Do things REALLY need to change very much?

[jimmeh]

Look at all these players Nigel signed in the season after winning league one! 12 players. Why did he do that ??? Oh let me think. Because it's the league above

Weale

Wellens

Gallagher

Waghorn

Neilson

N'Guessan

McGivern

Kermorgant

Solano

Spearing

Vaughan

Bruce

[Hungry Hungry Fox]

Utter rubbish. Look at teams like Norwich. A frontline of elmander, Hooper, van wolfswinkel and players like Snodgrass, ruddy, and many more and look where they are in the table. I'm sure vardy, Nugent and wood will score a lot of goals though clueless

I'm sorry but those players are not premier league class players and you mention van wolfswinkel? Have you seen him play? and you call me clueless

Take for example Jason puncheon, never been really highly regarded, always been seen as a championship(at best) quality player, look at him now!

[Fox Ulike]

Def not the kind of players NP will sign

I dunno. We will need some experienced guys in there too. I can't see Phillips Hammond and GTF getting much pitch time.

Pearson may have to modify his transfer policy a bit.

Who would you sign then? That is the question.

[Hungry Hungry Fox]

Look at all these players Nigel signed in the season after winning league one! 12 players. Why did he do that ??? Oh let me think. Because it's the league above

Weale

Wellens

Gallagher

Waghorn

Neilson

N'Guessan

McGivern

Kermorgant

Solano

Spearing

Vaughan

Bruce

You are something else

[Guest ttfn]

Utter rubbish. Look at teams like Norwich. A frontline of elmander, Hooper, van wolfswinkel and players like Snodgrass, ruddy, and many more and look where they are in the table. I'm sure vardy, Nugent and wood will score a lot of goals though clueless

The only player you've named who I reckon would get in our side is Hooper. Van Wolfswinkel has had a terrible season; he's just not settled. Is Snodgrass definitely better than Knockaert and Mahrez? Ruddy better than Schmeichel?

[Hungry Hungry Fox]

I dunno. We will need some experienced guys in there too. I can't see Phillips Hammond and GTF getting much pitch time.

Pearson may have to modify his transfer policy a bit.

Who would you sign then? That is the question.

I don't know, it's a tough question and I don't like second guessing NP's signings

[Al-aLondon-Foxile]

I haven't read anyone else's opinion yet on this thread Col, but I agree with your points. We should give NP a contract and a firm agreement that he has that time and won't be pushed out if things don't go as well as hoped next year. He's proved to me he is the man for the long term, and with his back room staff can gather a squad capable of progression. Whether he's able to do this in the first premier league season or not I'm not sure, but I'd give him the long term opportunity to try and support his efforts.

[jimmeh]

The only player you've named who I reckon would get in our side is Hooper. Van Wolfswinkel has had a terrible season; he's just not settled. Is Snodgrass definitely better than Knockaert and Mahrez? Ruddy better than Schmeichel?

I'm just trying to say if that frontline is struggling to score goals in the prem then where does that leave our front line ? Van wolfswinkel isnt a bad player. He's a Dutch international.

[The Doctor]

I'd agree. We could do with some reinforcements (we've been fortunate with injuries this season, and while the sports science team are undoubtably good, they can't help injuries inflicted in matches) but a big overhaul will cause more problems than it would solve

[Hungry Hungry Fox]

I haven't read anyone else's opinion yet on this thread Col, but I agree with your points. We should give NP a contract and a firm agreement that he has that time and won't be pushed out if things don't go as well as hoped next year. He's proved to me he is the man for the long term, and with his back room staff can gather a squad capable of progression. Whether he's able to do this in the first premier league season or not I'm not sure, but I'd give him the long term opportunity to try and support his efforts.

I'll 2nd that

[kingfox]

These players have shown they can walk over most teams in the Championship this season, albeit Brighton. The togetherness is there, and the core of the side deserve a real crack at the Premier League, but you look at some players now, and it really worries me if they would be able to handle the Premier League.

 

Can the likes of De Laet & Schlupp adapt to the Premier League, they have both been prone to defensive mistakes in the past. I really don't see Wasilewski cutting it in the Prem, you can say well he is experienced and all that jazz, oh he will smash Suarez etc... but I highly doubt it, first off I don't think he will even start, and if he does then I can see most strikers running rings round him, the pace of the Premier League will not suit him. I really think Drinkwater & James will need help in the midfield, they are good enough to control games in the Championship, but a lot of the time in the Premier League, it will be them doing the running and chasing, and you put them up against the physicality of the likes of Yaya Toure, Matic, Gerrard they will more than likely get schooled. While Knockaert I don't think he is cut out to start most Premier League games yet, while Dyer will probably be more of an impact sub. While Nugent despite scoring about 20 goals this season, will probably struggle to make an impact in the Premier League, as many have said already. 

 

The squad needs tinkering, and needs improving, and if that happens, then I can really see us performing like Crystal Palace have eventually done this season, and maybe finish as high as 12th. 

[Hungry Hungry Fox]

I'm just trying to say if that frontline is struggling to score goals in the prem then where does that leave our front line ? Van wolfswinkel isnt a bad player. He's a Dutch international.

We won't know until they play in the premier league

[Hungry Hungry Fox]

I fully expect us to do something similar to hull

They've kept their core of players from last season, most of whom are no better than our squad, and reinforced with a few quality players

P.S I can't believe Liam rosenior is a regular starter in the premier league

[sphericalfox]

There's plenty of threads flying around, hypothesising about next season.

It's understandable... it's an exciting time for the club.

However.. some people are saying we effectively need a new squad, others that we need a change of captain, still others that we need to change our manager in the summer

Personally, I don't think much needs to change to mount a good campaign next season, in terms of avoiding relegation first and foremost and then seeing where City can finish.

I would stick with Wes as Skipper, I would only sign three/four good quality players and I would give Pearson a two year contract NOW.

I like this squad.. it's young, its balanced, it's developing.

Why all the call for change? Are we not going to be ok next season?

Opinions please..

 

 

 

I think you've taken a very good stance. Let's reconsider once the transfer window gets going, and of course the last hour or two on the Aug 31st, and of course for the friendlies against Barcelona, and Bayer Munich this summer.

[XLM]

Centre back with pace. Midfielder with an absolute ping. Striker who can finish. 13th placed finish. 

[Narborough_fox]

Look at all these players Nigel signed in the season after winning league one! 12 players. Why did he do that ??? Oh let me think. Because it's the league above

Weale

Wellens

Gallagher

Waghorn

Neilson

N'Guessan

McGivern

Kermorgant

Solano

Spearing

Vaughan

Bruce

 

Now, shall we see how many of them played an integral part of that season...

 

Weale - GK all season, played a key part

Wellens - One of the players of the season

Gallagher - Played almost every game

Waghorn - Howard and Fryatt played ahead of him but still key to the season 

Neilson - Morrison, a centre back, started ahead of him. Barely played. 

N'Guessan - Played second fiddle to Dyer and Gallagher. Loaned out midseason. 

McGivern - Less said about this the better? Berner played ahead of him.

Kermorgant - Played 25 games, scored one goal and chipped a penalty. 

Solano - Came in and only played in 11 games. 

Spearing - Only played 9 games. King, Oakley and Wellens were better in CM. 

Vaughan - Absolute rubbish, played 8 games, scored 1 goal and fell over all the time. 

Bruce - Made 3 apps on loan. Gave the penalty away at Cardiff and only started because we found out Wayne Brown voted BNP. 

 

So... Weale, Wellens, Gallagher, Waghorn and maybe N'Guessn were the only signings who really made a big difference to the season. The fact that Bruce, Vaughan, Spearing, Solano and McGivern made less than 15 appearances shows us that the exsisting squad was already good enough and Pearson only signed these for back-up to the squad he had in League One.

[Ric Flair]

Team spirit, confidence and unity go a long way in football and especially in the English Football League where the top 2 have gotten or nearly gotten promoted in Burnley's case with squads that aren't as good on paper as some of the other teams. In the PL teams do punch above their weight at times and teams massively under-achieve but in general it's believed that the quality of the team will come through.

I believe the PL has a big disparity between the top 6-8 teams and then the rest, there's as much if not more guff in the PL now as there ever has been. However do we just want to be part of the guff fighting for survival or are we hoping to set our sights a little higher? With 10 years in the wilderness we could be forgiven for lowering expectation and being happy with scraping 17th. We do have rich owners though, who are ambitious and supportive. We also have a fan base that isn't as forgiving to their team as some and whom simply won't be happy if we struggle next season. Therefore with the potential resources available and an already strong team spirit and foundation in place I hope we are positive next season and not hoping to consolidate.

I don't think this squad is " that " good. The first XI has some good talent amongst it but the fringe players are not PL class in any way. I think we need 3-4 quality players for the XI and several fringe players too. We cannot rely on the emergency loan market next season. We cannot rely on academy players as Pearson has shown little faith in blooding any of the current crop so we will need possibly 10 new players in the summer. I simply don't think we can have the likes of GTF, Hammond, Dyer, Gallagher, Logan and even Phillips in our squad. We will need a good 20-25 players for the first team. We might have had an exceptional year in terms of keeping players injury free but we must have the necessary back-up if we do pick up 3-4 injuries to our players at any one time.

I have faith in our current manager and his staff to replenish this squad ready for next season but I do hope the public displays of confidence he has in this squad is realistic and that we need some serious quality added to compliment Vardy, Mahrez, Drinkwater, James and co.

What a position we are in though, it's our time for a bit of success and glory.

[italianfox17]

Another CB, winger and ST will do nicely

[Richard]

You can see the gulf in class in the Premier League between the top 7 and the bottom 13 by looking at the table. Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Spurs and Utd have their own league going and there could be (If Utd win their game in hand) a 12 point gap between them and Southampton one place below. Southampton are essentially top of the "others" in the Premier League.The fact that 8 points separate 20th from 12th shows that there's a lot of average teams in the Premier League. Are players like Phil Bardsley, Steven Whittaker, Wes Hoolahan really what you'd call "Premier League" standard. Our performance against Fulham in the cup showed that the difference between top of the Championship and bottom of the Premier League is very little, and I believe our squad is more than capable of finishing 17th next season.

[jimmeh]

You can see the gulf in class in the Premier League between the top 7 and the bottom 13 by looking at the table. Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Spurs and Utd have their own league going and there could be (If Utd win their game in hand) a 12 point gap between them and Southampton one place below. Southampton are essentially top of the "others" in the Premier League.The fact that 8 points separate 20th from 12th shows that there's a lot of average teams in the Premier League. Are players like Phil Bardsley, Steven Whittaker, Wes Hoolahan really what you'd call "Premier League" standard. Our performance against Fulham in the cup showed that the difference between top of the Championship and bottom of the Premier League is very little, and I believe our squad is more than capable of finishing 17th next season.

Laughable. We would go down with a record low points with our current squad

[shen]

No I'm talking about the Wes Brown who's played his career in the Prem and won 5 league titles.

I guess since we've run out of our own players to slag off it's time to start slagging off potential transfer targets.

Who would you sign then? Put up or shut up, sir.

 

I'd rather (marginally) have O'Shea than Brown. He's not had as bad an injury record nor does he get sent off as much. I'd rather stay well clear of both though. I've already posted suggestions in the thread about potential transfer targets. You can have a gander http://www.foxestalk.co.uk/forums/topic/93797-realistic-signings-if-we-go-up/page-9#entry2939073 if you like.

[Zapp]

players i think would be ready for a prem game tomorrow

 

kasper

 

de laet 

 

mahrez james drinks 

 

vardy

 

players i think would be capable in the prem, but depending on form or confidence it might affect performance. nevertheless be certain to keep

 

 

morgan was moore schlupp konchesky

 

knocky dyer king

 

nuge wood

 

 

the rest will depend on if nige feels they can make an impact maybe as a sub or appropriate back up.

I have listed just 16 players

 

if you include logan as a 2nd/3rd choice keeper it would suggest we need 8 more players for the 25 man squad

for arguments sake lets say that Hammond and GTF are good enough for the squad and good cup game options

 

that would leave 6 signings needed.

 

1 x GK (Back Up)

 

1 x Full Back (Challenging de Laet for 1st choice, maybe could be utilised at left back, naughton springs to mind but i doubt he would come here)

 

1 x CB (1st choice but willing to rotate with Moore/Was/Wes to determine the most stable partnership)

 

1 x CM (Back up for 442, good defensively incase we need a holding mid, possibly somebody in the Flamini mould, although i dont expect that good of quality)

 

1 x Winger (1st choice, good at tracking back, antonio valencia kind of figure)

 

1 x Striker (experienced, knows where the goal is, possibly able to drop into the "number 10" role. If our prem virgins are out of form, this guy will step up. Someone like Aruna Kone or Steven Fletcher. The risk of injury might just be worthwhile with our other striking options.)

[Fox Ulike]

I'd rather (marginally) have O'Shea than Brown. He's not had as bad an injury record nor does he get sent off as much. I'd rather stay well clear of both though. I've already posted suggestions in the thread about potential transfer targets. You can have a gander http://www.foxestalk.co.uk/forums/topic/93797-realistic-signings-if-we-go-up/page-9#entry2939073 if you like.

Can't you just remember who they are and tell me?

[shen]

Can't you just remember who they are and tell me?

 

I could, but it's a lot less hassle for both of us to get you to click the direct link to the names I suggest!

[Agent Fox]

2 strikers