Jump to content

Roberto Di Matteo


meme

Recommended Posts

17 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

I agree with this that you can't judge a squad just by its points total. Look at Chelsea for instance.

However I watched every home game this season in the flesh, went to a few away and seen every other game on the box/a stream and this really is a poor squad of players that did indeed warrant just 17 points. We weren't unlucky, we didn't have a disproportional amount of injuries.  I can't think of many games where we deserved more than what we got, maybe at a push 3 or 4. Conversely you could argue of the three wins we got all season we rode our luck in two of those against Palace and Bournemouth.

The only mitigating factor you could put forward is that they were managed by poor managers although the one who managed them for the vast majority of games we have as a fan base pretty much given a free pass to due to the quality of the squad he inherited.

This for me is sadly the worst squad of players I can recall in knocking on 35 years following us and one of the worst squads to have graced the Premier League. The points total is a true reflection of its ability and needs a major rebuild.

I also watched every home game  in the flesh Mark, and there were times when we played some decent stuff before the confidence was shot and we capitulated in the worst possible way  - Leicester first half being one example, Palace another.  It all comes down to how you rank individual players and their potential to help us next season - I see a lot of young talent in there that needs more quality alongside it, more leadership, better management, a much stronger defense, a decent striker.  If people are saying everyone in the squad is awful we are doomed, I simply don't agree.  Anyway, I am off out with the Mrs - have a nice night all!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

When we are in a position to turn down a Tony Barton type, we certainly won't be looking at Pearson.

Please don't put stuff in here that diminishes Tony Barton, it makes me sad.

The difference is Tony Barton was instrumental in building that villa side WITH Ronsaunders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, Gary Thomas said:

 I see a lot of young talent in there that needs more quality alongside it, more leadership, better management, a much stronger defense, a decent striker.  If people are saying everyone in the squad is awful we are doomed, I simply don't agree. 

I agree there are some players in the squad who are certainly comfortably good enough for the championship. Overall though I would say we maybe have 8 or 9 from the current mob who I would be confident in, throw in half a dozen youngsters and you are still looking at needing 10 players to come in. That to me is a major rebuild.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

I agree there are some players in the squad who are certainly comfortably good enough for the championship. Overall though I would say we maybe have 8 or 9 from the current mob who I would be confident in, throw in half a dozen youngsters and you are still looking at needing 10 players to come in. That to me is a major rebuild.

Doable and pretty much the norm in the championship. Last summer: 

Middlesborough - 10 in, 7 out

Burnley - 7 in, 9 out

Hull - 7 in, 13 out

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Gary Thomas said:

I also watched every home game  in the flesh Mark, and there were times when we played some decent stuff before the confidence was shot and we capitulated in the worst possible way  - Leicester first half being one example, Palace another.  It all comes down to how you rank individual players and their potential to help us next season - I see a lot of young talent in there that needs more quality alongside it, more leadership, better management, a much stronger defense, a decent striker.  If people are saying everyone in the squad is awful we are doomed, I simply don't agree.  Anyway, I am off out with the Mrs - have a nice night all!

Your points regarding leadership, resilience, desire are central to us improving....we have one or two decent players who were lost to the lack of cohesion and togetherness....we do need major surgery and hopefully RDM can galvanise it in to a team.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Jareth said:

Doable and pretty much the norm in the championship. Last summer: 

Middlesborough - 10 in, 7 out

Burnley - 7 in, 9 out

Hull - 7 in, 13 out

 

 

I am not saying it isn't doable. It would help if we had a manager now though as I think every day that goes by without one makes the job that little bit harder for him when he does arrive in terms of assembling a squad to compete for promotion next season. It is not like we have a manager in place who knows the squad and what it lacks.

It would also perhaps help, and make me personally feel a little more confident, if the new manager had previous experience of a big overhaul of a squad.

Edited by markavfc40
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Squad is massively missing leadership and team spirit, the former needs to be brought in, the latter needs instilling.

There are OK players in this squad but we have no steel, no creativeness and nobody special,who can turn a game.  In a nutshell, the squad is crap.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

I am not saying it isn't doable. It would help if we had a manager now though as I think every day that goes by without one makes the job that little bit harder for him when he does arrive in terms of assembling a squad to compete for promotion next season. It is not like we have a manager in place who knows the squad and what it lacks.

It would also perhaps help, and make me personally feel a little more confident, if the new manager had previous experience of a big overhaul of a squad.

2009/10 - the season RDM got WBA promoted -

13 in - including loans

25 out - including loans

Although my favourite bit from wikipedia -

"West Bromwich continued with English company Umbro as the shirt designers. For the second season running, West Bromwich were unable to find a kit sponsor."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009–10_West_Bromwich_Albion_F.C._season

Edited by Jareth
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, macandally said:

Squad is massively missing leadership and team spirit, the former needs to be brought in, the latter needs instilling.

There are OK players in this squad but we have no steel, no creativeness and nobody special,who can turn a game.  In a nutshell, the squad is crap.

 

In short the squad has many gaps that filling,are essential for promotion

Edited by TRO
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, TRO said:

In short the squad has many gaps that are essential for promotion

Yarp, and RDM (if he is coming to us) has 'majorly overhauled' a promotion winning squad before. We're in safe hands.

#TrustInTony

#MagicMatteo (subject to appointment)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jareth said:

2009/10 - the season RDM got WBA promoted -

13 in - including loans

25 out - including loans

Although my favourite bit from wikipedia -

"West Bromwich continued with English company Umbro as the shirt designers. For the second season running, West Bromwich were unable to find a kit sponsor."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009–10_West_Bromwich_Albion_F.C._season

Those are similar numbers to what I'm expecting incomings and outgoings to be for us this summer.  

This gives me a little more confidence in RDM to get it right.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Made In Aston said:

Those are similar numbers to what I'm expecting incomings and outgoings to be for us this summer.  

This gives me a little more confidence in RDM to get it right.   

I didn't realise that either, only looked it up in response to mark's post, but yeah, good ain't it? Certainly debunks anyone assuming that RDM is a pushover, he no like you, he show you the door!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, bobzy said:

Newcastle's squad is way better than ours.  Krul/Elliot/Darlow, Townsend, Cissoko, Mitrovic, Lascelles, Shelvey and Janmaat are better than anything we've got in any of those respective positions.  You'd be mad to think otherwise.  They also came close to avoiding relegation - we were nowhere near!

Keeping Benitez is huge and he'll likely persuade most of those to stay with the club, too.  Favourites to win the league IMO.

Individually their players are better - that's not saying much as ours are mostly awful  And Id agree with the ones you name as being their best players. I agree they are better than us. Without getting drawn into a debate about all their players some of those you mention had a few moments but not a lot, and they have no consistency at all. Townsend for example suddenly became flavour of the month but did little before hand, and Shelvey was the other way around.  

As I say though, I agree they have better players than us.

But they are still rubbish, as they showed most of the season.  The fact that they nearly stayed up doesn't make them any better.  We shouldn't have a big inferiority complex about them. And Benitez knows no more about getting out the Championship than many others.  Of course he is a quality manager, he will get backing, and so on, but as I say they have no reason to be any more or less confident than us IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, meme said:

They don't need to, they're working close with Hollis, so he can appoint the new manager on Xia's behalf without any fuss.

Does that make sense, though. Would a prospective manager really consent to be employed by an outgoing owner while there is a chance that the new owner might not be approved by the League. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think any incoming manager would prefer the opportunity of rebuilding a squad in one window, rather than work with players that his predecessor had bought in.

Every manager has rebuilt a squad by the end of the third or 4th window in charge.

Key for us this summer is as much about who we keep as it is who comes in. Keeping hold of the few quality players we have, allows focus to be applied to positions that are vacant.

I don't think we'll keep them all but if we had Grealish, Aywe, Amavi and Adama here next season, we would only be looking at 6 or 7 first choice signings (yes I am aware of the significance of the word "only")

In reality. we'll probably only have one or two of those 4 available come August. Realistically, we are going to have to look at the second tier in the squad-Players who ideally, most of us would like to see the back of: Hutton, Clark, Westwood, Sinclair, Gestede,  possibly Baker, possibly Okore.

I'm not phased by the 46 fixtures as I'd be happy to see us just field reserve sides for the cup games. I think a squad depth maybe important though with 2 games a week.

A big decision for RDM would be whether to go with Gestede (which imo is a gamble) or spend a big portion of his war chest on a replacement-So much depends on who stays. Does it have to be a big target man up front in that division? I have no idea.

I think we have to accept that the starting line up next season is not going to be quite as strong as we'd hoped-There will be a few familiar faces in it. I'd say 6, maybe 7 new faces starting the first game and 4 or 5 from last season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Jareth said:

2009/10 - the season RDM got WBA promoted -

13 in - including loans

25 out - including loans

 

 

Mate in 2009/10 season these are the players signed by WBA according to Soccerbase.

http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?season_id=145&team_id=2744&teamTabs=transfers&season_id=145

Simon Cox Swindon £1,500,000 08 Jul, 2009
Youssouf Mulumbu Paris St-G. £175,000 10 Jul, 2009
Reuben Reid Rotherham Signed 31 Jul, 2009
Joe Mattock Leicester £1,200,000 10 Aug, 2009
Gonzalo Jara Colo Colo £1,400,000 25 Aug, 2009
Andwele Slory Feyenoord Free 01 Feb, 2010

RDM joined WBA on June 30 2009.

Edited by markavfc40
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...
Â