Jourdan

The Dembele link is probably the most exciting one we’ve had all summer.

He looks full of pace and trickery and has the ability to unsettle defences but also to pick a pass.

I think that’s the key signing. Getting someone in the mould of Dembele / Azeez / Randall / Maghoma is much needed.

We need more creativity and more technical prowess, especially with Bird and Hourihane having left.

18 minutes ago, Anag Ram said:

He has some nice touches but he does seem to get tagged by defenders whether legally or illegally.

NML manages to shrug off defenders in similar situations using his pace and power.

I think having a player like Dembele in our team is more welcome than it is not.

You need a good balance between having big, strong, athletic types and players that rely more on their technique, vision and speed of movement and thought.

OK, in a physical battle, he might be overwhelmed and perhaps there will be games where he goes missing. But by the same token, there will be games where he runs teams ragged and is a constant danger.

With this kind of player, you take the rough with the smooth because these kinds of players can and will change games, especially by attracting defenders and drawing fouls, they can create time, space and opportunity for other players.

This would be a very exciting signing if we can pull it off. We need to take the burden away from Mendez Laing. He can’t be our only outlet. It also takes pressure off CBT and Barkhuizen to an extent.

Dembele had a really impressive season at Blackpool and looked a real handful in the game at PP.

OK, he’s unproven at a higher level, but look at how someone like Whittaker adapted to a higher level, so it could be a similar trajectory.

Dembele definitely has the skills that make him able to scale up and be just as dangerous at a higher level.

We need a player who can play centrally as well as on both flanks, so this looks a great fit!

A very promising link!

3 minutes ago, Sean said:

It's June 13th

Granted it’s only the middle of June but as it stands, the squad looks very thin and primed for a huge rebuild so you would hope for a few early signings, one to settle people’s nerves and two, to allow some of the players to get a head start on settling in and bedding in over pre-season and getting match fitness.

It’s not crisis mode and far from it, but surely we ought to be seeing the benefit of having known our fate weeks before others. For instance, Oxford have already made their first signing official and they were promoted three weeks after we were.

Personally I would give Warne the entire season to make his mark. I think getting us promoted and getting us over the line at the expense of three very credible challengers in Bolton, Peterborough and Barnsley warrants some credit in the bank and there is always a risk that pulling the plug after 15-20 games for instance does more harm than good. For every Rohl fairy tale, there are plenty of worse outcomes.

With the way the summer is unfolding, we are going to see a significant rebuild and it’s reasonable to expect some teething problems. Assembling a competitive squad is the first challenge given we have to recruit a large number of starters and squad players, followed by getting this new look squad to gel and function cohesively as well as possible.

I wouldn’t blame anyone for having concerns at present. There is quite a great deal of uncertainty over the make up and capability of the squad and while that is the case, people will naturally fret.

I fully expect us to start slowly irrespective of who we sign. However I am hopeful that once the new signings settle, we will improve. To what extent that is will depend on recruitment.

15 games won’t tell us very much, certainly not enough to sack Warne at the first sign of trouble. It would have to be the most disastrous start imaginable to put his job at risk.

In terms of the style of play, I would hope that if we get recruitment right that it will naturally improve and evolve as we can now attract a better calibre of player and there is scope to sign players who will line up with Warne’s vision more easily and be able to carry it out more readily.

The only real miss is Maguire. He’s been such a huge player for England in the last three major tournaments and we knew exactly what we were getting with him and Stones at the back. We have to hope one of Guehi, Konsa or Dunk grabs their chance and runs with it.

Everyone on social media foaming over Branthwaite is odd. Southgate will obviously want the most experienced defence possible and be more inclined to take chances on younger, less proven and more en vogue players further forward.

Branthwaite is obviously a great prospect but he is also 21 and he is coming off his breakthrough year in the PL and a good year out on loan at PSV before that. It would be a gamble. He’s got another six tournament cycles to make his mark, let’s be honest.

The focus should be on what we have and that’s a potentially very tantalising midfield and attack that should be able to cover for any loss of defensive strength.

Rice, Foden, Bellingham, Saka and Kane are all coming off world-class level individual seasons and you have the likes of Wharton, Eze and Palmer who are all looking to make an impression.

We should make the semis and from there anything can happen.

I like that we are mostly looking at younger players with something to prove. It seems we are trying to bring in more players in the Kane Wilson mould, players that are still raw with potential to grow and have an upwards trajectory.

Lonwijk lines up with that, coming with good reviews from his time at Wycombe and Plymouth. Kane, Small, Trott and a few others surely also fall into that bracket.

I just hope that we don’t forget to bring in some creative players. I am yet to see a link to a player that can truly excite.

If we are plucking young players from the leagues below, someone like Azeez from Reading or Randall from Peterborough would really show that our recruitment team have good plans for us.

3 hours ago, Crewton said:

Their fans are saying they'll be happy if they finish one place higher. Most seem to believe the positives about Rooney, not the negatives, even if they're a bit wary.

I think that’s it.

Plymouth fans and the ownership know that they will have one of the smallest budgets in the Championship, so there’s no real pressure beyond staying out of the relegation places.

It’s good for Rooney in many ways because what he lacks in coaching experience and tactical nous, he may be able to make up for with man management, much like he tried to do here.

Everyone’s counting him out so this might allow him to build a siege mentality and galvanise the group to prove people wrong, much like he tried to do here.

I don’t think they are doomed personally. They have a solid core of young players (Cooper, Gibson, Mumba, Ogbeta, Randell, Wright, Whittaker) that they would hope to build around. It just depends on whether they can keep hold of their best players (Whittaker and Cooper). Losing those two would be a big blow.

You can instantly see the attraction for Plymouth.

Rooney is a big name with a big reach from a marketing, media and business perspective. You could see how this may attract more investment and bring more eyeballs to the club.

In some ways, given the lack of expectation, Plymouth cannot really lose. If they go down, Rooney leaves and they reset in their more natural position of being one of the strongest clubs in League 1. If they survive in the Championship and go on to finish in a good position, Rooney will get all the plaudits, leave for a bigger club, and Plymouth will be well placed to kick on.

We should sign whoever Villarreal are interested in just to assert our dominance.

That’s what a big club would do.

Derby are a bigger club than Villarreal.

The atmosphere at PP in August will be electric it seems.

‘We all hate the Yellow Submarine!’

‘Stand up if you hate Villarreal!’

’If you don’t do the bounce, you’re yellow!’

‘Are you watching, are you watching, are you watching Mexico?’

The Championship will be fun next season.

There are question marks over every team coming down. Will Luton be able to keep Edwards? Will Burnley be the same without Kompany? Will Sheff Utd be able to regroup quickly after such an emphatic relegation?

Then you look at the teams who missed out in the play-offs. Norwich will need a new manager and both Leeds and WBA will be rebuilding their squads. A team in the chasing pack like Coventry or Hull may also be thinking it could be their chance to make a push.

It looks wide open. I am not sure why everyone is so fearful.

4 minutes ago, Bris Vegas said:

Leeds will blow the Championship away next season with Farke in charge.

Both Southampton and Leeds are currently better than the 3 that came down.

And the 3 that came down will lose some of their better players. In Burnley’s case, their manager.

Leeds and Southampton will probably be swapping places in 12 months time.

A lot can change between now and August.

Isn’t it a possibility that Leeds will also lose some of their better players?

Summerville, Gnonto, Rutter, Meslier, Piroe and Gray could all conceivably attract top flight interest either here or abroad.

They have also got players who will return to their parent clubs (Rodon, Roberts and Anthony) and players who perhaps joined with the expectation of an immediate return to the PL (Ampadu, Kamara).

It could be a different looking Leeds in eight weeks’ time.

On 16/05/2024 at 22:11, Jourdan said:

‘Who can stop this Leeds machine?’ the Yorkshire Evening Post will write.

’A waiting list of 200,000 for Wembley’ the Twitterverse will post.

’Look at this. Listen to this. Leeds at Wembley. It’s enough to make even the Duke of Wellington tremble.’ Gary Weaver will say.

Final score: Leeds 0-1 *insert opposition here*

I am surprised that many have us down as favourites.

For me, it’s France (based on pedigree and tournament experience) and Portugal (based on sheer depth of quality) who look like the two front runners with us looking a very strong bet for the semi-finals.

In truth though, you could put a blanket over us, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Italy and there wouldn’t be very much to separate any of us in a one off game, which is why I am surprised so many are so confident. It’s very much fine lines once you get to the latter stages.

No surprises in the squad picked thus far. We know that Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire and Shaw will make up the defence if fit and with their familiarity and tournament experience they should be able to hold off most opposition without a worry.

The conundrum is getting the balance of the front six right. It might just be a case of playing 4-3-3 with a fluid set up until we face opposition that demands a rethink.

I do think it would be a brave call to play Mainoo or Wharton alongside Rice in any case. It is a big step going from flourishing in the PL for 6-9 months to delivering on the big stage of international football.

10 hours ago, Leeds Ram said:

Coventry should be our model, not Ipswich. They haven't spent a fortune, have a decent if unsexy manager and came up from league 1. In their first season, they finished 16th then 12th then 5th then 9th with an FA Cup semi-final achieved as well. It is possible to be successful in the championship without spending a ton of money but it requires an ethos, properly planned management and consistency.

Coventry are a good model in terms of progression timescales and in terms of capitalising on good recruitment.

The question is whether we can realistically do the same. We don’t have a particularly good recent history when it comes to recruitment and selling players for profit, for example.

There is a lot to admire about what Coventry have done in recent years, absolutely. In an ideal world you would say OK, let’s do what Coventry have done.

But it is also fair to say they had to speculate to accumulate to an extent also. Both Gyokeres and Hamer generated incredible profit for the club, but they were still bought for transfer fees clocking in the millions to begin with.

Can we afford to spend £1m+ on a player or two at this time? And if we do, can we unearth a player who could have a similar impact and trajectory to a Gyokeres or a Hamer? Do we have the negotiating power and resolve to turn a £1 million player into a £10 million player, for instance?

Coventry are a good model, yes, but it does also come with its challenges as you need healthy investment allied with good scouting, good recruitment and good business strategy. So much has to marry up.

We might have to just forge our own path.

The Championship is a crazy league. I think the only aspiration you can have is to be the best you can be and see where that takes you. There are 23 other clubs who will be fighting tooth and nail so nothing is really a given, for better or worse.

We could be relegation candidates, we could be mid table, we could be top half and we could even be top six.

It’s difficult to predict and difficult to gauge as there are always teams that perform better or worse than their squads / managers / budgets suggest.

Do we expect to compete with Luton, Burnley, Sheff Utd, WBA, Norwich, Hull and Coventry? Probably not, but could we? Possibly. Do we expect to do better than Oxford? Probably, but could we not? Possibly too.

I don’t see the point in getting wrapped up in expectations. We want to see Warne, Thomas, Hale and Clowes with a plan and working well together and doing their absolute best. Surely that’s all we can really expect? Where that takes us remains anyone’s guess.

‘Who can stop this Leeds machine?’ the Yorkshire Evening Post will write.

’A waiting list of 200,000 for Wembley’ the Twitterverse will post.

’Look at this. Listen to this. Leeds at Wembley. It’s enough to make even the Duke of Wellington tremble.’ Gary Weaver will say.

Final score: Leeds 0-1 *insert opposition here*

I suppose you can see the thinking. Foreign coaches (Maresca, Rohl and Cifuentes are three good examples from this season alone) usually adapt pretty well to Championship football.

Most Championship clubs are looking to bridge a financial gap and sometimes unearthing a quality coach that can elevate the team and make the overall unit stronger is the answer. Bielsa at Leeds is the impact everyone is looking to emulate.

Hull might be taking a gamble but if they uncover a maverick coach who takes the Championship by storm, it will look totally worth it in 12 months.

There might some method to the madness. Let’s wait and see.

Even on a free transfer, you would expect JCH to cost a pretty penny, especially given he is 30 and this could be his last chance at a big contract.

21 goals in 98 Championship games for two struggling, relegation threatened sides suggests he could definitely do a job and would be a good option to have, but if funds are tight, could we spend the money better?

It’s a risk whichever way we go, but personally if we are going to take such risks, I’d rather stick with Gayle (who is a slightly different player) who has already shown he can flourish under Warne and work well with the current squad when fit.

He’s had a great loan move and shown that his quality is not limited to youth football.

I think we should give him a chance to impress in pre-season and have him in the squad for the start of the season.

What do we have to lose? His confidence and appetite to impress will be through the roof.

He may take the opportunity and run with it…

2 minutes ago, sage said:

 

I think he may be surprised. 

All that tells us is that finishing 15th in 22-23 was slightly above where Hull ‘should have been’ in financial terms.

Where does finishing 7th line up with their spending in 23-24?

8 minutes ago, nottingram said:

Yeah I don’t disagree with that bit, they’ll soon be on their 4th manager having got rid of McCann and Rosenior harshly already. 

Just thought you’d made it sound like he took over a club expecting promotion (I probably misinterpreted) but it’s more the case that their progress under Rosenior has been part of his downfall. I’d be surprised if, at the start of last season, promotion was on anyone sensible’s agenda given where they were. But then you’re 8th in January and choose to push it with high quality loans, miss out and get sacked.

I think for most managers nowadays, they have to pick their jobs carefully. Maybe Rosenior signed a three-year deal in the winter as insurance more than anything?

The Championship was already a well known revolving door swallowing managers up and spitting them out. Then this ownership group came in, removed McCann almost instantly and then gave their own man Arveladze what amounted to slightly more than half a season, so maybe Rosenior understood he’d always be walking a tightrope?

I would agree that at the beginning of the season, most people would have had Leeds, Leicester and Southampton as the main contenders with a cluster of 6-7 other teams in the mix, with Hull as a dark horse in that group.

But as you alluded to, once you get into the top six and start rubbing shoulders with the big guns, the goalposts are only going to move one way…

Rosenior just has to play the game and pick his next job with more care. He doesn’t want to do what Rooney has done, for instance.

30 minutes ago, nottingram said:

They were lower mid table when he took over? Had what I would assume were some fairly expensive players not doing an awful lot in Tufan and Seri but hardly like he took over a Leeds or a Leicester.

If they were not on the brink of the play offs in January they would not have signed such high quality players on loan and he would not have had such expectations. But equally the fact he had already done a decent job with Morton and Delap probably contributed to the quality of loans he had access to. 

I am not saying he’s done a bad job. Far from it. Perhaps more a case of taking on a high-risk, low-reward job based on how the ownership operate.

From the fans’ perspective, those who understand the club, understand its place on the ladder, and understand the division, Rosenior will have a lot of goodwill I am sure. 

In continental football, I just don’t think the idea of ‘credit in the bank’ really and truly exists. The owners often display main character syndrome and see themselves as bigger than the manager and the manager being very much expendable, so clubs often have a culture of changing managers in the hope of a successful roll of the dice. I follow Serie A closely and it’s rife there. We’ve also seen that seep into our game with the Watford-Udinese connection.

If the Turkish group at Hull operate in a similar way, they are probably just as likely to chop and change until something clicks to their liking.