How many new players do we need?

[Mile End Wanderer]

Obviously the squad is still stale from Nuno’s era. How many new players does Bruno need ??

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

I think we’re 3 first team ready players away from a very good team.

Maybe 1 new manager away too… we’ll know soon enough either way.

 

[Chris H]

I don’t think it’s stale, I think most players have thrived the first few games but we do need a couple more.

2 for me, CB and CM. That and Neto and Jonny back would leave a good squad.

But you haven’t given 2 as an option.

 

[Contrarian]

Just 1. A goal scorer.

 

[reanswolf]

I think Contrarian is joking above saying just a goalscorer but is understandable. Hopefully Raul can get back to his best and Wangi-CHan looks useful, though it would be goo dto have someone who can head too.

But quite clearly a midfielder, different to what we have, and Centre Back alongside Boly. These have been obvious requirements following our Europa Cup exerts, but its hard to believe we are still at that point now and will be until January!

 

[Contrarian]

I think Contrarian is joking above saying just a goalscorer but is understandable. Hopefully Raul can get back to his best and Wangi-CHan looks useful, though it would be goo dto have someone who can head too.

But quite clearly a midfielder, different to what we have, and Centre Back alongside Boly. These have been obvious requirements following our Europa Cup exerts, but its hard to believe we are still at that point now and will be until January!

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind of goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. Neither is their midfield. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

 

[old wittonian]

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind og goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

Sign Adebeyo Akinfenwa.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind of goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. Neither is their midfield. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

Very well put.

The pressure we’ve put on Raul for another season (this time knowing about his injury) is madness, very short sighted, and I think will lead us to relegation.

 

[KBWWFC]

Obviously the squad is still stale from Nuno’s era. How many new players does Bruno need ??

Of the players that we own:

5
2x CBs, 2x CMs, 1x FW

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind of goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. Neither is their midfield. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

Well said. I agree

 

[KBWWFC]

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind of goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. Neither is their midfield. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

If I could like this more than once I would.
No running in behind, or at their defence. It's all "cross and inshallah" while Jimenez stares into space on the penalty spot.

 

[Monketron]

A CB and a CM is vital, has been for 2 years now. And depending if Raul can sort his head out or not, a CF.

Also, if we sell Neves to fund those it'll be 2x CM. I can't see how that's gonna work tbh. Maybe even 3x CM if Moutinho retires / moves on and we also sell Neves, best not to think about it too much to be honest lol.

 

[RosehillWolf]

We need 2 CB. And 2 MF for a start. I’m unsure about the keeper. I think we need another look at RWB and we need a world class striker
So I think 5 of those would suffice but in reality we need 7. Which of course won’t happen until we get relegated and we get money in for Traore , Neves and Neto

 

[Lisas Husband]

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind of goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. Neither is their midfield. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

I'd say that sums it up

 

[reanswolf]

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind of goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. Neither is their midfield. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

Come off it, Brentfords defence were better than ours and with a bit more luck they would have scored 4 or more.
That was also because of gaping holes in midfield and weakness in defence. No doubt scoring goals is akey issue, but in time we can hope Raul gets there plus give Wangi-Chan a chance FFS.

Its defence and midfield that we need and have done for some time, but we do need our strikers to start scoring. But the latter issue does NOT negate the other prorities.

 

[Contrarian]

Come off it, Brentfords defence were better than ours and with a bit more luck they would have scored 4 or more.
That was also because of gaping holes in midfield and weakness in defence. No doubt scoring goals is akey issue, but in time we can hope Raul gets there plus give Wangi-Chan a chance FFS.

Its defence and midfield that we need and have done for some time, but we do need our strikers to start scoring. But the latter issue does NOT negate the other prorities.

What was our defence when we finished 7th twice? When Liverpool ran away with the title, free scoring, what was our defence that restricted them to a lucky 1-0 win. It was the pretty much the SAME as yesterday! OK, Boly played *most* matches, but he has always missed a few through injury.

What is the main difference between the current side and the one that finished 7th twice? Ryan Bennett? Now you come off it Nothing much else has changed in the back 3. The clue is that the goals in that side were scored by Raul pre-injury, Jota and Doherty. Raul is a shadow. The others have gone. That is the big difference. It is the forward line.

Go look at the"Goals Against" in the league table. And last seasons league table. Explain how so many teams goals against is higher than ours, yet those finished further up the table. Try every league table in Europe. Our defensive record is better than most! It's our Goals For that was pitiful last season and is pitiful now. Leverkausen have let in 7 yet are 3rd. Because they score goals.

We've conceded 3 goals im open play in 5 matches. Let that sink in. 80% of clubs would be more than happy with that defensive record. For heavens sake, where did this idea that you must never ever concede a goal come from? And why are so many deceived by the flicks and tricks and backheels of our forwards? When their positioning, passing, strength, crossing, shooting, heading has been way below the standard you'd expect of top division strikers. Way below.

Brentford could have scored 4, yes, but then if you put Toney and Mbueno up front for us v Spurs/Man U/Leicester, guess what? They'd have scored for us, too! Nothing to do with our defence. If anything, the service our midfield provided in those matches was better than what Brentford gave Toney yesterday. It was our forwards wasted everything, time and time again.

 

[reanswolf]

What was our defence when we finished 7th twice? When Liverpool ran away with the title, free scoring, what was our defence that restricted them to a lucky 1-0 win. It was the pretty much the SAME as yesterday! OK, Boly played *most* matches, but he has always missed a few through injury.

What is the main difference between the current side and the one that finished 7th twice? Ryan Bennett? Now you come off it Nothing much else has changed in the back 3. The clue is that the goals in that side were scored by Raul pre-injury, Jota and Doherty. Raul is a shadow. The others have gone. That is the big difference. It is the forward line.

Go look at the"Goals Against" in the league table. And last seasons league table. Explain how so many teams goals against is higher than ours, yet those finished further up the table. Try every league table in Europe. Our defensive record is better than most! It's our Goals For that was pitiful last season and is pitiful now. Leverkausen have let in 7 yet are 3rd. Because they score goals.

We've conceded 3 goals im open play in 5 matches. Let that sink in. 80% of clubs would be more than happy with that defensive record. For heavens sake, where did this idea that you must never ever concede a goal come from? And why are so many deceived by the flicks and tricks and backheels of our forwards? When their positioning, passing, strength, crossing, shooting, heading has been way below the standard you'd expect of top division strikers. Way below.

Brentford could have scored 4, yes, but then if you put Toney and Mbueno up front for us v Spurs/Man U/Leicester, guess what? They'd have scored for us, too! Nothing to do with our defence. If anything, the service our midfield provided in those matches was better than what Brentford gave Toney yesterday. It was our forwards wasted everything, time and time again.

Ok you've convinced me, we don't need another CM and defender -.

Just buy strikers...........infact we had about 7 on yesterday so maybe that's the way to go

 

[Contrarian]

Ok you've convinced me, we don't need another CM and defender -.

Just buy strikers...........infact we had about 7 on yesterday so maybe that's the way to go

Just one striker, that's all we need. (sing to the tune of "One Cornetto" )

Maybe "goal scorer" is a better way of describing what we lack. I call Trincao/Podence/Traore/Neto "forwards", not strikers.

It's the quality not the quantity. Stick as many forwards on who score 1 in 10 at best and you aren't going to pull back 2 goals. Just one player who can actually get the ball and is strong enough to hold off a defender and then smash a shot in. Just one. And we'd have had a chance. With only "half a Raul" we have nobody near that. if anything, the fact we had 7 on and the did nothing, shows the problem I'm ranting on about. None of them are reliable goal scorers. And goals win matches. The defence, while not perfect, does enough to have us higher up the table than we are.

Out lot are like the Chuckle Brothers "To you" ,"No, to you" , "No, to you". All wanting to take one more touch, pass to someone else.

 

[reanswolf]

Just one striker, that's all we need. (sing to the tune of "One Cornetto" )

Maybe "goal scorer" is a better way of describing what we lack. I call Trincao/Podence/Traore/Neto "forwards", not strikers.

It's the quality not the quantity. Stick as many forwards on who score 1 in 10 at best and you aren't going to pull back 2 goals. Just one player who can actually get the ball and is strong enough to hold off a defender and then smash a shot in. Just one. And we'd have had a chance. With only "half a Raul" we have nobody near that. if anything, the fact we had 7 on and the did nothing, shows the problem I'm ranting on about. None of them are reliable goal scorers. And goals win matches. The defence, while not perfect, does enough to have us higher up the table than we are.

Out lot are like the Chuckle Brothers "To you" ,"No, to you" , "No, to you". All wanting to take one more touch, pass to someone else.

I guarantee you if we had the excellent Brentford lad up front it would not solve all our issues.

 

[Flump]

Come off it, Brentfords defence were better than ours and with a bit more luck they would have scored 4 or more.

Wolves (1.26) 0-2 (1.92) Brentford

Would've taken a lot of luck/good finishing for them to have scored more than 4.

 

[wwfc9]

Interestingly i recon our side on Wednesday night will look stronger than anything we have put out in the league to date !! Plenty of aerial ability in boly , Mosquera and the donk , trickery and the knack of great movement in podence and the bullish guile of hwang , will see us look much more dangerous IMO

 

[wwfc9]

I also think a front 3 of hwang, jiminez and podence would cause all kinds of problems , hwang and jiminez wouldn’t give defenders anytime , this is the main thing i think we miss with jota , him and jiminez used to scare the life out of centre halves with their closing down , we only really have jiminez who does it now and i think when you play with a front 3 they all need this ability …

 

[Jonzy54]

7 of the starters yesterday were with us in the Championship or our first season in the PL .We definitely need a freshen up because we have stood still/gone backwards.

 

[hollo]

And we want scott sellars replaced.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

It's not a case of how many, but who. We need a quality striker above all else. After that a CM to compete with Moutinho and a CB to replace Saiss.
Basically what Lage said he needed a month ago.

 

[oldgolded]

I completely agree with the need for a striker, but nobody mentions any names. No way are Brentford going to sell us Toney, and Fosun would not pay the price anyway. We were linked with Origi but I think some people were concerned that signing another striker might inhibit Raul's recovery. Goalscorers are at such a premium and the competition is to intense that the main options seem to be to take a chance on someone from the lower leagues or to rely on Mendes plucking out some hidden gem for us. As I mentioned Origi would have been a viable option, I also quite like the look of the lad at Arsenal Nketiah, but he is relatively unproven. A long shot would be Cavani on loan as his game time is going to be severly resticted by the arrival of Ronaldo, and Man Utd have so many options up front.

 

[OLDGOLD]

A clinical goal scorer which Raul may well end up returning to be.
Another central midfield player who offers something different to Moutinho...possibly Jordao ...who knows?
Not sure we need another centre back as it is us not scoring that is the main issue. Not sure any of us know enough about Mosquera to pass judgement, and Boly needs his mojo back. Coady probably needs his pipe and slippers.
So it's simple really, we need no more players, or maybe 5. Don't thank me, pleased to help....

 

[Deleted member LP 3925]

We need a new goal scorer, an attacking midfielder and a pacey centre-back.

 

[Contrarian]

I guarantee you if we had the excellent Brentford lad up front it would not solve all our issues.

Yep , agreed it wouldn't solve "all" our issues. It would help our main issue, which is "creating lots but scoring little".

Other issues - like defenders making mistakes. Well, they talk about the cost of a clinical striker. But a defender who never makes mistakes? Will cost you more than Ronaldo, because there isn't such a player And the only reason many seem to think we need such a defender is because we have been scoring at less than a goal a game for well over a year now. I mean, in Serie A. Inter have let in 4 goals in 4 games- a goal a game, EXACTLY the same as us. Yet they are top of the league. Because they've not been as wasteful in front of goal as us, who are apparetly the most wasteful team in the big leagues.

 

[kennyB]

Bully would be a better option than anyone we have at present!

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind of goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. Neither is their midfield. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

While I agree with some of your points, particularly the lack of guile in attack....
If we had Toney, would they have marked him with someone of Marcals frame at the corner?
That is the key game changing moment. We were alright if a little wasteful in possession until that point.

 

[StraightToPopworld]

We’re a Kieffer Moore away from being a top 15 club.

 

[OLDGOLD]

We’re a Kieffer Moore away from being a top 15 club.

In the Championship.


Couldn't resist the tap in.


Unlike our forwards.....

 

[groundhogwolf]

No, I'm serious. Goals win matches. Not flicks, floaty crosses, bursts of pace followed by overhit passes.

Yesterday, the example was clear on the pitch. We have no striker anywhere near as good as Toney. The current Raul is making Willian Jose look effective. Understanbdable and I'm blaming the club not the player for being too dependent on him. Swap Raul for Toney and they don't score and we do. One player. Doesn't have to be Toney specifically, could be anyone who can actually put some fear into defences at this level...and welly the ball into the net. Sorry, but Podence/Trincai/Traore etc etc they are all "1 goal in 8" or worse kind of goal scorers. Creators, yes, but somebody else needs to be on the end of their creation and we have nobody and haven't since Neto got injured. The ones we have, who are fit, are all icing, no cake.

Brentfords defence isn't better than ours. Neither is their midfield. They didn't concede not because they are Arsenal under George Graham, but because our forwards were clueless as indeed, they have been for most of the season so far. They'll let in enough against teams who can score goals,. wait and see.

100% it is that obvious. All we are saying is give us a goal.

 

[Contrarian]

100% it is that obvious. All we are saying is give us a goal.

It can't be that obvious as most have been screaming for a central defender and central midfielder for over a year! I don't get it as the same defenders took us to 7th twice and none of them are any worse than back then. Logic bypass, I think. Our defenders are not perfect, but they are obviously solid enough to have us higher up the league while week after week, our forwards find new ways to disappoint. Falling over the ball while attempting to do a rabona being the latest. Coady is not world class, but he's never done anything that abysmal.

The defenders we have now, could take us up to 8th again, if the forwards got their act together and actually scored some goals.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I think we need a quality CB so we can go to a back 4. CM, someone like Palinha to sit alongside Neves and offer protection.

Then play 3 in front of the 2 to bridge the gap and split the lines.

I just really hope Raul gets back to form or we'll need another striker.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

It can't be that obvious as most have been screaming for a central defender and central midfielder for over a year! I don't get it as the same defenders took us to 7th twice and none of them are any worse than back then. Logic bypass, I think. Our defenders are not perfect, but they are obviously solid enough to have us higher up the league while week after week, our forwards find new ways to disappoint. Falling over the ball while attempting to do a rabona being the latest. Coady is not world class, but he's never done anything that abysmal.

The defenders we have now, could take us up to 8th again, if the forwards got their act together and actually scored some goals.

Hee-Chan scored on his debut and should have started IMO. And I think it's just the right thing to do to give Raul some time before writing him off
Would a central midfielder that chipped in with goals not be useful too? Particularly now we have two people at wing back that aren't going to score.

 

[Manic88]

Doesn’t matter who we sign if they’re as prepared as they were yesterday

 

[HKWolf]

We require exactly what we have required for 3 years; an upgrade on N’Diaye and an upgrade on Bennett.

All this crap about needing a striker is exactly the same crap that some people were saying in January. I know Willian Jose was ****, but it wouldn’t have mattered if we had put Ronaldo up front. As long as Saiss and Coady continue to play we are ****ed. It’s very simple, if you don’t concede goals you don’t lose games.

We concede goals almost every game, and the only way to reduce that is by playing more **** defenders. That in itself weakens the attack and means we score less. We have **** defenders and slow midfielders that are easily over run. We do not have poor attackers, we have attackers better than most teams in this league. What goalscorers do Brighton have? None.

Caleta-Car and Sanches are what we need. It would create a solid defence, an extra player to help control the play, and an extra body to support the attack. It’s time to get rid of Coady, he doesn’t support the attack and he hinders the defence.

 

[cannockwolves]

I have been worried all pre-season that this season was the one we would come a cropper. I put us at 15th in the prediction league for this season simply because I could not see where the goals would come from in this squad.

My reasoning was simple Jimenez was exceptional two years ago, but he is 30 now and just be out of action for 16 months, there is no telling if he would ever be the same player again, or if it will take half a season for him to play himself back into the players he was - a huge gamble. That is why a striker, a driving midfielder, and a top quality centre back where my absolute priorities - they have gone with Hwang as the striker and I hope he works out.

I still think its all a high risk strategy. Neto may not be the same player, and although Renato Sanches would be an excellent addition to a one paced midfield he too carries injuries and you still need someone to put the ball in the net.

I still don't think we will go down, but I am telling everyone now this is going to be very, very close if we don't find some goals from somewhere really quickly.