The squad

[baggiematt]

An interesting dynamic this. It was obviously a very good summer for us transfer wise, but the squad now has too much depth in some areas and it will be giving Carlos a headache.

We have three left backs and 5 wingers, all of which will want to play. 6 if you count Cole. Styles can play in the middle meaning we also have the option of 5 centre mids.

Interestingly despite this depth, we had Mowatt out of one game and no one to receive and drive the ball forward. If we lost Maja, we’d be screwed. So the depth is a bit mismatched.

I fear if we have a decent youth player, there’s not even space for them even on the bench.

I think we bought 1-2 too many this summer. People call it a ‘nice problem to have’ but I don’t think it is.

[baggieal]

An interesting dynamic this. It was obviously a very good summer for us transfer wise, but the squad now has too much depth in some areas and it will be giving Carlos a headache.

We have three left backs and 5 wingers, all of which will want to play. 6 if you count Cole. Styles can play in the middle meaning we also have the option of 5 centre mids.

Interestingly despite this depth, we had Mowatt out of one game and no one to receive and drive the ball forward. If we lost Maja, we’d be screwed. So the depth is a bit mismatched.

I fear if we have a decent youth player, there’s not even space for them even on the bench.

I think we bought 1-2 too many this summer. People call it a ‘nice problem to have’ but I don’t think it is.

Agree with you Matt and there lies the problem - Carlos trying to give everyone minutes! Look at the players we brought in:

Heggem - great player
Racic - not good enough and poor with his feet
Cole - not impressed from what I have seen
Dobbie - not impressed me
Frabotta - does not look fit
Johnson - we know he’s great but not impressed when he’s come on!
McDair - what a waste of money as going in Jan
Holgate - not seen him!

Wallace and Diangana need to be sold in Jan - Wallace poor in front of goal and no pace and Grady always injured.

This square passing at the back is slow and mundane. Did Boro do it?

Can’t believe in the last quarter Grant came off and we didn’t throw more bodies up front FFS.

Poor team selections and not impressed again with subs! Wallace starting over Fellows was a joke! Start your best 11 and if need be then rest players!

Wish we had Luke Ayling as he run the show last night!

[Omegstrat6]

As posted after the Wednesday game, I believe that whilst we have numbers in the squad, we don't have depth in terms of quality. Too many "fillers". This, however, is surely the case for the majority, if not all, of the Championship clubs not least due to finances.

A better squad than last season? Heggem is better than Townsend and good to have Mikey Johnson as he can -on his day-provide that little bit of magic but the rest? Not impressed with Diakite, Dobbin or Cole and will we ever get to see Holgate, McNair or Styles? With Griffiths out on loan we may see Wildsmith at some point as well as Raicic and Frabotta as they have experience and should improve.

Regular players for us last year that we lost were Townsend, BTA, Yokuslu and Kipre. Loved BTA's workrate but he isn't a finisher. Have we replaced him with better? Yes, as Maja knows where the net is-but we already had him in the squad just that he was injured last season. Elsewhere, up front we have a rejuvenated Grant, Dike to come back and the still underwhelming Wallace. Diangana may be lightweight still but IMHO offers more when he comes on.

Townsend? Heggem is clearly an improvement. Yokuslu? Great player but honestly think he is past his prime and underperformed last half of the season. With a rejuvenated Mowatt and the competitiveness (if not always the skill) of Molumby I don't think we miss him. The one I think we are starting to miss is Kipre but given he was player of the year maybe it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Our problem is that if key players (e.g. Furlong, Fellows, Mowatt or Maja) are either injured or underperforming we have no real replacements for them just basic cover. But we certainly won't be the only club in this position. We just have to weather these situations when they arise but what there should be no excuse for is lack of effort and competitiveness within the team.

[mickd1961]

As posted after the Wednesday game, I believe that whilst we have numbers in the squad, we don't have depth in terms of quality. Too many "fillers". This, however, is surely the case for the majority, if not all, of the Championship clubs not least due to finances.

A better squad than last season? Heggem is better than Townsend and good to have Mikey Johnson as he can -on his day-provide that little bit of magic but the rest? Not impressed with Diakite, Dobbin or Cole and will we ever get to see Holgate, McNair or Styles? With Griffiths out on loan we may see Wildsmith at some point as well as Raicic and Frabotta as they have experience and should improve.

Regular players for us last year that we lost were Townsend, BTA, Yokuslu and Kipre. Loved BTA's workrate but he isn't a finisher. Have we replaced him with better? Yes, as Maja knows where the net is-but we already had him in the squad just that he was injured last season. Elsewhere, up front we have a rejuvenated Grant, Dike to come back and the still underwhelming Wallace. Diangana may be lightweight still but IMHO offers more when he comes on.

Townsend? Heggem is clearly an improvement. Yokuslu? Great player but honestly think he is past his prime and underperformed last half of the season. With a rejuvenated Mowatt and the competitiveness (if not always the skill) of Molumby I don't think we miss him. The one I think we are starting to miss is Kipre but given he was player of the year maybe it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Our problem is that if key players (e.g. Furlong, Fellows, Mowatt or Maja) are either injured or underperforming we have no real replacements for them just basic cover. But we certainly won't be the only club in this position. We just have to weather these situations when they arise but what there should be no excuse for is lack of effort and competitiveness within the team.

A fair summary of the situation Omeg.

A closer look at the first six games also shows we played sides who are pretty poor, this has probably flattered to deceive.

I made very quick decisions on a number of the new signings for which I took some stick but I can only go by what a player shows on the pitch.

Frabotta - Absolute rubbish.

Diakite - Absolute rubbish.

Styles - Headless chicken against Swansea, I would tend towards not being good enough but he may surprise me.

Heggem - I like what I’ve seen, I think he’s the best of what we acquired this summer.

Johnston - We know what he possesses but is he one of these that impresses on loan and then gets lazy once he has a contract, I hope not?

Dobbin - Probably another “Gnabry”, will end up looking terrific for Villa in the future but doesn’t look a fit for us at the moment.

Racic - I noted against Swansea he was quick to head towards the box to support the attack but not keen on the closing down duties, his passing worries me, he’s constantly looking to play the “Hollywood pass” and gives it away too cheaply.

Not a starter for me.

Holgate - who knows, impossible to form a judgement.

Cole - I’d still prefer his dad at 50 odd.


My slight worry with Carlos is that he’s trying to keep people like Wallace happy with game time.

Sorry Carlos but that’s not management, he’s a sub now for me.

Swift - I’ve been critical in the past but certainly in the first six games his cute passing in tight spaces helped create a lot.

It’s the midfield that’s been the problem recently for me and Furlong, he seems to have been AWOL too often.

We need a result and a performance on Saturday, anything less than that will be cause for some concern with a raft of better teams on the horizon in the coming weeks.

[Omegstrat6]

Your closing sentence exactly!

I also echo those who believe that we should always field our best team. I get resting players in cup games as the league has to take priority but no Championship game is a certain so surely we should start with our best eleven and then make substitutions later?

It's got to be much harder to bring your better players on later to try and retrieve a game rather than using them to get ahead first before relieving them and having to defend a lead? Maybe if we had started Mowatt against Wednesday for example, the bite he gives to midfield might have prevented us from going 2-nil down at half time? The subs Corberan used started to work in the second half but the damage was done by then.

I know it isn't the whole story as poor defending and sloppy passing played their part as well as an uncharacteristically poor showings from both Furlong and Fellows but this kind of team selection baffles me.

And yes, whilst not doubting his desire or professionalism, I too cannot see what Wallace brings when he comes on either.

[Q165]

Yes we should always start our best team (anybody should) and I cannot accept the ‘tired’ argument. These are professional full time sportsmen/athletes. The amount of games being played and their proximity should not be an issue. That excuse really irritates me.

[saltnshake]

Yes we should always start our best team (anybody should) and I cannot accept the ‘tired’ argument. These are professional full time sportsmen/athletes. The amount of games being played and their proximity should not be an issue. That excuse really irritates me.

Sportmen and Athletes are not robots and do get tired and injured they are monitored all the time, I've seen lots of comments about Mowatt not playing on Saturday but he hadn't trained all week and had a muscle injury so risking him and losing him for a longer time made no sense, although I wouldn't have put Diakite and Racic together and, and as far as last night's selection goes it was 0-0 when the subs were made and our performance didn't really improve.

[Bombers right foot]

I think one of the points made here are perfectly sensible, if a player isn’t injured then the manager should at all times pick his best starting x1, all this rotation malarkey disrupts the play, could anyone see Big Ron rotating the 78-79 side just for the sake of it, all this messing about with the side will undoubtedly be the undoing of Corberán, the hierarchy probably require promotion within a specified time span and too much messing around and over thinking by the manager won’t sit well

[baggieal]

A fair summary of the situation Omeg.

A closer look at the first six games also shows we played sides who are pretty poor, this has probably flattered to deceive.

I made very quick decisions on a number of the new signings for which I took some stick but I can only go by what a player shows on the pitch.

Frabotta - Absolute rubbish.

Diakite - Absolute rubbish.

Styles - Headless chicken against Swansea, I would tend towards not being good enough but he may surprise me.

Heggem - I like what I’ve seen, I think he’s the best of what we acquired this summer.

Johnston - We know what he possesses but is he one of these that impresses on loan and then gets lazy once he has a contract, I hope not?

Dobbin - Probably another “Gnabry”, will end up looking terrific for Villa in the future but doesn’t look a fit for us at the moment.

Racic - I noted against Swansea he was quick to head towards the box to support the attack but not keen on the closing down duties, his passing worries me, he’s constantly looking to play the “Hollywood pass” and gives it away too cheaply.

Not a starter for me.

Holgate - who knows, impossible to form a judgement.

Cole - I’d still prefer his dad at 50 odd.


My slight worry with Carlos is that he’s trying to keep people like Wallace happy with game time.

Sorry Carlos but that’s not management, he’s a sub now for me.

Swift - I’ve been critical in the past but certainly in the first six games his cute passing in tight spaces helped create a lot.

It’s the midfield that’s been the problem recently for me and Furlong, he seems to have been AWOL too often.

We need a result and a performance on Saturday, anything less than that will be cause for some concern with a raft of better teams on the horizon in the coming weeks.

Good summary especially about Carlos. Furlong needs to focus on marking players as last two games have been a concern.

If a player is on the bench then he’s fitter enough to play. Had Mowatt started v Sheffield we would have probably won as he controlled the second half. So if a player has a knock or is tired - start him with the view of bringing him off. Not chasing the game!

We had more attacking impetus second half when Fellows ran at them but near the end more bodies should have gone up front and gambled.

Wallace should be no where near that starting 11 again! Interesting to see the team on Saturday!