Starting line up for the first game of the season.

[r4derby]

4 hours ago, Jimbo Ram said:

What’s the desired style do you think ?

Couldn’t tell you with Rooney. It’s what should be identified by the manager and his coaching team, then relayed to the scouting department. They then find players based on how the side are going to play. That’s the idea anyway. It’s a shame we buy ‘good’ players or those in form, regardless of fit. At least, we have done in the past!

[Dimmu]

More I watch the formation of 5-3-2 when defending 3-4-3 when attacking, more I'd prefer us to to play same way. It would cover some of our main weaknesses (defending our own are, letting crosses in from dangerous positions) and also give our biggest attacking threat, Byrne, more responsibility.

                 Roos

   Mengi  Davies Buchanan

Byrne   Bird  Shinnie   Jozwiak

                 Sibley

          Ebosele   CKR

 

Mengi + couple other loans, 1-2 free signings and we are good to go. 

[Ghost of Clough]

8 minutes ago, Dimmu said:

More I watch the formation of 5-3-2 when defending 3-4-3 when attacking, more I'd prefer us to to play same way. It would cover some of our main weaknesses (defending our own are, letting crosses in from dangerous positions) and also give our biggest attacking threat, Byrne, more responsibility.

                 Roos

   Mengi  Davies Buchanan

Byrne   Bird  Shinnie   Jozwiak

                 Sibley

          Ebosele   CKR

 

Mengi + couple other loans, 1-2 free signings and we are good to go. 

With what we currently have, the best team and backups for a 5 at the back is probably this:

Roos
Byrne   Solomon   Davies   Forsyth   Buchanan
Knight   Shinnie
Jozwiak   Kazim   Lawrence

Marshall
Ebosele   Bardell   Cashin  JBrown   McDonald
Bielik   Bird
Sibley   Stretton   Wilson 

[Dimmu]

5 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

With what we currently have, the best team and backups for a 5 at the back is probably this:

Roos
Byrne   Solomon   Davies   Forsyth   Buchanan
Knight   Shinnie
Jozwiak   Kazim   Lawrence

Marshall
Ebosele   Bardell   Cashin  JBrown   McDonald
Bielik   Bird
Sibley   Stretton   Wilson 

I could live with those, but I'd like to see how that my lineup would work. I think Byrne and Jozwiak should play the wings, Byrne has shown his quality already and Jozwiak ain't doing badly there for a Poland. IMO they are our key players and we have optimize their talent.

I can't see Knight playing for us next season, but if he stays, surely he would be starting for me as well.

[LeedsCityRam]

21 minutes ago, Dimmu said:

More I watch the formation of 5-3-2 when defending 3-4-3 when attacking, more I'd prefer us to to play same way. It would cover some of our main weaknesses (defending our own are, letting crosses in from dangerous positions) and also give our biggest attacking threat, Byrne, more responsibility.

                 Roos

   Mengi  Davies Buchanan

Byrne   Bird  Shinnie   Jozwiak

                 Sibley

          Ebosele   CKR

 

Mengi + couple other loans, 1-2 free signings and we are good to go. 

Interesting calls there Dimmu. I'd quite like to see Jozwiak at wing back too given his work rate & discipline allied to his threat going forward. Byrne played as virtual right winger at times so no reason why it should neuter Jozwiak's threat either.

Totally agree we should look to have two up top & we looked much better last season when we did. Only drawback is looking lighter in midfield but 3 at the back would address that.

Also interested to see where Ebosele ends up playing & if he does end up as a front man. Bit of competition there with Stretton, Duncan & Plange too which should help keep levels high.

Also don't think you're far wrong with Mengi + 4 others (assuming Davies signs) but cover needed at CB & for Kazim. A dominant physical midfielder would also be worthwhile.

[Dimmu]

3 minutes ago, LeedsCityRam said:

Interesting calls there Dimmu. I'd quite like to see Jozwiak at wing back too given his work rate & discipline allied to his threat going forward. Byrne played as virtual right winger at times so no reason why it should neuter Jozwiak's threat either.

Totally agree we should look to have two up top & we looked much better last season when we did. Only drawback is looking lighter in midfield but 3 at the back would address that.

Also interested to see where Ebosele ends up playing & if he does end up as a front man. Bit of competition there with Stretton, Duncan & Plange too which should help keep levels high.

Also don't think you're far wrong with Mengi + 4 others (assuming Davies signs) but cover needed at CB & for Kazim. A dominant physical midfielder would also be worthwhile.

Bielik as a physical midfielder will do for me! Maybe a loan until January to cover that?

Definitely I'd after more experienced striker and some CB's as well. 

I'm just bit tired of all this doom mongering here, IMO with few additions that's a midtable team 

[Carnero]

36 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

With what we currently have, the best team and backups for a 5 at the back is probably this:

Roos
Byrne   Solomon   Davies   Forsyth   Buchanan
Knight   Shinnie
Jozwiak   Kazim   Lawrence

Marshall
Ebosele   Bardell   Cashin  JBrown   McDonald
Bielik   Bird
Sibley   Stretton   Wilson 

Why Solomon ahead of J.Brown?

[Ghost of Clough]

18 minutes ago, Carnero said:

Why Solomon ahead of J.Brown?

Need a bit of pace with Davies and Forsyth at CB ?

[LeedsCityRam]

16 minutes ago, Dimmu said:

Bielik as a physical midfielder will do for me! Maybe a loan until January to cover that?

Definitely I'd after more experienced striker and some CB's as well. 

I'm just bit tired of all this doom mongering here, IMO with few additions that's a midtable team 

Yes, possibly a loan but occured to me that those type of players are common at League One/Two level. Sure there's some interesting free transfers out there that would suit a Moneyball approach (specific skillset & nothing more). Technique less of an issue than physicality...would complement Bird well & Max could provide the calmness/composure in possession. We will obviously improve with Bielik returning in Nov/Dec but it'd be great to be in a good place when he does.

Totally agree about being positive. We've got a few weeks in pre-season now to build a strong identity of our team, get players familiar with their roles, get the additions in and improve fitness levels. Team dynamic > individuals on paper. Is true we've got a lot of youth but also an excellent spine of experience with Davies (his presence yesterday suggests he's staying) & Kazim. 

[Jimbo Ram]

2 hours ago, Dimmu said:

More I watch the formation of 5-3-2 when defending 3-4-3 when attacking, more I'd prefer us to to play same way. It would cover some of our main weaknesses (defending our own are, letting crosses in from dangerous positions) and also give our biggest attacking threat, Byrne, more responsibility.

                 Roos

   Mengi  Davies Buchanan

Byrne   Bird  Shinnie   Jozwiak

                 Sibley

          Ebosele   CKR

 

Mengi + couple other loans, 1-2 free signings and we are good to go. 

We are definitely 4 or 5 players short. The squad is now weaker than the one that won 1 game in 16 at the end of last season. We need to sort out the mess off the pitch and then Wazza needs to show us that the talk of all these contacts results in some decent new additions. Otherwise for me it will just be more of the same…

[Rich84]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo Ram said:

We are definitely 4 or 5 players short. The squad is now weaker than the one that won 1 game in 16 at the end of last season. We need to sort out the mess off the pitch and then Wazza needs to show us that the talk of all these contacts results in some decent new additions. Otherwise for me it will just be more of the same…

Who's actually missing from that group? Waghorn and Wisdom for a couple of games, Roberts and Clarke. 

Jozwiak hopefully be in a positive place after the Euros, Lawrence fit, CKR fit, hopefully have Davies and the whole squad without the pressure of being bottom of the table, a clean slate.

Clarke is the big miss, but if Mengi comes back on loan I'd say we only need 1 experienced CH to supplement Davies. The striker situation is the same as it has been for a couple of years, we know we need a couple of additions,  we always seem to, but maybe Stretton fit again and Duncan can be some level of back-up

[Jimbo Ram]

15 minutes ago, Rich84 said:

Who's actually missing from that group? Waghorn and Wisdom for a couple of games, Roberts and Clarke. 

Jozwiak hopefully be in a positive place after the Euros, Lawrence fit, CKR fit, hopefully have Davies and the whole squad without the pressure of being bottom of the table, a clean slate.

Clarke is the big miss, but if Mengi comes back on loan I'd say we only need 1 experienced CH to supplement Davies. The striker situation is the same as it has been for a couple of years, we know we need a couple of additions,  we always seem to, but maybe Stretton fit again and Duncan can be some level of back-up

But that is 4 players short of a squad that stayed up by the skin of its teeth...we need a better squad than last season....that's why we need to bring in 4-5 better players to be competitive....

[Ambitious]

2 hours ago, Dimmu said:

More I watch the formation of 5-3-2 when defending 3-4-3 when attacking, more I'd prefer us to to play same way. It would cover some of our main weaknesses (defending our own are, letting crosses in from dangerous positions) and also give our biggest attacking threat, Byrne, more responsibility.

                 Roos

   Mengi  Davies Buchanan

Byrne   Bird  Shinnie   Jozwiak

                 Sibley

          Ebosele   CKR

 

Mengi + couple other loans, 1-2 free signings and we are good to go. 

Ebosele upfront? 

He's a right back, isn't he... ?

[Anag Ram]

10 minutes ago, Rich84 said:

Who's actually missing from that group? Waghorn and Wisdom for a couple of games, Roberts and Clarke. 

Jozwiak hopefully be in a positive place after the Euros, Lawrence fit, CKR fit, hopefully have Davies and the whole squad without the pressure of being bottom of the table, a clean slate.

Clarke is the big miss, but if Mengi comes back on loan I'd say we only need 1 experienced CH to supplement Davies. The striker situation is the same as it has been for a couple of years, we know we need a couple of additions,  we always seem to, but maybe Stretton fit again and Duncan can be some level of back-up

Curtis Davies is a great pro, but we shouldn't let our admiration for his ten minute cameo cloud the fact that he would struggle over 90 minutes to deal with the rigours of the championship. 

Mengi might work in a three where his pace and footballing ability could make up for his poor positioning and lack of aerial power. 

We need two CHs, two midfield players, one a scoring box to box type and one creative and at least one forward. 

I would dearly love for several of our young players to establish themselves in these positions but especially in defence I can't see that happening this year. 

It's going to be a struggle but I guess we shouldn't get too despondent until we know our line-up in August. 

 

[RoyMac5]

3 minutes ago, Ambitious said:

Ebosele upfront? 

He's a right back, isn't he... ?

He played right winger in the U18s wasn't it @Ghost of Clough?

[Ghost of Clough]

4 minutes ago, Ambitious said:

Ebosele upfront? 

He's a right back, isn't he... ?

 

Just now, RoyMac5 said:

He played right winger in the U18s wasn't it @Ghost of Clough?

I think he's played RB, CM, RW, LW and CF at one point or another. RWB is his best position in my eyes

[Dimmu]

35 minutes ago, Ambitious said:

Ebosele upfront? 

He's a right back, isn't he... ?

He has played right back, right wing back, right winger and up front.

I've always struggled to understand how players are seen only capable of playing one position... It's hardly out of box thinking, is it? Or as a Rams fan, do we need to be black and white with this as well?

Yours, libero-centreback-defensivemidfielder-attackingmidfielder-targetman Dimmu

[Anag Ram]

Just now, Dimmu said:

He has played right back, right wing back, right winger and up front.

I've always struggled to understand how players are seen only capable of playing one position... It's hardly out of box thinking, is it? Or as a Rams fan, do we need to be black and white with this as well?

Yours, libero-centreback-defensivemidfielder-attackingmidfielder-targetman Dimmu

When you play up front you need to be able to react to an opportunity in the blink of an eye. 

If you haven't been in that position often (and Ebosele hasn't recently) the chance is lost. 

We need specialists, not players 'having a go'. 

He's best on the wing with room to use his pace and power, either at RB or RWB. 

[BrudeRAM]

Looking at these proposed squads and I think we're in desperate need of a suitable CB replacement for Clarke which will be very difficult given how consistently brilliant he's been for us and our financial situation.

[RoyMac5]

4 minutes ago, BrudeRAM said:

Looking at these proposed squads and I think we're in desperate need of a suitable CB replacement for Clarke which will be very difficult given how consistently brilliant he's been for us and our financial situation.

Well I guess that now we could always try and sign him.