Squad Depth

chrismpw · October 25, 2020

Rome and all that.

ForeverBlue92 · October 25, 2020

neil999 said:
Think you need to mention this a bit more lol

haha our players are brain dead! stay on their feet when touched in the box, lunging into challenges for no reason, even Holgate getting himself injured going into a full throttle challenge in a pre season nothing game.

Not a brain cell between our players compared to those sides around us who are snide and play the game and benefit from it.

Pat Butcher · November 1, 2020

Today shows it, we have no pace in our team

dannyboy · November 1, 2020

I wouldn't say our first XI is amazing, it's just so much better than what is in reserve. We are still so reliant on the players that have ruined our enjoyment of football over the past 3 or 4 years.

Dymak · November 1, 2020

We shouldn’t have got rid of Walcott. He wasn’t great but he’d have been useful today. He’s much better quality than the other tatt that we have has back up.

Bedfordblue · November 1, 2020

Still suffering from the scatter gun recruitment policy of recent times and manager churn. Plenty of players, majority of them internationals, so there’s quality there, just seems to be too many square pegs for round holes. There’s a big thing made about players being flexible but bar about 3 or 4 exceptions I’m not sure where most of our squads best positions are.

Leylo · November 1, 2020

Pace is everything in the premier league, we lack this in every department

Tigger · November 1, 2020

Dymak said:
We shouldn’t have got rid of Walcott. He wasn’t great but he’d have been useful today. He’s much better quality than the other tatt that we have has back up.

Things are bad, but not that bad.

Dymak · November 1, 2020

Tigger said:
Things are bad, but not that bad.

People can joke or pretend that today's right forward options were remotely close to the quality of Walcott if they wish, but we all know that it's just a joke or a pretence.

We'd have been much better off with Walcott out there today.

Dublin blue 75 · November 1, 2020

We probably have one of the best depth in numbers in the division. Issue is 2/3 of them are rank.

messymascot · November 1, 2020

I think any team would suffer if they lost both first choice wide forwards and both first choice full backs. Imagine RS without Mane, Salah, Robertson and TAA. You can only have so many top players without Europe which is why I always want us to qualify even if its just to allow us to gave slightly stronger squad players. Maybe the reason we didn't get a decent back up to James is no one of the required quality wanted to come here knowing they would only get an odd game if he stayed fit.

BrendanGOT · November 1, 2020

We were never going to win the league with this squad. Top 4 at a push and if we have a fully fit team for the cups we've a good chance there too. If we can get back on form and get everyone back at it we could prob get in and around 70pts this season. What position that has us finishing is anyone's guess but was good enough for 3rd last season.

Saint Domingo · November 1, 2020

If the first 11 is

Pickford

Coleman Holgate Keane Digne

Doucoure Allan Gomes

James DCL Richarlison

We probably have some weakness even in that with Pickford Coleman and Gomes potentially could be improved on. Behind that though.

No premier league quality cover at RB.

Godfrey and Mina are decent cover for CB.

Nkonkou is raw but should be ok to cover LB

There’s no cover for Doucoure.

Cover for Allan is Delph (not good enough) and Gbamin (not fit, unknown quantity).

Cover for Gomes is a conference standard player (Sigurdsson)

We have no premier league standard cover for any of the front three apart from perhaps Gordon who is very raw.

It is going to take a long time to turn around years of torrid recruitment. Pep took a title winning squad and it took him a season to sweep the decks and a lot of money. Carlo took a bottom half squad with a terrible attitude and has had one window.