eholm

Still think we could see Jack moved to 10 next season. Be interesting to see if he plays their in last 2 games.

Totally agree. I think we have tried to convert Luiz into a 6 and, over a long run of appearances, I do not think he is the permanent answer; more of an 8 than a 6 IMO. Getting that physcial 6 would free up the likes of Luiz, McGinn and Sansom as they are clearly ball players as opposed to defensively minded sitters. I will be extremely surprised if that physical, tall no6 is not signed in the Summer - an absolute must for me.

Yep, good call. Dont want to stray into Wes' thread but the lad needs a big pre-season to convince DS imo as he is a totally different player to Ollie for our system.

Maybe I'm mistaken but I think he may have been trying Wes in a 2nd striker/No.10 role as he looked 10 yards deeper than KD. At least Dean is exploring other options/systems now and we definitelt looked more threatening after those changes

Good, measured summary

Barkley was playing so high he was to all intents and purposes playing as a CF, coupled with fact he wasn’t tracking back. Therefore I can’t see we would have lost any structural solidity if KD had been on instead of him.

Interesting quotes from DS re 2 up top and Wes as a 10.... "It doesn’t have to be a case of one or the other," Smith said, while discussing Watkins and Wesley. "I’m not afraid of changing systems. "When I signed Wesley, he was playing up front for Brugge and he was up there mainly playing alongside a guy called Krepin Diatta, who went on to sign for Monaco. So I know he can partner players up front. "Wes can play as a 10, he can be a different type of player. "He’s got the body strength to hold the ball up for us and his technique holds up." https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-trezeguet-liverpool-grealish-20321597

Link to quote mate? Can’t find where he has said this.....

Good point. If Newcastle go down then just the sort of player we are missing.

Definite upgrade. Always seems to get niggling injuries though....I think??

Great minds.....

Yep, for me this a sensible strategy mate although these players will come with a hefty price due to the fabled PL experience. I still think the value is in Europe....where 2 of your examples originated. We should aim to be the FIRST PL club for those sort of players.

If in his early 30s maybe but not now.

I think you will have to wait until at least Summer 2022 window before we are anywhere near spending £100k salaries as standard for new players. I agree we have to continuously improve but these things take time and that level of spending is a future aspiration as opposed to a current reality.

Genuine question....are you really making these points in reference to the Summer Transfer Window 2021???

You do realise that we are talking about actual real-life football here and not Football Manager ?? United couldn’t keep Ronaldo, Liverpool couldn’t keep Couthino, Spurs couldn’t keep Bale etc, etc, etc....the right club comes in and the right bid comes in and the player goes. That’s football. Anyway, as has been said, this is straying off thread and is a very different debate.

Really? Offering players £200k/wk?? I admire optimism but when it’s based on fantasy then it has no foundation at all. Irrespective of our owners’ intent, the single biggest factor in our budget (particularly wages) will be FFP this Summer. That is not speculation, it is fact. Unfortunately. Now....if this rumoured abolition if FFP is true then the whole picture changes, however, I fear it will take some time to come into effect. Fingers crossed though.

For fear of repeating myself....there is no way we will be signing first team big name players from elite clubs thus Summer. Our wage budget due to FFP will be too restrictive. This Summer will be more up and coming players who will not be looking for £80k a week. I’m sure Lange has been tasked to look around Europe for the equivalent of Watkins and Cash. We will sign some very good players but not quite at the level that are being referenced in this thread e.g. Barca etc.

Indeed. Can’t believe we STILL have such a one-paced team. Crying out for genuine pace.

Just don’t think we are financially able to get anywhere that type of signing/wages due to FFP. As I’ve previously posted we will still be hamstrung by FFP until Summer 2022. Until then, the signing of ‘superstars’ or bigger reputation players will just not happen unfortunately.

I think this is the main issue in the Summer. Due to FFP including our final Championship season, our wage budget will be okay but not the scope to offer new signings £60-70k a week. I think we all agree that we require improvements in multiple positions and clearly we will not be able to achieve it all in the Summer. I’m not expecting £40M signings this Summer, however, the Summer of 2022 will be that time as all of our financial shackles will be gone.

If people honestly do not think that creatively we are completely a 1 man team then they are blind.

Yep...but I do think that we need to occasionally remove our C and B spectacles when discussing Jack. The 5 year contract does not really mean that much and is not confirmation of Jack’s commitment to stay for years, imo. EVERY contract signed by a player obviously has mutual benefits and I am sure that Jack signing for 5 years was purely so that the club would get a huge fee when he leaves. As I’ve said on this thread previously, if ( and in the current climate it is a big if) we receive an offer in excess of £125M this Summer, Jack would be very interested in moving on. The ‘one of our own’ sentiment is very romantic but Jack come across as incredibly ambitious and should a CL team come knocking, he will be very tempted regardless of the 5 year contract. His confidence in his own ability means that he wants to test at the highest level and as soon as he can. Hopefully no offers come in this Summer...if not we simply must finish in Euro places next season to have any hope of keeping him.

Tongue in cheek comment.

Yeah, sounds about right. Clear that outgoings will be a big factor in helping pay and so attract the calibre of player we need. Elmo and Taylor obvs gone. Kalinic Conor as well assuming offers are reasonable. Im sure we will see some more fringe players going to supplement our spending power. I think we need to be realistic that we will not be signing top players this Summer due to FFP. Summer 2022 will be the time for marquee level signings.....hopefully to push us from Europa League into CL.