Thirteen days to go. Thirteen days before the phoney war becomes a real one.
If you ask David Wagner whether he is happy with his squad and if he’d be content to run with this group of players until at least the January transfer window, he’d almost certainly say he is.
To be fair, I’d not expect him to say anything else.
But can he be?
This is not the revolution we were sold by Stuart Webber in his season 2022-23 debrief – the one he gave when he knew he was going to be leaving but we didn’t.
There is, of course, over a month to go before the window closes, so plenty of time for this snail-pace evolution to become a revolution, but even the most optimistic of City fans must be feeling a tad apprehensive as to what may unfold.
The reason we bought wholeheartedly into the idea of a massive summer overhaul was because it was blatantly obvious that it was so badly needed. The prospect of doing next-to-nothing or only ‘little bits’ of business was unpalatable for obvious reasons.
One win in eleven; no confidence; no belief; no guts; square pegs in round holes; a squad with a skillset at odds with the head coach’s philosophy. In short (and without going over old ground), a shambles.
The personnel needed changing, so too the collective mindset.
Webber recognised this. Admitted as much. In said post-season debrief he said:
“My biggest learning was last summer. I should’ve made more changes to the squad. I was too loyal to the players, deservedly so because I thought they’d earned that right. But I should have changed it more.”
He was, of course, referring to what he should have done last summer but if his big learning was that he should have made more changes, then the same should definitely apply this summer. He continued…
“I probably didn’t realise the impact of that relegation was going to be as big, psychologically, as it was.”
Right again. But the impact of a gut-less, disastrous 2022-23 was equally damaging to the collective psyche.
He may well argue that the additions of Shane Duffy, Jack Stacey, and Ashley Barnes will address that particular issue, or at least help to do so, but it’s not going to be enough. Too many remain who have been bruised and beaten by two seasons of soul-destroying nothingness.
There was also this…
“Hopefully, we’ll do our bit over the summer — reinvest in the squad so we’re not sending out the same players. We’ve got to start the season well. That’s on us. We need a good pre-season. That’s on us.”
Yes, Stuart. It is.
All of which leads us to the technical deficiencies of this group and how the collective quality has taken a big hit. To lose Teemu Pukki – one of the greatest Championship strikers of all time – should not be underestimated.
Barnes, for all of his undoubted qualities, will not score 20 goals in a season a la Pukki. Not a chance. And there’s certainly no obvious other way of replacing those goals within this existing group.
And if we assume Duffy is here to replace Grant Hanley, and Stacey to replace Max Aarons if/when he departs, then the overall quality level has dropped, especially when the technical quality of Kieran Dowell is also removed from the equation.
We look light on quality and invention. And, forgive my broken record syndrome, we are clearly yet to address the issue of physicality, speed, stature, and oomph of that midfield. A slightly different shape may help but there will be Championship games when that group will get bullied.
Nothing has happened so far this summer to help change that.
There may be plenty going on behind the scenes to address all of the above, and the fact rumours have all but dried up is not a sure-fire indicator that nothing is happening, but it remains a tad unnerving that so much work still needs to be done yet the club continues to play it down and deny anything is imminent.
Given how disengaged many City fans feel at the moment, the fact there is such a dearth of news and so little to get excited about is hardly going to draw those good folk back in.
The club may be content to believe that the fans are cool with everything that is (or isn’t) going on but talking to other City fans and taking a quick look at the #NCFC timeline, there is plenty of concern and frustration out there. In some quarters, even anger.
But, to quote Webber again from his post-2022-23 debrief…
“If everything is going wrong, I’m not sure why we’ve sold out our season tickets again. If everyone was going to vote with their feet, it hasn’t happened.”
They still genuinely think we’re all happy. Apparently, buying a ticket = happiness with the club.
Note to Stuart (and Anthony Richens): It doesn’t. We’re not.
The whole situation hasn’t been helped by Messrs Omobamidele, Aarons, and Rashica still being in the house. All three are sitting in the shop window with assorted price tags attached but, so far, there have been no acceptable offers.
The only recent departure, which was something of a surprise, is Bali Mumba to Plymouth Argyle.
Alas, regardless of whether or not we believe it right to sanction the move, the reported £1million fee is not going to be massively helpful to Wagner. Not when it’s been rumoured that not all of the funds raised will find their way into the transfer kitty.
For what it’s worth, I’m not as aggrieved at the departure of Mumba as others, even though the £1million fee does seem quite light for a player who made the EFL League One Team of the Season.
He’s clearly a quality wingback and is ideal for the role in which Steven Schumacher plays him, but under Wagner, we simply don’t use wingbacks, and Mumba, as a traditional fullback, has been unconvincing.
Worth considering too is the wishes of the player. I suspect Mumba couldn’t get back to Plymouth quick enough having just enjoyed the season of his life.
That doesn’t detract from the fact it’s disappointing to see any young player depart, especially one of whom we had high hopes, and who was supposed to be part of that Webber crop of youngsters who would either progress to the first team or be sold on for a significant profit.
That Mumba did neither was disappointing but perhaps of even more concern should be the ongoing lack of success of that particular part of the project.
But here we are. Patience, we’re told is the key and we have no option but to be.
And then we just hope. As ever.
Who knows… perhaps a nice surprise will spring up in Austria.
Well put Gary.
I couldn’t be looking forward to a new season any less then I am now.
Very underwhelming transfer window to say the least.
I can only see a struggle next year. Where are the goals coming from?
Was surprised to see Mumba gone. Going to be short in that area when Aarons goes.
Wake me up when the season starts.
Totally agree. How many City fans right now will be happy with how the squad is looking?
No new midfielders, nobody to take Pukki’s place and now we still look very short at centre-back due to injury.
Could be down to no takers for Aarons and Omo. As we know the transfer pot is empty.
What I do know at the moment is that there is no way this squad of players will reach the play offs. Yet again fans have been let down by the non ambitious owners, but of course they’re not worried as all the season tickets have been snapped up!
Clearly, things haven’t moved as far and fast as Webber and Wagner would have liked. But everything I know and gather – not claiming any inside track, but general observation and listening – convinces me there’s a lot of effort behind the scenes.
How much of it comes to fruition, and how effective the additional arrivals will be, remains to be seen.
Loan players, whose moves will almost certainly come late in the window when Prem sides know the make-up of their permanent squads, will be a significant piece of our jigsaw.
Trouble is Webbers track record with loan signings is terrible,apart from Skipp.
I’d agree with your assessment, especially regarding loan players – though it’s not an area I’m overly keen on.
However, the question that arises is if a lot of work is going on behind the scenes, why hasn’t it come to fruition, especially as Webber traditionally likes getting business done early?
Norwich City was never an easy sell for players, but I would say since our last two EPL campaigns, it has become a whole lot harder. It can’t sell the ‘We want EPL football’ mantra given how lacklustre our attitude is towards it on the pitch and in the boardroom.. We have no money, a SD who is leaving and a dragged out share/takeover issue of which nobody seems to know what the outcome will be.
I fear will be further down the large wage/no spend rabbit hole with players coming to us for the wrong reasons. Unless Wagner can pull a very large rabbit out of the hat, a bad start with the malaise off the pitch, this could all turn very sour indeed.
If things don’t work out with our American friends and don’t work out on the pitch, it is not totally inconceivable that we will be in administration in 12 months time of which nobody wants to see, but the signs are already there.
This is the most sensible reply I have read instead of the constant whining about the owners and recruitment policy or lack of one.. Would love to know why people think there should be a signing every week from now until the end of August just to placate the armchair managers?
Two big tests this week, against Toulouse & Olympiakos, should give a good picture of where they are in terms of fitness and defensive strengths.
Hopefully Sara will feature in both games too. Hard to see any new signings until someone leaves, either Aarons or Omobamidele, as there is no money available.
Optimistic about the new season, but worried about where the goals will come from. Hoping Sara & Nunez chip in with plenty of assists. Look forward to seeing Sainz play November/December.
On the plus side, Placheta has been doing well in the pre season games, young Kellen Fisher looks a great signing – one for the future. Stacey looks very comfortable on the ball, Gibbs, Rowe and Giannoulis will all have their part to play in a long season.
OTBC.
“If everything is going wrong, I’m not sure why we’ve sold out our season tickets again. If everyone was going to vote with their feet, it hasn’t happened.”
Stuart has never understood the fans. IMHO he’s never liked them much either. That’s why I’ve never bought into the Webberlution.
Agreed, Dave. I sense he actively dislikes us, tbh.
I agree with both Dave and Gary.
Plus from what I can gather Anthony Richens Esq dislikes us supporters even more than Stuart Webber appears to.
Never mind – let’s all pay up and stop moaning.
Our season ticket renewal process is a legacy from the early 2000’s, when the club was desperate for money following the collapse of ITV Digital. NCFC fans did what they’ve always done, supported the club in its hour of need.
The fact that they persevered with it, and subsequently insisted that it was necessary, because we’re self funding is disingenuous to the fans. We have the earliest renewal date than virtually every other club at Championship and Premier League level. Many clubs don’t even start their processes until after the season ends.
If the club was so cocksure that the fans were happy, they would start the process much later than they do now.
I’ll try to keep my thoughts on Webber polite but why is he here? He’s obviously not interested in NCFC ,going to Leeds is his new Everest. He’s never cared what the fans think has he? We renew because it’s our club. Not his or Delia’s. This squad is the weakest for decades. Please just go Webber, it’s not like you need the money in working out your notice.
Well put Gary.
No longer being one of the “automatic renewals”, I thought maybe I was in the minority of wondering just what was/is happening at Carrow Road…..or even if anything IS happening.
Those in power do give the impression that all must be well with us underlings, since the Carra looks like being a sell out (yet) again. Given the fayre on offer over the past couple of seasons, how can they justify having the most expensive prices in this division, and being more expensive than any but the top 6 or so in the Prem…. But than again, who are the mugs??
In my 60 plus years of supporting City, I can never ever remember feeling so ambivalent (or should that be fearful) of what the next 9 months will bring.
O T B C
Spot on again Mr G, I still struggle with where has the money gone, two close-together promotions, with various other incomes that should have added up to a reasonably comfortable situation. Now here we are struggling to even shop at Aldi, instead using a food bank (no downer on these vital institutions)
I think we have bought far too much into this supposed webberluion, as many call it, to me he says sometimes what he thinks we need to hear but always has the fallback of things not working out as planned to turn to. Football is an unstable world, players can be World beaters one moment and carpet beaters the next. Fans are, I am sure we are well aware of the topsy-turvey world football can be, but I ask, why the need to come out with statements that we know cannot be fulfilled? We do not need to be accountants to know the financial shortfall, nor do we have to be top experts to see and know these shortcomings of the squad.
I like David Bowers above, I feel exactly the same. He doesn’t like the fans especially those that voice an opinion, he would be more than happy for us to pay our money and shut the hell up.
He is not all to blame, he has been dealt the poor hands that Farke suffered from, owners who would rather jog along in the championship. But when you accept that job, you need a tin hat anda far better understanding of fans, especially when those fans are Norfolk
I can’t see the point of having a director of football here for half a season. Someone in that position should be looking to the future of the club. He’s probably going to the club that he supports, in the meantime he’s getting reports from our scouts about promising players and potential purchases. What’s to stop him using that knowledge for a rival club’s benefit? Like we did to Leeds with Buendia. The protests against him at the end of last season have backfired, at a time when he had already resigned. Delia put her loyalty to Webber before her loyalty to the fans, most companies would have given him garden leave.
As usual the centre back issue is ridiculous. Hanley and Tomlinson are Crocker, Duffy and Gibson have had recurring injury problems, as has Big Andy who we’re looking to sell to finance replacements, which puts us in a catch22 situation. In the meantime what do we do but loan out TWO promising young centre backs. Meanwhile Byram is fit and playing for Leeds.
The Mumba situation suggests that we are loaning out players so we can sell them- as with Saxon Early. Webber has done a good job previously but should be gone now, it looks like someone is taking the p.
Things are not moving in the direction forecast by SW at all Gary for this seasons rebuild.
And it is worrying.
But I have got to admit I was far more angry than your good self regarding the sale of Bali Mumba to Plymouth. Bali Mumba did as you say get in the League One team of the year. He also won Young Player of the Season.
I am now really wondering what is going on at Colney. Okay so the boy is more wing back than full back, but surely he can be coached to do both?
What happens in a game or during it if David Wagner wants to play with wing backs? Daniel Farke often changed his team’s shape during a match.
What if DW gets the sack in November and the new coach wants to play with wing backs? We lose Max, as I am sure we will that leaves us Stacey and an unproven youngster in Kellan Fisher.
Now I know I am no more than a fan but I cannot see the sense in letting Bali Mumba go for a miserly £1 million. Okay he may not be in the starting eleven this season but what a player to bring on to change a game
It was only in May that DW said Bali was firmly in his plans. Yes you get the impression he hasn’t impressed the coaching staff but when you have such a promising young talent isn’t it down to the coach and his staff to improve their players?
Most if not all the City supporters on my Facebook agree with me that this is sheer madness.
Is it because the club is in far more financial trouble than we have been led to believe? With the Club’s record on honesty in recent years being so poor, I think things maybe much worse than we think.
I always thought borrowing against the 2 seasons of parachute payments looked an act of desperation now I am convinced we are skint… again. Look at our business so far, free transfers. I don’t expect us to spend ££££ but you would have thought there would have been at least some small movement by now in that regard.
You correctly say Gary that the player’s wishes have to be taken into account and I agree but was Bali Mumba made to feel wanted here?
I agree that Stacey, Duffy and Barnes look like that they could will be decent signings but to me they have along way to go to prove they are as good as Pukki, Hanley and Aarons. So as you say the team has been weakened.
I do think the injuries played a massive part in the 1 win in 11 games at the end of last season so there is still hope that we will show more than at that time. We bl**dy well need to.
Finally David Wagner. I always thought he should get a fair crack of the whip, I don’t want us to be like Watford who sack managers after a couple of defeats, but this decision to let Mumba go must have been his decision at the end of the day. I think that could come back to haunt him.
As the 2-3 months I felt he had at the start of this season to bed in and be given that length of has gone by this decision from what I hear from other fans. If we do not hit the ground running he will be in massive trouble by mid September.
I think we could be without DW and SW by Christmas at least. But still have Delia😥
Mumba has been with us for 3 years and clearly not done enough to convince any of the managers and coaches we’ve had in that time that he’s good enough for a top Championship club. If he had then surely he would have been first choice to replace Aarons, assuming he goes – no need for Stacey at all.
That Jamal Lewis and Aarons both came into the side young and made their places their own very quickly, no argument. Mumba hasn’t done that, and neither has McCallum, although he’s closer. The difference? Probably general attitude and what they’ve got, or not got, between the ears.
Mumba’s agent forced a move away from Sunderland for him. Sounds as though he’s done much the same again.
I take all that onboard Keith but I still think he would have been worth persevering with.
The £1million won’t help us that much.
Agree with you Gary and with some of the pertinent replies.
Webber himself alluded to thw need for major surgery this summer, and yet, with less than a fortnight to go we’ve merely tinkered around the edges. All of which while spending even less than the paltry sum the cook and her cohorts armed Farke with for his first foray into the big time.
Watching the side in its pre season outings it has become apparent that wagner has instilled some shape and discipline along with some work ethic into the ‘group’. Goals however look likely to be at a premium again, will we score at carrow Road before Christmas?
The common theme from carrow Road whether discussing proposed investment or new signings or in fact anything else is spin and prevarication. Vague bullshit assuring us that we will be told within the next couple pf weeks or a new signing will be on the plane to Austria. All designed to kick the cam down the road.
Let’s deal in facts. Regardless whether we have 6 new players or whether we ‘ go with what we’ve got’ whether desperately needed inward investment is made in the club or whether we continue with fan funding, in less than 2 weeks time somebody had better bring home the bloody bacon in terms of a long long overdue home win. No ifs, no buts and no dn excuses.
Beats me why all the naysayers don’t just go and support another club with gazillions to spend instead of continuous verbal diatribes.. it’s getting boring now.
But i would say all the happy clappers defending Smith and Webber is more boring!!
Not defending DS, SW etc and I broadly agree with the points made. Yes it would be nice to be a Brighton, Brentford Bournemouth, Fulham etc who appear to survive comfortably without spending huge amounts. The Delia etc out brigade have been jumping up and down for years. What intrigues me is how they suggest moving things on. Not renewing ST’S is all very well but I there are people who would happily take up the slack so to speak. Lots of talk but that’s all. No, I’m not happy with the way things are but I will still continue to support the team.
I think you should look at the figures! Bournemouth are big spenders!!!
Sorry Tim; if you’re a true fan, you don’t just go a support another club.
You look back over the past 30 years, and wonder just how many times it’s going to take before the Stowmarket duo realise that you CANNOT compete at the top table if you believe in self-funding.
There have been so many opportunities to make NCFC the best it can be, and become an established Premier League outfit…… but with those two at the helm I fear it will not happen!!
O T B C
Its a stock answer these people trot out when they have nothing useful to add. It’s infuriating. They actually care more for delia Smith than they do for Norwich City.
I’ll tell you what a stock reply is The usual my opinion is the only one that counts and everyone else is wrong.
Show disrespect is the stock anwer if a comment doesn’t fit your agenda
I don’t need you to explain things to me. Thanks all the same.
Smith & Jones were never in it for the money, but certainly for the power. It is now absolutely ridiculous that they are still here trying to turn football back to how it was decades ago. They are marooned in their own grandeur and everybody else has to suffer the consequences.
History could have been so different if the link below was correct. Did Delia really try to buy into Ipswich Town….?
https://www.talesfromthetopflight.com/2018/07/11/the-old-farm-derby-the-battle-for-east-anglian-supremacy/
What a pathetic response.
Good read as always Gary and some great points by other contributors. I don’t think anybody can really deny the fact that we do need a refresh on the playing side of things. The signings so far of Barnes, Duffy, Stacey and Sainz are I think are positive in bringing in Championship experience, leadership and know-how (in the case of the first three) and in the latter, an individual on the rise with room to improve. All for me tick a box and its unfortunate that lady luck strikes again with the injury to Sainz.
The fact that all four signings are free transfers is symptomatic of where Norwich are financially. Realistically, and to coin the the political phrase “…there is no magic money tree…”, to bring in quality (rather than just numbers) that is under contract elsewhere is going to invoke a hefty transfer fee and Norwich are going to have to sell first in order to do that. So to me, that we are still a few signings short is not a surprise. The transfer market is pretty slow at the moment and it needs a few more big money moves at the top to get things moving.
The attacking midfield creative births are the chief area that needs some extra quality. But we are also well stocked in numbers (albeit perhaps not in proven quality) with Hernandez, Sainz, Rowe, Tzolis, Placheta, Springett and Rashica on the books. For the sake of the overall balance of the squad there is also probably a need to trim numbers (permanents and / or loans) too.
Good luck to Bali Mumba too. A slight sense of dissapointment but the right footballing decision to cash-in now.
OTBC!
I can’t disagree with the comments already posted. But i am still looking forward to the new season. Managers etc come and go just like the players do but the club goes on and us supporters stick with the club or team for decades.
I will hope we make one or two more signings that will make a difference.
The Mumba situation is interesting. We seem to have a collection of players better suited to a back 3 and wingbacks rather than a back 4 with fullbacks. Both Mumba and McCallum have shown at other clubs how good they can be but neither are a full back but we insist that’s where they have to play.
In my mind a manager should have a style he wants to play and recruit to that or use the players he has and devise a style to suit. Wagner seems to do neither. He has some good players but they disappoint where he plays them. Until that is sorted I think I will continue to hope rather than expect.
Whilst thinking about under achievers I will go back to watching the golf and hope for a British miracle rather to an expect it.
Six of the last seven transfer windows have been a tad underwhelming. This one seems to be going the same way.
Particularly now that it’s being reported that Galatasary have filled their Rashica sized hole by signing Wilfrid Zaha on a free.
Wagner needs 2 wins and a draw just to match Roeders record in his last 14 matches
That’s how bad he has been and it will get worse (because many of the same players are still with us). David Wagner is also renowned for some of the most boring football witnessed in Germany, scoring only 4 more goals than games for Dortmund II (over 200 games played).
Now it is clear Webber is moving to Leeds (please take your wife with you Stuart) and he wants our club weakened before he goes.
Not even Stewart Lewis and the news can sugar coat this one.
I wouldn’t like to bet on that.
Hi Gary
So in the last couple of weeks we received £2.5m from the sale of Maddison and after any pennies due to Sunderland about £600k in profit for Mumba so about £3m into an empty pot
Rashica seems to be going of the boil with Galatasaray it’s rumoured that have agreed to sign free agent Zaha so I can’t see them signing both.
As many have said in this and other previous articles Webber once he resigned shouldn’t have had a final say in who was released, also who we recruit his replacement should have been sorted with in weeks not a 2 month discuss to then announced a Head Hunter specialist in football was being appointed to source a new man, I Image Webber will have the final say on that too.
It doesn’t matter what side of the fence you sit on we are all city supporters and want the best for the club it just happens that the owners can’t and won’t dig deep to make the club more ambitious and don’t want anyone in that can.
An Employee announced Attanasio was all okay with how things are progressing yet he’s quieter than the church mouse.
Delia when asked will he be taking over said she not sure who will take over but she’s not for retirement, my view is she has already retired from running the club and deferred it to the Zoe Webber.
Even in the last few days I have seen local press articles still trying to make out that the manner in which we beat Kings Lynn in a friendly was impressive. Results in other games since suggest the opposite, and that nothing has changed from the end of last season, other than distinctly underwhelming movement in the transfer market. If Delia and co. still stubbornly refuse that it’s time to call it a day, then it won’t be long before we play Kings Lynn in the same division.
Can’t argue that the squad is weaker than last season. A season where we finished 13th. When looking at transfers in and out, we should be asking what position in the league should we be aiming for? With that in mind we can judge whether we think any arrivals or departures will help us achieve this goal.
Bali Mumba might have been handy in League One.
I must be the only CIty fan on here who thinks we actually have improved the squad. Pukki was shot – his move to the MLS proves that if nothing else has. Barnes will be of much more use than Pukki was last season, and probably even the one before. The number of one on ones he missed is mind boggling – not purley down to him of course, but that was our one trick.
Duffy is on a par with Hanley – possibly better. Stacey is a better player for the system we want to play than Aarons is.
We’ve sold a fringe player for £1m. One who doesn’t fit our system, has never started a league game, but is, according to some on here, almost world class because he was young player of the season in the division below. I’m sure we have a healthy sell on. It’s what bigger clubs do to smaller clubs.
Rumours of a Swiss international striker joining too. Just as long as it isn’t Drmic.
I think the Mumba issue caught everyone by surprise.
He clearly has a lot about him and has performed well on every occasion he’s turned out for us
His reputation was sealed last season and it seemed plausible that fresh from winning the League and personal awards he would arrive back with a point to prove and high on confidence.
I’m baffled why he was always seen as a full back. His best work has always been around the opposition box in the final third.
Let’s hope some clauses have been added because I feel his level is higher than Plymouth.
With his move, just who will score for us against 1p5wich??
O T B C
Barnes seems like he might like a local Derby goal🤞
I’m really not sure I think the criticism of the squad building is fair here, especially coming halfway through a transfer window when it’s abundantly clear the club aren’t finished. The big scary kick-off might be only 13 days away, but 42/26 league fixtures come after the window closes.
Barnes isn’t being signed to replace a 20-goal scorer: Pukki wasn’t a 20 goal scorer last season, he was a 10 goal scorer. Are performances over 2 years ago under a different manager, with an entirely different attacking midfield trio (Buendia, Cantwell, Dowell) relevant to next season?
Barnes is being signed to be a 8-10 goal supporting striker, “And there’s certainly no obvious other way of replacing those goals within this existing group” – Sargent scored 9 goals in 19 games as a striker. Play him as a striker for 40 games and there’s your 20 goal striker. Why be so dismissive of what a 23 year old striker can achieve with another year of experience, in a squad that will be more suited to playing to his strengths?
And even if neither Barnes, Sargent or Idah are a 20-goal striker, does that mean anything? 10/21 teams promoted in the last 7 seasons did so without a 20 goal season. Wagner’s Huddersfield went up with a top scorer on 12 goals. If system changes mean we keep the goals against down, or have contributions from elsewhere, a 20 goal striker is not a necessity.
Wagner’s preferred front 4 last season was Onel, Sargent, Pukki then one of Idah/Dowell/Marquinhos. Only 3 of those 5 players remain. Sainz, Barnes and hopefully Fassnacht are coming to be starters, and we still have a month of the transfer window remaining and no loan signings yet. Sargent might be the only common player in our attacking quartet next season…but that’s not revolution?
We look light on invention? Pukki, Dowell, Ramsay, Cantwell, Marquinhos, Sinani managed 18 assists between them last season in all comps. We were already light on invention. The new additions, Barnes (5), Sainz (4), hopefully Fassnacht (10) total 19 assists from just 3 players, all coming from leagues which are consider equal to (or stronger than) the Championship in international rankings. And that’s without factoring in further additions or any potential for improvement from Sara, Nunez, Gibbs, Sargent as they settle into this division.
Our midfield lacks “physicality, speed, stature, and oomph “? In the 16th July article, there was a recognition that Wagner would ideally like more of a Leitner-like player to play the deep-lying playmaker role, so are you advocating for recruiting a player based on physical characteristics rather than any tactical reasoning, nor factoring in what the head-coach wants? McLean had excellent performances in that role between Jan-April, Wagner was clearly very happy with him, and he’s consistently been one of our better players in the air over the last 5 years, is his use in that role not an excellent balance between tactical need and the physicality you want? Looking beyond McLean, do you want less Sara, less Nunez in midfield, or should we sell Gibbs/Sorensen for peanuts to fill their squad spot with a big physical midfielder to sit on the bench?
The lack of changes in midfield are criticised for not adding physicality, stature, speed and oomph, but why is this not counterbalanced by appreciating that we’ve upgraded in that department elsewhere? Barnes and Stacey add much more physicality than Pukki and Aarons. Duffy is 6ft5 and adept in the air. Fassnacht (if signed) is 6ft1 and regularly scores 4 headed goals per season – not a bad upgrade on Dowell who has scored 2 headed goals in his whole career (Cantwell has 0…)
Fair comments, DH. And noted.
I agree that Fassnacht, if he signs, may address some of the physicality issues across that midfield.
And, yes, I contradict myself on a weekly basis 🙂
Good points and well made. After reading that I feel ever so slightly less downcast. So much better to put counter points and ideas than snide I line replies.