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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2017 21:49:57 GMT
6 or 7 for me. Defence looks massively more solid and this has got to turn a fair few of last seasons defeats into draws at least.
Can't see us scoring a bagful of goals, but again, because I don't think we'll be spending so much time chasing games, I can see there being less pressure on the forwards, and if we get our noses in front, then maybe some of the draws become victories.
Hopefully there'll also be more of a threat from us at set-pieces with the increased height in the team.
It's a shame the Stokealona experiment seems to have fallen a bit flat on its face, but overall, I reckon we look a lot healthier than we did last season.
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Post by fredtheredandwhite on Aug 31, 2017 22:02:13 GMT
7, defence looks solid, a good defence is a great building block for the future. Strengthen in January, we will have a good season.
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Post by dutchstokie on Aug 31, 2017 22:02:48 GMT
7
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Post by Pugsley on Aug 31, 2017 22:04:54 GMT
7, defence looks solid, a good defence is a great building block for the future. Strengthen in January, we will have a good season. That must be the plan. If not it's a shit show.
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Post by cobhamstokey on Aug 31, 2017 22:14:00 GMT
So now I see our squad options as
GK Jack Grant Haugaard
RWB Diouf Cameron Sobhi Johnson Edwards Zouma
LWB Pieters Tymon
CB Wimmer Ryan Zouma Indi Cameron Johnson
CM Fletcher Allen Adam Cameron Zouma Afellay Ireland
WING Shaq Jese Eric Verlinden Diouf Sobhi
STRIKER Berahino Crouch Eric Diouf NGoye
Better squad for me than last season. Anyone know when Afellay, NGoye and Ireland are back.
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Post by LDE76 on Aug 31, 2017 22:22:37 GMT
So now I see our squad options as GK Jack Grant Haugaard RWB Diouf Cameron Sobhi Johnson Edwards Zouma LWB Pieters Tymon CB Wimmer Ryan Zouma Indi Cameron Johnson CM Fletcher Allen Adam Cameron Zouma Afellay Ireland WING Shaq Jese Eric Verlinden Diouf Sobhi STRIKER Berahino Crouch Eric Diouf NGoye Better squad for me than last season. Anyone know when Afellay, NGoye and Ireland are back. Ngoy close to fitness. Don't think Ireland can be named in the squad anyway as he's only been given a six month contract.
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Post by ukcstokie on Aug 31, 2017 22:30:51 GMT
2/10 No wing-backs – a massive problem when this is key to how to play the current system. 3 wide attackers, 1 of which gets injured regularly. 1 striker is unproven, 1 is old enough for a bus licence, 1 who hasn’t scored in 7 months, and 1 is expected to play as a wing back or winger. 4 central midfielders, 3 of which are way over 30. (Note: always positive but struggling at the moment. Also: please be gentle: first post on the Oatcale for nearly one and half years follow having a stroke ).
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Post by blooter on Aug 31, 2017 22:31:20 GMT
9
Deadwood shipped out replaced with quality.
Also room for the young uns to have some hope of getting a game.
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Post by CBUFAWKIPWH on Aug 31, 2017 22:50:06 GMT
8 Possibly the best central defence in the league, class act in the middle of the park and some interesting options up front - which may or may not come off. Could have done with strengthening at wing back, a DM and a genuine goalscorer (but there aren't enough Romelu Lukaku's to go round).
Anyone who thinks we've gone backwards is well off the mark. Or just pedalling a very tired, very wrong opinion of the manager.
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Post by sheriffofrockridge on Aug 31, 2017 22:52:40 GMT
8 for me. One of the best windows we've had. We've addressed the main area of concern for me with Zouma and Wimmer plus Ryan's extension and re-signing BMI.
Added more flair up top, got rid of a couple of plodders and a couple without much of a future. Added a real leader with fantastic composure for the midfield.
A 15 goal striker and maybe a RWB would have lifted the window to a 10 for me. Despite this I'm pretty chuffed with our business.
Cheers Hughesy and Co.
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Post by Stokyo on Aug 31, 2017 22:57:52 GMT
6 we dropped dead wood and a snake that was living under it. But didnt invest any real money in the squad outside of reinvestimd said snakes fee. Dissapointing we need a goal scorer, is Saido up to it?
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Post by takeshikovacs on Aug 31, 2017 23:09:33 GMT
6.
Removed some of the older players eating up wages, which was good, though would have been nice to have sold Imbula rather than loaned him. Moved Wollscheid on.
Strengthened defence (in the middle) without really addressing out wide.
Improved on Walters and Whelan.
Didn't address the lack of fire power up front.
Kept hold of Shawcross.
We will have to address the fact that two of our better players now are loanees.
Snake has gone.
If we can have a reasonable next couple of months and try and address the shortcomings in January, we should be ok, and have a decent mid-table side.
Our reluctance to spend 'big money' means that's about the limit of our ambition.
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Post by professorplump on Aug 31, 2017 23:15:46 GMT
I'll give it 7. We have more quality in the squad now but less depth. The area I am most concerned about is centre midfield. if we get a couple of injuries then we might have to play a centre back in there. I also would have kept Joselu.
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Post by Royal Donut on Aug 31, 2017 23:54:15 GMT
8.5/10.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2017 23:55:28 GMT
7 at least or a more generous 7.764
Get over yourselves. Big progress and positive changes. Don't be too disappointed because you didn't get ALL the cookies..
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Post by riproaring on Sept 1, 2017 0:03:13 GMT
5 for me no midfielder wing back or striker average at best, only saving grace most have struggled.
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Post by stokieinaus on Sept 1, 2017 0:54:07 GMT
Does not matter who you buy and sell, the main point is the way we play the game. People want another striker, yet we only play one up front, never provide enough chances for them to score (the stats prove it). I blame modern day football and we have fallen for the same trap like other teams. This passing the ball around the back, making no advances forward until we either get under pressure or become lost in what we are trying to achieve. Either way we more often than not, we give the ball away. Also, since when has the goalkeeper become the best passing midfield player on the pitch, every team does the same at the back - pass, pass, pass, under pressure, pass to the goalkeeper and humph big boot up field (oh the joys of modern day football). Bring back the 4-4-2 and then we can talk about getting strikers in the game. There are far too many footballers in the shop window these days and the way the modern game is played it suits their needs. They all pass the ball until the final third, its then about scoring the spectacular goal and "Hey look how good I am" come and pay me ridiculous money because I can score the odd great goal. Cant wait for a super league and we can get back to a basic, and simple game which is not full of over thinking garbage like now. We cant match the big clubs playing the way we do and never will, unless we have some billionaire take over (which is something I don't want).
10 - 10 for the way the game is played 0 - 10 for not addressing the biggest error in football.
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Post by estrangedsonoffaye on Sept 1, 2017 1:16:30 GMT
Does not matter who you buy and sell, the main point is the way we play the game. People want another striker, yet we only play one up front, never provide enough chances for them to score (the stats prove it). I blame modern day football and we have fallen for the same trap like other teams. This passing the ball around the back, making no advances forward until we either get under pressure or become lost in what we are trying to achieve. Either way we more often than not, we give the ball away. Also, since when has the goalkeeper become the best passing midfield player on the pitch, every team does the same at the back - pass, pass, pass, under pressure, pass to the goalkeeper and humph big boot up field (oh the joys of modern day football). Bring back the 4-4-2 and then we can talk about getting strikers in the game. There are far too many footballers in the shop window these days and the way the modern game is played it suits their needs. They all pass the ball until the final third, its then about scoring the spectacular goal and "Hey look how good I am" come and pay me ridiculous money because I can score the odd great goal. Cant wait for a super league and we can get back to a basic, and simple game which is not full of over thinking garbage like now. We cant match the big clubs playing the way we do and never will, unless we have some billionaire take over (which is something I don't want). 10 - 10 for the way the game is played 0 - 10 for not addressing the biggest error in football. Our strikers in 4-4-2 / 4-4-1-1 never used to score either, in fact our most prolific striker scorer in a league season is Diouf in 2014/15, playing where he is meant to be played but that's another matter. The last striker I actually regard as "prolific" was Peter Thorne....16 years ago. We need another striker because we currently have no one capable of playing within the formation Hughes has set upon. I love Peter Crouch, but the fact we have to rely on him so much is because we don't play to our strikers' strengths at all, and play the only one who could fit (fast runs in behind, quite mobile) at right wing back. Football is cyclical, 4-4-2 predominated for years until teams started unravelling it, if we played 4-4-2 now, we'd get caught out because we have a lack of pace in the middle which would get flooded by teams playing essentially playing 5 across the middle. The passing around the back is no different from the misplaced hoofs of the Tone days, I least I know we're trying to do something when we pass and not just playing a silly percentage game. For example, our goal at Aston Villa a few years ago, Muni v Burnley last season, Bojan v Leicester in 15/16 all started as moves in our own half, when it works it's magic. Far more magic than watching Cameron Jerome run the ball out for the 50th time.
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Post by xchpotter on Sept 1, 2017 1:54:12 GMT
A 5 for me. Defensively improved with BMI and Ryan signed up and Zouma on loan but left/right wing back or whatever not addressed at all. Still can't see where goals will come from and looks like we have just pocketed the money. Happy with the start we have had...I wonder whether it contributed to not getting more of what we need in but overall....well I'm just underwhelmed really.
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Post by thedeadlyshart on Sept 1, 2017 2:50:59 GMT
When? I've seen him say left back but not LWB. Read it somewhere on the 41 page Wimmer signed thread, in a link to his official signing, in the context of a question about competition at the back. Had a quick look but not prepared to trawl through the lot. In the modern game {and for us at the moment}, whether he can play left back is largely irrelevant. I'm sure I read {not heard} lwb. We'll see. Window not shut, if it does and it stays as is, I'm not concerned about the wing back positions, Diouf and Ramadan have both scored from there already, Pieters is looking reinvigorated, Tymon grazed the bar... etc etc. I still think Afellay would be a mint wb converted from a winger, with some defensive mid experience for us, far more tenacious in a tackle than I expected, if he's recovered. Got a pool of six/seven wb's with a mix of experienced players {if not in that particular role} and yoof. Don't no enough about Choupo, Zouma either. It's a newish phenomena in the Prem, most exponents of it are converted. I'd much rather believe that quality footballers can develop into different roles, rather than the fixed position principle. I think you make some good points. Most decent wing backs are converted attackers, not traditional defenders. That's why Afellay, when he comes back from injury might be worth a shot, in addition to providing cover in midfield and as a wide attacker.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2017 5:19:27 GMT
It's not just about who has gone and who has come in though is it. It is also about who we have retained. With us seemingly becoming a bit of a feeder club to Burnley, and Ryan's contract talks dragging on, I actually feared that he might have gone. Also I feared a late big bid from Arsenal or Liverpool for Jack, which either didn't happen or was derisory in value. So keeping them 2 is a massive + for us. At first losing errr, I forget his name now, whatever, was a massive blow, but gotta say I think we (a) got a decent price, and (b) glad to be shut, as I think he'd have turned into a right mard arse and a catalyst for discontent in the dressing room. So...On the whole....a 7 for me...
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Post by GreaterGlasgowstokie on Sept 1, 2017 5:38:47 GMT
The main issue for me is we have spent almost all our money, 26 million, on two players for the same position. Both left sided centre backs.
Ignored weaknesses in wing back area, midfield and in the striker position.
I will wait and see but whilst I think the players we've brought in are an improvement I am not seeing much evidence of strategy.
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Post by Sfance on Sept 1, 2017 5:43:42 GMT
6 - on the basis that it has been significantly better than I expected.
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Post by nott1 on Sept 1, 2017 6:22:47 GMT
Tempting to say "Oill geev eet foive" but we now have a great defence, so it's seven from me!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2017 6:42:50 GMT
If Zouma & Jese were permanent I'd have said 8, but with them only being loans I'd say 6. That's only because we got Indi in that we desperately needed and Ryan signed on.
We lost our dangerman even though it was a good profit and the outgoings of the old guard was a positive.
Gutted about Bojan & Imbula going as with their confidence high, they would have been awesome for us.
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Post by The Toxic Avenger on Sept 1, 2017 6:52:33 GMT
Read it somewhere on the 41 page Wimmer signed thread, in a link to his official signing, in the context of a question about competition at the back. Had a quick look but not prepared to trawl through the lot. In the modern game {and for us at the moment}, whether he can play left back is largely irrelevant. I'm sure I read {not heard} lwb. We'll see. Window not shut, if it does and it stays as is, I'm not concerned about the wing back positions, Diouf and Ramadan have both scored from there already, Pieters is looking reinvigorated, Tymon grazed the bar... etc etc. I still think Afellay would be a mint wb converted from a winger, with some defensive mid experience for us, far more tenacious in a tackle than I expected, if he's recovered. Got a pool of six/seven wb's with a mix of experienced players {if not in that particular role} and yoof. Don't no enough about Choupo, Zouma either. It's a newish phenomena in the Prem, most exponents of it are converted. I'd much rather believe that quality footballers can develop into different roles, rather than the fixed position principle. I think you make some good points. Most decent wing backs are converted attackers, not traditional defenders. That's why Afellay, when he comes back from injury might be worth a shot, in addition to providing cover in midfield and as a wide attacker. 'Most decent wing backs are converted attackers'. Beyond Moses, who are you referring to mate? As far as I can see, the majority of the best ones in the league are attack-minded full backs pushed forward. Afellay doesn't have the pace anymore and it's a role that requires bags of it and bags of energy. He's a wise old head whose main strength is being composed and slowing things down when they need slowing down, using his brain in the middle of the park.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2017 6:55:07 GMT
'It's going to be binary football all the way' and 'we are toothless' appear to be the Oatcake flavour of the month.
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Post by armitagestokie on Sept 1, 2017 6:58:54 GMT
5 from me so disappointed we didn't sign a 'rock the city' striker when all can see it's our lack of goals that has haunted us for 3 seasons. Yes defence has been well strengthened but to make us a top 6 force we needed a goal tally to be proud of. I can see many 'binary' matches again.
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Post by The Toxic Avenger on Sept 1, 2017 7:06:18 GMT
'It's going to be binary football all the way' and 'we are toothless' appear to be the Oatcake flavour of the month. Given we were struggling for goals anyway and there are currently only two spots for creative players it's an understandable sentiment. Still we've showed a lot more spirit and look more fluid so far than we did for much of the prior two seasons. If we can find a way to play how we did against Rochdale vs someone half decent we'll all be delighted.
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Post by Kjones9 on Sept 1, 2017 7:11:36 GMT
'It's going to be binary football all the way' and 'we are toothless' appear to be the Oatcake flavour of the month. It's the new 'shit for 18 months'.
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