Our squad is way to big

[BillLovesRoo]

For a while now i have thought our squad is way to big for us to actually function properly as a team.

You ask any manager and they would much prefer to work with a core of 18-20 outfield players on a training day.

Then you get to match day and you have no injury concerns, even with 18-20 outfield players you are still leaving 4 players unhappy.

How does that effect moral? How does that effect the actual plan the manager is trying to get accross to the players.

I have always thought at most you should have 18 outfield players for your squad for the season, then you can pad the rest out with kids (21 or under, as they will jsut be happy to be in and around the first team).

If you look at our rediculously unbalanced squad we have the following over the age of 21

Pickford
Stekelenberg
Robles

Coleman
Martina

Williams
Jagielka
Keane
Mori

Baines

Besic
McCarthy
Schneiderlin
Gueye
Klaassen

Bolasie
Lennon
Mirallas

Rooney
Sigurdsson
Sandro
Barkley
Niasse

I havent added the likes of Garbutt, Browning, Pennington etc either

Add to that some of the most talented kids in hte league, who some of them you would say are first team regulars now, and probably to good to go back to the u23s

Calvert Lewin
Holgate
Kenny
Davies
Lookman
Vlasic
and now Banigime emerging

Thats 27 players the manager will be working with on a day to day basis (if everyone was fit) how can you get your plan and strategy accross to them with that number of players?

We all know we need to add a centre forward, centre back and left back to the squad in january that would take us up to 30 players expected to be in hte first team.

We have to be looking at ditching atleast 10 of these lot to get the squad size down.

 

[dublinbluenose]

Lucky we didn't get that centre half and striker then.

18 players isn't enough anymore.

 

[sageyefc]

Unbalanced and full of dross

 

[MACCA75]

I agree, don't understand why Koeman apparently blocked moves for Lennon, McCarthy and Mirallas when he clearly wasn't bothered about playing them.

We need a squad overhaul. Despite just having had one.

 

[Marius57]

How often does any club have no injuries?

If we only had 18 outfield players and we got hit by say 4 long term injuries (like we currently have except if you then throw mccarthy and Lennon and besic into the mix who have had lengthy spells out and just returning, meaning 7 injuries), you are quickly down to relying on the youth to start and control games when they might not be ready (as a number of ours aren’t).

So yes, we need those players

 

[Fansince1988]

Yes we are missing a striker, LB cover and a younger CB to partner Keane (I think he's already here,whether you like it or not if fit Mori would be playing). I think midfield is the problem and then the number 10 position, Gueye,Snides,besic,the new lad, then there's Mcarthy and Davies who plays a bit more advanced (where do they all fit in?) against weaker teams at most only 2 of them should be playing, IMO probably Gueye and Davies, but let's see how Unsworth manages it.

 

[tommye]

*too

 

[Moomin]

For a while now i have thought our squad is way to big for us to actually function properly as a team.

You ask any manager and they would much prefer to work with a core of 18-20 outfield players on a training day.

Then you get to match day and you have no injury concerns, even with 18-20 outfield players you are still leaving 4 players unhappy.

How does that effect moral? How does that effect the actual plan the manager is trying to get accross to the players.

I have always thought at most you should have 18 outfield players for your squad for the season, then you can pad the rest out with kids (21 or under, as they will jsut be happy to be in and around the first team).

If you look at our rediculously unbalanced squad we have the following over the age of 21

Pickford
Stekelenberg
Robles

Coleman
Martina

Williams
Jagielka
Keane
Mori

Baines

Besic
McCarthy
Schneiderlin
Gueye
Klaassen

Bolasie
Lennon
Mirallas

Rooney
Sigurdsson
Sandro
Barkley
Niasse

I havent added the likes of Garbutt, Browning, Pennington etc either

Add to that some of the most talented kids in hte league, who some of them you would say are first team regulars now, and probably to good to go back to the u23s

Calvert Lewin
Holgate
Kenny
Davies
Lookman
Vlasic
and now Banigime emerging

Thats 27 players the manager will be working with on a day to day basis (if everyone was fit) how can you get your plan and strategy accross to them with that number of players?

We all know we need to add a centre forward, centre back and left back to the squad in january that would take us up to 30 players expected to be in hte first team.

We have to be looking at ditching atleast 10 of these lot to get the squad size down.

What managers have you heard say that??

Or have you made it up?

 

[BillLovesRoo]

What managers have you heard say that??

Or have you made it up?

Mourinho always liked to have a solid squad of 23 at chelsea, including goalkeepers

 

[Moomin]

Mourinho always liked to have a solid squad of 23 at chelsea, including goalkeepers

Well, thats debunked your 18-20 squad idea already.

You have not thought this through have you.

 

[Brendan Janus]

 

[BillLovesRoo]

Well, thats debunked your 18-20 squad idea already.

You have not thought this through have you.

Hence why i say

You ask any manager and they would much prefer to work with a core of 18-20 outfield players on a training day

As said mourinho liked to work with 22-23 players including goalies. Take 3 goalkeepers off the 23 = 20 you gargoil

 

[Marius57]

You also haven’t really taken into account that a number of players were looking to be offloaded anyway and didn’t go through, some were injured so we couldn’t offload like we probably would have done.

Martina came in as Coleman was injured and Kenny isn’t ready for every game, and as cover for lb as well when required. He wouldn’t have if Coleman was fit.

Mori most likely would have been sold had he not been injured.

Lennon would have been offloaded if not for his situation.

Barkley was meant to go, because he didn’t we are massively overrun in that area.

He wanted rid of Niasse and probably mccarthy and mirallas.

All of them gone and it’s down to 20.

It’s not as simple as pretending they are all fit. Because they aren’t.

 

[Moomin]

Hence why i say

You ask any manager and they would much prefer to work with a core of 18-20 outfield players on a training day

As said mourinho liked to work with 22-23 players including goalies. Take 3 goalkeepers off the 23 = 20 you gargoil

Name a list of managers who have said that.

Now you have changed 23 to 22-23, backtracking from your error.

 

[Royalbm1]

Too* soz