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SplatCat

If we are relegated, who should we keep?

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Ok this is a premature question because we are not down yet, but still I was wandering on people''s views about which players we should definitely keep if we do go down.

My own thoughts are that if we go down we will be a club in quite considerable disarray, and will need bold, immediate management from top to bottom if we are to sort ourselves out. There has to be a rapid turn around in feelings surrounding the club, and even then I think we would be lucky to bounce straight back up. It''s a crucial period to get right.

What I would like to see is a boot room atmosphere behind the scenes at the club, with Adams, Huckerby, Adrian Forbes and McVeigh involved in some level, which they already are but I would want to keep that way, with a more conscious acknowledgment that we do intend to create a boot room atmosphere. This would give us some long term identity and chance to grow as a club rather than constant progression/regression, which is implied if you only have a "seven year plan" or whatever.

And on the playing front I can only really think of 11 or 12 senior players who should be kept at the club if we want to move forward, but at the same time move on from this disastrous season: Ruddy, Olsson, Martin, Turner, R. Bennett, Howson, Fox, Hoolahan, Surman, Snodgrass*, Redmond and E. Bennet.

* I would only keep Snograss with the intention of playing him more centrally, like Hoolahan, to keep pace on the wings so that when you''re defending long periods you can counter attack as your main attacking option, rather than wait for free kicks and corners.

Omissions are Bassong, Whittaker, Johnson, Hooper, Wolfswinkel, Fer and Pilkington.

Now I think the latter group are good players, and we will in all probability end up with some of them on our books next season, which might be a good thing, you can''t tell for sure.

With B Johnson it''s a close call, but Fox''s superior passing ability, coupled with our team failure with Johnson and team success with Fox mean that I would prefer Fox to be kept on over Johnson, but wouldn''t be distraught if Johnson was kept on.

My main concern with Hooper and Wolfswinkel is that they don''t give defenders as hard a time as players such as Chris Martin, Holt, Danny Ings, Charlie Austin, David Nugent, Vardy and a lot of successful strikers do. It is a fast paced game where it pays to put defenders under pressure. I would like to see us pressing high up the pitch and they aren''t the players to do that. Indeed the days of "poachers" are probably leaving us behind, and mobility and work rate and an ability to keep the ball are more and more paramount - forwards are more first defenders if you like. To their credit I think Hoops and RVW do try to do that, but its not their natural game.

Pilks, Fer, Whittaker and Bassong have been very disappointing this season in my opinion and thus I would show them the door. To be frank I don''t think they are strong enough characters and the club needs to be freshened up.

Thoughts?

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I think we should hang on to as many of the squad as is possible. They have, after all had PL experience and have gained a few scalps at that level. They have also played some good football against some good sides, believe.

 

Yes, they have contributed to our impending relegation but the Championship will be a more comfortable environment for them.

 

I''ve said this before, but the best chance of a quick return is the first season down there and after that it gets harder as mediocrity creeps  in.

 

I, personally, feel that the present squad (or most of it) would make a fair fist of a fight back. To begin afresh with too many new names is unthinkable IMO.

 

Changes could well be made if we are not successful the first time around. 

 

 

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I''d try and keep the majority of players, but specifically the players who may may be poached by bigger clubs. I''d put Ruddy, Olsson, Turner, Snodgrass, Howson and Hooper in that mix.

I think players like Johnson and the Bennetts will stay and can offer a lot in the Championship.

There are a few I''m unsure would want to stay and do we want to keep them? I''d put Tettey, Whittaker and Redmond being the main ones even Garrido if he was willing to stay and/or we lose Olsson, they all have a lot to offer in the championship, but will they want to?

I''d want to persuade some of the other players that thought they didn''t have a future here to stay, I''m mainly thinking Hoolahan, Becchio and Pilkington here...but there is also Fox and Surman who can do a job and have been frozen out,

I think we should look to offload some of our more expensive "stars" I don''t think they will have the desire and grit determined for the games ahead in a demanding league. I''m mainly thinking Bassong, Fer and RVW. The loanees will obviously disappear anyway so no issues there.

I think part of the reason we are getting relegated is because we have a very good championship level side. Minimal disruption will help keep that while bringing in no more than 5-7 players (depending on who ends up leaving) of very high quality in that league to help.

I also want to see Josh Murphy more involved and maybe a few other youngsters so we don''t want to freeze them out with Championship journeymen.

If we end up with a firesale and then a complete revamp at the end of a disastrous season its going to almost guarantee no success next year imo.

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Got to remember that:

We don''t need to sell anyone. Were a profitable club and the big parachute payment means money won''t be a struggle, Can''t see anybody really being sold for 4s/5s millions purely because we dot have to, but can you see people bidding unrefusable amounts for star players?

Who''s going to want them? With the exception of ruddy/snodgrass/olsson/Martin I wouldn''t say the rest have put in consistant performances to warrant a stay in the league. We know how talented the likes of Fer/Pilks/Bassong/Redmond are but they haven''t made the league sit up and notice.

The players in the league already? Championship is a much stronger league than it was 3 years ago. I know QPR have a huge budget but some of there players would fit in a premiership team without a doubt?

From a personal point of view I think we will lose snodgrass & bassong. Unless a team like arsenal or chelsea come back for ruddy who''s going to afford him? The likes of McCarthy at reading & Forster at Celtic would be much cheaper. Maybe RvW/Fer if someone wants to take a punt but there certainly won''t be a massive squad.

Ruddy/New Keeper

Martin Turner Bennett Garrido/Olsson

Redmond Tettey Howson Johnson Pilkington

Hooper

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We keep:

Keepers - Ruddy, Bunn, Rudd

Full backs - Olsson

Centre Backs - Bennett, possibly Bassong

Wingers - Benno, Josh, Redders, Pilks

Centre midfielders - Howson, Fer, Tettey, Wes

Strikers - difficult - Becchio?

This is a skeleton, barely a side. Much depend on offers we may receive - for Fer, Ruddy, Snodgrass, Howson. We shall probably keep one or two who we know are not up to Prem level, because they are not the future, but could fill in in the Championship - Martin, Whittaker, Garrido, Would we keep RvW and Hooper, to see if their goalscoring could be fired up again?

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[quote user="BroadstairsR"]I would hope we retain Tettey and Hooper.[/quote]

 

 

Sorry. Johnson and Hooper. Johnson would be the perfect fit at Championship level and Hooper should start grapping a few a la Celtic.

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I think realistically we will lose Ruddy, Bassong, Fer and Yobo. I''d like shot of RVW.

I think teams will want Snoddy and am unsure if he will want out or will be prepared to stay.

I think 2 from Wes, Pilks, Snod and Redmond will be off.

Olsson may stay as he did at Blackburn but teams will be sniffing around him.

If, however, we could keep the following (which i think is unrealistic) we will have the basis of a squad that (if supplemented by a couple of decent champ additions) gives us a good chance of challenging for promotion:

Bunn

Rudd

Martin

Bennett

Turner

Whitaker

Olsson

Johnson

Howson

Tettey

Fox

Redmond

E.Bennett

Snod?

Murphy x2

Becchio

Hooper

Loza

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Can''t believe people still want to get rid of Johnson...

Not even going to bother going over it all again, but he should stay even if we stay up let alone if we go down. If we do go down wouldn''t be at all surprised to see someone like Hull, Leicster, Burnley after him. Although I''m sure the usual suspects will laugh me off.

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[quote user="lincoln canary"]Getting Andrew Surman back is a must.[/quote]

But would he want to come back? He was frozen out at Norwich!

He is now back on his home territory, the south coast, and getting regular games. So no doubt a much happier bunny.

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[quote user="Sussexyellow"][quote user="lincoln canary"]Getting Andrew Surman back is a must.[/quote]

But would he want to come back? He was frozen out at Norwich!

He is now back on his home territory, the south coast, and getting regular games. So no doubt a much happier bunny.[/quote]

Well lets hope a new manger can persuade him back. He''s likely to earn more here, and by all accounts was very happy and settled here until Hughton deemed him not good enough. I reckon he''d come back.

As for BJ - it doesn''t matter what division we find ourselves in, he will still not be able to pass the ball to a teammate! I don''t like his style of play and hope we can have better passing players in the side.

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If we are going to continue to play Redmond on the left wing and Snodgrass on the right wing it will not matter who we keep. We will not succeed.

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As I''ve said before I really couldn''t care less as long as we keep Snodgrass, Ruddy and Olsson and maybe Martin, Turner and E Bennet. There''s a poisonous, negative, carefree, losing mentality ingrained in this group of players and we''d suffer a relegation hangover without a doubt, this failure of a squad needs to be ripped up for the most part. The main task is unloading the mercenaries with the poorest attitude ie Bassong, Fer, Pilkington, Whittaker, Hoolahan etc

I said I wanted Snodgrass but it would take a miracle to keep him here so:

Ruddy

R Martin Turner Bennett Olsson

*Harry Arter* *Danny Guthrie*

Bennet *Dale Jennings*

*Assombalonga*

Hooper

Subs Rudd Surman Johnson Murphy and 3 new signings

Would be well happy to see that team line up on the first day next year

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Do you really think it will take a miracle for us to keep Snodgrass?

Which of the top sides do you think would want him?

If he leaves us he will go to Celtic, not the Premiership.

Everyone seems to be overvaluing his contribution to the team.

Yes, his attitude seems to be very good, he is passionate and he works very hard for the team.

But he has played on the right wing all season. What is it you look for in a winger and what is it that Snodgrass has given us as a winger?

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[quote user="Yellow Wall"]Do you really think it will take a miracle for us to keep Snodgrass?

Which of the top sides do you think would want him?

If he leaves us he will go to Celtic, not the Premiership.

Everyone seems to be overvaluing his contribution to the team.

Yes, his attitude seems to be very good, he is passionate and he works very hard for the team.

But he has played on the right wing all season. What is it you look for in a winger and what is it that Snodgrass has given us as a winger?[/quote]

I think we''d struggle, especially with West Ham interested and I could totally he him going there, he''d fit like a glove.

At this level? Meh, he works hard, tracks back well, scores goals and occasionally takes a decent free kick but I''d agree he doesn''t offer much in an attacking sense at all. But I''m thinking about in the league below where I believe he will be exceptional as he was before. The weaker opposition will let us play higher up the pitch which will negate his lack of pace and he''ll get double the amount of opportunities to put a decent cross in. He might look even better if we manage to get a striker with even a basic level of positional sense and predatory instinct to get on the end of them unlike our current bunch of wasters

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I can safely say I disagree with quite a few posters about how good many of our players would be for a Championship side.

In goal, I''d say having Ruddy/Bunn/Rudd would be fine.  If we have to sell Ruddy because a big bid comes in, I''d pocket the cash and go with Bunn/Rudd/Nash.

 

At the back, Turner/Bennett at CB would be fine, plus Basso if he can get his head together and RM as cover, plus RM/Whitts at RB and Olsson/Garrido at LB would be good quality for the Championship.


In midfield anyone who thinks we should get rid of Johnson should look again at his (excellent) performance on Saturday.  His passing is certainly good enough for the Champ.  If we can keep Johnson, Tettey and Howson at CM that''s what we need, maybe another squad player to back them up.

 

On the flanks...  Sorry, run out of time but I''ll complete this post later.

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So Darth "he (Snodgrass) doesn''t offer much in an attacking sense at all" but you think it will take a miracle for us to keep him!

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I would keep the lot as they should be given a chance to make amends under a manager who has not dessicated the spirit of the squad.

If some go due to good offers then I would replace them with youth. Remember we have Fox and Surman to return and Becchio is a proven striker in that league.

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[quote user="Yellow Wall"]So Darth "he (Snodgrass) doesn''t offer much in an attacking sense at all" but you think it will take a miracle for us to keep him![/quote]

At this level and he wouldn''t need to in an Allardyce team, he''s brilliant at winning free kicks and pretty good at defending. Also in Celtics team in that league he would offer a hell of a lot, also one of the things I like about him is he seems to love winning above anything else, something he''d do a lot up there. Also I kinda agree that he''s over rated, probably by a few clubs as well, make no mistake, despite his flaws we will be getting bids for him

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Up front we''d obviously sell RVW if we can get a fee or maybe even just to get him off the wage bill. Loan players go so leaving us Becchio/Hooper as strikers plus Loza? -a pretty good striking force for the Champ, maybe we''d need a squad player but that''s all

And on the flanks we''d be spoilt for choice if we had Snoddy, Redmond, Murphy , E Benno, Pilks. If any like Pilks say can''t get their attitude right then you could sell him add buy a replacement.

Can''t understand people knocking Snoddy all the time, he''s just been one of our best performers against Man U FFS and is one of the few players that another Prem team might buy

In midfield I forgot Fox (a bit like Hughton Lol) which would mean we''d have enough depth there and Fer obviously should go.

So overall my view is sell the Dutch duo and anyone else who has a bad attitude and we probably only have to sign one striker and we''re pretty well setup if we get a good manager in.

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Same question ICF about Snodgrass -

Yes, his attitude seems to be very good, he is passionate and he works very hard for the team.

But he has played on the right wing all season. What is it you look for in a winger and what is it that Snodgrass has given us as a winger?

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Get RidRuddy (let him go, decent transfer fee & he deserves better)WhittakerBassong GarridoFerRedmondSurmanPilkingtonHoolahanRVWBecchioSend back ElmanderJonasYoboKeepRudd & BunnMartin, R Bennett, Turner, OlssonHowson, Johnson, E Bennett, Tettey, Fox, Snodgrass (although this would be unlikely)Hooper, Murphy(s)Get/UpgradeA decent right backAnother CDTwo more strikers A captain & leaderLoza, McGeehan & Morris

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[quote user="Making Plans"]Get RidRuddy (let him go, decent transfer fee & he deserves better)WhittakerBassong GarridoFerRedmondSurmanPilkingtonHoolahanRVWBecchioSend back ElmanderJonasYoboKeepRudd & BunnMartin, R Bennett, Turner, OlssonHowson, Johnson, E Bennett, Tettey, Fox, Snodgrass (although this would be unlikely)Hooper, Murphy(s)Get/UpgradeA decent right backAnother CDTwo more strikers A captain & leaderLoza, McGeehan & Morris

[/quote]

Unbelievable. How on earth do you think we''ll hit the ground running with that much upheaval? Redmond, surman, Hoolahan and Becchio would be fantastic players for us In the championship.

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[quote user="lincoln canary"] Redmond, surman, Hoolahan and Becchio would be fantastic players for us In the championship.[/quote]Redmond maybe but Josh could be just as good. As for the other 3, sorry but no. Surman was ok but that was over 2 years ago & he hasn''t exactly set the World on fire anywhere else.Hoolahan is past it, he wants out & his time here is overBecchio has barely kicked a ball in anger for 18 months & I can''t see him wanting to stay here any longer.

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I think a great many supporters are in for a great surprise at which players we will actually be ''in demand'' from other clubs.

I feel there will be very few ............. and the ones that are will, again, surprise many people.

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