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Which of the first 11 should be improved upon in the summer?


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Taylor, if he wasn't a crock I probably would have gone with Tiote.

 

It's nice that it's a tough decision though and not because there are numerous shit player who need to be upgraded upon asap :lol:

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We must buy another centre forward/winger though.

 

Aubameyang fits the bill for me. He gives Cisse real competition for the central spot and he can also play out wide too. It's something we need as we have struggled to create without Ben Arfa.

 

If Colo goes it goes without saying we need another centre half of comparable ability to is, as no disrespect to Taylor we can't count on him fitness wise and he at his best is a level below Colo and Yanga-Mbiwa.

 

Steven Taylor is as thick as a castle wall. In an ideal world, we'd have Colo and Yanga - Mbwia but as always, it'll not turn out that way. Would love to see a good centre half brought in to relegate Taylor to the bench. I bet soopa loyal Stevie T would hoy another transfer request in thpugh

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Semantics.

 

Ready to admit Santon cant defend yet? ;)

 

I've always said the defensive side of his game needs improving upon. Yet he has fantastic footballing ability and massive potential.

 

He needs a rest though and now we have Haidara we can give him that.

 

As somebody mentioned he's the same age as Ferguson etc yet he looks so far ahead of the rest of that group he's certainly worth persisting with.

 

He and De Sciglio are both the future starting Italian full-backs.

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I did vote for Taylor and Cisse to be improved upon,but realistically, what I want is a striker like Ba. Big, powerful, more predatory than Cisse, but not as selfish as Ba.

 

I think that's more to me liking to men up front, if we're playing the 4-5-1/4-3-3 hybrid thing, I think we'd need a more reliable great goal scorer, instead of a scorer of great goals.

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Cisse has proven over the course of his career he can be relied upon. The problem is at the moment we aren't creating enough enabling him to do so.

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I said last year that Cisse reminded me a bit of Coley in the sense of being all instinct and the comparison also extends to spells where he misses a few too many.

 

Overall I agree with Tooj - although we obviously need other string options as well.

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Cisse has proven over the course of his career he can be relied upon. The problem is at the moment we aren't creating enough enabling him to do so.

That's fair, I just think that at the moment, our 2nd choice striker is Ameobi and while he's fine for grinding the life out of a game with 15 to go, he's not exactly a threat to Cisse's starting place.

 

The other issue I'll admit to is that I'm still comparing Cisse 12/13 with Cisse 12; everything he did then was outstanding. Even the simple stuff. He's not making the right runs, he's shooting when he should pause and pausing when he should shoot.

 

I suppose my answer isn't that I'd replace Cisse, but I'd want him challenged at the very least. Fwiw, I don't think we could buy a better striker than Cisse within the boundaries that Ashley's set.

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You say that about the boundaries set yet to me we have just bought a central defender whom if he stays with us for the next few years has the potential to be the best that we have ever had in that position.

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You say that about the boundaries set yet to me we have just bought a central defender whom if he stays with us for the next few years has the potential to be the best that we have ever had in that position.

True, but strikers are (rightly or wrongly) generally valued much higher than their defensive teammates. They're also much more likely to grab attention and headlines. This means it's highly unlikely for a striker of quality to go under the radar and be of a standard that surpasses Cisse.

 

Especially the kind of striker I believe we need; that reliable 15-20, finisher.

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I said last year that Cisse reminded me a bit of Coley in the sense of being all instinct and the comparison also extends to spells where he misses a few too many.

 

Overall I agree with Tooj - although we obviously need other string options as well.

 

Totally agree on the Cole comparison and I've said it a few times. Cisse's best moments for us have been the instinctive finish, put him 1 and 1 or a penalty and he is quite unreliable

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Needless to say - broken record here - I voted for Tiote. I know he's got qualities and on his day he's a massive plus for us but too often he's a liability when on the ball and a card magnet when off it.

 

Santon has age on his side but he takes second place. Too early to judge Gouffran, but he looks a player as does Sissoko. Could do with another Cisse-level striker or better. Not as good as Ba really, I thought he might have been during that run of goals last season but I think Ba is the more clinical and consistent.

Edited by Monroe Transfer
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I've always said the defensive side of his game needs improving upon. Yet he has fantastic footballing ability and massive potential.

 

He needs a rest though and now we have Haidara we can give him that.

 

As somebody mentioned he's the same age as Ferguson etc yet he looks so far ahead of the rest of that group he's certainly worth persisting with.

 

He and De Sciglio are both the future starting Italian full-backs.

 

Spot on. CT could do with appreciating your words.

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If Santon wasn't expected to get forward and encouraged to do so people wouldn't have as much to say about his defending. He's class when that's all he's doing but we've seldom seen that in black and white.

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Its not only his failure to get back, he's constantly being pulled out of posisition when he's trying to defend as well.

 

He's not got enough of a defensive head on his shoulders, hes got midfileder stamped all over him iyam. Age has little to do with this, this is his second season and some of the mistakes he's making are pretty fundamental. Haidara is even younger, and throwing him in is a huge gamble. We'll see. Jonas not being played consistantly in front of him hasnt helped Santon this season either, and I think if Haidara is to get a run then he'll pretty much have to be chosen there.

Edited by PaddockLad
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santon plays for the italian national team and he can't defend? seriously i think you guys are smokin the good shit , just needs to get back to how he played last year.

 

He's cost us 2 goals in 2 league games

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With Jonas flattering to deceive and Santon having one of the best cut in and shots in the team, I'd like to see Santon given a chance on the wing. Tell him to basically play the same role but 50 yards further forward

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No reason to ditch any of them.

 

Santon is a proper footballer but he is young - positioning will develop as he plays more games. I'm not worried if there are occasionally slip ups. Anyone suggesting Haidara based on one Europa game against a side who basically ignored their wide men, is living in dreamland, frankly.

 

Haidara may turn out to be quality, but he'd be nothing more than a wild punt right now.

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No reason to ditch any of them.

 

Santon is a proper footballer but he is young - positioning will develop as he plays more games. I'm not worried if there are occasionally slip ups. Anyone suggesting Haidara based on one Europa game against a side who basically ignored their wide men, is living in dreamland, frankly.

 

Haidara may turn out to be quality, but he'd be nothing more than a wild punt right now.

 

With Jonas flattering to deceive and Santon having one of the best cut in and shots in the team, I'd like to see Santon given a chance on the wing. Tell him to basically play the same role but 50 yards further forward

 

Who told him he'd be better off at left back?...are we being sold a pup basically because the Italian national side are short of left backs and someones told him he's a shoe in if he can stand up and kick the ball in a straight line? :lol:

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No reason to ditch any of them.

 

Santon is a proper footballer but he is young - positioning will develop as he plays more games. I'm not worried if there are occasionally slip ups. Anyone suggesting Haidara based on one Europa game against a side who basically ignored their wide men, is living in dreamland, frankly.

 

Haidara may turn out to be quality, but he'd be nothing more than a wild punt right now.

 

Sums up my feelings about Santon. Cant expect him to be the finished article already.

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No reason to ditch any of them.

 

I wouldn't ditch any of them either, I think a club should ALWAYS look to buy for the first team though. Bring in players who are better than those who get automatic starts. Then those players are kept on their toes, fight for their place or provide cover in an improved team.

 

Taking that approach, it's the weakest links in the team that should be improved upon first of all. So who are the weakest links?

 

Santon might have been with a couple of errors in as many games, but he's set up as many goals recently with excellent runs. He's a real prospect. they're worth persevering with for long term gain rather than short term concerns.

 

Steven Taylor is reaching the Shola end of being a prospect though. Still all promise as he approaches 30. For me he will never be top class. I'd be delighted if he was sat on our bench rather than Williamson.

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We should try to get hold of Benteke if Villa goes down, he's class, he'd be the answer for Pardew's hold-up striker strategy when he puts on useless Shola.

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