Our squad depth is wafer thin......

[Napper]

I have massive respect for Adam a fantastic servant to the club Dougal. However in my opinion he is not championship quality, we are all entitled to our own viewpoints.

Base on what though ? I seem to remember El Abd being alright in the champ before and surely all you can judge on is his player of the season award last season ?

He has done nothing to suggest he wont cut it unless you are counting the Reading game.

Please enlighten me

 

[Guy Fawkes]

I cant imagine there are many on here with professional football managerial experience.......

And your demonstrating why you should never be let near managing a side whether it be a professional team or a pub team.

So why do you think that you know better than Gus? You know, an experienced player at the highest level and has served his apprenticeship as assistant manager before taking over here.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I just dislike the thread title - I can't work out why, but it just feels like very poor English.

 

[Rugrat]

Unless we seriously strengthen in the transfer window we will finish lower mid-table around 16th....

I'd see 16th as a fairly decent performance ... one to build on

 

[Guy Fawkes]

I have massive respect for Adam a fantastic servant to the club Dougal. However in my opinion he is not championship quality, we are all entitled to our own viewpoints.

How anyone can judge that on the back of 2 games after the player was out injured for so long is beyond me, he looked good enough in the first game but was playing out of position in the second so these are not enough of a basis to judge the player as not up to it. I think it just shows a personal dislike for the player rather than a judgement on his ability.

Also, clearly you have no understanding of pshycology, and the effects it can have on someone in gaining a level of performance (motivation on your Football manager games) How does anyone expect a player to do well with morons waiting to pounce on any little mistake they make as proof they arn't good enough? They end up playing the safe pass going nowhere rather than the risky pass that could lead to a chance and possibly a goal, or a defender might just hoof it away rather than bring it away from the back, allowing our midfield to play further up the pitch and be more affective in linking up play ...and so on.

Some people clearly need to engage their brain first before they open their mouth or type imo. Yes, everyone has a viewpoint that they can express, by some are best kept to themselves.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

I am not talking about the volume of players who can cover I am talking about the quality of said cover

You mean those covering players who have had to play a lot more than they might have expected do to injuries and suspensions? yet we are sitting in 11th place and 4 points from the play-offs with a lot of good players to come back? - sounds like they have done fine to me.

Do you really think we would have a squad of 22 Championship division winning players (as this is what you seem to want) after a single transfer window following our promotion?

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

How can a 23 year old have growing pains FFS!!

Interestingly Buckley has only just turned 22, and it's not uncommon for some men to continue to grow until 25, so your age cap on him growing is nonsense! I recall a few years ago Steven Gerrard was suffering from similar 'growing pains' , just maybe that's the easiest way to describe the problems he's having?

 

[JCL666]

This thread is SHIT

To judge the quality of the injured players based on their limited chances at this level is a joke.

El Abds performance at Reading is not indicative of whether or not he is championship standard.
The only conclusions you could draw from that match regarding him are
1. He is not a full back
2. He is not the fastest runner

As for the squad being paper thin. Not true. What is true is that it has been decimated by injury and suspension.

 

[pork pie]

To be honest I am a little embarrassed about the fact we have a 39 year old left back, a stand in right back who would get done by Bella Emberg over 50m in El-Abd and a player in Navarro who at best is an average league 1 defensive midfielder (certainly not Champ standard)

On top of this we have 4 sick notes in Vicente, Hoskins, Buckley and Lua Lua.

Gus and Tony need to not only strengthen in Jan but ensure they strengthen with the RIGHT players.

I am not a pessimist, just being realistic.

I totally agree with you - add the boring tippy tappy football and the Club is very unlikely to sell so many Season Tickets next year. I for one cannot be asked to go to Coventry today.

 

[aolstudios]

Interestingly Buckley has only just turned 22, and it's not uncommon for some men to continue to grow until 25, so your age cap on him growing is nonsense! I recall a few years ago Steven Gerrard was suffering from similar 'growing pains' , just maybe that's the easiest way to describe the problems he's having?

tis true, so please let's get off the poor guy's back. It's obvious he's gagging to play and do well every time he steps on the pitch - as it has been with every one of the other players who've been injured this season. So please lets stop chucking out lazy, ignorant labels like 'sick note' and worse and get behind the team and the squad

 

[aolstudios]

I totally agree with you - add the boring tippy tappy football and the Club is very unlikely to sell so many Season Tickets next year. I for one cannot be asked to go to Coventry today.

did you mean 'cannot be arsed' or have you turned off your phone so no one can ask you? :guitar:

 

[Bring back Bryan wade!!]

Maybe some of you delusionists will start to understand where I am coming from now.....

 

[Mr Burns]

Maybe some of you delusionists will start to understand where I am coming from now.....

Nope. You moan we have no cover, but seem to be overlooking the fact we have a full side out unavailable at the moment, so on that basis you seem to want cover for the cover, which is why i said by your thinking we will need 33 players.

Goalkeepers - 1 position, 3 squad players
Casper Ankergren
Peter Brezovan
Michael Poke

Centerbacks - 2 positions, 7 squad players
Gordon Greer
Lewis Dunk
Romain Vincelot
Adam El-Abd
Steve Cook
Tommy Elphick
Inigo Calderon

Full backs - 2 positions, 4 players
Inigo Calderon
Marcos Painter
Mauricio Taricco
Romain Vincelot

Center Midfield - 2 or 3 positions, 8 players minimum
Liam Bridcutt
Alan Navarro
Ryan Harley
Adam El-Abd
Gary Dicker
Matt Sparrow
Yaser Kasim
Jake Forster-Caskey
(excluding players like Noone who can play at the point of a diamond if we chose that formation)

Wingers - 1 or 2 positions, 4 players
Craig Noone
Vincente Rodriguez
Kazenga Lua Lua
Will Buckley

Strikers - 1 or 2 positions, 4 players
Craig Mackail-Smith
Ashley Barnes
Will Buckley
Will Hoskins
(Billy Paynter was then brought due to Buckley and Hoskins being out injured, showing the manager reacting to a situation not of his making)

So we actually had a decent amount of cover in our 24 man squad for this season and prior to the injuries and suspensions that we are currently suffering (which is why we have a squad of players anyway, to cover for these eventualities should they occur) - so what is your point again?

* this doesn't include some of the other youngsters who might also be able to step up if needed, like Grant Hall

Seems to be a post you have conveniently ignored.

We have cover for all positions.

They are not all championship quailty, but you need to understand you cannot just go out and buy 20 new championship quaility players in one transfer window.

We are in a injury/suspension crisis the likes of which I can't remember.

So stop whinging. It will improve, we do have a big enough squad, we do have cover, not as good as the ones that are missing granted, but then thats why the players coming in are cover.




So to keep things simple, a few easy questions to start with....

Do you actually realise and understand we have a whole first team side out unavailable to play at the moment??

How much cover do you think we can maintain?

Did you really honestly except Gus to turn a lower half struggling 1st Division squad, into championship quaility squad in less than two full seasons?

And if you did, did you really except him to not only have a championship quaility starting eleven, but also have championship quiaility back up eleven as well......... within 6 months of getting promoted?

 

[Mr Burns]

Grant Hall a championship quality CB?!? FFS Burns you really are an imbecile of the highest order

Where have I said Hall is championshp quailty? He may well be, he may be the next Dunk. he may not be. But he's cover.

Where have I ever said we need 33 players you fool.....

Judging by you are not happy that Grant Hall in your view a non championship quaility player is on the bench (even though he is probably 8th choice Centre back), I would say by that logic, if you expect proven championship quaility players that far down the pecking order, I'd say a squad of 33 would even struggle to be enough........ now whos the fool?

 

[Lindfield by the Pond]

Not waffer thin - on the back of most programs from the games, we have an average sized squad. We have both a discipline problem and Gus has signed a few sicknotes.

Gus can only directly effect discipline and he really should cut out all the histrionics. It really doesn't help us. It is a balance though, as if you take the latino temperament out of Gus, you take out the thing that has attracted players like CMS to the squad.

Indirectly, he is learning about signing players, but that will need time and experience to improve.