Signed: Tom Lawrence - Undisclosed fee, long term contract

[Jimbo Ram]

5 minutes ago, Foxes Fan said:

 

This is a massive misconception, in comparison to 2015/16 he may have played like a one-legged blind man but if you don't hold him to that ridiculously high standard then he didn't do too badly. 

He's always going to get more s**** from fans because of a perceived lack of effort, that's often the case with flair players in England. To be honest it's not like he doesn't ever try to defend it is just that he can't tackle to save his life. He was the most dribbled past player in the Prem last season, but I would still do anything for us to keep him if we can get him back anywhere near his best. He's magic when he wants to be.

Is Lawrence coming to us Foxes Fan?

[Coneheadjohn]

18 minutes ago, Gandalf's shin pads said:

I think we will need more than Lawrence (if he joins). In the absence of Ince we don't have a single other winger/wide player of the required standard to help push for promotion. They are either strikers being asked to play out of position or are not penetrative enough.

I'm not saying they are bad players. Merely that, from what I have seen of the Weimann, Blackmann, Anya and Russell, the best that can be said for them is that they are decent, and being decent doesn't get you promoted. To my mind we need genuine quality that carries a threat on both flanks. Even if Lawrence arrives it's only half the job. 

Personally, I also think we need to replace Hughes in the middle as none of our existing squad can replicate what he did for us. Butterfield often threatens genuine quality but it never seems to materialise consistently. Johnson and Bryson are willing runners and tacklers and every team needs players like them but they don't really provide much else, at least not anymore. Hanson is young and may improve but is not there yet. Huddlestone and Thorne are class at this level but it's likely (who knows) they will be shielding the back four and at the end of the day they can't do everything from that postion.

Not trying to sound pessimistic. I'd love Rowett and the team to prove me wrong. I think we will be solid at the back and hard for others to break down but we seem to have strengthened in defence at the expense of weakening ourselves further up the pitch. As I have said elsewhere, and I'm probably being a bit greedy with other peoples money, I think we need two quality wingers and another attacking/creative central midfielder. 

I'm sure things are in the pipeline but hope that Lawrence isn't the only iron in the fire (to mix a metaphor!) I just think, if we are looking to seriously challenge, the squad looks a bit 6/7 out of 10 at moment with what is currently available. 

Very fair assessment.

Sums up my thoughts largely without me having to struggle putting coherent sentences together.

[RamsFan10]

If we sign Lawrence, like it's looking like we are going to, as has been said we need another winger. Would like to see us use loans again, haven't really utilised them well since the Wembley season. Ojo would be ideal, then try and get rid of Russell, Blackman etc, would like to keep Weimann though as well as Anya (purely because he's so versatile, he's a good bench player). 

[cheron85]

23 minutes ago, Gandalf's shin pads said:

I'm sure things are in the pipeline but hope that Lawrence isn't the only iron in the fire (to mix a metaphor!) I just think, if we are looking to seriously challenge, the squad looks a bit 6/7 out of 10 at moment with what is currently available. 

I'm still clinging to my rose tinted glasses at the moment - Having expressed several times that I'm trying to dismiss my usual negative outlook towards our chances

I think the squad is a solid 7/10 - Russell is a solid 7 (has been influential in two playoff squads now) and the main reason (IMO) that Weimann (7/10 player) wasn't getting games was Ince - Rather than not being good enough

Looking at the teams who have done well recently they've had a lot of 7/10 players - Guys who perform consistently every single week and can be relied on not to have 'bad' weeks either - And then 2/3 outstanding players

I personally think we're only missing 1 player - A stand out winger - We already have Thorne and Huddlestone who are game changers in the 'quarterback' role - We have Martin who is a top quality goalscorer and provider at this level - We just need to add a really quality winger to that mix and I'd say we're looking like a decent squad

[old tray boy]

I spent a couple of hours yesterday at the John Smiths Stadium , few players training nothing to serious. I was meeting with the Corporate Manager and we got talking about Ince ,they are delighted in the purchase and she was telling me he has scored a few in the pre- seasons.Very warm, friendly club and over 20,000 season ticket holders the atmosphere reminded me of the old Baseball Ground such a warm welcoming place even on a filthy Dec day.Good luck to Huddersfield Town this season.

[EnigmaRam]

7 minutes ago, cheron85 said:

I'm still clinging to my rose tinted glasses at the moment - Having expressed several times that I'm trying to dismiss my usual negative outlook towards our chances

I think the squad is a solid 7/10 - Russell is a solid 7 (has been influential in two playoff squads now) and the main reason (IMO) that Weimann (7/10 player) wasn't getting games was Ince - Rather than not being good enough

Looking at the teams who have done well recently they've had a lot of 7/10 players - Guys who perform consistently every single week and can be relied on not to have 'bad' weeks either - And then 2/3 outstanding players

I personally think we're only missing 1 player - A stand out winger - We already have Thorne and Huddlestone who are game changers in the 'quarterback' role - We have Martin who is a top quality goalscorer and provider at this level - We just need to add a really quality winger to that mix and I'd say we're looking like a decent squad

I think your totally wrong about Russell being a consistent 7/10 performer. I'd say he's rather up and down

[Bald Eagle's Barmy Army]

7 minutes ago, old tray boy said:

I spent a couple of hours yesterday at the John Smiths Stadium , few players training nothing to serious. I was meeting with the Corporate Manager and we got talking about Ince ,they are delighted in the purchase and she was telling me he has scored a few in the pre- seasons.Very warm, friendly club and over 20,000 season ticket holders the atmosphere reminded me of the old Baseball Ground such a warm welcoming place even on a filthy Dec day.Good luck to Huddersfield Town this season.

We are in July though

[cheron85]

8 minutes ago, EnigmaRam said:

I think your totally wrong about Russell being a consistent 7/10 performer. I'd say he's rather up and down

I think he's occasionally an 8/9 player - But he's never a liability - He always works hard, very rarely messes up his defensive duties and doesn't often leave us in danger

I tend to have a more generous ratings system than most people so maybe what I call 7/10 across the board would be most people's 6/10 - But the "not messing up" factor is what the 7/10 players from Huddersfield and Brighton have 

[Sexydadbod]

Russell over the last year has been a 4/10 at best. People show favouritism to the clough originals.

[Doodle]

9 minutes ago, cheron85 said:

I think he's occasionally an 8/9 player - But he's never a liability - He always works hard, very rarely messes up his defensive duties and doesn't often leave us in danger

I tend to have a more generous ratings system than most people so maybe what I call 7/10 across the board would be most people's 6/10 - But the "not messing up" factor is what the 7/10 players from Huddersfield and Brighton have 

They all looked at 6's and 7's yesterday, that's for sure 

[nogbad van 50]

1 hour ago, Gandalf's shin pads said:

I think we will need more than Lawrence (if he joins). In the absence of Ince we don't have a single other winger/wide player of the required standard to help push for promotion. They are either strikers being asked to play out of position or are not penetrative enough.

I'm not saying they are bad players. Merely that, from what I have seen of the Weimann, Blackmann, Anya and Russell, the best that can be said for them is that they are decent, and being decent doesn't get you promoted. To my mind we need genuine quality that carries a threat on both flanks. Even if Lawrence arrives it's only half the job. 

Personally, I also think we need to replace Hughes in the middle as none of our existing squad can replicate what he did for us. Butterfield often threatens genuine quality but it never seems to materialise consistently. Johnson and Bryson are willing runners and tacklers and every team needs players like them but they don't really provide much else, at least not anymore. Hanson is young and may improve but is not there yet. Huddlestone and Thorne are class at this level but it's likely (who knows) they will be shielding the back four and at the end of the day they can't do everything from that postion.

Not trying to sound pessimistic. I'd love Rowett and the team to prove me wrong. I think we will be solid at the back and hard for others to break down but we seem to have strengthened in defence at the expense of weakening ourselves further up the pitch. As I have said elsewhere, and I'm probably being a bit greedy with other peoples money, I think we need two quality wingers and another attacking/creative central midfielder. 

I'm sure things are in the pipeline but hope that Lawrence isn't the only iron in the fire (to mix a metaphor!) I just think, if we are looking to seriously challenge, the squad looks a bit 6/7 out of 10 at moment with what is currently available. 

Patience!!!?

[Duracell]

7 minutes ago, McLovin said:

Russell over the last year has been a 4/10 at best. People show favouritism to the clough originals.

Strange that for a club with money, this 4/10player has been considered a first team starter by 6 different managers.

[cheron85]

1 minute ago, Duracell said:

Strange that for a club with money, this 4/10player has been considered a first team starter by 6 different managers.

Stop pointing out things that have logic and reason behind them - Everyone knows that random opinions on an internet forum are much more valuable than what a series of professional football managers say

[Sexydadbod]

3 minutes ago, Duracell said:

Strange that for a club with money, this 4/10player has been considered a first team starter by 6 different managers.

That points to how poor our recruitment has been recently. He only scored 1 more goal has season than the 'antichrist' Nick Blackman last season, despite playing many,many more minutes.

[Millenniumram]

16 minutes ago, McLovin said:

Russell over the last year has been a 4/10 at best. People show favouritism to the clough originals.

This, if Weimann had put in the same performances he'd have been hounded out of the club

[eddie]

7 minutes ago, cheron85 said:

Stop pointing out things that have logic and reason behind them - Everyone knows that random opinions on an internet forum are much more valuable than what a series of professional football managers say

Dead right. Us old uns know that Ramsey should have played Hector from the start against Poland.

[Sexydadbod]

Just now, Millenniumram said:

This, if Weimann had put in the same performances he'd have been hounded out of the club

 

Just now, Millenniumram said:

This, if Weimann had put in the same performances he'd have been hounded out of the club

The likes of Russell and Bryson get away it far more than our recent signings like Butterfield for some reason because they appear to be more likeable and many think that they work harder. 

[RoyMac5]

3 minutes ago, McLovin said:

The likes of Russell and Bryson get away it far more than our recent signings like Butterfield for some reason because they appear to be more likeable and many think that they work harder. 

No. It's because unlike Butterfield, Weimann, Anya or Blackman, Russell and Bryson have actually performed at a good level for this club.

[DEL]

Any update? 

[rammieib]

17 minutes ago, Duracell said:

Strange that for a club with money, this 4/10player has been considered a first team starter by 6 different managers.

And we're still in the Championship...