The plan won't change, so stop moaning and get used to it!

[WolfLing]

All the clues are there. The club aren't deliberately choosing to neglect the first team, they are just trying to make decisions that leave us with the best possible first XI, capable of achieving the best possible results and at the same time, developing a number of promising young players for the future.

Part of Sellars interview the other day talked about the makeup of the squad being very important and the aversion to 'stockpiling' players.

“You’re always looking at the makeup of the squad and in recent years we’ve never been a football club that carries lots of players. We believe in giving the first-team the opportunity to play and be competitive, but also leave spaces for academy players to come through as well. It’s important we don’t stockpile and there’s a blockage.”

Centre Mid

Central midfield is often talked about as a position that has been neglected. We have Neves and Moutinho, who are clear first choices under Bruno. Dendoncker is their senior backup and we have Jordao and Cundle waiting in the wings, with just 1 Caraboa Cup sub appearance between the 2 youngsters so far this season. 3 senior players and 2 youth players for 2 positions. What should the club do differently here? Sign a 4th senior central midfield player? One that will hardly play and if they do, will stop the likes of Jordao or Cundle getting any game time?

I think this area of the team will be looked at properly in the summer as Moutiniho is 35 and out of contract and I'm not sure Dendonker is Bruno's type of midfield player. We may lose Neves too if a club bids high enough. The midfield may need completely rebuilding in the summer. But for now, especially with the form of Neves and Moutinho, it's an area of the team that's ticking along nicely.

Centre Back

Central defence is an area where we are very short for the immediate future. Kilman, Coady and Saiss have played every league game, with only Boly and Mosquera the other specialist centre backs with any game time (1 appearance each in the Carabao Cup). So we have a clear first choice back line, which will probably continue for the rest of the season after Saiss returns from Afcon duty. When Boly and Mosquera are back, we have 5 specialist central defenders, plus Sanderson if he stays.

With question marks over Saiss (contract) and Boly (fitness) longer term, a new centre back now, to bed in for next season would be great. But that player would have to be a Botman or Badiashile type that improves the first XI. Otherwise, we are back to stockpiling average players and blocking the opportunities for players like Sanderson and Mosquera. If you're going to be a club that champions youth or signs players like Mosqeura with real promise, you have to back it up, stick to your convictions and play them when they are needed, just as Sanderson will probably be needed this month.

Loans

For once, our loans are working too. Gone of the days of randomly sending players out to any club showing an interest, often where they didn't play. Gibbs-White, Giles, Sanderson and Sarkic have all been performing very well in The Championship, mainly because they have been placed at the right clubs, in the right position. Corbeanu has just been recalled from Sheffield Wednesday and sent our to MK Dons, purely because he was played out of position and they were playing the wrong style of football. That shows real depth of thought and planning (Matt Jackson starting in his role very well).

When everyone is fit, we have a senior squad of 23 players, plus Giles, Sanderson and Cundle. We have enough players when they're all fit, which makes shorter term planning very difficult! If you bring in a player to cover a short term need, they will potentially not play once everyone is fit and/or block a younger player from getting opportunities. Even being part of a first team squad and sitting on the bench can really help a young player's all round development, watching and learning how the professionals operate.

Injuries

The one thing the club can't really plan for is long-term injuries, something we were very lucky with for a couple of seasons, but since Covid, we seem to have been very unlucky with. A balance would be nice.

Fabio was a long term investment. A long-term plan to replace Raul, without having to spend £60m+. He was exposed as too young, not ready and written off by a lot of fans when he had to lead the line far too early in his development because of Raul's injury.

Jota was sold because Neto is potentially better and we were offered a sum of money we couldn't really refuse. In my opinion Jota's sale would have been much less of an issue had Neto not been injured.

Having a squad big enough to cover some injuries is important, but balancing this with not having too many players is a very hard job, especially when so many are out for now, but may be available again very soon.

Improving the first XI

We are now at a level where this is harder than it has ever been before. There are vey few Mendes players left that we could attract, with the players above the level of those already here playing for Man City, Liverpool or other top clubs. The few that are left, we are constantly linked with.

If we sign a central midfielder, they have to be potentially better than Neves of Moutinho, something you don't get without spending £40m on someone like Renato Sanches.

If we sign a centre back, they have to be potentially better than Kilman, Coady or Saiss, again something you probably don't get without spending £30m+ on someone like Botman or Badiashile.

The club have shown if an opportunity arises to improve the first XI, they will take it. Selling Doherty and buying Semedo was one of those instances. Initially, it may have seemed a bad decision, but I think everyone now recognises that Semedo is a better player.

Not only is it now harder than ever to improve our first team, it's harder than ever to do it in January, especially a January where Newcastle are increasing the prices of every available player out there!

Adama

So what of Traore? Is he a guaranteed starter, now and long term? Will he get better or have we seen his best already? Will he get worse as he approaches his late 20's? With everyone fit, which players are first choice? Neto + one other for me. Everyone has different opinions here. Podence, Trincao, Hwang, Traore, Gibbs-White longer term, they could all step up a level, or maybe even get worse! In my opinion, Trincao will be much better than Traore longer term, especially in a ball-playing team and him and Neto will offer very potent support for Raul.

With all these questions already there, that will be why the club are thinking of selling to invest the money elsewhere in the first XI. That's without even considering the fact he is out of contract in 18 months and seemingly won't sign a new deal.

Short-term and longer term

Most of us would swap Traore for Sanches, as it balances the squad more. How many would do the same if it meant selling Traore now, but waiting until the summer to buy Sanches?

Or how many would accept selling Semedo now, because Madrid want him now to replace Trippier, so are willing to pay over the odds? But not replacing Semedo properly until the summer, maybe even going for someone on loan for the rest of the season (Doherty!)? Doc is a backwards step for me and not a long-term solution, but maybe could fill in for the rest of this season if we could bank £30m now and also sweeten our relationship with Athletico Madrid (Felix?!) in the meantime.

The club might have to make those types of short-term decisions this January, to achieve longer-term plans to improve the team this summer. But most will just jump on the lack of planning, Fosun uninterested, Jeff Shi cash-grabbing pile-on if this happens!!

It's a big summer for the club. Bruno's first full off season, a potential change of formation, a large refresh of the midfield needed. Bruno is on board, we are 8th, the loans are starting to work, just have faith that the plans are in place to make us as successful as possible! Everything happens for a reason, especially in the world of football transfers!!!

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Why is it always ‘next summer’

We’ve all seen what happens ‘next summer’

 

[Northampton_wolf]

Midfielder needs to come in in view of at some point replacing aeging moutinho and fixing the goals issue.

CB we need more depth, and then a winger/striker, if adama is to go you need another player, fabio likely to be loaned at some point

 

[Sketchead]

We're in decent shape tbh. Don't get why everyone is crying, but that's the world we live in. If we signed someone today, by tonight people would be begging for the next.

I think we'll bring at least one new player in for the first-team squad this window, but that's me. Let's see how the next few weeks pan out.

 

[WolfLing]

Why is it always ‘next summer’

We’ve all seen what happens ‘next summer’

True. We've had a big summer for 3 years now!

But the same principles have always applied. Could we attract a midfield player better than Neves or Moutinho? Could we attract a centre back better than our existing centre backs? Were we looking to play a different formation or style?

Bruno's first full off season, Moutinho and a lot of the existing squad coming to the end of their Wolves careers, a potential change of formation.

All the stars have aligned for this summer being the one!!

 

[Kebab Warrior]

All the clues are there. The club aren't deliberately choosing to neglect the first team, they are just trying to make decisions that leave us with the best possible first XI, capable of achieving the best possible results and at the same time, developing a number of promising young players for the future.

Part of Sellars interview the other day talked about the makeup of the squad being very important and the aversion to 'stockpiling' players.

“You’re always looking at the makeup of the squad and in recent years we’ve never been a football club that carries lots of players. We believe in giving the first-team the opportunity to play and be competitive, but also leave spaces for academy players to come through as well. It’s important we don’t stockpile and there’s a blockage.”

Centre Mid

Central midfield is often talked about as a position that has been neglected. We have Neves and Moutinho, who are clear first choices under Bruno. Dendoncker is their senior backup and we have Jordao and Cundle waiting in the wings, with just 1 Caraboa Cup sub appearance between the 2 youngsters so far this season. 3 senior players and 2 youth players for 2 positions. What should the club do differently here? Sign a 4th senior central midfield player? One that will hardly play and if they do, will stop the likes of Jordao or Cundle getting any game time?

I think this area of the team will be looked at properly in the summer as Moutiniho is 35 and out of contract and I'm not sure Dendonker is Bruno's type of midfield player. We may lose Neves too if a club bids high enough. The midfield may need completely rebuilding in the summer. But for now, especially with the form of Neves and Moutinho, it's an area of the team that's ticking along nicely.

Centre Back

Central defence is an area where we are very short for the immediate future. Kilman, Coady and Saiss have played every league game, with only Boly and Mosquera the other specialist centre backs with any game time (1 appearance each in the Carabao Cup). So we have a clear first choice back line, which will probably continue for the rest of the season after Saiss returns from Afcon duty. When Boly and Mosquera are back, we have 5 specialist central defenders, plus Sanderson if he stays.

With question marks over Saiss (contract) and Boly (fitness) longer term, a new centre back now, to bed in for next season would be great. But that player would have to be a Botman or Badiashile type that improves the first XI. Otherwise, we are back to stockpiling average players and blocking the opportunities for players like Sanderson and Mosquera. If you're going to be a club that champions youth or signs players like Mosqeura with real promise, you have to back it up, stick to your convictions and play them when they are needed, just as Sanderson will probably be needed this month.

Loans

For once, our loans are working too. Gone of the days of randomly sending players out to any club showing an interest, often where they didn't play. Gibbs-White, Giles, Sanderson and Sarkic have all been performing very well in The Championship, mainly because they have been placed at the right clubs, in the right position. Corbeanu has just been recalled from Sheffield Wednesday and sent our to MK Dons, purely because he was played out of position and they were playing the wrong style of football. That shows real depth of thought and planning (Matt Jackson starting in his role very well).

When everyone is fit, we have a senior squad of 23 players, plus Giles, Sanderson and Cundle. We have enough players when they're all fit, which makes shorter term planning very difficult! If you bring in a player to cover a short term need, they will potentially not play once everyone is fit and/or block a younger player from getting opportunities. Even being part of a first team squad and sitting on the bench can really help a young player's all round development, watching and learning how the professionals operate.

Injuries

The one thing the club can't really plan for is long-term injuries, something we were very lucky with for a couple of seasons, but since Covid, we seem to have been very unlucky with. A balance would be nice.

Fabio was a long term investment. A long-term plan to replace Raul, without having to spend £60m+. He was exposed as too young, not ready and written off by a lot of fans when he had to lead the line far too early in his development because of Raul's injury.

Jota was sold because Neto is potentially better and we were offered a sum of money we couldn't really refuse. In my opinion Jota's sale would have been much less of an issue had Neto not been injured.

Having a squad big enough to cover some injuries is important, but balancing this with not having too many players is a very hard job, especially when so many are out for now, but may be available again very soon.

Improving the first XI

We are now at a level where this is harder than it has ever been before. There are vey few Mendes players left that we could attract, with the players above the level of those already here playing for Man City, Liverpool or other top clubs. The few that are left, we are constantly linked with.

If we sign a central midfielder, they have to be potentially better than Neves of Moutinho, something you don't get without spending £40m on someone like Renato Sanches.

If we sign a centre back, they have to be potentially better than Kilman, Coady or Saiss, again something you probably don't get without spending £30m+ on someone like Botman or Badiashile.

The club have shown if an opportunity arises to improve the first XI, they will take it. Selling Doherty and buying Semedo was one of those instances. Initially, it may have seemed a bad decision, but I think everyone now recognises that Semedo is a better player.

Not only is it now harder than ever to improve our first team, it's harder than ever to do it in January, especially a January where Newcastle are increasing the prices of every available player out there!

Adama

So what of Traore? Is he a guaranteed starter, now and long term? Will he get better or have we seen his best already? Will he get worse as he approaches his late 20's? With everyone fit, which players are first choice? Neto + one other for me. Everyone has different opinions here. Podence, Trincao, Hwang, Traore, Gibbs-White longer term, they could all step up a level, or maybe even get worse! In my opinion, Trincao will be much better than Traore longer term, especially in a ball-playing team and him and Neto will offer very potent support for Raul.

With all these questions already there, that will be why the club are thinking of selling to invest the money elsewhere in the first XI. That's without even considering the fact he is out of contract in 18 months and seemingly won't sign a new deal.

Short-term and longer term

Most of us would swap Traore for Sanches, as it balances the squad more. How many would do the same if it meant selling Traore now, but waiting until the summer to buy Sanches?

Or how many would accept selling Semedo now, because Madrid want him now to replace Trippier, so are willing to pay over the odds? But not replacing Semedo properly until the summer, maybe even going for someone on loan for the rest of the season (Doherty!)? Doc is a backwards step for me and not a long-term solution, but maybe could fill in for the rest of this season if we could bank £30m now and also sweeten our relationship with Athletico Madrid (Felix?!) in the meantime.

The club might have to make those types of short-term decisions this January, to achieve longer-term plans to improve the team this summer. But most will just jump on the lack of planning, Fosun uninterested, Jeff Shi cash-grabbing pile-on if this happens!!

It's a big summer for the club. Bruno's first full off season, a potential change of formation, a large refresh of the midfield needed. Bruno is on board, we are 8th, the loans are starting to work, just have faith that the plans are in place to make us as successful as possible! Everything happens for a reason, especially in the world of football transfers!!!

Brilliant

 

[Olivergoldblack]

Well written piece.

I'd still go for a Sanches style CM, just for variety (or if we're being cheap skates try one of Podence, Trincao or possibly MGW in the hole as an attacking mid in a 3-5-2). Some games this season i.e Palace away we just didn't have an alternative plan. Our only plan is to go to 3-5-2 if we're winning at the end, but if we're losing with 3-4-3, what options have we got other than a personnel change?

I think we need experienced CB cover, just on loan.

Neto coming back will be like a new signing! I'd sell Traore and send Trincao back if they continue to not produce at the sharp end at the end of the season, and try some other options.

Wing backs we're well stocked, particularly with Jonny coming back.

I doubt any first teamers will leave in this window. Obviously a worry if Neves goes in the summer and an ageing Moutinho, we'd have some serious CM problems. World class deep lying playmakers won't be cheap.

 

[Streathamwolf]

All the clues are there. The club aren't deliberately choosing to neglect the first team, they are just trying to make decisions that leave us with the best possible first XI, capable of achieving the best possible results and at the same time, developing a number of promising young players for the future.

Part of Sellars interview the other day talked about the makeup of the squad being very important and the aversion to 'stockpiling' players.

“You’re always looking at the makeup of the squad and in recent years we’ve never been a football club that carries lots of players. We believe in giving the first-team the opportunity to play and be competitive, but also leave spaces for academy players to come through as well. It’s important we don’t stockpile and there’s a blockage.”

Centre Mid

Central midfield is often talked about as a position that has been neglected. We have Neves and Moutinho, who are clear first choices under Bruno. Dendoncker is their senior backup and we have Jordao and Cundle waiting in the wings, with just 1 Caraboa Cup sub appearance between the 2 youngsters so far this season. 3 senior players and 2 youth players for 2 positions. What should the club do differently here? Sign a 4th senior central midfield player? One that will hardly play and if they do, will stop the likes of Jordao or Cundle getting any game time?

I think this area of the team will be looked at properly in the summer as Moutiniho is 35 and out of contract and I'm not sure Dendonker is Bruno's type of midfield player. We may lose Neves too if a club bids high enough. The midfield may need completely rebuilding in the summer. But for now, especially with the form of Neves and Moutinho, it's an area of the team that's ticking along nicely.

Centre Back

Central defence is an area where we are very short for the immediate future. Kilman, Coady and Saiss have played every league game, with only Boly and Mosquera the other specialist centre backs with any game time (1 appearance each in the Carabao Cup). So we have a clear first choice back line, which will probably continue for the rest of the season after Saiss returns from Afcon duty. When Boly and Mosquera are back, we have 5 specialist central defenders, plus Sanderson if he stays.

With question marks over Saiss (contract) and Boly (fitness) longer term, a new centre back now, to bed in for next season would be great. But that player would have to be a Botman or Badiashile type that improves the first XI. Otherwise, we are back to stockpiling average players and blocking the opportunities for players like Sanderson and Mosquera. If you're going to be a club that champions youth or signs players like Mosqeura with real promise, you have to back it up, stick to your convictions and play them when they are needed, just as Sanderson will probably be needed this month.

Loans

For once, our loans are working too. Gone of the days of randomly sending players out to any club showing an interest, often where they didn't play. Gibbs-White, Giles, Sanderson and Sarkic have all been performing very well in The Championship, mainly because they have been placed at the right clubs, in the right position. Corbeanu has just been recalled from Sheffield Wednesday and sent our to MK Dons, purely because he was played out of position and they were playing the wrong style of football. That shows real depth of thought and planning (Matt Jackson starting in his role very well).

When everyone is fit, we have a senior squad of 23 players, plus Giles, Sanderson and Cundle. We have enough players when they're all fit, which makes shorter term planning very difficult! If you bring in a player to cover a short term need, they will potentially not play once everyone is fit and/or block a younger player from getting opportunities. Even being part of a first team squad and sitting on the bench can really help a young player's all round development, watching and learning how the professionals operate.

Injuries

The one thing the club can't really plan for is long-term injuries, something we were very lucky with for a couple of seasons, but since Covid, we seem to have been very unlucky with. A balance would be nice.

Fabio was a long term investment. A long-term plan to replace Raul, without having to spend £60m+. He was exposed as too young, not ready and written off by a lot of fans when he had to lead the line far too early in his development because of Raul's injury.

Jota was sold because Neto is potentially better and we were offered a sum of money we couldn't really refuse. In my opinion Jota's sale would have been much less of an issue had Neto not been injured.

Having a squad big enough to cover some injuries is important, but balancing this with not having too many players is a very hard job, especially when so many are out for now, but may be available again very soon.

Improving the first XI

We are now at a level where this is harder than it has ever been before. There are vey few Mendes players left that we could attract, with the players above the level of those already here playing for Man City, Liverpool or other top clubs. The few that are left, we are constantly linked with.

If we sign a central midfielder, they have to be potentially better than Neves of Moutinho, something you don't get without spending £40m on someone like Renato Sanches.

If we sign a centre back, they have to be potentially better than Kilman, Coady or Saiss, again something you probably don't get without spending £30m+ on someone like Botman or Badiashile.

The club have shown if an opportunity arises to improve the first XI, they will take it. Selling Doherty and buying Semedo was one of those instances. Initially, it may have seemed a bad decision, but I think everyone now recognises that Semedo is a better player.

Not only is it now harder than ever to improve our first team, it's harder than ever to do it in January, especially a January where Newcastle are increasing the prices of every available player out there!

Adama

So what of Traore? Is he a guaranteed starter, now and long term? Will he get better or have we seen his best already? Will he get worse as he approaches his late 20's? With everyone fit, which players are first choice? Neto + one other for me. Everyone has different opinions here. Podence, Trincao, Hwang, Traore, Gibbs-White longer term, they could all step up a level, or maybe even get worse! In my opinion, Trincao will be much better than Traore longer term, especially in a ball-playing team and him and Neto will offer very potent support for Raul.

With all these questions already there, that will be why the club are thinking of selling to invest the money elsewhere in the first XI. That's without even considering the fact he is out of contract in 18 months and seemingly won't sign a new deal.

Short-term and longer term

Most of us would swap Traore for Sanches, as it balances the squad more. How many would do the same if it meant selling Traore now, but waiting until the summer to buy Sanches?

Or how many would accept selling Semedo now, because Madrid want him now to replace Trippier, so are willing to pay over the odds? But not replacing Semedo properly until the summer, maybe even going for someone on loan for the rest of the season (Doherty!)? Doc is a backwards step for me and not a long-term solution, but maybe could fill in for the rest of this season if we could bank £30m now and also sweeten our relationship with Athletico Madrid (Felix?!) in the meantime.

The club might have to make those types of short-term decisions this January, to achieve longer-term plans to improve the team this summer. But most will just jump on the lack of planning, Fosun uninterested, Jeff Shi cash-grabbing pile-on if this happens!!

It's a big summer for the club. Bruno's first full off season, a potential change of formation, a large refresh of the midfield needed. Bruno is on board, we are 8th, the loans are starting to work, just have faith that the plans are in place to make us as successful as possible! Everything happens for a reason, especially in the world of football transfers!!!

Thoughtful post, great summary, thank you. I agree with this though I don't see the Doc story as having any connection to reality. Hopefully you will provoke some rational thoughtful responses!

 

[the 15th Wanderer]

All the clues are there. The club aren't deliberately choosing to neglect the first team, they are just trying to make decisions that leave us with the best possible first XI, capable of achieving the best possible results and at the same time, developing a number of promising young players for the future.

Part of Sellars interview the other day talked about the makeup of the squad being very important and the aversion to 'stockpiling' players.

“You’re always looking at the makeup of the squad and in recent years we’ve never been a football club that carries lots of players. We believe in giving the first-team the opportunity to play and be competitive, but also leave spaces for academy players to come through as well. It’s important we don’t stockpile and there’s a blockage.”

Centre Mid

Central midfield is often talked about as a position that has been neglected. We have Neves and Moutinho, who are clear first choices under Bruno. Dendoncker is their senior backup and we have Jordao and Cundle waiting in the wings, with just 1 Caraboa Cup sub appearance between the 2 youngsters so far this season. 3 senior players and 2 youth players for 2 positions. What should the club do differently here? Sign a 4th senior central midfield player? One that will hardly play and if they do, will stop the likes of Jordao or Cundle getting any game time?

I think this area of the team will be looked at properly in the summer as Moutiniho is 35 and out of contract and I'm not sure Dendonker is Bruno's type of midfield player. We may lose Neves too if a club bids high enough. The midfield may need completely rebuilding in the summer. But for now, especially with the form of Neves and Moutinho, it's an area of the team that's ticking along nicely.

Centre Back

Central defence is an area where we are very short for the immediate future. Kilman, Coady and Saiss have played every league game, with only Boly and Mosquera the other specialist centre backs with any game time (1 appearance each in the Carabao Cup). So we have a clear first choice back line, which will probably continue for the rest of the season after Saiss returns from Afcon duty. When Boly and Mosquera are back, we have 5 specialist central defenders, plus Sanderson if he stays.

With question marks over Saiss (contract) and Boly (fitness) longer term, a new centre back now, to bed in for next season would be great. But that player would have to be a Botman or Badiashile type that improves the first XI. Otherwise, we are back to stockpiling average players and blocking the opportunities for players like Sanderson and Mosquera. If you're going to be a club that champions youth or signs players like Mosqeura with real promise, you have to back it up, stick to your convictions and play them when they are needed, just as Sanderson will probably be needed this month.

Loans

For once, our loans are working too. Gone of the days of randomly sending players out to any club showing an interest, often where they didn't play. Gibbs-White, Giles, Sanderson and Sarkic have all been performing very well in The Championship, mainly because they have been placed at the right clubs, in the right position. Corbeanu has just been recalled from Sheffield Wednesday and sent our to MK Dons, purely because he was played out of position and they were playing the wrong style of football. That shows real depth of thought and planning (Matt Jackson starting in his role very well).

When everyone is fit, we have a senior squad of 23 players, plus Giles, Sanderson and Cundle. We have enough players when they're all fit, which makes shorter term planning very difficult! If you bring in a player to cover a short term need, they will potentially not play once everyone is fit and/or block a younger player from getting opportunities. Even being part of a first team squad and sitting on the bench can really help a young player's all round development, watching and learning how the professionals operate.

Injuries

The one thing the club can't really plan for is long-term injuries, something we were very lucky with for a couple of seasons, but since Covid, we seem to have been very unlucky with. A balance would be nice.

Fabio was a long term investment. A long-term plan to replace Raul, without having to spend £60m+. He was exposed as too young, not ready and written off by a lot of fans when he had to lead the line far too early in his development because of Raul's injury.

Jota was sold because Neto is potentially better and we were offered a sum of money we couldn't really refuse. In my opinion Jota's sale would have been much less of an issue had Neto not been injured.

Having a squad big enough to cover some injuries is important, but balancing this with not having too many players is a very hard job, especially when so many are out for now, but may be available again very soon.

Improving the first XI

We are now at a level where this is harder than it has ever been before. There are vey few Mendes players left that we could attract, with the players above the level of those already here playing for Man City, Liverpool or other top clubs. The few that are left, we are constantly linked with.

If we sign a central midfielder, they have to be potentially better than Neves of Moutinho, something you don't get without spending £40m on someone like Renato Sanches.

If we sign a centre back, they have to be potentially better than Kilman, Coady or Saiss, again something you probably don't get without spending £30m+ on someone like Botman or Badiashile.

The club have shown if an opportunity arises to improve the first XI, they will take it. Selling Doherty and buying Semedo was one of those instances. Initially, it may have seemed a bad decision, but I think everyone now recognises that Semedo is a better player.

Not only is it now harder than ever to improve our first team, it's harder than ever to do it in January, especially a January where Newcastle are increasing the prices of every available player out there!

Adama

So what of Traore? Is he a guaranteed starter, now and long term? Will he get better or have we seen his best already? Will he get worse as he approaches his late 20's? With everyone fit, which players are first choice? Neto + one other for me. Everyone has different opinions here. Podence, Trincao, Hwang, Traore, Gibbs-White longer term, they could all step up a level, or maybe even get worse! In my opinion, Trincao will be much better than Traore longer term, especially in a ball-playing team and him and Neto will offer very potent support for Raul.

With all these questions already there, that will be why the club are thinking of selling to invest the money elsewhere in the first XI. That's without even considering the fact he is out of contract in 18 months and seemingly won't sign a new deal.

Short-term and longer term

Most of us would swap Traore for Sanches, as it balances the squad more. How many would do the same if it meant selling Traore now, but waiting until the summer to buy Sanches?

Or how many would accept selling Semedo now, because Madrid want him now to replace Trippier, so are willing to pay over the odds? But not replacing Semedo properly until the summer, maybe even going for someone on loan for the rest of the season (Doherty!)? Doc is a backwards step for me and not a long-term solution, but maybe could fill in for the rest of this season if we could bank £30m now and also sweeten our relationship with Athletico Madrid (Felix?!) in the meantime.

The club might have to make those types of short-term decisions this January, to achieve longer-term plans to improve the team this summer. But most will just jump on the lack of planning, Fosun uninterested, Jeff Shi cash-grabbing pile-on if this happens!!

It's a big summer for the club. Bruno's first full off season, a potential change of formation, a large refresh of the midfield needed. Bruno is on board, we are 8th, the loans are starting to work, just have faith that the plans are in place to make us as successful as possible! Everything happens for a reason, especially in the world of football transfers!!!

Excellent post in my opinion. This is pretty much how I see things. It's almost as if Fosun have a long term plan and are sticking to it

 

[Keyser Soze]

Great OP

It feels like we have a pretty set list of 30 or so players... these 'top' players mentioned previously by Jeff, where we tried and failed to get them (apart from those we did of course), and its only these that are considered to be good enough to come into the first team and we're prepared to wait until circumstances align so we can get one, or two... I'm sure Sanches, Botman, Badiashile are all on this list along with some more of that ilk

They're players that are very hard for a club of our level to convince to sign, I'm sympathetic to that if not impatient and concerned we are going for players we can't get, and then I get disappointed when we don't get them but I expect the club to use everything it has to bring in a 'top' player when we have a space in the first team to offer... Moutinho and Saiss being the obvious 2 that could be replaced in the summer as you say, and then players of that quality we need to be purchased under pressure... and the risk is then they still won't come and we replace those stalwarts with the 'not so top' players and the team regresses

Its a pressure game for sure, and if one of those players is suddenly available for the right price and with the right deal I still expect us to move on it.. even in Jan, but its more a case of waiting for an opportunity with a player on our list, rather than hunting for the best we can get right now to come in

High risk strategy, but I understand why its why a club like ours needs to approach this way like the OP says and getting it right will mean the best path for a club at our stage of development. Would also like to have seen more top youngsters bought to support this as, even with the Brexit changes, we could have brought in onto or two Mosquera type players support the squad with our global network while we wait for these top deals to materialise (and they potentially hit the ground running), and I'd also like to see some of our academy prospects that are key to this approach given minutes here and there... Cundle should have been given a few mins from the bench by now to fulfil his role and progress him... there's been a few chances to do this... but them I'm sure Bruno has to explain to Dendoncker why he wasn't brought on instead

At the end of the day I would like 3 of that top list in our senior squad right now, and we can then compete for this and that yes, I'm just as greedy as anyone else, but we're not Chelsea and can't carry a squad of that size, especially without European football to offer and rotate, and there's of course the Bruno angle and what he claims he wants... maybe Bruno is a little greedy too... but with the extra challenges Covid presents being a little greedy ain't the worst approach

The first team is doing well, top class injured players close to coming back. Bloating could upset that yes, but so could us being without a chair when it comes to replace someone in that first XI if we cant land the players on our list. But that's the balance that I'm sure keeps them all up at night, and rightly so because it certainly does me!

 

[Jawwfc]

Good post.... there is always an over reaction when villa sign somebody for some reason, they signed Buendia, Ings,Tzuanzabe, Bailey none of these have filled the hole left by grealish,

Coutiniho has been poor for a number of years now at 29 his career will start to take a downward trajectory, similar to when Everton signed James Rodriguez and that turned out terrible.

I'd rather us not spend money on these types of players instead we need to be smart and look for players around 23/24.

 

[Supadavewolf]

Why is it always ‘next summer’

We’ve all seen what happens ‘next summer’

Yes, it is of some concern, though last summer we did recruit 3 first team-ish players in Hwang, Trincao and Mosquera - two on loan, which allows a detailed judgement to be made, and one a bit of a punt who did look half-decent in the little time he had on the pitch.

'Next summer'? well, decisions have to be made about Mouts and Saiss, though both have shown that they can make important contributions.

Then there's the issue of Adama (if he's still with us by then) and Neves, both of whom could be gone - possibly also Semedo.

However, we do have - potentially - some developing/developed youngsters, both with us (such as Hoever, Fabio and RAN), and on loan (eg MGW, Bolla, Gomes).

I know, we all would like that 'worldie' signing, but next summer's not going to be all bad - I hope!

 

[WolfLing]

Great OP

It feels like we have a pretty set list of 30 or so players... these 'top' players mentioned previously by Jeff, where we tried and failed to get them (apart from those we did of course), and its only these that are considered to be good enough to come into the first team and we're prepared to wait until circumstances align so we can get one, or two... I'm sure Sanches, Botman, Badiashile are all on this list along with some more of that ilk

They're players that are very hard for a club of our level to convince to sign, I'm sympathetic to that if not impatient and concerned we are going for players we can't get, and then I get disappointed when we don't get them but I expect the club to use everything it has to bring in a 'top' player when we have a space in the first team to offer... Moutinho and Saiss being the obvious 2 that could be replaced in the summer as you say, and then players of that quality we need to be purchased under pressure... and the risk is then they still won't come and we replace those stalwarts with the 'not so top' players and the team regresses

Its a pressure game for sure, and if one of those players is suddenly available for the right price and with the right deal I still expect us to move on it.. even in Jan, but its more a case of waiting for an opportunity with a player on our list, rather than hunting for the best we can get right now to come in

High risk strategy, but I understand why its why a club like ours needs to approach this way like the OP says and getting it right will mean the best path for a club at our stage of development. Would also like to have seen more top youngsters bought to support this as, even with the Brexit changes, we could have brought in onto or two Mosquera type players support the squad with our global network while we wait for these top deals to materialise (and they potentially hit the ground running), and I'd also like to see some of our academy prospects that are key to this approach given minutes here and there... Cundle should have been given a few mins from the bench by now to fulfil his role and progress him... there's been a few chances to do this... but them I'm sure Bruno has to explain to Dendoncker why he wasn't brought on instead

At the end of the day I would like 3 of that top list in our senior squad right now, and we can then compete for this and that yes, I'm just as greedy as anyone else, but we're not Chelsea and can't carry a squad of that size, especially without European football to offer and rotate, and there's of course the Bruno angle and what he claims he wants... maybe Bruno is a little greedy too... but with the extra challenges Covid presents being a little greedy ain't the worst approach

The first team is doing well, top class injured players close to coming back. Bloating could upset that yes, but so could us being without a chair when it comes to replace someone in that first XI if we cant land the players on our list. But that's the balance that I'm sure keeps them all up at night, and rightly so because it certainly does me!

Yeah, spot on. We will maybe need to get as creative as we can to replace players and come up with more 'Moutinho for £5m' style deals!

Free transfers could be a way of doing that I suppose. There might be some players on our long-term list that are out of contract this summer.

Here's a whole team of out of contract players in a similar system to ours, those in bold we have been linked with previously, so might be on the list!! Big competition for these guys though and some/most will set their sights a lot higher than Wolves.

Andre Onana

Jason Denayer---Javi Martinez---Alessio Romagnoli

Jesus Corona---Corentin Tolisso---Boubacar Kamara---Frank Kessie---Yairo Moreno

Andrea Belotti---Divock Origi​

 

[glorybox]

Great post....but why buy Semedo only to then sell him on?

 

[WolfLing]

Great post....but why buy Semedo only to then sell him on?

I don't think there's a plan to sell him, but it could be an option as part of a wider plan.

He was signed on a strange 3 year deal, with a club option of 2 more years. So the current deal runs until June 2023, with us having an option to extend until 2025 if we want (which we obviously will do next season if he's still here).

We would want close to what we paid for him, maybe more if we were to sell, given that he's starting to play really well and we don't really want or need to sell. So it would take a bid over and above his true value for us to consider it.

He's reportedly on Athletico Madrid's shortlist to replace Trippier. So say they come in with a bid of £30m in this window. What do we do?

The options we have would be:

• Reject it, keep him for another 3.5 seasons as first choice right back. By then he would be 32, with little to no sell-on value, so we might offer him a short-term deal or lose him for nothing and replace him.
• Reject it, sell him for less at some stage in the next 3.5 seasons and replace him.
• Accept it and replace him short term until the end of the season, then look for a new right back/wing-back in the summer.
• Accept it and replace him with a full time alternative now.
• Accept it and not replace him, using Hoever and Jonny (when fit) on the right and Marcal and Ait-Nouri on the left.

The thing that points to maybe selling is that as far as assets go, he's probably in our top 5 most valuable assets as things stand now.

But is he crucial to our side? Is he amongst our top 5 most important players? Could that value be used better elsewhere in the first XI? Players have both financial values and their value to the squad. I'd suggest that Semedo's financial value is currently more than his value to the squad, an ideal time to sell any player!

I watched Hoever play 90 mins against Chelsea and there wasn't much difference to an average Semedo game. Neither offer much of a threat going forward, neither have a goal in them. When Semedo plays well, he's much better than Hoever now, but will Hoever develop to be a better player long-term? I'd suggest if Jonny comes back and stays fit, there's not much to choose between Jonny and Semedo. Semedo is probably better defensively, but Jonny is a better all-round player.

So if we can sell Semedo for close to £30m, but it doesn't have too much of a negative impact on our first XI long-term, why wouldn't we do that and use the money towards improving our XI elsewhere? Buy a player whose value to the squad is greater than their financial value.

Those would be the considerations, if an offer comes along!

Exactly the same sort of considerations as Traore. Can their financial value be put to better use in our squad?

 

[wwbug]

An attacking midfielder capable of scoring goals today, and paying alongside Neves to give Moutinho a rest, and to make us more entertaining and give options. And may be get in to Europe.
Surely that’s what loaning Vintnha was all about. We need this type of player and for him to be good enough.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

Wow, what a great thread. Sensible, reasoned discussion and no animosity. Just reasoned debate. Good time to post as the harmony maybe because of last Monday's result?! When the Mix is good it is bloody brilliant. Thanks folks.

 

[Jay Jay de Wolf]

**££**** ... Fosun's plan has changed there is no project / plan anymore!

We have gotta be "a self sufficient club" from vibes and message's they're sending out to Wolves fans

 

[reanswolf]

Very good OP, but the problem is the longer you neglect an issue the bigger it becomes.

We could indeed need to revamp the entire midfield over summer. How much would that cost? £60-80m (minus the £40mm minimum we will get for Ruben of course) to have equal quality. Its easier for a club to keep on top of things like that if they do things incrementally. I can't see us spending that sort of money. If we had have bought Sanches (for example) last summer for £25m, Neves might have been prepared to stay on. Then the midfield wouldnt need any additions and it has only cost £25m.

Sometimes they have to think ahead and outside the box. I think many clubs are guilty of short-termism when it comes to finances.

 

[SA Wolf]

Why is it always ‘next summer’

We’ve all seen what happens ‘next summer’

It's not always 'next summer'. It's often 'one for the future'. Just not sure when the future is supposed to start!!

 

[Bawtry Wolf]

**££**** ... Fosun's plan has changed there is no project / plan anymore!

We have gotta be "a self sufficient club" from vibes and message's they're sending out to Wolves fans

I’m fairly certain there is a plan and project. But it’s long term and decisions are based on that. Most plans vary from from the original due to circumstances. I am fairly certain the original plan didn’t include COVID or global pandemic on the risk register.

Conversely we didn’t plan to achieve Championship success and European qualification as quickly. This raised expectations but we stuck to the plan of a small squad, identifying potential future talent and evolving. The only time we have really deviated is the signing of Jose as a replacement for Raul, older loan player with little resale value if we made it permanent.

It could be argued that as success came earlier than expected we should have ridden the wave and built on it. I would imagine that Jeff’s response would have been that the foundations weren’t sufficient to support such an approach and the short term gain would sacrifice the long term success and security. As a fan I can understand some people’s frustration but I can also see Fosun’s. I would much prefer long term, sustained success in place of a short term fix that’s replaced by a crash.

 

[glorybox]

I don't think there's a plan to sell him, but it could be an option as part of a wider plan.

He was signed on a strange 3 year deal, with a club option of 2 more years. So the current deal runs until June 2023, with us having an option to extend until 2025 if we want (which we obviously will do next season if he's still here).

We would want close to what we paid for him, maybe more if we were to sell, given that he's starting to play really well and we don't really want or need to sell. So it would take a bid over and above his true value for us to consider it.

He's reportedly on Athletico Madrid's shortlist to replace Trippier. So say they come in with a bid of £30m in this window. What do we do?

The options we have would be:

• Reject it, keep him for another 3.5 seasons as first choice right back. By then he would be 32, with little to no sell-on value, so we might offer him a short-term deal or lose him for nothing and replace him.
• Reject it, sell him for less at some stage in the next 3.5 seasons and replace him.
• Accept it and replace him short term until the end of the season, then look for a new right back/wing-back in the summer.
• Accept it and replace him with a full time alternative now.
• Accept it and not replace him, using Hoever and Jonny (when fit) on the right and Marcal and Ait-Nouri on the left.

The thing that points to maybe selling is that as far as assets go, he's probably in our top 5 most valuable assets as things stand now.

But is he crucial to our side? Is he amongst our top 5 most important players? Could that value be used better elsewhere in the first XI? Players have both financial values and their value to the squad. I'd suggest that Semedo's financial value is currently more than his value to the squad, an ideal time to sell any player!

I watched Hoever play 90 mins against Chelsea and there wasn't much difference to an average Semedo game. Neither offer much of a threat going forward, neither have a goal in them. When Semedo plays well, he's much better than Hoever now, but will Hoever develop to be a better player long-term? I'd suggest if Jonny comes back and stays fit, there's not much to choose between Jonny and Semedo. Semedo is probably better defensively, but Jonny is a better all-round player.

So if we can sell Semedo for close to £30m, but it doesn't have too much of a negative impact on our first XI long-term, why wouldn't we do that and use the money towards improving our XI elsewhere? Buy a player whose value to the squad is greater than their financial value.

Those would be the considerations, if an offer comes along!

Exactly the same sort of considerations as Traore. Can their financial value be put to better use in our squad?

All good points but IF we ever want to compete higher up the league then keeping players like Semedo is imperative. Otherwise we will tread water ad infinitum.

 

[Halesowen wwfc]

The plan was always to buy and sell players. Buy with potential, sell when potential has been realised ala Jota. Covid year saw a stop to that as a lot of our players went backwards and reduced in value. We went from expecting 70m for neves, to bids of 35m being rumoured.
In my opinion its now time for a few of our players to be moved on to realise the potential of the next set of players coming through Now that some of the players value has recovered since bruno has come in.
Semedo will not get any better and if we can get our money back and that is reinvested into midfield then that will strengthen the squad. Give hoever a chance in the team, give jordao a chance, lets see what the kids are made of who lets be fair have cost us quite a bit of money.
We need to start seeing the likes of marques stepping up when back from his loan, toti gomes and lonwjick to be given a chance to prove themselves. Otherwise, we are gonna end up with a goncalves situation with some of these kids where a player not given a chance to show what he can do is moved on, and then turns out he is actually quite good.
Its time some of these kids are integrated into the first team and start to get some minutes and lets see if they sink or swim.
I see absolutely no point in spending 30m on a central defender. Are they going to be that much better than what we have currently and their ceiling in terms of potential fees to be earnt from their sale is going to be far less if they are being purchased at 30m in the first place. Only leicester seem to really get silly money for defenders in maguire and chillwell.

 

[Wolvessince63]

All this common sense is doing my bleeding head in!!!!

 

[TF2Wolf]

Good post although i still think the 1st team is light of at least a couple of players.

The argument of having three senior midfielders for two positions surely restricts us in formation and I think this has been borne out with the season so far.

In my opinion we are crying out for another midfielder but one with different attributes to the three senior midfielders we have and Bruno has also alluded to this stating all three are very similar.

Then the talk of blockages to the 1st team for Cundle and Jordao but as is pointed out Cundle isn’t even making cameo appearances so does that mean the club don’t trust him to be ready at the moment so the blockages already seem to be there?

We also need someone who is going to be a bit more prolific in front of goal. Fabio’s performance against United was promising but we still haven’t got anyone who is remotely putting pressure on his place in the team or as proper back up support. This for me is part of the squad rebalancing with the number of forward creator types but none of them seem to be able to put the ball in the back of the net.

The defence this season has been awesome and credit must go to Bruno for how he has brought on Kilman who has been immense. Still think a Centre Back with more pace is required to give us options to play a back four. It’s a shame Mosquera was injured as maybe he could be that guy and maybe can be assessed better in the summer, so for me this area is least priority at the moment.

In terms of improving the team the level of investment per player was always likely to have to increase, but get the scouting right then that can also lead to greater profit. The biggest example for me of this was Dias who we could of signed the season before Man City bought him. Imagine the profit we could have got if he’d have had a season in the premier with us and then sold onto Man City it was clear the guy oozed class.

Finally surely the time to strengthen the team is when we are in a strong position. At the beginning of the season many pundits tipped us for relegation so it might be more understandable that players might be reluctant to join.

We are currently 8th performing well and some players might be more willing to join thinking there is a greater chance now of making it into Europe.

I’m not suggesting a massive splurge on loads of players but I do think a couple of 1st team improving type signings are needed.

Speculate from a position of strength to accumulate I say.

 

[WolfLing]

All good points but IF we ever want to compete higher up the league then keeping players like Semedo is imperative. Otherwise we will tread water ad infinitum.

I’d agree on other players, but there are a lot of defensively sound right backs that don’t assist or score!!

If Bruno thinks Semedo is the best right back/wing-back for what he wants then great, keep him for years.

But he might think that Semedo’s lack of ability going forward isn’t necessarily the best fit for how he wants to play. His fullbacks at Benfica were predominantly there as an attacking threat and they got double digit assists.

He might know there is a player more suited to how he wants to play available for a lot less than we could get for Semedo and that it would give him funds to improve elsewhere.

Bruno is part of these discussions remember. It’s not as though we would just sell players from under his nose! All ifs and buts, but all I’m saying is these are the discussions they will most likely be having if bids are made for our players.

 

[wolvesaywe]

Very good OP, but the problem is the longer you neglect an issue the bigger it becomes.

We could indeed need to revamp the entire midfield over summer. How much would that cost? £60-80m (minus the £40mm minimum we will get for Ruben of course) to have equal quality. Its easier for a club to keep on top of things like that if they do things incrementally. I can't see us spending that sort of money. If we had have bought Sanches (for example) last summer for £25m, Neves might have been prepared to stay on. Then the midfield wouldnt need any additions and it has only cost £25m.

Sometimes they have to think ahead and outside the box. I think many clubs are guilty of short-termism when it comes to finances.

The club is the very definition of one that thinks ahead and outside of the box

 

[JonahWolf]

We're in decent shape tbh. Don't get why everyone is crying, but that's the world we live in. If we signed someone today, by tonight people would be begging for the next.

I think we'll bring at least one new player in for the first-team squad this window, but that's me. Let's see how the next few weeks pan out.

I agree with the general premise of the OP, but CM is definitely 1 quality body light.
Don’t think even with the most positive outlook that can really be argued.

The rest? Defence performing spectacularly, same old problems scoring goals, would prefer a genuinely competitive forward but unlikely to get one, so a real midfielder and I’d be happy.

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Get used to the inevitable fall down the table when sa doesn’t make an unreal save every game or when neves gets injured = common sense

 

[reanswolf]

Good post although i still think the 1st team is light of at least a couple of players.

The argument of having three senior midfielders for two positions surely restricts us in formation and I think this has been borne out with the season so far.

In my opinion we are crying out for another midfielder but one with different attributes to the three senior midfielders we have and Bruno has also alluded to this stating all three are very similar.

Then the talk of blockages to the 1st team for Cundle and Jordao but as is pointed out Cundle isn’t even making cameo appearances so does that mean the club don’t trust him to be ready at the moment so the blockages already seem to be there?

We also need someone who is going to be a bit more prolific in front of goal. Fabio’s performance against United was promising but we still haven’t got anyone who is remotely putting pressure on his place in the team or as proper back up support. This for me is part of the squad rebalancing with the number of forward creator types but none of them seem to be able to put the ball in the back of the net.

The defence this season has been awesome and credit must go to Bruno for how he has brought on Kilman who has been immense. Still think a Centre Back with more pace is required to give us options to play a back four. It’s a shame Mosquera was injured as maybe he could be that guy and maybe can be assessed better in the summer, so for me this area is least priority at the moment.

In terms of improving the team the level of investment per player was always likely to have to increase, but get the scouting right then that can also lead to greater profit. The biggest example for me of this was Dias who we could of signed the season before Man City bought him. Imagine the profit we could have got if he’d have had a season in the premier with us and then sold onto Man City it was clear the guy oozed class.

Finally surely the time to strengthen the team is when we are in a strong position. At the beginning of the season many pundits tipped us for relegation so it might be more understandable that players might be reluctant to join.

We are currently 8th performing well and some players might be more willing to join thinking there is a greater chance now of making it into Europe.

I’m not suggesting a massive splurge on loads of players but I do think a couple of 1st team improving type signings are needed.

Speculate from a position of strength to accumulate I say.

Excellent post.

The issues have been evident since Seville to be honest, the manager sees it, the players must understand it too. Most fans do.

 

[Aurum Lupus]

Yes, it is of some concern, though last summer we did recruit 3 first team-ish players in Hwang, Trincao and Mosquera - two on loan, which allows a detailed judgement to be made, and one a bit of a punt who did look half-decent in the little time he had on the pitch.

Is Sa not counted as 1st team

 

[Supadavewolf]

Oops

Is Sa not counted as 1st team

Oops!

 

[Black Coffee]

This thread is terrible too much common sense and logic not enough hysteria and doom nor any conspiracies.

 

[sswolf]

Excellent post sums it up nicely.

Easy for fans to spend someone’s else’s money and confuse reality with FM

 

[Contrarian]

For years: "All we want is to play in the Premier League, not this abysmal Championship"
Delivered, and ...

"This isn't enough, we want to be comfortable mid-table in the Premier League, not struggling to survive every season"
Delivered, and ...

"That isn't enough we want to be top 6"

Guess what happens next? "Top 6 isn't enough, we need to be scoring more goals"? "Winning the FA Cup isn't enough, we need to win the Champions League"? "Winning the Champions League isn't enough, we need to win it 6-0 every season for the next 50 years".

It's never, ever, enough, is it?

 

[goldeneyed]

Pretty good O/P post but I don't like the kind of complacency which slips in after a good win such as at Man U. We have been desperately in need of an attacking midfielder for two years. We are the lowest scorers in the division bar Norwich. Silva at £35m is still at least 18 months away from making a grown up contribution. Another injury to Raul and we are in deep trouble (why has the club still not learnt the lesson?). Cutrone, Jose all falures too. A striker is urgently needed. At CB we can wait till the summer and make do. But the other positions are and have been a matter of urgency for two years. So yes this January why not prioritise these positions and show ambition. It's always next summer.....what happened last summer?

Jonny, Boly, Neto and Mosquera won't be match fit till early March and there is no guarantee that one or more of them will struggle.
Hwang may be back next month.

Giles plays in a position where we are well covered. Bringing him back makes very little difference indeed unless there are further injuries out wide or Traore is sold.

We are 8th for now but there is a serious divide between the teams above us and the lower 12 imv. The club need to invest early not late when the likes of Moutinho/Boly/Saiss/Jonny(?) are inevitably on the way out. If Badiashile is a serious option then great but one way or another you have to get these deals across the line. Neves will not hang around if the club does not make these investments. If he goes that is the end of the 'project' pretty much as for me he symbolises the whole of the Fosun era and what was promised would be a sustained upward cycle in the club's fortunes after 40 years of total failure. We have a chance of 6th/7th and the Europa League again with ambition. Without it 10th/11th/12th in the beige zone.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

It’s an excellent OP. If I’m being critical of it, is that is glosses over a few things.

Firstly in game subs. One of the criticisms of our current squad depth, is that for some positions we lack a quality sub on the bench. We have players who are flexible (eg wingbacks who can play either side, midfielders who can drop into defence) and we have some positions with options (eg wide forwards) but elsewhere we would struggle to replace a tired or injured player with someone as strong (striker, central defence, central midfield). That’s before we consider bench players who can alter the flow of the game without a radical change to the formation.

This latter point brings me to the second, tactics. It’s been often said Bruno would prefer to play four at the back. He clearly is smart enough to adapt formations to the tools at hand, and that’s why we have played 3/5 at the back most of the season. But the point is, that’s because of the players he has available, not necessarily because that’s the formation he feels would be the best for every team we’ve played.

The OP mentions injuries but seems to hope we return to the very light level we had, not the more typical level we have. The club has already acknowledged that it was a hard lesson learned from last season that we had too thin a squad. We have made some progress in this by upgrading the fringe / upcoming players, but it can’t be argued that we now have sufficient depth to handle the level of injuries we’ve seen in the last 18 months, nor can we simply hope it gets better.

That doesn’t mean we need 5-10 more first team level players, but it does mean we need at least one more down the spine of the team, which is all we’ve been asking for, and all it seems Bruno has too. Whether those players come from our youth squad or as signings I don’t mind. Where we then have more depth than we need, means we have the scope to sell someone to maintain funds without leaving ourselves thin. The example of this done well so far being with our keepers and wingbacks, and to an extent, our wide forwards. We just need the same strategy applied to the other positions in the squad.

 

[oldsamdingle]

Different times i know!!, The great side of 1971/ 1974, was not invested in enough and we all know what happened, We either compete in the transfer market or we will go backwards, not asking for 100's of millions, we must keep evolving as a football club if we dont we all know where it will end.

 

[goldeneyed]

Different times i know!!, The great side of 1971/ 1974, was not invested in enough and we all know what happened, We either compete in the transfer market or we will go backwards, not asking for 100's of millions, we must keep evolving as a football club if we dont we all know where it will end.

Exactly my own thoughts and yes that was a wasted opportunity in the 1970s when we could have won the league with a bit more serious investment in the team.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

Great OP. Followed by a solid second post

I think the frustrations lie in the seemingly deteriorating quality of transfer windows since 2018, that was such a statement summer:

Raul
Moutinho
Rui Patricio
Dendoncker
Johnny
Traore

Six players that significantly improved the first team. We’ve not seen a window like that since, and at very best the squad is currently standing still I’d say.