petesaull

Couldn''t agree more with the OP - I''ve been thinking about starting a thread along the same lines. I would argue that our main problem last season was ball retention, the signings we''ve made haven''t properly addressed this.Leroy Fer is an upgrade on Johnson/Tettey - a ball winning midfielder who can burst forward when necessary. It appears that Hughton is not at all keen on our best passer, David Fox, and he''ll probably be offloaded. That leaves us with no-one who can dictate our rhythm from deep, and bring our forwards in to play (pretty important in a 4-2-3-1).Some have suggested that this kind of player wouldn''t come cheap - probably not, but there are plenty of options out there, not least in La Liga where possession-based play is the norm.

Is anyone else at a loss at why we''re letting Pattison go so easily?  On the occasions I''ve seen him play for us he''s looked excellent - and he can actually pass the ball!  Have I missed something?

I live in Shrewsbury and I watched Holty play throughout last season - I think he''s a good signing for us, but let us not forget he''s just come from League 2 - and we need to be buying Championship quality players at least - so I don''t think we can expect TOO much from him.  That said, he''s an excellent target man, and as has been previously alluded to, his link up play is also top notch. At Shrewsbury the fans called him "Superman" because he was often a cut above the rest at League 2 level.  He wears hit heart on his sleeve, and will shout at other players if he doesn''t feel they''re giving their all.  He could well be the perfect foil to Cody, as he''ll create chances for him with his head AND his feet.  He never really had a quick striker to work with at Shrewsbury, but I think he''d thrive alongside one.  Holt scored one of the best goals I have EVER seen (no exaggeration) in an away match against Rochdale last season; he picked the ball up on the edge of the area before flicking it over the head of an unrushing defender in Gascoigne-esque fashion and volleying it with his weaker left foot in to the top corner.  So he''s got ability, that''s for sure. On the negative side, "Superman" faded somewhat towards the end of last season.  I feel his "kryptonite" was the huge weight of expectation put upon him by Shrews fans - he just looked plain knackered in the last few games, and was anonymous in the play-off final.  He also has a tendency to miss complete sitters (which means he''ll fit in well!), and often lacks composure in front of goal.  With this in mind, I''ll just reitterate what I said before - we shouldn''t put too much pressure on him to be our saviour, especially as he''ll get less chances at League 1 level than he was used to in League 2. The comparisons with Iwan aren''t too wide of the mark, to be fair, although Holt is a more creative player and has a surprisingly good touch. OTBC.