Ruthlessness in improving the team for the Premier League

[Parkmaverick]

We have fans who want to give everyone of the players who got us up a chance but the club need to make sure it has the players to have a go from day one especially the way the fixtures have fallen. One or two may get their chance from the off Ballard, Hume, Mayenda but the others will have to be satisfied with the bench or the reserves until there is an opportunity, whether due to form, injury or hopefully a great start and those players may not want to do that. I’m old enough to remember Bob Stokoe taking us up in the 70,s and saying he wanted to give the team the chance to prove themselves, by end September it was clear the team wasn’t good enough and the panic buys and the introduction of players such as Arnott, Elliott and Rowell was too late to stop us getting relegated.

 

[hls]

Had Jobe stayed, he would have been playing.

4 goals. 3 assists all season in the league. He'd be on the bench at best. No way he starts

 

[connolly_31]

I think Ballard will play the majority of the season. He’s very highly regarded at the club and rightly so. We probably need two CB unless they feel Seelt is a good enough backup but I’m quite certain Ballard will be lining up opening day and after the window shuts.

I agree with you. I like Ballard and think he can get better but only by having better around him. I’ll be pretty disappointed if Seelt is 4th choice CB come the beginning of September.

 

[raba]

What's to say that by training and playing with these new players, the players that got us up last season won't kick on? I know not all will be able to but I have hopes that out of Patterson, Cirkin, Hume, Ballard, Alese, Huggins, Neil, Rigg, Mundle, Isidor and Mayenda some are young enough with improvement left in them (if they are kept that is). This could be another developmental season for them without the need to play full 90 every week, which might also help with the view that some of them are injury prone.

Nailed it.

 

[Coeus]

4 goals. 3 assists all season in the league. He'd be on the bench at best. No way he starts

Because that's all cms are really, goal and assist statistics.

 

[gatopreto]

He would like. Jobe was sold for a higher fee than the new players were bought for. Consider how much Jobe improved from one season to the next, if he did the same again he would be our best player by a distance.


We look to have done some good business, but let’s not start pretending that Jobe wasn’t a phenomenal prospect.

Jobe's high fee was due to his potential ability rather than his current ability. He has a great mentality and some wonderful physical attributes and talent. His surname has probably had a positive impact on his value as well. He's only ever played at championship level and even last season he didn't always shine. If he had stayed he'd have had the big challenge like a lot of our squad have, to make the huge step up. I'd back him to have a great career but there's no guarantee's next season he'd have been premier league ready.

 

[Lucky1985]

Jobe's high fee was due to his potential ability rather than his current ability. He has a great mentality and some wonderful physical attributes and talent. His surname has probably had a positive impact on his value as well. He's only ever played at championship level and even last season he didn't always shine. If he had stayed he'd have had the big challenge like a lot of our squad have, to make the huge step up. I'd back him to have a great career but there's no guarantee's next season he'd have been premier league ready.

So is 20 year old Sidiki the finished article now? What about 21 year old Diara?

Bellingham is 19 so it’s not like he has significantly more time to improve than they do.

 

[Windypants]

Most of the starting line up from the play-off final are young enough to evolve into PL players. Signing new players shouldn't be viewed as a step backwards by the existing squad. It gives opportunity to develop their game whilst being less in the spotlight. The breathing space may be the making of some of them. Our squad is still icredibly young and inexperienced. Time and space to develop to their potential isn't, necessarily, a negative.

 

[gatopreto]

So is 20 year old Sidiki the finished article now? What about 21 year old Diara?

Bellingham is 19 so it’s not like he has significantly more time to improve than they do.

Diara to date has operated at a higher level than Jobe and captained a team in the French top flight. Jobe went for 33m, Diarra went for 30m euros so not a huge difference three. They are both highly coveted, young midfielders.

Lee Fee is in mid 20s, approaching his prime. A different type of player but IMO better overall than Jobe currently. Then hopefully there's going to be Xhaka who is accomplished.

I'm not saying Jobe wouldn't have started for us, but he'd have had a proper fight on his hands and wouldn't have been guaranteed to play every minute like did when he was here.

 

[riffraff]

Totally get that but I have a feeling the players we’ve signed still have that character, the clubs spoke a lot about having the right kind of people at the club.

EVERY club drones on about getting the right sort of characters in. It’s a football industry expression used to explain away lesser transfer activity than fans would like.

 

[cluffy]

Can’t wait to see some of our stalwarts pick up the premier pace and show how good they can be

 

[Sea to Shining Sea]

He would like. Jobe was sold for a higher fee than the new players were bought for. Consider how much Jobe improved from one season to the next, if he did the same again he would be our best player by a distance.


We look to have done some good business, but let’s not start pretending that Jobe wasn’t a phenomenal prospect.

I think that’s pushing it. He was a good prospect but I think the club have done an excellent deal for him and have replaced him with options better suited to the premier league.

 

[cook]

Forest showed everyone what needs to be done.

As much as we like our current squad, they'd come straight back down without an overhaul.

It's a ruthless league, we've got no choice.

 

[Yeltas]

Bookies are moving the odds v our game against the Mags!

The Mag fans are now in turmoil

 

[STHLM]

Totally get that but I have a feeling the players we’ve signed still have that character, the clubs spoke a lot about having the right kind of people at the club.

Think that idea about the kind of person they want was shown when they refused to be messed about by Loriente’s demands, but came back with a new offer for Xhaka.

 

[zidanny]

09 is gonna turn into prime Xavi training with this lit, just you watch !!

 

[Lovemore]

It is.

But my only reservation is that I worry we might not be able to hang on to that sense of TEAM.

We’ve seen the euros bring out the very best in a team against a technically better side, and we did that against Sheff Utd in my opinion, because we had the belief, the right mindset and really believed in one another. The lads were enjoying paying together - look at Jobe and how he spoke about us and how he looked after Ballard scored.

I have a niggling worry that one of our big signings might just end up like a Rodwell. Will they definitely pull together if we are 18th at Christmas?

I hope it’s just a niggle.

I’m trusting the recruitment team to pick players that are not only good footballers, but good characters. They’ve been utilising this approach for some time and I believe they aren’t going to throw that out of the window just because we’ve landed in the top flight.

 

[parsonjohn1985]

He would like. Jobe was sold for a higher fee than the new players were bought for. Consider how much Jobe improved from one season to the next, if he did the same again he would be our best player by a distance.


We look to have done some good business, but let’s not start pretending that Jobe wasn’t a phenomenal prospect.

Even if he improved as much as he did between his first and second season I dont think he'd be better than Le Fee. He'd still the best player who isnt a new signing imo

 

[tony_not_in_london]

Honestly how are any of us in a position to compare the new midfield signings (who we have seen for a few minutes in pre-season friendlies) to Jobe?

Selling Jobe though (and Watson) did effectively give us the headroom under current rules to sign quite a few highly thought of new recruits

this works because we know there is an enormous gulf in standard between the Championship and the PL - which is basically now the best players in the world shared out among 17 teams all spending stupendous amounts of TV and sponsor money

The worrying evidence was there last year when up against the likes of Burnley, Leeds, Sheff Utd - none of which had exactly pulled up trees before being relegated.

But you never know …

 

[Zimba]

There's no sentiment in any big business imo, football clubs included. If you run a business based on sentiment you won't get very far.