A positive post!

[BillyDWhizz]

Let's face it for most of the season it's all been doom and gloom, bottom 3, FA cup, league cup, injuries, awful football etc etc.

That said there are a few things that I reckon can be taken from this season:

Adrian - Excellent keeper, wouldn't swap him for anyone else in this league if I'm honest. Pleased for him, he came in during a really sticky patch and showed real character and enthusiasm as well as talent.

Winston Reid - Shame about injury, best defender at the club period. Must keep him.

Guy Demel - Solid if unspectacular at RB. Has moments when he switches off, but on a whole has been reliable this season. Age is probably catching him up and I think we should be looking for a replacement at some point in the near future.

Stewart Downing - Has his critics but I think he's been pretty good this season. Stats suggest he's provided the most crosses in the PL this season - Not his fault Sam's tactics don't allow for anyone to be on the end of them most of the time.

Mark

[Whiskyman]

Can't disagree with too much about that.

It probably seems I have a down on Carroll but I don't. It's not his fault that Dalglish must have been suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's when he spunked all that money on him.

My problem with him is that, whilst he may be a beast in the air, he's very average on the floor and lacks pace. So to get the best out of him he has to be fed in the air. And as the better teams have shown if you can deal with the second ball his effectiveness is reduced even further.

For me our priority positions are LB, Armero is only on loan and we've no one else tbh. I also agree a back up for Demel, who imo has been one of our stand out players (admittedly in a poor year) this season.

A bit of talent (Morrison? and at least one other---2 if Morrison is allowed to leave---creative midfielders) in the centre of the park and a 15 goal a season striker which we have lacked since Noah was a lad.

There are reasons for optimism but, imo, we've gone backw

[palerider]

It says on KUMB that Armero wants a permanent deal. Obviously that depends on Napoli and the price, but although out of position for Johnson's goal at Sunderland he did well on Sunday, and he's like sh1t off a shovel. Pace is something we badly need.

As always at this time of season you look at players from relegated teams. Mutch at Cardiff perhaps, Holtby (although he's on loan), Adam Johnson ? would cost too much and be a luxury for Allardyce, but the one I'd love us to get if they go down (or even if they don't) is Redmond at Norwich.

[jon15u]

On the whole i agree with the OP, Adrian has been better than i feared, but i find watching him , that he seems a little tense. Maybe next season when the pressure isnt on he will losen up.

Carroll has a duel role imo, an airial target man, and someone that occupies another player or twos time. Think he is not given as much credit as he deserves, ( this season understandable.) last season he helped us in other departments other than the air. But still not worth the dosh we paid. Needs to be given a chance under a different system, which will never happen here, so heAs going to have a label tagged to him as has Samantha.

[Whiskyman]

On the whole i agree with the OP, Adrian has been better than i feared, but i find watching him , that he seems a little tense. Maybe next season when the pressure isnt on he will losen up.

Carroll has a duel role imo, an airial target man, and someone that occupies another player or twos time. Think he is not given as much credit as he deserves, ( this season understandable.) last season he helped us in other departments other than the air. But still not worth the dosh we paid. Needs to be given a chance under a different system, which will never happen here, so heAs going to have a label tagged to him as has Samantha.

Difficult to see what other system Carroll can be used in imo Jon. We can all see what his strength is and if we are to get any benefit out of him we surely have to play to it and hope every so often we get something out of it.

[jon15u]

I hear you, i was really trying to say that we havent really had the opportunity to see him in any other role, but i guess his height marks him more as an airial target man. And yes i know its his strength but i feel he has more to him than we have seen. I have seen glimpses of it, but its mainly been the noddle, like most, that i have seen used to best advantage.

[Hammerman69]

I also think he is better than people give him credit for. i think a good season without injuries and he will pay back that fee.

remember that we often look at 15M as huge and righly so when you compare it to past years but when the PL money trebled at the beginning of the year, it isn't so much now.

Southampton spent a **** load of money on Dani Osvaldo and he is currently on loan somewhere in Italy because he clumped a team mate at Soton.

I think 15M is the going rate for a decent striker and Carroll certainly is that.

I think you chaps are right in what we need, full backs. McCartney and O'Brien have been great servants but are out more and more. Demel has been excellent this season but how much longer can he play on.

As well as a pair of fullbacks, I would like to see a quick winger to replace Jarvis so that Diame can start alongside Noble and one extra pacey Central Midfielder to play instead of Nolan. Add a quick Centre Forward and we would have a decent side even with our c

[palerider]

[quote="Hammerman69"]I also think he is better than people give him credit for. i think a good season without injuries and he will pay back that fee.

remember that we often look at 15M as huge and righly so when you compare it to past years but when the PL money trebled at the beginning of the year, it isn't so much now.

Southampton spent a **** load of money on Dani Osvaldo and he is currently on loan somewhere in Italy because he clumped a team mate at Soton.

I think 15M is the going rate for a decent striker and Carroll certainly is that.

I think you chaps are right in what we need, full backs. McCartney and O'Brien have been great servants but are out more and more. Demel has been excellent this season but how much longer can he play on.

As well as a pair of fullbacks, I would like to see a quick winger to replace Jarvis so that Diame can start alongside Noble and one extra pacey Central Midfielder to play instead of Nolan. Add a quick Centre Forwar

[Hammerman69]

Pale, I have been in the same camp for 2 years re Jarvis but I'm losing patience with him. I think he has pace to burn and if he beats his FB marker early then he generally plays well.
However, if he doesn't, he seems to lose confidence and go into his shell. I remember Matty Etherington was just like that (we used to call him 'mummys little soldier' because he looked scared sometimes) BUT he managed to play well more consistently.

I'm also pissed off that for someone who is reknowned for his crossing, Jarvis often hits them too damn long.

As far as Sigurdsson is concerned, I think they might want to keep him...how about Redmond ?

I'd take Demba Ba as the forward, I doubt he will be there next year.

I am not a fan of Bardsley myself...what about Bradley Johnson if Norwich go down, he's a London lad I think.

Someone at the gym told me that QPR's wage bill is bigger than Borussia Dortmund's. I think they are going to need a serious overhaul next season. I have a feeling Bournemouth

[OZHAMMER]

i know i bang on about jarvis, but the reality is that he came here on the back of a record transfer (at the time).

it isn't his fault that we paid that much for him...

...BUT, even if we had attained his services by way of a free transfer, he still isn't justifying his wages.

we are stuck with him, because no club in their right mind would pay a transfer fee for him, or the wages that we currently pay. sadly, we'll get nothing out of him either on the pitch, or off.

(i say 'we' like i'm talking about my own money.)

get johnson in as soon as sunderland go down.

[OZHAMMER]

being a positive thread, i will say that our defence has been excellent when at full strength. demel, o'brien, mccartney, and to a lesser degree, rat, have been very solid, and seem to compliment our centre pairing combinations very well.

and while everyone p!sses on roger johnson, he did play a game (cardiff i think) which we won and our defence kept a clean sheet. i remember thinking at the time that if we avoided relegation by less than three points, i'd still hold him in high regard, even if only for that one game.

noble is the heartbeat of our midfield. shame that he is fairly textbook, with no creativity at all. his work rate is second to none.

downing has been very solid, and as stated, not his fault there has been next to nothing in the box worth crossing to until recently.

we are safe. all i care about now is making the top half of the table, making sure city don't win the title, and contributing to spurs not making any european competition.

now that would be positive.

[Hammerman69]

[quote="OZHAMMER"]being a positive thread, i will say that our defence has been excellent when at full strength. demel, o'brien, mccartney, and to a lesser degree, rat, have been very solid, and seem to compliment our centre pairing combinations very well.

and while everyone p!sses on roger johnson, he did play a game (cardiff i think) which we won and our defence kept a clean sheet. i remember thinking at the time that if we avoided relegation by less than three points, i'd still hold him in high regard, even if only for that one game.

noble is the heartbeat of our midfield. shame that he is fairly textbook, with no creativity at all. his work rate is second to none.

downing has been very solid, and as stated, not his fault there has been next to nothing in the box worth crossing to until recently.

we are safe. all i care about now is making the top half of the table, making sure city don't win the title, and contributing to spurs not making any europea

[TOWIE]

There are not many positives you can take from the season, one of which has being hampered by injuries.
Positives for me:
Avoiding relegation
Good defence, Collins hoty for me.
Cup run, even though the semi was pretty disastrous.
Thrashing spurs, let's make it the treble this season.

[Whiskyman]

i know i bang on about jarvis, but the reality is that he came here on the back of a record transfer (at the time).

it isn't his fault that we paid that much for him...

...BUT, even if we had attained his services by way of a free transfer, he still isn't justifying his wages.

we are stuck with him, because no club in their right mind would pay a transfer fee for him, or the wages that we currently pay. sadly, we'll get nothing out of him either on the pitch, or off.

(i say 'we' like i'm talking about my own money.)

get johnson in as soon as sunderland go down.

Jarvis, like Carroll. suffers from that weird phenomenon that English players cost more than foreign ones. As you say that's not his fault but a club like ours, with a limited transfer budget, needs to look wider afield to get value for money imo.

[FLAIRON]

Not too much to disagree with their. I agree Jarvis has been disappointing.

I also agree with a number of players that may be shown the door.

Hopefully they will make way for further investment. I do also feel that we should bring back Morrison.

I would like to see a nippy skillful striker up front. That for me is an absolute must.