No more business?

[king canary 8,750]

Paddy Davitt saying that Farke has indicated he doesn''t expect us to do any more business.

Thoughts?

[hogesar 10,761]

Not surprised although last week he was hinting at potential movement, presuming they''ve broken down.

[king canary 8,750]

I''d be fairly underwhelmed if it is the case. Defence looks weak to me.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

How close is Klose, to full fitness?

[hogesar 10,761]

I''m not sure what more we''d sign that would help.

We''ve got Husband, Stiepermann, Toffolo and Lewis who can play LB. Out of those, the only one I don''t think cut out for it is Toffolo.

We have Franke, Zimmerman, Martin and Klose for CB. In an ideal world one more would be good but that''s enough to get us to January at least, i my opinion.

Then we''ve got Pinto, Martin and Wildshut to an extent who can play RB.

[Branston Pickle 4,145]

I think we''re ok in terms of defender numbers, just need to get the ''mechanics'' sorted and Klose, in particular, fit.

[king canary 8,750]

Disagree on central defence certainly. Klose is injury prone, Zimmerman was in the German 4th division last season (and has looked it at times), Martin is a back up at best.

I understand the argument that we have to give Franke, Zimmerman and Husband time to adjust but right now the defense just doesn''t look up to it.

[PurpleCanary 6,378]

[quote user="king canary"]Paddy Davitt saying that Farke has indicated he doesn''t expect us to do any more business.

Thoughts?[/quote]It would suggest we have no intention (if we ever did have...) of selling Oliveira, which would be good news.

[Rogue Baboon 0]

@hogesar

At LB, out of those 4 only 1 is a LB (who has looked poor), 1 can ''do a job'' but isn''t a LB, 1 is injured til next year, 1 is not cut out for it.

At CB, 2 are untested at this level & have showed glimpses of good & bad. 1 is a classy player who has had his fair share of injuries. 1 is Russel Martin who some say should never play CB.

At RB, we have 1 who is head & shoulders above anybody (but injury prone), 1 who ''can do a job'' but isnt a RB. 1 is Russel Martin who some say should never play RB.

We need bodies. We could end up with too many square pegs in round holes. January will help (Raggett & Lewis both back) but we have already seen we are only 1 or 2 injuries away from serious problems

[Jim Smith 2,608]

Completely and utterly unacceptable if it''s the case. Club just taking the money for Howson and Murphy and reinvesting sod all. This how it''s going to be from now on. Based on what I''ve seen so far I''m not convinced that any of the new players we''ve signed permanently are actually good enough which give. What we''ve spent is probably no big surprise

[Jim Smith 2,608]

[quote user="hogesar"]I''m not sure what more we''d sign that would help.

We''ve got Husband, Stiepermann, Toffolo and Lewis who can play LB. Out of those, the only one I don''t think cut out for it is Toffolo.

We have Franke, Zimmerman, Martin and Klose for CB. In an ideal world one more would be good but that''s enough to get us to January at least, i my opinion.

Then we''ve got Pinto, Martin and Wildshut to an extent who can play RB.

[/quote]

Sorry of those you''ve listed for left back the only one that''s potentially good enough is Lewis and he''s out for a few months. Husband is poor and Stiepermann is not a left back.

[Jim Smith 2,608]

[quote user="Jim Smith"][quote user="hogesar"]I''m not sure what more we''d sign that would help.

We''ve got Husband, Stiepermann, Toffolo and Lewis who can play LB. Out of those, the only one I don''t think cut out for it is Toffolo.

We have Franke, Zimmerman, Martin and Klose for CB. In an ideal world one more would be good but that''s enough to get us to January at least, i my opinion.

Then we''ve got Pinto, Martin and Wildshut to an extent who can play RB.

[/quote]

Plus 3 of the 4 centre backs you''ve cited are sh*t as well.

Sorry of those you''ve listed for left back the only one that''s potentially good enough is Lewis and he''s out for a few months. Husband is poor and Stiepermann is not a left back.[/quote]

[king canary 8,750]

It''s all a massive gamble.

For this defence to work we need one of Franke or Zimmerman to really step up and Klose and Pinto to stay fit (Martin is just too slow to be a right back these days).

If these don''t happen I''m concerned this defence could actually be worse than last seasons. An established, championship centre back to either partner Klose or help the others settle is needed.

[hogesar 10,761]

Martin is a good enough CB at this level in my opinion, and I''d hedge my bets that Webber and Farke also agree so whilst some fans right him off Rogue, i''m not sure the people who make the decisions have.

I also think Husband will be good enough for us. He enjoyed a good spell at Fulham at this level and because he struggled so much initially I think people are looking for mistakes etc in him a little bit more than others.

I can''t possibly say if Franke or Zimmerman will be good enough but the club bought them in with the belief they could be, we''re not about to go and sign a couple more ''in case'' these guys aren''t good enough.

[SwindonCanary 457]

That puts the Stuart Dallas rumour into touch 

[Fiery Zac 1,066]

Jim - Stiepermann was most certainly a left back on tues night. Ok it was only Charlton and the Carabao cup but was a solid, promising performance and definitely an option for LB, even ahead of Husband if he continues to be poor.

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

It''s the CB position that worries me, if we''re treating RM as cover for right back we must expect him to play there fairly often, looking back at Pinto''s track record.  Klose has been injured for much of his time with the club so it''s worrying to have RM as the only other cover for CB now, with the number of games you have in the Champs.  I think RM is fine as cover for either position but to have him as the cover for both is asking for trouble IMO.

 

I can see Wildschut playing at wing back but not really as a traditional full back, and we seem to have given up on 3-5-2 for now.

[Jim Smith 2,608]

Based on the evidence so far this season Russell Martin should not be playing in either position unless its a major emergency.

We are basically going into another season with just 3 centre backs, two of whom are completely unproven (one of whom was expressly stated to be back up when we signed him) and frankly look very unconvincing and also just 2 strikers.

Its tantamount to negligence and not acceptable in our final season with parachute payments when we should be taking a calculated risk.

[pete 371]

Toffolo has experience at CB and might be needed to do a job

[Time to go Delia 0]

Complete farce now no better than a league one squad ,and going into a season with one striker is suicidal sorry but Jerome is no striker more a headless chicken . If we end up

Relegated nobody can say we didn''t deserve it parachute payments and a whole load of worthless signings . As for people who keep saying Martin is good enough for this level , please he isn''t he''s here because he''s a nice bloke who says all the things people want him too , he would be hard pushed a league lower .

[Making Plans 957]

We will not get promoted with what we''ve got.Prudence yes but ambition no.

[Feedthewolf 5,885]

[quote user="Time to go Delia"]Complete farce now no better than a league one squad ,and going into a season with one striker is suicidal sorry but Jerome is no striker more a headless chicken . If we end up

Relegated nobody can say we didn''t deserve it parachute payments and a whole load of worthless signings . As for people who keep saying Martin is good enough for this level , please he isn''t he''s here because he''s a nice bloke who says all the things people want him too , he would be hard pushed a league lower .[/quote]By ''people'', do you mean Paul Lambert, Chris Hughton, Neil Adams, Alex Neil, Daniel Farke, Craig Levein and Gordon Strachan? What makes you think your opinion is more valid than these seven professional football managers, all of whom hold UEFA Pro Licences?

[hogesar 10,761]

Dont even bother FTW...its not worth it!

[Essjayess 307]

Wow, nearly every posting in this topic is so darn negative. I for one am surprised just  how many signings we have made this window, seems to me we are about covered in most positions, maybe RB is a bit thin, otherwise pretty much good to go. So many injuries has been a downer of course, but that gives 1 or 2 guys the chance at more minutes than otherwise they might have had. Take Zimmerman for instance, supposedly coming in as 4th choice maybe, but due to injuries given instant play time, of which theres no substitute for. This includes the roastings yes (Sunderland, Villa) but days like that are way more valuable than playing in the U23s or sitting on the bench. Gives the impatients plenty of fuel to fire up their negativity, but thats fans for you.Overall, im more than satisfied what we have now, looking forward to what lies ahead for the club and the new team  out there. Promotion this season was always going to be a very outside chance in my opinion and does not bother me to much. OTBC

[king canary 8,750]

"By ''people'', do you mean Paul Lambert, Chris Hughton, Neil Adams, Alex Neil, Daniel Farke, Craig Levein and Gordon Strachan? What makes you think your opinion is more valid than these seven professional football managers, all of whom hold UEFA Pro Licences?"

I''ve always found this argument a touch confusing. What bearing does the fact that Martin was a good right back for Paul Lambert 5 years ago have on whether he is good enough to be playing centre back now?

The fact I find difficult to escape is that for the last two seasons at least our defence has been crap. It was the second worst in the Premier League two seasons ago and the thrid worst in the Championship last season (just by goals conceded). During that time no defender has played more than Russell Martin. It seems unlikely to be a coincidence, no?

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="king canary"]"By ''people'', do you mean Paul Lambert, Chris Hughton, Neil Adams, Alex Neil, Daniel Farke, Craig Levein and Gordon Strachan? What makes you think your opinion is more valid than these seven professional football managers, all of whom hold UEFA Pro Licences?"

I''ve always found this argument a touch confusing. What bearing does the fact that Martin was a good right back for Paul Lambert 5 years ago have on whether he is good enough to be playing centre back now?

The fact I find difficult to escape is that for the last two seasons at least our defence has been crap. It was the second worst in the Premier League two seasons ago and the thrid worst in the Championship last season (just by goals conceded). During that time no defender has played more than Russell Martin. It seems unlikely to be a coincidence, no?[/quote]

No. The non-coincidence that stands out for me is the failure of RM''s critics to understand that defending is a joint skill the success of which rests primarily upon the ability of multiple players to be in the right place and do the right thing at the right time. The cross RM bears is to be blamed by the ignorant for the defensive failures and shortcomings of colleagues. 

[shefcanary 2,950]

I''ll be a bit more positive. Michee Effete is knocking on the door for a first team CB role. His two most recent loans seemed to have been to try and toughen him up - shortish loans in relatively competitive teams. I think he will be the "fifth" CB and would hope graduate to the top 3 by end of season.

More positive news from me later .......

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

The purse strings are too tight.

Success this season is vital enough to push future plans which cater for failure into the background as this might be our last chance for some time to come.

An element of risk in the market is opportune.

Why risk the deck for an half pence of tar or whatever the expression is?

The squad is basically strong very especially in midfield and in attack when at full strength.

Why risk these strengths being ineffective by not investing in obvious needs.

Another decent striker and an experienced centre back are vital to the cause, imo. Otherwise promotion is out and our strengths will be gradually wittered away rather than be built upon.

I believe we have the money or at least the means to the money.

Running a successful teams involves the ability to grasp the opportune moment and not being nervous about investment in the squad because of potential problems two seasons away.

Are we indeed now paying for our "owners" lack real of funds at this crucial time?

If so they are imposters in pretending to have the club''s real interests at heart when their relative lack of wealth in the context of today''s Championship world ceases to be in the best interests of the massive support the club generates.

If she/they are incapable of supporting the club now of all times the they should remove them selves immediately. We seem to have become Premier League hopefuls to championship also-rans in record time.

I have always said they deserve one more season, two if the lights are glowing. Our ordinary start mitigates against this stance,

[Rogue Baboon 0]

The defence isn''t good enough, no question about it anymore...

[Canary Wundaboy 1,423]

[quote user="Essjayess"]Wow, nearly every posting in this topic is so darn negative. [/quote]

Have you seen the score per chance?