How can you honestly dismiss the centre back we have signed to do exactly that without him having even played one game. That is drone behaviour.
He's come from a higher level, and Gaz has his faith in him. That should be plenty good enough for anyone, until proven different.
@bluenotes You have used a lot of words to invent a panic that never existed.
My original point was that I suspect the loan market will address the fact that we currently have a weaker squad than we did at the end of last season.
We have four CBs, including what looks a clear starting pair plus Jombati (and Rowe) can cover. Cant see us signing another.
I think we possibly need another wide/ wide attack. That man may well be Nathan Tyson.
It is possible that we might bring in a kid or two and possible that on or more of Muller, De Hav, Rowe and Southwell may go out on loan and be replaced, but not sure I see a huge amount of incomers.
I do wonder if the squad lacks real quality though. Feels like another 9th - 16th finish to me.
@DevC Maybe if you'd seem a couple of those CBs in action, you would better understand the point.
Not sure Tyson alone compensates for losing Weston, Wood and Thompson if we're talking about improving as an attacking force.
Re finishing position: Without further strengthening (which I'm sure will happen) I don't see how anyone could currently expect an improvement on last season's 9th.
Yes we had injuries and spells of poor form but that happens to most clubs, most seasons, and no doubt will again.
Seven forwards/wide midfield probably for three places (assuming Tyson signs) - that feels like quite a lot already - do you think we need an eighth?
Six players competent to play CB - do we need a seventh? (I am not going to buy the De Hav/Muller are to crap to count line - young players getting better - muller will certainly benefit from a pre-season for example)
@Vital. Quoting you from 12.28pm.
Given that the goal is to improve each year, I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect more transfer activity.
I read that to mean you would have expected more signings to have taken place by now. Perhaps I misunderstood you. I am not creating the panic, I am saying I see no reason for one.
Quoting you from 3.03pm
Brown and El Abd are clearly a downgrade on Blackman and Pierre.
How much more dismissive does it have to get?
I will reserve judgement on how well they do the job until they have had the chance to prove themselves.
@Malone. I always thought Mawson was streets ahead of Pierre. We moved on from Mawson going, I feel we will move on from Pierre going (assuming it happens).
It's all about whether you favour a negative or a positive outlook.
We've been through this, but short version...
Positive - last season - 1 point off the playoffs,despite not turning up for the first couple of months, or the month after Tottenham. Saunders, Bayo, Kashket
Negative - Pierre and keeper presumed downgrade (presumed as we haven't seen one, and we've barely seen Brown), injury threats, can Bayo be as good, a few squad players leaving.
It's summer, if you can't be positive now, you might as well give up.
@DevC It's just my opinion. If our aim is to improve each season and you accept that we are currently weaker than we were at the end of last season, then clearly there will be more signings.
Our aim will always be to improve each season. We will not always achieve our aim.
We have lost arguably the best two players - that's fairly normal for a Lg2 side. Perhaps somebody else will rise up this season.
As I say I expect the odd signing and possibly a kid or two, but not expecting a huge number. Wouldn't be surprised if one or two leave (Rowe would have my money especially if Bean re-signs).
I wouldn't see a finish of 9th to 14th as a failure.
I agree with Dev, I don't see the need for any more central defenders. We certainly don't need any more midfielders, particularly if Bean stays.
If we're persisting with 433, and I see no evidence to suggest we won't, I think we're a top-draw striker away from feeling confident about a promotion push.
I'm afraid I have lost all confidence in Hayes as a player, Southwell doesn't fit into the system, PCH hasn't ever really regained his form from his first period here, Kashket is injury prone and we can't just continue to rely on Akinfenwa, no matter how impressive he was last season.
Maybe Tyson is the answer, maybe there's simply no one in around in our budget range who is better than what we've got. But given our squad is at a decent size this season, I'd far prefer to jettison the winger on trial, accept we'll not be playing 442 again and put most of the available resources into signing a marquee front man (saving a few pennies for a young backup goalie and a trainee left back).
How many strikers do you think a league 2 club can rack up out of interest @aloysius.
Especially as Ainsworth will have a lot more faith in Hayes and Southwell then you (lots of us) do.
Bayo is the absolute key. He's near unplayable on form.And even when not he's very hard to handle.
Kashket is a different animal, he'll lose almost every 50-50, but give him a chance and he's clinical. Clearly he has to be fit, which when you're already having to have it "managed" at 21 it's very worrying.
If Tyson really is as quick as he ever was (unlikely i'd say, but he can still be quicker than most), then it's less likely he's lost his finishing knack completely.
Well @Malone - given we've lost one in Thompson and I don't expect to see much of Hayes this season and the preference is to play with three up front, I'd say we're one away from where we need to be. I just hope that plus one is a good'un.
I wonder if there are any Marcelo Trotta-types available for a season long loan? We've done well in the last few seasons with loanee keepers, defenders and midfielders, be great to get a decent prospect from the Premier League up front for a campaign.
@bluenotes Yes you misunderstood, I meant I expect more transfer activity to come.
But re: Brown & El Abd being a downgrade on Blackman & Pierre, I totally stand by that. The latter two will probably be playing at a much higher level this season.
My first thought, in reply to @Vital 's thrust, is that we're not Man. United. We'd obviously like to strengthen the squad significantly - there's a reason we're in League Two - but we don't have unlimited resources to do so. I agree with those saying that we're in a much stronger position than this time last year.
I also agree that Brown and El Abd are, with respect to them, likely to be downgrades on Blackman and Pierre, but see my first point. I also don't think they're likely to be big,let alone disastrous, downgrades and can see them being at worst solid L2 players and possibly better than that, especially in El Abd's case. Thus, I see where Vital is coming from, but it does not cause me to be pessimistic about the current squad starting the season.
FWIW, I'd be willing to cut bait on Southwell if we could get a top-notch CF as @aloysius suggests, unless Tyson fits the Kashket-type who can play off Bayo and also be the front man if Bayo is not playing. Either way, I'd also prefer to get another full back than a central defender. For better or worse, we're well-stocked with the latter while seeming to have no cover at all for JJ. I'd also not be amazed if Sido was lined up to start at CB - he was brilliant at the end of the season and gave us another dimension. Anyone who was there able to say how we lined up at the back against Slough?
I think a lot could also depend on the likes of Southwell, Freeman, Rowe, Müller and WDH stepping up a bit more when called upon.
With a squad as small as ours, the fringe players have to be ready to come into the side and do a decent job, which didn't always happen last season, a prime example being the away game at Exeter, when GA essentially played our second string and they were completely hammered, albeit by a City team who were excellent on the night.
Southwell apparently had a good game on Saturday and I have high hopes that he, Rowe, Freeman and Müller will go on to be good players for us. I do worry a bit about Will de Hav.
You make some good points as usual @Jonny_King . I'd just add a little bit of context to that Exeter away game. Didn't it come 3 days after the Tottenham heartache? I don't think we'd have got a good result that night whatever lineup we played.
That's true, although six of the of the team that played at Exeter didn't feature against Tottenham. Fully agree that any team we put out that night would have struggled, we had a mental fixture schedule and Exeter (in particular Ollie Watkins) were superb that night.
Interesting @Gary . Could mean a few things, I guess. Maybe the deal was just to trial for the weekend. Maybe he's been made an offer and given time to figure it out. Maybe they've said thanks, but no thanks. I gather he has more than one club interested.
Comments
How can you honestly dismiss the centre back we have signed to do exactly that without him having even played one game. That is drone behaviour.
He's come from a higher level, and Gaz has his faith in him. That should be plenty good enough for anyone, until proven different.
@bluenotes You have used a lot of words to invent a panic that never existed.
My original point was that I suspect the loan market will address the fact that we currently have a weaker squad than we did at the end of last season.
@Malone I'm not dismissing him but I doubt he will be the direct replacement for Pierre. We'll see.
We have four CBs, including what looks a clear starting pair plus Jombati (and Rowe) can cover. Cant see us signing another.
I think we possibly need another wide/ wide attack. That man may well be Nathan Tyson.
It is possible that we might bring in a kid or two and possible that on or more of Muller, De Hav, Rowe and Southwell may go out on loan and be replaced, but not sure I see a huge amount of incomers.
I do wonder if the squad lacks real quality though. Feels like another 9th - 16th finish to me.
If Kashket can stay fit and maintain his form from last year I think we'll be up there. It's a very big if though.
@DevC Maybe if you'd seem a couple of those CBs in action, you would better understand the point.
Not sure Tyson alone compensates for losing Weston, Wood and Thompson if we're talking about improving as an attacking force.
Re finishing position: Without further strengthening (which I'm sure will happen) I don't see how anyone could currently expect an improvement on last season's 9th.
Yes we had injuries and spells of poor form but that happens to most clubs, most seasons, and no doubt will again.
Seven forwards/wide midfield probably for three places (assuming Tyson signs) - that feels like quite a lot already - do you think we need an eighth?
Six players competent to play CB - do we need a seventh? (I am not going to buy the De Hav/Muller are to crap to count line - young players getting better - muller will certainly benefit from a pre-season for example)
@Vital. Quoting you from 12.28pm.
Given that the goal is to improve each year, I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect more transfer activity.
I read that to mean you would have expected more signings to have taken place by now. Perhaps I misunderstood you. I am not creating the panic, I am saying I see no reason for one.
Quoting you from 3.03pm
Brown and El Abd are clearly a downgrade on Blackman and Pierre.
How much more dismissive does it have to get?
I will reserve judgement on how well they do the job until they have had the chance to prove themselves.
@Malone. I always thought Mawson was streets ahead of Pierre. We moved on from Mawson going, I feel we will move on from Pierre going (assuming it happens).
It's all about whether you favour a negative or a positive outlook.
We've been through this, but short version...
Positive - last season - 1 point off the playoffs,despite not turning up for the first couple of months, or the month after Tottenham. Saunders, Bayo, Kashket
Negative - Pierre and keeper presumed downgrade (presumed as we haven't seen one, and we've barely seen Brown), injury threats, can Bayo be as good, a few squad players leaving.
It's summer, if you can't be positive now, you might as well give up.
@DevC It's just my opinion. If our aim is to improve each season and you accept that we are currently weaker than we were at the end of last season, then clearly there will be more signings.
Our aim will always be to improve each season. We will not always achieve our aim.
We have lost arguably the best two players - that's fairly normal for a Lg2 side. Perhaps somebody else will rise up this season.
As I say I expect the odd signing and possibly a kid or two, but not expecting a huge number. Wouldn't be surprised if one or two leave (Rowe would have my money especially if Bean re-signs).
I wouldn't see a finish of 9th to 14th as a failure.
I agree with Dev, I don't see the need for any more central defenders. We certainly don't need any more midfielders, particularly if Bean stays.
If we're persisting with 433, and I see no evidence to suggest we won't, I think we're a top-draw striker away from feeling confident about a promotion push.
I'm afraid I have lost all confidence in Hayes as a player, Southwell doesn't fit into the system, PCH hasn't ever really regained his form from his first period here, Kashket is injury prone and we can't just continue to rely on Akinfenwa, no matter how impressive he was last season.
Maybe Tyson is the answer, maybe there's simply no one in around in our budget range who is better than what we've got. But given our squad is at a decent size this season, I'd far prefer to jettison the winger on trial, accept we'll not be playing 442 again and put most of the available resources into signing a marquee front man (saving a few pennies for a young backup goalie and a trainee left back).
How many strikers do you think a league 2 club can rack up out of interest @aloysius.
Especially as Ainsworth will have a lot more faith in Hayes and Southwell then you (lots of us) do.
Bayo is the absolute key. He's near unplayable on form.And even when not he's very hard to handle.
Kashket is a different animal, he'll lose almost every 50-50, but give him a chance and he's clinical. Clearly he has to be fit, which when you're already having to have it "managed" at 21 it's very worrying.
If Tyson really is as quick as he ever was (unlikely i'd say, but he can still be quicker than most), then it's less likely he's lost his finishing knack completely.
Well @Malone - given we've lost one in Thompson and I don't expect to see much of Hayes this season and the preference is to play with three up front, I'd say we're one away from where we need to be. I just hope that plus one is a good'un.
I wonder if there are any Marcelo Trotta-types available for a season long loan? We've done well in the last few seasons with loanee keepers, defenders and midfielders, be great to get a decent prospect from the Premier League up front for a campaign.
@bluenotes Yes you misunderstood, I meant I expect more transfer activity to come.
But re: Brown & El Abd being a downgrade on Blackman & Pierre, I totally stand by that. The latter two will probably be playing at a much higher level this season.
Interesting discussion.
My first thought, in reply to @Vital 's thrust, is that we're not Man. United. We'd obviously like to strengthen the squad significantly - there's a reason we're in League Two - but we don't have unlimited resources to do so. I agree with those saying that we're in a much stronger position than this time last year.
I also agree that Brown and El Abd are, with respect to them, likely to be downgrades on Blackman and Pierre, but see my first point. I also don't think they're likely to be big,let alone disastrous, downgrades and can see them being at worst solid L2 players and possibly better than that, especially in El Abd's case. Thus, I see where Vital is coming from, but it does not cause me to be pessimistic about the current squad starting the season.
FWIW, I'd be willing to cut bait on Southwell if we could get a top-notch CF as @aloysius suggests, unless Tyson fits the Kashket-type who can play off Bayo and also be the front man if Bayo is not playing. Either way, I'd also prefer to get another full back than a central defender. For better or worse, we're well-stocked with the latter while seeming to have no cover at all for JJ. I'd also not be amazed if Sido was lined up to start at CB - he was brilliant at the end of the season and gave us another dimension. Anyone who was there able to say how we lined up at the back against Slough?
I think a lot could also depend on the likes of Southwell, Freeman, Rowe, Müller and WDH stepping up a bit more when called upon.
With a squad as small as ours, the fringe players have to be ready to come into the side and do a decent job, which didn't always happen last season, a prime example being the away game at Exeter, when GA essentially played our second string and they were completely hammered, albeit by a City team who were excellent on the night.
Southwell apparently had a good game on Saturday and I have high hopes that he, Rowe, Freeman and Müller will go on to be good players for us. I do worry a bit about Will de Hav.
You make some good points as usual @Jonny_King . I'd just add a little bit of context to that Exeter away game. Didn't it come 3 days after the Tottenham heartache? I don't think we'd have got a good result that night whatever lineup we played.
That's true, although six of the of the team that played at Exeter didn't feature against Tottenham. Fully agree that any team we put out that night would have struggled, we had a mental fixture schedule and Exeter (in particular Ollie Watkins) were superb that night.
@aloysius I wonder if Southampton might help us out with a striker this time? Sam Gallagher would be nice! Also heard good things about Ryan Seager.
@HCblue Against Slough we lined up:
1st half: Sido RB - Stewart - Muller - Trialist (Fox) LB
2nd half: Harriman - De Havilland - Fox - Jacobson
So Sido didn't get any time at CB, but that could've just been because GA needed him to do 45 mins at RB to cover for Harriman.
Thanks @Last_Quarter . How did WDH and Muller go?
Pierre isn't named in the squad for their friendly tonight against Bath.
Interesting @Gary . Could mean a few things, I guess. Maybe the deal was just to trial for the weekend. Maybe he's been made an offer and given time to figure it out. Maybe they've said thanks, but no thanks. I gather he has more than one club interested.
@HCblue Good point re Sido at CB. His performances there were a revelation.
Maybe a left back who can also play LM if we want to go 442 would not be a bad option. Didn't one of the triallists v Slough play at LB.
Good point, @DevC . Despite having some good midfielders, we've not really got a naturally left-sided one, have we?
Pierre has a meeting with Lee Johnson today.
http://www.bristolcity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=497163
Thank you bluenotes a positive post
A few unconfirmed whispers on twitter suggesting he has not been offered a deal. Just rumours though.