So is this how it looks now, hard to keep track!

GK - Sanchez, Jorgensen, Bettnelli

RB - James, Gusto

CB - Fofana, Colwill, Disasi, Badiashille, Tosin

LB - Cucurella, Veiga

CM - Lavia, Enzo, Caicedo, Dewsbury Hall

10 - Nkunku, Felix, Palmer

LW - Neto, Mudryk

RW - Madueke, Sancho

ST - Jackson, Guiu

Unwanted - D.Fofana, Chukwumeka, Chilwell, Casadei. Not going to list the youth players.

So a squad of 24 (if I'm right) seems more manageable than what the media will have you believe

5 minutes ago, AJMurphy25 said:

So is this how it looks now, hard to keep track!

GK - Sanchez, Jorgensen, Bettnelli

RB - James, Gusto

CB - Fofana, Colwill, Disasi, Badiashille, Tosin

LB - Cucurella, Veiga

CM - Lavia, Enzo, Caicedo, Dewsbury Hall

10 - Nkunku, Felix, Palmer

LW - Neto, Mudryk

RW - Madueke, Sancho

ST - Jackson, Guiu

Unwanted - D.Fofana, Chukwumeka, Chilwell, Casadei. Not going to list the youth players.

So a squad of 24 (if I'm right) seems more manageable than what the media will have you believe

So…..before I go to bed. Final thoughts

Need to get Chilly and Chuck back in the squad. Taking out Badi or Disasi and Mudryk. A little more unbalanced but it’s what I would do. 

Midfield lacks depth. Centre backs lack quality. The rest is fine in my opinion. Despite not getting a proven striker, we should have enough talent and fire power up top to get goals.

16 hours ago, yaz said:

Midfield lacks depth. Centre backs lack quality. The rest is fine in my opinion. Despite not getting a proven striker, we should have enough talent and fire power up top to get goals.

Yeah.

I agree with this. 
 

also I think or goal keepers are below par. 
 

I keep saying defensively including GK we look below average and, that’s what might make us fall short of top4

Edited August 31, 20241 yr by Jezq8

I read that and weep a little thinking of the days of squads packed with the likes of Lampard, Essien, Ballach Drogba, Costa, Cech, Robben, Terry, Carvalho, Cole etc etc.

It puts me more in mind of the days of Droy, Fillery, Walker, Chivers Wicks etc.

17 hours ago, AJMurphy25 said:

So is this how it looks now, hard to keep track!

GK - Sanchez, Jorgensen, Bettnelli

RB - James, Gusto

CB - Fofana, Colwill, Disasi, Badiashille, Tosin

LB - Cucurella, Veiga

CM - Lavia, Enzo, Caicedo, Dewsbury Hall

10 - Nkunku, Felix, Palmer

LW - Neto, Mudryk

RW - Madueke, Sancho

ST - Jackson, Guiu

Unwanted - D.Fofana, Chukwumeka, Chilwell, Casadei. Not going to list the youth players.

So a squad of 24 (if I'm right) seems more manageable than what the media will have you believe

He can add a few more to that list for the 25man squad registration on Sept 13th (?).

I count 9 homegrown on there too, only need 8 and anyone under 21 doesn't need to be registered. 

I don't have a list of all their ages atm but guiu and lavia (20 right?) can come off the official register which frees up space for a couple of "unwanted" over 21.

Homegrown in bold without lavia.

Did I miss any?

How many home grown required by uefa? Is it different?

Edited August 31, 20241 yr by Simplymo

17 hours ago, AJMurphy25 said:

So is this how it looks now, hard to keep track!

GK - Sanchez, Jorgensen, Bettnelli

RB - James, Gusto

CB - Fofana, Colwill, Disasi, Badiashille, Tosin

LB - Cucurella, Veiga

CM - Lavia, Enzo, Caicedo, Dewsbury Hall

10 - Nkunku, Felix, Palmer

LW - Neto, Mudryk

RW - Madueke, Sancho

ST - Jackson, Guiu

Unwanted - D.Fofana, Chukwumeka, Chilwell, Casadei. Not going to list the youth players.

So a squad of 24 (if I'm right) seems more manageable than what the media will have you believe

I think Acheampong will stay with the main squad, and possibly also Tyrique George (albeit his pathway to minutes is now additionally blocked by Sancho)

Still a top CB and top striker short and in hindsight we should have kept Big Les for depth.

overall I am happy with the squad though, albeit with a couple of holes that need plugging in January.

Have to remember, in 2 months time half our squad will be injured. 

1 hour ago, bisright1 said:

Have to remember, in 2 months time half our squad will be injured. 

I really hope not, we are due some luck with injuries. ☹️

A very unbalanced team, with a great attacking lineup on paper, but weak defensively and sh*t depth of CB and midfield.

Attackers

- Very good ones: Palmer can get to world class level; Madueke has started very well and, if he continues, can become a very good winger for us.

- Very good ones but injury prone: Nkunku can be very good if he avoids injuries; Neto, I quite liked him at wolves, let’s hope he stays injury free.

- Very good but inconsistent: Felix has a fantastic technique but does not like to work hard and he is very inconsistent as proven at Atlético, Chelsea previous loan and Barcelona; Sancho was very promising but he’s not shown it lately and there are reports of attitude issues.

- Good but need developing: Jackson is leading the line and he can score but is not very clinical at the moment, he’s still learning the trade; I like what Guiu brings but, at 18 yo, he will make mistakes and I hope we’ve got the patience to let him mature as striker. We’d definitely need a more experienced CF but there aren’t any that convince me for different reasons (Toney, his addiction; Osimhen, I don’t think he’s that good).

- Given up on them: Mudryk is not very good, to say the least. He’s getting chance after chance and he just doesn’t show any progress. Sell.

Defenders

- Very good but injury prone: James is world class when fit but he’s so injury prone that we hardly see him on the pitch these days.

- Potentially very good: Colwill can reach high levels and I hope he does; Fofana can be very good but he’s coming back from almost two seasons without football. They can become a solid CB pairing this season.

- Good: Cucurella, despite all his detractors, finished well last season, had a very good Euros with Spain and, in my opinion, has started well this season; Gusto was very good last season but has started a bit slow this one, I’m not convinced about his inverted role, Maresca should invert Cucu and let Gusto do his thing roaming up and down the right side. 

- Undecided yet: Veiga could be a surprise, but we don’t yet know.

- Dross: Badiashille, Disasi and Tosin, the fewer times that we see them on the pitch, the better.

Midfield

We have a very unbalanced midfield too, very easy to cut through it, and we haven’t got a solvent DM, which we’ve been crying out for one since the days of Jorginho. 

We’ve got good midfielders but they do not work well together, Enzo and Caicedo. Lavia could be the ideal DM but he’s injury prone as well.

KDH is not what we needed, but the board still decided to get rid of Gallagher and Chuckwemeka and get him.

Goalkeepers

They are all mid table keepers, I don’t have much positive to say about them other than I hope that Jorgensen becomes a solid goalie during his Conference League games.

And then we have a bunch of players that are not included in the team despite the fact that they could contribute, like Chilwell and Chukwuemeka, and other youngsters bought for their potential but that we can’t even find a loan for, Casadei, Kellyman and Angelo Gabriel.

All that spending and we end up with a bloated team that is unbalanced, without quality in depth and still haven’t got a solvent keeper, DM and striker. Almost as if the board and SDs didn’t know what they were doing. It’s shocking the way they are building the team, almost like testing if the pasta is ready by throwing spaghettis to the wall and see which one sticks to it.

Edited September 2, 20241 yr by RMH

6 minutes ago, RMH said:

A very unbalanced team, with a great attacking lineup on paper, but weak defensively and sh*t depth of CB and midfield.

Attackers

- Very good ones: Palmer can get to world class level; Madueke has started very well and, if he continues, can become a very good winger for us.

- Very good ones but injury prone: Nkunku can be very good if he avoids injuries; Neto, I quite liked him at wolves, let’s hope he stays injury free.

- Very good but inconsistent: Felix has a fantastic technique but does not like to work hard and he is very inconsistent as proven at Atlético, Chelsea previous loan and Barcelona; Sancho was very promising but he’s not shown it lately and there are reports of attitude issues.

- Good but need developing: Jackson is leading the line and he can score but is not very clinical at the moment, he’s still learning the trade; I like what Guiu brings but, at 18 yo, he will make mistakes and I hope we’ve got the patience to let him mature as striker. We’d definitely need a more experienced CF but there aren’t any that convince me for different reasons (Toney, his addiction; Osimhen, I don’t think he’s that good).

- Given up on them: Mudryk is not very good, to say the least. He’s getting chance after chance and he just doesn’t show any progress. Sell.

Defenders

- Very good but injury prone: James is world class when fit but he’s so injury prone that we hardly see him on the pitch these days.

- Potentially very good: Colwill can reach high levels and I hope he does; Fofana can be very good but he’s coming back from almost two seasons without football. They can become a solid CB pairing this season.

- Good: Cucurella, despite all his detractors, finished well last season, had a very good Euros with Spain and, in my opinion, has started well this season; Gusto was very good last season but has started a bit slow this one, I’m not convinced about his inverted role, Maresca should invert Cucu and let Gusto do his thing roaming up and down the right side. 

- Undecided yet: Veiga could be a surprise, but we don’t yet know.

- Dross: Badiashille, Disasi and Tosin, the fewer times that we see them on the pitch, the better.

Midfield

We have a very unbalanced midfield too, very easy to cut through it, and we haven’t got a solvent DM, which we’ve been crying out for one since the days of Jorginho. 

We’ve got good midfielders but they do not work well together, Enzo and Caicedo. Lavia could be the ideal DM but he’s injury prone as well.

KDH is not what we needed, but the board still decided to get rid of Gallagher and Chuckwemeka and get him.

Goalkeepers

They are all mid table keepers, I don’t have much positive to say about them other than I hope that Jorgensen becomes a solid goalie during his Conference League games.

And then we have a bunch of players that are not included in the team despite the fact that they could contribute, like Chilwell and Chukwuemeka, and other youngsters bought for their potential but that we can’t even find a loan for, Casadei, Kellyman and Angelo Gabriel.

All that spending and we end up with a bloated team that is unbalanced, without quality in depth and still haven’t got a solvent keeper, DM and striker. Almost as if the board and SDs didn’t know what they were doing. It’s shocking the way they are building the team, almost like testing if the pasta is ready by throwing spaghettis to the wall and see which one sticks to it.

A very good summary of where we are. 

Unlike the squad, your critique is well balanced 🙂 

51 minutes ago, RMH said:

A very unbalanced team, with a great attacking lineup on paper, but weak defensively and sh*t depth of CB and midfield.

Attackers

- Very good ones: Palmer can get to world class level; Madueke has started very well and, if he continues, can become a very good winger for us.

- Very good ones but injury prone: Nkunku can be very good if he avoids injuries; Neto, I quite liked him at wolves, let’s hope he stays injury free.

- Very good but inconsistent: Felix has a fantastic technique but does not like to work hard and he is very inconsistent as proven at Atlético, Chelsea previous loan and Barcelona; Sancho was very promising but he’s not shown it lately and there are reports of attitude issues.

- Good but need developing: Jackson is leading the line and he can score but is not very clinical at the moment, he’s still learning the trade; I like what Guiu brings but, at 18 yo, he will make mistakes and I hope we’ve got the patience to let him mature as striker. We’d definitely need a more experienced CF but there aren’t any that convince me for different reasons (Toney, his addiction; Osimhen, I don’t think he’s that good).

- Given up on them: Mudryk is not very good, to say the least. He’s getting chance after chance and he just doesn’t show any progress. Sell.

Defenders

- Very good but injury prone: James is world class when fit but he’s so injury prone that we hardly see him on the pitch these days.

- Potentially very good: Colwill can reach high levels and I hope he does; Fofana can be very good but he’s coming back from almost two seasons without football. They can become a solid CB pairing this season.

- Good: Cucurella, despite all his detractors, finished well last season, had a very good Euros with Spain and, in my opinion, has started well this season; Gusto was very good last season but has started a bit slow this one, I’m not convinced about his inverted role, Maresca should invert Cucu and let Gusto do his thing roaming up and down the right side. 

- Undecided yet: Veiga could be a surprise, but we don’t yet know.

- Dross: Badiashille, Disasi and Tosin, the fewer times that we see them on the pitch, the better.

Midfield

We have a very unbalanced midfield too, very easy to cut through it, and we haven’t got a solvent DM, which we’ve been crying out for one since the days of Jorginho. 

We’ve got good midfielders but they do not work well together, Enzo and Caicedo. Lavia could be the ideal DM but he’s injury prone as well.

KDH is not what we needed, but the board still decided to get rid of Gallagher and Chuckwemeka and get him.

Goalkeepers

They are all mid table keepers, I don’t have much positive to say about them other than I hope that Jorgensen becomes a solid goalie during his Conference League games.

And then we have a bunch of players that are not included in the team despite the fact that they could contribute, like Chilwell and Chukwuemeka, and other youngsters bought for their potential but that we can’t even find a loan for, Casadei, Kellyman and Angelo Gabriel.

All that spending and we end up with a bloated team that is unbalanced, without quality in depth and still haven’t got a solvent keeper, DM and striker. Almost as if the board and SDs didn’t know what they were doing. It’s shocking the way they are building the team, almost like testing if the pasta is ready by throwing spaghettis to the wall and see which one sticks to it.

 

44 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

A very good summary of where we are. 

Unlike the squad, your critique is well balanced 🙂 

Agreed, but a few add on's imo. I know it's too early to decide now but I do like what veiga has shown so far. If he could play cb then I would trust him over disaster brothers and tosin (imho, tosin has good leadership and is vocal but omg he's rubbish, lol)

But I'm guessing now we may have a rb issue veiga might be needed there.He played both rb and lb in preseason. Once in the same game too when gusto had to come off.

Fofana: caicedo bailed him out a few times during the Palace match. Also on one occasion he was daydreaming (not even ball watching) when the ball rolled right past him for a CP throw in. Maybe it's the sun, I mentioned it in the match thread he tried to rip his shirt off a few times. Lol

But tbh, he's been out for 2 seasons, I'll cut him some slack.

Cucu is doing well but something is up with Gusto, he was much better last season and during preseason. Tbh I thought something was off from all of them in that match against CP.

I had so much hope for Lavia, he was good and getting better imo. Poor kid is one of many that can't get a break!

My hope is kdh is slowly dropped and chucky gets into midfield once ALL the windows close.

Maresca can then approach owners to include chucky instead of wasting him, especially with injuries already starting. Maybe he can then show his true worth and how valuable he is to the team, especially with such a thin midfield.

Looking forward at what i hope the squad will be next season:

GK: Petrovic, Sanchez, Bettinelli

RB: James, Gusto

CB: Fofana, Colwill, Tosin, Acheampong, Inacio

LB: Cucurella, Veiga

CM: Santos, Caicedo, Fernandez, Lavia, Jobe

RW: Sancho, Madueke, Estevao

LW: Neto, Mudryk

CAM: Palmer, Paez

ST: Jackson, Boniface

In: Inacio £50m, Jobe £40m, Boniface £42m = £132m

Out: Felix (loan) £7m, Jorgensen (loan) £4m, KDH £20m, Bashir £12m, Chalobah £20m, Anselmino (loan) £2m, Penders (loan) £2m, Nkunku £45m = £112m

Could see us going for Murillo instead of Inacio, but if they get Europe he'll cost a fortune. Inacio release clause. Seem very much linked to Jobe Bellingham, also seems like a signing the SD's would make. Striker is needed, Boniface profile suits us and Leverkusen want rid. Could see Paez going on loan to Strasbourg and there's the obvious ban for Mudryk if that's confirmed. I also question whether we'll even be able to shift half the players i listed. KDH ends up out on loan for the next 4 years and Nkunku we leave on the bench because no one will pay what we want.

11 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Looking forward at what i hope the squad will be next season:

GK: Petrovic, Sanchez, Bettinelli

RB: James, Gusto

CB: Fofana, Colwill, Tosin, Acheampong, Inacio

LB: Cucurella, Veiga

CM: Santos, Caicedo, Fernandez, Lavia, Jobe

RW: Sancho, Madueke, Estevao

LW: Neto, Mudryk

CAM: Palmer, Paez

ST: Jackson, Boniface

In: Inacio £50m, Jobe £40m, Boniface £42m = £132m

Out: Felix (loan) £7m, Jorgensen (loan) £4m, KDH £20m, Bashir £12m, Chalobah £20m, Anselmino (loan) £2m, Penders (loan) £2m, Nkunku £45m = £112m

Could see us going for Murillo instead of Inacio, but if they get Europe he'll cost a fortune. Inacio release clause. Seem very much linked to Jobe Bellingham, also seems like a signing the SD's would make. Striker is needed, Boniface profile suits us and Leverkusen want rid. Could see Paez going on loan to Strasbourg and there's the obvious ban for Mudryk if that's confirmed. I also question whether we'll even be able to shift half the players i listed. KDH ends up out on loan for the next 4 years and Nkunku we leave on the bench because no one will pay what we want.

Can see us plumping for Delap rather than Boniface. Also don't like the idea of our two strikers both possibly being lost at the same time to the ACON, so can't see us doing that.

I think we sell Veiga too.

17 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I think we sell Veiga too.

Who plays backup to Cucurella? Colwill?

1 hour ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Who plays backup to Cucurella? Colwill?

Think we go in the market. I’d still love for us to go back in for Kerkes.

Edited March 13, 20251 yr by Sconnie Blue

55 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Think we go in the market. I’d still love for us to go back in for Kerkes.

Wolves to get relegated and us to sign Ait-Nouri, i pray

8 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Wolves to get relegated and us to sign Ait-Nouri, i pray

Shame his weakness is defence. Going forward, fine.

13 minutes ago, dermott said:

Shame his weakness is defence. Going forward, fine.

Our full back spends half the game in the opposition box anyway

33 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Our full back spends half the game in the opposition box anyway

With goals going in behind him courtesy of the gaping hole he leaves. So status quo. Fair enough.

3 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Think we go in the market. I’d still love for us to go back in for Kerkes.

This is the correct choice. The scousers want him though.

I've heard the dippers are also being linked with Cunha. He's another one I wouldn't mind us going for. No doubt he has anger issues (a little bit like Costa), but a definite upgrade on what we have currently.

28 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

This is the correct choice. The scousers want him though.

Best LB in the league in my opinion. The one defender the twats get right we don’t actually get. Fitting.