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BroadstairsR

If we did go up.

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It seems to me that we are gradually building a very strong squad.

In midfield we now have Dorrans on board and a permanent signing seems necessary. Vladis getting fit can be added to this. Tettey and Howson are up to PL standard, IMO, whilst Johnson is playing his best football yet in the yellow.

We have a ''keeper who has represented his country. Bassong seems back at his very best and Olsson might not be so keen on a move if we can give him a chance in the PL again.

Our three main strikers can all hit the net and they are backed up with Redmond''s guile, whilst Murphy can only get better and we have McGrandles to come and also Thompson.

My question is, if we do go up will we need a Hughtonesque spend spree (in both his Summers?)

I think that we are pretty strong and that our current squad is as strong, if not stronger, than any of the squads we had during our three year PL stint.

A decent "winger" on the left? Yes.

A class cb (assuming Cuellar goes?) Yes.

What else?

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Cover at right back and an extra defensive midfielder as cover for Tettey would complete the strengthening imo.   Many will say so and so or so and so aren''t good enough for the prem, but I would disagree.  I don''t think any of our squad are not good enough for the premiership. Some have shown a development in their game this season that has surprised me and the new manager seems to bring the best out in the players, so if we go up, the future looks good.

But it is still an "if" we go up - and there are still five clubs above us to get over.  If we stay down, the squad will still be a good one and will stand a good chance next year too - especially as AN will have a whole season to work his methods.  So either way, up or not, we are in a good position.  Reasons to be encouraged!! 

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always look to improve.. there is no room for sentiment in football and if we can find a player better than one we already have then we should sign them..

That may be harsh on Ruddy, Johnson, Bassong etc but that is the mindset we need to bring success..

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The finances available to improve the squad will vary hugely depending on whether we go up or stay in the Champ.Clearly the squad last season was NOT good enough, and we''d certainly need strengthening in most areas if we were to make a fist of PL life. All areas of defence, CM, and at least one striker.If we stay in the Champ, I''d still expect something of a clearout, and would not be at all surprised to see AN turn to some of the youngsters to fill the gaps. It seems to have been his policy at Hamilton.

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We will obviously need to strengthen at FB, LM, but stating the obvious, we would need to discover a top quality striker.

One of the big differences between Mid Prem teams staying up or going down is that one individual who can play or come on and score a vital goal, turn a 1 pointer into a 3 pointer.

We had Hucks, Holty for one season, Swansea discovered Michu, Benteke for Villa when he was on form. We may already have that player in the squad, or we may need to scour Europe and Africa and find him, it''s more luck than judgement but it''s what we will need.

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For me, if we do go up, defense is where we really need to strengthen.Cuellar won''t be up to it anymore and is only on a year deal. Despite what a lot of people have said, R.Bennett still hasn''t proven himself at premier league level yet. Turner will be 31-32, Martin will be 30-ish. Whittaker isn''t up to it either.My inkling would be that Bassong is the one who we know can make the step up. We''ll need another first choice centre half, maybe two.Martin would be solid enough at right back again and we would need a younger understudy for him. We need to consider Garrido as well, and again I''d probably look to let him move on if we can bring in a suitable replacement.Midfield wise I think we are fine. We have quality and depth at this point centrally. Perhaps more players in terms of width. Is E.Bennett able to compete at Premier League level?For me, we actually have the best squad, on paper and in terms of balance since promotion. We have three good strikers.In terms of striking department Becchio will surely go?

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I think the key is strengthening by bringing in quality and competition rather than making wholesale changes (which I think was Hughton''s biggest mistake). When we last went up we had and kept a strong team - by strong I mean cohesive and effective as a unit. They had an established style and were familiar with their own and each other''s roles in the team and had a strong team spirit. Under Hughton, sure, we changed tactics, but we also completely lost the cohesion and team spirit; by both bringing in too many new players (for big fees and on high wages) and letting too many key team players (go or fall out of favour).By the start of last season we had lost all five of the strikers who were on our books when Hughton took charge the year before. Of their replacements, only Hooper is still here. The midfield also lost most of its creativity by losing players like Surman and Fox with the injuries to Bennett and Pilkington (he was always injured!). The replacements were arguably good: Redmond, Howson, Tettey and Johnson are working well together now. I was a fan of Fer but I don''t think he was particularly committed and Snodgrass, while he did score most of our goals, always slowed our counter-attacks down and had a bad attitude (sulking, complaining etc.). I don''t think they worked as a team and I don''t think much though was put in to bringing in players who worked hard and worked together.What I would want , no matter which league we are playing in next season, is to move on the worst players in our squad in each area and replace them with someone as good as or better than the current best player in that area and then let them compete. I think we are a striker short so we should keep the current three and bring in someone to compete - ideal would be someone like Chris Martin. In midfield Wes can''t go on forever and is arguably only suited to one role but we do not need to ship anyone out. VOO might be good for us when fully recovered and be like a new signing, otherwise we could do with a quality left winger/CAM although Johnson has been fantastic on the left recently. I really think we are missing Surman. In defence Cuellar has been a flop, Turner inconsistent and Martin sometimes being exposed at CB. With the Bassong issues seemingly sorted and Ryan Bennett coming back from injury and the young lad from Arsenal to potentially come in we should probably sign one good centre back. Fullback is a potentially contentious area: Olsson is good but has made quite a few mistakes, Garrido should be adequate cover; at RB, Whittaker is ok but some people would have Martin as first choice. I would be buying a quality RB in the summer.tl;dr: Buy a Striker, CAM/LW, CB, RFB but done make wholesale changes.

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A pacey centre back, it''s something we have lacked for many seasons... Bassong probably being the fastest natural CB we have in recent years.

Serious competition for both Rb and LB as I think with injuries we''d currently be found lacking.

I want to say another attacking Central midfielder but it''s hard to commit depending on how Andrue gets on ans if Wes is still playing for us.

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Ask again at the end of March, by then we will know if Dorrans is the man, for now i would say deco 2 wing backs, and an attacking Left mid, can''t see Oneil being here if we go up, but will be interesting to say the least

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[quote user="lake district canary"]

 Some have shown a development in their game this season that has surprised me



[/quote]

Bearing in mind that we have dropped a division who exactly has upped their game Lakey from last season ?

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[quote user="Frank"]I think the key is strengthening by bringing in quality and competition rather than making wholesale changes (which I think was Hughton''s biggest mistake). When we last went up we had and kept a strong team - by strong I mean cohesive and effective as a unit. They had an established style and were familiar with their own and each other''s roles in the team and had a strong team spirit. Under Hughton, sure, we changed tactics, but we also completely lost the cohesion and team spirit; by both bringing in too many new players (for big fees and on high wages) and letting too many key team players (go or fall out of favour).[/quote]I don''t agree with all of this. I think when we came up, we predominantly had a team of limited players that could only play one way if we wanted to secure enough points to stay up. Whenever Lambert changed our shape we seemed to struggle. We had some individuals that I felt were good enough for the premier league but that the sum of our parts was more important that season.Our defense back then was very much championship bar Martin. Ward, De Laet, Barnett, Tierney, Drury (by that stage), Whitbread. I think Lambert new that which is why we tried to play on the front foot and keep the ball where our better players were - going forward.I don''t think Hughtough changed too much - I think he had to. People wanted him to take the team on to the next level, and that means a team that is far more tactically flexible. What he failed to do, was to bring in capable strikers and to get the team playing together as a whole. In the first season he tightened us up defensively but he really failed to develop the forward play - in my opinion. And that was our undoing.I have said it before, and I am deadly serious when I say I would take Grabban and Jerome over Elmander and RVW. There is just more energy, more running and more dynamism from them. We have more ballance to the team in that sense than we had before.Midfield will be an interesting watch. Wes will be 33 in May - he could want one last move in his career. Celtic were rumoured in January and you could hardly forgive him if he chose to go there. A lot hinges on where Dorrans will be played and how well he does.O''Neil has another year on his contract after this and I can see him being kept as a more than capable squad player for that first season unless he wants regular football or we can find someone seriously better than him - because he is not a bad player at all. We''ll almost certainly be looking at a new back up keeper as well I should think.Two new CB''s a RB and possibly a LB are all musts for me.

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[quote user="chicken"]I don''t think Hughtough changed too much - I think he had to. People wanted him to take the team on to the next level, and that means a team that is far more tactically flexible. What he failed to do, was to bring in capable strikers and to get the team playing together as a whole. In the first season he tightened us up defensively but he really failed to develop the forward play - in my opinion. And that was our undoing.[/quote]I think that the change needed to be more gradual. We were over-performing if you take the players as individuals but it was a massive gamble to try to replace so many in such a short time. It was madness to let Holt leave and letting Chris Martin go on a free looks very silly now. Three months into the season with none of our forwards firing one or other could have come back into the team and potentially made all the difference.I want to see the squad improve, but I want to keep the cohesion and passion in the team. There can be a fine line between good players and journeymen, just here to pick up their wages and it is vital to get the right personalities for the team. Players will inevitably leave - Cuellar  certainly and maybe Garrido (if we don''t take the extra year option) but maybe one or two out of Whitaker, Turner, Hoolahan and maybe Elliott Bennett- so we will have some holes to fill and we are a striker light (unless one of Lafferty or RVW come back in). I would want to bring in better players in each of those positions to improve the first team. However, I would be very alarmed if too many other players were shipped out. We need to keep the core of our team intact.

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[quote user="TIL 1010"]

[quote user="lake district canary"]Some have shown a development in their game this season that has surprised me

[/quote]Bearing in mind that we have dropped a division who exactly has upped their game Lakey from last season ? [/quote]

Johnson and Tettey are the two that come to mind. Yes we''re down a division, but both have revelled in the championship, more so now we have a stronger manager.  From what I''ve seen of them and what I can glean from reports etc, both have buckled down and produced inspiring performances.

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Get rid of Cueller, Elliot Bennett, probably Lafferty, Bunn (is he still with us?) and loan out some of the young ones then -

Buy a decent CB, right back, right winger and striker and we''d then have a squad capable of being a lower mid table Premiership team with the right management.

Frustrating that last season at least 8 teams in the Premiership weren''t very good and the squad we had was more than capable of staying up!

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