Striker Overload

[Slim Man]

Higdon. You mean the only striker to score in a preseason game. Nothing wrong with having 5 strikers. Different strengths, weaknesses and attitudes for different game situations.. I thought Done was a winger who sometimes played upfront anyway.

Silly me, I thought Adams and McNulty had both scored, as well as Calvert Lewin.

Higdon is turd. Whether he can be polished or not remains to be seen. Doubtful.

 

[Rossb123]

Diego/ Calvert Lewin - I would loan out, it's a big year for Diego and he needs to live up to the media hype he received when he first burst on to the scene. Calvert Lewin seems to be highly thought of at the club so hopefully he can have a season scoring a few goals and building his confidence.

Higdon/ Sammon - Two similar players so at least we now have two options of a big man up top. I wouldn't be surprised if Higdon was to leave in the not to distant future though.

McNulty/ Sharp - Again two similar players, both goal scorers and like Adkins says you can never have to many of them in your team. McNulty being quite inconsistent and Sharp being a confidence player...if Sharp scores in his first game I wouldn't be surprised if this gives him the confidence to have a great season and finish top scorer in the league.

Adams/ Done - Both can play on the wing and seem more effective there then some of our current wingers (e.g. JCR/ Flynn). Done has also been a little bit injury prone recently so Adkins might have realised we cant rely on him every week.

What surprises me is that we are worrying about having to many strikers on board. At the end of last season we was all commenting saying we need more strikers and defenders........Adkins has provided us with more strikers and we are now suggesting we have to many!

 

[Barney]

Crazy talk. Barnyblade for manager!

Wait, just checking, you do realise he wasn't replying to me. #LOL

 

[BushBlade]

Here's a thought. Why not have a large squad that we properly rotate so that when it comes to the last couple of months of the season we can put out a side that contains 11 fit players and not a bunch of crocks on injections to get the through the game.

And can I suggest something really radical? We stop giving a fuck about the budgets. I'm not SUFC's accountant. Why should I care about sustainability? If the Prince wants to chuck his money at getting promoted, good on him, he's allowed to do so under SCMP so, like the owner of Bournemouth, let him get on with it and stop whittling like a bunch of parsimonious book-keepers.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Here's a thought. Why not have a large squad that we properly rotate so that when it comes to the last couple of months of the season we can put out a side that contains 11 fit players and not a bunch of crocks on injections to get the through the game.

And can I suggest something really radical? We stop giving a fuck about the budgets. I'm not SUFC's accountant. Why should I care about sustainability? If the Prince wants to chuck his money at getting promoted, good on him, he's allowed to do so under SCMP so, like the owner of Bournemouth, let him get on with it and stop whittling like a bunch of parsimonious book-keepers.

OK fella.

Throw big big money at it. What if it dunt work ?. Big money is no guarantee of success.

Then what ?????

I appreciate what you are saying but there is also a happy medium here.

UTB

 

[Darthblade]

OK fella.

Throw big big money at it. What if it dunt work ?. Big money is no guarantee of success.

Then what ?????

I appreciate what you are saying but there is also a happy medium here.

UTB

We don't need "big money" in this division, we need solid, strong, consistent players who can play football, in all positions.
UTB & FTP

 

[LSF]

We don't need "big money" in this division, we need solid, strong, consistent players who can play football, in all positions.
UTB & FTP

You've forgotten the 'pacey' bit Darth me old love

 

[Woodwardfan]

Do I detect a touch of negativity on this thread?

Early days, when a new manager comes in not all the needed corrections/improvements slot into a logical sequence.

Yesterday I went to the game with a Toon pal. He couldn't believe how energetic we were or how many good players we kept bringing on.

Which was the Prem squad on there yesterday should a neutral have been watching without knowing?

We were skillfull. "full of energy" in the words of my mate, in no way embarassed by the Prem League opposition, indeed every bit as good.

The future is positive, all of a sudden. Too many strikers, don't make me laugh!

Budget? Why should we care. We are over-spending AT LAST.

 

[SandyMcBlade]

Here's a thought. Why not have a large squad that we properly rotate so that when it comes to the last couple of months of the season we can put out a side that contains 11 fit players and not a bunch of crocks on injections to get the through the game

1/ We had a large squad last season and still had to play unfit players over the last couple of months.
2/ ROTATE THE SQUAD !!!!!!! are you saying Nigel C played the same 11 every match ?

 

[RealMcCoy]

I highly doubt Murphy will after what Adkins said at the Q&A. He must have been pretty confident of holding onto him to come out with that or else the board will have egg on their faces over that. Done is not training right now so I doubt anyone is still planning on buying him off us. I reckon his injury is worse than feared.

Didn't he play 30 minutes on Sunday? Done that is

 

[BushBlade]

1/ We had a large squad last season and still had to play unfit players over the last couple of months.
2/ ROTATE THE SQUAD !!!!!!! are you saying Nigel C played the same 11 every match ?

I said 'properly rotate' as opposed to changing some positions every week while playing some players in almost every game, irrespective of how fit they are.
For all the players in our 'massive squad' we still went into the away leg of the playoff semi with a bunch of crocks and a defence consisting of four fullbacks.

In my opinion our squad wasn't that big if you take out the youth players. If you're including youth players on their first pro contracts clubs like Man U and Chelsea have squads of about seventy five players.

I expect to see significant changes in the way the fitness of our players is managed, so much that it will be noticeable to us. That, IMHO, along with his inability to find a centre half he wanted to sign, was Clough's biggest weakness.

 

[BushBlade]

OK fella.

Throw big big money at it. What if it dunt work ?. Big money is no guarantee of success.

Then what ?????

I appreciate what you are saying but there is also a happy medium here.

UTB

Throw some more until it does work. There's no guarantee that spending money will work but if you get a good manager with a proven track record and give him the money he needs, it's the most likely way to get success.
The 'happy medium' compromise is often the worst option as you spend money but with less likelihood of success. Over two or three seasons of almost doing it but not quite, the money starts to add up.

If you spend a bit more than your rivals, the benefit can be negligible. You could spend a bit more than your rivals for three seasons and, due to a bit of bad luck or a misjudgement, still not get promoted.

If I owned a club I could inject say £5m a year into it and, because some of my rival owners are putting a bit into their clubs, find I only have a wage bill slightly higher than theirs. I could spend four seasons in that situation and not go up.
Or, I can chuck £10m a year into the club and blow the rivals out of the water knowing that, providing the manager and those responsible for recruitment aren't massive knobs, if it doesn't work the first season it'll probably work the following season.

And if I'm not prepared to take the hit, I shouldn't be the owner of a football club.

Either run the club on a tight budget, get an agricultural manager like Grayson and boot your way out of the league or committ to buying your way out of the league, the middle ground offers the least.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Didn't he play 30 minutes on Sunday? Done that is

Yes he did and he was more energetic than any other player other than Louis Reed. Mind you the strange thing always was that he was like a buzzing bee even when he was supposed to be injured.

One of our best players no doubt in my mind whatsoever and yet I'm not sure whether he will have his own regular position. Weird, but we are blessed with an abundance of choices.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Throw some more until it does work. There's no guarantee that spending money will work but if you get a good manager with a proven track record and give him the money he needs, it's the most likely way to get success.
The 'happy medium' compromise is often the worst option as you spend money but with less likelihood of success. Over two or three seasons of almost doing it but not quite, the money starts to add up.

If you spend a bit more than your rivals, the benefit can be negligible. You could spend a bit more than your rivals for three seasons and, due to a bit of bad luck or a misjudgement, still not get promoted.

If I owned a club I could inject say £5m a year into it and, because some of my rival owners are putting a bit into their clubs, find I only have a wage bill slightly higher than theirs. I could spend four seasons in that situation and not go up.
Or, I can chuck £10m a year into the club and blow the rivals out of the water knowing that, providing the manager and those responsible for recruitment aren't massive knobs, if it doesn't work the first season it'll probably work the following season.

And if I'm not prepared to take the hit, I shouldn't be the owner of a football club.

Either run the club on a tight budget, get an agricultural manager like Grayson and boot your way out of the league or committ to buying your way out of the league, the middle ground offers the least.

Ah.

The Greece strategy.

It has a tendency to end badly you know !!

Our club, and all clubs for that matter, should aspire to be self financing. I accept most aren't and are propped up by some sugar daddy or other.

It is to McCabes eternal credit that he didn't do the administration thing when he would have had the opportunity to do so some years ago.

Sad thing is, screwing creditors, like our near neighbours, appears to work. Bournemouth being perhaps the best example.

Overall, I am happy with the prudent (ish) policy our club adopts as it will see SUFC exist beyond our lifetimes.

Many clubs, I predict, will not.

UTB

 

[BeatleBlade]

Didn't he play 30 minutes on Sunday? Done that is

My mistake. I thought I'd read that he wasn't even training yet, which was supported by the fact he hadn't yet featured in any friendlies. Fortunately I was wrong

 

[Woodwardfan]

Throw some more until it does work. There's no guarantee that spending money will work but if you get a good manager with a proven track record and give him the money he needs, it's the most likely way to get success.
The 'happy medium' compromise is often the worst option as you spend money but with less likelihood of success. Over two or three seasons of almost doing it but not quite, the money starts to add up.

If you spend a bit more than your rivals, the benefit can be negligible. You could spend a bit more than your rivals for three seasons and, due to a bit of bad luck or a misjudgement, still not get promoted.

If I owned a club I could inject say £5m a year into it and, because some of my rival owners are putting a bit into their clubs, find I only have a wage bill slightly higher than theirs. I could spend four seasons in that situation and not go up.
Or, I can chuck £10m a year into the club and blow the rivals out of the water knowing that, providing the manager and those responsible for recruitment aren't massive knobs, if it doesn't work the first season it'll probably work the following season.

And if I'm not prepared to take the hit, I shouldn't be the owner of a football club.

Either run the club on a tight budget, get an agricultural manager like Grayson and boot your way out of the league or committ to buying your way out of the league, the middle ground offers the least.

I have always believed there is an opportunity down in League 1 to come back stronger and to rebuild a squad capable of competing strongly in the Championship. Certainly there is no point squeezing up and struggling forever ( like the other lot).

 

[BushBlade]

Ah.

The Greece strategy.

It has a tendency to end badly you know !!

Our club, and all clubs for that matter, should aspire to be self financing. I accept most aren't and are propped up by some sugar daddy or other.

It is to McCabes eternal credit that he didn't do the administration thing when he would have had the opportunity to do so some years ago.

Sad thing is, screwing creditors, like our near neighbours, appears to work. Bournemouth being perhaps the best example.

Overall, I am happy with the prudent (ish) policy our club adopts as it will see SUFC exist beyond our lifetimes.

Many clubs, I predict, will not.

UTB

Not at all. The Greece strategy was about borrowing money. I'm not suggesting we borrow money and I don't think SCMP allows us to.

I'm suggesting we have the best manager we can possibly get in this league, as Big Jim said, 'the single most qualified person to get us promoted' so the Prince should back him to the hilt and not spoil the ship for a ha'peth of tar. Which, tbf, seems to be what he's doing. He's probably already as sick of this league as we are and he's in a position to do something about it.

 

[Bladeinleeds]

Id say the 4 main strikers are gonna be sharp/done/sammon and mcnulty. It will Depend if ddg or Adams have impressed centrally but that's some good options. Let's not forget Adkins actually plays 2 upfront

As last year higdon will be a bit part IMO, with sammon doing that physical and space creation job. And dcl isn't quite ready.

Plenty of goals there, which can't be a bad thing.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Not at all. The Greece strategy was about borrowing money. I'm not suggesting we borrow money and I don't think SCMP allows us to.

I'm suggesting we have the best manager we can possibly get in this league, as Big Jim said, 'the single most qualified person to get us promoted' so the Prince should back him to the hilt and not spoil the ship for a ha'peth of tar. Which, tbf, seems to be what he's doing. He's probably already as sick of this league as we are and he's in a position to do something about it.

Precisely my point.

Borrowing money from a bank is exactly that, borrowing money.

Money injected by directors, is essentially the same thing, except called directors loans. The club is in "debt" to the directors, who will typically charge nominal (or no) interest.

Either way, it's borrowing.

And if you don't put a lid on it at some point, you end up like the Greeks.

UTB

 

[s4-blade]

Id say the 4 main strikers are gonna be sharp/done/sammon and mcnulty. It will Depend if ddg or Adams have impressed centrally but that's some good options. Let's not forget Adkins actually plays 2 upfront

As last year higdon will be a bit part IMO, with sammon doing that physical and space creation job. And dcl isn't quite ready.

Plenty of goals there, which can't be a bad thing.

Adams has definately impressed centrally. He's been fuckin brilliant and will rip the league apart given a good run of games which i think he will because Adkins clearly rates him.

 

[Bladeinleeds]

Adams has definately impressed centrally. He's been fuckin brilliant and will rip the league apart given a good run of games which i think he will because Adkins clearly rates him.

hope so! Be a shame to not fully utilise done tho because he's clearly got goal in him, played centrally. Maybe he's gonna be on the left.

Could be mcnulty is the fall guy so to speak.

 

[BushBlade]

Precisely my point.

Borrowing money from a bank is exactly that, borrowing money.

Money injected by directors, is essentially the same thing, except called directors loans. The club is in "debt" to the directors, who will typically charge nominal (or no) interest.

Either way, it's borrowing.

And if you don't put a lid on it at some point, you end up like the Greeks.

UTB

I'm not talking about Director's loans, which are heavily regulated by SCMP, I'm talking about equity investment which is permitted under the SCMP 'benefactor rule', and is apparently what the a Prince agreed to do when KM effectively gave him half the club.

 

[Darthblade]

You've forgotten the 'pacey' bit Darth me old love

I've given up on that hope ...... the trouble is that to get big, strong, pacey AND goal hungry costs a shed load of money and we wouldn't attract that type of player to this agricultural division to be kicked up in the air every week !!

The only chance is a young player, like Afobe that MK got last year on loan, but that's obviously a risk. makes me think of the Meat Loaf song ......... two out of three (four) aint bad !!
UTB & FTP

 

[robbiez666]

well, there's one down....