Scott money - What’s required?

[GrahamC]

5 minutes ago, Loosey Boy said:

Don’t you think Max is good enough to be our No.1?

Think Nige does & that matters far more.

If Scott does go I see it exactly the same way as @Davefevs I would prioritise another central midfielder because James is good for about 35 games a season but Williams isn’t reliable enough to play 40 & I would also bring in an experienced goalkeeper as competition/cover for Max.

Dependant on how long it will be until Rob Atkinson is going to back & assuming that Naismith is going to be fit by Preston I think we’ll go with the central defenders we have & absolutely no chance we are after a new striker.

[Mr Popodopolous]

4 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

Don’t mean to quote myself but I couldn’t edit . Keeper wise I really liked Nikki , can’t remember how to spell his surname . Should of been our no1 imo 

Maenpaa? Yes I thought he commanded it well, cannot recall if he had an injury but he was a commanding presence and the defence, the team as a whole just felt more stable and secure IMO.

A Maenpaa who was 10 years younger would be absolutely perfect, may even be able to step up to a higher level to an extent too.

[roddy-d]

I would like one more defender & a midfielder to replace Scott. Simple. I want a defence that’s so good each one of them will last 90 mins. I can replace the rest of the team through the 90 minutes with good fire power lolz 

[!james]

Hopefully be enough to fix the Dolman tannoy

[Lrrr]

1 hour ago, joshbristol said:

Scott twine to replace Scott and a goalkeeper 

Good luck with that...

[Jose]

A GK to compete with Max and a replacement for Scott. I think that would cover it.

[Dastardly and Muttley]

47 minutes ago, Lrrr said:

Good luck with that...

I’m assuming people are mentioning Twine as they look at the number of games he played last year and didn’t realise he was injured?

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 hour ago, Loosey Boy said:

Don’t you think Max is good enough to be our No.1?

He's good enough to be a no 1 in thr lower half of the Championship but in my opinion he is not good enough for a top 6 side which is what we are aiming to be.

[BritAbroad]

I think we need at least one CB, assuming Kalas doesn't re-sign, possibly a second if Vyner isn't going to sign the new contract they offered him and they cash in before he goes on a free. I think a midfielder to replace the departing Scott, although I don't know who that would be. Maybe a Goalie - I have no idea how good Bajic is. I personally would like a striker - I like Wells, but he's not scored enough for me.

[Son of Fred]

6 hours ago, Jose said:

I don’t think we need a forward but If we were to go for someone Tom Cannon would be the player I’d like. 

Yes please - excellent movement/finisher -young, hungry & would suit the way we play.

 

Wouldn't know his contract situation at Everton or if they'd let him go on a permanent.

In reality, sadly no chance.

Edited July 16, 2023 by Son of Fred

[Jose]

6 minutes ago, Son of Fred said:

Yes please - excellent movement/finisher -young, hungry & would suit the way we play.

 

Wouldn't know his contract situation at Everton or if they'd let him go on a permanent.

In reality, sadly no chance.

There was talk of Preston being linked with him for 6m. 3m plus add ons. That went quiet and to be fair I thought it was rubbish at the time as that’s crazy money for them. 

[joshbristol]

9 hours ago, Dastardly and Muttley said:

I’m assuming people are mentioning Twine as they look at the number of games he played last year and didn’t realise he was injured?

Think more the fact now they are in prem I don’t think he will play 

[Davefevs]

4 hours ago, Jose said:

There was talk of Preston being linked with him for 6m. 3m plus add ons. That went quiet and to be fair I thought it was rubbish at the time as that’s crazy money for them. 

Pretty sure Everton rate him higher than the striker they just sold (Simms), so I’m surprised it’s just £3m plus add-ons.  I’d nibble at that!

[Jose]

3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Pretty sure Everton rate him higher than the striker they just sold (Simms), so I’m surprised it’s just £3m plus add-ons.  I’d nibble at that!

I mean i have not heard anything since so probably rubbish. A very good player either way. 

[chinapig]

4 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Pretty sure Everton rate him higher than the striker they just sold (Simms), so I’m surprised it’s just £3m plus add-ons.  I’d nibble at that!

Simms is gone, Maupay is no good, Calvert-Lewin is perpetually injured. If they sell Cannon they might end up with 38 year old Ashley Young at centre forward!

[Mr Popodopolous]

11 hours ago, BCFCGav said:

If we lose Scott and use the big old bags of money to land Cole Palmer on loan

Cole Palmer, currently linked with City.

Leicester of course. Burnley too.

Maresca again...contacts or Kompany- they'll be ahead of us in the queue, aspects of modern football eh. I do consider certain favours to be a potential distortion of the market especially if mates rates kick in but which club will take a case eh.

Edited July 16, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[LondonBristolian]

I think the really positive answer to the question in the thread title is there isn't that much that's required, at least in the sense of being genuinely essential business. There's a valid question about whether Bajic or Wiles-Richards are ready to give the competition required in the goalkeeping department, there's probably a need for one more defender if Kalas doesn't sign and we probably need another central midfielder (although the Knight signing means the number of midfielders we'd have without Scott is the same as we ended the season with, excluding players on loan.)

So I see it less a question of what we should rush to bring in and more a case of where there is an opportunity to accelerate the business we need to do in the long-term anyway.

I'd rule out loans completely unless it is with an intention to buy - simply because we don't need to build numbers up in the squad so we might as well invest in our own future rather than another club's. 

My shopping list would be:

1) A new goalkeeper, unless the club genuinely believe Bajic or Wiles-Richards are ready to challenge O'Leary this season. I think O'Leary is good enough to start the season first choice but I'd be looking at someone in their early-mid 20s who can provide immediate competition and who has the potential to ultimately become number one.

2) A left back "project" - not dissimilar to Tanner when he joined. This would be someone who could compete this season but would not be expecting too many games and who could provide cover if Pring or Roberts were needed in the centre and potentially be a successor to Pring if he did get a move in the future.

3) A central midfielder who is ready to be a squad player this season but can be the long-term successor to Matty James in dictating our play in the middle.

4) A forward with can ultimately replace Wells or Weimann amongst our forward options.  Again I'd go for someone with the ability to develop over someone who with a lower ceiling but who is more immediately ready.

I don't think it's about disrupting the team with immediately flashy "star" signings - more about using the money to keep developing a long-term continuity plan within the team. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by LondonBristolian

[AshtonRobin21]

I’m interested to see if we try our luck to secure championship players on reduced fees whose contracts are expiring in 2024.

Chris Willock - QPR

Tyrhys Dolan -  Blackburn

Alex Mowatt - West Brom 

Jake Cooper - Millwall (out of reach?)

Sam Field - QPR 

Ben Wiles - Rotherham 

Are all players whose contracts expire at the end of the season. How many would be attainable is a different question all together. 

[Davefevs]

Good post @LondonBristolian.

The question re the “project” LB or FW is whether we have in-house or not, and if so, are they close enough to avoid entering the market.  Araoye and Palmer-Houlden are the obvious names to consider.

Re CM we are very much aligned, I don’t see anyone in u21s ready to grasp their chance, we’ve seen Owers, Morton released, Kadji seems to have drifted.

I guess we might see some thinking re this with what we do with the contracts of James and Williams who have a year left.

 

[LilRascal]

I know he’s had terrible luck recently with injuries, but do you think Ayman Benarous might step up to be a CM option for the first time this season? Always thought he looked good before the injury. 

[Sir Geoff]

12 hours ago, joshbristol said:

Scott twine to replace Scott and a goalkeeper 

Must be good if he can play two positions at the same time (drop back goalie, maybe).

[Elruliri]

3 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

Must be good if he can play two positions at the same time (drop back goalie, maybe).

Jumpers as goalposts  umm.

[ZiderMeUp]

I reckon we sign two midfielders to replace Scott.  A number 8 and a number 10.  Pearson has said he is keen to add goals from midfield.  Scott is so too we are going to be hard pushed to replace him like for like with one player, impossible.  Be a good opportunity to get more legs and goals in the side from midfield.

 

Goalkeeper is another, interesting if we go and try and get someone better than max or we bring in someone to compete with him.  Interesting one there.

 

Cb- depends on Naismith really.  If he’s going to play left cb. We prob don’t need one.  The links to Wrexham were random but wouldn’t surprise me if he did move on someone.  Signed to play sweeper in a back 3, looks too error prone and not a good enough defender to play in a two imo.  Looked decent in his cameo roles in midfield last season but a position he’s never really played before.  If you go on Pearson and tinnions view that we want our teams to run all over other teams, it’s going to be hard to get him in the starting line up. James is a shoe in, with James and Naismith in there not the quickest.

I actually think we looked a much better side with Naismith in it last season, but the way the team has evolved and the way it seems Pearson and Tinnion want the team to evolve wouldn’t suprise me if he did end up moving on too.

 

number 10

number 8

gk

poss cb

[MrRedRobin]

13 hours ago, Finley_Smith10 said:

Experienced back up GK,

CB - O’brien

Winger - Rak-Sakyi

Another central midfielder

Like the Rak- Sakyi suggestion, I think he would be a brilliant signing. 

In regards to other positions:

GK- Chris Maxwell I think would be good. Got the experience needed and can give Max the healthy competition needed.

CB- Jake O' Brien would be a very solid signing.

Attacking Mid- Scott Twine would be a very impressive signing if we managed to pull it off.

Striker- Not got a particular name in mind but would be very happy with a striker

 

Going back to the CB options I am going to be interested to see Arayoe's involvement in pre- season. Would be nice to see a lad like him break into the squad next season so will be keeping an eye on his involvement. To be able to talk about all these academy players who could break into the first team gives me a really good feeling, a lot of clubs don't have an academy as good as we do and it is a brilliant thing which will attract a lot of people to the academy in the future knowing there is a pathway through to the first team if your willing to work hard.

[Davefevs]

4 minutes ago, MrRedRobin said:

Like the Rak- Sakyi suggestion, I think he would be a brilliant signing. 

Lovely player, just don’t see where he gets minutes for us as it currently stands.

[Dynamite Red]

It would be a great position to be in, even if we recruited for the 4 positions people are discussing e.g. the spine of the team, at an average of £2.5m each, that still banks us a great deal of cash for the future.

Personally, I'm happy as long as we keep to our model in of buying youngish talented players with room to improve and potential resale value with a few quality experienced players guiding them.

Nige, may use the money to add to the coaching staff ala his long-term assistant manager Craig Shakespeare, just food for thought.

[The Bard]

Think people are going to be disappointed. Think we'll go with what we have and keep our powder dry for now. 

 

Sense it will be an interesting January window though, especially if we are Challenging. 

[Supersonic Robin]

FWIW, here's how I currently see the core of the squad:

Think we're nearly there. I'd like:

1) Another CB, ideally left footed. 

2) Another GK. Preferably an improvement on Max, but if NP deems MOL good enough for the coming season, that's fine with me. We could potentially avoid making a signing here if we think Bajic or HWR is ready to be a genuine option, but my instinct is that the club don't feel they are.

3) Should he leave, I'd like an Alex Scott "replacement" (I use the word "replacement" with caution!). With King, Benarous, and OTC as further options in midfield, we could probably survive without another CM, but it wouldn't feel ideal. My preference would be for a CM with slightly greater attacking output than those we currently have at the club.

The strength of the squad is such that we don't necessarily need these players to be able to come in and hit the ground running. It may be the case that we would opt for George Tanner style 'project' signings instead (i.e. a young cheap player who maybe needs another 12 months to get up to standard).

Some people have suggested strikers and wingers. If the above 3 points were met, then I think strikers/wingers would likely be the next area for improvement, but I don't think we'll be looking at that this summer.

[mozo]

11 minutes ago, Supersonic Robin said:

FWIW, here's how I currently see the core of the squad:

Think we're nearly there. I'd like:

1) Another CB, ideally left footed. 

2) Another GK. Preferably an improvement on Max, but if NP deems MOL good enough for the coming season, that's fine with me. We could potentially avoid making a signing here if we think Bajic or HWR is ready to be a genuine option, but my instinct is that the club don't feel they are.

3) Should he leave, I'd like an Alex Scott "replacement" (I use the word "replacement" with caution!). With King, Benarous, and OTC as further options in midfield, we could probably survive without another CM, but it wouldn't feel ideal. My preference would be for a CM with slightly greater attacking output than those we currently have at the club.

The strength of the squad is such that we don't necessarily need these players to be able to come in and hit the ground running. It may be the case that we would opt for George Tanner style 'project' signings instead (i.e. a young cheap player who maybe needs another 12 months to get up to standard).

Some people have suggested strikers and wingers. If the above 3 points were met, then I think strikers/wingers would likely be the next area for improvement, but I don't think we'll be looking at that this summer.

You could probably package Naismith with Atkinson and King with Williams to give us outfield capacity. Ayman and OTC are bonus backup players in midfield (although either or both could end up on loan).

[Mr Popodopolous]

4 minutes ago, mozo said:

You could probably package Naismith with Atkinson and King with Williams to give us outfield capacity. Ayman and OTC are bonus backup players in midfield (although either or both could end up on loan).

Loan out Benarous are you sure?

Not for some time, he was exciting. Real shame about the injuries but I hope yes he may have been set back a bit but I hope he gets a proper chance albeit competition should be strong which again is no bad thing.

Is he CM or wider?