Arizona

1 - 3 It will transpire that apparently Lancashire (amongst others) isn't good enough and we will concede sloppy goals.

You bastards better get practacing for when I turn up next week. Edit: Wow, bastard isn't filtered, but rape is? Edit 2: Oh, not rape. Porn penis knob pussy pubes bugger Edit 3: Wow none of them. **** **** **** ****. Edit 4: Ah it is working ok.

Mills has shown he is good enough playing on loan at Scunny last year as well as apparently being one of the best players of pre-season. The rest, people seem to be going by the logic that because they weren't good enough to fight relegation in CCC, they are good enough for a promotion push in L1. Paterson, okay he had that one goal at Portman Road. Gobern, 45 minutes at Deep Dale. Beyond that however I think it's more hope than anything. I'm not saying these 'kids' aren't good enough. Just that we've seen nothing yet to suggest they are. We could well be in danger of doing what we did last season. Shoving players like DMG, Lallana and Lancs into the first teaam every week, when they aren't really ready. Inevitably their form will stutter, they will lose confidence and we will slag them off. People will hate me saying this, but we should take a leaf out of Redknapps book. Even though he clearly had a fantastic tallent, he started off with a few sub appearances here and there and wasn't starting games regularish until Decemeber time. RE: James. I'm not sure he is tall enough to play CB that well. I'd have him as a winger because his crossing is pretty impressive, but if he gets skinned, it's NBD compared to if he was playing RB. Skacel and Holmes lacked pace, but they both did a decent job on the wing.

One heck of a naive statement IMO. Firstly, we don't need to wait until 10 games into the season to see where we are weak. We've had a handful of preseason games and it's pretty obvious we need AT LEAST another CB or 2, a couple of midfielders and a striker. Secondly, "signing players for the sake of it," what does that even mean? :-s. There aren't people on this site going "aaagh, sh*t, lets sign 15 left backs" We need to sign quite a few players to have a decent squad. We're not just doing it out of boredom.

Well, for that to happen, we're going to need 10 more points than the team in 12th place. Last season Colchester finished 12th on 63 points, the last playoff team was Scunny with 76 points

Squad rotation may well be a luxury, but I don't think having cover is. To me, having 2 players in each possition is a nescessity. A luxury would be like Man City having 9 strikers. Here's an interesting article: http://www.theoffside.com/europe/is-limiting-squad-sizes-to-25-a-good-idea.html "The solution Gaillard sounds most upbeat about is limiting squad sizes to 25. Yes, this already happens in the Champions League and UEFA Cup, but the new idea is to limit squad sizes for domestic campaigns too. Gaillard said a move to curb squads would help reduce massive wage bills at clubs and provide “a more level playing field”. “It would stop the hoarding of players by the richer and more powerful clubs. Players would be signed to play rather than to possibly prevent opponents from signing the player,” Gaillard said. I can see where hes coming from here. Yes, Man Utd would likely have a better 25 than West Brom, so that’s not going to change. But now that Man Utd can’t accommodate players #26 and #27, those guys will need to look for a new team, which might make them available to the Baggies. One problem is that maybe chances would be limited for young players, but if the squad rules follow the Champions League format, then players under 21 could be exempt. Allowing clubs to have a 25 man squad plus freedom to play youth team players could definitely work. Wage bills go down, younger players have more opportunities and European Union labour laws remain unbroken. So maybe this is the future?"

Yes, meaning wages are smaller. If you don't have sufficient cover, you're still going to be badly prepared whatever division you are in. I don't care if Stockport only have 1 man and his dog in their squad, they were battling relegation last season and aren't a good role model for a promotion campaign. If we had that kind of squad, minus 10, we'd be relegated. Not where I want to be if I'm honnest.

Why should squads get smaller the lower down the leagues you go? :-S Players are just as likely to get injured, there are just as many games to play, more so than in the Prem. Leeds for example have 28 first team players, of which only 4 are under 21.

Fair enough. Looks like we have a different philosophy, so we're never going to agree 100%. Having ended up playing midfielders at fullback all season for the last 2 years, I really would like to have some decent cover. I've read comments that we don't need 2 specialist RBs/LBs, but IMO we do. Yes Wright, James and Skacel have done an admirable job filling in for 2 years, but they are much better off in midfield IMO. I'd hate to see James, who looks an excellent prospect in midfield, being held back having to cover at RB when fat, 35 year old Murty gets injured.

Yeah, I watched SFIA. If only to see what he did in AZ. Think he sat in the nose gunners possition in a WW2 bomber and flew to Tucson, or maybe that was another programme. :-k QI is brilliant. Blackadder was brilliant. A bit of Fry and Lawrie was brilliant. Two good shouts for a dinner party there. I'd have Natalie Portman from that film too I think. MLT and Damon Hill from the world of sport and Bill Bailey and Peter Kay to boot.

No, I also confess to knowing very little of L1. However I want to be prepared for L1, regardless of how good the rest are. I'd like players who are good enough for League 1, rather than just whoever didn't escape from last season and the desperate hope that because they weren't good enough for CCC, that therefore makes them promotion material in L1. I'm not suggesting a large squad. In my ideal world we'd have 30 players, with 7 or 8 of those being young players like Thomson, Gobern and McLaggon and Wotton, Pulis and Molyneux nowhere to be seen.

Just watching V for Vendetta on BBC3. Everything that man does is genious.

GK: Fine RB: Need 2. Murty could be one of them. James should only be an emergency. LB: Fine CB: Need 2 to cover Thomas and Perry. RM: Need 1 James is the only current suitable candidate IMO. LM: Need 1 to cover Holmes. CM: Need 3 Gillett is good enough. Schneiderlin... maybe. The rest... ST: Need 2 Rasiak and Lallana good. Saga off. Yes we have players like Thomson, Gobern, McLaggon, Paterson who MIGHT be good enough. However not being good enough for CCC last season doesn't automatically make them good enough IMO. That's actually 11 players, I'm not just plucking that number out of thin air. That's my take on the current squad. I am expecting responses saying I am wrong about LM (because Mills can cover 2 possitions) and CM (after all, we have Wotton and Pulis). IMO however Wotton and Pulis are carp. When Mills gets injured we're suddenly down to the bare bones on the left and forced to rely on Holmes being fit.

We are infact 10 players away from the sh*te side that got relegated from CCC (Surman, BWP, Euell, DMG, Skacel, Size, Smith and a few more bit-part players like Killer and Gasmi) Dubious. Murty, Size and Holland haven't signed yet and I think you've pulled the second two out of thin air. Paterson is unproven, Thomas is injured and you haven't got a bench. That's ignoring the possibility that Rasiak could be off and that Lallana often flatters to deceive when played out wide. Despite all of what I've just said, you think THIS squad, the one we have right now, can maintain playoff form for a 46 game season? :confused:

Paterson and Gobern are unproven. Saga apparently couldn't look less interested and Thomas has a dubious injury record. I'm not being a drama queen, I just feel we are dangerously unprepared. I've been having this conversation for three summers in a row now. Being called a drama queen, negative budgie etc. We've gone into the last game of the season in the drop zone for the last 2 years. :smt102 I'm not one for blowing my trumpet, but I really don't want to be proven right 3 years in a row.

A good side: Davis James ???? Perry Harding ???? Gillett Morgan Mills Lallana Rasiak Subs: Bart and............. That's 8 decent players just to have a decent team to play Millwall.

Can't see beyond Leeds and Norwich really, although there are always likely to be surprises thrown in. This Saints squad wouldn't make the top half, even without the minus 10. It's not really anyones fault, nobody that's still attached to the club certainly, but we are nowhere near ready for a 46 game campaign yet. We need a lot of good players to come in very soon. Right now, I'd say mid-table. 12th maybe.

And 10 away from having a decent side and a bench.

pi.

I haven't played since winter actually, when we played on astro. I thought they played on grass now. Mike will be able to tell you.

Football Yes Don't know Grass No It depends Sh*te No HTH

Wouldn't have him in CM at all TBH. Gillett would be in there, but his partner would have to be a big lad with a decent range of passing. Pele would be the ideal player for me, but that's just an example. James would be my first choice RM. Lallana is a striker or nothing IMO. James' crossing is far better. Davis Murty Thomas Perry Mills James Gillett ???? Harding/Holmes Lallana Rasiak or summit like that.

But that would compromise our midfield options. Why should we plan on going into a season knowing that as soon as a player gets injured in one possition, we're going to have to distort the whole team to fill in the gaps. It'll just end up like the start of the 07/08 season under Burley, with 3 midfielders in our defence. Take a read of the last paragraph. This guy wasn't that bad a manager if we're being honnest. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/mourinho-looks-to-take-chelsea-between-the-lines-553857.html

By that logic, we need 11 players, then what? 2 utility men strikers, midfielders, defenders and back-up goalies. That's a squad of 19 players? Each to their own, but I'd take both given choice. In the recent past we've had Dodd and Telfer, Baird and Ostlund, Bridge and Benali, Le Saux and Bernard, Makin and Bale etc. Anyway, I can 99% guarantee Murty will have an injury at some point this season. Why wait until then and rush some emergency loan into the side.

Beattie!!! Will score 30 goals for Stoke this year.