6.5/10 seems harsh considering we’ve won 3/3 with Berry, Doherty, Adahme, Edwards, Mannion all starting. That’s almost half the side.
Yeah it's been a decent window, and a very decent start, but I still think we could have done more, and as the season goes on we may struggle with fatigue and squad depth. Couple of injuries, and we are a bit bare bones, particularly at the back.
Of course it's subjective, as if we win promotion, I'll say it's a 10. Just a bit of guesswork. I'd lean more towards 7 I guess, which is probably a bit more fair.
5 CB's, 3 LWB's (generous to Edun I know, Edwards can also play LCB) and 3 RWB's (Ramsay played RCB in preseason, Asiimwe has played on the left before) isn't particularly bare bones. Ideally we'd have 1 more natural LCB so we had 2 players for each position but bare bones is a bit of a stretch. In fact across the whole squad the only position that doesn't have 2 set players is the 6 and Doc, REG and Z Mitchell can all cover there
It is the quality of the replacements though. If Gassan and Godden come off the pitch, Leaburn and Aneke will replace them, that's very strong at this level.
In midfield, Taylor, Campbell and Anderson, as rotation options is very decent.
I don't feel the same way about defense. If we lost Mitchell or Jones, no one is ready to step up and replace what they offer imo, if Kayne gets injured or suspended, Tennai isn't near his level. I felt very comfortable about the left flank, until Edwards got injured, may take a while to get him back up to speed.
The goalie situation, we don't really know enough about Mannion yet. My instinct tells me, he's gonna be good for us, but I genuinely felt MacGillivray would be top drawer, and he obviously wasn't..
If Kayne, Mitchell or Jones come off, their replacements aren't up to much.
It may seem negative, but that's just my honest thoughts. As I've said multiple times about Charlton in league 1, we don't need men for a job, we need men for THE job, and that's promotion.
Hopefully none of this matters and we are lucky with injuries 👍🏻
Tbh though I seriously doubt any side in League has 11 top drawer players and another 11 of equal quality to step in if need be, even Birmingham and all their millions.
If we sign Potts and have to rely on an emergency keeper loan, so be it, but our squad overall is in a better place than it has been in arguably a decade
It's not about them being top drawer though, it's about them being good enough to be rotation options. I believe some of our squad would struggle to look good in poor league1 sides.
Similar to Hector, Terell, Fiorini etc, when they leave us, they'll struggle to make an impact at a league 1 side, or even struggle to land a contract at one.
Of course the squad is in a better place than the majority of seasons, that's not that difficult if we are honest though. I don't think there is an argument to be made that it's as good as the 18/19 squad, not yet anyway. That team was championship ready except maybe 2 or 3 players, I don't see that in this squad yet. That squad got 88 points, arguably would have got more had we kept Grant. If this team can replicate that, then there is an argument for it, until then, it's all guess work and theories.
It's definitely a decent window, but it could have been better, so a 6.5/7 is about right for me imo. Subject to change of course, similar to being compared to the 18/19 squad.
Hindsight’s a wonderful thing in football because until the last third of the season a lot of fans were moaning about that team too especially at the beginning, this squad has stronger overall I’d say with better options off the bench.
6.5/10 seems harsh considering we’ve won 3/3 with Berry, Doherty, Adahme, Edwards, Mannion all starting. That’s almost half the side.
Yeah it's been a decent window, and a very decent start, but I still think we could have done more, and as the season goes on we may struggle with fatigue and squad depth. Couple of injuries, and we are a bit bare bones, particularly at the back.
Of course it's subjective, as if we win promotion, I'll say it's a 10. Just a bit of guesswork. I'd lean more towards 7 I guess, which is probably a bit more fair.
5 CB's, 3 LWB's (generous to Edun I know, Edwards can also play LCB) and 3 RWB's (Ramsay played RCB in preseason, Asiimwe has played on the left before) isn't particularly bare bones. Ideally we'd have 1 more natural LCB so we had 2 players for each position but bare bones is a bit of a stretch. In fact across the whole squad the only position that doesn't have 2 set players is the 6 and Doc, REG and Z Mitchell can all cover there
It is the quality of the replacements though. If Gassan and Godden come off the pitch, Leaburn and Aneke will replace them, that's very strong at this level.
In midfield, Taylor, Campbell and Anderson, as rotation options is very decent.
I don't feel the same way about defense. If we lost Mitchell or Jones, no one is ready to step up and replace what they offer imo, if Kayne gets injured or suspended, Tennai isn't near his level. I felt very comfortable about the left flank, until Edwards got injured, may take a while to get him back up to speed.
The goalie situation, we don't really know enough about Mannion yet. My instinct tells me, he's gonna be good for us, but I genuinely felt MacGillivray would be top drawer, and he obviously wasn't..
If Kayne, Mitchell or Jones come off, their replacements aren't up to much.
It may seem negative, but that's just my honest thoughts. As I've said multiple times about Charlton in league 1, we don't need men for a job, we need men for THE job, and that's promotion.
Hopefully none of this matters and we are lucky with injuries 👍🏻
Tbh though I seriously doubt any side in League has 11 top drawer players and another 11 of equal quality to step in if need be, even Birmingham and all their millions.
If we sign Potts and have to rely on an emergency keeper loan, so be it, but our squad overall is in a better place than it has been in arguably a decade
It's not about them being top drawer though, it's about them being good enough to be rotation options. I believe some of our squad would struggle to look good in poor league1 sides.
Similar to Hector, Terell, Fiorini etc, when they leave us, they'll struggle to make an impact at a league 1 side, or even struggle to land a contract at one.
Of course the squad is in a better place than the majority of seasons, that's not that difficult if we are honest though. I don't think there is an argument to be made that it's as good as the 18/19 squad, not yet anyway. That team was championship ready except maybe 2 or 3 players, I don't see that in this squad yet. That squad got 88 points, arguably would have got more had we kept Grant. If this team can replicate that, then there is an argument for it, until then, it's all guess work and theories.
It's definitely a decent window, but it could have been better, so a 6.5/7 is about right for me imo. Subject to change of course, similar to being compared to the 18/19 squad.
Hindsight’s a wonderful thing in football because until the last third of the season a lot of fans were moaning about that team too especially at the beginning, this squad has stronger overall I’d say with better options off the bench.
We’ve got more depth now but the 18/19 starting 11 was better than what we have now. Realistically I’d only have Berry, Edwards and maybe Ramsay into that 11 (plus Godden/Leaburn if we are looking at the second half of the season team vs Josh Parker)
6.5/10 seems harsh considering we’ve won 3/3 with Berry, Doherty, Adahme, Edwards, Mannion all starting. That’s almost half the side.
Yeah it's been a decent window, and a very decent start, but I still think we could have done more, and as the season goes on we may struggle with fatigue and squad depth. Couple of injuries, and we are a bit bare bones, particularly at the back.
Of course it's subjective, as if we win promotion, I'll say it's a 10. Just a bit of guesswork. I'd lean more towards 7 I guess, which is probably a bit more fair.
5 CB's, 3 LWB's (generous to Edun I know, Edwards can also play LCB) and 3 RWB's (Ramsay played RCB in preseason, Asiimwe has played on the left before) isn't particularly bare bones. Ideally we'd have 1 more natural LCB so we had 2 players for each position but bare bones is a bit of a stretch. In fact across the whole squad the only position that doesn't have 2 set players is the 6 and Doc, REG and Z Mitchell can all cover there
It is the quality of the replacements though. If Gassan and Godden come off the pitch, Leaburn and Aneke will replace them, that's very strong at this level.
In midfield, Taylor, Campbell and Anderson, as rotation options is very decent.
I don't feel the same way about defense. If we lost Mitchell or Jones, no one is ready to step up and replace what they offer imo, if Kayne gets injured or suspended, Tennai isn't near his level. I felt very comfortable about the left flank, until Edwards got injured, may take a while to get him back up to speed.
The goalie situation, we don't really know enough about Mannion yet. My instinct tells me, he's gonna be good for us, but I genuinely felt MacGillivray would be top drawer, and he obviously wasn't..
If Kayne, Mitchell or Jones come off, their replacements aren't up to much.
It may seem negative, but that's just my honest thoughts. As I've said multiple times about Charlton in league 1, we don't need men for a job, we need men for THE job, and that's promotion.
Hopefully none of this matters and we are lucky with injuries 👍🏻
Tbh though I seriously doubt any side in League has 11 top drawer players and another 11 of equal quality to step in if need be, even Birmingham and all their millions.
If we sign Potts and have to rely on an emergency keeper loan, so be it, but our squad overall is in a better place than it has been in arguably a decade
It's not about them being top drawer though, it's about them being good enough to be rotation options. I believe some of our squad would struggle to look good in poor league1 sides.
Similar to Hector, Terell, Fiorini etc, when they leave us, they'll struggle to make an impact at a league 1 side, or even struggle to land a contract at one.
Of course the squad is in a better place than the majority of seasons, that's not that difficult if we are honest though. I don't think there is an argument to be made that it's as good as the 18/19 squad, not yet anyway. That team was championship ready except maybe 2 or 3 players, I don't see that in this squad yet. That squad got 88 points, arguably would have got more had we kept Grant. If this team can replicate that, then there is an argument for it, until then, it's all guess work and theories.
It's definitely a decent window, but it could have been better, so a 6.5/7 is about right for me imo. Subject to change of course, similar to being compared to the 18/19 squad.
Our 18/19 team was great. How is it we didn't go up through the autos? Excuse me, my memory is pitiful
We could barely name a full bench to start the season, so started a bit slow. Without that we’d have won the league and were the best team in the league from September onwards once we’d done our recruitment
Do you know what though, given all the money Brum have spent. I would still have our strikeforce over theirs any day!
I agree,we have strikers who run their legs off to close down defenders,when leaburn returns we will have 6 strikers ,they can be rotated and rested.Chucks and Kanu coming on late in the game will cause problems for any tiring side,a fit Miles Leaburn will cause problems for anyone.I think Birmingham will implode under the pressure to go up first time,if they spend more than one season in league 1 they are in trouble.
1 in 4 in the Serbian PL, doesn't scream "championship striker" to me
All screams Slobodan Tedič to me. Much younger too and going to be chucked in at the deep end in front of their discerning fans, known for their patience and tolerance.
Gomez wasn't sold but still possible in a future window.
Fraser may still be announced but we shall see. EDIT and so it came to pass.
Other free agents still available. I was surprised to hear Hylton's name come up on Thursday but you never know. Potts is still an option.
Taylor not moving, on loan at least, surprises me. I haven't seen anything from him to impress but he's had few chances
Dixon is a wild card gamble but probably not an expensive one.
A Campbell MK 2 looks another solid manager driven signing this window along with A Mitchell, Berry, Godden, Ahadme, Docherty and Edwards.
Mannion hasn't been tested but what he has been asked to do has done well. Experienced cover would be ideal but upsetting the balance in the squad wouldn't.
Lots of round pegs purchased for round holes and we have seen a revitalised Lloyd Jones.
Gillesphy has perhaps been not quite as impressive as Mitchell or L Jones but he is faster than both.
Strength in depth up front especialy now Miles is back.
Birmingham will attract a lot of attention but remember that it took Ispwich a while to get it right.
The focus on Brum may deflect some away from us and that may be a good thing. Keep your head down, do your job, rack up the points and don't worry if the media don't notice us. TV mentions don't win promotions.
Peterbrough snapped up two new strikers yesterday, as they do. Stockport and Huddersfield have started well.
But so have we, we got our business done early so the squad is integrated if maybe a little too big for NJ's liking.
So a good window IMHO, 8/10, but the proof of the pudding WILL BE IN THE EATING and meal time is May, not August.
6.5/10 seems harsh considering we’ve won 3/3 with Berry, Doherty, Adahme, Edwards, Mannion all starting. That’s almost half the side.
Yeah it's been a decent window, and a very decent start, but I still think we could have done more, and as the season goes on we may struggle with fatigue and squad depth. Couple of injuries, and we are a bit bare bones, particularly at the back.
Of course it's subjective, as if we win promotion, I'll say it's a 10. Just a bit of guesswork. I'd lean more towards 7 I guess, which is probably a bit more fair.
5 CB's, 3 LWB's (generous to Edun I know, Edwards can also play LCB) and 3 RWB's (Ramsay played RCB in preseason, Asiimwe has played on the left before) isn't particularly bare bones. Ideally we'd have 1 more natural LCB so we had 2 players for each position but bare bones is a bit of a stretch. In fact across the whole squad the only position that doesn't have 2 set players is the 6 and Doc, REG and Z Mitchell can all cover there
It is the quality of the replacements though. If Gassan and Godden come off the pitch, Leaburn and Aneke will replace them, that's very strong at this level.
In midfield, Taylor, Campbell and Anderson, as rotation options is very decent.
I don't feel the same way about defense. If we lost Mitchell or Jones, no one is ready to step up and replace what they offer imo, if Kayne gets injured or suspended, Tennai isn't near his level. I felt very comfortable about the left flank, until Edwards got injured, may take a while to get him back up to speed.
The goalie situation, we don't really know enough about Mannion yet. My instinct tells me, he's gonna be good for us, but I genuinely felt MacGillivray would be top drawer, and he obviously wasn't..
If Kayne, Mitchell or Jones come off, their replacements aren't up to much.
It may seem negative, but that's just my honest thoughts. As I've said multiple times about Charlton in league 1, we don't need men for a job, we need men for THE job, and that's promotion.
Hopefully none of this matters and we are lucky with injuries 👍🏻
Tbh though I seriously doubt any side in League has 11 top drawer players and another 11 of equal quality to step in if need be, even Birmingham and all their millions.
If we sign Potts and have to rely on an emergency keeper loan, so be it, but our squad overall is in a better place than it has been in arguably a decade
It's not about them being top drawer though, it's about them being good enough to be rotation options. I believe some of our squad would struggle to look good in poor league1 sides.
Similar to Hector, Terell, Fiorini etc, when they leave us, they'll struggle to make an impact at a league 1 side, or even struggle to land a contract at one.
Of course the squad is in a better place than the majority of seasons, that's not that difficult if we are honest though. I don't think there is an argument to be made that it's as good as the 18/19 squad, not yet anyway. That team was championship ready except maybe 2 or 3 players, I don't see that in this squad yet. That squad got 88 points, arguably would have got more had we kept Grant. If this team can replicate that, then there is an argument for it, until then, it's all guess work and theories.
It's definitely a decent window, but it could have been better, so a 6.5/7 is about right for me imo. Subject to change of course, similar to being compared to the 18/19 squad.
If you’re comparing to 18/19 that squad includes Lapslie, Solly (past his best), Marshall and Reeves who made plenty of appearances.
Parker, Hackett-Fairchild, Morgan and Ward played a part too.
There were a lot question marks around the depth of the 18/19 squad at the start of the season. Grant was unproven in L1, Aribo wasn’t a goalscoring midfielder and was still yet to properly show his ability, Dijksteel was cover, Phillips was unproven and Bielik was inconsistent in his first few months.
As you say it’s subject to change, if this squad gets promoted there will be some very different views of players by the end of the season.
I'm sure the EFL (or rather the clubs in the EFL) will change the rules to prevent Birmingham style spending in L1. Ludicrous when the biggest fee in the EFL ever is in L1.
Clearly Birmingham HAVE to go up and, sadly, it looks like they will unless something goes very very wrong there.
Like they struggle to keep all the players happy or another team is better than expected and nidges them out of the automatics slots
one thing that is for sure….they have a BIG target on their backs now and will be everyone’s preferred scalp this season (especially so with their arrogant fans)
in the immortal words of Kevin Keegan - “I would love it”
Shame we couldn't shift on the players that won't get a game. Even though Jones talks about 'everyone being important throughout a long season'. What he is clear on, is that he likes a small squad, so that the band of brothers mentality can develop become tight group of lads and have everyone's back.
With a bloated squad, some will know full well (because Jones will have told them) that they are not in his plans, however they will still probably (or will they) be required to come in at every training session and like the squad players, give it their all. This may create some disharmony, which Jones wants to avoid at all costs.
Time will tell but the weakest links in the 'Jones plan' may just be those off the pitch rather than on!
Shame we couldn't shift on the players that won't get a game. Even though Jones talks about 'everyone being important throughout a long season'. What he is clear on, is that he likes a small squad, so that the band of brothers mentality can develop become tight group of lads and have everyone's back.
With a bloated squad, some will know full well (because Jones will have told them) that they are not in his plans, however they will still probably (or will they) be required to come in at every training session and like the squad players, give it their all. This may create some disharmony, which Jones wants to avoid at all costs.
Time will tell but the weakest links in the 'Jones plan' may just be those off the pitch rather than on!
Clearly Birmingham HAVE to go up and, sadly, it looks like they will unless something goes very very wrong there.
Like they struggle to keep all the players happy or another team is better than expected and nidges them out of the automatics slots
one thing that is for sure….they have a BIG target on their backs now and will be everyone’s preferred scalp this season (especially so with their arrogant fans)
in the immortal words of Kevin Keegan - “I would love it”
(fwiw I think they’ll go and get over 100 points)
Anything other than the title and a points record would be a disappointment with their spending. I wonder if they aren't top at Christmas if they panic and sack Davies.
So Birmingham spend £10m in league 1 with the league 1 player getting to watch the pizza cup. Celtic break their transfer record with an £11m signing who gets European football. Crazy
Comments
So many CB's in the league will be relishing the chance to clear him out I'm sure. It'll be interesting to see how quickly he gets injured.
What could possibly go wrong?
Fraser may still be announced but we shall see. EDIT and so it came to pass.
Other free agents still available. I was surprised to hear Hylton's name come up on Thursday but you never know. Potts is still an option.
Taylor not moving, on loan at least, surprises me. I haven't seen anything from him to impress but he's had few chances
Dixon is a wild card gamble but probably not an expensive one.
A Campbell MK 2 looks another solid manager driven signing this window along with A Mitchell, Berry, Godden, Ahadme, Docherty and Edwards.
Mannion hasn't been tested but what he has been asked to do has done well. Experienced cover would be ideal but upsetting the balance in the squad wouldn't.
Lots of round pegs purchased for round holes and we have seen a revitalised Lloyd Jones.
Gillesphy has perhaps been not quite as impressive as Mitchell or L Jones but he is faster than both.
Strength in depth up front especialy now Miles is back.
Birmingham will attract a lot of attention but remember that it took Ispwich a while to get it right.
The focus on Brum may deflect some away from us and that may be a good thing. Keep your head down, do your job, rack up the points and don't worry if the media don't notice us. TV mentions don't win promotions.
Peterbrough snapped up two new strikers yesterday, as they do. Stockport and Huddersfield have started well.
But so have we, we got our business done early so the squad is integrated if maybe a little too big for NJ's liking.
So a good window IMHO, 8/10, but the proof of the pudding WILL BE IN THE EATING and meal time is May, not August.
There were a lot question marks around the depth of the 18/19 squad at the start of the season. Grant was unproven in L1, Aribo wasn’t a goalscoring midfielder and was still yet to properly show his ability, Dijksteel was cover, Phillips was unproven and Bielik was inconsistent in his first few months.
As you say it’s subject to change, if this squad gets promoted there will be some very different views of players by the end of the season.
Like they struggle to keep all the players happy
or another team is better than expected and nidges them out of the automatics slots
one thing that is for sure….they have a BIG target on their backs now and will be everyone’s preferred scalp this season (especially so with their arrogant fans)
in the immortal words of Kevin Keegan - “I would love it”
(fwiw I think they’ll go and get over 100 points)
With a bloated squad, some will know full well (because Jones will have told them) that they are not in his plans, however they will still probably (or will they) be required to come in at every training session and like the squad players, give it their all. This may create some disharmony, which Jones wants to avoid at all costs.
Time will tell but the weakest links in the 'Jones plan' may just be those off the pitch rather than on!
Anything other than the title and a points record would be a disappointment with their spending. I wonder if they aren't top at Christmas if they panic and sack Davies.
Eating Veggie burgers at Forest Green Rovers and kicking National League strikers up in the air💪🏻
Whether referring to past, present or future, an expression is an expression.
The correct expression is ’the proof of the pudding IS in the eating.’
Let's hope they get battered kodfish 😀