Another player rumour

[chicken 0]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12876_6953190,00.html

Apparently we are keen on Liam Trotter.

Looking at what we have I could see this as being true. Potentially we could be left with a midfield of:

Surman, Lappin, Crofts, Fox, Smith, MacNamee.

With Hughes, Gill, Tudor-Jones amongst those likely to leave, we may need more numbers in to help us have quality in numbers to keep us up.

Trotter fits the young and hungry description - only mark against his name is that he obviously mistakenly chose to play for the dump down the road . . . . . .

[TheGoogler 324]

Brace yourself for the forum police ;)I personally think he''s a great player. Young, very capable and has been utterly irreplacable for Millwall since joining them from the Scum. I picked him out for my blog article on unknown players fit for the Prem. Would be delighted to see him here, personally.

[CanaryOne 0]

Somebody on WOTB reckons Nicky Maynard is at Dunston Hall with his agent , well somebody did say we had a room booked for today .

[L4cole 0]

WOTB?

[CanaryOne 0]

[quote user="L4cole"]WOTB?[/quote]Wrath of the Barclay

[E.L.F. 0]

[quote user="chicken"]http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12876_6953190,00.html

Apparently we are keen on Liam Trotter.

Looking at what we have I could see this as being true. Potentially we could be left with a midfield of:

Surman, Lappin, Crofts, Fox, Smith, MacNamee.

With Hughes, Gill, Tudor-Jones amongst those likely to leave, we may need more numbers in to help us have quality in numbers to keep us up.

Trotter fits the young and hungry description - only mark against his name is that he obviously mistakenly chose to play for the dump down the road . . . . . .[/quote]Has Wes left?  Even with the diamond, he''s still in the midfield.

[PhatCanary 0]

Trotter is a very good player and had a good season,i think he''s the type of player Lambert will go for,you''d be a plonker to rule him out just because he''s former scum.

[chicken 0]

I don''t class Wes as an out and out midfielder no. I think this will be even more apparent in the prem when we play against teams like Stoke who will just push him into the ground.

If we choose to play 4-4-2 where would you play Wes?

So yes you can throw Wes in. But reality is you have:

CM: Crofts, Fox and Smith, Adeyemi(forgot him too).

LW: Surman, Lappin

RW: MacNamee

AM: Hoolahan.

Its not enough. Too much expectation on Smith and Adeyemi for starters, a loan stint in Championship would do them some good I think. That still leaves six players. I would like to see another two in there at least.

[AJ 1,218]

I would welcome him here, with Hughes, McNamee, OTJ and Gill probably going, we need some more competition for the midfield!

[I am a Banana 0]

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/latest-whites-news/leeds_united_sunderland_and_norwich_city_enter_race_for_johnson_1_3414920 [Y] EXTRA MIDFIELDER.

[E.L.F. 0]

[quote user="chicken"]I don''t class Wes as an out and out midfielder no. I think this will be even more apparent in the prem when we play against teams like Stoke who will just push him into the ground.

If we choose to play 4-4-2 where would you play Wes?

So yes you can throw Wes in. But reality is you have:

CM: Crofts, Fox and Smith, Adeyemi(forgot him too).

LW: Surman, Lappin

RW: MacNamee

AM: Hoolahan.

Its not enough. Too much expectation on Smith and Adeyemi for starters, a loan stint in Championship would do them some good I think. That still leaves six players. I would like to see another two in there at least.[/quote]That''s the problem with Wes, he''s become a specialty player in the diamond but he''s not an all-out striker either IMO.  Can surely play both the left or right side in a 4-4-2.  But Jackson is the lightweight striker on the team which I guess you can interchange with Hooli if must be.  Wes is going to have a far bigger adjustment on this team than those you listed in mid-field but we will have to wait and see.  I''m sure PL will have some ideas about how to play him.

[Downloads 35]

People must have been watching different games from me, whilst Wes could be accused in previous seasons of not having good defensive attributes, this season he more than did his fair share I think and he was hardly high at the tip of a diamond. For me it was looking a lot flatter this season if still fairly narrow without the classic wingers.

 

I think he''s still allowed to be the furthest forward midfielder, but he tracked back a helluva lot this season.

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="chicken"]I don''t class Wes as an out and out midfielder no. I think this will be even more apparent in the prem when we play against teams like Stoke who will just push him into the ground.

If we choose to play 4-4-2 where would you play Wes?

So yes you can throw Wes in. But reality is you have:

CM: Crofts, Fox and Smith, Adeyemi(forgot him too).

LW: Surman, Lappin

RW: MacNamee

AM: Hoolahan.

Its not enough. Too much expectation on Smith and Adeyemi for starters, a loan stint in Championship would do them some good I think. That still leaves six players. I would like to see another two in there at least.[/quote]Either upfront, or I wouldn''t.We have to get the balance right in the midfield, which means that we will be solid enough against the better teams in the league defensively and also offer a player like Wes the protection and time on the ball that he will need to try and weave his magic.  Getting this balance in the midfield right has been the main challenge we had for most of last season and I think it will remain the main challenge for Lambert & Co over the summer.We need to give the diamond or a 5 man midfield a go in many games as this is the system that works for us at the moment and gets the best out of our better players going forwards.  But I think that we need to sign players that will give us the option of going 4-4-2 too.  We are going to need two or three quality signings to help the lads out that we already have in midfield I would say.  Maybe one or two upfront, a couple of signings in defence and another goalkeeper are what I would go for personally.I would love us to go for McGugan, along with maybe Snodgrass and a ball winner (but not really thought about who I would really like to see here yet).  I am very pleased with the rumours surrounding James Vaughan.

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,409]

[quote user="PhatCanary"]Trotter is a very good player and had a good season,i think he''s the type of player Lambert will go for,you''d be a plonker to rule him out just because he''s former scum.[/quote]

 

I see what you did there.....

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="Downloads"]

People must have been watching different games from me, whilst Wes could be accused in previous seasons of not having good defensive attributes, this season he more than did his fair share I think and he was hardly high at the tip of a diamond. For me it was looking a lot flatter this season if still fairly narrow without the classic wingers.

 

I think he''s still allowed to be the furthest forward midfielder, but he tracked back a helluva lot this season.

[/quote][Y] I agree with this ^^^^^Wes has really impressed me this season, especially with the way he has got stuck in.  He has really worked his socks off and apart from Crofts probably won more ball than any other midfielder.  However, I still feel that we got the balance of our midfield badly wrong in a fair few games and that we were outmuscled and outrun in the middle of the park.  If we do not correct this going in to the Prem then Wes, Surman and others will find it extremely difficult.  I think the midfield is the area of the team that needs the most work on it, although we will need to strengthen all areas if we are to give the lads "the hand that they need" on moving up a level in Lamberts words.

[Badger 2,405]

I agree that we need more strength, muscle and athleticism in midfield. For all their qualities, Surman, Hoolahan and Fox are quite lightweight and we need more power in the midfield to stop us being overrun. I also think that we need extra height as well.

Some of our key games next year will be against very physical sides who rely heavily on set pieces. An affordable central midfielder with power, height and technical ability - any suggestions?

[York Canary 28]

Owain Tudor Jones? LOL.

Maybe that''s why we''re linked with Johnson because he''s supposedly an out and out central midfielder who''s very strong

[Boyo 0]

I''d take Liam Trotter.  Big, strong lad which is something I think we need.  I''d definitely take him over Bradley Johnson.

[Lets be aving you! 0]

"I''d take Liam Trotter. Big, strong lad which is something I think we need. I''d definitely take him over Bradley Johnson."

Totally agree.