Our Strongest Championship side??

mikey0406
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Our Strongest Championship side??

by mikey0406 » 29 Aug 2017 23:11

The addition of Aluko got me thinking and as controvertial as this may sound, I feel this is probably our strongest collective team that we have had.

As great as the 106 team was, expectations were lower pre season and the start of the season compared to the current crop. An out and out goal scorer signing before Thursday would be the cherry on top of a sweetly iced cake. I can only see expectations growing as performances start to grow in consistency.

Thoughts??

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royalp-we
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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by royalp-we » 30 Aug 2017 00:16

Its hard not to get carried away.

I just hope the players can stand up and meet the expectations.

We just cannot perform like we did at Qpr or Preston. No new forward signings would have changed those performances. Those performances need to be wiped from memory; and the focus now needs to be on beating Bristol City and Barnsley, then build some momentum from there on.

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by mikey0406 » 30 Aug 2017 06:27

royalp-we Its hard not to get carried away.

I just hope the players can stand up and meet the expectations.

We just cannot perform like we did at Qpr or Preston. No new forward signings would have changed those performances. Those performances need to be wiped from memory; and the focus now needs to be on beating Bristol City and Barnsley, then build some momentum from there on.


Agreed, cannot help but think Stam may have at least another player as well as a striker up his sleeve, versatile defender perhaps. Been so impressed with the acquisitions and what they have brought to the team

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Nameless » 30 Aug 2017 06:35

We can't judge how strong the team is yet.
For a start we have no idea what the starting 11 will be for the next game or Stam will use the squad.
We may have what looks like a strong set of players to chose from but if Stam gets selection and tactics wrong it will mean nothing. One of the great strengths of the 106 side was Coppell knew his team, knew his tactics and just rolled out the same stuff every week and it worked. He even had his subs on a timer because they knew when they would come on and for who ! He was also very lucky that we had hardly any injuries and few suspensions.

The squad now has much more depth, I've said l elsewhere we could field two competitive sides in the Championship this season, the 106 squad had nothing like that depth. What we don't know is whether this side has the character and the cohesion of 106. Is Moore our Ivar, will Edwards be our Bryn, who is the Glen Little of this team ?
So I think we have a much better squad but the 106 team had that factor that you cannot buy and unless Stam can get that into the team I will expect the current side to not quite reach the same heights. 106 would require us to go unbeaten for the rest of th season. Tough challenge !

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Hound » 30 Aug 2017 06:53

It's a very strong squad, no doubt about it

I'm very intrigued as to how the season will plan out. We were underdogs all season last year against virtually everyone we played, despite our third place finish

No hiding this season beneath a 'top half would be good' approach. That squad should be right up there challenging


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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Esteban » 30 Aug 2017 07:10

If we were to sign a striker, we'd have enough to finish in the top six, but there are a number of clubs who will think that. Stam has a different set of challenges to face now, he's got to deliver a playoff spot at a minimum.

You can't smash your transfer record signing one of your top targets and have no chance of promotion after 46 games. Will be a failure if we don't make at least the playoffs this season. A finish outside of the top 10 and Stam's position is under serious threat.

I think we will sign a striker and we'll be there or there abouts by the end of it. Will be a good indication of Stam's man management skills too.

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by CountryRoyal » 30 Aug 2017 08:52

On paper we now have a squad that should by right be competitive towards the top end of the table, but no one has any right to win anything, and as others have eluded to, it's up to Stam and the back room staff to get the most out of them and get them playing well to yield good results.

The defence still worries me but I don't really see what we could realistically do to improve it. We managed to get to the playoff final last year with virtually the same defence and they should all now be a bit more composed and competent but time will tell.

Get a goal scoring striker in and we will start to look good but there are a lot of teams that will fancy their squads and their chances. Definitely reason to be optimistic though.

Jim Royal

Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Jim Royal » 30 Aug 2017 08:55

Speaking of the 106 side. Anyone worried by Cardiff beating that this season? 5 straight wins so far....

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Nameless » 30 Aug 2017 09:36

Jim Royal Speaking of the 106 side. Anyone worried by Cardiff beating that this season? 5 straight wins so far....


No.


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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by CountryRoyal » 30 Aug 2017 09:46

Jim Royal Speaking of the 106 side. Anyone worried by Cardiff beating that this season? 5 straight wins so far....



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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by NewCorkSeth » 30 Aug 2017 10:39

CountryRoyal On paper we now have a squad that should by right be competitive towards the top end of the table, but no one has any right to win anything, and as others have eluded to, it's up to Stam and the back room staff to get the most out of them and get them playing well to yield good results.

The defence still worries me but I don't really see what we could realistically do to improve it. We managed to get to the playoff final last year with virtually the same defence and they should all now be a bit more composed and competent but time will tell.

Get a goal scoring striker in and we will start to look good but there are a lot of teams that will fancy their squads and their chances. Definitely reason to be optimistic though.

Agree on not seeing a realistic way of improving that defence.
I think it's hard to make a case against Moore being one of, if not the best CB in the Championship.
Ilori and McShane would be welcome in most other sides and after a season (half for Ilori) of training together we should probably start seeing less errors.
Mannone appears to be very comfortable with the ball at his feet as well so that should help.
I struggle to see any realistic signings that would be upgrades on our defenders.

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Esteban » 30 Aug 2017 10:47

The players we have hasn't been the issue, it's the midfield and Stam's system. We've proven that when we set-up to be solid, we're difficult to score against. A combination of injuries and individual errors has caused our issues so far this season. However, we have addressed that now. Not much you can do about individual errors, of course.

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Maneki Neko
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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Maneki Neko » 30 Aug 2017 10:51

youd have to buy some decent strikers(plural) before you got anywhere close imo


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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by loyalroyal4life » 30 Aug 2017 10:56

At least one more addition (striker) to be added if not an additional defender.

Hopefully we can kick on from 1st September when the real season starts :D

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Elm Park Kid » 30 Aug 2017 12:05

NewCorkSeth
CountryRoyal On paper we now have a squad that should by right be competitive towards the top end of the table, but no one has any right to win anything, and as others have eluded to, it's up to Stam and the back room staff to get the most out of them and get them playing well to yield good results.

The defence still worries me but I don't really see what we could realistically do to improve it. We managed to get to the playoff final last year with virtually the same defence and they should all now be a bit more composed and competent but time will tell.

Get a goal scoring striker in and we will start to look good but there are a lot of teams that will fancy their squads and their chances. Definitely reason to be optimistic though.

Agree on not seeing a realistic way of improving that defence.
I think it's hard to make a case against Moore being one of, if not the best CB in the Championship.
Ilori and McShane would be welcome in most other sides and after a season (half for Ilori) of training together we should probably start seeing less errors.
Mannone appears to be very comfortable with the ball at his feet as well so that should help.
I struggle to see any realistic signings that would be upgrades on our defenders.


You mean apart from buying a left back who is an actual defender? I mean, Obita has steadily improved year on year but I would still rate him as a relatively poor defensive player. I haven't seen enough of Ilori to say whether he is that good or not.

Michael Dawson is probably the best CB in the league.

Isn't anyone else getting de ja vu of when Clarke bought in all those loan players in 2015 and we were suddenly going to win the league easily?

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by LWJ » 30 Aug 2017 12:08

Elm Park Kid
Isn't anyone else getting de ja vu of when Clarke bought in all those loan players in 2015 and we were suddenly going to win the league easily?

Loan being the optimum word.

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by mambo3 » 30 Aug 2017 12:30

Having we still got the same defence that had one of the worse goals against in the league last season?

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by Snowflake Royal » 30 Aug 2017 12:39

The 106ers were Premier League quality. They'd beat this lot 8 times out of 10.

Moore might challenge Sonko for a place in the team I suppose. Kelly could eventually better Harper. Maybe the same for one of the wingers and Convey.

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by andrew1957 » 30 Aug 2017 12:43

Not too worried about the defence which I think will improve this season as they now know each other better. And a midfield of Edwards, Kelly and Bacuna plus a front three of Barrow, Bodvarsson (or ANO) and Aluko will scare the proverbial out of most Championship teams this season IMO.

And we have the likes of McClealry, Swift, Popa, Evans, Clement, Kermorgant and so forth to come off the bench.

If it all gels and even though the Championship this season is without doubt the strongest it has ever been I could still see us getting automatic promotion.

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Re: Our Strongest Championship side??

by NewCorkSeth » 30 Aug 2017 12:46

Elm Park Kid
NewCorkSeth
CountryRoyal On paper we now have a squad that should by right be competitive towards the top end of the table, but no one has any right to win anything, and as others have eluded to, it's up to Stam and the back room staff to get the most out of them and get them playing well to yield good results.

The defence still worries me but I don't really see what we could realistically do to improve it. We managed to get to the playoff final last year with virtually the same defence and they should all now be a bit more composed and competent but time will tell.

Get a goal scoring striker in and we will start to look good but there are a lot of teams that will fancy their squads and their chances. Definitely reason to be optimistic though.

Agree on not seeing a realistic way of improving that defence.
I think it's hard to make a case against Moore being one of, if not the best CB in the Championship.
Ilori and McShane would be welcome in most other sides and after a season (half for Ilori) of training together we should probably start seeing less errors.
Mannone appears to be very comfortable with the ball at his feet as well so that should help.
I struggle to see any realistic signings that would be upgrades on our defenders.


You mean apart from buying a left back who is an actual defender? I mean, Obita has steadily improved year on year but I would still rate him as a relatively poor defensive player. I haven't seen enough of Ilori to say whether he is that good or not.

Michael Dawson is probably the best CB in the league.

Isn't anyone else getting de ja vu of when Clarke bought in all those loan players in 2015 and we were suddenly going to win the league easily?

I in no way said we are going to win the league.

The fact that Dawson was the only name you suggested as better is part of my point. It's hard not to consider Moore as easily top end.

If you re-read my comment I was careful with my wording. I was not saying upgrades on players don't exist. I was saying it's difficult to come up with realistic targets that are better than what we have.
Who could we sign that is better than Obita who a) would want to join and b) we could afford?

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