JayStringer
Has a lot to say
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- Jul 28, 2019
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I'm in the early stages of Ruben Neves grief, which basically means I'm in denial. So I'm thinking out loud here.
The idea is out there that we need several new signings to reboot the team. But do we? This is, in large part, driven by context. Yes, under Nuno, and with the players in the squad that Nuno did and didn't trust, and with Nuno's philosophy, we needed a number of new signings. And they needed to be top quality, and that meant money. But...a new manager will have a new philosophy, and a different list of players he does and doesn't trust, and the context changes.
What do we absolutely need, right now, without selling anyone, regardless of which manager comes in?
A left back/left wingback.
A central defender. (Yes we can argue we need more than one, but this is the one we ABSOLUTELY need.)
A central midfielder. (Profile depends on manager's preferences, re: box to box, holding, attacking.)
A striker.
Of these, we could recall Rafa Mir and then not need to raise funds to buy a striker who would cost close to what we could get for selling Mir.
We don't know yet what the new guy will make of MGW, Ronan, Jordao, or Shabani. I feel -like the majority- we need a new midfielder but maybe the new manager seems something in these players?
We need the centre back. No way about it. We can't go on with the same defenders we had in the championship. At least one of those spots needs to change.
Left back/LWB, needs resolved. Whether it's RAN, or a free transfer, or another loan. We can't not sign one.
So it's possible that a new coach could come in, work with the players in his new system, and feel we only need a top quality centre back and left back. Or add in a new midfielder too while keeping Mir. That's three important signings needed.
Is it worth sacrificing our best players -who would in turn need to be replaced with top quality players- to raise funds for a massive rebuild that maybe only needs three immediate players? We have enough players around the edges of contention (Saiss, Vinagre, Dendoncker, Cutrone etc) who could all be sold off to raise the kind of money Spiers is mentioning for Neves. I'm not sure we need to sell our best players. Unless they want to go.
The idea is out there that we need several new signings to reboot the team. But do we? This is, in large part, driven by context. Yes, under Nuno, and with the players in the squad that Nuno did and didn't trust, and with Nuno's philosophy, we needed a number of new signings. And they needed to be top quality, and that meant money. But...a new manager will have a new philosophy, and a different list of players he does and doesn't trust, and the context changes.
What do we absolutely need, right now, without selling anyone, regardless of which manager comes in?
A left back/left wingback.
A central defender. (Yes we can argue we need more than one, but this is the one we ABSOLUTELY need.)
A central midfielder. (Profile depends on manager's preferences, re: box to box, holding, attacking.)
A striker.
Of these, we could recall Rafa Mir and then not need to raise funds to buy a striker who would cost close to what we could get for selling Mir.
We don't know yet what the new guy will make of MGW, Ronan, Jordao, or Shabani. I feel -like the majority- we need a new midfielder but maybe the new manager seems something in these players?
We need the centre back. No way about it. We can't go on with the same defenders we had in the championship. At least one of those spots needs to change.
Left back/LWB, needs resolved. Whether it's RAN, or a free transfer, or another loan. We can't not sign one.
So it's possible that a new coach could come in, work with the players in his new system, and feel we only need a top quality centre back and left back. Or add in a new midfielder too while keeping Mir. That's three important signings needed.
Is it worth sacrificing our best players -who would in turn need to be replaced with top quality players- to raise funds for a massive rebuild that maybe only needs three immediate players? We have enough players around the edges of contention (Saiss, Vinagre, Dendoncker, Cutrone etc) who could all be sold off to raise the kind of money Spiers is mentioning for Neves. I'm not sure we need to sell our best players. Unless they want to go.