Yeah, it’s a really tricky signing to get right, because I think we’re all in agreement that our strongest line up is going to have Rodrigues and Roberts playing just off Wootton. But obviously we need other options, particularly as we know we can’t rely on Roberts’ fitness.
So we need to find someone who is capable of leading the line should Wootton be absent. But they would also ideally be capable of playing alongside him in a two as a slightly different option. And it also needs to be someone willing to accept that they’ll probably start the majority of games on the bench if all goes to plan. Really difficult to find someone to tick all of those boxes.
I keep forgetting about Knight, mind. He’s basically a new signing, showed some nice touches and real pace but was obviously miles off the fitness needed when he came in last season having been part time and not played for weeks.
True but we are not of the size where we have the funds for enough quality to do squad rotation. Therefore there has to be an element of second string team members.
None want to but I'm sure a fair few are far more happy to than others. You don't want a squad full of players all expecting first team action every week and kicking up a fuss and causing issues when they aren't one of the staring XI. I believe the call it 'harmony in the camp'
We have enough bench warmers already. I'd be upset if the likes of O'Brien, DKE, Knight, Sam, Doyle were starters. We need starting 11 signings IMO.
We also need to recognise the fact that Roberts and Lacey now have massive question marks over their fitness. We need to be prepared for that.