Out of contract in summer, who would you take?

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Three of the back five (Boyce, Alcaraz and Figueroa) who frustrated us so much when Wigan knocked us out of the cup are available on bosmans.

If Martinez joins us and chooses to play with wing backs he might want players who know the system.

We're losing Neville and Hibbert may have ongoing fitness concerns, so Boyce could give us senior cover for Coleman. He can play at right back, right midfield and even as a centre back, meaning that he could step in to Neville's shoes as utility man.

If Heitinga goes as well Alcaraz could be a back up for Jagielka and Distin.

Figueroa is adaptable too. He could provide back up for Baines (allowing us to push Oviedo further forward) as well as protection as a left-sided centreback if Distin has any issues.

They're all 30 or over, so they're not long-term solutions but they would help us fill out the squad, they know each other and the way that Martinez likes to play and they'd allow us to focus transfer funds on other areas. With that much cover at centreback we'd be able to allow Duffy out on loan for a season to gain valuable experience.
 
robotx597 said:
It's true that none would improve our best 11 but maybe Frimpong is worth a go if we let Hitz go.

Malouda and Arshavin would add squad depth but only if their attitude problems/wages can be managed.

Better to look overseas definitely.
Click to expand...

I don't think any of those guys improve our top 20. Maybe Figueroa, who would be stapled to the bench as Baines' backup. I realize he played CB, but he's no CB.
 
None of them seems to be a popular answer.

I think a lot of them are too old, too injury prone, want too much in wages or have serious personality problems.

But if I had too, I would say, take frimpong as cover for Gibson and if heitinga is going, take Alkaraz as cover for distin and jags. I don't think there are any who would be first team players though
 
I'm surprised to see Frimpong and Brunt on that list; presumably because their clubs think they have better options. Frimpong seemed to be a decent up-and-coming strong midfielder and Brunt a versatile midfielder who weighs in with a few assists.

If we ever finalise Martinez I could see him bringing Alcaraz as cheap cover in defence, especially as Heitinga seems to be talking his way out of the club. I'd be reasonably happy with Jags and Distin as first choice CBs, with Duffy and Alcaraz as cover.
 
The ones in bold I'd take...
Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal) - RM
Sébastien Squillaci (Arsenal) - CB
Emmanuel Frimpong (Arsenal) - CM
Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa) - RB
Richard Dunne (Aston Villa) - CB
Kevin Davies (Bolton) - CF
Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea) - RM
Ross Turnbull (Chelsea) - GK
Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea) - RB
Florent Malouda (Chelsea) - LM
Thomas Hitzlsperger (Everton) - CM
Mladen Petric (Fulham) - CF
Mahamadou Diarra (Fulham) - CM
Georgios Karagounis (Fulham) - CM
Chris Baird (Fulham) - RB
Wayne Bridge (Manchester City) - LB
Julio Arca (Middlesborough) - CM
Danny Simpson (Newcastle) - RB
Steve Harper (Newcastle) - GK
Jay Tabb (Reading) - CM
Ian Harte (Reading) - LB
Nicholas Shorey (Reading) - LB
Noel Hunt (Reading) - CF
Matthew Upson (Stoke) - CB
Rory Delap (Stoke) - CM
Dean Whitehead (Stoke) - CM
Jermaine Pennant (Stoke) - RM
Ryan Shotton (Stoke) - RB
Matthew Kilgallon (Sunderland) - CB
Titus Bramble (Sunderland) - CB
William Gallas (Tottenham) - CB
Steven Reid (West Brom) - CM
Chris Brunt (West Brom) - CM
Zoltán Gera (West Brom) - CM
Jerome Thomas (West Brom)- LM
Marc-Antoine Fortuné (West Brom) - CF
Carlton Cole (West Ham) - CF
Gary O'Neil (West Ham) - CM
David Jones (Wigan) - CM
Antolín Alcaraz (Wigan) - CB
Ronnie Stam (Wigan) - CB
Maynor Figueroa (Wigan) - LB
Stephen Hunt (Wolves) - LM
Sylvain Ebanks-Blake (Wolves) - CF
 
FTY said:
The ones in bold I'd take...
Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal) - RM
Sébastien Squillaci (Arsenal) - CB
Emmanuel Frimpong (Arsenal) - CM
Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa) - RB
Richard Dunne (Aston Villa) - CB
Kevin Davies (Bolton) - CF
Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea) - RM
Ross Turnbull (Chelsea) - GK
Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea) - RB
Florent Malouda (Chelsea) - LM
Thomas Hitzlsperger (Everton) - CM
Mladen Petric (Fulham) - CF
Mahamadou Diarra (Fulham) - CM
Georgios Karagounis (Fulham) - CM
Chris Baird (Fulham) - RB
Wayne Bridge (Manchester City) - LB
Julio Arca (Middlesborough) - CM
Danny Simpson (Newcastle) - RB
Steve Harper (Newcastle) - GK
Jay Tabb (Reading) - CM
Ian Harte (Reading) - LB
Nicholas Shorey (Reading) - LB
Noel Hunt (Reading) - CF
Matthew Upson (Stoke) - CB
Rory Delap (Stoke) - CM
Dean Whitehead (Stoke) - CM
Jermaine Pennant (Stoke) - RM
Ryan Shotton (Stoke) - RB
Matthew Kilgallon (Sunderland) - CB
Titus Bramble (Sunderland) - CB
William Gallas (Tottenham) - CB
Steven Reid (West Brom) - CM
Chris Brunt (West Brom) - CM
Zoltán Gera (West Brom) - CM
Jerome Thomas (West Brom)- LM
Marc-Antoine Fortuné (West Brom) - CF
Carlton Cole (West Ham) - CF
Gary O'Neil (West Ham) - CM
David Jones (Wigan) - CM
Antolín Alcaraz (Wigan) - CB
Ronnie Stam (Wigan) - CB
Maynor Figueroa (Wigan) - LB
Stephen Hunt (Wolves) - LM
Sylvain Ebanks-Blake (Wolves) - CF
Click to expand...

Are you mental?
 
Aimar is a free agent...just 10 years too late. I bet he'd still be a better footballer than the majority of that list above, though.
 
pfim said:
I don't think any of those guys improve our top 20. Maybe Figueroa, who would be stapled to the bench as Baines' backup. I realize he played CB, but he's no CB.
Click to expand...

We fielded fewer player than any other team in the league last year. In all competitions:

1. Howard
2. Mucha
3. Hibbert
4. Baines
5. Heitinga
6. Jagielka
7. Oviedo
8. Distin
9. Duffy
10. Garbutt
11. Gibson
12. Hitzlsperger
13. Neville
14. Barkley
15. Osman
16. Pienaar
17. Coleman
18. Fellaini
19. Junior
20. Mirallas
21. Jelavic
22. Naismith
23. Gueye
24. Vellios
25. Anichebe

Duffy, Garbutt, Junior and Vellios are unlikely to suddenly become regulars. And Mucha, Heitinga, Hitzlsperger, Neville and Gueye are likely to be leaving. So we're down to a core of 16. Distin is close to retirement, Hibbo and Vic don't have the best of fitness, Barkley and Oviedo are still finding their way and Fellaini could be heading for the exit too, which means we could have a basis of 10 players before we delve into the transfer market.

It suits our wage bill and our team dynamic to have a small squad but we can't let numbers drop below present levels. We need quite a lot of players to achieve that but we need to be careful that we don't introduce too many new faces at one time and disrupt the squad too much. Bringing a batch of players from Wigan isn't without it's pitfalls, such as creating a clique, but hopefully it could speed up the recruitment process and make the transition smoother for everyone. From next season we could be looking at:

1. Howard
2. (Schwarzer, Fabianski, Turnbull..)
3. Hibbert
4. Baines
5. Alcaraz
6. Jagielka
7. Oviedo
8. Distin
9. Duffy
10. Garbutt
11. Gibson
12. McCarthy
13. Boyce
14. Barkley
15. Osman
16. Pienaar
17. Coleman
18. (Marque signing)
19. Junior
20. Mirallas
21. Jelavic
22. Naismith
23. McManaman
24. Vellios
25. Anichebe
26. Figueroa
 
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