lake district canary 4,531 Posted July 26, 2013 I know I''ve done this before, but updated (assuming Hooper is confirmed, which looks likely), my team 2 looks even more like team 1 from last season. Team 1 Ruddy Martin Turner Bassong OlssonSnodgrass Fer Howson Redmond RVW HooperTeam 2 BunnWhittaker Bennett Barnett GarridoBennett Tettey Johnson Pilkingtom Hoolahan BecchioBack ups - Murphy Gafaiti Fox Butterfield Surman Ayala Nash.Not a bad line up, whichever way you look at it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryanncfc 0 Posted July 26, 2013 [quote user="lake district canary"]I know I''ve done this before, but updated (assuming Hooper is confirmed, which looks likely), my team 2 looks even more like team 1 from last season. Team 1 Ruddy Martin Turner Bassong OlssonSnodgrass Fer Howson Redmond RVW HooperTeam 2 BunnWhittaker Bennett Barnett GarridoBennett Tettey Johnson Pilkingtom Hoolahan BecchioBack ups - Murphy Gafaiti Fox Butterfield Surman Ayala Nash.Not a bad line up, whichever way you look at it.[/quote]Not too sure about Redmond on the left though. He''s predominantly a right winger, might have Pilks left with Redmond and Snodgrass fighting for the right Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yobocop 1,096 Posted July 26, 2013 Im glad your not in charge LDC if that is your preferred 11 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,531 Posted July 26, 2013 [quote user="refjezdavies"]Im glad your not in charge LDC if that is your preferred 11[/quote]??Ok, go on then, what would be your first team? Doesn''t look that bad to me. You could swap wingers around, they all can allegedly play right or left, but what else? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tetteys Jig 830 Posted July 26, 2013 It''s not a bad go in my eyes, certainly not enough to warrant criticism.I''d rather try and use Fer''s attacking qualities with Johnno there to start with and would probs have Garrido and Pilks in first game.The rest seems good though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yobocop 1,096 Posted July 26, 2013 [quote user="lake district canary"][quote user="refjezdavies"]Im glad your not in charge LDC if that is your preferred 11[/quote]??Ok, go on then, what would be your first team? Doesn''t look that bad to me. You could swap wingers around, they all can allegedly play right or left, but what else?[/quote]I''m not sure where to start. You''ve picked our weaker two full backs, you haven''tPicked our most influential winger or our best central midfielder Your saving grace is you''ve picked Michael turner who for some reason a lot of people discount Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0 Posted July 26, 2013 [quote user="lake district canary"][quote user="refjezdavies"]Im glad your not in charge LDC if that is your preferred 11[/quote]??Ok, go on then, what would be your first team? Doesn''t look that bad to me. You could swap wingers around, they all can allegedly play right or left, but what else?[/quote]1) Team 1 - No holding midfielder. This is not CH''s style, or anyone''s in the PL for that matter.2) I doubt Hooper & The Wolf will be playing together too often. Sub out Hooper for Wes, at least until we have someone else in to compete for that ''in the hole'' position.Plus the fact that Barnett won''t be with us come the first game, makes us 1 center-half short. However I''m confedent we''ll have one more in soon, who will better compete with Bassong & Turner.I agree it''s a nice work in progress though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,531 Posted July 26, 2013 [quote user="refjezdavies"][quote user="lake district canary"][quote user="refjezdavies"]Im glad your not in charge LDC if that is your preferred 11[/quote]??Ok, go on then, what would be your first team? Doesn''t look that bad to me. You could swap wingers around, they all can allegedly play right or left, but what else?[/quote]I''m not sure where to start. You''ve picked our weaker two full backs, you haven''tPicked our most influential winger or our best central midfielder Your saving grace is you''ve picked Michael turner who for some reason a lot of people discount[/quote]Ok, fair enough, you have opinions, as do I. We can swap things around, but the point of the thread is more to demonstrate that we have two strong teams within the squad, with some handy spares. Overall it looks pretty strong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yelloow Since 72 54 Posted July 26, 2013 It''s easy to criticise, but LDC''s line-ups do illustrate the depth available. I don''t think Barnett will be around, though, and maybe not Fox as well if another player comes in. I also think Pilks will start on the left and Redmond will be an impact sub in the early games. He played on the left at Portland to good effect so could cover either flank or even play in the middle. IMO, the FB positions are a very even contest, so at this stage they could be interchanged. Certainly the deepest, highest quality squad I have seen at City in over forty years of watching! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557 Posted July 26, 2013 [quote user="refjezdavies"][quote user="lake district canary"][quote user="refjezdavies"]Im glad your not in charge LDC if that is your preferred 11[/quote]??Ok, go on then, what would be your first team? Doesn''t look that bad to me. You could swap wingers around, they all can allegedly play right or left, but what else?[/quote] I''m not sure where to start. You''ve picked our weaker two full backs, you haven''t Picked our most influential winger or our best central midfielder Your saving grace is you''ve picked Michael turner who for some reason a lot of people discount[/quote] I would say Olsson is considerably better than Garrido, but agree with you about Pilkington. Martin and Whittaker are very even, Martin''s a better defender, Whittaker is better going forward. If playing 4-4-2 Fer and Johnson is probably a better balance than Fer and Howson, personally I wouldn''t like to see Fer''s considerable talents wasted playing as a holding midfielder, but he played that role for Twente last season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dubai Mark 0 Posted July 26, 2013 LDC, I got your point and agree that is a strong squad with plenty of back-up and options, that with just a couple of additions would be first class when considering where we have come from in such a short space of time. What I like, is that we will have a very high quality bench with real options, even a game changer or two! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 26, 2013 Good to see the squad starting to take shape. I''m still hoping for a better version of Butterfield or Wes #2 to arrive, plus another striker and a centre back.Of the new signings so far, I''m guessing only RVW and Fer will be considered 1st teams players from the off. Howson will probably have to make way for Fer.What will make a change is to actually have subs on the bench that Hughton wants to use. Hopefully Hooper and Redmond''s potential encourages Hughton to make subs much earlier and proactively than the traditional 87th minute (also known as Benno-time). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yobocop 1,096 Posted July 26, 2013 Ah right sorry I thought that was your A and B team Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrs miggins 0 Posted July 26, 2013 I like that first team LDC, although i think Garrido is better than olsson personally Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chicken 0 Posted July 26, 2013 @refjezdavies: You say he chose the weaker two full backs - I would heavily criticise that statement myself.First off, why Martin keeps getting a slating when he was probably one of our most consistent performers last season. Including scoring twice against Man City.I know people have this preference to Whittaker due to him playing a part in the good run we had but I actually think they are pretty evenly matched - their strengths differ but there is little between them.Defensively I think Martin probably is marginally better, his positioning and strength is better. Whittaker may be marginally quicker, and better going forward but a couple of times last season I thought he was beaten too easily - nothing to do with pace, more to do with anticipation.In many ways it is the same with Garrido and Olsson. Olsson offers a better option going forward and more pace to deal with pacier wingers.As I have been saying all summer Hughton wants choice. This example proves that. If you are playing against the likes of Stoke and want more height and strength in the team you''d pick Martin over Whittaker, Johnson or Tettey to play alongside Fer, Pilkington and Snodgrass as wingers with maybe Olsson to add a bit of pace.If you were playing a team who prefer to keep it on the deck a bit, you might go for Garrido, Whittaker and Howson - maybe even Redmond for counter-attacking purposes.But saying that a player that has stepped up to every challenge he has been given and come away with nothing but plaudits is a ''weaker'' option is incredibly daft if you ask me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray 111 Posted July 26, 2013 I would choose Russ Martin over Whits for the following reason (this is a copy of one of my previous mails in another post);RM has a massive influence on the performance of the rest of team, something we don''t always take into account when we review someone''s individual performance, perhaps because we can''t hear it, so whilst there may be better options available on pure ability, if he gets an extra 5% from other players through his attitude and leadership skills it''s like having another half a player on the pitch. Not sure how old you are or whether you are interested in cricket, but Mike Brearley captained England in 31 of the 39 Test Matches he played, only losing 4 times, yet he only averaged 22.88, yet was considered one of England''s greatest ever captains, the following is a direct quote from Wikipedia;Having passed the England captaincy to Ian Botham in 1980 (losing his Test place in the process), Brearley returned as captain following Botham''s resignation for the famous third Test against Australia at Headingley in 1981,[11] famously going on to win the match and two of the remaining three matches of the series to win the Ashes 3-1. Brearley''s extraordinary galvanising of Botham is regarded as one of the greatest feats of sporting psychology of all time:I think RM can, and will, have a similar effect, therefore would always be in my team, I have a feeling CH is of the same opinion because if you heard RM''s interview last night (about 11.10pm) he revealed he had been captain for both USA matches so far (and was for the third) and when asked if he was going to be captain for the coming season, he replied "I haven''t been approached." So this may still be undecided?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yelloow Since 72 54 Posted July 26, 2013 IMO, Martin would make an excellent captain, but City are fortunate to have others also suitable, like Snodgrass, Bassong, and even Howson. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flying high up in the sky! 1 Posted July 26, 2013 Hopefully 442 won''t be the formation. 4231 is a better balance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray 111 Posted July 26, 2013 Hi Yellow since 72,Possible there are other candidates, not sure about Snoddy he can be a bit of a moaner, although the captaincy may change that and Bassong maybe in the future but his twitter antics didn''t really stand him in good stead. IMO opinion RM is a natural and is well respected as such by most it not all at the club, especially the younger players, even when Holty was around he was always a positive influence. If you have heard him speak publicly or to the media it is obvious he is a natural leader and will therefore probably get the most out of the players around him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites