gurujuan Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 As we approach the closing of this current loan window, I think we are probably three players off being a side that can challenge. We are unlikely to bring in any more than one, probably a striker, this window. We currently sit bang in the middle of the table, something we would have settled for before a ball was kicked. Looking at the squad, we have a very good back five, in fact as good as any in the division. All these players are our own. We also have an experience five to back those up, so there are no worries about our defence. Central midfield, we have two enforcers, the talented, but currently injured Hutchinson, and the ever reliable Semedo. In McGugan, Lee and Coke, we have enough talent to be able to field either, a central two, or a three when needed. I also believe Maghoma will end up in this area also, it's his best position in my opinion. Outside of them, we can pick from that man Maghoma, plus Maguire and another loanee, Dutchman Royston Drenthe. Lavery might also be called upon to play wide on occasion. The midfield is steady but I feel we could do with another wideman, especially as both Maguire and Maghoma tend to drift towards the middle. Up front, this is where we have the problems. Our four options, Nuhiu, May, Madine and Lavery, are all relatively young, and inexperienced at this level. All have a chance of making it, but are unlikely to be the answer this season. Another worry, there doesn't seem to be a pairing amongst them. Ideally, we'd add another two. An experienced goalscorer, and someone with a bit of pace to stretch teams and stop them defending so high up the pitch. So, my assessment is, three players, and we could mount a challenge for the play offs. A more realistic scenario, an experienced striker in before Thursday and we can start to take the game to the opposition, especially at Hillsborough where, quite frankly, we've been well short. In summary, with this squad, we are currently where I hoped we'd be. Get the long overdue striker in and who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreshOwl Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Would agree with all that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowl Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 My assessment. Look at this ball inside the full back just before Lees wonder tackle... That's what we are lacking , a player with the vision to play those balls and a player with the speed to capitalise on those balls. If we can play those balls we can put such dangerous crosses into the box that one of them is bound to go in off one of our strikers no matter how desperately they try to miscue it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hasthagotanycheese Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 For once Guru you are right on the money with this. Would be amazed if we got anybody in before the deadline......no phooker asides from hasbeens and neverbeens wants to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurujuan Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 My assessment. Look at this ball inside the full back just before Lees wonder tackle... That's what we are lacking , a player with the vision to play those balls and a player with the speed to capitalise on those balls. If we can play those balls we can put such dangerous crosses into the box that one of them is bound to go in off one of our strikers no matter how desperately they try to miscue it Excellent move that, and great work from Lees To be fair, I've seen us do similar early season. Not recently, and not on a regular basis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S36 OWL Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Spot on assessment Guru . our problems are obvious to all who watch us. McGugan is a good signing who will provide some creativity from midfield ,and as a bonus he is a deadball specialist. But we must get an experienced striker signed before thursday or its going to be a very long winter where can could easily find ourselves in the bottom three BEFORE the January window opens. I hope the tight old git realises just how important it is to get this striker in by thursday . its in his hands to decide weather he is willing to spend some money on a decent ,experienced striker to help us move upwards , or do nothing and gamble on staying out of the bottom three. the next couple of days really could make or break our season. sign a decent striker ( not an old has been who`s legs have gone) and we could still have a good season , do nothing and its going to be the same old struggle till may. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torres Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 My assessment. Look at this ball inside the full back just before Lees wonder tackle... That's what we are lacking , a player with the vision to play those balls and a player with the speed to capitalise on those balls. If we can play those balls we can put such dangerous crosses into the box that one of them is bound to go in off one of our strikers no matter how desperately they try to miscue it Maghoma did it for May and we hit the bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfmanjack Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Spot on, other than:- Palmer isn't and never will be, a Championship quality right back. Maghoma is a fourth division player, and Semedo, Coke and Lee are third division players at best. we struggled with those players last season, and without the input of some very good loan signings would have had a major battle against relegation. We need a decent right back (and I don't mean Buxton) and two more quality midfield players, AND a fit Sam Hutchinson to have any prospect of finishing in the top seven or eight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wisey Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Spot on, other than:- Palmer isn't and never will be, a Championship quality right back. Maghoma is a fourth division player, and Semedo, Coke and Lee are third division players at best. we struggled with those players last season, and without the input of some very good loan signings would have had a major battle against relegation. We need a decent right back (and I don't mean Buxton) and two more quality midfield players, AND a fit Sam Hutchinson to have any prospect of finishing in the top seven or eight. Now this is more accurate/\/\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hunt Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Spot on, other than:- Palmer isn't and never will be, a Championship quality right back. Maghoma is a fourth division player, and Semedo, Coke and Lee are third division players at best. we struggled with those players last season, and without the input of some very good loan signings would have had a major battle against relegation. We need a decent right back (and I don't mean Buxton) and two more quality midfield players, AND a fit Sam Hutchinson to have any prospect of finishing in the top seven or eight. Fvckmesideways ! Edited November 24, 2014 by hugeowl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiJ Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Lee needs to start showing last seasons form. Semi does a job, but needs someone of real quality alongside him. Coke is crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss Toni Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 My assessment. Look at this ball inside the full back just before Lees wonder tackle... That's what we are lacking , a player with the vision to play those balls and a player with the speed to capitalise on those balls. If we can play those balls we can put such dangerous crosses into the box that one of them is bound to go in off one of our strikers no matter how desperately they try to miscue it It was Maghoma falling asleep and not tracking back which allowed this to happen. I'm just not sure what he adds to our team?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiJ Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 It was Maghoma falling asleep and not tracking back which allowed this to happen. I'm just not sure what he adds to our team?!I don't think he's as good as JJ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash60s Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 The younger players have this season to reach full potential - if not we have to ship 'em out. I doubt Coke Lee Maghoma Madine will ever become better than Div 1 players I could be wrong - hope they prove me wrong - but I doubt it!! Up front we are much of a muchness and as yet there doesn't appear to be a decent gelling of any pairing of the strikers May & Lavery are obviously long term owls so jury out on Nuhiu & Maguire who both seem to have had polar form this season. Nuhiu is better than last Year but Maguire has dropped off drastically. We, as a team/squad, need to believe in ourselves and we need to kill off this so called Hillsborough Hoodoo - and quick! All teams in Championship know we are nervous at home, add that to the fact that if any visitors go 0-1 up how do we come back and make a decent fist of the match? Its not ALL doom & gloom just saying what I see but although we get plenty of draws, do bear in mind that a draw isn't always a point gained, many times for us its 2 points lost. WAWAW UTO IWTID Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurujuan Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) That was meant to be my overall assessment of where we're at. Of course we could improve in virtually every position, but that ain't gonna happen. Realistically we'll only get a striker this window, so let's hope it matches the chairmans criteria of what he said, and we all agree, we need. We do have players who still have a lot to prove, but a lot of those mentioned are reasonably new to the division. As I said, three good players, and I think we'd have a squad good enough to compete with most. However, a decent striker alone will make a huge difference. Edited November 24, 2014 by gurujuan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightace Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 The division is so tight and almost every club outside the top 6 is just 3 players away from being up there. Difference is we wont get those 3 players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cory Handar Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Was going well until Giles coke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurujuan Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 The division is so tight and almost every club outside the top 6 is just 3 players away from being up there. Difference is we wont get those 3 players. Yeah you have a point. I was working on the principle that most of the other clubs did their summer recruiting, actually in the summer. We on the other hand, are still doing ours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronio Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 A good assessment. Ideally 3 would be perfect for a playoff push, I personally can see us bringing in only 1 player, a striker. I think a few of our players need to step up their performances, mainly from Maghoma, Maguire, Lee, Coke and a few others. Having Lavery back will be a big boost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAT OWL Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Some very positive constructive posts.... But I still can't help thinking that, despite its obvious frailties, our current squad should be doing better - It's not that bad a side. And the mid-table position is a bit of an illusion, I'm not quite sure how we can still be 13th without a win in ten. We need a morale boosting victory (and a few extra goals thrown in for good measure) to kick-start things and a good run is still a possibility. Although that sadly might reduce the chance of some money being spent on bringing those much needed extra players in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now