We need two wing backs in January

[Akinbiyi]

Just make yourself a cup of tea and calm down a bit. Then read through this thread again and try to understand whats being said. That is, we need more than one player for each position. We need players of sufficient quality to be challenging each other for that position. Doing this would cost a bit of money. All of this is what PL teams do.

This thread is about WBs. Lowton, as a suggestion, would fit this profile for either of the two WBs we have at the moment. Resurrecting Freeman or playing Fleck at WB is not the answer as has been suggested earlier. Sometimes I despair at the backward looking outlook of some of our fans.

I don't think me making a cup of tea is going to stop you from making a complete and utter bollocks comment somehow.

I don't disagree with what you're saying but to suggest it was ignorant to think Lowton isn't an improvement on Baldock was and is a bizarre one.

 

[super_pig]

Lowton might be an option next summer. He'd be a very good option at either RWB or RCB - both positions well suited to him that he hasn't had the chance to play.

Nooooooooo

 

[super_pig]

I don't think me making a cup of tea is going to stop you from making a complete and utter bollocks comment somehow.

I don't disagree with what you're saying but to suggest it was ignorant to think Lowton isn't an improvement on Baldock was and is a bizarre one.

what? Baldock is loads better than Lowton.. what makes you think Burnley even want to sell him
this obsessing with former players boils my piss

 

[georgebernardshaw]

because baldock is playing so well .. freeman is a decent player.. he’s certainly a better finisher than george ..IWWT

Outrageous, I resemble that remark....

 

[nezimão]

childish and petulant bickering between grown men rather spoiled this thread unfortunately.

if we have £10-20 to spend in january and we are tucked into mid-table we won’t be spending on full backs in my honest opinion.

more likely, all things being equal, we’re in for an in-form championship striker in my opinion.

 

[Akinbiyi]

childish and petulant bickering between grown men rather spoiled this thread unfortunately.

if we have £10-20 to spend in january and we are tucked into mid-table we won’t be spending on full backs in my honest opinion.

more likely, all things being equal, we’re in for an in-form championship striker in my opinion.

If we have a tenner to spend I doubt we'll be buying anyone at all

 

[Digs blade]

childish and petulant bickering between grown men rather spoiled this thread unfortunately.

if we have £10-20 to spend in january and we are tucked into mid-table we won’t be spending on full backs in my honest opinion.

more likely, all things being equal, we’re in for an in-form championship striker in my opinion.

Hope we have more than £10-20 to spend. That won’t get us much other then a round of drinks.

Sorry for the annoying reply, no offence meant

 

[Digs blade]

Beat me to it Akinbiyi

 

[guancheblade]

more likely, all things being equal, we’re in for an in-form championship striker in my opinion.

Let's hope not, it isn't exactly a strategy thats worked out for us in pre-season

 

[mattbianco1]

Why did you buy 2 right backs?!

Dalot can play LB too.

 

[mattbianco1]

I'd like us to try and tempt André Gray from Watford.. to play upfront before the smart arses say he's not a full back

 

[snootyfenooty]

childish and petulant bickering between grown men rather spoiled this thread unfortunately.

if we have £10-20 to spend in january and we are tucked into mid-table we won’t be spending on full backs in my honest opinion.

more likely, all things being equal, we’re in for an in-form championship striker in my opinion.

Been there, done that, got the t shirt. Big fail.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

We’re all happy that these players aren’t really getting a look in. Good form and no serious injuries have dictated this.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Why are you so insistent Freeman isnt good enough? Dont you think he at least deserves a chance to prove himself? There were a lot on here saying Baldock wasnt good enough before the season started. Now people are shitting themselves if he gets injured. Talk about fickle.

His fitness levels are poor & once he begins tiring late into games (not even that late, 60 mins onwards) he struggles to keep up with play & can no longer defend. If it's the same version of K Freeman we saw last season, then he would be a total liability at this level. It's a shame really, because his attacking output is excellent & the above aspects that he struggles with are ones which feel very correctable. But he's never seemed to have the best mentality. Probably why Baldock, who for me is less talented, is streets ahead of him these days.

I agree with most of the posts before this, the area we should look to strengthen in in January is competition at the right side of our defence. I feel this is an area which needs some urgent improvement & one where we're a bit light on the ground when the inevitable injuries & suspensions start kicking in. I also feel improvement here would cause minimal disruption for the rest of the season.

In the Summer, when hopefully we're looking at taking the next step to really kick on a level, I feel the key area to strengthen will be in midfield.

I don't feel like we have really controlled the midfield at all this season (Palace aside). I don't feel like the three we have pose much of a goal threat, or are brave enough in the final third. Further, I'm not sure they possess the quality needed at the top level to produce single handed match winning moments. On top of this, I still feel like we often have to compensate for Norwood's lack of athleticism in the middle of the park, an area we still get overrun in.

The lad we allegedly tried to sign, Sander Berge, looks to be the complete sort of midfield player I'd love to see us bring in. I hope Wilder is still targeting this area.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

I hope I am not alone in this, but when Baldock went down for a while against West Sham, I shit myself! Literally, what do we do if either him or Stevens are out for any length of time, in my book we do not have the right quality players to come in and do a job at this level, I know CW works miracles with players, and Freeman did a good job for a while before, but as we learned in The Championship, he is a quality lad but not really at the level we would need, and on the left even worse, I know the lad from Notts Forest can play there if needed, but for a length of time? in this division? I know people think we need to strengthen in January in a host of positions, but to me this should be priority one and two. Who agrees/disagrees?

You make an excellent point, to which I’ll disagree.

We need a couple more options up front, or one striker and an AM, more urgently than that.

I’m intrigued to hear we are looking at signing a centre back though from Swansea. They say he would cost us the same as McBurnie cost. Maybe we can do a straight swop?

 

[Ginger Gnome]

The alternative fix for right sided cover is finding a Basham replacement then he instantly becomes the cover for his current position or wing back. That probably happens next summer once we're definitely staying up, unless someone brilliant (not bloody Lowton) becomes available in January or we terminate Besic to bring in a PL loanee (which is unlikely unless we bring in a permanent midfielder).

Wilder seemed to hate the idea of us spending loads of money on a right back when it came to Brayford, so I can't see him splashing out a lot on backup and as long as it is just strictly backup for the odd game, Freeman is fine (and if he's not, Basham, Lundstram and Besic can all play there). Obviously if Baldock gets a long-term injury it's more of a concern, but the same goes for every position on the pitch.

 

[blade too long]

why do you feel the need to make things up ?

well what are some asking for

2 maybe 3 european class proven midfielders to compete with top half teams
so whats that scenario going to cost if we are talking 20m a player, if your lucky

 

[wadblade]

Agree. Id argue that K. Freeman has always done well when filling in for Baldock and would do OK in the role.

Stevens is a different story. Would cost mega bucks to find a LWB of his quality. (Maybe unfair of Osborn - not seen much)

Personally, lets go out and find a player in the same mould as Mcgoldrick. We NEED somebody who can play that role. Again would cost mega bucks, but if we had competition for Mcgoldrick we would be a different animal.

With have LB cover for next year he is on lone to Rochdale

 

[blade too long]

Couldn't help reading this out loud in a crap pirate accent.

Rrrrr me hearty ,you win 2 doubloons

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I hope I am not alone in this, but when Baldock went down for a while against West Sham, I shit myself! Literally, what do we do if either him or Stevens are out for any length of time, in my book we do not have the right quality players to come in and do a job at this level, I know CW works miracles with players, and Freeman did a good job for a while before, but as we learned in The Championship, he is a quality lad but not really at the level we would need, and on the left even worse, I know the lad from Notts Forest can play there if needed, but for a length of time? in this division? I know people think we need to strengthen in January in a host of positions, but to me this should be priority one and two. Who agrees/disagrees?

Kyle Walker+ one other.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

They don't come in as cover, they come in to challenge for that position with no guarantee of either of them being first choice. That's what you have to do to improve. Scraping the barrel to find someone who is happy to stay as second fiddle is a recipe for failure. Anyone who is old enough to remember will tell you that our previous sojourns in the top flight, especially the one in the 70s, ultimately failed because the strength in depth in the squad was totally inadequate.

It's alreight, Wilders got it.

 

[Redflame]

Freeman pulls the shirt on and gives his all. Not too long ago he was the best thing since sliced bread. In my opinion he has not let us down and is not shite how fans can say he is thats beyond me UTB

 

[sufcboy95]

Osborn seems to do a job every time I’ve seen him, wouldn’t mind him playing there. Even think JOC could play there.

The right side is different though as freeman is toss. Basham is probably the best bet

 

[Elsecar_Blade]

I hope I am not alone in this, but when Baldock went down for a while against West Sham, I shit myself! Literally, what do we do if either him or Stevens are out for any length of time, in my book we do not have the right quality players to come in and do a job at this level, I know CW works miracles with players, and Freeman did a good job for a while before, but as we learned in The Championship, he is a quality lad but not really at the level we would need, and on the left even worse, I know the lad from Notts Forest can play there if needed, but for a length of time? in this division? I know people think we need to strengthen in January in a host of positions, but to me this should be priority one and two. Who agrees/disagrees?

Agree to an extent but who?

At LWB, there is no reason at all to ditch Stevens who deserves the chance to keep taking his chance to make the step up. He has been superb going forwards and backwards and we have seen that he is making the step up and is continuing to improve and adapt. Therefore, any signing at LWB has to be backup - can we realistically improve on Osborn for a player who, if we're honest, won't be first choice? That'll be difficult.

As for Baldock, trickier one than Stevens. You could argue that - whilst he has been generally very good - he cost us the goal on Saturday (along with Norwood and Basham) and wasted good chances. We all know that his end product is weaker than Stevens as well. We could probably improve on George but at a huge cost. If we are going to sign a wing back, I don't see it being LWB so would we be happy as fans in signing an expensive player for RWB? Would be very dependant on who we got in and they would be under pressure to perform given that Baldock, though his limits are clear, has done little wrong.

Personally, I don't see January as a time for big changes. If I was Wilder, I'd be looking for a long-term Basham replacement (it's going to take a while for that player to get to speed with what our tactics expect so needs to be a young one with the attributes and attitude to do it) and maybe an upgrade on McGoldrick - though that will also be very expensive. We'd be essentially looking for McGoldrick with pace and finishing ability - that'll cost £15 - 30m!

 

[guancheblade]

Kyle Naughton would offer the cover required at RWB, and probably happy to sit on bench / be called up when needed. BO the other side, plenty of cover there. Or alternatively we could always switch to a back four, with the full backs (basham / osborn??) bombing on and a Norwood type sitting in with two centre halves.

Harsh as this will sound but an upgrade on Norwood (if ones available and affordable) would be something i'd look at. Reason being that at times he can become a bit lost in a game, and he's a bit weak when it gets more physical / end to end. The lad is a superb player, and has been excellent so far, but there's usually a 5-10 min spell in a game where he worries me.

I'm not sure there's been a game this season where Norwood hasn't been caught in possession when he's closed down. He doesn't have enough flexibility or speed of thought to get himself out of a situation. And once he is caught, he doesn't have any pace to get back and help out.

But then there probably isn't a player out there we could afford to get in that would be an improvement. Any chance we can Brundlefly Coutts and Norwood together? That'd be a thing of beauty.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Any chance we can Brundlefly Coutts and Norwood together? That'd be a thing of beauty.

Could we throw someone else in with some pace as well? Because I think the combo you'd suggest would result in a little stranded head in midfield going, "help meeeee!".

But not only that, think of how that would go down at home in the Coutts and Norwood households...

 

[Gin&Juice]

Rico Henry and John Brayford.

One of them is an actual suggestion, the other is not.

 

[Come from away]

You make an excellent point, to which I’ll disagree.

We need a couple more options up front, or one striker and an AM, more urgently than that.

I’m intrigued to hear we are looking at signing a centre back though from Swansea. They say he would cost us the same as McBurnie cost. Maybe we can do a straight swop?

I do not see a need for new wingbacks in Jan and think your "striker and AM" is where we will go with Leon and Kean dropping out on loan.

 

[Ridgeway Blade]

Freeman pulls the shirt on and gives his all. Not too long ago he was the best thing since sliced bread. In my opinion he has not let us down and is not shite how fans can say he is thats beyond me UTB

I like Kieron Freeman too but I have seen him twice this year, against Barnet and Sunderland and he really disappointed in both. Both matches there seemed a collective 'it doesn't matter attitude' amongst a number of players but Freeman just looked lethargic and disinterested in both, hardly making a case for Wilder to pick him. If only Baldock had Freeman's end product! He could be leading scorere now!