Squad So Far...

[joethegill]

Goalkeepers:
Angus Gunn
Remi Matthews
Paul Jones
Michael McGovern

Defenders:
Timm Klose
Russell Martin
Christoph Zimmerman
Ivo Pinto
Ben Godfrey
Harry Toffolo
Jamal Lewis (A youth player that's likely to be loaned out when/if we sign a left back. Played in both our friendlies so far)

Midfielders/Wingers:
Steven Naismith
Matt Jarvis
Wes Hoolahan
Yanic Wildschut (Has played at right back in both our friendlies so far)
Alex Pritchard
Josh Murphy
Jacob Murphy
Alex Tettey
James Maddison
Louis Thompson (possibly out for the season with injury)
Mario Vrancic
Harrison Reed
Marley Watkins

Strikers:
Cameron Jerome
Nelson Oliveira
Carlton Morris

Definitely need some reinforcements at the back especially at CB and LB.

If the season started tomorrow I think we'd line up something like:

Gunn
Pinto ---- Zimmerman --- Klose --- Toffolo
Reed
Watkins --- Pritchard --- Vrancic --- Ja. Murphy
Jerome​

What's the latest with Matt Jarvis? Can't see him breaking back into that side with that amount of quality in the squad...could he leave?

 

[SUTSS]

What's the latest with Matt Jarvis? Can't see him breaking back into that side with that amount of quality in the squad...could he leave?

We would love to sell him. Spent the entirity of last season out injured and has missed all of pre-season injured so far. The main issue will be that he is on somwhere in the region of £60k a week. Our Financial Director made a comment last night at a Fan's Forum that there are some players who are on wages that are far beyond their abilities with no incentive to leave and no one to buy them. I highly suspect he is in that group. Naismith possibly another in that group.

 

[joethegill]

We would love to sell him. Spent the entirity of last season out injured and has missed all of pre-season injured so far. The main issue will be that he is on somwhere in the region of £60k a week. Our Financial Director made a comment last night at a Fan's Forum that there are some players who are on wages that are far beyond their abilities with no incentive to leave and no one to buy them. I highly suspect he is in that group. Naismith possibly another in that group.

Maybe a loan deal? Highly unlikely someone will come in and give him those sorts of wages when he hasn't played for so long. It's a shame, cause a fit Jarvis is a superb Championship player but since moving to Norwich he's been knackered. We'll have him back...

 

[markwwfc1992]

Jarvis was brilliant for us, been plagued by injuries still though. I'd take him if he was willing to take a huge wage cut, although he wont leave Norwich whilst he's on 60k a week.

 

[SUTSS]

The only time that Jarvis has had an uninterrupted injury free run in the side he was excellent. The problem now is that he has missed so much football that he probably won't be able to get near that level again. I could see him dropping down the leagues fairly rapidly after he leaves us. Really hope he can get fit though becuase if so it would be like having a new signing.

 

[Bluebird_Dai]

What do you reckon your starting line-up will look like then?

Probably this

GK: Camp
RB: Richards
LB: Bennett
CB: Morrison
CB: Bamba
CM: Gunnarsson
CM: Ralls
LW: Ward
RW: Hoilett
SS: Tomlin
CF: Zohore

 

[Bluebird_Dai]

Cardiff looking strong at the moment.

I wouldn't mind us trying to sign Noone or Pilkington if Neil fancies another winger/ attacking midfielder in the squad.

Noone is a confidence player, and once his head his down it's near impossible to get him back up again. Frustrating because when he's on it he's our best winger. As for Pilkington he suffers from being decent in a couple of places but not good enough to get in front of others. Wouldn't get ahead of Zohore or Ward up top and isn't a good a winger as Hoilett or Harris. He lives offside as well which is criminal.

 

[Muzzle]

Alnwick

Darby...Wheater..Beavers...Taylor

Karacan..Pratley..Vela

Buckley..Madine..Ameobi

 

[markwwfc1992]

Alnwick

Darby...Wheater..Beavers...Taylor

Karacan..Pratley..Vela

Buckley..Madine..Ameobi

I hope for your sake you plan on bringing half a new squad in if thats your best starting XI.

 

[Jockney]

GK: Jordan Archer/Tom King

RB: Mahlon Romeo/Conor McLaughlin
CB: Byron Webster
CB: Shaun Hutchinson
LB: James Meredith/Shane Ferguson

RM: Jed Wallace/Fred Onyedinma
CM: Shaun Williams
CM: Ben Thompson/George Saville
LM: Aiden O'Brien

FW: Steve Morison
FW: Lee Gregory

Squad players: Jimmy Abdou, Tony Craig, Tom Elliott, Calum Butcher

On their way out (on loan or otherwise): David Worrall, Shaun Cummings, Sid Nelson

Looking at the younger players, you can make a good case for O'Brien, Fred, Wallace, Romeo, Hutchinson, Archer and King developing into Championship players, with or without us. Jury is out on Thompson and Saville. Don't know enough about McLaughlin or Meredith, but reports are good. Morison will do well but won't score many. I think Gregory will work hard but can't see him getting any change out of defenders at this level; out of depth as he was the other year, I'm afraid. Webster was horrific the last time we were up here, but hoping a couple of solid seasons will have boosted his confidence. Williams has ability but plays game at pedestrian pace; some games will suit him, others will not.

So, some potential if we can survive this year. I think a couple of astute loan signings will probably be the difference. If we get relegated it will be the best Championship relegation squad on paper that we have had in my lifetime. Think we need another striker, winger and centre-back. Reckon Jake Cooper will be the centre-back.

 

[JoshBCFC]

Looking at those two squads I would be backing Millwall and Bolton to go down heavily unless they can make some good signings. I don't think Millwall will score all that much (I really don't think Morrison and Gregory will cut it in this league) and their defense won't be good enough either. Bolton seem pretty shit all over the field to be honest.

 

[Magic]

Goalkeepers:

Rob Green
Felix Wiedwald
Marco Silvestri
Bailey Peacock-Farrell

Defenders:

Luke Ayling
Liam Cooper
Pontus Jansson
Gaetano Berardi
Tyler Denton

Midfielders:

Eunan O'Kane
Stuart Dallas
Ronaldo Vieira
Kalvin Phillips
Vurnon Anita
Liam Bridcutt
Mateusz Klich

Attackers:

Pablo Hernandez
Hadi Sacko
Kemar Roofe
Chris Wood
Marcus Antonsson
Souleymane Doukara
Samu Saiz
Ezgjan Alioski

Green

Ayling Jansson Cooper(New CB) Berardi

Anita/Klich (any number of combinations possible here)

Saiz Hernandez Alioski

Wood
​

Subs: Wiedwald, Cooper (when new CB in), Vieira, Bridcutt, Dallas, Sacko, Roofe

Absolutely no idea who'll play in the five behind Wood. So many options there - players not even on the bench there could easily start on the opening day so who the hell knows!

 

[Muzzle]

I hope for your sake you plan on bringing half a new squad in if thats your best starting XI.

Not saying you are wrong however, what makes you say that?

 

[markwwfc1992]

Not saying you are wrong however, what makes you say that?

The only players I think would be alright in this league are Vela, Wheater and maybe Karacan/Buckley. The others to me just look like average L1 players at best.

 

[SF_]

Imagine a lot of people were making similar comments about our squad to what they're saying about Bolton's and Millwall's... Burton's too.

As long as you're organised and hard working then you can definitely stay up with a bunch of unfashionable workers who look more at home in League One. I'd rather that than a bunch of highly paid, foreign mercenaries.

This league isn't all that, don't let the daft money fool you into thinking you're walking into a Premier League 2, the standard hasn't improved in the 3 years since Millwall were last here.

 

[markwwfc1992]

As long as you're organised and hard working then you can definitely stay up with a bunch of unfashionable workers who look more at home in League One. I'd rather that than a bunch of highly paid, foreign mercenaries.

I'll bite. The thing is that you wont improve with that attitude. If you're happy punching above your weight just to survive with L1 standard players then so be it, but other clubs in this league have a little bit more ambition than that.

I wonder how certain people would soon change their views if taken over by a new owners who was happy to splash the cash to gain promotion. Just comes across as bitter to me, but hey ho.

 

[SF_]

I'll bite. The thing is that you wont improve with that attitude. If you're happy punching above your weight just to survive with L1 standard players then so be it, but other clubs in this league have a little bit more ambition than that.

I wonder how certain people would soon change their views if taken over by a new owners who was happy to splash the cash to gain promotion. Just comes across as bitter to me, but hey ho.

I'm pretty sure Millwall and Bolton will be happy to just survive this season. That's the aim of every club coming up, then they can add more quality each window like we've done, it's a process. I don't think either of them will create many waves this season but I don't think it's a given they will struggle.

Don't know why you're getting tetchy and going on about ambition, this thread is about current squads and in Bolton's shoes i'd rather put faith in the hard working group that got them promoted, rather than going abroad to sign players who might have quality but not the desire to match.

 

[markwwfc1992]

Fair enough in that case, I assumed your comment in the post I quoted was a dig at us.

 

[SF_]

Fair enough in that case, I assumed your comment in the post I quoted was a dig at us.

Nope, not directly, a lot of clubs are going down the foreign route this season, Leeds & Norwich, as well as yourselves. I'd be wary about it myself but Watford and Huddersfield have proven it can work.

 

[Jockney]

There is every chance us and Bolton may go down, but people are talking about our teams like we're marked for death when even recent Championship history suggests otherwise. Statistically rare for a promoted side to go straight back down; rarer even still that they are effectively down from the early months.

What is more galling in our case is that people are talking with certainty about our side, despite the fact that they almost certainly haven't seen any of our players, bar Gregory, Morison and Williams, more than once. Someone called our defence a weak spot earlier in the thread, which tells you everything as it's actually undoubtedly now our strongest area.

 

[markwwfc1992]

I think the reason most clubs go abroad nowadays is because of the ridiculous money English clubs want for a half decent player.

I saw recently that Newcastle had a bid rejected of 20m for Tom Cairney. He's a decent Championship player and all but Jesus Christ.. rejecting 20m for him? You could probably buy someone with the exact same ability as Tom Cairney from god knows where in Eastern Europe for about 2m. Sure the risk factor is that as he hasn't proved himself in England, but if he doesn't cut it, it's only 2m you've spent on him, opposed to 20m.

It's admirable what clubs like Preston do, buying young English talent on the cheap and developing them, but buying a ready made player in the English leagues really isn't value for money now.

 

[JJH]

Imagine a lot of people were making similar comments about our squad to what they're saying about Bolton's and Millwall's... Burton's too.

As long as you're organised and hard working then you can definitely stay up with a bunch of unfashionable workers who look more at home in League One. I'd rather that than a bunch of highly paid, foreign mercenaries.

This league isn't all that, don't let the daft money fool you into thinking you're walking into a Premier League 2, the standard hasn't improved in the 3 years since Millwall were last here.

The league has definitely improved SF, with the amount of foreign players coming into it and big players like Terry coming down from the Premier League.

The league undoubtedly gets stronger each year, but there are ways of building a good side to compete in it rather than chucking £5m+ at every available player. Some clubs can afford to take a more expensive approach, clubs like PNE can't/won't so are a bit more savvy and thorough in their recruitment.

 

[SF_]

The league has definitely improved SF, with the amount of foreign players coming into it and big players like Terry coming down from the Premier League.

The league undoubtedly gets stronger each year, but there are ways of building a good side to compete in it rather than chucking £5m+ at every available player. Some clubs can afford to take a more expensive approach, clubs like PNE can't/won't so are a bit more savvy and thorough in their recruitment.

Buying foreign talent and big names players dropping down isn't new though, this league is no stronger than it was a decade ago, price tags have just gone up.

 

[Madejski]

The league was pretty shit last season.

 

[JoshBCFC]

There is every chance us and Bolton may go down, but people are talking about our teams like we're marked for death when even recent Championship history suggests otherwise. Statistically rare for a promoted side to go straight back down; rarer even still that they are effectively down from the early months.

What is more galling in our case is that people are talking with certainty about our side, despite the fact that they almost certainly haven't seen any of our players, bar Gregory, Morison and Williams, more than once. Someone called our defence a weak spot earlier in the thread, which tells you everything as it's actually undoubtedly now our strongest area.

Ok, whilst you have signed new full-backs (who were both very good League 1 players), Byron Webster and Shaun Hutchinson don't strike me as Championship quality, given that you only had the 11th least goals against in League 1 with them in the starting line-up (unless my counting skills have gone horribly wrong). I know he had injury problems, but it doesn't seem like Shaun Hutchinson could even hold down his place in the starting 11 until the end of the season. If that's your strongest area, good luck staying up.

 

[Muzzle]

Our situation will improve if we stay up, Eddie Davies wrote off the 170mill that was 99% of the debt, he is owed another 15mill if we go up in the next 5 years and then thats it. Once Ken Anderson sorts out the daft loan Dean Holdsworth took out to buy us (around 5mill), then Ken will own all the club and start to put money back in. At the moment, the market we are in is free transfers, and I suspect PP wants another 5-6 players in (2 West Ham youngsters and the rest unknown at the moment). We came up with the best defensive stats, and even though it wasn't pretty to watch, they all worked their bollocks off.

 

[City169]

IMO the Millwall squad looks stronger than the Bolton one, can see Millwall staying up.
Last year I said I didn't think Burton would go down, but I think they might do this year.
No idea who the last team would be.

 

[Lance Stoe]

I fancy QPR to go down this season with Bolton and Barnsley

 

[Ciderup]

IMO the Millwall squad looks stronger than the Bolton one, can see Millwall staying up.
Last year I said I didn't think Burton would go down, but I think they might do this year.
No idea who the last team would be.

If we don't strengthen, it could well be us. Our current first 11 is good enough but we haven't got much backup IMHO. I'm sure we will strengthen but, at the moment, I'm a tad concerned.

 

[City169]

If we don't strengthen, it could well be us. Our current first 11 is good enough but we haven't got much backup IMHO. I'm sure we will strengthen but, at the moment, I'm a tad concerned.

Disagree.
We won't be up at the top, the point of buying the young players is they would progress over the coming seasons.
There were noticeable improvements from O'Dowda, Brownhill and Paterson. The former two will develop even more, the latter needs to find consistency. Djuric looked promising, but was still adapting, Hegeler looks a class player, but is one who slows the game down- something you do not want when in a dogfight, so his exclusion was somewhat understandable (though I wanted him to start against Birmingham final day given we were safe). In midfield we have tonnes of depth, arguably thin on the wide midfield positions. I say arguably because at the end of the season we were almost playing with a narrow diamond formation and all four midfielders being CMs who rotated, so if sticking with that then a wide midfielder isn't needed other than for an alternative formation, and the small amount of wide players we have now are enough to cover that task.
Defensively we have Flint, Magnusson, Hegeler, Wright just for CBs, any of those four would be decent choices for CB, so there is depth there and we have promising youngsters who can fill in for short periods if injuries and suspensions pick up (Moore, Vyner, Kelly).
In goal I'd prefer Lucic to get more time, I'm more confident with him than Frankie (the Preston goal was a bit of a flukey one) though even Frankie is an OK 'keeper for this level.

Fully expect a pretty obscure season this year. Might be slightly close to the playoffs early like last year, or close to the relegation zone at some point, but no danger of troubling the playoff sides and no real threat of going down.

edit- LB and RB are my only real concerns, and they are pretty slight tbh. Pisano looked an upgrade on Little to me, admittedly against weak opposition.