Blimy. But fudge, how can you be certain? It is obvious I want SD to stay? Your source could be wrong, or slightly innacurate *breaks down in tears*
Yes....we have....and over the coming weeks the truth will no doubt come out. That's why I kept trying to tell people about Bassini. Some still will not believe how bad it was, but we are very fortunate how this played out. I am happy the club is now in VERY good hands.
Blimey, I have always been on the fence about pretty much everything as I am as far from ITK as it is possible to be. I know you can't say anymore now, is it one of those situations where we will never know the full story? Legal issues etc? Cheers in advance
[video=youtube;jHPOzQzk9Qo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jHPOzQzk9Qo[/video]
So how has Bassini made statements to the contrary? Did he do the bare minimum, so on the face of it everything seemed ok? Happy to be PM'd if you can't reveal on here, thanks.
There there, have a good cry into the Gianfranco's bosom of increased player pulling power, attractive football and undeniable charm. He's even got his hair back after a brief absence! There's absolutely no doubting that Sean had a good 6 months at the end of the season, and that 11th position was well above expectations. But it's Gianfranco Zola. Footballing great. Has achieved the highest position in England of any other manager in the league. Really lovely chap. What's not to like!
I know, but Dyche was building something special, the foundations had already been formed. I'll just need convincing if he goes, SD deserves to stay
Oh give me a break, this is exactly the sort of over the top, Dyche love that p*sses me off. I like the guy and yes he did very well last season and absolutely deserves another crack at it this year, but the way some on here treat him like some sort of miracle working messiah drives me insane.
I completely agree that he doesn't deserve to get sacked yet, but sometimes a change of manager just suits a club. Newcastle sacking Chris Houghton and WBA sacking Di Matteo are good examples of late, but both clubs went to improved performances afterwards, with both managers remaining in demand afterwards. My ideal situation would be if Sean left harmoniously with a thank you from the club, he found other work in the Championship straight away, and then we battered them later in the season.
[video=youtube;plZRe1kPWZw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plZRe1kPWZw&feature=player_detailpage[/video]
I went to pretty much every game and it's not over the top imo, never seen a better team spirit and we were improving with every game, with a limited squad and resources. If he stays, I'll bet anyone we'l get the play-offs.
Again, the squad was nowhere near as limited as everyone likes to make out, it was a very capable, if far from spectacular, Championship squad. But Dyche has done very well and it'd be nice if he does get his chance, however if the new owners decide he's not the man for the job then so be it, it's not the end of the world.
Hmmm going forward it was very much limited, especially pre-Murray. Only 1 natural winger, 1 in-form ST, who was in his first season starting regularly, no attacking CM, no properly proven LB. Peterborough away was the most one-sided game i've ever seen us play n the 1st half, lovely football with a first XI that you'd never expect to see it from.
Personally I thought ****inson ended the season in very good form, if he can play like that all season he's got the position sewn up.
We need players to fill the following positions... - Strikers? We need at least 3 of them, all of whom are capable are playing in the starting line up on match day so no developmental players please. - Wingers? Get rid of Yeates, and send Forsyth out on loan. 2 left wingers are needed then IMO, as well as a quality right winger to compete with Murray. He is outstanding yes, but is still only a boy and teams will be much more aware of him next season and will look to rough him up by giving him a few kicks and a hard time generally. - Centre mids? None needed. - Left back? A quality left back is needed to compete/replace ****inson. - Centre back? None needed I think, but if Mariappa goes then we will need a replacement. - Right back? None needed. - Goalkeeper? A quality keeper who can be relied upon by his defence, and who can be expected to play 46 games next season and be no. 1. Could this be Heaton? We shall wait and see. Looking at the above then, that's 8 players. 3 strikers, 3 wingers, a left back and a goalkeeper (9 potentially if Mapps goes). Thoughts?
Agree completely. Btw sorry if I sounded snatchy there Nath, the 'so no, I won't...' was tongue in cheek.
If Mapps goes we still have Taylor, Nynoz & Bennett with the likes of Hoban and Thompson as youthful back ups, not too mention we still have Mirfin on the books, so no replacement needed there. I expect we will have to move a few players on, priorities are the forward line and left wing.
I generally agree with all of the above, but if we do get all these players in we have got to ship out an equal number or the acadamy lads will have no chance of being on the fringe of the first team. Re the strikers we only need 3 if Deeney is definately getting thrown out. Allowing for good behaviour he would be out of prison by November. Among the players that need to be released are Mirfin (I assume he never went back to S****horpe), Jenkins (although I think he has a future elsewhere), Yeates, Loach, Garner and Whichelow. Despite being very critical of Emu in the past, I would actually keep him particularly as you can now have 7 on the bench.
Hoban is going to Italy for a year and will return as the second coming of Cannovar.... Canavarr...... Nesta
Exactly. The only CB's we have now who are capable of playing 1st team football and delivering are Taylor, Nuggsy and Bennett. I'm sorry but Hoban is 18. If he was mature enough to play for us at his age, then he would have by now. A season out on loan for him I think. Mirfin? Not sure about him. The fact he never put up a fight to play tells me he's not good enough. Oh and Thompson is a right back!!!
Thompson has always played Centre Back in the reserve and youth teams in the same way that Mapps started as a Right Back but was really a Centre Back. We don't need more than 3 Centre Backs for the first team squad with the ability to recall a couple of the youngsters from their loans if necessary.
True, though I was speaking from the point of view that Deeney will get chucked out, which is what I think will happen. On your academy point, I would only play them and have them on the bench if I feel they can make an impact and have something to offer generally, not because we are famed for giving youth a chance and not because we need to fill up the numbers. Some of the academy players need game time, but there are hundreds of clubs out there who are willing to give them that game time and if and when they are good enough, they will come back here and challenge for a role in the 1st team.
Erm, Ross Wilson is 'Head of Football Business' is he not? Or is that just a flashier job title than 'Director of Football'?
Hmm I disagree. You must have 2 players for every position, and those 2 players absolutely NEED to be good enough to step up at a moment's notice. Now, we have Mariappa, Nuggsy, Taylor and Bennett, but if Mariappa goes then we need a quality replacement. I still think Thompson's a right back btw, going from what the Brentford fans have said about him, but see what you mean re. Mariappa.
Just because the takeover's gone through doesn't mean we can start throwing money around willy-nilly. With 7 subs again this year we would potentially have one on the bench but the other would be sat around gathering dust. If you've always got 3 CB's available with the option of recalling one of the youngsters at a moment's notice then you have enough cover.
People seem to be suggesting that we're now super-loaded. Whether or not this is the case, who knows. All I would say is that if you look at the business models of both Udinese and Granada it definitely isn't about throwing money around. The Pozzo's have invested a lot in a world-class scouting facility which brings them highly-rated youngsters who represent value. I think we'll soon find that we're either part of this or doing something similar. I.e. Not becoming the next Leicester.
I didn't mean that, and you don't have to throw money around 'willy nilly'. Cover at CB can be found in the loan market, which we now have far greater access to that we have done before. On your bit in bold, yes of course you have cover, but there's no point in recalling that cover if he's out on loan to gain experience because he's not currently good enough in the first place is there?
Agreed, I still expect us to sell Mapps and potentially Loachy to generate some transfer funds and help with running costs while we clear out some fringe players like Garner, Yeates and Mirfin to trim the wage bill.
I'm not sure who you're talking about there. If you're directing that at me, I clearly wasn't as I've made aware, but if it's not clear then it's not my belief that we should go throwing cash around, whether we are super loaded or not.
No, no. No-one in particular, just anyone who is under the impression that we are going to be throwing around seven-figure fees all summer.
We only send the youngsters out on rolling monthly youth loans anyway, no point to waste one of our precious loan spots to sign someone as cover for the first team. Whilst we can have unlimited overseas loans we can only name 5 in the matchday squad at one time. We should be using this to strengthen the forward line and wings. If you look at last season most of the time we had only 3 Centre Backs available at one time when you take injuries into the equation.
In regards to the limited loans.... What the Pozzo's seem to do, is make a transfer on a free between Udinese and Granada, and the sell the player back for free at the end of the season to get around it.
I should make clear that I'm thinking from the point of view that the Pozzo's want premier league football, if not next season then the season after that and will subsequently expect us to challenge throughout the season more so that we have done. Because of this, 'cover' was not really the right word to use, 'competition' is a far better one as any team who's owner has this ambition will look to have players that can step up, as opposed to filling in the gaps. On your bit in bold, you're talking like we already know the players available out there on permanent contracts. To be honest I think the club will just have to see what players of what positions are available on the market at the moment and then go from there. If there are more good CB's available to buy than strikers, then we will probably sign a CB and vica-versa.
