barry'sboots Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 2 hours ago, Steero113 said: Firstly, you've never seen Bailey play so you cannot judge how far a 'step down' we have made at LW. Secondly, if you see Buendia as a direct replacement for Barkley (personally I think J Ramsey has stepped into that role) then Buendia is a massive upgrade on Ross. Thirdly, you do the club a huge disservice by referring to Danny Ings (currently on 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games) as squad depth. Clearly some would have liked to have seen 1 or 2 more statement signings to really go for it, but what you've written above is such a one sided its like watching Man City vs Arsenal the other day. I am hoping Bailey is fantastic BUT I will be massively surprised if he is on, or nearing, Jack's level, at least in the short term, or else you would think we would have had to pay more than £30m for him? Buendia hasn't looked like much of an upgrade on Traore as yet but I'm hoping he will come good. JJ could be very good but for me, personally, if we are aspiring to European football, he should have been out on loan this year getting 30+ games at the top of the championship. I think it is fair to see Ings as squad depth as I just can't see the two of them playing together without a radical re-shape, which I am not convinced Smith has it in him to deliver, and 4-4-2, imho, will leave us very short in our weakest area - midfield. Ings, Tuanzebe and Young are, hopefully, squad depth but will not improve us much on last year as we barely used Taylor, Engels and Davis who they are, in theory, replacing?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 5 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: If you think it's only people on VT think we have needed a " DM " , or at least a better all round solid and commanding midfielder, you are very wrong. A new midfielder is fine, but its the constant clamour for a big enforcer type that seems to have taken over. We've never shown any indication that we want to play that way. I think we prefer more box-to-box players or playmakers. Hence the JWP link. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 (edited) 7 minutes ago, barry'sboots said: I am hoping Bailey is fantastic BUT I will be massively surprised if he is on, or nearing, Jack's level, at least in the short term, or else you would think we would have had to pay more than £30m for him? Buendia hasn't looked like much of an upgrade on Traore as yet but I'm hoping he will come good. JJ could be very good but for me, personally, if we are aspiring to European football, he should have been out on loan this year getting 30+ games at the top of the championship. I think it is fair to see Ings as squad depth as I just can't see the two of them playing together without a radical re-shape, which I am not convinced Smith has it in him to deliver, and 4-4-2, imho, will leave us very short in our weakest area - midfield. Ings, Tuanzebe and Young are, hopefully, squad depth but will not improve us much on last year as we barely used Taylor, Engels and Davis who they are, in theory, replacing?? We don't need Bailey to be Jack. It was our strategy to replace his impact with Bailey, Buendia and Ings. I'd be confident in predicting those three will have total goals and assists higher than what Jack contributed to the team last year. Edited August 31, 2021 by DCJonah 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted August 31, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted August 31, 2021 26 minutes ago, lexicon said: No, it's a tenner on the Wycombe site though no way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 2 minutes ago, Xela said: We've never shown any indication that we want to play that way. We’ve never shown we wanted to have two strikers in our formation before but now we look like we will be with Ings and Ollie will both be involved however that will be so things change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 4 minutes ago, Xela said: A new midfielder is fine, but its the constant clamour for a big enforcer type that seems to have taken over. We've never shown any indication that we want to play that way. I think we prefer more box-to-box players or playmakers. Hence the JWP link. The lack of an enforcer is going to be this year's subs as the issue to get worked up over each week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 1 minute ago, nick76 said: We’ve never shown we wanted to have two strikers in our formation before but now we look like we will be with Ings and Ollie will both be involved however that will be so things change. Doesn't that prove his point though? We've signed a player to partner Ings. We don't seem to be interested in the type of CM player people are desperate for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 2 hours ago, thabucks said: Why haven’t we improved ? Why are we supposedly worse off ? Why will we be lucky to finish higher than last year ? We are developing as a club and squad and have amazing selection of youth potential within our ranks. They will have a roadmap for each one, that’s not to say all or any with make it, but you don’t develop and invest heavily in the youth system only to buy expensive players to block the route off ( unless you are Chelsea ) we may or may not have a better season … we just need a bit of patience and perspective. For me the glaring area we are short in is CB IMHO. We have enough central midfield combinations to get us by. Chelsea have Mount and James starting and have sold youth in Tomori, Tammy, Livramento and others that have allowed them to recycle considerable funds into new players. I think their model is not as broken as some think. Clearly, if we have good youth then they need a pathway but I personally think they would develop better with a loan, e.g. JJ, and we should sign someone - to give us 4 x "8"'s, as I see us playing 4-3-3 largely. I think relying on the youth too early, unless they are Harvey Elliott (who looks some player) may be too burdensome and doesn't necessarily put you in a position to challenge for Europe as I thought we were aspiring to. If the youth deliver then they deserve a crack but, like Mount and Elliott, they need to push a quality player out not just fill an open gap that is kept for them, if you really want to aspire to be a top side. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Hopefully the players step up and show we don’t need another midfielder… let’s hope so anyway otherwise we are in trouble in the middle of the park (again) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulaziz1 Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 I think the board are being more wiser than one could think. They we’d gamble in any addition (over value). So I think their plan is to see how will this squad do, how will they improve. I think they believe we have a midtable squad (with a top 10 push). We’ll be clear next winter and summer what our needs are. The step up to top 6 will require some real quality signings. Such as Bailey, Ings...etc I very much prefer that approach than panicking. The last thing we need is additions for the sake of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 17 minutes ago, jacketspuds said: We’ve got El Ghazi and, potentially, Bidace. I’m less worried about the LW than the midfield area. We’ve got so many midfielders, but they’re all quite similar. Need big seasons from Luiz, Sanson and McGinn. The same back up that we had last year that could not produce anything when Jack was out injured?? I know many on here disagree, but I don't rate him as I think he lacks the intensity and fight to be a successful top half PL player. I don't disagree that we could have done with a couple of extra bodies in midfield - a "6" to upgrade Nakamba and an "8" to compete with SJM, Luiz and Sanson for two positions - I see us playing 4-3-3. I think Bidace looks like a really interesting prospect but, like JJ, I would really liked to have seen him go out on loan and get proper game time/30+ starts in the championship. I want these guys to have a pathway but I don't think we can have them "learning" with us if we are truly aspiring to compete for European spots. I don't see us doing that at the minute. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulaziz1 Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Leeds are signing Daniel James by 25m! We need to be wise. I trust the board to do the right decisions. I was afraid that we’d panic and get players for the sake of it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roonst83 Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 1 minute ago, barry'sboots said: The same back up that we had last year that could not produce anything when Jack was out injured?? I know many on here disagree, but I don't rate him as I think he lacks the intensity and fight to be a successful top half PL player. I don't disagree that we could have done with a couple of extra bodies in midfield - a "6" to upgrade Nakamba and an "8" to compete with SJM, Luiz and Sanson for two positions - I see us playing 4-3-3. I think Bidace looks like a really interesting prospect but, like JJ, I would really liked to have seen him go out on loan and get proper game time/30+ starts in the championship. I want these guys to have a pathway but I don't think we can have them "learning" with us if we are truly aspiring to compete for European spots. I don't see us doing that at the minute. Agree completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 I feel like we ran into this transfer window so strong and have let it slip. We haven’t improved enough to improve on 11th IMO. Our midfield is just so problematic. I’m not sure any of them are good enough for us to progress. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Just now, Spoony said: I feel like we ran into this transfer window so strong and have let it slip. We haven’t improved enough to improve on 11th IMO. Our midfield is just so problematic. I’m not sure any of them are good enough for us to progress. To be fair, how many teams improve their league position every single season? It's a process, we've jumped massively in the last few years. I think it will stutter more now as we try to chase down the big boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post lexicon Posted August 31, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted August 31, 2021 1 minute ago, Spoony said: I feel like we ran into this transfer window so strong and have let it slip. We haven’t improved enough to improve on 11th IMO. Our midfield is just so problematic. I’m not sure any of them are good enough for us to progress. If we weren't able to get a player in that we felt would improve us, fit it into the squad and buy into the project, what's the point in spending for the sake of it? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulaziz1 Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 5 minutes ago, barry'sboots said: The same back up that we had last year that could not produce anything when Jack was out injured?? I know many on here disagree, but I don't rate him as I think he lacks the intensity and fight to be a successful top half PL player. I don't disagree that we could have done with a couple of extra bodies in midfield - a "6" to upgrade Nakamba and an "8" to compete with SJM, Luiz and Sanson for two positions - I see us playing 4-3-3. I think Bidace looks like a really interesting prospect but, like JJ, I would really liked to have seen him go out on loan and get proper game time/30+ starts in the championship. I want these guys to have a pathway but I don't think we can have them "learning" with us if we are truly aspiring to compete for European spots. I don't see us doing that at the minute. If El Ghazi was our starter LW I would be worried. We have Bidace too who’s interesting. I think even Cairny could play there if needed. Buendia, Bailey and Traore are good choices for this season. We need to start getting another Bailey’s, Buendia’s for other positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 1 hour ago, mrchnry said: I feel like we've got nobody incoming. Bit disappointed. What ever could have given you that impression??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 2 hours ago, thabucks said: Some of this pessimism isn’t healthy nor based on reality and is based rather on the modern malaise of instant gratification … Yes I would’ve liked more but understand why we haven’t. We signed Tim Iroegbunam for example to hopefully develop into our DM for years to come and not just for shits & giggles. The kid has just turned 19 and has no experience of men's football. I would imagine he is at least a couple of years away - and probably at least a season's loan - from any meaningful contribution for us. We need to bring in a strong DCM now, imho, if we are to progress this season. If Iroegbunam develops as we all hope, he would then become this signings understudy and potentially push him out over the next 3 to 4 years. We need to develop the first team/progress to compete and, if the kids are good enough, they will come in down the line. My fear is that, if we do not progress in the meantime, by the time the kids come through, if they are as good as we hope/believe, then many may be off to the Sky 6 or a large German club etc. before we have really got to see them. If we get value, then that may be okay but it is not always possible. I know its a fine line but, if we have serious aspirations (as I understood the owners do), we can't just leave holes in the squad hoping that 17/18 year olds will fill them in the future and we will muddle through until then?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 52 minutes ago, HalfTimePost said: He lives Damn another thing Dean Smith has said will happen, happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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