Good but worried

[lasher]

We just need to hope Struijk is any good, I love Berardi but he is a liability at centre back and I shudder the day we are without Cooper AND White at the same time

I was talking about the centre back issue with my lad and said Struijk was the only other option as i agree about Berardi. I hope yhe lad is another sucess but i am sure that our current arrangements are woefully short for a promotion plus. The good start has papered over it imo.
Anyway i will continue to hope as every game is ticked off and hopefully we keep accumulating points.

[Silentman]

Seen all the matches so far including today's demolition of Stoke and in my view we haven't played our best in any match yet - the WBA match of last season - so there's more to come yet. Hernandez hasn't been at his best yet but good news is that we aren't 100% reliant on him this season.

[norfolk white]

A supurb win today considering our back four had three replacements in there, shows how we can put people in and they know how to play the system for bielsa, also shows how attack minded we are when two scorers were the left back and the right back.

[CalverleyBoy]

We do have our share of short arses, some of the schoolboy mascots were eye level worth a couple. Stoke probably had a couple of feet over our lads if you added their heights up but it didn't help them; other teams may be more versatile though.

[OldWhiteTaff]

A couple of questions: first of all, which CB who we could realistically get would solve this 'problem'? Obviously the transfer windows is closed so it can only be signing a free agent, (not sure about loans from abroad, but as far as I understand this is not an option and we already have too many loanees anyway), and is there a free agent CB who would be able to fit into the Bielsa system? (we know how reluctant MB is to taking players into the squad who haven't had a decent amount of time to fit in to his methods).

And as has been said, as well as our specialist CBs Cooper, White and Struijk, there's Berardi, Ayling and, if push comes to shove, Phillips, who can all provide cover. Sure none are ideal, but if we take yesterday as an example, Cooper was replaced by Berardi, and Stoke didn't have a shot on target until the 76th minute (and lets not under-estimate Stoke, before yesterday they were ranked 5th in the division for chances created, so not the pushovers the result might have suggested). Given how we've started the season we have quite a few players covering the whole back four - Dallas, Alioski, Douglas, Cooper, White, Struijk, Berardi, Ayling, and if desperate Phillips and Shackleton, so that's 10 players to cover four positions (and at least two in every position).

And as has been said, now we have options going forward - Costa, Nketiah, Clarke - hopefully if / when we don't have Pablo available, we have more effective alternatives than last season (although out of everyone I still think missing Pablo will have the biggest negative impact).

[LeedsFTW]

I think the squad size is fine as long as we utilize the youngsters and give them 1st team match time.

Example. 3 goals up at Sunderland, Eddie & Costa brought on (great for fans) however was this an opportunity to give eirher Gotts, Struijk or Mccalmott some match time & experience. So if they aree called upon in the future they do have that bit of 1st team match experience to fall back on?

[Ozwhites]

Yep, can't argue with what you are saying. If any query regarding the backline, it is more about the height deficiciency rather than the quality to do the job. But...it ain't been a problem thus far with the number conceded. I did notice one thing Bielsa commented after the match. Even he said time will tell if we have the depth to cover everything that unfolds throughout the season. Just sense he would have liked a couple more of his choosing.

Sorry, I was responding to Taff...

[OldWhiteTaff]

I did notice one thing Bielsa commented after the match. Even he said time will tell if we have the depth to cover everything that unfolds throughout the season. Just sense he would have liked a couple more of his choosing.

Yes, I heard that, maybe he was referring to the horrendous number of injuries last season rather than wanting additional players in? And if that is what he meant I think we'd all agree on that. Oh, and when I mentioned attacking options, I forgot Roberts, who if he comes back playing as well as he finished last season, is another good option MB can call on if needed.

All in all, sure the squad is small, but if we can get away with just two or three injured players at any given time I think the squad is stronger this year than last year.

[Leighdsunited]

It's a concern for everyone, but FFP means you can't have everything.
The 'transfer' budget covers transfers and wages, which have gone up and will probably increase by another £1m plus when Phillips gets his new deal.

[joellufcprice]

I think if Phillips got injured, Forshaw drops back, Hernandez moves into middle and Costa starts out wide personally so that wouldn't worry me too much though it does make us weaker.