2022 - 2023 Transfer Rumours and Squad Discussions

[kk white]

Would like another ST, but I'm ok with starting Bamford and Rodrigo as a 2 up front, with Joffy coming on with 20/30 to go. Injuries permitting, maybe start a quarter of matches too.

With 5 subs this year, we'll see rugby union style pre determined early tactical changes, knowing that there's extra subs in case of injury.

I'm a union fan. Took quite a while to get used to 7 subs, but 1 positive has been that those who know they are coming off after 60 mins give it one hell of an hour when out there.

[The Fonz]

I ageee with the CDK comment (see my posts in this thread), the lad didn’t want to come, absolute nonsense chasing that one.

I'm glad he hasn't been signed. Give Joffy a go.

to that comment!

Can't say I'm that bothered about CDK and we've wasted too much time waiting for a second hand rose IMHO.
As for Joffy, he is a fantastic prospect but he needs to be brought on and nurtured slowly rather than thrown in and expected to carry all or half of the responsibility of playing up front. Even with him there together with Patrick Bamford we have insufficient resources in terms of strikers. PB needs to almost prove that he is up to full fitness and can stay fit since that very odd / strange injury he had was so long lasting

Absolutely spot on with Joffy, he is prone to the odd niggly injury if overplayed some young players are. Of course he should be used on a regular basis but there is a line to how much and it is the managers job to get the balance right.

We will be reliant on Paddy staying fit that is for sure but think he is been eased back as Jesse admitted his error of bringing him back too early last time and shouldn't make the error again.

[Polkadot]

I think we are one body short on CM.
Its obvious that the plan is to play with two in the middle, which seems to be Roca and Adams as first choice.
We then have the following options for these two spots:
Forshaw - injury prone
Klich - seems to not quite fit a more holding role
Greenwood - promising, but maybe he is better higher up?
Dallas - Injured half the season
Gyabi - looks super interesting but just a kid
Archie Gray - like above
Bate - like Gyabi and Gray, might even be loaned out
Koch - not a midfielder
Aaronson - could possibly be a decent player also in a deeper role but clearly better suited to play higher up

So in theory we have many players that could step in for Roca and Adams, but it would be great with a more established player that is familiar with a deep lying midfield role.

If I could choose I would send out Klich and replace him with a similar pedigree player (maybe a bit younger?) that are more suited for a deeper role.

I don’t think the kid from Man City that was linked earlier today, McAtee or something, would be that kind of player.

[mshnd06]

I've unfortunately been unable to watch any of the preseason matches as yet. Any first impressions from our number on the new signings? Or the existing squad for that matter?

[Barlow Boy]

I think we are one body short on CM.
Its obvious that the plan is to play with two in the middle, which seems to be Roca and Adams as first choice.
We then have the following options for these two spots:
Forshaw - injury prone
Klich - seems to not quite fit a more holding role
Greenwood - promising, but maybe he is better higher up?
Dallas - Injured half the season
Gyabi - looks super interesting but just a kid
Archie Gray - like above
Bate - like Gyabi and Gray, might even be loaned out
Koch - not a midfielder
Aaronson - could possibly be a decent player also in a deeper role but clearly better suited to play higher up

So in theory we have many players that could step in for Roca and Adams, but it would be great with a more established player that is familiar with a deep lying midfield role.

If I could choose I would send out Klich and replace him with a similar pedigree player (maybe a bit younger?) that are more suited for a deeper role.

I don’t think the kid from Man City that was linked earlier today, McAtee or something, would be that kind of player.

If we are saying Roca and Adams as the two defensive midfielders, which I think you’re suggesting, then I’m thinking only definitely Forshaw and perhaps Klich and Bate (both at a stretch) fit that role.

[The Fonz]

Forshaw - injury prone
Klich - seems to not quite fit a more holding role
Greenwood - promising, but maybe he is better higher up? .

Agree on Forshaw been injury prone the facts tell us that but when fit I think he is a top player, played very well last season when I saw him.
Roca looks a similar player to me but interesting to see if both can play together.
If playing one of them and both fit it's a toss up who should be picked.

People say Klich isn't fit but would like to see the running statistics from last year.
The Palace goal last week he was the one player getting back to try stop it.
Must admit I'm not yet convinced with Adams and not writing Klich off.

Greenwood I like him and think he's been developed for a deeper role rather than the striker he was originally.
May not be too long before he becomes a regular in midfield.

Too many are getting carried away with signings but other than Kristensen and some nice bits from Roca I've yet to see evidence any should be automatic starters.
I'm sure in time some will do well and friendlies aren't always good to go on but i get the feeling it's all a rush to break up what Marcelo was building.

[HalifaxWhite]

Forshaw - injury prone
Klich - seems to not quite fit a more holding role
Greenwood - promising, but maybe he is better higher up? .

Agree on Forshaw been injury prone the facts tell us that but when fit I think he is a top player, played very well last season when I saw him.
Roca looks a similar player to me but interesting to see if both can play together.
If playing one of them and both fit it's a toss up who should be picked.

People say Klich isn't fit but would like to see the running statistics from last year.
The Palace goal last week he was the one player getting back to try stop it.
Must admit I'm not yet convinced with Adams and not writing Klich off.

Greenwood I like him and think he's been developed for a deeper role rather than the striker he was originally.
May not be too long before he becomes a regular in midfield.

Too many are getting carried away with signings but other than Kristensen and some nice bits from Roca I've yet to see evidence any should be automatic starters.
I'm sure in time some will do well and friendlies aren't always good to go on but i get the feeling it's all a rush to break up what Marcelo was building.

I think the previous poster was saying Klich doesn't fut the deep role not that he isn't fit.

I disagree with your final statement in the sense of breaking up what Marcelo was built. The issue was he built, but then was no longer building, just sticking with the same team on repeat which was then having key players (Cooper, Klich, Rodrigo, Dallas) hitting the 30's with mo steady feed in replacements to take up the role. Them of course the club really had no choice on KP and Raph.

We need to move on from Marcelo now, what he did for us on a limited budget was amazing but he wasn't faultless by any means.

[Selby White]

Forshaw - injury prone
Klich - seems to not quite fit a more holding role
Greenwood - promising, but maybe he is better higher up? .

Agree on Forshaw been injury prone the facts tell us that but when fit I think he is a top player, played very well last season when I saw him.
Roca looks a similar player to me but interesting to see if both can play together.
If playing one of them and both fit it's a toss up who should be picked.

People say Klich isn't fit but would like to see the running statistics from last year.
The Palace goal last week he was the one player getting back to try stop it.
Must admit I'm not yet convinced with Adams and not writing Klich off.

Greenwood I like him and think he's been developed for a deeper role rather than the striker he was originally.
May not be too long before he becomes a regular in midfield.

Too many are getting carried away with signings but other than Kristensen and some nice bits from Roca I've yet to see evidence any should be automatic starters.
I'm sure in time some will do well and friendlies aren't always good to go on but i get the feeling it's all a rush to break up what Marcelo was building.

I think the previous poster was saying Klich doesn't fut the deep role not that he isn't fit.

I disagree with your final statement in the sense of breaking up what Marcelo was built. The issue was he built, but then was no longer building, just sticking with the same team on repeat which was then having key players (Cooper, Klich, Rodrigo, Dallas) hitting the 30's with mo steady feed in replacements to take up the role. Them of course the club really had no choice on KP and Raph.

We need to move on from Marcelo now, what he did for us on a limited budget was amazing but he wasn't faultless by any means.

Disagree during Marcelo reign a lot of our signings were about improving the quality of the under 23s (Gelhardt, Bate, Hjelde, Greenwood, Drameh, Summerville, etc) who are all in the process of breaking through and part of a long term project.
Also add writing players off when they are 30 is a bit daft, plenty of players if maintain fitness have good careers well after that age.
Wouldn't mind a strike force of -
Kane (29) & Son (30)
Salah (31) & Mane (30)
De Bruyne, Ronaldo, Vardy, etc look at the Prem scorers list it's full of old gits 30 upwards.

But heyho my fear is we are going back to changing manager every year or so something I hate.

[MOT1964]

I disagree with your final statement in the sense of breaking up what Marcelo was built. The issue was he built, but then was no longer building, just sticking with the same team on repeat which was then having key players (Cooper, Klich, Rodrigo, Dallas) hitting the 30's with mo steady feed in replacements to take up the role. Them of course the club really had no choice on KP and Raph.

Agreed, and in addition to the four that you've mentioned Ayling and Forshaw are also 30.

[mshnd06]

I don't think it's fair to say that what Bielsa has built is being dismantled. As SW said, one of Marcelo's greatest strengths was development - both in the acquisition and improvement of young talent and maximizing the contributions of the core from the Championship side. In a world cup season, I don't see how the club could have convinced Kal and, especially Raphinha to stay. No European football and at least the possibility of a 22-23 relegation fight. I think had we not sacked Bielsa we may have convinced Kal but still rate the chances of keeping Raph at near zero in the hypothetical. The aforementioned youth have largely been retained. Roberts, Shack and Davis were aging out of the u23 and haven't proven they have the quality for the Premier League. Drameh's exile is likely due to off-pitch matters. Joffy, Greenwood, Summerville, Bate, Hjlede are still here. Poveda is still with the club, at least for now. Would have liked Cresswell to get many first team opportunities this season but at least his departure is a loan and will hopefully aid in his development. Of Bielsa's core - Meslier, Cooper, Struijk, Llorente, Koch, Harrison (if not sold), Bamford, Rodrigo, James all still figure to be prominently involved with Marsch. Ayling has declined, Alioski chose to leave, Klich has declined, Dallas isn't fit, Costa was viewed as surplus to requirements by Bielsa himself. Forshaw still has the quality in my eyes but is difficult to be relied upon due to fitness. As far as I can tell, we haven't dismantled anything - what we're seeing is natural age-related decline, stars moving on to higher profile clubs, a reality until we are back at the top of the table, and the universal fact that not every youth signing is going to make it in the Premier League.

I'm still upset about Marcelo's firing - he's a managing legend of modern football and my favorite manager of all-time - but he wasn't perfect and last season wasn't terribly rosy. He didn't deserve to be sacked but it's not like it came out of nowhere. It's in the past and I need to support the current manager. Marsch didn't do the sacking and he's got a decent track record. Since I believe we were never going to be able to retain Kal and Raph, I'm glad they've at least spent the proceeds on several players with quality and room to grow. Sure, some of them won't live up to expectations but that is always the case with the transfer market. And while Orta signed the contracts, I'm sure Marcelo deserves to share some of the blame on our recent misses. Maybe I'm naive, but I'm optimistic going into the season - players, manager, board. I'd rather be more decisive in this situation and miss by a bit than complacent in a position of danger (see Everton for instance).

Also, I'd like to quibble a bit with SW. While I agree that there are examples of enormously successful 30+ aged players, they are, as shown by your examples, to be almost exclusively elite talents to begin with. It's easier to weather the decline of athleticism that accompanies age if you are also technically and tactically elite. Peripheral players often have less of these mitigating qualities. I don't think it is unreasonable to say that Ayling, Klich, Forshaw, Dallas, much as I love them, are more likely to descend to the level of squad player post-30 than the likes of Vardy, Ronaldo, etc...