Heard we are working on a loan for Solanke.
I can assure you Bournemouth will not be allowing Solanke to leave.Heard we are working on a loan for Solanke.
Good, he’s honkin.I can assure you Bournemouth will not be allowing Solanke to leave.
I can assure you Bournemouth will not be allowing Solanke to leave.
I watched his game on Sunday.I can assure you Bournemouth will not be allowing Solanke to leave.
Gerrard said maybe one coming in.
Intrigues me as to who and what position they're looking at
Gerrard said maybe one coming in.
Intrigues me as to who and what position they're looking at
Aribo, Kent, Stewart and Arfield can all play thereSurely a right sided attacker.
The only player I could see us getting from them would be Jordan ibe. Gerrard knows him from liverpool he's a right side attacker which I think that's what we're after. He's not been playing regularly this season very talented player who's career has stalled a bit.I can assure you Bournemouth will not be allowing Solanke to leave.
Agree with this, unless we lose someone then I expect at most we may get another option off the bench. To be honest that is all we would need imo if anything at all. On performances so far this season I think all have earned their right to head into the second half of the season full of belief that they are the men to win us 55.I don’t think we will see anyone coming in at all, unless it’s a ‘project’ player for next season. I certainly don't see a ‘starter’ coming in; January is not the time to be spending big as fees are vastly inflated.
For me, this month is mainly about hanging on to our first team regulars and shifting out some fringe players and deadwood. No major outgoings and I will be content.
We need a backup centre forward . We cannot go with just Alfie ( who'll be booked in every game from now on ) and Defoe.
Jones and Ojo tiiAribo, Kent, Stewart and Arfield can all play there
In order of priority:
With the outgoings, we badly need a midfielder either just as cover or, preferably, who can step in to challenge the incumbents. If the right player were available then we could go for a right sided forward so that Aribo becomes the additional midfielder.
If Tav’s time out is at all uncertain then we need a bit more cover at right back.
A back up striker has been needed for a while and the names being mentioned sound the right profile but it will be hard to find someone good enough willing to sit third in line.
A back up left back who can actually join the attack would be nice.
I think we’ll get one or - at most - two.
When the Solanke rumours were first kicking about I was genuinely excited.Heard we are working on a loan for Solanke.
I reckon in terms of capable of playing in each position you mention, we now have (assuming Doc, Polster and Murphy are leaving):
Midfielder: Jack, Davis, Kamara, Arfield, Aribo, Halliday, Edmunson
Striker: Morelos, Defoe, Stewart
Right back: Tav, Flanagan, Patterson
Left back: Borna, Flanagan, Halliday
you’re correct in the sense that if we suffer injuries to multiple players or areas of the team we could short of cover, but we are reasonably well covered due to the ability of a number of players to play more than one position.
I don’t think there’s any point signing players to fill the squad, they have to be capable of challenging for a first team place now or in the near future.
no chanceHeard we are working on a loan for Solanke.
Agree with you on the strikers but a better third option would be ideal. Stewart is very good as a second striker but not that great up by himself.
At left back, Flanagan and Halliday do not replace Barisic. They are completely incapable of playing in the same way, Flanagan more than Halliday. They simply cannot support the attack or be an outball. Playing them changes our shape completely and that is not ideal.
At right back, the same is true though Polster may be kept as a much better option than either Flanagan or Halliday on the other side. Patterson is meant to be a fairly direct replacement for Tav and I’ve no problem playing him if he’s ready but that’s on the management team to decide whether he is up to it yet.
At midfield, you can take Halliday and Edmundson off your list. Halliday can do a job if absolutely needed but is not of the quality required for the run in. Edmundson could perhaps play defensive mid but it’s not his position so let’s not go back to the McCoist days if we don’t have to. And you are slightly double counting Arfield and Aribo who tend to play right inside forward. If they are in midfield then we are lacking further up. We could play Ojo or Jones or Barker but all feel a step down from Aribo at present. If you put either of them in the forward line then you are left with 4 senior players of quality to play in 3 positions at a time when card counts are toting up and injuries may become more common.
If there is one area we need more players, it’s centre mid. Especially if we can get one of quality to challenge the incumbents. Or a quality right forward to put Aribo and Arfield definitely into a midfield berth.
I think that is the point I am making around double counting though. We have a versatile squad with a number of players capable of playing different positions, you only need 11 on the park at a time.
I think we have 5 strong players capable of playing in 3 central midfield positions, you're right to say that Edmundson and Halliday would be emergency deployments but you'd need to be very unlucky with injuries / suspensions before we ended up with one of them having to play there.
You're also right around the fact that if one of our full backs were to get injured, we'd lose something, however these are two of our best players, there's not a team in the world that doesn't suffer from injury to one of their best players. I with the squad we have we should be able to adapt our style of play to adjust for a short term injury to one of our full backs.
Signings need to be either capable of improving the first 11, or of players that are capable of improving it in the future in my view. Signings like George Edmundson is what we need if we are to be focused on squad improvement.
Agree on there being no point in just signing numbers. But the back ups we have for full back, particularly on the left, are just completely incapable of playing in the way that we are set up. If that’s for a game or two then fine but if it was longer it would be a huge blow. I’m not meaning we need to have someone as good as Tav or Barisic (though that would be nice), but just someone who can actually attack effectively.
Before the break, there were several games where we played without a single recognised central midfielder on the bench. The plan seemed to be to put Aribo there and bring on Ojo if there was a problem. But that is far from ideal. We remain light in central mid so any recruitment should be focussed there or right sided forward to free up one of our midfielders.
I think Aribo has played most of his football at centre mid so he's a perfectly capable backup there. That was at a time when we had Davis out injured and players like King and Docherty in the squad, but they still couldn't get themselves on to the bench. So as you say there's no point adding numbers for the sake of it.
You're right that losing Borna would require a change in style, but for a short absence and against most of what we will come up against we should be able to manage. Hopefully young Maxwell is getting closer, otherwise we should be trying to sign another young player with potential to do what Borna does but who's happy to be backup for now.
Gerrard always keeps his cards close to his chest, there will be an incoming player but i see no reason why it should hurt us, we have done very well so far with the squad we have.SG confirms no arrivals unless a player gets sold. Disappointing tbh, with the amount of games ahead, the league within touching distance and a real chance of euro progression, I was hoping for one more push from the board to get a few quality players in. Think this might hurt us in the long run
After all the headlines and stuff that's been written about morelos you can guarantee Gerrard will be giving them nothing no info for headlines. I think we'll bring in one and it will be a high wages loan a right side attacker it will be a big one similar to Defoe I reckonGerrard always keeps his cards close to his chest, there will be an incoming player but i see no reason why it should hurt us, we have done very well so far with the squad we have.
Nothing to fear for the 2nd half of the season
What kind of quality are we going to get to come in and be 3rd choice striker?
More than comfortable with Stewart as 3rd choice
We have Aribo, Ojo, Jones and Barker. Thats four players for one position yet have only four midfielders for three positions. We need to sign a central midfielder.Surely a right sided attacker.
Appreciate your optimism, but just look at the tav scenario. We lose a massive attacking threat for 2 weeks and will need to play either a kid or guys who have hardly kicked a ball. I just dont want us come end of season to be saying "what if"Gerrard always keeps his cards close to his chest, there will be an incoming player but i see no reason why it should hurt us, we have done very well so far with the squad we have.
Nothing to fear for the 2nd half of the season
I understand that but its the same if Barisic gets injured aswell, we can replace like for like in most areas bar the fullback positions, thankfully we have a good run of games at home so hopefully we should be ok.Appreciate your optimism, but just look at the tav scenario. We lose a massive attacking threat for 2 weeks and will need to play either a kid or guys who have hardly kicked a ball. I just dont want us come end of season to be saying "what if"