. Plus we have the best english manager, a good tactician, and who proved he can bring the best out of his squad.

Can't wait for Bolton!

Edited by marci
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I'm much happier than 12 months ago. I think another defender or two would be ideal (centre-back & right-back). If I could sign one type of player in addition to that it would be a quality attacking midfielder / playmaker type. I think someone like that would make a top 4/6 push far more realistic.

 

 

I'm a lot happier now than I was a week or so ago, before we brought in the last crop of signing (before that squad was paper thin even without Europe this year).

 

But yeah, just like last season we still need a quality attacking/playmaking midfielder, if we're looking at Europe anyway (and yeah probably a little bit more defensively too).

 

 

 

 

 

Having said that considering it has effectively been almost a complete team rebuilding off-season, I don't think we can really complain now if this is all we get.

That's it. Allardyce had a massive task imo. Could you imagine Roeder trying to get the players in he has? New contract for Bramble would probably have been part of his solution. The manager has done very well in difficult circumstances I think.

 

Heh aye, I do think Roeder might have brought a couple of our signings in, but I doubt very much any of the current defensive ones or midfield ones for that matter and we would have kept a lot of the dead wood too I'm sure (and who knows how much we'd have spent too).

 

I'm pretty impressed now (despite it looking a bit iffy a week or two ago) with what Allardyce has done, and for not a huge amount of money too, all things considered (especially looking at West Ham and Man City).

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On the topic:

 

I am really optimistic about the new season. Like many of you i was a little afraid a week or so ago, but the singings in defence are really encouraging. Plus we have the best english manager, a good tactician, and who proved he can bring the best out of his squad.

Can't wait for Bolton!

 

Actually what is worrying me most of all now (apart from maybe injuries) is McClaren screwing up England and the FA coming in for Allardyce.

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