What would you have done this summer?

[IlsonDerby]

what I've read in terms of what people think needed to be done this summer (from various threads) seems to vary quite a lot from tinkering to whole sale changes. I figured it'd be nice to get a thread where we can actually discuss that.

just a note - we are not discussing managers/potential managers just what you thought needed to be done in terms of the first team squad this season. Can we try to be realistic too? 

 

For me I'd have attempted to get rid of Grant, keogh, Bryson, Hendrick and Martin. 

id have liked to have replaced keogh and Martin with another right sided cb who can play out from the back and another striker who has a decent physical present and can link up the play/ hold the ball up. I'd have also attempted to bring in a Eustace 2.0. 

I would have attempted to have played the same system as before (433) but without the spine of the side that has three years of near misses on their minds. Bryson and Hendricks rolls could have been taken by Hughes and Johnson with new Eustace playing the holding roll whilst George recovers. 

I would have given weimann, Russell, camara and Ince pre season to impress in the wide roles but would like to have seen someone like anya come in anyway so that Weimann could be used centrally as an alternate option to the big man up front. 

Id have loaned out Bent and potentially Baird (unless it was decided he could be the new Eustace) and would have off loaded shotton, albentosa and one of shackell, Pearce or Buxton as 3 cbs all trying for the left side isn't efficient. 

 

A squad going into the season knowing their roles in a 433 (ie knowing when to press and when to drop off) looking like this: 

carson 

christie new cb shackell Forsyth 

new eustace/baird

hughes Johnson 

ince new target man anya

subs include: Mitchell, Pearce/Buxton, Hanson, butterfield, Russell, Weimann, elsnik/camara 

 

id enjoy seeing that! 

[matty1986]

Damn.....I thought you were breaking news about a new instalment to that much loved Sarah Michelle Gellar/Jennifer Love Hewitt movie franchise

[Guest]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

On 07/08/2016 at 15:07, IlsonDerby said:

I will add that as a none football hipster I quite like the 442, it provides a solid base to work on and if you get the personnel right it can be devastating. 

I believe the only personnel were lacking are an out and out winger or 2 to provide natural width as that is where the usefulness of the 442 comes in. Pacey striker on the shoulder ready to break or down the two wings. 

 

[eddie]

I would have gone to Belgium and spent a week drinking the greatest beers in the world.

You know, like I did.

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, eddie said:

I would have gone to Belgium and spent a week drinking the greatest beers in the world.

You know, like I did.

I would have avoided getting arrested in Nigeria, like I didn't

[Sith Happens]

Spent a month at the playboy mansion, then spent a month on a beach somewhere recovering.

[TroyDyer]

I would have given NP a rim job, and used the photos to blackmail him into walking away without a payoff.

[North East Ram]

I'd have stayed clear of Troy. Like I do.

[Sexydadbod]

Bought players in positions we are fragile in e.g Another rb, another cb, another cdm,a genuine wide man an another forward who is actually a forward 

[King Kevin]

I'll tell you what I wouldn't have done and that is to try and change a system with the only business done on deadline day and no loan system .Madness and rank bad management.

[G STAR RAM]

Kept the same system.

Got backup for Thorne.

Trimmed the squad.

[MackworthRamIsGod]

I think I would have signed Ritchie Da Laat and Matty James.

I would have also tried to have signed Nugent and had I known he was available definitely Vydra.

I would have sent Blackman out on loan if anyone would have had him.

I would have also looked in the mirror and asked myself if I had really just let Arry, the dodgiest man in football come near my football club and suggest ways to make it better.

My choice for manager would have been from Warburton, Di Matteo or Martinez.

 

 

[RadioactiveWaste]

Nicotine, valium, vicadine,  marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol. Co co co cocaine.

And perhaps hire mark Warburton.

Be realistic sbout how ffp limits our manoeuvres.

Be completely up for selling the old guard at the right price. 

[Millenniumram]

I'd have had a total squad clearout myself.

I believe the complete captiulations we'd had over the last few years meant that something is clearly wrong with the mentality of the current playing squad, as so many managers have failed- so something needed to be done about the playing staff if we are ever going to be successful

Id have sold Grant, Hendrick, Martin, Keogh, Bryson, Russell, Forsyth, and if possible Blackman

Id have tried to bring in a real leader at the back to replace keogh, no matter the price we needed a top drawer centre half who isn't error prone. Had I known vydra was available I'd have definately bought him to replace Martin as well, brilliant player who im shocked Watford sold. I'd have also brought in a defensive mid to cover for throne, someone who can break up play and start attacks

Id have stuck with the wingers we had and brought in a Russell replacement, Anya does seem a good choice for this, and also brought in another goal scoring forward to challenge Vydra

Id have also got rid of all the deadwood we did get rid of- Buxton, Sammon etc. I'd have also looked at bringing in 2 quality full backs to compete with Olsson and Christie, Yedlin would have been good at Rb, not sure who was available at left back

Id have switched formations to a 4231 and lined up something like

Carson

new rb    New cb   Shackell   Olsson/ new lb

Hughes Thorne (c)

Weimann Ince Camara/Anya

Vydra

Subs: Mitchell Christie Pearce Butterfield new winger new striker

That would have shaken the squad up a bit and hopeful got them out of the lull they seem to have been in for the last 2 seasons

[cannable]

Tried to get rid of; Shackell, Pearce, Shotton, Olsson, Bent, Blackman, Johnson, Baird, Camara, Roos and Weimann - loans if we have to. 

Still sold Jeff for the price we did.

Leaving you with; Carson, Grant, Mitchell; Christie; Keogh, Bucko, Rawson; Fozzy, Lowe; George, Hanson; Bryso, Willberforce, Butters, Timi Max; Ince, Russell; Martin. 

Leaving us needing; a ball-playing centre-half, a right-back, 'Newstace', a link-up winger, a tricky winger and a target man. 

It's not about 'having the bottle to break up the old guard' - it's about realising that they are both our best players still and the remnents of our footballing identity who we should be building around anyway.

[IlsonDerby]

3 hours ago, Leeds Ram said:

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

On 07/08/2016 at 15:07, IlsonDerby said:

I will add that as a none football hipster I quite like the 442, it provides a solid base to work on and if you get the personnel right it can be devastating. 

I believe the only personnel were lacking are an out and out winger or 2 to provide natural width as that is where the usefulness of the 442 comes in. Pacey striker on the shoulder ready to break or down the two wings. 

 

That's the thing, we do have hindsight. 

My above comment was once we knew we had Pearson coming in and it was fairly obvious it was going to be 442. I do feel like we needed 2 wingers to make it work but I assumed our centre midfielders would work in a 2. 

Ovciously I don't see them in training where it should be pretty apparent they wouldn't work in a two. 

Without going into a debate about managers I was happy with the appointment of Pearson at the time but I would have also been happy with Wassall carrying it on. I was quite open to anything. 

Hindsight and 2 months of dire football tells me the 442 was a bad idea but I'd expect to have known that sooner if I was watching them train day in day out. I'll stand by my comment that I like 442. The greatest manager ever sir Alex used it consistently so it can't be too shabby... 

[Derbyram1983]

We're at the point now where we have an inflated squad on big money. Not many of them are good enough for a promotion side. Try and offload as many as possible. Bring through some youth players and don't sign any or many. The club is going through a transition and we've got a massive wage bill. All we can do is try and build a better team using our youth players in my opinion. 

[Derbyram1983]

We can't keep buying players that aren't better than we already have and this is the problem and reason that we are in decline 

[Muskination]

I would have sold up this football club and handed it over to some bottomless pocketed *insert nationality here*.

[RadioactiveWaste]

1 minute ago, IlsonDerby said:

That's the thing, we do have hindsight. 

My above comment was once we knew we had Pearson coming in and it was fairly obvious it was going to be 442. I do feel like we needed 2 wingers to make it work but I assumed our centre midfielders would work in a 2. 

Ovciously I don't see them in training where it should be pretty apparent they wouldn't work in a two. 

Without going into a debate about managers I was happy with the appointment of Pearson at the time but I would have also been happy with Wassall carrying it on. I was quite open to anything. 

Hindsight and 2 months of dire football tells me the 442 was a bad idea but I'd expect to have known that sooner if I was watching them train day in day out. I'll stand by my comment that I like 442. The greatest manager ever sir Alex used it consistently so it can't be too shabby... 

I think formations/systems are frequently subject to the old management trap of "trend following" - I think the next one's the Klopp "gugenpreeseen" or whatever it's called, will be a thing everyone tries to do, same as a few years ago it was tika taka  possession at all costs, trends to be totally fluid, trends to be very organised and so on, these fashions come and go. Man U had some great 4-4-2 teams in the day, but they played many variations on how the attacking midfield and out n out strikers organised themselves down the years. It seems to me the trend has been away from 2 up top for a few years now, I'd guess because the thinking is over the 90 minutes an extra midfielder influences things more than the extra striker averages goals (my speculation, not baaed on "facts")

I don't think it was 4-4-2 per se that was the team's problem, it was the way we were going about it crushed the positive aspects of Bryson and Hughes and that sacrifice wasn't helping the team overall by having the extra striker. If we were going down that route, the only way i could see it working is Johnson and Hendrick as the two and Martin/weimann(?). But Pearson wanted two fast run in behind strikers not a link man/quick man combo. I think the bone of contention between Mel and Pearson may well have been Mel's view we have a very good squad, we're keeping most of it vs Pearson's view that to be the team he wants they must play his way or get transferred.

I wasn't pro-Pearson, but when he came in, tried to get behind it, the same as we all did. I'd have not got upset if they'd give it Wassall (but some noisy fans might have).