Wing-backs

[WolfLing]

Jonny has been nothing short of fantastic since he's come back into the side.

Looking forward to next season, who would be your starting wing-backs?

On paper, Semedo and Jonny are our two best wing-backs, but Ait Nouri has shown that if he keeps playing regularly, he probably has the potential to be better.

As far as backup goes, on the left, Marcal is likely to leave and Giles may return.

On the right, Bruno has said Hoever will get another chance after his public dressing down and Bolla could also be an option to consider.

So do we go with Semedo right, Jonny left, with Hoever and Ait Nouri as backups?

Or do we mix things up a bit?!

Could Semedo be the surprise sale of the summer?

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Jonny & RAN
Bolla & Giles backup

Semedo could leave as you say surprise exit may happen depends who wants him really. Good season until his injury

 

[JadeWolf]

Semedo and RAN for me with Jonny as top class back up for both positions. Also got Giles and Hoever (maybe Bolla too).

 

[WolfLing]

Semedo and RAN for me with Jonny as top class back up for both positions. Also got Giles and Hoever (maybe Bolla too).

With the World Cup coming up, I don't think Semedo or Jonny will want to be sitting on the bench at all.

Both are on the fringes of their national squads and a strong start to the season could see them sneak in.

 

[WolfLing]

Jonny & RAN
Bolla & Giles backup

Semedo could leave as you say surprise exit may happen depends who wants him really. Good season until his injury

Don't want to see Semedo leave just as he's hitting a bit of form, but it's an option if we need to raise some funds and someone makes us an offer we can't refuse!

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Don't want to see Semedo leave just as he's hitting a bit of form, but it's an option if we need to raise some funds and someone makes us an offer we can't refuse!

Didn’t Atletico potentially want him not long back? What do we consider an offer we can’t refuse 25/30m ?

 

[WolfLing]

Didn’t Atletico potentially want him not long back? What do we consider an offer we can’t refuse 25/30m ?

Yeah, think they enquired about him after Trippier left.

£25-30m about right I think.

He has a year left on his contract this summer, with a 2 year option for us. I think that will be extended regardless.

 

[lets all have a disco]

We ask a lot of our wingbacks and for me variety and fitness is just as much a consideration as who plays where.....for me at Newcastle it should have been semedo n rayan as they both were fresh.......any combination works well but not sure they can all preform the role effectively without rotation.......we also need to replace marcal next season....not sure Giles is good enough really for what we want.....

I don't not think Bruno wants jonnny at lwb as I think he wants a left footer there ...so for me sell hoever , let marcal n Giles go and bring in another lwb .....so rotation can be done next season more effectively....

 

[Hanbury_Wolf]

I'd say RAN, Jonny and Semdo for 2 places

All have had fitness issues so wouldn't be wise to discard any of them.

Rotate, keep them fresh, plan and select according to opposition.

Teams often pre determine subs to an extent. Eg jonny runs his knackers off for 60 mins in the knowledge RAN will be coming on to capitalise for the last 30.

We could do more stuff like this

 

[WolfLing]

We ask a lot of our wingbacks and for me variety and fitness is just as much a consideration as who plays where.....for me at Newcastle it should have been semedo n rayan as they both were fresh.......any combination works well but not sure they can all preform the role effectively without rotation.......we also need to replace marcal next season....not sure Giles is good enough really for what we want.....I don't not think Bruno wants jonnny at lwb as I think he wants a left footer there ...so me sell hoever , let marcal n Giles go and bring in another lwb .....so rotation can be done next season more effectively....

Yeah, I think Bruno likes the wide forwards on their opposite side (inverted) and the wing-backs as traditional width.

He also mentioned Chiquino as an attacking RWB option in his recent interview.

Could have Semedo, Jonny, RAN rotating and Chiquino and Giles as more attacking options. Especially if we get a target man type.

With 5 subs next season, swapping the wing backs for Chiquino and Giles and putting a big man up top could be a great option when chasing a goal.

 

[lets all have a disco]

I'd say RAN, Jonny and Semdo for 2 places

All have had fitness issues so wouldn't be wise to discard any of them.

Rotate, keep them fresh, plan and select according to opposition.

Teams often pre determine subs to an extent. Eg jonny runs his knackers off for 60 mins in the knowledge RAN will be coming on to capitalise for the last 30.

We could do more stuff like this

If you have 3 all that is knackered if one is out .......it has to be 4 for (definitely if in Europe)...... marcal needs replacing.....are hoever n Giles up to it....not for me...

 

[JonahWolf]

I'd say RAN, Jonny and Semdo for 2 places

All have had fitness issues so wouldn't be wise to discard any of them.

Rotate, keep them fresh, plan and select according to opposition.

Teams often pre determine subs to an extent. Eg jonny runs his knackers off for 60 mins in the knowledge RAN will be coming on to capitalise for the last 30.

We could do more stuff like this

This. We NEED at least 3 WBs of similarly high quality anyway, so the alleged 1st choice pair doesn’t really matter that much.
But for me that would be Jonny and Semedo, if purely from a consistency standpoint.

 

[lets all have a disco]

Yeah, I think Bruno likes the wide forwards on their opposite side (inverted) and the wing-backs as traditional width.

He also mentioned Chiquino as an attacking RWB option in his recent interview.

Could have Semedo, Jonny, RAN rotating and Chiquino and Giles as more attacking options. Especially if we get a target man type.

With 5 subs next season, swapping the wing backs for Chiquino and Giles and putting a big man up top could be a great option when chasing a goal.

I like Giles.....granted he hasn't had a chance......but is he good enough to replace marcal in the premier league....not sure really..........if we get in Europe we need 4.........
Said before dream scenerio is Alex grimaldo as he only has a year left in his deal at benfica.........or maybe someone like Maxwell cornet who can play further forward as well.....

We need another left foot option for set pieces as well really.....and that should come from lwb for me....

 

[WolfLing]

This. We NEED at least 3 WBs of similarly high quality anyway, so the alleged 1st choice pair doesn’t really matter that much.
But for me that would be Jonny and Semedo, if purely from a consistency standpoint.

I think this might be the approach for every position. It works most of the time, unless you have a couple of injuries (as we saw recently with both Neves and Dendoncker being out).

If we have a very good crop of younger players underpinning that, it's less of an issue. But some might not be up to stepping straight in yet. It is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario though. They will never be ready if they are never given the chance!

 

[Minimalist]

unless a great offer comes in it would be nuts to sell Semedo. We’re gonna need to manage how much Jonny plays due to his injuries.

 

[WolfLing]

I like Giles.....granted he hasn't had a chance......but is he good enough to replace marcal in the premier league....not sure really..........if we get in Europe we need 4.........
Said before dream scenerio is Alex grimaldo as he only has a year left in his deal at benfica.........or maybe someone like Maxwell cornet who can play further forward as well.....

We need another left foot option for set pieces as well really.....and that should come from lwb for me....

When Giles went back out on loan, Bruno's comments were that he saw Ait Nouri and Giles on the same level.

So perhaps Bruno thinks he could be up for it.

 

[Supadavewolf]

If we have a very good crop of younger players

Lembikisa and Bueno are continuing to improve, though probably a season away from being genuine competition yet?

 

[Mark Rankines Lovechild]

When Giles went back out on loan, Bruno's comments were that he saw Ait Nouri and Giles on the same level.

So perhaps Bruno thinks he could be up for it.

I think Giles may well be a source of cash from a championship club.

 

[lets all have a disco]

When Giles went back out on loan, Bruno's comments were that he saw Ait Nouri and Giles on the same level.

So perhaps Bruno thinks he could be up for it.

When Ive watched Giles for Rotherham, Blackburn Cardiff etc his game seems to suit a championship style ....deep crosses for headers etc.....not sure it suits us at all......for me marcal has had to play a lot this season and I'm not sure Giles can cover him.....is he strong enough defensively......

As I said he hasn't had a chance so none of us can be to sure......I understand we have others areas we need to strengthen as a priority but for me wing back is fundamental to how we play , and for me 40 odd games in that role is too much......was semedo injury caused by over playing.....

Not sure Giles n Rayan as lwb for a season is enough really.........

Where as semedo Jonny grimaldo Rayan says top 6........ grimaldo partly funded by sales of hoever n Giles...

 

[Ewok vs Wolf]

Semedo and Jonny are the far better players playing at their peak
I like sit nouri hasvery high potential but doesn't seem to be able to stay fully fit

 

[Supadavewolf]

Bolla at Grasshoppers could be a factor here. Also, Ryan Giles looks suspect defensively on the occasions I've managed to watch him.

If Bruno has lost faith in Hoever, we could have Semedo and Bolla RWB, Jonny and RAN LWB.

With Lembikisa and Bueno on the horizon, wing-back would be a strong area for us.

 

[FJRWolf]

Jonny first on the team sheet if fit, then pick the other 2 around him to suit how we want to play/opposition. Giles and Bolla maybe as back up

 

[JOSWolf]

Semedo simply must return after this break. Switch Jonny to left wing back. I love RAN but you cant drop Jonny and Semedo is too good not to return. RAN's time will come.

 

[WolvTown]

Jonny has scored goals on the right
AIT has scored and come very close to scoring on several occasions on the left.
Jonny and AIT would be my top picks, I can't really remember Jonny come up with many goals on the left, might be wrong though.
If Jonny could get into goal scoring positions on the left, it would be Jonny and Semedo, but right now I think Jonny and AIT would pick up more goals.

 

[VancouverWolf]

Semedo on the right.
On the left, I’d prefer RAN as he’s more creative in attack and would link up better with Neto or Podence

 

[Bacon Sandwich]

Jonny and RAN - if only because I think Semedo will be one of the surprise transfers

 

[TheConcourse]

If we sold Semedo we’d just have to bring another one in. What’s the point?

Off the back of Jonny’s injuries too? Crazy.

Jonny and Semedo would work perfectly in a back four too, and I genuinely think we’ll make that move in the summer.

We’re one quality CB away from being able to give Raul more support and add another attacking threat.

Semedo Coady/Kilman CB Jonny

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Jonny was excellent at LWB, but he's unbelievable at RWB. Semedo has done very well, and I'd love to have the option, but at his age and status and our position, can we afford to have him as a back up? If we can get £25m or so I'd thank him and let him go. RAN will be great at LWB, he just needs to strengthen up a bit to be more robust physically. So go with Jonny and RAN. If we sell Semedo, and Jonny's knee goes the day we'll just have to find a solution!

 

[Hanbury_Wolf]

Jonny's our best player most weeks and that's after coming back after a very long time out the game.

As solid as Semedo has been, he wasn't getting MoMs most weeks so I think Jonny is far above the others.

Would keep them all and keep them rotating and fresh. 3 WBs for 2 spots with some ability to switch it around is perfect.

Also keeps it competitive

 

[fleck1]

For me Jonny and Semedo are comfortably our two best. RAN and Bolla both have high ceilings, demanding position to play all 4 would get plenty of game time rotated and kept fresh. On top of injuries and loss of form. Can see Hoever and Giles making way this summer

 

[JadeWolf]

For me Jonny and Semedo are comfortably our two best. RAN and Bolla both have high ceilings, demanding position to play all 4 would get plenty of game time rotated and kept fresh. On top of injuries and loss of form. Can see Hoever and Giles making way this summer

Hoever definitely after Bruno’s public *******ing, we’ve not seen a sight of him since. Think Bruno really likes Giles though and theres a gap in the squad with Marcal going.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

Ait-Nouri is the best of the lot imo. I dunno what you guys have been watching. Potential to be better my ****. He is better now.

 

[WickedWolfie]

Ait-Nouri is the best of the lot imo. I dunno what you guys have been watching. Potential to be better my ****. He is better now.

RAN is much better going forward than defending.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

RAN is much better going forward than defending.

No he really isn't. We hardly concede when gets the pick. Keeping Salah in his back pocket is just one example of a number of fantastic defensive displays this season.

An unrelated point: - Atletico are after a right back. They were involved in conning Jonny into coming to us in the first place! They have also shown an interest in Semedo in the past.
Also Barca are supposedly after a left back too, along with Jordi alba. Right back is a weak point for them from what I've seen of them recently too, Dani Alves not having the same pace has he used to have.
With our need to spend on other areas of the team, I'd be amazed if we had all 3 by the end of September.

 

[captain chaos]

Jonny starts plus AN other

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Ait nouri has to start.

So harsh on Jonny or Semedo to leave one out on the other side though. Realistically one of them can play 30 mins lwb one game then 90 the following .

 

[CelebrityWolf]

Hoever needs to be loaned out 100%

Semedo, Jonny, RAN and Bolla should be the options.

Need to be careful how we handle RAN or he will join the list of youngsters that want to be elsewhere

 

[AndyY]

I don’t think it’s about a “first choice” pair of wing backs. We need 2 quality players for each position and that has been shown particularly with the injuries we have had in the WB positions over the last two seasons, and sometimes RAN’s lack of consistency.
Time to send Hoever out on loan to get regular game time but keep Jonny, Semedo and RAN, with Giles as the fourth WB

 

[Chris H]

With 5 subs next season I don’t think nailed on starters will be as much of a thing.

5 subs means you can change half your team each game, we generally won’t be looking to change the CB’s or CM’s other than tactically so really it’ll be the wingbacks and front 3 you’d look at as the area we’d want to freshen up during the game.

All 3 could get pretty equal minutes and regular starts really.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

Players get injured, they need a rest, you can't survive a season with just two WBs, we are lucky to have three cracking players, and a couple of promising youngsters coming through. So, remind me please, what is the point of this thread?