All this talk of squad depth. How much do we actually need?

[villa89]

On 06/06/2023 at 16:03, HalfTimePost said:

I think people expecting Ramsey and McGinn to be second choice by the end of the transfer window are going to be very disappointed with the business we're likely to do.

We won't really have second choice players in that many positions. We'll be aiming to play around 55 games next season. If you start in half of them then you've started ~28 games with more appearances off the bench. That's probably what McGinn or Ramsey did this season. 

[MrBlack]

22 hours ago, Czarnikjak said:

He is not a "premier league proven" striker. Much less than Watkins at least. He only has one season out of 3 with double digit goals in Premier League. Watkins has 3 out of 3.

Besides, he's just done his ACL...why the heck would you sign someone with ACL?

I'd like most of my players to have an ACL to be honest.

ACL damage, not so much. 

[barry'sboots]

I make a strong 10 - the usual starting XI minus Buendia/Bailey and Young plus Cash. Which leaves one gap - a partner for Ollie - which I would love to see Barnes fill.

I would then see 5 decent reserves - Carlos (who could start), Digne (who could move on but would need replacing), Dendonker (who has looked a more than decent understudy for Kamara during the back half of the season), Buendia and Bailey.

Given that we were the second best side in the PL under UE, at least since X-mas, I don't think we need obvious replacements/upgrades to the first XI, other than Ollie's strike partner, but rather competing/rotation/sub options. Indeed, upgrades will probably be joining UCL clubs e.g. Ugarte.

I would ideally like to see a squad of 22 plus Iregboenum and Archer, with two for each position. With 9 subs, injuries, rotation and Europe we should be able to keep everyone happy, especially if there is minimal drop off in quality in the second string so UE is not afraid to use them. I make that 7 additions.

[AvfcRigo82]

I think we will see somewhere around 10 or more players leave us through being sold/out of contract etc.

Potentially 10-12 arrivals, maybe more?

[The_Rev]

You're risking upsetting the squad dynamics with those kind of numbers.  

[romavillan]

2 hours ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

I think we will see somewhere around 10 or more players leave us through being sold/out of contract etc.

Potentially 10-12 arrivals, maybe more?

No way 10-12, some youth and 4 or 5 max probably 

[AvfcRigo82]

42 minutes ago, romavillan said:

No way 10-12, some youth and 4 or 5 max probably 

Depends how many we offload. We have an incredibly thin squad as it is and our fixture list next season is going to be big and busy.

[Keyblade]

4/5 major signings, plus Archer, Tim and possibly AJ returning should be enough to cover all the competitions.

RB - Upgrade/competition for Cash

SS - Partner for Ollie, competition for Bailey and Buendia

CB - A 4th senior CB, so we don't have to ever play Chambers or Dendoncker there

CM - Someone like Tielemans

GK - No further explanation needed

[AvfcRigo82]

On 08/06/2023 at 18:13, The_Rev said:

You're risking upsetting the squad dynamics with those kind of numbers.  

Possibly. However, considering some of those numbers have not been here anyway and out on loan, I'm not convinced it would cause too much unrest.

If we look at the entire squad we currently have at our disposal whilst also taking into considerstion of who is good enough to keep (amongst the fringe players) and what we have remaining after that, it's potentially very light.

We have seen Young and Steer already depart.

Of our back up and fringe players that remain, who is good enough to stay?

GK - Olsen, Sinisalo

CB - Chambers, Hause

DM - Dendonker, Nakamba

CM/AM - Traoré, Sanson

ST - Wesley, Davis

That is already 12 potentially that could/will depart whether be it sold or loaned out again?

Also, are Iroegbunam, Philogene-Bidance, Archer and Duran ready to step up to this level or do they need loaned out?

Taking those players mentioned above out of the equation for arguments sake would leave us with a first team squad of potentially only 15?

I wouldn't be shocked nor concerned to see atleast 8-10 arrivals this summer. I think if we can replace most of that list above with sheer quality where possible then it doesn't seem that drastic imo.

[Marka Ragnos]

I think it's finite and not some vague need. Definitely need more keeper, more striker, more RB, and more right winger. That's four must-haves. Five would be great, but four musts. Still, with the squad ...

Edited June 9, 2023 by Marka Ragnos

[VillaChris]

Think reality is hitting home now looking at the fixture list.

7 games in December and that's without hopefully some europa and league cup matches.

Already Burnley and Liverpool away been moved to Sundays due to europa play off and we potentially have a few more aways after europa so they will be tricky to win given the 70 hour turnaround. 

We certainly can't be doing stuff like selling Luiz after signing Tielemans as was incredibly suggested the other day or just plugging the current gaps in squad with the returning loanees. Need 2-3 top signings in next two months and then a couple more for squad depth.

[Reivax_Villa]

It’s very much real now in terms of what we need in terms of depth.

We have some decent prospects that can help fill the gaps..

Its a great opportunity for our youngsters to break into the squad and contribute but realistically we are going to need some 5 more additional signings.

[MaVilla]

we have signed an MC/AM type in Tielemans.

We definitely need a

• RB
• RW/inside fwd
• SS/AM/inside fwd
• striker

So thats 4 more for certain imo.

We could do with a CD also.

So i think we need 5-6 in total, and thats must have's, not nice to have's.

We do also need to offload quite a few though tbh, so 5-6 in, 5-6 out probably.

Edited June 15, 2023 by MaVilla

[villa4europe]

4 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

we have signed an MC/AM type in Tielemans.

We definitely need a

• RB
• RW/inside fwd
• SS/AM/inside fwd
• striker

So thats 4 more for certain imo.

We could do with a CD also.

So i think we need 5-6 in total, and thats must have's, not nice to have's.

We do also need to offload quite a few though tbh, so 5-6 in, 5-6 out probably.

I don't think we must have a new striker...

Replace cash, Buendia and Bailey from the starting 11 so 3 more, look at the youngsters returning from loan before maybe adding a couple of high potential players later on

Still think we have better depth than Newcastle for example and they've got CL not ECL

[ferguson1]

[MrBlack]

4 hours ago, MaVilla said:

we have signed an MC/AM type in Tielemans.

We definitely need a

• RB
• RW/inside fwd
• SS/AM/inside fwd
• striker

So thats 4 more for certain imo.

We could do with a CD also.

So i think we need 5-6 in total, and thats must have's, not nice to have's.

We do also need to offload quite a few though tbh, so 5-6 in, 5-6 out probably.

We won't get a standalone striker and both of the forwards you claim we need.

We'll probably get someone that can play one of your previous two positions and also act as a striker.

A dedicated winger in the form of Williams looks like to be one of them.

Leaves the RB, and second striker/forward roles to fill.

We also definitely need a viable sub goalkeeper.

I see at least 3 more signings, and probably 4.

Then any extras will come from replacing players we sell. That gives us just enough depth, and covers the fact we want to fill it with quality. We can't sign 10 players for depth as the average quality would be worse than what we have. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by MrBlack

[VillaParkAvenue]

New backup GK must be a priority.