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In Dubious Battle

Has Grant Improved The Team

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Just a random question but who would win out of these two teams

                     Gallagher

Colin      Fleming     Shackell     Drury

McVeigh     Etuhu     Robinson     Henderson

        Earnshaw         Thorne

OR

                Marshall

 Ostembor     dublin     shackell     drury

Lappin    brellier     fotherigham     chadwick

       cureton       shrivavka

 

This is the XI of the team he has sold Vs the XI team he has bought who would win?

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the squad is far better now than last season but i think we need a centre back before its improved enough to challenge

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You answer your own question - on paper the new side is much stronger, so long as Hux can be accommodated somewhere, but as we have long observed this causes problems in team balance.Ernie was a good goal taker, even if he missed almost as many, and while Cureton may not score quite so many he will  reate chances for others. We now have more ways of attack, with Dave S able to convert chances created by Chadwick, Lappin and Hux.With a new central defender and Otsemobor, with Brellier in front and Marshall behind, we should concede far fewer goals. It is up to PG to weld them into an effective unit.

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I think we are much better, our strike options and possible formations are better.

We are better at right back and goalkeper positions.

Dublin should be used from the bench as a cover man with a new young quality central defender to partner shacks.

We need to build a team for the future.

 

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[quote user="ncfc1"]Better in goal , defence about the same , weaker in midfield and up front.[/quote]

You dont think Ostembor is an upgrade of hughes?

You dont think Brellier will help out the defence?????

I think we are stronger up front because we have many more attacking options than we did with Earnie.

We got rid of Thorne and Earnie and brought in Davie Striker and Cureton plus we now have Brown back.

Last year with Brown out and Dion in defence we had no "big man" cover.

Chadwick is healthy so thats an upgrade on last year.

I see MUCH more competition for places this year, that has to be a positive.

I dont see very many players who are not going to be looking over their shoulders if they dont perform.

Also the transfer window has not closed, so lets wait and see what happens before we judge the final team.

So far Grant has done well in addressing every obvious weakness in the team.

(from his recent comments about not wanting another striker but still looking for 2 or 3 players we can assume midfield, central defence and possibly left back are the areas he is still looking at)

He got rid of a lot of the dead wood, lets give him credit for that.

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I can alot of goal in that particular game, new team would win though. Clearly therefore the one thing left to change and the most urgent would be the defence, then.

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We''ve lost Etuhu and Earnshaw since then, We''ve got a 38 year old defender with one thats in both teams, same with the left back. Lappin isn''t much better than McVeigh, Brellier could be crap and worse than Etuhu, Fozzy is better than Robbo so at least thats one improvement, Chadwick''s better than Hendo and there''s a one season wonder and an unproven Czech upfront.

I''d say the only improvements are Chadwick for Henderson, Fozzy for Robinson and Marshall for Gallagher. Three definite improvements is pretty poor for a squad you named which was far from full strength

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Sign Watson and Davenport and I will say yes.

However I am realistic and I would be very suprised if this was the case

but whoever if anyone comes in is essential because these are areas that we have been very poor in for the last 3 years.

Come on the board, the money is there, spend it now,

Don''t do a Ashton in January when it''s to late.

We need to get off the ground running, not dawdling .

I like what Peter Grant has done and the players he has signed, but I still feel we are short in these two areas.

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[quote user="hogesar"]

ncfc1 - Weaker in midfielder

How did you work that one out? =/

[/quote]

Looking at the two teams suggested by the OP, I kind of agree with NCFC1. From what I have seen of Fozzy, he is no better than Mulryne and look where he is now. Brellier is an unknown quantity but, to be honest, if he was any good I don''t think he would have chosen us. We just have to accept that we are no longer an attractive proposition to players of any proven quality.

I would also agree that we are weaker up front. We had a £3.5m+ rated forward on our books and now our top striker is not worth more than £1m tops.

In defence I would say we are slightly stronger as I see Ostembor as a slight improvement on Colin or Hughes.

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Nope.....new names on a sheet of paper mean nothing. The squad is every bit as weak as the one that struggled last season.....and it will struggle again.

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where is huckerby safri chadwick

id say this team looks better than last seasons

                              marshal

ostembor     dublin     shakell      drury

chadwick     brellier    safri      huckerby

                 cureton       strihavka

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Prophetic cluck, well, we shall all see wont we! I hope your blind pessimism kicks you on the ass with great big yellow and green spiked boots, for all our sakes.

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This is a paper game, though an interesting one. If Safri and Etuhu had both played every game and put together consistent performances near the peak of their abilities, they would have been a match for any CM pairing in the division. If Brellier and Fotheringham do likewise, they probably wouldn''t be as good as the "paper" Safri and Etuhu. So the question is, will B & F be more consistent than S & E? In attack, we''re definitely better now. Curo''s at the top of his game, Dave''s a big Czech looking for a big cheque, so should be pushing himself, Chadwick''s the creative link we missed last year, and Martin knows he has to make a real effort to get selected. And then of course there''s Hux....But....defensively we''re as weak as we were last year (except for goalie). And that''s probably what will decide our season, as it did last season.

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Wot if we writ a noice lerrer two da guvvernment sportz ministirrer an'' arsked fur anuvver grant two improove da teem? Duz yez fink wheel gerra won?

I iz preepaired two writ eet if yoo lerruz.......an'' dat cleaver posteur ''Ruin Hoblivenearuz'' carn currekt henny spellun an'' puncturedyouasian beefur wee postured hit two dourning strait?

Wot aboot harplyin fur a lootery grant? Telz dem lootery peeple thar weer bildin a pretendy vary noice plaice at carra fur auntynewcleertreezhuggingayroitsperlicketycurrectzandalwearinbrownnozinlabhourvotinlerftyluvheez?

Deh''ll slap 20 mill hin de carra coiffurs twomorrer - know kwestshuns arsked!.......allegedly.[:P]

Thair.......Oi deed awrite wivout a speel cheqhair, didna? 

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It looks to me that we are going to have a much stronger "team" ethic, rather than relying on one or two individuals to pull something out of the hat every week. If you look at how well West Ham did in their first season after promotion, they did not have a team full of stars, but a really tight group of players, who worked bloody hard, week in week out, if we can get closer to that we will do well in my opinion. I am pleased with the people Grant has brought in, and look forward to seeing them in action! I don''t think that we will miss Earnie, as goals will be more evenly spread, nor Etuhu because the other central midfielders we have, though possibly less talented, will turn up more often to get on with their job! So is the squad stronger? Most definitely!

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Is Brellier as good as Etuhu ? almost certainly not , to me that makes our midfield weaker .As for the strikers yes we have plenty but will Cureton,Strihavka,Brown and Martin get as many between the 4 of them as Earnie would have bagged ? very doubtful .Face it we are a very average Championship side and our major goal this season should be finishing higher than Ipswich . £5million pounds of talent out and 3 signinngs of around £700,000 brought in along with some freebies , DO NOT DOUBT OUR AMBITION .

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[quote user="Cluck "]Nope.....new names on a sheet of paper mean nothing. The squad is every bit as weak as the one that struggled last season.....and it will struggle again.[/quote]

How can we even assess strength of sides when the season hasn''t started? We don''t know who''s coming in or leaving as of yet. Compare the side that lined up against Coventry last year to the side that''ll line up against Preston when we know it.

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For me I don''t see it as a contest - the new side would win, with a scoreline of around 3-1.

Check all areas of the pitch.

GK - Gallacher v. Marshall - New gets it.

FB - Colin/Drury v. Otsemobor/Drury - New gets it, not by much

CB - Fleming/Shackell v. Dublin/Shackell - New gets it

CM - Etuhu/Robinson v. Brellier/Fotheringham - New gets it 

(entirely due to Robinson, 1 v 2 will always, over time, go to the 2)

Wings - McVeigh/Henderson v. Chadwick/Lappin - New gets it, by a mile

CF - Earnshaw/Thorne v. Cureton/Strihavka - New gets it (entirely due to Thorne, as with the midfield)

Yes, Earnshaw and Etuhu are probably the best players in their

positions on either team but the dross that completes the first lineup

certainly outweighs their influence.

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Why are Huckerby and Safri not in either team?

Surely the team that will start the season (injuries permitting) is more likley to be:

 

Marshall

Otsemabor Shackell Doherty Drury

Chadwick Brellier Smith/Safri Huckerby

Cureton Shrihavka

 

Still think there will be a new CB as well though.

 

 

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[quote user="ncfc1"]Is Brellier as good as Etuhu ? almost certainly not , to me that makes our midfield weaker .As for the strikers yes we have plenty but will Cureton,Strihavka,Brown and Martin get as many between the 4 of them as Earnie would have bagged ? very doubtful .Face it we are a very average Championship side and our major goal this season should be finishing higher than Ipswich . £5million pounds of talent out and 3 signinngs of around £700,000 brought in along with some freebies , DO NOT DOUBT OUR AMBITION .[/quote]

Hold on a sec is this the same Dickson Etuhu who was hopeless for most of last season? Yes potentially he was very good and played really well about 4 or 5 times last season but for most of the games he may as well not have been on the pitch. If Brellier can play even half decently for 30 games next season he will be much more effective than Etuhu ever was for us.

 

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[quote user="Arbiter"]Prophetic cluck, well, we shall all see wont we!
 
I hope your blind pessimism kicks you on the ass with great big yellow and green spiked boots, for all our sakes.
[/quote]

Let''s hope you''re right Arbiter.....It''s purely a prediction based on what I anticipate, not a hope.

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[quote user="Cluck "]

[quote user="Arbiter"]Prophetic cluck, well, we shall all see wont we!
 
I hope your blind pessimism kicks you on the ass with great big yellow and green spiked boots, for all our sakes.
[/quote]

Let''s hope you''re right Arbiter.....It''s purely a prediction based on what I anticipate, not a hope.

[/quote]

The thing is Cluck you have to say that on paper the players we have signed are better. I can understand that you are unwilling to get hyped up about it - neither am I. I have to see a couple of games and watch the first few results before I can even have a rough guess as to where we will finish etc.

But for me a midfield choice of Brellier, Russel, Fotheringham, Safri, Smith and even Rossi or Spillaine - thats better than those we have lost in Etuhu and Fotheringham. We at least look as if we have depth and options.

It is more or less the same out wide. You have Huckerby or Lappin on the left and Croft of Chadwick on the right with the option of Eagle and Smart as back up.

Up front you are looking at Strihavka, Cureton, Brown, Martin and Dublin as your first choice pros with Ryan and Renton as back up. Again depth and choice.

At left back its still a bit shaky because the only out and out left back we have is Drury although Lappin can cover if and when he is needed. Add to that Hughes can also cover as well as Rossi although neither are naturals there.

Right back we have Otsemobor (jury still out but at least sounds good compared to others we have signed in the past) backed up by Hughes and the youngster and understudy Cave-Brown. Again Rossi can also do a job there.

Centre back is the biggest issue because we only really have three players one is a 38 year old who would prefer to play up-front in Dublin and in all fairness he has played up front for the majority of his long career, and Shackell and Doherty with only youngsters vying for a place.

In goalkeeping terms we have Gilks and Marshall, from what I understand the will be fighting it out to be the regular keeper as both have the ability and desire to be number one. Marshall obviously has to start as number one choice but I wonder if he will be fully fit come the start of the season. Add to that Gallacher (although I expect him to leave), Lewis and Arnold we should be covered.

At least on paper injuries should not be an excuse now in most positions.

You compare that to the start of last season - we are defenitely improved at least in depth if nothing else. And strangely its something people still feel we do not have enough of!

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Has grant improved the team and squad?  Lets compare to 12 months ago.Our team for Leeds away last seasonGallacherColinDruryShackellDohertySafriEtuhuRobinsonHuckerbyEarnshawCroftSubsLewisFlemingMcveighMckenzieThornePotential squad for PNE away this seasonMarshallOstemborDruryShackellDohertyBrellierRussellHuckerbyChadwickStriavkhaCuretonSubsGilksDublinFozzySmithMartinCroftSafriLappinBrownWell the main thing i noticed when typing this was how strong our squad is now compared to last season.  Our bench should be full of players that can come on and change the game for us, and also they''ll be up for it because the following week they might not even make the bench.

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