Lets hope Keates is mindful of his targets and 2 or 3 will arrive at once. People are being unrealistic regards the numbers, of those players that have left, just how many made any kind of contribution? 1?!
What we dont want are panic buys - and most of them stuck in the reserves until xmas…
So if Guthrie gets injured tomorrow who on earth plays centre half? It’s madness we are in this position with 3 weeks till season starts. Korey’s injury is a shocker but we needed 2 new centre half’s before that.!
We have 1 experienced centre half , should not be in this position . He must have missed out on so many targets .
I’m also concerned that he sees chambers as an automatic pick again in midfield with no sign of a new midfielder. Great servant bit should be a squad player now .
Worrying times
Gamble must’ve had his fingers crossed behind his back when he told the fans focus meeting we had a competitive budget. Competitive in 1998 maybe.
Ozzy and Fitzwater definitely made big contributions. Cuvelier and Flanagan were cover in midfield, Ngoy was better than Bakayoko and Edwards is out till at least November. So, there are at least 5 replacements needed.
2 then not 1.
Yes, if we only want to maintain the standards of a 19th-placed League 1 side.
So numbers have very little to do with things then. 2 cert 1st teamers would be preferable to 5 Flanagan’s.
Or how about 5 good solid league 1 players?
I see that as a minimum requirement , where’s 2 going to get us!
Exactly. At the very least 5 more players, Ideally we need 7
2 CBs
2 Central midfielders
1 Winger
1 LB/RB cover
1 Striker
Keates identified very early on that we required experience and leadership - those qualities cost, even at League One level. We’ve not added sufficient League experience to the squad and we’ve three weeks and three friendlies to go.
Hear, hear. 2 new players won’t add any depth to a threadbare squad.
We need far more than 2 new signings. This much is obvious. I just hope this negativity doesn’t move onto the squad too much, with only just over 2 weeks until KO it’s not what we need. Hopefully Dean can get some signings in - he can only do so much bearing in mind hes probably not given a lot to work with.
As a cheap signing to appease the fans, I would take Harvey Knibbs from the Villa on loan. I know him personally and have told him that it would be a good career move for him. Very similar player to Hiwula: very quick, lithe and tall and most importantly, has the desire to grab a goal…
We need quality Players who will be 1st team certs- not squander the budget on 5 or 6 more Josh Ginnellys
A centre half and central midfielder and we will have enough to start the season.
With what front two, Darko? And who will come off the bench to grab a goal? Just curious…
We need a pacey winger/striker. Zeli is good, Morris isn’t. We can’t just go from relying on Ozzy winning us 20 points a season, to expecting someone else to do it. My hope with Keates was that it would be a Graydonesque round pegs in round holes, team greater than the sum of its parts approach. If that is to be the case, a start would be to have some parts.
There seems to be a misconception that we should sign all these players and have them sat in the Reserves - just in case. Totally unrealistic.
What we need is stability and quality, not loads of loans nor replacing the likes of Flanagan with 5 more Flanaghan’s.
A decent centre half and central midfielder and we have enough to crack on with. As Keates moves players on, the squad can evolve with further signings.
As i said on another thread Deano’s hands are tied until he is able to get rid of contracted players he doesnt want. Which means its going to be a tough season.
If you think two players will do then you’re completely deluded. We need two more CBs let alone adding to other positions!
Hopefully we may see a signing or two today now that the weekend is out the way. If not an actual signing, at least some more information.
You’d like to think Keates would want to play something close to his first 11 against Cheltenham in preparation for the game against Plymouth.