Have we got enough

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Shakespeare blade

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After the first few games do we have enough to mount a serious challenge.
Personally I think we’re close but the lack of goals from the strikers is a big concern, we need a 15+ goals a season striker, apart from Billy ( he’s another year older & just coming back from injury then injured again) we just don’t have one.
Defensive wise we seem to have a good selection to choose from even when we have injuries.
Midfield is strong if we play the right combination, last night showed this, if Hecky is brave enough.
If we did need player/players where would you like to see strengthened ?
 



Shakespeare blade said:
After the first few games do we have enough to mount a serious challenge.
Personally I think we’re close but the lack of goals from the strikers is a big concern, we need a 15+ goals a season striker, apart from Billy ( he’s another year older & just coming back from injury then injured again) we just don’t have one.
Defensive wise we seem to have a good selection to choose from even when we have injuries.
Midfield is strong if we play the right combination, last night showed this, if Hecky is brave enough.
If we did need player/players where would you like to see strengthened ?
Click to expand...
The strikers worry me tbh, we have 5 but are any going to get double figures? (Injuries, loss of form and runs in team)

Brewster
Sharp
McBurnie
Osula
Jebbison
 
Where would I like to see strengthened ?
Brewster's & McB's bodies.
Get in the gym lads and continue to develop as strikers who can ride out challenges.
Jebbo & Osula too.
Try to emulate Billy for his strength in holding up the ball.
You're all younger & bigger than him , so you've need to learn at the feet of our master.
 
I think we've settled well, dropped a few points but we're gathering momentum early, we've not seen anything like what we're capable of yet, if we pick up some good results in the next few games we'll be the team to beat. That's the place we want to be
 
I think we're not quite there but I hope I'm wrong and it'll come down to how certain players grow in the next few games.

We still have this overwhelming problem with Norwood and Fleck. McAtee struggled to get in the game until it was 11 vs 10. In fairness I thought he showed some great signs afterwards but early on we needed the bite in midfield that Fleck can add. Whatever people say about criticising some of Norwood's horror passes, we still don't have anyone who's capable of doing his job and it's a job we can't do without. We've been stuck in this situation for a while where Fleck can't be dropped but are also clearly underperforming. Similarly, our whole game revolves around Norwood's as a conductor. Whenever he's off his game we're poor as a team.

The other position that bothers me right now is RND. Not a player I want to have a go at by any stretch but a player who I think is an average Championship player that we're asking to do a very difficult job that he's just not up to.

On the positive side, we've got some cracking players. Anel looks like an absolute steal. McAtee has obvious talent. Khadra looks a real threat. N'Diaye is only going to get better. Berge is so good at times I'm not sure how we still have him. Egan's looking like a rock again. I don't know how far away he is, but I'd love to see Bogle back in this team. However naive it's sounding, if either of McBurnie or Brewster could remember why we signed them then we'd have a real striker.

My honest guess is we'll be gambling on the play-offs again.
 
Frank the tank said:
Mcburnie looks like he has beefed up a lot
Needs to reinvent himself as a target man now
Click to expand...
It’s a strange one with him, seems like he wants to do it, but nothing seems to go right for him/ us in front of goal, hopefully he has one go in of his ass and he’s up and running, same with Brewster, he just needs the ball to drop for him, that attempt last night screams of a striker devoid of confidence
 
PokerBlade said:
I think we're not quite there but I hope I'm wrong and it'll come down to how certain players grow in the next few games.

We still have this overwhelming problem with Norwood and Fleck. McAtee struggled to get in the game until it was 11 vs 10. In fairness I thought he showed some great signs afterwards but early on we needed the bite in midfield that Fleck can add. Whatever people say about criticising some of Norwood's horror passes, we still don't have anyone who's capable of doing his job and it's a job we can't do without. We've been stuck in this situation for a while where Fleck can't be dropped but are also clearly underperforming. Similarly, our whole game revolves around Norwood's as a conductor. Whenever he's off his game we're poor as a team.

The other position that bothers me right now is RND. Not a player I want to have a go at by any stretch but a player who I think is an average Championship player that we're asking to do a very difficult job that he's just not up to.

On the positive side, we've got some cracking players. Anel looks like an absolute steal. McAtee has obvious talent. Khadra looks a real threat. N'Diaye is only going to get better. Berge is so good at times I'm not sure how we still have him. Egan's looking like a rock again. I don't know how far away he is, but I'd love to see Bogle back in this team. However naive it's sounding, if either of McBurnie or Brewster could remember why we signed them then we'd have a real striker.

My honest guess is we'll be gambling on the play-offs again.
Click to expand...
The life of a blade is never easy, I don’t know if I can cope with the play offs again 😂
 
Berlin Blade said:
We are going to win the league. I’ve been convinced of this since pre season and nothing I’ve seen has changed my mind. Goals will come from everywhere. Don’t worry about it
Click to expand...
I love your optimism, definitely not a blade trait 😂😂
 
Frank the tank said:
Mcburnie looks like he has beefed up a lot
Needs to reinvent himself as a target man now
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've noticed that. One of my biggest criticisms for a while of him was his strength just seemed poor. After seeing his short appearances lately he does look stronger which is good.
 
Agree strikers don’t look like we have a 15 goal-er in there

But I do possibly see 10 goals from Berge, mcatee, Ndaiye, Doyle khadria

Know they all won’t score 10, but we will get goals from midfielder, plus Anel & Egan

Added to the tight defence reckon we will be ok
 



N'Diayewillalwaysloveyou said:
The strikers worry me tbh, we have 5 but are any going to get double figures? (Injuries, loss of form and runs in team)

Brewster
Sharp
McBurnie
Osula
Jebbison
Click to expand...

If he remains fit, and is able to play a full 90 minutes now and then, there’s every chance that Iliman may outscore all 5 of them.

The one he scored against Millwall was a classic no. 9’s goal. Reminded me of Alan Shearer.

With the other creative options we now have in attacking midfield, I don’t see why we couldn’t play him consistently as an old fashioned centre-forward.

At present, I’d say it’s definitely one of his possible longer-term futures in the game.
 
I know someone will screenshot this and ram it down my throat in a few months but for me Billy is done as far as starting is concerned, although I'm not saying he is finished by any means. Even before his injury at Boro he looked so far off the pace. Ndaiye was doing all his running for him and as a result neither influenced the game. Leave Billy for the last 10-15 minutes, when we are pushing for a goal, stick him in the box and let him do what he does.

We need a big awkward fucker up front in this division, someone who gives the opposition something to worry about. Their no9 last night was a handfull and created lots of space for them with some very unselfish play, same for Keinan Davies for Florist last year.
 
You can never have too many forwards,need somebody who can hold the ball up and occupy defenders,who can be a nuisance in the area as a focal point and gets knock downs,deflection s,foot in so the ball falls loose in the area for others in support.We don't need the perfect goal all the time,scrappy loose ball jabs and toe pokes are acceptable.
 
I think everyone is in agreement that we need a goalscorer. At least one of Jebbison or Osula will go out on loan, probably Osula, if not both. That leaves Sharp (in and out of injury constantly), McBurnie (so far unreliable), and Brewster (needs to quickly refind the form prior to his injury). But unless we sell Berge and don't leave it too late, we're going to have to settle for what we've got. That puts pressure on Ndiaye and the midfield, who up until now haven't had the best scoring record over a season.

Personally I'd be happy to sell Egan if the right bid came in and use the fee to bring in a replacement, or see someone push him for a start as he's become too error prone for me. He cost us way too many goals last season through individual errors, and these errors have already started again this season. I don't see who we've got to replace him or push him who's already here. Basham?
 
sonofbruce said:
I think everyone is in agreement that we need a goalscorer. At least one of Jebbison or Osula will go out on loan, probably Osula, if not both. That leaves Sharp (in and out of injury constantly), McBurnie (so far unreliable), and Brewster (needs to quickly refind the form prior to his injury). But unless we sell Berge and don't leave it too late, we're going to have to settle for what we've got. That puts pressure on Ndiaye and the midfield, who up until now haven't had the best scoring record over a season.

Personally I'd be happy to sell Egan if the right bid came in and use the fee to bring in a replacement, or see someone push him for a start as he's become too error prone for me. He cost us way too many goals last season through individual errors, and these errors have already started again this season. I don't see who we've got to replace him or push him who's already here. Basham?
Click to expand...
Your right about that side of Egans game but unless we can identify someone to come in and replace him then what’s the point, all players make mistakes, unfortunately when you play in defence and make an error it normally costs you
 
Shakespeare blade said:
Your right about that side of Egans game but unless we can identify someone to come in and replace him then what’s the point, all players make mistakes, unfortunately when you play in defence and make an error it normally costs you
Click to expand...
I accept that defenders will make errors, it's the frequency of the errors that's annoying me with Egan. Wilder once said he saw him as a future captain, which I find laughable. Egan is terrible at organising the back line, hence how many times players go unmarked at set pieces including ones he's supposed to be marking. He's the first one pointing the finger of blame when we inevitably concede.

Everytime he plays high up the pitch he gets undone with the over the top ball, which arguably is Hecky's fault as he's supposed to be playing as part of a back three, not a sweeper behind the other two, so the offside trap can never be sprung while he sits deeper than his centre back partners, allowing teams with pace to exploit the gap it creates and Egan's lack of pace.

He's sadly yet another former favourite heading into a decline if he keeps this up. Like George Baldock, for me he's over rated as far as I'm concerned, and he bizarrely seldom gets criticised by the fans despite the numerous costly errors.
 
PokerBlade said:
I think we're not quite there but I hope I'm wrong and it'll come down to how certain players grow in the next few games.

We still have this overwhelming problem with Norwood and Fleck. McAtee struggled to get in the game until it was 11 vs 10. In fairness I thought he showed some great signs afterwards but early on we needed the bite in midfield that Fleck can add. Whatever people say about criticising some of Norwood's horror passes, we still don't have anyone who's capable of doing his job and it's a job we can't do without. We've been stuck in this situation for a while where Fleck can't be dropped but are also clearly underperforming. Similarly, our whole game revolves around Norwood's as a conductor. Whenever he's off his game we're poor as a team.

The other position that bothers me right now is RND. Not a player I want to have a go at by any stretch but a player who I think is an average Championship player that we're asking to do a very difficult job that he's just not up to.

On the positive side, we've got some cracking players. Anel looks like an absolute steal. McAtee has obvious talent. Khadra looks a real threat. N'Diaye is only going to get better. Berge is so good at times I'm not sure how we still have him. Egan's looking like a rock again. I don't know how far away he is, but I'd love to see Bogle back in this team. However naive it's sounding, if either of McBurnie or Brewster could remember why we signed them then we'd have a real striker.

My honest guess is we'll be gambling on the play-offs again.
Click to expand...
I thought RND played well last night. Closed down well, rarely out of position, supported and linked up with Lowe and was agressive without being over the top
 
I'd rather the team get goals from all over than have to rely on a striker getting 20+ After last nights game you can see we have some players who are going to be monsters at this level and who will be playing higher in the future hopefully some of them with us. We now have players who can change the game and do something different when need be.
 
Shakespeare blade said:
After the first few games do we have enough to mount a serious challenge.
Personally I think we’re close but the lack of goals from the strikers is a big concern, we need a 15+ goals a season striker, apart from Billy ( he’s another year older & just coming back from injury then injured again) we just don’t have one.
Defensive wise we seem to have a good selection to choose from even when we have injuries.
Midfield is strong if we play the right combination, last night showed this, if Hecky is brave enough.
If we did need player/players where would you like to see strengthened ?
Click to expand...
Ndiaye is our 15 goal striker
 
No one needs to be perfect in the Championship. Every single team has flaws and gets away with murder at times in a game. You need to be good enough and i think we are good enough. The guaranteed automatic promotion record is 3 points at home, and 1 point away average.

We haven’t lost at home since October 2021, and i believe this team can draw or win away vs most teams except maybe the other top 6 culprits

We’ve got this!
 



bartman said:
I thought RND played well last night. Closed down well, rarely out of position, supported and linked up with Lowe and was agressive without being over the top
Click to expand...
I don't want people to get me wrong about RND. He's alright. But if we're talking about getting promoted, I think he's one where I look at him, and I look at some of the players we've had in that position, and him at his best isn't a patch on the others at their best. And I'm trying to be fair, the job we're asking him to do for us is a job that very few players can do. He's the type of player where if I rated him 6/10 in advance for every game this season then I probably wouldn't be far wrong, but I doubt he's going to have many 8's or 9's.
 
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