What would you have done this summer?

[cannable]

19 minutes ago, Derbyram1983 said:

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. 

2009 all over again 

[MackworthRamIsGod]

10 minutes ago, Muskination said:

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

Uzbekistanian? Not many of them floating about.

[eddie]

3 hours ago, Paul71 said:

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

Penicillin on standby...

[Westcumbrianram]

I would of stuck with a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation. 

I would of sold keogh, Grant, Bent, Blackman, Johnson, plus the ones who have already gone. 

I would of signed Anya, Ritchie, harrison Reed (loan), Caulker/Manga and mccormack. 

Manager - Robinson or Laudrup.

[Mostyn6]

I must be the ONLY poster on here who believes Wassall had done enough to earn himself a transfer window or 2.

[eddie]

7 hours ago, Tim Bucktoo said:

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

Watch out for Agamemnon.

[PistoldPete2]

I didn't think we needed to do anymore than tinkering. I may have been wrong, given the horrific start to the season we have had. But anyway given that we sold Hendrick and loaned out martin, we then needed to do much more than tinkering to make up for the loss of those two. Bringing in vydra and anya has maybe given us different options but we are still well short of attacking options because misfits like bent and Blackman are still at the club when I would have expected  them to be loaned out. 

Heyho go that will be the new managers job... When he arrives. 

[Bris Vegas]

1 hour ago, Mostyn6 said:

I must be the ONLY poster on here who believes Wassall had done enough to earn himself a transfer window or 2.

While I wasn't calling for him to be given the job, I wouldn't have been too upset to see him get it. I certainly favoured him over Pearson, and any other 442 manager who was supposedly in the running.

 

[North East Ram]

1 hour ago, eddie said:

Watch out for Agamemnon.

Yeah, have never been a big fan of Argos.

[jagerbob]

8 hours ago, Mostyn6 said:

I must be the ONLY poster on here who believes Wassall had done enough to earn himself a transfer window or 2.

I would have too...... and to me, like Mel, DW is one of our own, which is important to me, even if it doesnt seem to be to other so called rams fans.

Unfortunately though the anti wassall vote amoungst supporters was so big, i do wonder if that swayed Mel.

The wassall bashes were out every time we conceded one goal, or only drew when we could have won.

 

and like you say Mostyn, was never given one single transfer window.

[Anon]

In - Wisdom, Jedinak, Graham

Out - Pearce(with apologies for wasting a year of his career), Hendrick(don't want to, but it's a good price).

I'd bring Wisdom in to provide top class competition for Cristie at right back and additional cover at centre back. Jedinak in because we need cover for Thorne and Graham to compete for the central striker role with Martin. All three players are leaders with premiership experience. Wisdom is a former England U21 captain and Jedinak was captain at Palace.

 

[WhiteHorseRam]

17 hours ago, eddie said:

Watch out for Agamemnon.

Heard he is available on a free from Olympiakos

[lee_derby]

On 08/10/2016 at 09:44, 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 think the players had done the same and are still pissed because they are all over the place and carnt remember ****

[brady1993]

On 08/10/2016 at 12:51, cannable said:

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.

This is almost completely what I would have done. 

One point I wanted to make is that the striker didn't have to a be a target man in the traditional sense. He needed to be technically good, comfortable with the ball at his feet and his game needed to be about coming short for the ball.

In lieu of this, the player I'd have broke my neck to get this summer would have been McCormack because he covers a multitude of basis whilst still being top drawyer. He can comfortably play on the left of a three with Martin in the centre, join Martin upfront/just off Martin if the game calls for it or play up top on his own if Martin is injured/off the boil.

[brady1993]

On 08/10/2016 at 13:06, 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... 

Playing 442 with the amount of quality central midfielders we have available, particular given several of them are very attack minded, would have been criminal.

[brady1993]

On 08/10/2016 at 12:11, Millenniumram said:

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

I really doubt Ince's ability to play centrally. I feel he'd better of the right where he has more space to work with. If we were to go the 4231 route, I would either have kept hendrick and played him there, play Butterfield there or shift Hughes there and buy a new player to play alongside Thorne.