Thin squad

[hogesar 9,760]

2 hours ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

...indeed, the current midfield us fine when youre controlling a midfield vs a poor Millwall....but a proper CDM is required when defending a lead away at Southampton

This argument unfortunately is so one-sided it looks as well balanced as we did at the end kf last season.

First, we have to assume that a CDM does specific defensive duties better than Kenny that stops some of 4 goals Southampton scored. 2 were penalties. I'm not sure what a CDM does to stop Duffy apparently handballing it or Gianoullis breathing on a man he should have been marking.

Then, to balance things out, we have to acknowledge that Kenny played a key part in two of the goals we scored. Now, if a CDM is inherently better defensively than Kenny they're likely to be poorer going forwards. After all, a midfielder who defends far better than Kenny but attacks far better doesn't tend to ply their trade in the championship. 

So how do you square it off?

Instead we have a 4th consecutive manager who sees Kenny as in integral part of the starting 11 and even as far as captain. I note after the end of last season all the pathetic pretend fans on here criticising Kenny for pointing went incredibly silent and we've since signed multiple players who do the same. And we look far better for it.

Now, you've said on multiple occasions a team can't expect to finish in the playoffs if Kenny is a starting player. It's fine, plenty others have said it. They've been wrong for two comprehensive title wins but hey, eventually you'll be right. I wouldn't want to bet on it this season though...

[BigFish 1,988]

34 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

So you mean exactly the sort of player that would have been required to protect a 4-3 lead away to oh I don't know, someone like Southampton?

We play a CDM against Southampton and we lose the game, simple as that. That was a fantastic point that was a tribute to the new system.

[Ken Hairy 3,781]

9 minutes ago, BigFish said:

We play a CDM against Southampton and we lose the game, simple as that. That was a fantastic point that was a tribute to the new system.

Hold on people saying we don't need a CDM say the new system doesn't use a CDM, so which is it?

I think some of you are missing the point, yes this new system is brilliant and doesn't rely on a CDM but there has to be plan B or C etc, Farkes undoing was his over insistence on one system.

At 4-3 away to a very good Southampton having someone who specialises in just sitting (that's not McLean), could have been the difference in 1 (albeit very good point) or 3 points.

[Gordon Bennett 789]

2 hours ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Once Sainz (I'm saying this without having seen him play!) and Hanley return , I'd say we have 16 players - the 11 that started yesterday + Nunez , Omobamidele and Hernandez as an impact off the bench , before the quality then severely drops.

We're clearly short in cover in some areas, RB and CDM , wouldnt mind another no.10 too.

Still cant believe we let Mumba go,  player who can play full back ,wing back and on the wing ,both left and right would've surely come in useful somewhere along the line in a 46 game season

Trouble is he didn't want to be 'useful somewhere along the line' he wanted to be a regular starter. Wagner couldn't offer him that so off he went to somewhere he was happy last season. That's football.

I think in terms of numbers we are fine, even more so once injured players return. We can all debate until the cows come home whether or not the quality is there but you have to be realistic about the standard of player we can afford to have sitting on our bench. I keep hearing 'two or three injuries and we're in trouble' but A nothing is that black and white anyway and B you could probably say that for pretty much every club in the division. Young players generally don't get their opportunity until injuries and suspensions bite so perhaps some of the youngsters will do just that and thrive. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Gordon Bennett

[splutcho 176]

I think on the face of it, a few injuries to key players and we might be in the mud, but that's true of basically any team in the league. I wouldn't say no to a couple more bodies if they were the right fit, but it's not realistic to have 22 interchangeable players, any of which you'd be happy with playing 40 odd games. Nobody in the league has that.

[Essjayess 307]

3 hours ago, Top corner said:

Wagner said after the game yesterday that Placheta had a small problem with his hamstring & didn't want to risk him. 

Yes, minor hamstring issue, anything from 1 to 5 weeks out, given the international break included. So we had 6 out injured on Sunday yet still got 9  guys on the bench that covered  most positions on the pitch. At some stages thru this season, if we had say 10 guys or more out injured then yes we may get a bit stretched, but right now, with or without a loan or two coming in, i dont see us having a thin squad.

It may depend on what you refer to...numbers or quality...numbers we are fine and quality...well, that can change  week by week...dependant on any individuals form  and confidence.

[BigFish 1,988]

11 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

Hold on people saying we don't need a CDM say the new system doesn't use a CDM, so which is it?

I think some of you are missing the point, yes this new system is brilliant and doesn't rely on a CDM but there has to be plan B or C etc, Farkes undoing was his over insistence on one system.

At 4-3 away to a very good Southampton having someone who specialises in just sitting (that's not McLean), could have been the difference in 1 (albeit very good point) or 3 points.

There is no place for a CDM, or at the very least a CDM we can afford, in the system. Certainly the last thing the team needed at Southampton was someone who just sat and it certainly wouldn't have stopped Gino giving away a soft penalty. The system is flexible and can be tweaked but there isn't scope to throw it out and adopt another one, call it Plan B or C mid-game. In reality you are talking about throwing away the point we got, not winning two more.

[Capt. Pants 4,284]

We need another central midfielder. They don't have to be specialist DM but someone who can get around pitch to supplement the tiring engines of Sara and McLean.

I've seen enough of Nunez to see that he isn’t quite what we need? They need to be better than what we have now and that includes Sorensen and Gibbs.

Just to add that the substitutions yesterday made us slightly (ok much) worse and indeed Millwall won that passage of play 1-0. It might be nitpicking but if we want to be serious promotion contenders then we do need to fill those gaps.

I thought we were going to be **** mid-table but we have something about us. It would be a shame not to add to that. After all we've spent very little money this window.

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Capt. Pants

[Thirsty Lizard 3,183]

If we are looking for a midfielder who is of the quality that can make a difference and who isn't going to break the bank then Lewis O'Brien on loan from Nottingham Forest looks like a good shout to me.  As far as I can work out he isn't in the picture at Forest and might be available for a loan. 

[Grando 283]

Are there any potentially gettable young attacking Premier players who we might realistically get in on loan?

[norfolkngood 1,091]

i think we need a mobile midfielder who maybe not a out and out CDM but is more defensive minded than what we have now ,

or a older experienced CDM for the bench to bring on to slow game down when winning ,

also we need another striker i had hopes for Idah this season but he seems to coast in games instead of being aggressive and making things happen 

i think this season maybe down to finances / wage bill we will have a strong team backed up with a lot of youth players ,

 we seem to have a good balance just a couple to add to that we will be a quite a bit stronger 

[Conrad 179]

Our squad appears light outside of the first eleven. At the moment, Sargent, Barnes, Kenny and Sara are crucial to the way that we are set up to play. If any sustain a longer term injury then we have no adequate replacements, or alternatively the system would have to change. To that Rowe can be added based on his current form.