El-Reacho Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 We were linked with Diamanti just after Sherwood arrived IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 On the contrary we do need another striker in. I was always wary of just one player coming in and having the pressure of replacing Benteke, as it stands that is Gestede so Adebayor needs to come in aswell to share the burden. You see I don't class Ayew as a main striker, think he'll play wide and his job is to score combined what Gabby and Weimann used to score for us in the league which isn't the hardest thing in the world.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supervillan78 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 On the contrary we do need another striker in. I was always wary of just one player coming in and having the pressure of replacing Benteke, as it stands that is Gestede so Adebayor needs to come in aswell to share the burden. You see I don't class Ayew as a main striker, think he'll play wide and his job is to score combined what Gabby and Weimann used to score for us in the league which isn't the hardest thing in the world.... Kozak coming back is a big bonus IMO. I'm sure he'll contribute towards our goal tally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czechlad Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I'd be okay with the current strikers we have if we could go get a good central defender. I think Ayew, Kozak, and Gestede have the potential to get at least 10 goals each if given the starting spot. I just don't see our defense keeping many shutouts at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I'd want another striker, don't think Kizak will feature much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dounavilla Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) I'd want another striker, don't think Kizak will feature much[/ I don't think Kizak will feature at all. Edited August 4, 2015 by dounavilla 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I'd want another striker, don't think Kizak will feature much Who's this Kizak player you speak of? New signing from Kiev...damn fat fingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginko Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 A quality CB and I'd be a lot more confident. A quality CB and a quality striker and I'd be totally satisfied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Any thoughts on traore from Trent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcomsimon Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) I see Randy's plane is still at BHX, maybe he has come over to sanction some transfers now we've used up most of the money from players leaving Edited August 4, 2015 by dotcomsimon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I think we will concede 2 or 3 against Bournemouth and it will force his hand. On route to a 7 - 3 win. Gestede hat trick[emoji6] 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skarroki Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I'll be honest, I don't really want to see someone come in and stop the progression of Clark or Okore. I'd like both of them to play plenty of minutes this season. Sherwood has looked at the defence, we've signed a new back up keeper, tried to replace guzan and replaced half of the starting defensive unit. I'd be happy with another crespo type to cover the loss of Baker and senderos but I don't expect more than that. clarke i know him for being a very rash in challenges and i think libor could vouch for that! too much of a liability seems to be always prone to doing something stupid. okore i cant make my mind up about him but for wat ive seen not much has stood out to impress. we need to streghten this area as i think its the teams current biggest weakness and it would be a terrible shame because i do think that this squad could make there mark and it would be a huge let down if we didnt try to streghten and as a result conseded allot of goals!! Clark came on leaps and bounds last season, the injury to Libor happened a long time ago now. yes i agree but even still i find a player like him could be replaceable i rate him to play alongside a key central defender or even be a back up you cant tell me that you think clark can be the inspiring centre back that is going to lead our defense and be the key player for that position. your mad because i wouldnt even rate him as one of the top 20 defenders that are currently in the league.... I rate him, you don't. That's fine I think he will start most games this season. i have a current rating for him as a squad player!! and to be honest i really do hope i can look back on this conversation and say my god im an idiot clarke is the real deal but right now im doubtful thats going to happen!! Just look back on this and wonder why you've decided to call him clarke when his name is Clark. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMitch Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Am I the only one who thinks Richards playing central is an experiment until Okore comes back from injury? If he plays well, Okore will have to bide his time and prove in training he is the better option. If Richards continues to make the same schoolboy errors he's made all preseason, he'll lose his spot to Okore, and I can see Sherwood pushing him out wide and telling him he has to earn the center back spot again. Richards - Okore - Clark - Amavi This defense looks beastly to me. Clark and Okore were our top performers last season, according to WhoScored, and I have to agree. They looked extremely solid together and were only let down by the awful Lambert "possession" system. IMO, the defense only looks bad because Hutton is out of position too often, Richards can't mark or position himself, and we don't have a starting goalkeeper in the net. Bring Okore and Guzan back into the lineup, and it's very strong. I'm more worried about a Right Winger/Inside Forward. I love Bacuna as a squad player, but I think he lacks the pace and guile to be a starter on the right. He was fantastic at right back last season because he was afforded the space to whip in an early cross for Benteke to get his head on (Same as Lowton in his first season for us), but he's struggled to make an impact all preseason when he's further upfield. N'Zogbia is useless and I'd rather play Gil as a number 10 and Sinclair & Grealish on the left. The right is where I see us being very weak. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkyluke Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Am I the only one who thinks Richards playing central is an experiment until Okore comes back from injury? If he plays well, Okore will have to bide his time and prove in training he is the better option. If Richards continues to make the same schoolboy errors he's made all preseason, he'll lose his spot to Okore, and I can see Sherwood pushing him out wide and telling him he has to earn the center back spot again. Richards - Okore - Clark - Amavi This defense looks beastly to me. Clark and Okore were our top performers last season, according to WhoScored, and I have to agree. They looked extremely solid together and were only let down by the awful Lambert "possession" system. IMO, the defense only looks bad because Hutton is out of position too often, Richards can't mark or position himself, and we don't have a starting goalkeeper in the net. Bring Okore and Guzan back into the lineup, and it's very strong. I'm more worried about a Right Winger/Inside Forward. I love Bacuna as a squad player, but I think he lacks the pace and guile to be a starter on the right. He was fantastic at right back last season because he was afforded the space to whip in an early cross for Benteke to get his head on (Same as Lowton in his first season for us), but he's struggled to make an impact all preseason when he's further upfield. N'Zogbia is useless and I'd rather play Gil as a number 10 and Sinclair & Grealish on the left. The right is where I see us being very weak. Exactly my thoughts regarding Richards! We have cover at CB with Senderos and Baker, so until use Richards here, if he makes it all the better if he doesn't he can go out to RB (having a player of Hutton's calibre as a backup is a good thing for us). Okore has a lot of potential, and him and Clark should be our long term centre back plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Senderos then Baker then Donacien then Richards would be my order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan_007 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Senderos then Baker then Donacien then Richards would be my order. Really? you should have mentioned you don't like or rate him. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkyluke Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Senderos then Baker then Donacien then Richards would be my order. Really? you should have mentioned you don't like or rate him.well jeez never said it was a good plan! Hahaha we will see, could very well turn out to be a hopeless idea, but could work as well. I hope your joking about Donacien btw... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Nope, because he's actually a CB whereas Richards clearly is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1958Villan Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I've thought, for quite a long time, that Richards long-term future is as a centre-back. He will make silly errors until he learns the job, just as Clark has done. Clark progressed in leaps and bounds last season, although I still don't see him as a centre-back in the traditional pairing. He is far too quick to go to ground, while staying on his feet improves his performance dramatically. I could see Clark playing as the slightly advanced middle defender in a 3-man defence. Senderos would be the pick, if the middle centre-back was to be played slightly behind the other two, in a sweeper type of role. Okore has potential but, all he offers at present, is great speed over the ground. Speed is ideal if you play a high back-line, where-as playing a shallow back-line actually negates the one thing that gives him an advantage. Okore needs, like the others, to work on tackling but on staying upright and shepherding players to where they don't want to go. The one thing that every successful defence has, is a competent defensive/holding midfield. This can be made up of either one or two players. A good defensive midfielder will not stray any further than 10 to 12 metres away from his central defenders, when his team have the ball. He will be able to read where the trouble will come from and intercept it. He will be a strong tackler and able to give the ball to someone who can then use it to set-up attacks. When you have a pairing, one will be the box-to-box player, although they do tend to take that job in turns. I'd like to see Richards paired with either Eder Balanta of River Plate, with Senderos sweeping. Or, Richards with Martin Caceres of Juventus, with Clark, or Okore, playing slightly in advance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marley the Bognor Villan Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Been saying it for a few weeks on here now but I still think we should be looking at Ashley Williams. We could probably get him for about £10m which I know seems a lot for someone that turns 31 this month but he is proven, solid, experienced, knows the prem and is a leader (captain of Wales and Swansea). He should have 2 good seasons in him which would be enough time for Clark and Okore to learn a lot and develop under his guidance. We paid £10.5m for Curtis Davies 7 years ago so is £10m or even £12m a lot in todays market? Also like Shawcross and Nkoulou. A combination of two from those three would fill me with a lot more confidence. We need a better keeper IMO as well. Someone who is more vocal and can organise/command his defence to stop a lot of these errors. We get ripped open at the back far too often as the defence is not organised. The lads need a good pair of eyes behind them that can see the whole picture and alert them when they are out of position. Not sure who that would be but it is definately an area we can improve on. FWIW I do like Guzan but we can/should do better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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