Smirking_Saint

Currently we have Fernandes, a better Charles and Jay Robinson.. Im in the ‘we have a better squad’ camp Im afraid But yeah Bazunu isn’t that bad Any keeper in Martins teams will look dogshit Ramsdale had let in 22 by Christmas and Butlands let in 11 already

My point really is, how the fuck did he end up at stoke

I think eventually we’d see Downs or Stewart as the 9 with Downs making the most sense, he is high energy/high workrate like Armstrong albeit in a bigger frame to lead the line Still’s suggested he only plays 5 back due to a lack of wingers, so think hopefully thats addressed soon and the RW debate is put to bed with a new name I guess, although I think Arma or Fraser could both do a job if needed. On paper Arma firs RW better but Fraser looks very good atm I’d still worry about a 343 or 442 personally as it means you still stick with a two man midfield which does tend to be dominated in the modern game unless you have forwards good at receiving the ball in the half spaces, or CBs that can progress (we have the latter) So personally if it was me Id employ 433 or 4231 and on the current squad make up Id say we’re better suited to a 433

FWIW I don’t think Baz is much better than mid table, maybe he’ll prove me wrong either way (better/worse) only time will tell, but I do think he’s started well McCarthy I agree is shite, he’s somehow managed to get us to pay him for 10 years, but we’re stuck with him, a 2 year deal was a lovely Wilcox leaving gift, no idea why that was sanctioned, especially if we’d lined up Ramsdale Johansson is an odd one, no idea how nobody took a punt on him at 1m, its obvious he’s an excellent keeper, there must be a downside somewhere but ive not found it yet TLDR (as i can’t be arsed to carry on); - I don’t think Baz is great and definately don’t rate McCarthy but both should be enough to get us promoted (not bad enough to cost us IMHO) - We’re stuck with both with the ghost of Ramsdale over head - Signing another 1st choice keeper probably a waste of money - Long is probably shit but its a necessity signing, not likely to play

Obviously we’ve both seen Sanda out the door, so maybe we look to move on Wood or Edwards, especially if we go back 4 Arguably if we stick back 5 then ‘maybe’ we’d need the extra cover, hard to tell really.. Id actually of expected us to keep Sanda as the back up tbh

I’ll reply to both of these, and its the last ill say on the subject as it just doesn’t sink in… We have Bazunu and McCarthy, both probably earning 50k a week, we also have Ramsdale technically still on the books and potentially returning, although unlikely its there As such.. what is the point on signing a further keeper ? That may or may not then need to be replaced if and when we get promoted ? Because I know for a fact if we signed a champ keeper now for X a week on a 4 year deal, he’d get pelters when he fails in the prem Its unrealistic, better off saving our money for if/when we go up, or next year when we know whats happening with Ramsdale and we don’t have McCarthy on the books Bringing in a third keeper on loan only further validates this position imo, and allows us flexibility next year when the position is clearer And yes, I think Bazunu is good enough that we can get promoted with him and Ive seen enough already to further think that, if Im wrong Ill be the first to admit it Id rather this year we strengthen the front line effectively

Im not convinced he was ever really signed as first choice, just had a good pre season, THB and JS are clearly our first choice CBs in what Id imagine ends up in Stills preferred 4 atb

We’d need an injury to both Baz and McCarthy… previously we had Lumley, not much better Man City’s third keeper was Scott Carson who played 1 game since 2019… stop being so fucking dramatic What do you suggest we do ? Cancel Alex’ contract and sign another keeper ?

As always Ill keep my powder dry, abd if that hasn’t happened Ill join you on the sidelines But at the moment its just business as usual, happens every year, especially in the champ.. note none of our accompanying parachute clubs have bought either… its just what happens down here

I think you just mis the point entirely tbh

I would like someone better than McCarthy but its unrealistic now we’re stuck with him on 50k a week until next year However aporoved his contract extension in 2024 needs to be shot with whoever also approved the previous one that saw us lose Forster

His a midtable level GK, maybe he’s turned a corner, his pre season form was good and has been largely decent in our matches so far You can blame him for Stoke but on balance if was more the team and Stephens imo The real question will be, for all of us moaning about how we’re overpaying for mediocre players and have a bloated squad, did they really expect us to sign a 3rd ‘1st choice’ keeper?

Baz isn’t that bad Some fans are just massive wet fannies

Are we really melting down on here because we signed a 3rd choice keeper Lol

Its early days, but all I can see is issues at the moment, the squad does need reinforcements but we aren’t that bad. I think we need to drop 5 atb, Im not sure what it offers really, if anything it further disjoints us, pushing to a 4 atb allows us another body in midfield, we can either deploy that as a deep midfielder or another attacking midfielder Our issue, seems to be that we just don’t win the midfield battle, and I always say the majority of games are won or lost there, and we tend to lose it… Downes/Charles are excellent midfielders at this level but I genuinely think they’re being asked to do too much, from what I see there’s a huge gap between the CBs and forward line, which means FD/SC have a lot of ground to cover, its even meant Fernandes has had to come deep too often to get involved/help out A 433 or 4231 allows us to ensure either Downes or Charles can shield the backline more, which should stop us being over run in the middle, Charles can then become the No.8 with 3 or 4 players ahead of him, we lack a good no.10 to play 4231 so we can employ 433 with Fernandes and Charles being interchangeable No.8s if necessary with the former being allowed more freedom I ‘don’t’ think creativity is as much of an issue as many think, we’re creating chances, we’re just wasteful. Arma is not a No.9, so lets try Stewart or Downs there, flanked by Robinson and either Fraser or Arma Lastly, we’re quite ponderous in build up, although I suggest this is due to the central disconnect I mentioned earlier, either way we need to be quicker in transitions, Stoke were exceptional at it yesterday and for that reason you can see why they’re top of the league

Not going to debate him, thats fair and we can disagree My thoughts are; - If we sign a keeper now we’ll probably have to replace again in prem plus technically Ramsdale may return - I think squad wise we have further glaring issues that have to be addressed before sorting the GK Obviously if Johansson is available for 2m then ok, its an option but we’ll still have McCarthy and Baz on sizeable wages likely hurting PSR

I don’t disagree., just can’t see it happening

Romeu was basically promised and let go due to his service, maybe was naive in hindsight but if Lavia wasn’t injured we’d be fine Ive said it before and Ill say it again, the ‘potential’ buys havn’t been all bad, we’ve broken even or made huge profits on them The issue is/was buying a load of middle of the road ‘established’ players instead of buying one or two real game changers

We definitely don’t need to replace Bazunu to be competitive, he’s shown enough for me to be good enough We desperately need a winger, no.10 and maybe a LB… potentially a CM if we lose MF

If we keep Fernandes Im not convinced we’ll sign another CM anyway, atleast not a starter, maybe grab a youngster but we also have Sesay there I think it seems like Azaz could be getting done soon, Spertsyan is dead in the water, so that leaves a winger of which Id be happy with Brooks on loan or perhaps the Italian guy looks promising Ive said before its a real difficult balancing act, and thats not letting them off because they’ve also been shit…. But if we dropped say 20m+ on Sargeant, he’d probably fire us out of the division but then is unlikely to be good enough in the prem, and so we then have to buy again with less PSR wiggle room, maybe we shouldn’t of gambled on Downs I guess Not sure what’s the best solution here

I think he was pushing for the move a bit I believe But I do agree, seems a little on the low side and Im not sure what the 5m in add ons could be A shame to lose him… but unfortunately this is the cost of relegation I firmly believe if we’d of stayed up that first year of SR we’d be a comfortable mid table side by now… that year was the year the prem clubs pulled away

Danny Ings has scored 2 goals in the last 2 years We don’t need another crock of a striker, we already have Stewart

Its quite hard to judge Stewart or Downs tbh… none of them have had enough gametime, for one reason or another, to make an informed judgement

I genuinely don’t disagree with this.. I think overall the squad is stronger now We can argue about Che, yes I agree on current viewing he is probably a better option but lets not pretend the negativity around him when he was here Depth wise we’re MILES better So yeah… of that side Id take KWP and thats largely it… perhaps Brooks too actually

Id be surprised if he even saw it tbh If the two Stephens should of blocked that angle off, allowing a shot there is criminal But tbh… even blaming him is harsh.. how has a keeper set up Thomas there ? And even Stephens wasn’t set up correctly Team was laughable defensively