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The SQUAD so far......................

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OK, assuming we sign Whaley how does the current squad look at the various positions......

With recent annoucements many positions have started to become clearer.

Here are my opinions.


Goalkeeper..... Theoklitos, Rudd and Steer

Pretty much set as all 3 are/will be getting minutes in pre-season. This looks like a strong trio of experience and quality young keepers.
I don''t expect any moves in this area unless we get injuries.

Centre backs....Doherty , Stefanovic, Nelson, Stephens,(Askou) (Joarder)

A decent array of experience/cover in this position. I havn''t included Spillane or Drury who both could play at a push.
I think its interesting we have Askou on trial who did well today by all reports.
This with Dumic playing at RB suggest a shift of thinking.

Right back... Otsemobor, Spillane and Dumic

Big question marks at this position.Its obvious that we are lining up either Dumic or Spillane to be the cover for this position.
It would not surprise me to see Spillane start the year as our number 1 RB.
It was interesting in the Raith Rovers game they moved Otsemobor into right midfield.

Left back     Drury, Habergham (Lappin ?)

This is our weakest position by far in terms of squad depth. I would expect us to make some serious moves in this area pretty soon.

Cen Midfield..... OTJ, Gill, Adeyemi

Again we seem to be one short here. The fact we offered Stephen Hughes a contract kind of confirms that Team Gunn knows this.
Spillane or Lappin can fill in at a push if we are hit badly.

Left Midfield  Hoolahan, Pattison and Lappin

With Hoolahan confirming he is staying this now looks stronger. The problem is do we have an out and out left sided attacking player?
Oct 24th is the last regular season game for San Jose Earthquakes, They have very little chance of making the play offs.
Maybe they might let one of their players out of their contract early?
Even at his age Hucks IMHO would be a fantastic player to bring from the bench at this level.

Right Midfield   Whaley, McVeigh, Corey Smith (Neilson)

If we sign Whaley it looks like a decent improvement in quality at this position. I do expect McVeigh to have done enough to earn a contract
Not sure what team Gunn thinks of the trialist Neilson. People reported he was decent against Dartford.

Another possible option on the right is Chris Martin

Strikers  Martin, Cureton, McDonald, Daley, (Maric) (Bridges) (Craig) (Powell)

(I havn''t included Renton who probably won''t figure at all.)

This is the area we are really looking to improve.
The fact we have had a number of different trialists in (plus bids for Lee and Dickinson) suggest that we are looking to bring in a minimum of 2 strikers maybe 3.
I think this is one area that Team Gunn must be aplauded for effort. (even if we lack confirmed signings as I make this post)
Some people questioned why they have such a large pre-season fixture list. It should be obvious now that Team Gunn wanted to look at as many different players as possible.
I also like the fact that Norwich won''t overpay for players that are not worth the outlay.
Sir Alex just recently annouced he isn''t prepared to overpay for players no matter how good they are. (a guy with 80 million to spend)

So far the Team Gunn gameplan is obviously to spend the limited budget wisely knowing the we needed to bring in a minimum of 8-10 players.
I like the fact that Bryan Gunn kept his word that we are not going down the mass loan route again. All the players we have either signed or looked to sign were all on permanent deals.

The important fact to realize is that with 7 subs this year, the game will become much more tactical.
Having decent quality on the bench in most positions has never been more important.

I also think once the Clingan and Russell deals are concluded (and their wages freed up) we will have a pretty good idea what our overall transfer budget will be.

I expect us to be MUCH more active in the transfer market. I would be surprised if we don''t bring in at least another 4-5 players on permanent deals before the window

shuts.

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Michael Spillane is primarily a centre back (can play either right back or centre midfield).Dario Dumic is primarily a centre back (can play right back).Matty Pattison is primarily a central midfielder (who can play on either the right or left wing).... Theres probably a few others i''m missing.

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Theoklitos

New RB Doherty Nelson New LB

Whaley* New CM Tudor-Jones Hoolahan

New FW New FW (Maric)

Subs from: Rudd, Stefanovic, Drury, Spillane, Gill, McVeigh, Pattison, Lappin, McDonald, Cureton, Martin

Dont think i''v missed anyone i think is ready for first team football

* Hoping that Whaley agrees terms

If we can get hold of a strong powerful CM player then i think the midfeild will be sorted and will look VERY strong, really we should be looking for more of a defensive CM to drop back and help out the defence, Whaley will provide the pace, Hoolahan will provide the skill and quick feet to beat players, Tudor-Jones will provide the power and height to win the ball in the air.

A back centre pairing of Doc and Nelson will be a very solid heart to the defence, we must look for two new pacey full backs, otsemobor i belive could be very good if confordent, and Drury to be used as cover coming on as a sub now and again.

Up front, this Maric chap we have on trial looks very promising (who needs Alan Lee when you have Goran Maric, hes just as big, younger, more physical and he''s not an ex binner!!!...sign him up!!!) Another FW is vital, im not very comfordent on Bridges and Craig and dont think they will get a contract. We really need another McDonald with more experience at this level of football, lots of names going around...we shall have to wait and see what happens.

I dont know very much about the other players we currently have on trial but if the impress then give them a contract Gunny, whats to lose? atm i would like Neilson and Powell to be given a chance to impress more that the others

Most important thing is to keep team moral as high as possible, it was a good call by Gunny to leave Rusty and Clingan behind, im not oo bothered if either of them go, i couldnt really see what everyone saw in Clingan? Yes, ok ill admit he had a good freekick and was probably one of our more consistant players but he was still very average imo.

The squads starting to shape up well, well done team Gunn!!! keep it up!!!

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[quote user="USAcanary"]

OK, assuming we sign Whaley how does the current squad look at the various positions......

With recent annoucements many positions have started to become clearer.

Here are my opinions.


Goalkeeper..... Theoklitos, Rudd and Steer

Pretty much set as all 3 are/will be getting minutes in pre-season. This looks like a strong trio of experience and quality young keepers.
I don''t expect any moves in this area unless we get injuries.

Centre backs....Doherty , Stefanovic, Nelson, Stephens,(Askou) (Joarder)

A decent array of experience/cover in this position. I havn''t included Spillane or Drury who both could play at a push.
I think its interesting we have Askou on trial who did well today by all reports.
This with Dumic playing at RB suggest a shift of thinking.

Right back... Otsemobor, Spillane and Dumic

Big question marks at this position.Its obvious that we are lining up either Dumic or Spillane to be the cover for this position.
It would not surprise me to see Spillane start the year as our number 1 RB.
It was interesting in the Raith Rovers game they moved Otsemobor into right midfield.

Left back     Drury, Habergham (Lappin ?)

This is our weakest position by far in terms of squad depth. I would expect us to make some serious moves in this area pretty soon.

Cen Midfield..... OTJ, Gill, Adeyemi

Again we seem to be one short here. The fact we offered Stephen Hughes a contract kind of confirms that Team Gunn knows this.
Spillane or Lappin can fill in at a push if we are hit badly.

Left Midfield  Hoolahan, Pattison and Lappin

With Hoolahan confirming he is staying this now looks stronger. The problem is do we have an out and out left sided attacking player?
Oct 24th is the last regular season game for San Jose Earthquakes, They have very little chance of making the play offs.
Maybe they might let one of their players out of their contract early?
Even at his age Hucks IMHO would be a fantastic player to bring from the bench at this level.

Right Midfield   Whaley, McVeigh, Corey Smith (Neilson)

If we sign Whaley it looks like a decent improvement in quality at this position. I do expect McVeigh to have done enough to earn a contract
Not sure what team Gunn thinks of the trialist Neilson. People reported he was decent against Dartford.

Another possible option on the right is Chris Martin

Strikers  Martin, Cureton, McDonald, Daley, (Maric) (Bridges) (Craig) (Powell)

(I havn''t included Renton who probably won''t figure at all.)

This is the area we are really looking to improve.
The fact we have had a number of different trialists in (plus bids for Lee and Dickinson) suggest that we are looking to bring in a minimum of 2 strikers maybe 3.
I think this is one area that Team Gunn must be aplauded for effort. (even if we lack confirmed signings as I make this post)
Some people questioned why they have such a large pre-season fixture list. It should be obvious now that Team Gunn wanted to look at as many different players as possible.
I also like the fact that Norwich won''t overpay for players that are not worth the outlay.
Sir Alex just recently annouced he isn''t prepared to overpay for players no matter how good they are. (a guy with 80 million to spend)

So far the Team Gunn gameplan is obviously to spend the limited budget wisely knowing the we needed to bring in a minimum of 8-10 players.
I like the fact that Bryan Gunn kept his word that we are not going down the mass loan route again. All the players we have either signed or looked to sign were all on permanent deals.

The important fact to realize is that with 7 subs this year, the game will become much more tactical.
Having decent quality on the bench in most positions has never been more important.

I also think once the Clingan and Russell deals are concluded (and their wages freed up) we will have a pretty good idea what our overall transfer budget will be.

I expect us to be MUCH more active in the transfer market. I would be surprised if we don''t bring in at least another 4-5 players on permanent deals before the window

shuts.

[/quote]

I think we are still a few signings away from a competitive squad still though.  From what I''ve seen and heard I hope our senior squad will shape up like this:

GK Theolokis, Rudd

RB SIGNING, Semmy, Spillane

LB Drury, SIGNING, Lappin

CB Stefanovic, Nelson, Doherty, Askou

RM Whaley, McVeigh, SIGNING

LM Hoolahan, Lappin, McVeigh

CM OTJ, Gill, Pattison, Adeyemi, SIGNING

CF Cureton, Maric, Martin, McDonald, Daley, SIGNING

5 signings as yet unseen as far as Im concerned

 

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Libbra...

What do u think of Neilson as our RM signing?

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Actually putting the squad down like this does make it look like we have a little more depth than I thought it might, particularly as several players can play in more than one position without too much grief.

We clearly do need more depth in several positions, but with all the triallists and other rumours, I''d be stunned if more (3-4?) players didn''t arrive on permanents pretty soon, and there''s also the option of a couple of loans (sorry, didn''t mean to swear!). Things will then at least be looking good in terms of number of bodies - it is just the quality that we''re still uncertain of and won''t know for sure about until the season kicks off!

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[quote user="Branston Pickle"]Actually putting the squad down like this does make it look like we have a little more depth than I thought it might, particularly as several players can play in more than one position without too much grief. We clearly do need more depth in several positions, but with all the triallists and other rumours, I''d be stunned if more (3-4?) players didn''t arrive on permanents pretty soon, and there''s also the option of a couple of loans (sorry, didn''t mean to swear!). Things will then at least be looking good in terms of number of bodies - it is just the quality that we''re still uncertain of and won''t know for sure about until the season kicks off![/quote]

Pretty much spot on......... I actually expect at least another 5 signings.............

Another point is that as we move towards the begining of the season, most clubs/managers start to form a picture of the players that form their first team squad.

They are then prepared to either sell or loan out players who don''t feature in their plans.

Also some of the better free agents tend to wait to see what deals will be offered from various clubs.

I am not against loans but would prefer some kind of proven quality.

In the past players such as Hucks, Crouch, Lita...... ect ect have done well.  Unproven quality.......... not so much......

Talking of quality I would still like us to take a shot at signing someone like a Leroy Lita.
The problem is he probably won''t come here for the wages we can afford to pay.

It is strange that no club has signed him up yet?
Must be asking too much even for champs clubs?

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[quote user="John"]Michael Spillane is primarily a centre back (can play either right back or centre midfield).

Dario Dumic is primarily a centre back (can play right back).

Matty Pattison is primarily a central midfielder (who can play on either the right or left wing).

... Theres probably a few others i''m missing.
[/quote]

I agree, I do think Spillane is being groomed for RB because we have so many central defenders.

Dumic played at RB in todays game but it was probably just to let Askou play.

Gunn, said the other day that Dumic would partner Doc in the St Johnstone game, obviously the plans changed at the last minute to get a look at the trialist.

If we sign Askou, you could also make a case that Doc could play RB as well.

 

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[quote user="MXboy"]Libbra... What do u think of Neilson as our RM signing?[/quote]

Not sure mate.  I know he scored a screamer for us in one of the games in England - (was it Fakenham?) but I also heard that he was largely redundant for the rest of the game.  He''s under contract at Cambridge and would attract a small fee but the fact that he isnt included in the Scotland tour squad speaks for itself I reckon.  Open minded to the end though!

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[quote user="USAcanary"]

OK, assuming we sign Whaley how does the current squad look at the various positions......

With recent annoucements many positions have started to become clearer.

Here are my opinions.


Goalkeeper..... Theoklitos, Rudd and Steer

Pretty much set as all 3 are/will be getting minutes in pre-season. This looks like a strong trio of experience and quality young keepers.
I don''t expect any moves in this area unless we get injuries.

Centre backs....Doherty , Stefanovic, Nelson, Stephens,(Askou) (Joarder)

A decent array of experience/cover in this position. I havn''t included Spillane or Drury who both could play at a push.
I think its interesting we have Askou on trial who did well today by all reports.
This with Dumic playing at RB suggest a shift of thinking.

Right back... Otsemobor, Spillane and Dumic

Big question marks at this position.Its obvious that we are lining up either Dumic or Spillane to be the cover for this position.
It would not surprise me to see Spillane start the year as our number 1 RB.
It was interesting in the Raith Rovers game they moved Otsemobor into right midfield.

Left back     Drury, Habergham (Lappin ?)

This is our weakest position by far in terms of squad depth. I would expect us to make some serious moves in this area pretty soon.

Cen Midfield..... OTJ, Gill, Adeyemi

Again we seem to be one short here. The fact we offered Stephen Hughes a contract kind of confirms that Team Gunn knows this.
Spillane or Lappin can fill in at a push if we are hit badly.

Left Midfield  Hoolahan, Pattison and Lappin

With Hoolahan confirming he is staying this now looks stronger. The problem is do we have an out and out left sided attacking player?
Oct 24th is the last regular season game for San Jose Earthquakes, They have very little chance of making the play offs.
Maybe they might let one of their players out of their contract early?
Even at his age Hucks IMHO would be a fantastic player to bring from the bench at this level.

Right Midfield   Whaley, McVeigh, Corey Smith (Neilson)

If we sign Whaley it looks like a decent improvement in quality at this position. I do expect McVeigh to have done enough to earn a contract
Not sure what team Gunn thinks of the trialist Neilson. People reported he was decent against Dartford.

Another possible option on the right is Chris Martin

Strikers  Martin, Cureton, McDonald, Daley, (Maric) (Bridges) (Craig) (Powell)

(I havn''t included Renton who probably won''t figure at all.)

This is the area we are really looking to improve.
The fact we have had a number of different trialists in (plus bids for Lee and Dickinson) suggest that we are looking to bring in a minimum of 2 strikers maybe 3.
I think this is one area that Team Gunn must be aplauded for effort. (even if we lack confirmed signings as I make this post)
Some people questioned why they have such a large pre-season fixture list. It should be obvious now that Team Gunn wanted to look at as many different players as possible.
I also like the fact that Norwich won''t overpay for players that are not worth the outlay.
Sir Alex just recently annouced he isn''t prepared to overpay for players no matter how good they are. (a guy with 80 million to spend)

So far the Team Gunn gameplan is obviously to spend the limited budget wisely knowing the we needed to bring in a minimum of 8-10 players.
I like the fact that Bryan Gunn kept his word that we are not going down the mass loan route again. All the players we have either signed or looked to sign were all on permanent deals.

The important fact to realize is that with 7 subs this year, the game will become much more tactical.
Having decent quality on the bench in most positions has never been more important.

I also think once the Clingan and Russell deals are concluded (and their wages freed up) we will have a pretty good idea what our overall transfer budget will be.

I expect us to be MUCH more active in the transfer market. I would be surprised if we don''t bring in at least another 4-5 players on permanent deals before the window

shuts.

[/quote]

OK time to update this thread after a very busy transfer week.

Well Bryan Gunn has certainly addresed most of the concerns from the last post on  the 16th July.

I will add my thoughts as before.

Goalkeeper..... Theoklitos, Alnwick, Rudd and Steer

Bit of a suprise taking Alnwick on a 3 month loan. Obviously team Gunn has some concerns over either the two young lads or Theoklitos.

Being only 3 months it suggests they still see Rudd as part of the first team squad but are hedging.

Centre backs....Doherty , Stefanovic, Nelson, Stephens,(Askou)

As before. Solid. Not sure if we will sign Askou. Looked decent by all reports in the pre-season games.

Right back... Otsemobor, Spillane and Dumic

This looks like who we are going with........... I still have a sneaky feeling Spillane will be 1st choice by the start of the season.

Left back     Drury, Wiggins, Habergham

Obviously they addressed the weakness at this position by adding Wiggins.

A good signing based on the fact that Drury has not exactly been injury free.

 Left Midfield  Hoolahan, Pattison and Lappin

Still think we have a position open for a certain Mr Huckerby.............

Cen Midfield..... OTJ, Gill, Hughes and Adeyemi

Adding Hughes means we have numerous options in the middle. With 7 subs you will have 1-2 central midfield players on the bench.

Right Midfield   Whaley, McVeigh, Corey Smith

With Whaley signing we look more solid in this position. Hughes is also able to operate on the right hand side.

Strikers  Holt, Martin, Cureton, McDonald, Daley, (Maric) (Powell)

Obviously signing Holt is our biggest and most exciting signing so far.

Gunn stated will still have an offer in for Maric so its obvious we are still looking for one more "bigger" type striker.

Overall since my last post we have signed 5 players on permanent transfers and one 3 month loan.

Most have been met with mostly positive reponses except one

I want to say some words about Paul McVeigh.

I think he has been unfairly attacked for a number of reasons.

The guy obviously worked incredibly hard to earn a contract. If he didn''t impress the management on the training ground he wouldn''t have been offered a 1 year deal.

Considering he cost us nothing and its fair to assume his wages are not that high its not much of a gamble for a decent squad player who has experience of playing in all four divisons.

With 7 subs he is the type of utility player we can use if we are badly hit by injuries. Unlike a loan he wont have to learn the system.

I think McVeighs problem in the past was not lack of skill but lack of commitment.............with a 1 year deal this is his last chance to impress.

Gunn has made 10 signings this summer. I predict that in terms of "overall value" that Paul McVeigh wont be close to the worst signing.

Overall pretty good so far. I still think we could bring in more players.........(askou, maric?)

Especially if we could get a good price for Russell.

If  Maric turns us down it''s still possible we could go out for another striker such as Alan Lee or Andy bishop.

We now have by far the biggest permanant squad we have had in many many years.

Now its just a case of finding our best 18 match day players............

With our current squad we have the option of many different formations.

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Agreed, we do certainly seem to have a pretty large squad now for a league one club, pretty much 3 players for each position, can''t help but feel that some may make way before the end of August (Stefanovic,Pattison,Cureton?)

The question now is whilst have have the squad (in terms of numbers) .......do we have the manager???

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[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

Agreed, we do certainly seem to have a pretty large squad now for a league one club, pretty much 3 players for each position, can''t help but feel that some may make way before the end of August (Stefanovic,Pattison,Cureton?)

The question now is whilst have have the squad (in terms of numbers) .......do we have the manager???

[/quote]

I pretty much agree that we might look to loan out the 3 players you mentioned if we don''t have injuries.

As for Gunn........... it''s the big question mark............. I think most people (including myself) have some reservations about his ability to manage.

The bottom line is last year it was someone elses squad......... Now this is 100% Gunns squad.

If he gets sacked because of poor results he can have no complaints. The board/supporters rebate have backed him in virtually all of his realistic targets.

 

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[quote user="USAcanary"][quote user="USAcanary"]

OK, assuming we sign Whaley how does the current squad look at the various positions......

With recent annoucements many positions have started to become clearer.

Here are my opinions.


Goalkeeper..... Theoklitos, Rudd and Steer

Pretty much set as all 3 are/will be getting minutes in pre-season. This looks like a strong trio of experience and quality young keepers.
I don''t expect any moves in this area unless we get injuries.

Centre backs....Doherty , Stefanovic, Nelson, Stephens,(Askou) (Joarder)

A decent array of experience/cover in this position. I havn''t included Spillane or Drury who both could play at a push.
I think its interesting we have Askou on trial who did well today by all reports.
This with Dumic playing at RB suggest a shift of thinking.

Right back... Otsemobor, Spillane and Dumic

Big question marks at this position.Its obvious that we are lining up either Dumic or Spillane to be the cover for this position.
It would not surprise me to see Spillane start the year as our number 1 RB.
It was interesting in the Raith Rovers game they moved Otsemobor into right midfield.

Left back     Drury, Habergham (Lappin ?)

This is our weakest position by far in terms of squad depth. I would expect us to make some serious moves in this area pretty soon.

Cen Midfield..... OTJ, Gill, Adeyemi

Again we seem to be one short here. The fact we offered Stephen Hughes a contract kind of confirms that Team Gunn knows this.
Spillane or Lappin can fill in at a push if we are hit badly.

Left Midfield  Hoolahan, Pattison and Lappin

With Hoolahan confirming he is staying this now looks stronger. The problem is do we have an out and out left sided attacking player?
Oct 24th is the last regular season game for San Jose Earthquakes, They have very little chance of making the play offs.
Maybe they might let one of their players out of their contract early?
Even at his age Hucks IMHO would be a fantastic player to bring from the bench at this level.

Right Midfield   Whaley, McVeigh, Corey Smith (Neilson)

If we sign Whaley it looks like a decent improvement in quality at this position. I do expect McVeigh to have done enough to earn a contract
Not sure what team Gunn thinks of the trialist Neilson. People reported he was decent against Dartford.

Another possible option on the right is Chris Martin

Strikers  Martin, Cureton, McDonald, Daley, (Maric) (Bridges) (Craig) (Powell)

(I havn''t included Renton who probably won''t figure at all.)

This is the area we are really looking to improve.
The fact we have had a number of different trialists in (plus bids for Lee and Dickinson) suggest that we are looking to bring in a minimum of 2 strikers maybe 3.
I think this is one area that Team Gunn must be aplauded for effort. (even if we lack confirmed signings as I make this post)
Some people questioned why they have such a large pre-season fixture list. It should be obvious now that Team Gunn wanted to look at as many different players as possible.
I also like the fact that Norwich won''t overpay for players that are not worth the outlay.
Sir Alex just recently annouced he isn''t prepared to overpay for players no matter how good they are. (a guy with 80 million to spend)

So far the Team Gunn gameplan is obviously to spend the limited budget wisely knowing the we needed to bring in a minimum of 8-10 players.
I like the fact that Bryan Gunn kept his word that we are not going down the mass loan route again. All the players we have either signed or looked to sign were all on permanent deals.

The important fact to realize is that with 7 subs this year, the game will become much more tactical.
Having decent quality on the bench in most positions has never been more important.

I also think once the Clingan and Russell deals are concluded (and their wages freed up) we will have a pretty good idea what our overall transfer budget will be.

I expect us to be MUCH more active in the transfer market. I would be surprised if we don''t bring in at least another 4-5 players on permanent deals before the window

shuts.

[/quote]

OK time to update this thread after a very busy transfer week.

Well Bryan Gunn has certainly addresed most of the concerns from the last post on  the 16th July.

I will add my thoughts as before.

Goalkeeper..... Theoklitos, Alnwick, Rudd and Steer

Bit of a suprise taking Alnwick on a 3 month loan. Obviously team Gunn has some concerns over either the two young lads or Theoklitos.

Being only 3 months it suggests they still see Rudd as part of the first team squad but are hedging.

Centre backs....Doherty , Stefanovic, Nelson, Stephens,(Askou)

As before. Solid. Not sure if we will sign Askou. Looked decent by all reports in the pre-season games.

Right back... Otsemobor, Spillane and Dumic

This looks like who we are going with........... I still have a sneaky feeling Spillane will be 1st choice by the start of the season.

Left back     Drury, Wiggins, Habergham

Obviously they addressed the weakness at this position by adding Wiggins.

A good signing based on the fact that Drury has not exactly been injury free.

 Left Midfield  Hoolahan, Pattison and Lappin

Still think we have a position open for a certain Mr Huckerby.............

Cen Midfield..... OTJ, Gill, Hughes and Adeyemi

Adding Hughes means we have numerous options in the middle. With 7 subs you will have 1-2 central midfield players on the bench.

Right Midfield   Whaley, McVeigh, Corey Smith

With Whaley signing we look more solid in this position. Hughes is also able to operate on the right hand side.

Strikers  Holt, Martin, Cureton, McDonald, Daley, (Maric) (Powell)

Obviously signing Holt is our biggest and most exciting signing so far.

Gunn stated will still have an offer in for Maric so its obvious we are still looking for one more "bigger" type striker.

Overall since my last post we have signed 5 players on permanent transfers and one 3 month loan.

Most have been met with mostly positive reponses except one

I want to say some words about Paul McVeigh.

I think he has been unfairly attacked for a number of reasons.

The guy obviously worked incredibly hard to earn a contract. If he didn''t impress the management on the training ground he wouldn''t have been offered a 1 year deal.

Considering he cost us nothing and its fair to assume his wages are not that high its not much of a gamble for a decent squad player who has experience of playing in all four divisons.

With 7 subs he is the type of utility player we can use if we are badly hit by injuries. Unlike a loan he wont have to learn the system.

I think McVeighs problem in the past was not lack of skill but lack of commitment.............with a 1 year deal this is his last chance to impress.

Gunn has made 10 signings this summer. I predict that in terms of "overall value" that Paul McVeigh wont be close to the worst signing.

Overall pretty good so far. I still think we could bring in more players.........(askou, maric?)

Especially if we could get a good price for Russell.

If  Maric turns us down it''s still possible we could go out for another striker such as Alan Lee or Andy bishop.

We now have by far the biggest permanant squad we have had in many many years.

Now its just a case of finding our best 18 match day players............

With our current squad we have the option of many different formations.

[/quote]

OK, quick update with the two signings.

Goalkeeper..... Theoklitos, Alnwick, Rudd and Steer

Centre backs....Doherty , Stefanovic, Nelson, Askou, Stephens

Right back... Otsemobor, Spillane and Dumic

Left back     Drury, Wiggins, Habergham

 Left Midfield  Hoolahan, Pattison and Lappin

Cen Midfield..... OTJ, Gill, Hughes and Adeyemi

Right Midfield   Whaley, McVeigh, Corey Smith

Strikers  Holt, Maric, Martin, Cureton, McDonald, Daley

Obviously this is by far our biggest permanent squad we have had in a long long time.

Both in terms of numbers and in terms of physical size.

Some think we are a bit weak at RB but with Spillane, Otsemebor plus Doc can play there as well if needed.

Thats not too bad especially now we have signed Askou. We have the option of moving CBs to RB if we are hit by bad injuries.

The one area we don''t have much cover is left midfield in particular Hoolahans free role..............

It should be obvious that the perfect cover/sub would be Hucks..........I think signing him could add another 500-1000 season tickets alone.

After 12 signings I expect us to move towards 20,000 ST before the start of the season .  

The amazing thing is that after some fantastic hard work by Gunn/McNally and the whole team.......... I actually think we have quite a bit of money left in the transfer kitty

Even before selling Russell...........

This is important in the Jan transfer window.

If we look like we have a good shot at promotion Gunn can either add to the squad or replace any players who are injured. 

If it doesn''t look like we have a shot at promotion then the "new" manager will have that money!

Frankly with the backing of the board and the fans, anything less than promotion IMHO is failure.

We have invested more than any team in LG1. Infact we have invested far more than most teams in the Champs.......

OTBC.........

 

 

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you cant help but feel anything but excitement when you read that. i reckon permanent signings are done, but gunny might well try and bring in a couple of premiership youngsters on loan, which i would be thrilled about personally, though im guessing a fair few of you wont.

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[quote user="USAcanary"]

OK, assuming we sign Whaley how does the current squad look at the various positions......

With recent annoucements many positions have started to become clearer.

Here are my opinions.


Goalkeeper..... Theoklitos, Rudd and Steer

Pretty much set as all 3 are/will be getting minutes in pre-season. This looks like a strong trio of experience and quality young keepers.
I don''t expect any moves in this area unless we get injuries.

Centre backs....Doherty , Stefanovic, Nelson, Stephens,(Askou) (Joarder)

A decent array of experience/cover in this position. I havn''t included Spillane or Drury who both could play at a push.
I think its interesting we have Askou on trial who did well today by all reports.
This with Dumic playing at RB suggest a shift of thinking.

Right back... Otsemobor, Spillane and Dumic

Big question marks at this position.Its obvious that we are lining up either Dumic or Spillane to be the cover for this position.
It would not surprise me to see Spillane start the year as our number 1 RB.
It was interesting in the Raith Rovers game they moved Otsemobor into right midfield.

Left back     Drury, Habergham (Lappin ?)

This is our weakest position by far in terms of squad depth. I would expect us to make some serious moves in this area pretty soon.

Cen Midfield..... OTJ, Gill, Adeyemi

Again we seem to be one short here. The fact we offered Stephen Hughes a contract kind of confirms that Team Gunn knows this.
Spillane or Lappin can fill in at a push if we are hit badly.

Left Midfield  Hoolahan, Pattison and Lappin

With Hoolahan confirming he is staying this now looks stronger. The problem is do we have an out and out left sided attacking player?
Oct 24th is the last regular season game for San Jose Earthquakes, They have very little chance of making the play offs.
Maybe they might let one of their players out of their contract early?
Even at his age Hucks IMHO would be a fantastic player to bring from the bench at this level.

Right Midfield   Whaley, McVeigh, Corey Smith (Neilson)

If we sign Whaley it looks like a decent improvement in quality at this position. I do expect McVeigh to have done enough to earn a contract
Not sure what team Gunn thinks of the trialist Neilson. People reported he was decent against Dartford.

Another possible option on the right is Chris Martin

Strikers  Martin, Cureton, McDonald, Daley, (Maric) (Bridges) (Craig) (Powell)

(I havn''t included Renton who probably won''t figure at all.)

This is the area we are really looking to improve.
The fact we have had a number of different trialists in (plus bids for Lee and Dickinson) suggest that we are looking to bring in a minimum of 2 strikers maybe 3.
I think this is one area that Team Gunn must be aplauded for effort. (even if we lack confirmed signings as I make this post)
Some people questioned why they have such a large pre-season fixture list. It should be obvious now that Team Gunn wanted to look at as many different players as possible.
I also like the fact that Norwich won''t overpay for players that are not worth the outlay.
Sir Alex just recently annouced he isn''t prepared to overpay for players no matter how good they are. (a guy with 80 million to spend)

So far the Team Gunn gameplan is obviously to spend the limited budget wisely knowing the we needed to bring in a minimum of 8-10 players.
I like the fact that Bryan Gunn kept his word that we are not going down the mass loan route again. All the players we have either signed or looked to sign were all on permanent deals.

The important fact to realize is that with 7 subs this year, the game will become much more tactical.
Having decent quality on the bench in most positions has never been more important.

I also think once the Clingan and Russell deals are concluded (and their wages freed up) we will have a pretty good idea what our overall transfer budget will be.

I expect us to be MUCH more active in the transfer market. I would be surprised if we don''t bring in at least another 4-5 players on permanent deals before the window

shuts.

[/quote]

Wheres Wiggins?

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