Well done City, well done with the recruitment.

[Spike]

1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

What I don't get though is we are FFP wise in a great position- even if we don't add much why sell Flint especially for the fee we did to a Championship rival? We can afford otherwise.

Jury still out for me though- plus the churn factor, cannot underestimate the factor this plays.

It's only a guess but I think Flint wanted to move on, there was a big suggestion he wanted that last season but he's very professional as a person so I think he signed the contract to ensure the club was protected whilst giving himself a small monetary boost. I also think there was a verbal agreement in place, like "you sign the contract and we'll allow you to move in the summer next year". I just can't see why else we'd sell unless he wanted it. 

I also think as much as people don't want to hear it, we're not viewed as a club to get promoted with. None of the signings we've made talk about the Premier and the one who has signed a one year deal so he knows he can talk a big game but still walk away if he wants to. 

I think overall we've done decent business, it's just our defending that concerns me, we really never look comfortable defending no matter who we have in which leads me to believe that the tactical and coaching aspects are where we're falling short there. 

[Ska Junkie]

2 minutes ago, Spike said:

It's only a guess but I think Flint wanted to move on, there was a big suggestion he wanted that last season but he's very professional as a person so I think he signed the contract to ensure the club was protected whilst giving himself a small monetary boost. I also think there was a verbal agreement in place, like "you sign the contract and we'll allow you to move in the summer next year". I just can't see why else we'd sell unless he wanted it. 

I also think as much as people don't want to hear it, we're not viewed as a club to get promoted with. None of the signings we've made talk about the Premier and the one who has signed a one year deal so he knows he can talk a big game but still walk away if he wants to. 

I think overall we've done decent business, it's just our defending that concerns me, we really never look comfortable defending no matter who we have in which leads me to believe that the tactical and coaching aspects are where we're falling short there. 

As an aside, I work with a lad who's a massive 'Boro fan and he says they've been playing Flinty as a LEFT sided centre back. We all know he hasn't got a left foot so I would hope the likes of Eliasson and COD run at him when we play them, IF he plays at left sided centre half. 

[INCRED]

We have added depth to the squad which was exposed last season and the main reason we dropped off the pace and out of the top 6. Up to Christmas the squad rotation was working but a clutch of injuries impacted that approach.

we have bought athletic players who have experience at this level and a couple of promising players from the lower leagues in Eisa & Adelukan.

I have no idea where we will finish and how quickly the new players will gel with the squad but have no concerns of relegation and think we are more than capable of a top half finish

The player I think will surprise a few is Eliasson, has looked very sharp in pre season and like a new player, if he can take his form into the new season we may have a real gem in our hands again

[Major Isewater]

13 hours ago, reddogkev said:

We grumble for months and months when we have a perceived bad transfer window, so now it's time to celebrate a damn fine one.

I like the look of all the players we've signed so far, and feel pleased we've raided the lower leagues again for some decent talent.

I'd like to tip my hat to City for bringing in an exciting, decent new crop of players. 

Looking forward to seeing them gel over the coming season.

Everyone else feel the same, that we've done a top job with the recruitment so far?  I am very impressed.

 

Well , Mark, promising though it appears, to steal a phrase from Reservoir Dogs 

 

[downendcity]

25 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

 

Well , Mark, promising though it appears, to steal a phrase from Reservoir Dogs 

 

Think you might have bitten off more than you can chew with that post Major, so to speak!

[reddogkev]

3 hours ago, Ivorguy said:

Two points

1. Wait until ten games have been played before passing any kind of judgement 

2. A much deeper squad this season than last should enable us to ride any major injury problems with greater confidence 

It's a bit too safe and dull to wait until 10 games have been played though, isn't it?  I can honesty say now, on paper, I feel we've done a quality job with recruitment so far, meaning I agree with number 2.

[RumRed]

42 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

 

Well , Mark, promising though it appears, to steal a phrase from Reservoir Dogs 

 

That's Pulp Fiction. 

[Phileas Fogg]

13 minutes ago, reddogkev said:

It's a bit too safe and dull to wait until 10 games have been played though, isn't it?  I can honesty say now, on paper, I feel we've done a quality job with recruitment so far, meaning I agree with number 2.

It's just sensible. Rash predictions on here have a history of going badly wrong. 'Matt Smith is awful'.

I appreciate that 'not getting carried away' isn't really your posting style though so you crack on!

[core321]

4 hours ago, reddogkev said:

Interesting to hear your opposing view points, fascinating how we can have two contrasting mind-sets.  I see no reason why Maeenpa can not be our number 1, his experience is vastly impressive and suggests he will be an improvement on FF.

It's only my opinion, but I see Mo Eisa as a signing of intent, he doesn't have to cost the earth, his goals and performances in League 2 are superb, and if he brings that talent to the Championship, he is going to be some player.  There must have been a lot of other clubs after him.  And yep, getting Pack for another 3 years is pretty impressive - but don't you just know it, there will be threads on here slating his performances this season.

Maeenpa - 1 league appearance from 2015-18

Mo Eisa - What about Taylor from Rovers, did it in league one...still waiting to see what he can do in the championship.

[Phileas Fogg]

13 minutes ago, core321 said:

Maeenpa - 1 league appearance from 2015-18

Mo Eisa - What about Taylor from Rovers, did it in league one...still waiting to see what he can do in the championship.

What about Britt Assombalonga, what about Dwight Gayle, what about Andre Grey..

We can't really judge Eisa by how Taylor has done, you have to judge players individually. 

[core321]

14 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

What about Britt Assombalonga, what about Dwight Gayle, what about Andre Grey..

We can't really judge Eisa by how Taylor has done, you have to judge players individually. 

Umm...missed the point Fogg. I'm saying City purchased Taylor, a proven League One goal scorer and we are still waiting to see. Taylor has been a proven 'lower league' goal scorer for a number of years. Eisa is a punt simple as that, hopefully a good one.

As for the others well I have no idea why you have mentioned them, they have a raft of lower league experience and goals, unlike Eisa with one season. Now he has had a huge jump to championship level with what seems lots of expectation from some City fans.

So I can judge Eisa by using Taylor as a comparison. Hopefully Eisa makes it, unlike Taylor who is not first on the team sheet, but has come with a lot more experience in league football.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

We will have a much better view 10 games in, my prediction though for what it's worth and in no particular order at all, long winless periods and slightly less long unbeaten periods, it's so far what LJ does as a manager.

I am sure that he will strive for consistency but delivering it is the goal.

My biggest worry is of course midfield, I see no changes from last season, no leader, no organisation and not enough creativity in and around the opponents 18 yard box and all of that adds up to undue pressure on the defence and keeper, who will once more shoulder the blame.

But hey new season, new faces, new hope and maybe even consistency and a far better drilled midfield.

[Phileas Fogg]

2 minutes ago, core321 said:

Umm...missed the point Fogg. I'm saying City purchased Taylor, a proven League One goal scorer and we are still waiting to see. Taylor has been a proven 'lower league' goal scorer for a number of years. Eisa is a punt simple as that, hopefully a good one.

As for the others well I have no idea why you have mentioned them, they have a raft of lower league experience and goals, unlike Eisa with one season. Now he has had a huge jump to championship level with what seems lots of expectation from some City fans.

So I can judge Eisa by using Taylor as a comparison. Hopefully Eisa makes it, unlike Taylor who is not first on the team sheet, but has come with a lot more experience in league football.

Ok, the point I thought you were making was..

"we purchased Taylor from lower league and he hasn't been a regular goalscorer. Why then should we have any faith that Eisa will be a regular goalscorer?"

Was that not what you were saying?

The reason I mentioned the others was to demonstrate that there have been plenty of players who have failed to jump up to this league, but plenty that have done really well. You can find examples of both so it's not that useful to compare directly to Taylor with such basic parameters when there are other examples.

 

[reddogkev]

5 minutes ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

We will have a much better view 10 games in, my prediction though for what it's worth and in no particular order at all, long winless periods and slightly less long unbeaten periods, it's so far what LJ does as a manager.

I am sure that he will strive for consistency but delivering it is goal.

My biggest worry is of course midfield, I see no changes from last season, no leader, no organisation and not enough creativity in and around the opponents 18 yard box and all of that adds up to undue pressure on the defence and keeper, who will once more shoulder the blame.

But hey new season, new faces, new hope and maybe even consistency and a far better drilled midfield.

The midfield intrigues me - Smith and Pack are tried and tested quality - gaining more Championship experience and leadership skills with City.  Brownhill should really be in the mix, and of course there is Liam Walsh, who now has had time to develop with us and become familiar with what the coaches are trying to achieve.

I'd like to see Pack be the leader of the midfield, Smith be the energy and the bite, and Brownhill / Walsh offer the creativity.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

1 minute ago, reddogkev said:

The midfield intrigues me - Smith and Pack are tried and tested quality - gaining more Championship experience and leadership skills with City.  Brownhill should really be in the mix, and of course there is Liam Walsh, who now has had time to develop with us and become familiar with what the coaches are trying to achieve.

I'd like to see Pack be the leader of the midfield, Smith be the energy and the bite, and Brownhill / Walsh offer the creativity.

I'm sorry I just don't see it that way, individually they are all very good players, but there is very little if any organisation or responsibility taken by any of them, I lost count last season and the season before at the amount of times both Pack and Smith were caught out ahead of the ball, leaving us without a holding midfielder and we were caught on the break with a simple ball over the top straight down the middle.

In our dire run between January and May how many times did our midfield come out on top in a game?, the answer is very few, also how many times over the past 2 seasons have we seen our midfield virtually surrender the middle third of the pitch in games?, the answer is too many.

I always live in hope but I fear it will be the same as the past 2 seasons with our midfield, we lack a vital ingredient desperately in my view.

[RedRock]

28 minutes ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

We will have a much better view 10 games in, my prediction though for what it's worth and in no particular order at all, long winless periods and slightly less long unbeaten periods, it's so far what LJ does as a manager.

I am sure that he will strive for consistency but delivering it is the goal.

My biggest worry is of course midfield, I see no changes from last season, no leader, no organisation and not enough creativity in and around the opponents 18 yard box and all of that adds up to undue pressure on the defence and keeper, who will once more shoulder the blame.

But hey new season, new faces, new hope and maybe even consistency and a far better drilled midfield.

Spot on.

Think you need to look at rugby to see what is going on in the evolution of football. Power, pace and intelligence are the key assets now. The maintenance of high energy levels throughout a game/season is critical. 

Bristol Rugby failed abysmally when last promoted to Premiership Rugby as they seriously underestimated the key requirements of the players required to compete.

My fear is that LJ still seeks to have ‘mini me’s’ in the midfield, the likes of Walsh, Brownhill, Pato and Smith. Now you may get away with one or possibly two but to play three and four of those types of players is a massive risk in an individual game and more so for a season. 

 

[reddogkev]

5 minutes ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

I'm sorry I just don't see it that way, individually they are all very good players, but there is very little if any organisation or responsibility taken by any of them, I lost count last season and the season before at the amount of times both Pack and Smith were caught out ahead of the ball, leaving us without a holding midfielder and we were caught on the break with a simple ball over the top straight down the middle.

In our dire run between January and May how many times did our midfield come out on top in a game?, the answer is very few, also how many times over the past 2 seasons have we seen our midfield virtually surrender the middle third of the pitch in games?, the answer is too many.

I always live in hope but I fear it will be the same as the past 2 seasons with our midfield, we lack a vital ingredient desperately in my view.

Fair points; if we did sign the missing player, who in your book would they replace?

Knowing all of their skills as we do, I can't understand how Smith and Pack together, plus the others I've mentioned, don't do the job we require in the middle of the park.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

11 minutes ago, reddogkev said:

Fair points; if we did sign the missing player, who in your book would they replace?

Knowing all of their skills as we do, I can't understand how Smith and Pack together, plus the others I've mentioned, don't do the job we require in the middle of the park.

I still believe that 3 at the back is the way forward, so maybe both can play but both as holding midfielders.

As for the 2nd sentence, IMO it's because neither is a natural leader, they struggle to deal with the concentration and stresses of their own game and not only cannot see the bigger picture of what is happening around them but both also lack the discipline to realise when the other has gone forward and just drop in, in a way they are both victims of their desire to win and lose discipline when the red mist of victory descends, another problem slightly more personal to Pack is he tends to commits his silly fouls in the wrong area of the pitch usually to close to our 18 yard box, Smith is far more likely to commit his in and around the halfway line.

[shelts]

We’re fishing in a different pond to the big clubs . It looks a better squad to me than last year . We shall find out sooner or later 

[Alessandro]

I think for the first time in some time we can field 2 competitive teams and that gives me confidence.

Fielding/MOL

Hunt/Pisano

Bryan/Kelly

Baker/Wright

Webster/Moore

Pack/Brownhill

Smith/Walsh

Watkins/Adelkun

Weimann/Paterson

Famara/Eisa

COD/Eliasson

From that point of view, a stronger squad. Will that help maintain longer term form, hopefully.

Will we miss Bobby’s goals? We’ll see. We said the same after Kodjia, and then after Tammy. I think there are more goals in this squad as a whole this season though.

I’m not sure about the central area, I hope Brownhill fills that role, but I said the same last summer.

I think we’ve seen again how tough the market is. We’ve been linked to names that have moved to teams that we can’t compete with financially, whether we like it or not. So from that point of view, I think our buisness has been good. All UK based with football league experience.

The league this year looks very very interesting - of the three coming down, you could see 2 struggle. Villa will be weaker this year. Derby, Leeds and Forest have all spent well, but all have that slight unknown quantity about them, will all 3 experiments come off? I suspect it will take them time to gel eitherway....Not sure.

I think the door is wide open for a team like City or Preston for example to challenge seriously for the top 6 this season. 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

I'm sorry I just don't see it that way, individually they are all very good players, but there is very little if any organisation or responsibility taken by any of them, I lost count last season and the season before at the amount of times both Pack and Smith were caught out ahead of the ball, leaving us without a holding midfielder and we were caught on the break with a simple ball over the top straight down the middle.

In our dire run between January and May how many times did our midfield come out on top in a game?, the answer is very few, also how many times over the past 2 seasons have we seen our midfield virtually surrender the middle third of the pitch in games?, the answer is too many.

I always live in hope but I fear it will be the same as the past 2 seasons with our midfield, we lack a vital ingredient desperately in my view.

Highlighted the first paragraph, but I think the whole post is relevant.

Our 2 Man central midfield gets over-run, not because of numbers, but because the gaps between the strikers one way and our defenders the other way becomes too big.

When we are compact and attack and defend as a unit (rather than 3) we look good at both aspects.  When we are 3 separate units we look a shadow of ourselves.  I don’t think it matters too much who we play in there, they all have their merits individually and as a pair, likewise weaknesses.

I think it is vital, especially away from home, that we play a higher line and condense the pitch.  Bryan and Hunt are quick enough as FBs, Baker is good positionally (when focussed). How quick is Webster?  He could be key to us squeezing.

Similarly at the other end, Weimann will need to run his nuts off - he’s been given the carrot of playing centrally, and I hope he accepts the challenge of being the press trigger.  I think Watkins (or O’Dowda or Brownhill) will give us energy down or right (their left) to stop teams getting out too easily.  Not sure about Eliasson until I’ve seen him play.  Having Joe behind him might be key.

I’ve missed all the friendlies and will miss Forest too, so no pre-conceived thoughts from the warm-up games.  I just want to see us back playing as a team, working hard, attritional, hard to beat.  That might not sound glamorous, but I took a lot of pleasure from wins against Reading, Forest, Boro last season, where we nullified the opposition and took our chances.

[Kid in the Riot]

To be honest most of the new signings should be hitting the ground running as they have enough experience at this level or in the case of the keeper Niki are old enough. That goes for: Watkins, Weimann, Webster, Hunt and Maenpaa. Then Eisa and Adelakun obviously need to be given time to adapt to the Championship.

[Rich_s]

18 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

I'll wait and see what happens on Saturday afternoon. 

That's very christian of you giving them a whole afternoon. I, like most of the Dolman will be judging every player based on his first touch of the ball.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

2 hours ago, JonDolman said:

I see it completely differently tbh. I think smith is the best leader we have. Always shouting at his teammates, and not afraid to have a right go at any of them. No one works harder either. Proper leader imo. 

Shouting doth not always a great organiser make.

And my question is why in so many ganes last season was our midfield found so wanting?

[Esmond Million's Bung]

1 minute ago, JonDolman said:

Teams had 3 on our 2 in a lot of games. Tactical problem I hope we've sorted.

So for pretty mich 22 games from January to May we were out numbered in midfield and our talented coach nevet recognised that?

[steviestevieneville]

8 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

No, but until we see a competitive match, it's not easy to know how we will do.

True, but I’d give a few months at least . 

[Davefevs]

11 hours ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

And my question is why in so many ganes last season was our midfield found so wanting?

 

11 hours ago, JonDolman said:

Teams had 3 on our 2 in a lot of games. Tactical problem I hope we've sorted.

They did in the first half of the season too.

The issue (imho) is the distances between our three units.  When they are close, Smith and Pack have greater influence.  When we are “strung out”, they get exposed and get passed around / bypassed.

We must play a higher line this season (not every game, there will be exceptions).

[Silvio Dante]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

 

They did in the first half of the season too.

The issue (imho) is the distances between our three units.  When they are close, Smith and Pack have greater influence.  When we are “strung out”, they get exposed and get passed around / bypassed.

We must play a higher line this season (not every game, there will be exceptions).

I think this is bang on, and where I see Webster being in theory a real upgrade on Flint. Too often for me last year our midfield had to play on top of the back four to retrieve the ball and start the play. From what I’ve seen of (and been told of by an Ipswich supporting mate),  Webster is very comfortable bringing the ball out and picking a pass. Add to that the new keeper being stated as good with his feet and hopefully, we won’t need an excessively deep midfield to start distribution 

[Rob k]

Good to see those knives are being sharpened ready for tomorrow!! Love it 

[E.G.Red]

Totally agree, but you are talking about City Fans.  I think we will have a good season, won't do a Wolves but be more like Cardiff , racking  up those points almost unnoticed.  Hope we will get a top 6 finish , but I see us finishing about 8th.