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Squad Depth after the Transfer Window


brisbaneblue

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Comments? Additions? Corrections?

 

GK: Howard, Robles, Stanek

RB: Coleman, Hibbert, Browning, Holgate

CB: Jagielka, Stones, Funes Mori, Galloway, Browning, Pennington, Holgate

LB: Baines, Oviedo, Funes Mori, Galloway

DM: McCarthy, Barry, Besic, Cleverley, Gibson

ACM/CM: Barkley, Cleverley, Osman, Pienaar, Barry

RW/RM: Deulofeu, Lennon, Miralas, Kone, Cleverley, Pienaar, McGeady, Naismith

LW/LM: Miralas, Barkley, Deulofeu, Cleverley, Oviedo, Lennon, Kone, McGeady, Osman

ST: Lukaku, Kone, Niasmith, Rodriguez, McAleny

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One further thing to note, these players contracts Are finished at the end of this campaign -

 

Hibbert

Gibson

Kone

Oviedo

Osman

Pienaar

Stanek

Conor Grant

 

Some serious dead wood there. Kone and Oviedo should be re-signed, Hibbert and osman offered coaching contracts.

Edited by markjazzbassist
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One further thing to note, these players contracts Are finished at the end of this campaign -

 

Hibbert

Gibson

Kone

Oviedo

Osman

Pienaar

Stanek

Conor Grant

 

Some serious dead wood there. Kone and Oviedo should be re-signed, Hibbert and osman offered coaching contracts.

Pretty good timing, this would have to cut off a fair chunk of the wage bill.

 

Wouldn't resign Kone and would sell off McGeady and Naismith. After that, a quality up and coming strker would be needed and then I think everyone else could just move up one position in the peking order.

Edited by brisbaneblue
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I think you'd have to say that we have only 4, maybe 5 players in our starting XI that could be starting for a club like Arsenal or Man U or Chelsea, in Lukaku, Barkley, Baines, Stones and maybe Miralas

 

Those clubs pay an average of £20-£30m per starting player, so it is understandable. I would be happier comparing our squad with Liverpool and Tottenham, that is where this club should be at the moment.

 

But if you want to play this game, Coleman, Stones, McCarthy, Barkley and Lukaku could possibly start at United and Arsenal. Chelsea, except the first two, would not take any. Liverpool and Tottenham...we can discuss plenty here.

 

 

One further thing to note, these players contracts Are finished at the end of this campaign -

 

Hibbert

Gibson

Kone

Oviedo

Osman

Pienaar

Stanek

Conor Grant

 

Some serious dead wood there. Kone and Oviedo should be re-signed, Hibbert and osman offered coaching contracts.

 

IMO Kone this year is playing quite well, shame that the previous 2 years he could not contribute but now he looks sharp and ready. Oviedo should be let go and Garbutt take his spot, but he can also re-sign and stay another year. Pienaar, Osman and Hibbert should not be playing anymore, Gibson hopefully ends his years as well here and I have no judgement for Stanek and Conor Grant.

 

Take all those away, promote the youngsters and sign someone decent per line and we are set. If Martinez was able to sign a good replacement by line next year I would be very happy, guys that really add a valuable contribution (i.e.: not Alcaraz or McGeady). Even though this might be laughed off, I like Cleverley because he can play multiple positions, he looks up to any task Martinez sets for him and he can be benched without creating a bad atmosphere.

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Comments? Additions? Corrections?

 

GK: Howard, Robles, Stanek

RB: Coleman, Hibbert, Browning, Holgate

CB: Jagielka, Stones, Funes Mori, Galloway, Browning, Pennington, Holgate

LB: Baines, Oviedo, Funes Mori, Galloway

DM: McCarthy, Barry, Besic, Cleverley, Gibson

ACM/CM: Barkley, Cleverley, Osman, Pienaar, Barry

RW/RM: Deulofeu, Lennon, Miralas, Kone, Cleverley, Pienaar, McGeady, Naismith

LW/LM: Miralas, Barkley, Deulofeu, Cleverley, Oviedo, Lennon, Kone, McGeady, Osman

ST: Lukaku, Kone, Niasmith, Rodriguez, McAleny

 

GK: Stanek won't start any games. Pointless listing these. If both Howard and Robles were injured, Martinez would exercise the right to sign a keeper from somewhere.

RB: Hibbert probably won't start. Holgate won't start.

LB: Has Mori played LB?

DM: Gibson is screwed (if he steps on the field, he'll get injured) and was just sentenced for drunk driving anyways.

ACM/CM: Pienaar hasn't been fit for two years. Osman is also struggling. Barry only plays DM anyways.

RW/RM: McGeady is shite, Naismith is shite on the wing. Kone is much better than either of those.

LW/LM: Barkley is useless in the wing. Lennon is RW as is Deulofeu.

ST: Rodriguez, I'll be surprised if this guy starts a game this season.

 

You might just as well add all the U21 players if you want to make it look like there's plenty of depth. Grant, Byrne, Ledson, Kenny, Williams, Dowell, Connolly etc. as any of these might sit on the bench in one or two games.

 

As for contracts ending, it will be very tricky next summer. Couple of those players are already on relatively small contracts and where does the money come to buy these players? Even free transfers will expect at least a few million signing-on bonuses.

 

More realistically squad depth looks like

GK: Howard, Robles

RB: Coleman

CB: Jagielka, Stones, Mori, Browning

LB: Baines, Garbutt, Galloway, Browning, Oviedo

RM/RW: Lennon, Mirallas, Kone, Deulofeu, McGeady

LM/LW: Mirallas, Cleverley, Pienaar, Kone, Oviedo, Osman

DM: McCarthy, Barry, Besic

CM/AMC: Barkley, Cleverley, Osman, Gibson, Naismith

ST: Lukaku, Kone, Naismith, McAleny

 

For instance, Martinez has said Galloway needs about 50 games in the fullback position to be ready to play CB. Some of those players are rarely fit and some would mean a big drop in quality. And of course when looking at those positions, several players are in multiple positions and they can only play one position at a time.

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One further thing to note, these players contracts Are finished at the end of this campaign -

 

Hibbert

Gibson

Kone

Oviedo

Osman

Pienaar

Stanek

Conor Grant

 

Some serious dead wood there. Kone and Oviedo should be re-signed, Hibbert and osman offered coaching contracts.

 

I'd only re-sign Oviedo out of that list, the rest should be told they need to find new clubs.

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I'd only re-sign Oviedo out of that list, the rest should be told they need to find new clubs.

Yeah the thing I was trying to highlight is this next summer the squad will be pruned down and we will gain a lot of wages back from those players which is encouraging to me for the long term vision.

 

I agree crusty next summer it's 10 and GK.

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Cleverley?

Great. So we only need about five Cleverleys next summer. Maybe Moses, he's used to working with Martinez and might not ask for a huge signing-on bonus?

 

And of course most fans will moan how we sign shite players (seriously, how many of the people who are now happy with him were moaning when we were linked?).

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Yeah the thing I was trying to highlight is this next summer the squad will be pruned down and we will gain a lot of wages back from those players which is encouraging to me for the long term vision.

 

I agree crusty next summer it's 10 and GK.

 

But without being able to afford transfer fees for the replacements what do we do? There's a fairly big rebuilding job to do without a lot of money to do it with.

 

Unless we've got a whole shitload of money saved up :rofl: .

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Great. So we only need about five Cleverleys next summer. Maybe Moses, he's used to working with Martinez and might not ask for a huge signing-on bonus?

 

And of course most fans will moan how we sign shite players (seriously, how many of the people who are now happy with him were moaning when we were linked?).

I admit when I first heard I was disappointed.

Glad to be proved wrong though.

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But without being able to afford transfer fees for the replacements what do we do? There's a fairly big rebuilding job to do without a lot of money to do it with.

 

Unless we've got a whole shitload of money saved up :rofl: .

But we do have money don't we?

Don't we also have TV money coming in next year?

Don't our accounts also show we have cut debt a great deal?

 

Haven't we spent 20m and also bid 20m for Yarmalenko? Just because we never got him doesn't mean we didn't have the money.

 

One thing have done that other clubs haven't, is saved on interest by making loans to fund this windows transfers.

Of course we need to analyse the next financial report before we can truthfully say.

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But we do have money don't we?

Don't we also have TV money coming in next year?

Don't our accounts also show we have cut debt a great deal?

 

Haven't we spent 20m and also bid 20m for Yarmalenko? Just because we never got him doesn't mean we didn't have the money.

 

One thing have done that other clubs haven't, is saved on interest by making loans to fund this windows transfers.

Of course we need to analyse the next financial report before we can truthfully say.

 

In the same way you could say just because we bid £20m it doesn't mean we did have the money can't you?

 

We've saved on interest by taking out loans to fund this window? We pay a big percentage of interest on that loan, and if we have money why did we need to take out a loan to cover it all?!

 

Let's wait and see what happens when the accounts are released and then what we do next summer. Whatever the outcomes it'll be interesting to say the least!

Edited by Romey 1878
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But without being able to afford transfer fees for the replacements what do we do? There's a fairly big rebuilding job to do without a lot of money to do it with.

 

Unless we've got a whole shitload of money saved up :rofl: .

 

good thoughts romey. i think RM plan is to have the youngsters for squad depth with the occaisional veteran on a bosman or cheap (like alcaraz type players).

 

there is no money saved up. i think stones coleman, lukaku will all go at some point which will generate the rest to buy players in their prime to complete the 5 year vision. that's really the only way i can see RM doing it.

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I don't agree with this 'need a number 10' stuff. It's where Kone and Naismith play, and if you're talking creativity, that's Barkley's role. We need to face facts that he'll never be a CM because he can't defend for shit. And as plenty have said, Mirallas could work there too.

 

I'm more concerned that we dont have decent cover/competition for Lukaku, Coleman and Howard. Everywhere else on the pitch, we have options, including to play different systems, such as playing proper widemen (Mirallas, Deuleufeo, Lennon) in a 4-3-3 where there wouldn't even be a 'traditional' number 10'.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I've imported StevO's post from the Mirallas thread, as my "thinking aloud" here goes beyond Mirallas and wingers.

 

Now we have loads of wingers, if they want to play they better be in good form or Lennon, Mirallas, McGeady (probably not), Gerry, Cleverley, Pienaar (if he ever gets fit) are all able to step in.

Despite the disappointment of the failure to sign a #10, our squad depth looks pretty solid after all, right?

 

It seems reasonable to assume Pienaar will never fully recover enough to be a major factor. It will be nice if he can contribute at all. McGeady, I'd have to think he wants out in January, and that Roberto will try to grant him his wish. If we think of Deulofeu, Mirallas, and Lennon as our main winger options, there's some real talent there. And Cleverley may fill in there, as well as serve as Barkley's backup at times. Plus, Oviedo may actually play more at LW than LB, given Galloway's impressive development, and the return of Baines (January?) and then Garbutt next season.

 

As for strikers, we can at least be optimistic that Lukaku will score goals, even while driving (some of) us crazy. Neither Kone nor Naismith is exactly a dependable backup, but Kone has gifts, and Naismith is a tireless worker and intermittently effective poacher. Can't blame Naismith if he wants out, but I hope he gets enough time on the pitch and the occasional goal to satisfy him, not to mention us.

 

The #10 is still an issue, and I don't see Barkley as a #10, but he appears to have the ball at his feet a whole lot, in the middle of the pitch and pushing forward. And Cleverley will surely play somewhere, including all over the pitch in midfield. So ..... is a #10 still absolutely a priority in January or next summer? Does it depend on whether Barkley's football brain matures this season?

 

Defenders -- Back in summer, I vaguely recall we kind of assumed both Galloway and Browning would go out on loan, depending on the Stones drama. Galloway likely to stay up all season, yes? Browning still might be loaned out? Stones saga settled until January, July, or for several years? I assume it will still be a "saga" (too) soon enough. Galloway's rapid development is a big plus, as he can play either position on the left in the back. Between him, Garbutt, Browning, Funes Mori, and ...... Stones, the future looks promising. Very promising if Stones becomes a lifelong Toffee.

 

DCM's -- Looks like Roberto may stick with 2 DCM's. Gibson probably isn't exactly a DCM, but then anything we get from him is a bonus. Such impressive passing, so I hope he plays as much as possible, giving both McCarthy and Barry some rest. Longer term, I myself am high on Besic, as he's a good dribbler in traffic, has a wonderful ability to protect the ball while pivoting away from trouble, and can pass long. A red card waiting to happen, of course, but he looks part of our future.

 

GK -- Roberto was quoted somewhere as saying Howard shows no signs of retiring, but I don't know about that. I'd think next summer signing a young GK would be a priority.

 

Because of Cleverley's good early showing, Galloway's surprising maturity, Lennon's expected solid work, Barkley's outstanding physical skills, Deulofeu's speed and impressive skills, Garbutt's return, and the hope that the Belgians will become consistent, we're a real threat for top 4, maybe now, likely next several seasons?

 

As I write this "thinking aloud" post, I've convinced myself our squad depth is very strong, limited not by lack of talent or depth, but by too many injuries. Am I hallucinating (more than usual)?

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?? not sure what you're mad mate, use your words not emojis

 

Hate that saying. Really hate it.

 

They won't be like new signings. They've been at the club. Taken wages. It's why we have a squad, to rotate.

 

A new signing for me, improves the current squad and quality of players.

 

Just a personal thing. You could say it every time someone gets a 1 game ban. "He'll be like a new signing when he's back"....2 weeks after his last appearance. Nothing personal, just a rant at the saying :happy:

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Hate that saying. Really hate it.

 

They won't be like new signings. They've been at the club. Taken wages. It's why we have a squad, to rotate.

 

A new signing for me, improves the current squad and quality of players.

 

Just a personal thing. You could say it every time someone gets a 1 game ban. "He'll be like a new signing when he's back"....2 weeks after his last appearance. Nothing personal, just a rant at the saying :happy:

 

gotcha. well it will be good to have them back. to be honest i'm not sure where cleverley and mirallas will fit in. let's hope weve got a solid cup run in the League and FA cup and maybe we can get them extra minutes. pretty crammed in midfield right now and to be honest i'd like to see one of the sitters come off if we keep playing kone and rom together.

 

howard

coleman stones jags baines

mccarthy

gerry ross lennon

kone lukaku

 

subs - cleverley, mirallas, besic, Naisy, galloway, mori, joel

 

great looking bench and starting XI. looks like browning out on loan, and we still have osman, gibson, pienaar, etc some solid old guys who could contribute not even make the bench.

 

deep squad for sure.

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When you consider we had 5 full internationals missing against liverpool and they couldn't beat us I think our squad is the best for a long time.

 

yeah i agree. to be where we are in the table without baines, coleman, stones, cleverley, besic, garbutt is a pretty great feat. i'm hoping we can go on a nice run and get that 4th CL spot, it's up for grabs since chelsea is taking a dive.

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When the transfer window closed, Martinez went to great lengths to explain why we don't need a no. 10. How will the situation have changed by the end of this season? On the other hand it could have been an excuse to cover for the fact that we don't have any money.

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