Will we make ANY signings?

[Lammy]

I'd play Jones on the left (Until we find out whether he's having a genius or shit day) Hart on the right with Chippy, Reid and Oatway in the middle. I'd use Piercy as a untility play to swap with any of these roles. A bit thin hence why we need investment here.

 

[CHAPPERS]

I do like HJones more when he gets closer to the goal. Unfortuantely he alwys seems to be hugging the half way line so possibly if he starts furthur up the pitch he can be more of a threat to goal. I think Piercy should be more of a utility player.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Lammy

Now you are depressing me.

jones on the right and harty on the left.

Keep that quiet, the rest of the division will be shitting themselves if that ever gets out!

Come on guys...hands on heart.....we scraped up last year after playing horribly in most games last year. I recon the following players will struggle next year:

Roberts
Butters
Jones
carpenter
Hart
Roger ( remember he is injury prone and hasn't played for yonks now)
Knight ( i used to watch him at Hudders and he is not a first division player)

this is one of the reasons I am more dispondant about this season. I am looking for match winners and at the moment I cannot point at one.

But look on the bright side....it doesn't matter what we do on the pitch because Precott may say yes and investment will flow into the club like a big flowing thing. COME ON JOHN

 

[Lammy]

Stop moaning Dave!

 

[Publius Ovidius]

I am not moaning...as I keep saying...it doesn't matter does it...look at the bigger picture mate.

 

[Lammy]

Lammy

Now you are depressing me.

jones on the right and harty on the left.

Keep that quiet, the rest of the division will be shitting themselves if that ever gets out!

Come on guys...hands on heart.....we scraped up last year after playing horribly in most games last year. I recon the following players will struggle next year:

Roberts
Butters
Jones
carpenter
Hart
Roger ( remember he is injury prone and hasn't played for yonks now)
Knight ( i used to watch him at Hudders and he is not a first division player)

this is one of the reasons I am more dispondant about this season. I am looking for match winners and at the moment I cannot point at one.

But look on the bright side....it doesn't matter what we do on the pitch because Precott may say yes and investment will flow into the club like a big flowing thing. COME ON JOHN

Seriously though I think you're being a bit over pesemistic here.

Roberts, Butters and Chippy are good enough quality to be in a div 1 side that is not relegated. The jury is out on Roger and Blackwell as their long term injuries may well have effected their game forever.

Jones can do a job for us if he plays well. He's not afraid to run at defenders and defenders don't like it. Hart is out of the same mould. They're not world beaters but they are good enough squad players. I'm still undesided with Reid and Oatway is going to have very limited use this season. Basically Oatway is going to be used as a man marker and a play disrupter, no more. Hence why we need a couple more midfield players. Maybe one younger player not getting first team football in the Prem and an old head towards the end of his career. Wages won't be cheap for the latter but I fear it is a luxury we can ill afford to do without.

I strongly dissagree with you regarding Knight. Like Zamora if he is given the chances he will tuck a good few goals away. 15 goals will be good. But we need a midfield in order to carve out these chances. Route one football may have scraped us out of div 2 but it won't cut it in div 1. McPhee and Robinson need to prove themselves this season. If they can't cut it then (especially McPhee) it's time to move on.

Robert and Kuipers are more than enough between the sticks! In fact I would argue that we should be looking to sell one of them inorder to free up more cash for outfield players.

 

[Dancin Ninja BHA]

Although I share Dave's pessimisum (sp?) I would say that there may be a few players in the current squad that surprise us next season

Re: to Mayo, who had a great season in Division 1 when most fans, hand on heart, thought he would struggle big time

 

[Lammy]

Although I share Dave's pessimisum (sp?) I would say that there may be a few players in the current squad that surprise us next season

Re: to Mayo, who had a great season in Division 1 when most fans, hand on heart, thought he would struggle big time

Mayo hardly got a game last season once Harding stepped up. Defence is sound, is there anyone out there (apart from Dave) that thinks we need to invest in out defence? Personally I wouldn't want to rock the boat. It's a solid unit and only a fool would tinker with it. They at least deserve their chance first.

Next season I will be looking for more from McPhee and Robinson. Age aside, we will need them to perform. Knight needs to mature as a person a bit and he will be fine.

So if we get one striker in to replace Iwelumo the stike force is sorted.

But where do we begin in midfield? It's an area that has been neglected for so long now it's going to be one hell of a job to sort it out and get them working well together. THAT is what worries the hell out of me!

 

[Lammy]

It's interesting to see that Yorkie has vanished from this thread now that we are debating properly the issues at hand at the club rather than seeing everything in black and white. i.e. Moaning or blind optimism.

 

[Set of Tracksuits]

because of the obvious finanical constraints we've got to prioritise and make sure that the players we sign are genuinely better than those we already have. we really need another centre half, i know butters had a great season but he and dean blackwell will get found out for pace in this division with the likes of darren bent around.

we're gonna need at least one creative midfielder whose got a fair bit of pace. jones and hart will cope at this level without actually making a positive difference to the outcome of matches and that won't be enough. i personally think that we'll need another central midfielder, cos i can't honestly see rodger being fit enough to last the season, or oatway being good enough. chippy and reid will hold their own i think, but we need more strength in depth.

we could really do with two strikers as well. although none of us like it, we played effectively with a big target man up front and i think we'll have to stick to what we're good at to survive in this division. if we try and out-pass teams i think we'll struggle. so we need another big target man to replace iwelumo and i think we need a proven goalscorer on the bench to keep knight under some pressure for his place. don't think robinson is ready yet to play any part in the first team other than a last twenty minutes substitute and chris mcphee, although i admire him as a player for the work he puts in, may struggle at this level as well.

i think we'll be ok for keepers and full-backs, as i say, we will have to prioritise.

 

[Lammy]

because of the obvious finanical constraints we've got to prioritise and make sure that the players we sign are genuinely better than those we already have. we really need another centre half, i know butters had a great season but he and dean blackwell will get found out for pace in this division with the likes of darren bent around.

we're gonna need at least one creative midfielder whose got a fair bit of pace. jones and hart will cope at this level without actually making a positive difference to the outcome of matches and that won't be enough. i personally think that we'll need another central midfielder, cos i can't honestly see rodger being fit enough to last the season, or oatway being good enough. chippy and reid will hold their own i think, but we need more strength in depth.

we could really do with two strikers as well. although none of us like it, we played effectively with a big target man up front and i think we'll have to stick to what we're good at to survive in this division. if we try and out-pass teams i think we'll struggle. so we need another big target man to replace iwelumo and i think we need a proven goalscorer on the bench to keep knight under some pressure for his place. don't think robinson is ready yet to play any part in the first team other than a last twenty minutes substitute and chris mcphee, although i admire him as a player for the work he puts in, may struggle at this level as well.

i think we'll be ok for keepers and full-backs, as i say, we will have to prioritise.

I pretty much agree with all of that except the central defender bit. We have so many defenders at this club it is ridiculous. Virgo is ample cover for Butters IMHO. But I don't think Butters will need it. If he just keeps his football simple and avoids giving away penalties he'll be fine. Don't forget we have the likes of El-Abe on the bench too. And if we get really desperate Mayo and Watson. Id like to see at least two of these (err hmm Watson) shipped out before we bring any new blood in at the back.

 

[Dancin Ninja BHA]

jones and hart will cope at this level without actually making a positive difference to the outcome of matches and that won't be enough

Poor old Harty has NEVER been the same player since he broke his leg at Posh 2 years back

Which is a shame, as, without fail, he gives maximum commitment to the Albion cause, even if the team are struggling

Don't get me started on Jones, has a purple patch for 5 mins per game and then gives the ball away 15x and shirkes the tackle....but then in the absence of anyone else, I will have to give him the benefit of the doubt (again!!) for the upcoming season

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Ok then...cast your mind back.

Chippy only played well when he had a decent midfielder next to him so giving him space, ie Lewis, Ingmarrsen etc

Reid struggled at Bradford!!!!

Butters played a blinder last year, but has not got the pace to cope with First Divi strikers.

Roberts is too unpredicatable...in the First division, we cannot afford any mistakes. In the second, you can get away with it as the strikers are not that sharpe. The first division is crawling with foreign strikers looking for premiership contracts.

Jones and Hart are 20 minute players. We need ast least 80 minute players

Roger I recon will never be fit again. A shame but there you are

Knight will not be given any space. If he was that good, he would have been snapped up by a first divi team by now...something is not there.

Cullip struggled until Blackwell and ingmarrsen joined to take the pressure off.

This is not a moan, just how I see it. I think the yougsters will do well if not thrown into the fray straight away...a la hinshelwood. This is what worries my about Jakie.

 

[Lammy]

Chippy only played well when he had a decent midfielder next to him so giving him space, ie Lewis, Ingmarrsen etc

- Precisely why we need to strengthen midfield

Reid struggled at Bradford!!!!

- Ditto

Butters played a blinder last year, but has not got the pace to cope with First Divi strikers.

- I think he will be okay. I'm at least willing to give him the chance. I'm not going to worry about a replacement for him ore-season anyway. Leave the defence alone.

Roberts is too unpredicatable...in the First division, we cannot afford any mistakes. In the second, you can get away with it as the strikers are not that sharpe. The first division is crawling with foreign strikers looking for premiership contracts.

- Maybe so but ALL keepers make mistakes. Roberts, generally is a very good keeper and he is better than a lot of the existing keepers at Div 1.

Jones and Hart are 20 minute players. We need ast least 80 minute players

- Agree with that. Oh look, again it's a midfield issue.

Roger I recon will never be fit again. A shame but there you are

- Agree with that. Oh look, again it's a midfield issue.

Knight will not be given any space. If he was that good, he would have been snapped up by a first divi team by now...something is not there.

- Maybe so but if you apply that logic then no promoted side is good enough. He will have to play up front on his own a lot of the time. If he can't do it then we may aswell get rid of him and replace him. Again, I'm willing to give him the chance. All we need is another Striker to put the pressure on him.

- Cullip struggled until Blackwell and ingmarrsen joined to take the pressure off.

Not sure about this. I think he struggled due to the fact that Butters was shit then. He was constantly having to cover his mistakes. They are both solid now and have a good understanding of each others game. i.e. they don't keep going for the same ball.

This is not a moan, just how I see it. I think the yougsters will do well if not thrown into the fray straight away...a la hinshelwood. This is what worries my about Jakie.

- Yup totally agree.

 

[Albionite83]

McPhee and Robinson need to prove themselves this season. If they can't cut it then (especially McPhee) it's time to move on.

That is 1 of the silliest things I have ever seen on here. Robinson is SEVENTEEN. I think he'll do well if he gets the chance this season, but to suggest he leaves the club if he doesn't "prove" himself this season is simply ridiculous. There would be plenty of takers at our level and above.

 

[Lammy]

That is 1 of the silliest things I have ever seen on here. Robinson is SEVENTEEN. I think he'll do well if he gets the chance this season, but to suggest he leaves the club if he doesn't "prove" himself this season is simply ridiculous. There would be plenty of takers at our level and above.

You're right. Having re-read that it sounded a bit daft. What I meant was.

I'd expect to see more from McPhee. If he cannot cut it or at least show signs of being able to cut it at this level then we need to think seriously about his future with us.

As for Jake I didn't mean we should get rid of him. What I meant was, he should be given more of a chance to prove himself and yes I'd expcet to see signs that he is developing as a div 1 capable player. If you're good enough you old enough.

I'd also like to say that Jake, although promising for the future, is no Wayne Rooney and I think people should calm down about all this "He'll be snapped up" crap. No he won't. He's good, but not THAT good.

 

[Don Tmatter]

The time to worry and moan is the Thursday before the Reading match, if we haven't brought anyone in by then, then we can worry.

 

[Lammy]

The time to worry and moan is the Thursday before the Reading match, if we haven't brought anyone in by then, then we can worry.

You're right. Two years ago we didn't have a manager yet but there was plenty of time. As long as we had one in place the day before kick off and we were fine...

...hang on a minute?

 

[Lammy]

So we're all agreed then. I'm right

 

[BensGrandad]

Jakle Robinson looked to have been playing at his level in the friendly vs Worthing. It is early days but I feel that he is too slow of thought as he couldn't read what the other players were going to do. He was completly cut out at every move by the big coloured centre back of Worthing (not rasict but do not know his name and the best way to describe which one of the two central defenders). He was too slow, at 17 you expect them to be very quick, not enough meat on him due to his age and was knoocked off the ball too easily. His first touch was awful. Can not see him being the answer to our prayers for a striker for a long time yet ,definitely not this season in this division,but we must persevere because he is young and has potential.