A Position by Position Look at the Squad

[king canary 7,578]

So now we know which players have been let go it is worth looking at exactly where our squad is right now. I''ve included some of the younger players who are on the fringe of the team that might be able to break through into the next level. If someone is capable in two positions I''ve listed them in both.

GK

Ruddy (29)

Rudd (25)

Kean (25)

Right Back

Pinto (26)

Whittaker (31)

Martin (30)

CB

Klose (28)

Bassong (29)

Bennett (26)

Martin (30)

Turner (32)

LB

Olsson (28)

Toffolo (20)

Brady (24)

CM

Tettey (30)

Howson (28)

Dorrans (29)

Andreu (28)

VOO (27)

Mulumbu (29)

Thompson (21)

Wingers

Jarvis (30)

Redmond (22)

Brady (24)

Josh Murphy (21)

Jacob Murphy (21)

Attack Midfield

Naismith (29)

Hoolahan (34)

Maddison (19)

Strikers

Jerome (29)

Lafferty (28)

---------------------------------------------------------------

A few things stand out...

1. Our squad is big- I make that 29 players

2. The core of our squad is pretty old. Only Brady and Redmond are under 26 and have played significant game time for us. Both of those are on the list of players we''re apparently trying to sell.

3. The squad is unbalanced. For instance we have five center backs on the books yet all but one have question marks. Central midfield in particular is an absolute log jam.

We''re going to have to do some fairly major surgery on this squad to get it up to purpose for the season. If Brady, Redmond and Jerome all get sold as the Times suggests we''re going to need at least two strikers and a winger and this is before we even get around to looking to improve other positions on the pitch. I''d expect we need to offload at least 7 or 8 players if we''re going to make this squad manageable and competitive- the next question is who?

[SwindonCanary 455]

If it''s true that we are looking to sell Jerome we look very weak up front. Maybe he''s planning to play as Spain did in the world cup !

[Dr Greenthumb 746]

Van wolfswinkel is still contracted to the club you know

[king canary 7,578]

Ah shit, knew I''d missed someone!

Even with that I''d stand by the ''need two strikers'' statement.

[Move Klose 303]

You say that asif 26 and over is old. 26-30 isn''t exactly past it. Some would say in there prime.

[king canary 7,578]

@Move Klose

No it isn''t past it but our squad is heavily skewed towards the older end. Most squads would have a balance of players of all ages. It is notable that our two youngest regular players are the ones we''re going to be able to sell for good money. Investing in younger players on an upwards curve also makes sense financially for the club. If you buy someone who is 28 your unlikely to be able to make a profit on them if you need to sell.

[chaywa 0]

You missed Carlton Morris from the strikers list as well

Probably a decent back up Championship striker I imagine

[king canary 7,578]

I didn''t put Morris in as I don''t see him being involved next season. Could be wrong though.

Maddison and Thompson we spent money on so I''d expect them to be involved. The Murphy''s both got some good experience on loan last season so should be pushing.

I didn''t put McGrandles in due to the broken leg.

[pete 318]

Squad of 29 with a couple of omissions however 5 21 or younger do they count in Champs. Is there a squad limit in Champs? sure clubs have had larger squads in Champs than Prem.

[Salopian 1]

I needn''t mention any names, but looking at the list some are unlikely to get a game unless there''s some kind of epidemic. We have become saddled with a number of players who will probably not be able to do much to get us back into the Prem.

The squad is arguably too large. Are we not attempting to spend available money over the summer? Or is the hope to bring on some youth players?

Perhaps the agents appointed to do our transfer business will do some sort of cull. If not we shall be carrying a lot of costs.

[king canary 7,578]

I don''t think there are squad limits in the Championship but obviously we can only have 18 people in the match day squad. With a squad of 30 players that means 12 players missing out every week which is excessive. I''d expect a squad of 25-26 would make more sense which means if we''re going to make 3 or 4 signings (2 strikers, a winger, centre back) then we''ll need to be offloading 8 or 9 players.

In an ideal world (with some realism thrown in) the departures would look like this-

Redmond

VOO

Mulumbu

Andreu

Turner

RVW

Lafferty

Bassong

This is all dependent on finding a willing bidder to come in for any of them.

However it seems more likely based on reports and rumours that it might be-

Redmond

Brady

Jerome

RVW

Lafferty

Bennett

Dorrans

?

[AJ 1,218]

Personally, I think we don''t need major surgery, but at the end of the window we should be in this position;

GK: Ruddy + Rudd (+ Kean 3rd choice but out on loan)

RB: Pinto + Whittaker (+ R Martin if required)

CBR: Klose + R Martin + Bassong + Bennett (+ Turner)

LB: Olsson + Toffolo

CDM: Mulumbu + Tettey

CM: Dorrans + Howson + Thompson

CAM: Naismith + Hoolahan

LM: Brady + Jarvis

RM: Redmond

ST: Jerome + Lafferty

Utility: Vadis + Murphy1 & Murphy2

I make that a 27 Man Squad, with the aim of filling any gaps with some youth.

Players to sell: Andreu (just isn''t going to work out for him here, didn''t set the world alight at Reading)

The conclusion to this is we''re in a great position where we don''t need to sell anybody for financial reasons, and we''ve got a very, very, good championship squad without having to really sign anyone. The signings I see as vital to us are;

A striker, or possibly two, that will guarantee 15-20 goals for the season.

A very good centre back to partner Klose, especially if Bennett does leave us.