IF we go up, who will be able to cut it?

[a1canary 0]

Green - Yes
Edworthy - Maybe
Fleming - Likely to be caught out a fare bit
Makay - Likely to be caught out a lot!
Shackell - Could cope but MUST MUST MUST get more games, starting now!
Drury - Yes, provided he improves on this year and is releived of captaincy
McVeigh - Yes
Rivers - No
Hendo - Hard to say, depends how he develops, thoughts?
Holt - No longer the force he was, wonder how long his energy will continue to carry him.
Mulryne - Occasionally but too inconsistent
Francis - Yes
Brennan - Yes
Huckerby - if he can''t cut it in the prem with us he won''t with anyone
Leon - yes
Svensson - yes
Roberts - maybe in a handful of games (remember tony cottee for leicester at 36?!)
Jarvis - not had enough games this season, worried for his future if we go up as it will have come too soon for him.

I think the area most in need of strengthening if we go up will be central defence and midfield. Mackay and Flem have been stunning servants for us but i fear for both of them when faced with Van Nistelrooy, Henry and co. Likewise Mulryne and Holt.
Thoughts?

[Archie 0]

I think you are a little opitomistic. Following your list

Green - certainly
Edworthy - doubt it
Fleming - just about
Mackay - No
Shackell - eventually
Drury - yes
McVeigh - yes
Rivers - cant in div 1
Hendo - loan him out
Holt - yes
Mulryne - too fat and lazy, no
Francis - yes
Brennan - not sure, hasnt been a regular in div 1 and im sure worthy will bring in players
Huckerby - yes
Leon - no
Svensson - just about
roberts - no
Jarvis - loan him

[jb 0]

Crouch.Yes.

[BH0201 0]

Green - Yes
Edworthy - Why didn''t Wolves keep him if he could?
Fleming - No
Mackay - No
Shackell - Maybe
Drury - Yes
McVeigh - Yes
Rivers - No
Hendo - Not on a regular basis
Holt - Yes
Mulryne - On his day
Francis - Yes
Brennan - Yes
Huckerby - Yes
Leon - Yes
Svensson - No
Roberts - Not on a regular basis
Jarvis - Not on a regular basis

But anyway......

3 interesting comments

1) Shackell must play regularly now. No chance. Not a hope in...... You might not like the look of Malky but look at our defensive record. We need to get up and defences do it for you.

2) Drury provided he improves. Same as above. We don''t let goals in. What more do you want?

3) Huckerby - if he can''t cut it in the prem with us he won''t with anyone. Nonsense. Not remember Coventry? He isn''t the best player in the world and the clubs he''s not cut it at are big clubs with money to spend on quality. He''s at a smaller club who won''t be able to buy every striker in town. Wait and watch.

Craig

[Tilt 12]

Green - Yes
Edworthy - Maybe
Fleming - Possibly not
Makay - Possibly not
Shackell - I agree he should have more games
Drury - Not too sure about Drury....
McVeigh - Yes
Rivers - No - Why are we even considering him?!
Hendo - I would say yes. Incidentally Sky Sports were raving about him during the Forest game.
Holt - I think he would do OK
Mulryne - I don''t like this attitude but I suspect he''s the sort of player I think will raise his game considerably in the Prem
Francis - Yes - Liking him more and more every week!
Brennan - Yes
Huckerby - Yes - Probably the most so?
Leon - yes
Svensson - Maybe - but would he score regularly? I doubt it...
Roberts - I think so.
Jarvis - He is the future of the club - I bloody hope so!!!

[a1canary 0]

Easy Craig - with the Huckerby thing i just meant that he''s very happy with us which makes a big difference to performances so if he can''t cut it in the prem NOW with us (not talking about Coventry 8 years ago) then i don''t think he will with anyone else.

Drury is doing enough in Div 1, as is Malky but we''re talking about the premisership here, that was the point of my post! If Drury doesn''t up his game for the Prem he will be found badly wanting.

I think most of you are wrong about Svensson. Yes we haven''t seen much of him yet but i''ve seen enough to think he could be a great asset for us, if not for the long term but certainly for a few years.

[Mook 0]

I disagree with a lot of this stuff. When we were successful in the top division we had a squad of nobodies, who''s to say we can''t do that again. It''s not championship manager - with a well drilled team who will die for the yellow shirt we will not be embarrassed every week.

Regarding Svensson, I agree completely with A1 - he has shown a lot of quality in his games so far and will be an asset in a premiership squad.

[AJ 1,358]

Green - certainly
Edworthy - yes (i think edworthy is our better defender)
Fleming - just about
Mackay - No
Shackell - eventually
Drury - yes
McVeigh - yes
Rivers - maybe
Hendo - in a few years.......
Holt - yes
Mulryne - yes (will have to fight a place of francis)
Francis - yes
Brennan - maybe
Huckerby - yes
Leon - no (room for improvement)
Svensson - yes
roberts - this ones ify = he did play well against chelsea and everton i would have him a sub
Jarvis - maybe in a little while


main worries are defence but most is ok (but of course always room for improvement)
bring in some big boys!

Romour is theres a turkish defender on his way to carrow road???????

[susie b 0]

There''s something in what you say, Mook. Ask any Ipswich fan. First season they were back up they stuck largely to the same squad that got them there and did really well. Next season they brought a lot of new faces in and...whoops! I know quality is very important, but togetherness, spirit, workrate etc. are things you cannot necessarily buy.

[AJ 1,358]

very well said!!!!!!!!!!!!
passion all the way

CITY CITY TILL I DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tumbleweed 106]

Gunn (Green)
Culverhouse (Edworthy)
Bowen (Drury)
Crook (Brennan/Rivers)
Butterworth (Fleming)
Newman (MacKay)
Megson (Holt)
Fox (Huckerby)
Sutton (Roberts/Svensson)
Goss (Francis)
Eadie (McVeigh)

Interesting comparison, but I believe the above is just about the team that beat Bayern Munich (forgive the odd memory lapse if its not 100%) with their nearest modern day equivalents. How many "stars" did we have in that team? Maybe Gunn, maybe Sutton at a push.

I struggle to find much better now than then until you get to the forwards and even then our front three of Eadie, Sutton and Fox still excites me more than Huckerby, McVeigh and Roberts.

What made that mid 90s team so good was that they gelled as a unit, I dont think any of Culverhouse Crook or Butterworth played for England but they and Bowen had a fantastic rapport which gave so much confidence. The current team don''t quite have thay yet even though they have conceded relatively few goals.

However even in the 8 years since we went down I do think the Premierhsip has moved on and when you look at the pace of the forwards playing even in the mid table positions it is more frightening than ever. The games against Chelsea a couple of years back and Southampton last year showed me that when it comes to clinical, incisive paasing around the area it is (genuinely) in a different league from what we see in Div 1 and also, I think, from what we saw in 92/93/94.

So the key for me is not the individual limitations, but how well they integrate and perform as a unit in harrying and closing down. I would be less worried about Malky''s lack of pace if we still had a Kenton around covering. Shackell must be given some time (say 20 or 30 mins when we are 2-0 up) to play himself in. If he has to do that next season against Henry and Co it will be too late and destroy his confidence.

[Carl Cort 0]

Green - Yes
Crichton - No
Drury - Yes
Briggs - Who knows?
Edworthy - Yes, but as a squad player
Brennan - On signs so far, yes
Mackay - No. Fantastic servant to club but not really a Prem player
Fleming - May struggle. Depends who he plays with at centre back. Its all about partnerships
Shackell - Too early to say
Easton - No
Rivers - Has the quality. He might have an incentive to play well in the Prem
McVeigh - Yes
Henderson - Not yet, but worth keeping him
Sinclair - ?
Mulryne - Ditto Rivers
Francis - Yes
Holt - Yes. But as cover, not a starter
Huckerby - Yes
Roberts - We''ll have to wait and see. He''ll know himself when hes past it
Svensson - Probably
McKenzie - Probably
Abbey - Probably not
Jarvis - Loan him

[Archie 0]

I think the important thing here is to loan out our younger players. Beckham was at preston etcetc, so half a season would do shackell/henderson/jarvis a lot of good,especially if they are playing first team football regularly.
Also important is we must try and keep as many of the current squad together for many reasons. firstly it should be a reward - they have gained promotion and i feel it would be selfish to then tell them to b****r off after all their hard work. secondly, as already said, it is a team, and not individuals, who will kep us up (bar people like jay jay okocha). and thirdly, i want to watch the team that i have been supporting, that has been slowly built up to the point where it is good enough to gain promotion, not a bunch of 30something foreigners looking for a good pay day aka wolves/portsmouth. look what happened to ipswich once they started to buy people like finidi george. if it means we come back down, at least we will be in a healthy position. fortuantely Worthy doesnt like to buy foreign players, or at least players whos first language is not english (svensson is our only one), and would prefer to clear our debts, go down and come back up in a stronger position, than to blow it and end up like bradford

[John Boubepo 0]

Green - certainly
Green - yes
Edworthy - no
Fleming - no
Mackay - No
Shackell - eventually
Drury - yes
McVeigh - poss
Rivers - no
Hendo not yet
Holt - no
Mulryne - no, too fat too over-rated
Francis - yes
Brennan - no
Huckerby - yes
Leon - no
Svensson - no
roberts - no
Jarvis - not yet

[James Kent 0]

i don''t think we are as far short as people are suggesting. Usually teams stuggle defensively in the prem becauce they were not that solid in the first divsion for insatnce Man City. But if you are good at the back, your good lets look at teams like charlton and bolton. I beleive West brom were good at the back even though they went down scoring goals was their problem. Therefore here is my list:

Greeno- without a doubt, future england keeper.
Drury - will come on another level with us in the top flight possible england place, who knows
Edworthy - yes he has done it before why not.
Malky - Basically yes, ok he is not the quickest so will get caught out every so often but i think he could do a descent job for us.
Fleming - yes he has been superb this season, its a step up but he will cope he played there before with oldham remember.
Brenan - yes, i have no doubt
Holt - he has a role to play and will do good
Francis - he is pure class so yes
Mulryne - i think the prem will help his consiatancy, he will do good
Hucks- he will do great
Robbo - bit part hopefully will be able to, but its going be tough
Leon - yes he derserves to be there
Hendo - he will need team, first season no, but with games who knows
Jarvis - his the best thing since Bellamy, he needs games
Shackell- yes
Cricton- new keeps needed
Zema - who knows, how he recovers from injury, hope so.
Rivers- i think if he gets a run of games who could be a threat.
Svensson- i hope so wasn''t much point signing him if not

so what do we need
2 new keepers, we will need three for the prem.
2 more centre backs we need strength in depth, perhaps a bid for kenton!
1 out and out right winger would be great.
and maybe one more playmaker

[Peter 0]

If and it is still a big if, not the foregone conclusion some posters seem to think, we could go out and buy half a dozen better quality players, but they will cost on transfers and wages, and remember what happened down the road.

I believe we need to strengthen particularly at the back and middle centre and right, but the majority of the current squad have earned the right to be given a chance.

If we do get promoted the chances are I am afraid any promoted club is likely to be relegated the following season, use the bonanza to ensure the club is firmly on a sound financial footing, not to go chasing a Leeds/Ipswich type dream. And ensure if relegated we can continue to be a major force in what will be Div !.

[nobbyg 0]

All very well and good but the point everyone is missing is that Sky give us £20m just for turning up. This will, if we don''t waste it, will ensure our club survives forever.
How nice will it be to pay off the £8m we owe get the new stand and infill(?) sorted, buy a couple of players and give it our best to stay up.

If we don''t we will not have destroyed the club like Ipswich and Leeds or destroyed the spirit in the team and club that Worthy has taken so long to build.

I am expecting us to be everyones second favourite team in the premiership next year -plucky Norwich who try their hardest but will probably ultimatley get relegated. We are in this for the long term - the problem with the premier is that no team thinks beyond getting there or the next season. Look at Leicester, if they go down all their players are old and on their way out - they only have two of their own players who make it into the first team squad - we could easily have 5 or 6 in the next year or two.

The board are clever enough to point at Charlton as the role model. They kept the nucleus of their squad and have added to it as and when necessary without destroying the club. Ipswich, after one good season in the premier, lost all sense of reality and thought that spending 10 million on some foreign players was a good idea.

The Premier is a different league to what it was in 1993 when Oldham could be a top flight team - however the premier league still contains many non-household names who are integral parts of their teams beacuse of their attitude and committment not because of who many world cup appearances they have made for Senegal.....

I would rather have Anthony Barness or Jonathan Hunt form Bolton or Rory Delap from Southampton than Salif Diao from Liverpool.


In summary - Undoubtedly we need a couple of players in key positions but do not underestimate what effect changing 40 or 50 % of the first eleven has. Look at Wolves, they bought new players in the summer but have only started doing a bit better when their first 11 is back to what they had in the first division last year.

[shortfatb 0]

Further to the above, Birmingham our nemesis in Cardiff with a side inferior to the mighty yellows, went up with the likes of Darren Purse as a key defender, bought Robbie Savage, who, until some of his performances for Birmingham, I wouldn''t have said would be a sought after Prem first team regular, and survived admirably. Some might question a 9-1 formation but you cannot question their commitment levels and they have then slowly bought more quality to the team with Upson, Dunn etc.

Also Everton have retained Unsworth, Manchester City keep the younger but Iwanesque pace of Richard Dunne in their defence, Southampton have Dodd and Marsden, Ronnie Johnsen has kept his place in the Villa team and whilst Taggart and Elliot may not have been have been Leicester''s greatest assets Brian Deane and Les Ferdinand have done a better job than younger, quicker men.

The first year of survival is as much down to commitment, belief and teamwork as the inherent skill of the squad. NMTD indeed.

[bailojnr 0]

Who would make starting 11?

Defenders/GK: Midfielders: Strikers:

Green Francis Huckerby
Drury McVeigh Svennson
Fleming


Who would be in the squad?

Brennan, Holt, Mulryne, McKenzie, Mackay, Edworthy, Roberts (one more season).

Out on Loan?

Jarvis, Henderson, Shackell, Sinclair, Briggs

Players in?

right-back, centre-back, creative centre midfielder, right-winger.

[Richard Willner 0]

Crikey, I really admire everyone''s optimism on here - and, damn, I hope you''re right.

Green - yes; Edworthy - doubt it; Malky - no; Flem - just about; Drury - maybe; Rivers - no; Holt - no; Francis - yes; Mulryne - doubt it; Huckerby - yes; McKenzie - no but there is potential; Svensson - doubt it; Henderson - potential; Jarvis - potential; McVeigh - yes; Brennan - doubt it.
I''m sorry but Gary Holt will be seriously found out in the Prem

[Mook 0]

No he won''t. We''ll be fine.

[Mouse 0]

Why is everyone being so harsh on Mulryne? I still think he''s a good player and if he can play international football why can''t he play in the premership?