The squad as it stands....... | Page 4 | Vital Football

The squad as it stands.......

Either way FFP limits the amount of money an owner can put in. Fawaz could not have put a £50 million a year Fawaz Refrigeration sponsorship in , even if he'd wanted to, as the rules seem to extend beyond simple losses.

That seems to perpetuate the issue then. My feeling is that if an owner is wealthy and can invest his own money then great. FPP should literally stop any of that financing in the name of the club itself, it should stay as personal debt (or profits)
 
So far we've brought in Dawson, Robinson, Carvalho, Dias, Goncalves and Soudani. It is fair to say a goalkeeper, right back, DCM and another striker should complete our business. Can't say for sure but according to reports these could potentially be Pantillimon, Byram, Colback/Vukcevic and one of Grabban\Bamford\Oliveira.

Supplementing these new players will be Smith, Darikwa, Fox, Figueiredo, Worrall, Osborn, Bridcutt, Guedioura, Watson, Cash, Lolley, Brereton and Murphy.

So ideally we would have a squad of 22 which would be supplemented by the youth players. That would be superb.

I think it's safe to assume that Henderson, Evtimov, Kapino, Mancienne, Traore, Bouchalakis, McKay, Ward, Cummings and Vellios will try to be moved on. Fingers crossed.

Walker (already), Yates, Ariyibi, Grant & Clough are likely to be loaned out again.

If we could achieve the above it would be an unprecedented pre-season. All the dross that has been holding us back for years will have gone and we will have a vibrant young team supplemented by older, experienced heads. I'm not saying we'll win the league but what a statement of intent this will be. We've no idea whether the team will fly out of the blocks or take a while to gel but it certainly should be interesting finding out!

Was looking at this again - since this post we have signed Pantilimon, Steele, Hefele, Byram, Colback and Grabban and have sold/got rid of Kapino, Mancienne, Traore, Bouchalakis and McKay. Cummings, Walker and Grant have been loaned out.

Apparently Tomlin may well be joining on loan so that would be 5 loans so effectively the end of our incomings I would imagine.

That leaves Henderson, Evtimov, Ward, Clough, Vellios and Ariyibi surplus to requirements. Henderson has been training with Bristol City and Clough has been linked with a loan to Hibs. At this point I would be happy to include Lam on this list and think we may as well loan out Yates until January to a Championship side to see how he fares. I can see Evtimov and Ward being released, not sure what the point is of keeping Ariyibi but imagine he'll be loaned out again and hopefully we can sell Vellios back to Greece and recoup £600K or so.

So we may end up with a first team squad of Pantilimon, Steele, Smith, Byram, Darikwa, Fox, Figueiredo, Worrall, Dawson, Hefele, Robinson, Osborn, Colback, Bridcutt, Guedioura, Watson, Cash, Lolley, Carvalho, Dias, Goncalves, Tomlin, Soudani, Brereton, Murphy and Grabban.

That is a decent squad of 26 it has to be said. Good enough for promotion? Maybe, maybe not but it's a damn sight better than we have had for many a long year.

We probably have one centre back too many and I do wonder whether loaning out Smith and Brereton may aid their development as truth be told, can't see them starting many games this season. Would possibly add Worrall as a loan consideration too.
 
Agree with most of your points except feel Tomlin adds nothing. Can see sense of Yates on loan till New Year. Would Brereton, Worrall, Ahmedhozovic, Gabriel etc be better served also being out on loan to championship teams?
 
Agree with most of your points except feel Tomlin adds nothing. Can see sense of Yates on loan till New Year. Would Brereton, Worrall, Ahmedhozovic, Gabriel etc be better served also being out on loan to championship teams?
Yes I agree with that. I was a fan of Tomlin before he came to us but don't see him as any better than what we have already within this squad.
 
I see Tomlin as an alternative - bit-part player, though, nice to have on bench, but an expensive luxury
 
During pre season I started a thread on ‘Ohi Omoijuanfo’, as living in Norway my Norwegian pal informed me (I’d like to say reliably) that Forest had been scouting him for some time and were finally making an official approach. I am just so gutted nothing ever came of it, he’s 1000% perfect for what we need! Wins absolutely everything in the air (Norwegian prem isn’t the highest standard but still) and scores in what is a terrible team (Stæbek).

Would cost 2mil tops, shame it never happened. Especially amidst talk of Tomlin or an expensive Oliviera in on loan.
 
id have snapped tomlin up, absolutely, really did have the same class as Reidy on his day and we are already looking like we could use some of that. despite all the signings this season i cant say we got any of the names bandied about that I either knew or wanted
 
The only likeness to Reidy was the tattoos and fat. He was a 1 in 4 player for us. Overrated
 
I do think we need a player who can put his foot on the ball, look up and pick the right pass. We have plenty of willing runners who are good on the ball but no one that I feel can dictate play in that way. Who that player is though...?
 
Thats Colbacks job but until theres a better balance in the squad he will just be breaking up play. The full back question needs answering as well as who plays behind Grabban. The problem is settling and accommodating the Portuguese trio.
 
Haven’t seen anything to suggest Colback is creative enough but you may be right. Definitely need some balance in that ‘back 7’ though. As you say, integrating the 3 amigos is paramount. Carvalho looks to be coming on and Dias has looked good in flashes. I think it will come good in time though.
 
I dont see it the same way as you Bash. Colback breaks up play gets it settled and then gets us going again. Creativity comes from the like of Carvalho. Colback for Sunderland used to niggle the middle, break it up and would also be a runner for his partner. I recall him scoring against Newcastle doing just that. He should be in his element when we meet them in the cup. The good thing is, although Gueddy is out, Watson and Yates (if he is still here) come in. I know Watson is this years hate figure (although Grabban has his nose in front) but hes a quality player.
 
Colback was outstanding v Reading. Broke up play and set us going forward. Gueddy has been superb and he always looks for the forward pass, he has forged an excellent partnership with Colback.
I anticipate Yates going out on loan and really feel that Bridcutt should be given his chance. I make no apologies for pushing Bridcutt as I think he is an excellent player, one who could really help us thrive if given a chance.
Watson looks unfit to me and is not yet firing.
 
If Brereton leaves and this looks distinctly possible, then we have a real issue up front. Murphy can play a role in certain games, Grabban needs time to gel and Soudani looks superb in the wide right or 10 role.
Folks, we definitely need a striker.
 
I dont see it the same way as you Bash. Colback breaks up play gets it settled and then gets us going again. Creativity comes from the like of Carvalho. Colback for Sunderland used to niggle the middle, break it up and would also be a runner for his partner. I recall him scoring against Newcastle doing just that. He should be in his element when we meet them in the cup. The good thing is, although Gueddy is out, Watson and Yates (if he is still here) come in. I know Watson is this years hate figure (although Grabban has his nose in front) but hes a quality player.
No that’s fair enough but I am looking for that Reid type attacking player. Not quick in the legs but quick in thought.

Watson for me is a very good player but he hasn’t quite clicked yet to the level I know he can get to. Grabban has just been starved of real service.

When this squad clicks it will be a force in this division. I do wonder though why Bridcutt isn’t getting a chance.
 
No that’s fair enough but I am looking for that Reid type attacking player. Not quick in the legs but quick in thought.

Watson for me is a very good player but he hasn’t quite clicked yet to the level I know he can get to. Grabban has just been starved of real service.

When this squad clicks it will be a force in this division. I do wonder though why Bridcutt isn’t getting a chance.

And that's why you might find Soudani as a good foil for Grabben - In the No.10 roll I think they could be a success by feeding off of each other.