Rival Watch

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Re: Rival Watch

by skipper » 15 Mar 2021 09:41

Hound I think we'll still be in a good place next year though. Likely to lose Richards (confirmed), Olise - and then shed a few squad players who we won't miss massively if at all- Walker, Aluko, Baldock, East, Watson, Smith

Hopefully, Joao won't get itchy feet, and we sort our shit out with Tom Mc but we should still have a very strong first 15 or so

Rafael, Yiadom, Morrison (hopefully), Moore, McIntyre, Holmes, Rino, Laurent, Swift, Ejaria, Meite, Tetek (hopefully), Puscas, Joao is still a very good basis to work from and should be top 10 minimum. And hopefully, a bit of cash to invest wisely to add to it


Totally agree with this.

Sensible recruitment in key areas (left-back and left-back cover! ) and a creative player to replace Olise should he go (Please don't!). Keep a small-ish, functioning, close-knit squad, and we build on this season.

Looking at the teams seemingly due relegation, West Brom and Sheff Utd, don't look too strong, but will obviously be battling it out at the top half of the table. Maybe we can tie some key players down and have an optimistic outlook for next season!

Obviously, if we go up, the whole thing changes. We will need some more depth as Swift, Joao and Meite are all guaranteed to pick up an injury in the far more rugged environment of the Premiership.

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Re: Rival Watch

by WestYorksRoyal » 15 Mar 2021 09:50

Hound I think we'll still be in a good place next year though. Likely to lose Richards (confirmed), Olise - and then shed a few squad players who we won't miss massively if at all- Walker, Aluko, Baldock, East, Watson, Smith

Hopefully Joao won't get itchy feet, and we sort our shit out with Tom Mc but we should still have a very strong first 15 or so

Rafael, Yiadom, Morrison (hopefully), Moore, McIntyre, Holmes, Rino, Laurent, Swift, Ejaria, Meite, Tetek (hopefully), Puscas, Joao is still a very good basis to work from and should be top 10 minimum. And hopefully a bit of cash to invest wisely to add to it

Agreed. If you compare this to 16/17, nobody was quite sure how we finished 3rd and we relied upon Al-Habsi and an ageing Kermogant, who we all suspected would struggle to repeat his heroics for a second season. Clearly we made poor recruitment decisions, but the spine of the team to build upon simply wasn't as strong as it is now. Savvy recruitment this summer and we should be in the mix again.

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Re: Rival Watch

by URZZZZ » 15 Mar 2021 09:57

WestYorksRoyal
Hound I think we'll still be in a good place next year though. Likely to lose Richards (confirmed), Olise - and then shed a few squad players who we won't miss massively if at all- Walker, Aluko, Baldock, East, Watson, Smith

Hopefully Joao won't get itchy feet, and we sort our shit out with Tom Mc but we should still have a very strong first 15 or so

Rafael, Yiadom, Morrison (hopefully), Moore, McIntyre, Holmes, Rino, Laurent, Swift, Ejaria, Meite, Tetek (hopefully), Puscas, Joao is still a very good basis to work from and should be top 10 minimum. And hopefully a bit of cash to invest wisely to add to it

Agreed. If you compare this to 16/17, nobody was quite sure how we finished 3rd and we relied upon Al-Habsi and an ageing Kermogant, who we all suspected would struggle to repeat his heroics for a second season. Clearly we made poor recruitment decisions, but the spine of the team to build upon simply wasn't as strong as it is now. Savvy recruitment this summer and we should be in the mix again.


I thought the spine of the team was pretty strong back then but mainly for injuries/players leaving, only 4/5 players who were regulars in 16/17 were regular in 17/18 which is where most the problem lay

Which is where if we don’t go up this season, we need to hold onto our key players, and as you say, not recruit for the sake of it on poor players. So far, Pauno has been fairly astute with his signings so long may that continue

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Re: Rival Watch

by Snowflake Royal » 15 Mar 2021 10:10

Zip
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Zip If we don’t go up this season I do wonder in years to come if we look back on this season as the one that got away. I didn’t feel that way in Stam’s first season because we really were not that good. I feel differently this time and am frustrated that the likes of Swansea and Watford could go up instead of us.

Just three games, Wycombe, Brum and Sheffield Wed where we ended up playing against ten men and only picked up one point. All three poor sides. All three may well go down.


Not to mention failure to add to the squad in January. Wholeheartedly agree that this seems the best shot we will have, I do find it hard to believe that we will be able to build and consistently improve the team. I hope I’m proved wrong though.


This is what I’m alluding to. Will we look back in ten years time and look at this squad and realise it was good as it was going to be? It’s also a reflection on the teams above us who seem so ordinary.

Our squad is really quite young and our two most impactful match winners are only really in their first proper successful season.


Our.owners don't like selling.

Theres a chance we can keep Joao and Olise.

And if we don't, we still have Meite and Puscas, and Swift and Ejaria, plus Melvin-Lambert and Tetek. And we'll have made money from the sales and freed up wages, especially including Baldock and Aluko going.

There are few positions we look truly weak. McIntyre hopefully will sign on, but we have Holmes still.

So a focus on LB and LW plus more young talent and punts and I don't see why we can't consolidate top half at the very least next season. Even without McIntyre, Richards, Joao and Olise, and losing all four seems very unlikely.

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Re: Rival Watch

by Nameless » 15 Mar 2021 10:34

URZZZZ
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Hound I think we'll still be in a good place next year though. Likely to lose Richards (confirmed), Olise - and then shed a few squad players who we won't miss massively if at all- Walker, Aluko, Baldock, East, Watson, Smith

Hopefully Joao won't get itchy feet, and we sort our shit out with Tom Mc but we should still have a very strong first 15 or so

Rafael, Yiadom, Morrison (hopefully), Moore, McIntyre, Holmes, Rino, Laurent, Swift, Ejaria, Meite, Tetek (hopefully), Puscas, Joao is still a very good basis to work from and should be top 10 minimum. And hopefully a bit of cash to invest wisely to add to it

Agreed. If you compare this to 16/17, nobody was quite sure how we finished 3rd and we relied upon Al-Habsi and an ageing Kermogant, who we all suspected would struggle to repeat his heroics for a second season. Clearly we made poor recruitment decisions, but the spine of the team to build upon simply wasn't as strong as it is now. Savvy recruitment this summer and we should be in the mix again.


I thought the spine of the team was pretty strong back then but mainly for injuries/players leaving, only 4/5 players who were regulars in 16/17 were regular in 17/18 which is where most the problem lay

Which is where if we don’t go up this season, we need to hold onto our key players, and as you say, not recruit for the sake of it on poor players. So far, Pauno has been fairly astute with his signings so long may that continue


Which of Pauno’s signings would you consider especially astute ?


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Re: Rival Watch

by Hound » 15 Mar 2021 10:41

Semedo was a decent signing imo. Been solid, adaptable and added value.

Esteves was ok. Probably not quite as good as hoped, but equally bar a couple of mistakes, he has been fine tbh.

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Re: Rival Watch

by URZZZZ » 15 Mar 2021 10:51

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WestYorksRoyal Agreed. If you compare this to 16/17, nobody was quite sure how we finished 3rd and we relied upon Al-Habsi and an ageing Kermogant, who we all suspected would struggle to repeat his heroics for a second season. Clearly we made poor recruitment decisions, but the spine of the team to build upon simply wasn't as strong as it is now. Savvy recruitment this summer and we should be in the mix again.


I thought the spine of the team was pretty strong back then but mainly for injuries/players leaving, only 4/5 players who were regulars in 16/17 were regular in 17/18 which is where most the problem lay

Which is where if we don’t go up this season, we need to hold onto our key players, and as you say, not recruit for the sake of it on poor players. So far, Pauno has been fairly astute with his signings so long may that continue


Which of Pauno’s signings would you consider especially astute ?


Semedo and Esteves have both done OK - nothing special but useful to have in the squad and both somewhat versatile

I suppose the point could have been re-worded that he doesn’t just buy players for the sake of it, which it seems his predecessors in recent years have done. Stam, alone, bought several including Weiser, Harriott, Clement, Aluko, Popa and so on who fit into that category. Gomes did too

Even with us being a little short in certain positions, and given we’re somewhat restricted by FFP, it’s still good to see us being more selective in the market and finally have a decent sized squad for once and not filled with wasters who aren’t contributing

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Re: Rival Watch

by Nameless » 15 Mar 2021 11:48

URZZZZ
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I thought the spine of the team was pretty strong back then but mainly for injuries/players leaving, only 4/5 players who were regulars in 16/17 were regular in 17/18 which is where most the problem lay

Which is where if we don’t go up this season, we need to hold onto our key players, and as you say, not recruit for the sake of it on poor players. So far, Pauno has been fairly astute with his signings so long may that continue


Which of Pauno’s signings would you consider especially astute ?


Semedo and Esteves have both done OK - nothing special but useful to have in the squad and both somewhat versatile

I suppose the point could have been re-worded that he doesn’t just buy players for the sake of it, which it seems his predecessors in recent years have done. Stam, alone, bought several including Weiser, Harriott, Clement, Aluko, Popa and so on who fit into that category. Gomes did too

Even with us being a little short in certain positions, and given we’re somewhat restricted by FFP, it’s still good to see us being more selective in the market and finally have a decent sized squad for once and not filled with wasters who aren’t contributing


Agree Semedo has been useful although would probably rather have kept Pele. Esteves is clearly a promising player but it’s hard to think of games in which he has had much of a positive influence. I actually doubt either of them were his signings, they follow the recent pattern of players found by our Portuguese / Iberian contacts rather than people a manager might have been tracking personally, especially a US based manager !
Fair point about his loan policy has been good because he’s not just brought in players for no reason, obviously we were close to a couple more in January.
For me he’s really not done anything in terms of bringing in his choice of players yet. It’s a very different skill and if he’s built this lot up into a tight group it will be interesting if he can incorporate significant signings without losing what he has built this season. It will absolutely need him to be the man in charge rather than the owners handing him 5 players and telling him to make us champions !

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Re: Rival Watch

by Hound » 15 Mar 2021 12:01

forgot about Gibson who we know Pauno had input into

think he is a good player - just unlucky not to get more game time. Think he has played well every game he has played for us


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Re: Rival Watch

by Snowflake Royal » 15 Mar 2021 14:49

Hound forgot about Gibson who we know Pauno had input into

think he is a good player - just unlucky not to get more game time. Think he has played well every game he has played for us

Yep.

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Re: Rival Watch

by Stranded » 15 Mar 2021 15:32

Looking like we will be facing Lee Bowyer's Birmingham City on Wednesday.

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Re: Rival Watch

by Snowflake Royal » 15 Mar 2021 16:11

Any chance we can add him to our list of manager scalps?

1 game probably too much even for Brum, but 6 or 7 goals might do it.

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Re: Rival Watch

by URZZZZ » 16 Mar 2021 01:36

Stranded Looking like we will be facing Lee Bowyer's Birmingham City on Wednesday.


Some details over the sacking which suggests that (A) - the club is a shambles (which I guess has been apparent some time) and (B) - the players are willing to throw their manager under the bus, never a good sign

https://mobile.twitter.com/MirrorFootba ... 2405223424


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Re: Rival Watch

by tidus_mi2 » 16 Mar 2021 10:28

So it would be nice if Derby and Rotherham could do us a favour today, Derby are no mugs at home with a recent record of 4-1-1, Rotherham however are mugs at home with the exact opposite of 1-1-4.

Then there's the question of Bournemouth vs Swansea, a Bournemouth win increases our chances of chasing the top two but closes the gap to 7th and vice-versa if Swansea win.

So I guess that's the optimism vs pessimism debate.

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Re: Rival Watch

by Hendo » 16 Mar 2021 10:55

tidus_mi2
Then there's the question of Bournemouth vs Swansea, a Bournemouth win increases our chances of chasing the top two but closes the gap to 7th and vice-versa if Swansea win.

So I guess that's the optimism vs pessimism debate.


With 10 games to go and the position we're in, I think I am fine with any of the top 6 winning as long as we keep winning and making the gap to 7th bigger.

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Re: Rival Watch

by LUX » 16 Mar 2021 11:11

don't forget we are on 106-watch for Norwich. Could do with Forest doing us a favour.

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Re: Rival Watch

by Hendo » 16 Mar 2021 11:18

LUX don't forget we are on 106-watch for Norwich. Could do with Forest doing us a favour.


I don't think they go for 10 games without dropping 3 points, especially once they have already wrapped up promotion and the title.

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Re: Rival Watch

by Hound » 16 Mar 2021 11:32

definitely a Swansea win for me. Keep kicking Bournemouth whilst they are down. If we can get a 7/8 point gap to them it'll be very hard to claw back at this stage

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Re: Rival Watch

by Snowflake Royal » 16 Mar 2021 11:37

LUX don't forget we are on 106-watch for Norwich. Could do with Forest doing us a favour.

No we aren't. It's a tick box exercise. They've failed ages ago.

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Re: Rival Watch

by Pepe the Horseman » 16 Mar 2021 11:43

Hound definitely a Swansea win for me. Keep kicking Bournemouth whilst they are down. If we can get a 7/8 point gap to them it'll be very hard to claw back at this stage

Yeh this. We ain't catching the top two, so not bothered about the teams above us winning.

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