Stronger Outfit

[Willy Dangle]

Do we have a stronger, better more competitive squad this season.

Your views?

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

We have a better squad than this time last season for sure. A few more loans and a permanent signing or two and we should be more than fine. We just need to work on killing games off when we are on top but that's nothing new...

 

[beorhthelm]

cant say it is with loss of Bridge, Agustien is only player in so far who is par or better than present players.

 

[Icy Gull]

cant say it is with loss of Bridge, Agustien is only player in so far who is par or better than present players.

Augustien and Andrews look like they'll be a big improvement on Hammond and Dicker to me.

Bridge apart we are are stronger and importantly more experienced side but I was pretty impressed with Ward yesterday once he got over his shakey start.

 

[KZNSeagull]

A key player we did not really have covered last year was Bridcutt, now we have Andrews and Ince who seem to have done pretty well so far. Agustien is an improvement also. We are never going to replace Bridge with the same calibre player, but Ward seemed to do OK yesterday from accounts. Ulloa and Upson from the start of the season is a vast improvement on last year.

Where we may be slightly weaker is in the flairmeister/winger department as KLL is sulking and Vicente has gone.

But all in all, I would say that we are definitely stronger than this time last year

 

[upthealbion1970]

cant say it is with loss of Bridge, Agustien is only player in so far who is par or better than present players.

Agustien and Andrews are better than dicker and Hammond. Chicksen has something that paints didn't and that's pace. Ince & march coming through plus jfc as well. Compared to the start of last season there's also upson & Ulloa so I'd say that overall we are stronger & better.

 

[scooter1]

Definitely more solid this year. I think the only thing we really need is a proven finisher(Billy Sharp please) to take the pressure off Ulloa. Once we have CMS, Chicksen, Bruno and Bridcutt fit, we should be competative again. Although I fear Bruno is going to be our new Vicente..

 

[TSB]

Starting line-up:
The best goalie in the division
One of the best centre-backs in the league
Best defensive midfielder in the league
Agustien could be one of the very best centre midfielders
Extremely skillful left midfielder
One of the best wingers in the league (when he finds form)
A top-3 striker in the league
Very decent backup striker
A penalty taker that hasn't missed yet
Lots of competent try-hards

Needs more depth, especially at full back, and the squad will never be as strong as Reading, QPR, Wigan or Forest...but I targeted 5th before the season started and I see no reason we can't finish there.

On paper, we're better than: Yeovil, Doncaster, Birmingham, Leeds, Derby, Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, Millwall, Bournemouth, Charlton, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield, Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley.
Whether that'll be born out in results-who knows.

 

[Husty]

I thought we'd all agreed last week we were terrible and were going to struggle all season as we had zero organization and were making terrible signings?

 

[Daffy Duck]

And, after yesterday's result (OK, I know it's just one game), it would seem that Oscar most definitely has done his homework on the Championship, despite all the doom and gloom merchants on here earlier.

He appears to be turning us into a hard-working, stronger team.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I'm still concerned by the balance in the team when Orlandi isn't available. I wasn't there yesterday, so I can't really comment on the shape, but for someone who was there - was anything done about covering the left side of the pitch? Or did we have Calderon, Dave and Buckley all in the same space with Ward left on his own on the other side? Or was the team more balanced?

 

[Uncle Buck]

I'm still concerned by the balance in the team when Orlandi isn't available. I wasn't there yesterday, so I can't really comment on the shape, but for someone who was there - was anything done about covering the left side of the pitch? Or did we have Calderon, Dave and Buckley all in the same space with Ward left on his own on the other side? Or was the team more balanced?

The left is still a bit of an issue, but having a left back helped, as it gave us an outlet. Where as for the first 3 games, there was nothing of note.

The big difference yesterday was we were organised, retained the ball and for the most controlled the game.

 

[fleet]

Concerned about RB still - both our options there are better going forward than they are at defending. Also remain concerned about how we turn chances into goals more often, we need another finisher to chip in with 20 + goals. Generally more optimistic now though. Strange really as the game yesterday was not so different to the other two that we lost, and if we had lost and been bottom we would all be saying different things. If we had won all 3 - which we should possible have doen - we would be sure we had the best squad ever!

 

[Knotty]

On paper, we're better than: Yeovil, Doncaster, Birmingham, Leeds, Derby, Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, Millwall, Bournemouth, Charlton, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield, Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley.

That's a very sweeping statement!

Have you made an in-depth analysis of the squads of each of those clubs? Players out, players in? I thought I had a fairly good knowledge of football but I couldn't begin to make any informed judgement of who will be better than us and who worse without being able to see them play. And even then watching them play us twice in a season, plus a few highlights on TV still wouldn't give me anything like a well-informed view.

Surely, at this stage, anything is a guess, mixed with wishful thinking. And I like wishful thinking - it's better than being a doom merchant!

 

[Tony Towner's Fridge]

A key player we did not really have covered last year was Bridcutt, now we have Andrews and Ince who seem to have done pretty well so far. Agustien is an improvement also. We are never going to replace Bridge with the same calibre player, but Ward seemed to do OK yesterday from accounts. Ulloa and Upson from the start of the season is a vast improvement on last year.

Where we may be slightly weaker is in the flairmeister/winger department as KLL is sulking and Vicente has gone.

But all in all, I would say that we are definitely stronger than this time last year

Agree. Also we have JFC and March this season which must be a serious plus overall and also a fillip for those wishing to come through the development squad.
I loved the post Brum interview at the end when Oscar was checking his English with Nathan. Crofty made an interesting statement also about the two of them and how much he is enjoying training.

A stuttering start, we haven't come across one of the top teams yet but surely the next two matches are eminently winnable and a 9 point haul from the first five matches would be an extrapolated 82 point haul this season, which would be nice.

One thing is for sure, the legal wrangle apart, I doubt we will be as much in the news this season under Oscar.

oh and he dedicated the win to the travelling fans, nice touch.

TNBA

TTF

 

[Seaber]

Painter - Chicksen
Bridge - Ward
Dicker - Agustien
Hammond - Andrews
Vicente - n/a

I'd say we're just about stronger, although the loss of Bridge is pretty big. Hopefully Ward can fill those shoes. Need another midfielder though.

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

We are missing that 8.5/10 player that Bridge was and Vicente was when he was available. However we have replaced our 6/10s with 7/10s and the young'uns have developed further so pound for pound we are stronger but just need that one or two 'wow' players to nail it.

 

[nwgull]

Ulloa and Upson for the whole season outweighs the loss of Bridge, even without the other new signings taken into account.

 

[forumwayseagull]

I'm expecting a couple of signings.....typical never heard of type player from Spain who will be free, and a loan from Chelsea etc ( young uP and coming type)

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

With CMS out until at least September, and Hoskins possibly out for the rest of his contract, we are really light up front this season, and will struggle if Leo gets injured.