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Lewis DW

How bad do the players want Premier League football?

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it''s the question Alex Neil has apparently asked his players. But I don''t believe many of them actually want us to necessarily stay in the Premier League.

We can all assume they get paid more in the PL, but how many of them are bothered about being relegated, as it''ll probably mean more game time for them next season. I''m looking at the ageing Hoolahan, Gary O''Neil, Cameron Jerome... The latter was our main striker last year and playing regularly - now he plays 2 or 3rd fiddle. Does Russell Martin want PL football? I would assume not as he gets to play as a centre-back in the Championship.

Players like Redmond, Klose and Brady are decent Premier League players and will easily find new teams next year if needed but I think its wrong for us to expect players to be ALL fighting to keep playing in the Premier League, some players just want to play.

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Are you really suggesting that Gary O''Neil (just picked him as one example but could be others) haven''t been trying this season!

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I guess you could read it that way although it was intended that way.

BUT

Gary O''neill would be a starter in the Championship - he barely featured before Tettey got injured.

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I can''t believe you''ve said that Lewis. You''ve got me thinking now but really, I can''t see any merit in your point.

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Theoretically perhaps this makes sense.

But have you seen any evidence on the pitch (the only place that could actually give any merit to what you are saying)?

The answer, of course, is no...

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To be fair I don''t believe the OP''s point about lack of effort throughout the season however I''m not going to lie it has crossed my mind during the run in that Mbokani, Wisdom, Naismith and to a lesser extent Bamford won''t be up for the fight.

The reason being is that Mbokani is already thinking about next season and openly admits he won''t be here if we''re in the Championship. I think Wisdom wants to go back to Liverpool and try and break in there. Naismith has a buy-out clause so he''s fine if we go down, and Bamford will go back to Chelsea. The reason why I think Bamford is to a lesser extent is that I believe that he realises his future is away from Stamford Bridge and a strong finish with Norwich might engineer him a permanent move (either here or elsewhere).

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Fair enough The Walking Man, but as I said, have you really seen any evidence on the pitch to back this up?

Don''t think anyone can fault Mbokani''s effort on Saturday.

Bamford we haven''t really seen much of, seemed to capitulate against Palace but that was under different circumstances.

Wisdom I don''t think deserves any criticism for a lack of effort either, came in against Newcastle and did a really good job.

Naismith on the other hand, perhaps you have a point, has been awful in his last 2 games and only performances of note against Liverpool and Newcastle. Will be interesting to see how he plays in the remaining fixtures.

Perhaps these aspects are the difference in a player giving 100% and 99%, which could in turn be the difference in winning a 50/50 tackle or busting a gut to obstruct an opposition''s passing channel. Obviously this is also very difficult to note on the pitch, but such are the fine margins in football at this level it is plausible that it could have an effect on a match.

These avenues are not unique to us as a club though and therefore not overly significant or worth getting concerned over IMO.

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Definitely no lack of fight or effort on Saturday, what did for us was a one-dimensional game plan, a desperately ineffective performance by Naismith who is supposed to be the glue joining attack and midfield and performed more like out-of-date blutack, a silly error of judgement to give away a penalty, some bizarre substitutions, and the fact our defence without Klose isn''t good enough.
But effort?  Can''t fault it.

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[quote user="Walt kills mike"]What did you think of Naismith''s effort Bor, do you think he isn''t giving 100% or have we just signed a dud?

He seems extremely unfit which is a bit of a concern![/quote]
His off the ball movement and runs are actually very good.  It''s just a shame that he currently appears unable to control a football with feet or head.
Unfit possibly, match unfit definitely.  I don''t doubt his willingness but he looks desperately out of sorts and it''s a real disappointment as I thought he was going to get the goals we need.  He still might, I guess, but on performances so far he looks like a dud.

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Yeah I''d go with that, although I suppose his lack of match sharpness must surely be attributed to lack of effort in training?

It is a real shame and I agree he does often find himself in useful positions in between midfield and defence, but with 0 end product at the moment it really is rather irrelevant!

Couldn''t believe it on Saturday when he was charging towards the box in the first half, in acres of space, only to thread the ball straight through to the keeper in an attempt to play Jarvis in behind. Maybe harsh to note an isolated case but I was that shocked by how poor it was I feel like making an exception..

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If Naismith is as piss-poor as many are making out then I don''t think we have to worry too much about anybody actually bidding high enough to invoke his release clause, unless it was set absurdly low.

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I think we''re stuck with either players that are motivated but ultimately not good enough (Gary O''Neil) and players that are good enough but can''t really be bothered (Steven Naismith, Youssuf Mulumbu).

To me, there''s only Klose, Howson Brady and Mbokani on a good day that have consistently shown they deserve to play at this level and the latter has gone a bit stale of late as well.

Whatever happens this season, we have a fair bit of work to do over summer because our squad at the moment is not anywhere near the level required to compete in the premiership. We are lucky Newcastle are injury ridden and poorly run and that Sunderland had such a disastrous start as most seasons gone by, we''d already be deep in the mire.

If we stay up, it''ll be a great achievement all in all given the lack of finances compared to others, but it will be in spite of Newcastle and Sunderland rather than because we were good enough for this level. Without major surgery in summer, we''d only be waiting to go down next season.

New Keeper, CB, RB, CM, AM and 2 strikers all needed for the starting line up IMO.

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I''m not faulting anyone''s effort up to this point I am saying that somewhere in the back of my mind there is a nagging doubt about how the going is now getting tough, do the mentioned players want to be up for it?

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Naismith buy out clause is £6m and yes no one is going to pay anything like that based on his performances. But I don''t think we are going to be able to move on players as easily as some think. Brady has dropped off dramatically in the second half of the season and with successive relegations to his name £7m will be a difficult sell. Klose with two good performances behind him is now going to be worth £8m +. Redmond rarely plays in his last year of contract would a bid of £5m get him.

We have only one player who has significantly improved his worth in the transfer market and that is Howson a player would could not afford to lose.

Following the last relegation we recouped £8m for the excellent Snodgrass who was unlucky with injuries not able to prove his worth. And £10m for Fer from QPR perhaps the only club who would have paid this ridiculous fee for the lazy Leroy.

Next season whatever division the team needs serious recruitment and not just the young bucks we have been buying.

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