Pope John XXIII
Vital Football Legend
Thought it would be worth having a thread where we all discuss our appraisals of the summer's transfer activity. We have spent more this summer than we have in the last ten, possibly this while century. We are certainly a bigger and better squad.
I am assuming the goal is automatic promotion this season when I review the below. Let's look:
Goalkeeper
Last season- Smith, Stojkovic, Evtimov
This season- Pantillimon, Kapino, Smith, Evtimov
Verdict- 8/10
Pantillimon isn't perfect but is as good as we are likely to get in this division. Kapino is ok, as is Smith although two of the three back ups probably need to go.
Central defence
Last season- Mancienne, Fox, Worrall, Hobbs, Mills
This season- Dawson, Figueiredo, Worrall, Fox, Mancienne
Verdict- 7/10
Fig is very decent and Dawson should be a good addition. Concern is still over set pieces, a farcical problem last season that reports from the recent friendlies suggests still hasn't been solved. This may well play itself out as Dawson gets into it though.
Dawson is unlikely to make a whole season and his cover is a bit suspect. Mancienne should never wear the shirt again and Worrall costs us with experience. In addition, Fox has tended to have a long spell out injured every season so far. A fig and Worrall combination would worry me a bit in experience.
Fullback
Last season- Traore, Fox, Darikwa, Lichaj
This season- Robinson, Osborn, Darikwa
Verdict - 3/10
At the time of writing, this has been a near disaster. We are short of cover and desperately short of quality. 26 goals from set pieces tells a from tale of our aerial ability but an even worse tale of our group of Fullbacks. There has been only one addition this far- Robinson, a decent, solid player but hardly a season changer. We are probably weaker than this time last year for the loss of Lichaj's cover
Defensive midfield
Last year- Bouchalakis, Bridcutt, Vaughan
This season- Colback, Watson, Guedioura, Bridcutt, Yates
Verdict- 8/10
The difference in quality is quite stunning here. Bridcutt last summer was a good addition but Colback is the sort of player I didn't think our club could sign. Vaughan was good but we were just waiting for the years to catch up with him, as they did last year. That isn't the worry with any of the new ones; we have experience in there and the excellent prospect of Yates.
Only question marks are over Watson and whether either of Watback can drive forward in the way that long term targets such as Leadbitter or McDonald can.
Attacking midfield
Last summer- McKay, Osborn, Cash, Dowell + Walker/Brereton
This summer- Carvalho, Goncalves, Dias, Lolley, Guedioura, Osborn, Cash, Soudani (have I forgotten someone?)
Verdict- 10/10
Outstanding progress here. The three Portuguese look superb and too good for this division. Lolley is one of the best young attacking signings in years and will play a big part I think. Osborn could be incredible around better players and Cash has found a manager who has really brought him on. I'm not sure how this could have been better.
Forwards
Last summer- Murphy, Brereton, Cummings, Vellios
This summer- Grabban, Soudani, Brereton, Murphy
Verdict- 7/10
Some will disagree with this, but I think this has been an area of weaker business for us. We have signed only one out and out striker. Grabban is a proven goalscorer... But only over a couple of seasons. At 30 as well, he isn't a 'get promoted in two years' striker.
I personally think he will score well for us but we are set up to be too reliant on him. Brereton cannot finish and shouldnt have the responsibility to. Murphy is showing us we cannot rely on him to put in a performance and that leaves us with seeing how well Soudani can deputise up front. It wouldn't take much bad luck to see us really struggling up front and with no cover striker likely to arrive,I would suggest this is a weaker area.
Overall- 8/10
Given that the target is to go from "let's vaguely build for promotion sometime in the next decade" to "let's fucking bust this division" I think we have done bloody well.
I don't think we have built a squad that is going to smash the doors in of this division like Wolves did (over two years, of course) but I feel we've done enough to be competitive. If we have luck with injuries and players click into a good run, we could be there or thereabouts. Much rides on how much of a ringer the three Portuguese are and wether they can all maintain consistency over 46 games rather than doing a Dowell/ McKay.
Fullback is a concern, but hopefully I will be able to amend this post later in the week.
I am assuming the goal is automatic promotion this season when I review the below. Let's look:
Goalkeeper
Last season- Smith, Stojkovic, Evtimov
This season- Pantillimon, Kapino, Smith, Evtimov
Verdict- 8/10
Pantillimon isn't perfect but is as good as we are likely to get in this division. Kapino is ok, as is Smith although two of the three back ups probably need to go.
Central defence
Last season- Mancienne, Fox, Worrall, Hobbs, Mills
This season- Dawson, Figueiredo, Worrall, Fox, Mancienne
Verdict- 7/10
Fig is very decent and Dawson should be a good addition. Concern is still over set pieces, a farcical problem last season that reports from the recent friendlies suggests still hasn't been solved. This may well play itself out as Dawson gets into it though.
Dawson is unlikely to make a whole season and his cover is a bit suspect. Mancienne should never wear the shirt again and Worrall costs us with experience. In addition, Fox has tended to have a long spell out injured every season so far. A fig and Worrall combination would worry me a bit in experience.
Fullback
Last season- Traore, Fox, Darikwa, Lichaj
This season- Robinson, Osborn, Darikwa
Verdict - 3/10
At the time of writing, this has been a near disaster. We are short of cover and desperately short of quality. 26 goals from set pieces tells a from tale of our aerial ability but an even worse tale of our group of Fullbacks. There has been only one addition this far- Robinson, a decent, solid player but hardly a season changer. We are probably weaker than this time last year for the loss of Lichaj's cover
Defensive midfield
Last year- Bouchalakis, Bridcutt, Vaughan
This season- Colback, Watson, Guedioura, Bridcutt, Yates
Verdict- 8/10
The difference in quality is quite stunning here. Bridcutt last summer was a good addition but Colback is the sort of player I didn't think our club could sign. Vaughan was good but we were just waiting for the years to catch up with him, as they did last year. That isn't the worry with any of the new ones; we have experience in there and the excellent prospect of Yates.
Only question marks are over Watson and whether either of Watback can drive forward in the way that long term targets such as Leadbitter or McDonald can.
Attacking midfield
Last summer- McKay, Osborn, Cash, Dowell + Walker/Brereton
This summer- Carvalho, Goncalves, Dias, Lolley, Guedioura, Osborn, Cash, Soudani (have I forgotten someone?)
Verdict- 10/10
Outstanding progress here. The three Portuguese look superb and too good for this division. Lolley is one of the best young attacking signings in years and will play a big part I think. Osborn could be incredible around better players and Cash has found a manager who has really brought him on. I'm not sure how this could have been better.
Forwards
Last summer- Murphy, Brereton, Cummings, Vellios
This summer- Grabban, Soudani, Brereton, Murphy
Verdict- 7/10
Some will disagree with this, but I think this has been an area of weaker business for us. We have signed only one out and out striker. Grabban is a proven goalscorer... But only over a couple of seasons. At 30 as well, he isn't a 'get promoted in two years' striker.
I personally think he will score well for us but we are set up to be too reliant on him. Brereton cannot finish and shouldnt have the responsibility to. Murphy is showing us we cannot rely on him to put in a performance and that leaves us with seeing how well Soudani can deputise up front. It wouldn't take much bad luck to see us really struggling up front and with no cover striker likely to arrive,I would suggest this is a weaker area.
Overall- 8/10
Given that the target is to go from "let's vaguely build for promotion sometime in the next decade" to "let's fucking bust this division" I think we have done bloody well.
I don't think we have built a squad that is going to smash the doors in of this division like Wolves did (over two years, of course) but I feel we've done enough to be competitive. If we have luck with injuries and players click into a good run, we could be there or thereabouts. Much rides on how much of a ringer the three Portuguese are and wether they can all maintain consistency over 46 games rather than doing a Dowell/ McKay.
Fullback is a concern, but hopefully I will be able to amend this post later in the week.