Our Squad

[GrahamC]

I’ve read on here a lot from certain posters about the quality of our squad.

I have just watched a 7th consecutive home defeat & really do wonder what they are seeing.

Our midfield is absolutely pitiful, today Massengo aside it was absolute rubbish, Lansbury awful, Bakinson non existent & the invisible man, Walsh unavailable yet again.

Up front Wells was woeful & Semenyo aside we offered nothing at all.

Defensively Rowe struggled throughout but to be fair to him, it was his first game in a while, Hunt was poor again.

We are a million miles from where we want to be & at present those in this “amazing” squad look a bottom six side, not a top six one.

[daored]

2 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I’ve read on here a lot from certain posters about the quality of our squad.

I have just watched a 7th consecutive home defeat & really do wonder what they are seeing.

Our midfield is absolutely pitiful, today Massengo aside it was absolute rubbish, Lansbury awful, Bakinson non existent & the invisible man, Walsh unavailable yet again.

Up front Wells was woeful & Semenyo aside we offered nothing at all.

Defensively Rowe struggled throughout but to be fair to him, it was his first game in a while, Hunt was poor again.

We are a million miles from where we want to be & at present those in this “amazing” squad look a bottom six side, not a top six one.

Concern for me is this is a huge rebuilding job and does Pearson want that ? 
 

Ashton , LJ and the Lansdowns gave a lot to answer for , a bloated squad with limited quality 

[Mark barton]

Fortunately rotherham will hopefully keep us up. This has been developing over 3 years, the whole playing squad needs a complete overhaul and the recruitment needs to be so much better.

[Son of Fred]

Just now, daored said:

Concern for me is this is a huge rebuilding job and does Pearson want that ? 
 

Ashton , LJ and the Lansdowns gave a lot to answer for , a bloated squad with limited quality 

Honestly I wouldn't blame Nigel (or be surprised) whatsoever if he decides to walk away from this shower of shite...

A challenge is one thing,,self-flagellation another!...

[pongo88]

3 minutes ago, daored said:

Concern for me is this is a huge rebuilding job and does Pearson want that ? 
 

Ashton , LJ and the Lansdowns gave a lot to answer for , a bloated squad with limited quality 

I hope he wants it and what he says indicates he wants it. My assumption is he’s had some assurances from SL as to the support / control he’ll get at the of season to bring new players. Some players can raise their game when surrounded by better players and, with luck, this might happen with some of the currently average players we’ve got. 

[INCRED]

11 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I’ve read on here a lot from certain posters about the quality of our squad.

I have just watched a 7th consecutive home defeat & really do wonder what they are seeing.

Our midfield is absolutely pitiful, today Massengo aside it was absolute rubbish, Lansbury awful, Bakinson non existent & the invisible man, Walsh unavailable yet again.

Up front Wells was woeful & Semenyo aside we offered nothing at all.

Defensively Rowe struggled throughout but to be fair to him, it was his first game in a while, Hunt was poor again.

We are a million miles from where we want to be & at present those in this “amazing” squad look a bottom six side, not a top six one.

And NP knows what must be done in the close season, he’s seen enough to know who fits his vision and who doesn’t 

It’s going to be an interesting summer 

[Rudolf Hucker]

I don’t want to again see Hunt or Lansbury in a City shirt. It doesn’t look as though Wells wants to wear one either.
 

I didn’t understand the substitution of Bakinson for Bell but he didn’t take his chance to impress and was anonymous. Only Massengo came out of today’s game in credit. Boy, there’s a lot of sorting out for NP to do. 

[Daniro]

I hope that Steve Lansdown now recognises what a terrible state the footballing side of his business has been allowed to sink to.   Yes we have a nice stadium and fancy training  facilities and now, thank goodness, SL has himself intervened and got a serious footballing manager in.    

But the person in charge of the footballing side of things created this depleted squad with so few outstanding players.    Incredible to remember that he also thought someone with zero management experience was the best person to lead them at the beginning of the season.   

[Davefevs]

25 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

I don’t want to again see Hunt or Lansbury in a City shirt. It doesn’t look as though Wells wants to wear one either.
 

I didn’t understand the substitution of Bakinson for Bell but he didn’t take his chance to impress and was anonymous. Only Massengo came out of today’s game in credit. Boy, there’s a lot of sorting out for NP to do. 

Don’t get me wrong we weren’t great in opening 15, but forced errors out of Stoke, won some corners....something to build from.  Wells and Bell backed up by Massengo, pressing the routes out.

Bell got injured.

Bakinson sauntered around.

Stoke had it easy from that point onwards.

I think NP has just put a little cross against TB’s name.

[mozo]

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

Don’t get me wrong we weren’t great in opening 15, but forced errors out of Stoke, won some corners....something to build from.  Wells and Bell backed up by Massengo, pressing the routes out.

Bell got injured.

Bakinson sauntered around.

Stoke had it easy from that point onwards.

I think NP has just put a little cross against TB’s name.

Totally agree, and actually, we contrived to gift Stoke a goal at a time when we looked the slightly more dangerous side.

[M.D]

8 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Don’t get me wrong we weren’t great in opening 15, but forced errors out of Stoke, won some corners....something to build from.  Wells and Bell backed up by Massengo, pressing the routes out.

Bell got injured.

Bakinson sauntered around.

Stoke had it easy from that point onwards.

I think NP has just put a little cross against TB’s name.

I think you right there, NP has got his red pen out and Bakinson is on that list

[old_eastender]

3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Don’t get me wrong we weren’t great in opening 15, but forced errors out of Stoke, won some corners....something to build from.  Wells and Bell backed up by Massengo, pressing the routes out.

Bell got injured.

Bakinson sauntered around.

Stoke had it easy from that point onwards.

I think NP has just put a little cross against TB’s name.

Agree first 15 mins until Bell got injured we were pressing Stoke defenders and well on top.

Then Bakinson comes on and does next to nothing, Rowe lets a hopeful ball go over his head to Stoke player, Lansbury doesn't track the runner and we are 1 down. From that point on we were abject. Bakinson, Lansbury, Hunt, Wells in particular. 

I still have faith in NP, but really don't understand a) starting Lansbury if Vyner fit to play, b) bringing on Bakinson for Bell, surely Watkins would have been a better option?

I'll be well annoyed if Lansbury and Hunt keep their starting places for Coventry. 

 

[BetterRedthanBlue]

To be fair this has been coming for a while. LJ managed to get the best out of this squad and was overachieving in my eyes. 

DH came in and we saw the weaknesses and now NP has come in the players think they are safe so some have just stopped. 

What was telling was when NP was discussing transfer plans in the summer he mentioned he wants players with a "desire and a thirst for success" to me that says some of these players don't want to play for this club and are only happy for the pay cheque. 

[GrahamC]

21 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Don’t get me wrong we weren’t great in opening 15, but forced errors out of Stoke, won some corners....something to build from.  Wells and Bell backed up by Massengo, pressing the routes out.

Bell got injured.

Bakinson sauntered around.

Stoke had it easy from that point onwards.

I think NP has just put a little cross against TB’s name.

Bakinson has been woeful for a while, put in a pathetic challenge for the Barnsley goal, lost his man v Bournemouth.

I think he’s lucky if he makes the bench on Monday.

[E.G.Red]

I know I've been banging the drum, but I'd like to see Louis Britton get a game. We've exercised our option so why not  let's see what he can do amongst the big boys.

[firstdivision]

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

I’ve read on here a lot from certain posters about the quality of our squad.

I have just watched a 7th consecutive home defeat & really do wonder what they are seeing.

Our midfield is absolutely pitiful, today Massengo aside it was absolute rubbish, Lansbury awful, Bakinson non existent & the invisible man, Walsh unavailable yet again.

Up front Wells was woeful & Semenyo aside we offered nothing at all.

Defensively Rowe struggled throughout but to be fair to him, it was his first game in a while, Hunt was poor again.

We are a million miles from where we want to be & at present those in this “amazing” squad look a bottom six side, not a top six one.

Agree with your assessment of that performance. It was awful. Horrendous. Embarrassing. 
But Williams, Walsh, Dasilva, O’Dowda, Martin, Baker, and Mawson are all injured (and Adelakun and possibly two hundred more I’ve forgotten - there have been so many).

Rowe has just come back, so rusty. Nagy was effectively unavailable. Diedhiou and Sessegnon have just come back from international duty so couldn’t train with the squad. So didn’t start. 

A fit and available squad would makes us more competitive.
 

 

 

[GrahamC]

Just now, firstdivision said:

Agree with your assessment of that performance. It was awful. Horrendous. Embarrassing. 
But Williams, Walsh, Dasilva, O’Dowda, Martin, Baker, and Mawson are all injured (and Adelakun and possibly two hundred more I’ve forgotten - there have been so many).

Rowe has just come back, so rusty. Nagy was effectively unavailable. Diedhiou and Sessegnon have just come back from international duty so couldn’t train with the squad. So didn’t start. 

A fit and available squad would makes us more competitive.
 

 

 

Some of those are always injured.

The answer doesn’t lie within those already at the club.

[bexhill reds]

14 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Bakinson has been woeful for a while, put in a pathetic challenge for the Barnsley goal, lost his man v Bournemouth.

I think he’s lucky if he makes the bench on Monday.

I get he has a laid back style, but I agree, doesn’t look like one interested in staying 

[One Team]

I completely agree. Apart from a couple of senior players like Bentley and Kalas and a few of the kids we need a total clear out. 

[You Do The Dziekanowski]

1 hour ago, Mark barton said:

Fortunately rotherham will hopefully keep us up. This has been developing over 3 years, the whole playing squad needs a complete overhaul and the recruitment needs to be so much better.

It’s tricky though. 

Dasilva, Kalas, Bentley, Massengo, Wells, Palmer all welcomed with open arms when announced and the only one I feel is a ‘flop’ is wells. 

We have bought in good players, just not strengthened weak areas, mainly width. Wingbacks and Wingers are definitely missed! Especially when trying to break down 5 at the back. 
 

 

[2015]

Bang average at very best really. If they were at other clubs would we want to sign any of them you should ask yourself.

[firstdivision]

52 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Some of those are always injured.

The answer doesn’t lie within those already at the club.

That’s a different point. I agree. Clear out needed. 

But essentially a whole team unavailable today and for large parts of the season, which would affect any club.  
 

And I forgot Weimann and Pato in my original post as well.

[Harry]

I was going to start a thread on the rebuild for next season, but this seems like a good thread to put my thoughts.

I've seen some people saying that Pearson has quite a challenge on to rebuild this squad, but if you consider the amount of players out of contract this summer, he's got as good a chance as any other manager in the past to stamp his authority on this squad.

The following 1st teamers are out of contract this summer :
Gilmartin, Baker, Mariappa, Sessegnon, Hunt, Simpson, Lansbury, Walsh, Rowe, Paterson, Weimann, Watkins, Adelakun & Diedhiou.

That's 14 players that Pearson can potentially 'ship out' if he so desires.  Personally, of all of those I'd only keep Walsh, the rest can leave, some with a thank you for your service, others with a boot up the arse.

Let's say we don't keep any of those players, we're left with the following 'pro's' :

GK : Bentley, O'Leary, Wollocott
FB : Dasilva, Pring
CB : Kalas, Vyner, Moore
CM : Nagy, Bakinson, Williams, Massengo,
AM/W : O'Dowda, Palmer, Semenyo
ST : Wells, Martin

That's 17 players.  There are a number of other youngsters (Bell, Towler etc), but I'd imagine we'd be looking to loan out most of them, so I wouldn't consider them as 1st team squad next season..

17 players, of which I would imagine Wollocott, Moore & Bakinson might be loaned out.  So possibly down to 14.  Never has a City manager been presented with such a massive opportunity to totally reshape the squad in 1 transfer window.  With 12-14 players likely to move on, Pearson should have the opportunity to bring in almost a whole first 11.

Question is, as always, will he be given the budget he needs to reshape this squad, and will he have full remit over who he wants to bring in (but that's been done to death so I don't want to focus on that particular aspect).

If we look at the starting 11 today, here is the age of the players :
27, 30, 27, 34, 32, 30, 19, 24, 21, 30, 18.  Subs were 28, 30, 22, 34, 23.

We are either 'very experienced', or 'very young'.
The starting 11 only has Bentley & Kalas at their 'prime' age.  There rest are over the hill or young and inexperienced.

If I were Pearson, my summer recruitment would be very largely focused on 23-27 year olds who have plentiful experience under their belts.  We really really (and I mean REALLY) need to stop this awful recruitment policy of late of signing players on the decline.  In chronological order, our last 9 permanent signings are Simpson, Lansbury, Mariappa, Brunt, Martin, J Williams, Wells, Rodri, A Williams.  That's 8 of the last 9 who are over 30 and let's be honest, past it.

That transfer policy MUST change.  IMMEDIATELY.  We need to be looking at 75% of signings as players in their prime, with the other 25% as younger players with potential to step up.  There should hopefully be scope for Pearson to bring in at least 10, maybe even as many as 14 players.  He needs at least 8 players who are 23-27, in their prime and ready to compete at this level.  Then supplement that with 4 or 5 under 23's who can make the step up.

 

Just a quick scan I can see the following 'prime age' championship players who are out of contract this summer (this isn't a recommendation of signing any of these, just an example of who is out there potentially who would improve this squad, in my opinion):
Alex Mowatt, Nick Powell, Joe Rothwell, Andre Wisdom, Omar Richards, Adam Reach, Pelly Ruddock, Ryan Nyambe.

If we then want to spend some money, how about putting offers in for one or two of these :
Jed Wallace, Krystian Bielik, Tom Lawrence, Elias Chair, Jake Cooper.  Then let's have a look at players in teams at or near the bottom who might be worth a bid, like Ryan Giles, Jamie Lindsay, Dan Barlaser, Gus Hamer, Callum O'Hare, Jamie Allen, Lewis O'Brien.

Again, not advocating any or all of those players, nor saying they are available and would come, but that's the sort of players we need to start considering, and quit with this 30+ recruitment.

There is a huge opportunity for Pearson this summer, lets hope he's given the freedom to recruit as he sees fit.

Imagine us picking up Nyambe at right back, Mowatt & Rothwell in midfield, then bidding for Wallace & Lawrence on the wings and Cooper at the back.  6 players, 3 potentially without a fee, that immediately improve us massively.

I'm watching this summer with a lot more intrigue that any other year.
 

[GrahamC]

@Harry Pretty sure Wollacott is out of contract, too.

Quite a number on your wish list are on mine, as well, though I think Mowatt will get a better offer than us, myself & Omar Richards is being heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich.

Nyambe, Reach, Rothwell & Ruddock should all merit serious consideration. Hyam at Coventry, too.

[Edgy Red]

5 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Don’t get me wrong we weren’t great in opening 15, but forced errors out of Stoke, won some corners....something to build from.  Wells and Bell backed up by Massengo, pressing the routes out.

Bell got injured.

Bakinson sauntered around.

Stoke had it easy from that point onwards.

I think NP has just put a little cross against TB’s name.

I think you're right about TB. He doesn't strike me as a Pearson type of player at all.

To be fair, in an ideal world he probably would have been out on loan again this season but injuries meant he got pressed in to action.

I've said before that he does have ability but he doesn't cover the ground quick enough and is pretty slow for a player of his size.

[Superjack]

4 hours ago, 2015 said:

Bang average at very best really. If they were at other clubs would we want to sign any of them you should ask yourself.

They were and we did.

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

I was going to start a thread on the rebuild for next season, but this seems like a good thread to put my thoughts.

I've seen some people saying that Pearson has quite a challenge on to rebuild this squad, but if you consider the amount of players out of contract this summer, he's got as good a chance as any other manager in the past to stamp his authority on this squad.

The following 1st teamers are out of contract this summer :
Gilmartin, Baker, Mariappa, Sessegnon, Hunt, Simpson, Lansbury, Walsh, Rowe, Paterson, Weimann, Watkins, Adelakun & Diedhiou.

That's 14 players that Pearson can potentially 'ship out' if he so desires.  Personally, of all of those I'd only keep Walsh, the rest can leave, some with a thank you for your service, others with a boot up the arse.

Let's say we don't keep any of those players, we're left with the following 'pro's' :

GK : Bentley, O'Leary, Wollocott
FB : Dasilva, Pring
CB : Kalas, Vyner, Moore
CM : Nagy, Bakinson, Williams, Massengo,
AM/W : O'Dowda, Palmer, Semenyo
ST : Wells, Martin

That's 17 players.  There are a number of other youngsters (Bell, Towler etc), but I'd imagine we'd be looking to loan out most of them, so I wouldn't consider them as 1st team squad next season..

17 players, of which I would imagine Wollocott, Moore & Bakinson might be loaned out.  So possibly down to 14.  Never has a City manager been presented with such a massive opportunity to totally reshape the squad in 1 transfer window.  With 12-14 players likely to move on, Pearson should have the opportunity to bring in almost a whole first 11.

Question is, as always, will he be given the budget he needs to reshape this squad, and will he have full remit over who he wants to bring in (but that's been done to death so I don't want to focus on that particular aspect).

If we look at the starting 11 today, here is the age of the players :
27, 30, 27, 34, 32, 30, 19, 24, 21, 30, 18.  Subs were 28, 30, 22, 34, 23.

We are either 'very experienced', or 'very young'.
The starting 11 only has Bentley & Kalas at their 'prime' age.  There rest are over the hill or young and inexperienced.

If I were Pearson, my summer recruitment would be very largely focused on 23-27 year olds who have plentiful experience under their belts.  We really really (and I mean REALLY) need to stop this awful recruitment policy of late of signing players on the decline.  In chronological order, our last 9 permanent signings are Simpson, Lansbury, Mariappa, Brunt, Martin, J Williams, Wells, Rodri, A Williams.  That's 8 of the last 9 who are over 30 and let's be honest, past it.

That transfer policy MUST change.  IMMEDIATELY.  We need to be looking at 75% of signings as players in their prime, with the other 25% as younger players with potential to step up.  There should hopefully be scope for Pearson to bring in at least 10, maybe even as many as 14 players.  He needs at least 8 players who are 23-27, in their prime and ready to compete at this level.  Then supplement that with 4 or 5 under 23's who can make the step up.

 

Just a quick scan I can see the following 'prime age' championship players who are out of contract this summer (this isn't a recommendation of signing any of these, just an example of who is out there potentially who would improve this squad, in my opinion):
Alex Mowatt, Nick Powell, Joe Rothwell, Andre Wisdom, Omar Richards, Adam Reach, Pelly Ruddock, Ryan Nyambe.

If we then want to spend some money, how about putting offers in for one or two of these :
Jed Wallace, Krystian Bielik, Tom Lawrence, Elias Chair, Jake Cooper.  Then let's have a look at players in teams at or near the bottom who might be worth a bid, like Ryan Giles, Jamie Lindsay, Dan Barlaser, Gus Hamer, Callum O'Hare, Jamie Allen, Lewis O'Brien.

Again, not advocating any or all of those players, nor saying they are available and would come, but that's the sort of players we need to start considering, and quit with this 30+ recruitment.

There is a huge opportunity for Pearson this summer, lets hope he's given the freedom to recruit as he sees fit.

Imagine us picking up Nyambe at right back, Mowatt & Rothwell in midfield, then bidding for Wallace & Lawrence on the wings and Cooper at the back.  6 players, 3 potentially without a fee, that immediately improve us massively.

I'm watching this summer with a lot more intrigue that any other year.
 

Pretty aligned to my thoughts too.  As Graham says Wollacott is OOC but we do have a year option.

I would probably add that the majority of new signings need to be seen as mid/long term, the kind of players you bring in on a 3-4 year deal, and that you’d want to extend in 18-24 months.  There will need to be a couple of quick-fix players, preferably on loan.

Bielik - second ACL hasn’t he?  Versus us?

I think there’s a strong chance that Bakinson, Moore, Nagy and Wells won’t be here either.

Other players worth a look at:

• Ben Wiles, Matthew Olusunde - Rotherham
• Dominic Iorfa - Wednesday
• Djed Spence - Boro
• Harry Toffolo - Huddersfield if any doubts re Dasilva long-term fitness
• Dion Charles - Accrington
• Luke Jephcott - Plymouth
• Jerry Yates - Blackpool
• Scott Twine - Swindon

 

[Taylor10]

3 hours ago, Harry said:

I was going to start a thread on the rebuild for next season, but this seems like a good thread to put my thoughts.

I've seen some people saying that Pearson has quite a challenge on to rebuild this squad, but if you consider the amount of players out of contract this summer, he's got as good a chance as any other manager in the past to stamp his authority on this squad.

The following 1st teamers are out of contract this summer :
Gilmartin, Baker, Mariappa, Sessegnon, Hunt, Simpson, Lansbury, Walsh, Rowe, Paterson, Weimann, Watkins, Adelakun & Diedhiou.

That's 14 players that Pearson can potentially 'ship out' if he so desires.  Personally, of all of those I'd only keep Walsh, the rest can leave, some with a thank you for your service, others with a boot up the arse.

Let's say we don't keep any of those players, we're left with the following 'pro's' :

GK : Bentley, O'Leary, Wollocott
FB : Dasilva, Pring
CB : Kalas, Vyner, Moore
CM : Nagy, Bakinson, Williams, Massengo,
AM/W : O'Dowda, Palmer, Semenyo
ST : Wells, Martin

That's 17 players.  There are a number of other youngsters (Bell, Towler etc), but I'd imagine we'd be looking to loan out most of them, so I wouldn't consider them as 1st team squad next season..

17 players, of which I would imagine Wollocott, Moore & Bakinson might be loaned out.  So possibly down to 14.  Never has a City manager been presented with such a massive opportunity to totally reshape the squad in 1 transfer window.  With 12-14 players likely to move on, Pearson should have the opportunity to bring in almost a whole first 11.

Question is, as always, will he be given the budget he needs to reshape this squad, and will he have full remit over who he wants to bring in (but that's been done to death so I don't want to focus on that particular aspect).

If we look at the starting 11 today, here is the age of the players :
27, 30, 27, 34, 32, 30, 19, 24, 21, 30, 18.  Subs were 28, 30, 22, 34, 23.

We are either 'very experienced', or 'very young'.
The starting 11 only has Bentley & Kalas at their 'prime' age.  There rest are over the hill or young and inexperienced.

If I were Pearson, my summer recruitment would be very largely focused on 23-27 year olds who have plentiful experience under their belts.  We really really (and I mean REALLY) need to stop this awful recruitment policy of late of signing players on the decline.  In chronological order, our last 9 permanent signings are Simpson, Lansbury, Mariappa, Brunt, Martin, J Williams, Wells, Rodri, A Williams.  That's 8 of the last 9 who are over 30 and let's be honest, past it.

That transfer policy MUST change.  IMMEDIATELY.  We need to be looking at 75% of signings as players in their prime, with the other 25% as younger players with potential to step up.  There should hopefully be scope for Pearson to bring in at least 10, maybe even as many as 14 players.  He needs at least 8 players who are 23-27, in their prime and ready to compete at this level.  Then supplement that with 4 or 5 under 23's who can make the step up.

 

Just a quick scan I can see the following 'prime age' championship players who are out of contract this summer (this isn't a recommendation of signing any of these, just an example of who is out there potentially who would improve this squad, in my opinion):
Alex Mowatt, Nick Powell, Joe Rothwell, Andre Wisdom, Omar Richards, Adam Reach, Pelly Ruddock, Ryan Nyambe.

If we then want to spend some money, how about putting offers in for one or two of these :
Jed Wallace, Krystian Bielik, Tom Lawrence, Elias Chair, Jake Cooper.  Then let's have a look at players in teams at or near the bottom who might be worth a bid, like Ryan Giles, Jamie Lindsay, Dan Barlaser, Gus Hamer, Callum O'Hare, Jamie Allen, Lewis O'Brien.

Again, not advocating any or all of those players, nor saying they are available and would come, but that's the sort of players we need to start considering, and quit with this 30+ recruitment.

There is a huge opportunity for Pearson this summer, lets hope he's given the freedom to recruit as he sees fit.

Imagine us picking up Nyambe at right back, Mowatt & Rothwell in midfield, then bidding for Wallace & Lawrence on the wings and Cooper at the back.  6 players, 3 potentially without a fee, that immediately improve us massively.

I'm watching this summer with a lot more intrigue that any other year.
 

Excellent summary @Harry

This pretty much represents my thoughts on the summer and those that need to go. I guess a lot of it depends on how much NP is allowed to rebuild as it would require a huge overhaul. I really do hope this is a busy summer for all the right reasons.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Harry said:

I was going to start a thread on the rebuild for next season, but this seems like a good thread to put my thoughts.

I've seen some people saying that Pearson has quite a challenge on to rebuild this squad, but if you consider the amount of players out of contract this summer, he's got as good a chance as any other manager in the past to stamp his authority on this squad.

The following 1st teamers are out of contract this summer :
Gilmartin, Baker, Mariappa, Sessegnon, Hunt, Simpson, Lansbury, Walsh, Rowe, Paterson, Weimann, Watkins, Adelakun & Diedhiou.

That's 14 players that Pearson can potentially 'ship out' if he so desires.  Personally, of all of those I'd only keep Walsh, the rest can leave, some with a thank you for your service, others with a boot up the arse.

Let's say we don't keep any of those players, we're left with the following 'pro's' :

GK : Bentley, O'Leary, Wollocott
FB : Dasilva, Pring
CB : Kalas, Vyner, Moore
CM : Nagy, Bakinson, Williams, Massengo,
AM/W : O'Dowda, Palmer, Semenyo
ST : Wells, Martin

That's 17 players.  There are a number of other youngsters (Bell, Towler etc), but I'd imagine we'd be looking to loan out most of them, so I wouldn't consider them as 1st team squad next season..

17 players, of which I would imagine Wollocott, Moore & Bakinson might be loaned out.  So possibly down to 14.  Never has a City manager been presented with such a massive opportunity to totally reshape the squad in 1 transfer window.  With 12-14 players likely to move on, Pearson should have the opportunity to bring in almost a whole first 11.

Question is, as always, will he be given the budget he needs to reshape this squad, and will he have full remit over who he wants to bring in (but that's been done to death so I don't want to focus on that particular aspect).

If we look at the starting 11 today, here is the age of the players :
27, 30, 27, 34, 32, 30, 19, 24, 21, 30, 18.  Subs were 28, 30, 22, 34, 23.

We are either 'very experienced', or 'very young'.
The starting 11 only has Bentley & Kalas at their 'prime' age.  There rest are over the hill or young and inexperienced.

If I were Pearson, my summer recruitment would be very largely focused on 23-27 year olds who have plentiful experience under their belts.  We really really (and I mean REALLY) need to stop this awful recruitment policy of late of signing players on the decline.  In chronological order, our last 9 permanent signings are Simpson, Lansbury, Mariappa, Brunt, Martin, J Williams, Wells, Rodri, A Williams.  That's 8 of the last 9 who are over 30 and let's be honest, past it.

That transfer policy MUST change.  IMMEDIATELY.  We need to be looking at 75% of signings as players in their prime, with the other 25% as younger players with potential to step up.  There should hopefully be scope for Pearson to bring in at least 10, maybe even as many as 14 players.  He needs at least 8 players who are 23-27, in their prime and ready to compete at this level.  Then supplement that with 4 or 5 under 23's who can make the step up.

 

Just a quick scan I can see the following 'prime age' championship players who are out of contract this summer (this isn't a recommendation of signing any of these, just an example of who is out there potentially who would improve this squad, in my opinion):
Alex Mowatt, Nick Powell, Joe Rothwell, Andre Wisdom, Omar Richards, Adam Reach, Pelly Ruddock, Ryan Nyambe.

If we then want to spend some money, how about putting offers in for one or two of these :
Jed Wallace, Krystian Bielik, Tom Lawrence, Elias Chair, Jake Cooper.  Then let's have a look at players in teams at or near the bottom who might be worth a bid, like Ryan Giles, Jamie Lindsay, Dan Barlaser, Gus Hamer, Callum O'Hare, Jamie Allen, Lewis O'Brien.

Again, not advocating any or all of those players, nor saying they are available and would come, but that's the sort of players we need to start considering, and quit with this 30+ recruitment.

There is a huge opportunity for Pearson this summer, lets hope he's given the freedom to recruit as he sees fit.

Imagine us picking up Nyambe at right back, Mowatt & Rothwell in midfield, then bidding for Wallace & Lawrence on the wings and Cooper at the back.  6 players, 3 potentially without a fee, that immediately improve us massively.

I'm watching this summer with a lot more intrigue that any other year.
 

Best post I’ve read in a long time.

It seems NP is playing down the hand he’s been dealt by talking about 3 to 4 windows to get the team he wants.

I’m going to pray for him to get the Leicester back room team together and blow the league away next season.

[Super]

8 hours ago, Harry said:

I was going to start a thread on the rebuild for next season, but this seems like a good thread to put my thoughts.

I've seen some people saying that Pearson has quite a challenge on to rebuild this squad, but if you consider the amount of players out of contract this summer, he's got as good a chance as any other manager in the past to stamp his authority on this squad.

The following 1st teamers are out of contract this summer :
Gilmartin, Baker, Mariappa, Sessegnon, Hunt, Simpson, Lansbury, Walsh, Rowe, Paterson, Weimann, Watkins, Adelakun & Diedhiou.

That's 14 players that Pearson can potentially 'ship out' if he so desires.  Personally, of all of those I'd only keep Walsh, the rest can leave, some with a thank you for your service, others with a boot up the arse.

Let's say we don't keep any of those players, we're left with the following 'pro's' :

GK : Bentley, O'Leary, Wollocott
FB : Dasilva, Pring
CB : Kalas, Vyner, Moore
CM : Nagy, Bakinson, Williams, Massengo,
AM/W : O'Dowda, Palmer, Semenyo
ST : Wells, Martin

That's 17 players.  There are a number of other youngsters (Bell, Towler etc), but I'd imagine we'd be looking to loan out most of them, so I wouldn't consider them as 1st team squad next season..

17 players, of which I would imagine Wollocott, Moore & Bakinson might be loaned out.  So possibly down to 14.  Never has a City manager been presented with such a massive opportunity to totally reshape the squad in 1 transfer window.  With 12-14 players likely to move on, Pearson should have the opportunity to bring in almost a whole first 11.

Question is, as always, will he be given the budget he needs to reshape this squad, and will he have full remit over who he wants to bring in (but that's been done to death so I don't want to focus on that particular aspect).

If we look at the starting 11 today, here is the age of the players :
27, 30, 27, 34, 32, 30, 19, 24, 21, 30, 18.  Subs were 28, 30, 22, 34, 23.

We are either 'very experienced', or 'very young'.
The starting 11 only has Bentley & Kalas at their 'prime' age.  There rest are over the hill or young and inexperienced.

If I were Pearson, my summer recruitment would be very largely focused on 23-27 year olds who have plentiful experience under their belts.  We really really (and I mean REALLY) need to stop this awful recruitment policy of late of signing players on the decline.  In chronological order, our last 9 permanent signings are Simpson, Lansbury, Mariappa, Brunt, Martin, J Williams, Wells, Rodri, A Williams.  That's 8 of the last 9 who are over 30 and let's be honest, past it.

That transfer policy MUST change.  IMMEDIATELY.  We need to be looking at 75% of signings as players in their prime, with the other 25% as younger players with potential to step up.  There should hopefully be scope for Pearson to bring in at least 10, maybe even as many as 14 players.  He needs at least 8 players who are 23-27, in their prime and ready to compete at this level.  Then supplement that with 4 or 5 under 23's who can make the step up.

 

Just a quick scan I can see the following 'prime age' championship players who are out of contract this summer (this isn't a recommendation of signing any of these, just an example of who is out there potentially who would improve this squad, in my opinion):
Alex Mowatt, Nick Powell, Joe Rothwell, Andre Wisdom, Omar Richards, Adam Reach, Pelly Ruddock, Ryan Nyambe.

If we then want to spend some money, how about putting offers in for one or two of these :
Jed Wallace, Krystian Bielik, Tom Lawrence, Elias Chair, Jake Cooper.  Then let's have a look at players in teams at or near the bottom who might be worth a bid, like Ryan Giles, Jamie Lindsay, Dan Barlaser, Gus Hamer, Callum O'Hare, Jamie Allen, Lewis O'Brien.

Again, not advocating any or all of those players, nor saying they are available and would come, but that's the sort of players we need to start considering, and quit with this 30+ recruitment.

There is a huge opportunity for Pearson this summer, lets hope he's given the freedom to recruit as he sees fit.

Imagine us picking up Nyambe at right back, Mowatt & Rothwell in midfield, then bidding for Wallace & Lawrence on the wings and Cooper at the back.  6 players, 3 potentially without a fee, that immediately improve us massively.

I'm watching this summer with a lot more intrigue that any other year.
 

Superb post.