Which of our players

[Zippity]

...would get into a decent, mid to upper mid-table team? I'm thinking 7th to 10th. We had a great run which got us to tenth but, imo, a lesser manager wouldn't have got nearly as much out of those players and we were flattered by our finishing position.

I used to sit and watch us and wonder which of our players would fit into a title winning team...then I'd idly muse about who would make a top 4 team and now...I'm reduced to this.

Erm...

I think Dubravka would make it.

Lejeune? Possibly. Lascelles too? If they were on top of their game? Is Shelvey consistent enough? Would the real Kenedy please stand up?

Just some post-curry musings.

[Jammy89]

What curry you have?

I reckon Dubravka would. Agree with Lascelles and Lejeune.

I also reckon Dummett might, he's solid and dependable and managers tend to like that. Maybe not one that attacks all the time but a solid middle of the road he might get there.

I think Shelvey could, potentially Ritchie.

Beyond that. . .

[ghostrider]

I think all of our players would get into upper table teams, 7th to 10th.
It's just a case of how they're actually used in whatever teams they're placed into...and that's the major key.

It's literally horses for courses.

For instance, Yedlin would not look to cleverin a predominantly defensive team but would look way better in a predominantly attacking outfit compromising better quality back up to his game.

Shelvey would actually cope better in a higher league position with top clubs if he applied himself fully.

I could go on and on with many of our players who will fit a system and be much more proactive rather than the system most play in at present time.

[Zippity]

It's actually an interesting point about players being more suited to a particular system. Danny Simpson, for example, was a solid if uninspiring full back who many would have looked at as an area to improve upon yet he moved and won a League title, ffs.

I agree Yedlin would look better in a team that played 3 CBs whilst i think Perez would look better if he was the front man-because as a number 10 he is utterly shite. Shelvey would look good in just about any team if he played consistently at or near his best but sadly he doesn't and never will.

Joselu and Wanquillo would struggle to look good in a girls' under-tens team.

[pboromag]

rafa is putting square pegs in round wholes

ive one many trophies and leagues with players who werent semi pro or had played for some of the big local clubs etc

what you need is a player who is decent and hardworking to do something he is capale of and that suits those around him
you have what you have and you have to make it work

we had a thread on here regards sterling and paddy

they didnt have the best of everything or indeed what they wanted
but they made what they had work

[ghostrider]

It's actually an interesting point about players being more suited to a particular system. Danny Simpson, for example, was a solid if uninspiring full back who many would have looked at as an area to improve upon yet he moved and won a League title, ffs.

I agree Yedlin would look better in a team that played 3 CBs whilst i think Perez would look better if he was the front man-because as a number 10 he is utterly shite. Shelvey would look good in just about any team if he played consistently at or near his best but sadly he doesn't and never will.

Joselu and Wanquillo would struggle to look good in a girls' under-tens team.

They are certainly not the best quality players (highlighted) but even those two can look way beyond what they look with us if played in a different unit.

The thing with us fans is, we see what we want to see and generally discard other things that don't suit us. I'd say 99.9% of fans are like this.
For instance, putting Joselu in a different team with two striker (him being one) and one being a pacey striker (not him, obviously lol) and a team that literally plays to that strength, as and when possible...it can create a whole host of chances where even one might be taken but sometimes 2 or 3. This is what fans would focus on.

However...if he's played how he generally is for us then his chances ( on any regular basis) are few and far between and also adding in him being a lone grafter...not overall striker,a s such...yet the striker part is what we all look at, even though we can see he grafts his bullocks off for the cause. It's just not recognised as a plus in most cases...only his few chances, which most of the time are half chances...except for the odd few games where he misfires when he should score.

The point is he's not what fans expect, because fans expect attacking and finishing from a player.
This squad is primarily geared for the opposite, generally, so that's why he stands out as almost irrelevant.

Take away his graft in the defensive and channel it into the offensive in the right team and he would look far far better and likely gain more confidence in that set up, which, as we know, would generally produce some dividends on a bigger scale.

As for Manquillo. He looks way useless in our team, I agree but, again, a change in set up and training methods can do wonders to up a game, even for him.

It's easy for me to say this and that, as it is for anyone to do..but the proof is only in the pudding and the eating of it.
Sometimes (as you mentioned with Simpson) we see a remarkable change whilst other times we see a crash and burn.
however, that even happens with top players on the move who can turn to a shadow of their former selves.

[Zippity]

If we were talking about Perez being in a different setup, I'd be inclined to agree. He can finish but rarely gets the chance and is utterly ineffectual in the role behind the striker, mainly because his job is to run around a lot. Tbh honest, I think the European game would suit him better-he'd probably do ok as a striker in a mid-table Spanish side or in the Dutch league. I say 'ok' because he's not very good.

The other two, though, I disagree. Even if a team was totally set up to revolve around Joselu he would fail...because he's terrible. Wanquillo was one of the poorer players in a shockingly bad sunlun side and will never be better than shite.