the squad

[swjf50 0]

Goalkeepers Ruddy, Rudd, ?

RB Whittaker, Wisdom, E Bennett

CB Bassong, Martin, R Bennett, Turner

LB Olsson, Brady

RW Redmond, Murphy?

DM Tettey, Mulumbu

AM Howson, Hoolahan, Ofoe, Andreu, Dorrans

LW Johnson (Brady)

S Jerome, Grabban, Hooper, RVW or Lafferty

Have i left anyone out?

I believe Murphy is still under 21 so he will not be counted in the 25. We may sell RVW or Lafferty.Personally i think Turner will struggle in the Prem, so i would be happy for us to sell him, now that we have Wisdom. We have an abundance of central and attacking midfielders, so i hope we can keep them all happy and give them all a reasonable amount of game time.

What do you think of our squad? I still think we lack that extra bit of class needed in the Prem in our defence and up front.

[Luton canary 0]

Gary O''Neill

[swjf50 0]

Of course. Is he surplus to requirements i wonder.

[TIL 1010 4,746]

[quote user="swjf50"]Of course. Is he surplus to requirements i wonder.[/quote]

Thought he was captain for last nights friendly ?

[Van wink 2,994]

Has played a lot of B team footy in the friendlies.

[Year of the tiger 54]

Redmond also does not need to be named in the 25

[mrs miggins 0]

Personally I still think Brady will be played as a LM and we will therefore get a LB as cover/competition.

Also think we need to splash out on some really good quality on a striker and a CB.

I''m not saying: Dorrans, Mulumbu, Brady and Wisdom are bad signings as they are competing for places where we are strong (except Brady, in which we spent a reported £7m on a position where we have no players and therefore needed to fill). Russell Martin/Whittaker is a worrying partnership in the PL throughout the season and our most well-rounded striker - CamJam hasn''t ever been very good in this league (maybe one?), yes he may have ''turned a corner'' in his career, but this may also not be the case.

[Donkey dangler 0]

Dont forget Thompson as a DCM - he doesnt count towards the 25 either

I think Wisdom should play as a CB and Martin should compete for the RB position.

I agree with mrs miggins, we need to splash out and get a striker and a centre back (Van Dijk?? Now that Everton seem to be out of the picture).

[Monty13 2,234]

No way O''Neil isn''t in Alex Neil''s plans, we could have released him, instead we gave him a new contract.

He''s also looked decent in pre-season and a very capable back up. After years of being returned to the Championship by promoted teams he is probably happy to sit on the bench and do his bit when he gets the chance.

Seems a great pro to me, and a good experienced head to have about.

[Chemical Bro 0]

Agreeing a lot here with Mrs miggins.

Whittaker/Martin at premier league is a worry. I suspect Wisdom will be more than in the mix here once match fit. Still don''t see us signing a top CB so going with what we have so it seems.

Have a feeling we''re still in the market for left back. Brady for me has definitely been bought in as a winger.

Alex Neil has made no secret we''re after a striker so I guess it''s wait and see. At the moment we''re heavily relying on Cameron Jerome having his best season yet. Hopefully he has turned that corner and can continue last seasons form.

So in summary. Midfield is by far strongest part of our squad right now. If we struggle it will be down to conceding too many or not scoring enough. Hopefully neither and certainly not both.

[Trevor Hockey's Beard 527]

CBs seem to get injured more often in the Prem, maybe due to the higher tempo, so , while I agree that Turner is not our first or second choice in that role, he''d be better there in an emergency than some of our other options.

[Fuzzar 1,702]

I think Brady offers enough cover at left back if Olsson''s out, especially with Toffolo on the fringes and remembering Whittaker can also play there if pushed.

I hope we''re still looking at another CB in pref to Turner and that AN has seen some evidence that Bennett can be the player we hoped he would be when he signed.

The midfield looks sorted, but up front the picture is still unclear. We have options, just not all of them attractive.

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

Goalkeepers Ruddy, Rudd, ?

RB Whittaker, Wisdom, (E Bennett)

CB Bassong, Martin, R Bennett, Turner, (Wisdom)

LB Olsson, (Brady), Toffolo (Whittaker)

RW Redmond, E.Bennett, Jacob Murphy?

DM Tettey, Mulumbu, Thompson

CM Howson, Odjidja-Ofoe, O''Neil (Dorrans)

AM Hoolahan, Andreu, Dorrans, (Odjidja-Ofoe)

LW Johnson, Brady, Josh Murphy

S Jerome, Grabban, Hooper, RVW or Lafferty

Brackets indicate alternative positions. If another keeper comes in, then either O''Neil or one of the strikers will leave. If a CB comes in then Turner will probably leave. If a striker comes in then another striker will leave.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

O''Neill confirmed on twitter he was staying so unless anything new happens, he will be the back up holding mid.

[AJ 1,221]

Wisdom is only 22 so probably won''t be included in the 25 man squad either. Remi Matthews is our 3rd keeper at the moment also under 25.

Harry Toffolo another under 25 as is Thompson and both Murphy''s

Plenty of room!

[AJ 1,221]

Just realized I''ve said 25, obviously I meant 21!

Wisdom is 22 before the season starts so would have to be included. My bad!

[DanTheMan 2]

My understanding is that they have to be under 22 on January 1st of the year the season starts not the actual start of the season.

His would mean Wisdom and Redmond don''t have to be in the 25, they can be additional.

Please correct me someone if I am wrong

[Yellow Shrimper 0]

It’s pretty obvious that the contributors here are familiar with the U21 exemption rulings but here’s a list of those that were born in 1994 and are therefore in their last year of exemption:

Remi Matthews

Nathan Redmond

Jamar Loza

Adel Gafaiti

Louis Thompson

As a matter of interest those born in 1995 for whom season 2016/17 (hopefully still be in the EPL) will be their last as U21s are as follows:

Jacob Murphy

Josh Murphy

Reece Hall-Johnson

Harry Toffolo

Conor McGrandles

Reiss Awuah (U21 squad)

Cameron King (U21 squad)

Cameron Norman (U21 squad)

Ben Killip (U21 squad)

Carlton Morris (U21 squad)

Andre Wisdom was born in 1993 and will be part of the 25 man squad.

[Move Klose 303]

Ruddy Rudd

Wisdom Whittaker

Olsson

Bassong Martin R.Bennett Turner

E.Bennett Andreu

Brady Johnson

Tettey Mulumbu Howson O''Neill Dorrans

Hoolahan

Jerome Grabban Hooper Wolfswinkel Lafferty

I make that 24 out of a 25 man squad. Would expect 2 or 3 of them to be replaced tho.

[Move Klose 303]

I left out Odjijda-Ofoe. Well that''s 25 for now then.

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

Presumably, you''re deliberately leaving out Redmond as he still counts as under 21. That means we have a 26 man squad further supported by youth players like the Murphys, Toffolo, Thompson, Loza and McGrandles. Strongest squad ever?

[Move Klose 303]

Yer I didn''t include Toffolo or Redmond.

Personally think both the Murphys, Thompson, McGrandles, Loza will be allowed loan moves. Same with Toffolo if another LB arrives.

[ca 1]

So haveing read through the thread its

Ruddy Rudd +another

Wisdom Whittaker

Olsson

Bassong Martin R.Bennett Turner

E.Bennett Andreu

Brady Johnson

Tettey Mulumbu Howson O''Neill Dorrans

Hoolahan

Jerome Grabban Hooper

Do we think these 2 might leave Wolfswinkel Lafferty in which case it would leave us 2 places for a left back and striker and does anyone think Andreu will get in the first team squad or also maybe go on loan to get games?

[Rhiadd 7]

Calm, experienced pro with skills. A very valuable asset in some capacity this season.[quote user="Monty13"]No way O''Neil isn''t in Alex Neil''s plans, we could have released him, instead we gave him a new contract.

He''s also looked decent in pre-season and a very capable back up. After years of being returned to the Championship by promoted teams he is probably happy to sit on the bench and do his bit when he gets the chance.

Seems a great pro to me, and a good experienced head to have about.[/quote]

[Move Klose 303]

We didn''t give o''Neill a new contract. He joined on a 2 year contract when signed by Neil adams last summer.