Coming Season

[Magicman]

Our back 5 is stronger but we still need a creative box to box midfielder to join Smith and Bird. Upfront we are very limited we need a powerful energetic striker minimum.

[i-Ram]

Just now, Magicman said:

Our back 5 is stronger but we still need a creative box to box midfielder to join Smith and Bird. Upfront we are very limited we need a powerful energetic striker minimum.

Is our back 5 much stronger than what we expected to play last season? Injuries ravaged us. Yes we are strengthened at right back but Ward isn’t a significant upgrade on Knight in a wing back position. However, a fully fit Davies and Chester, alongside Cashin, were a pretty good core on paper. If we lose Bradley to a season ending injury how strong does our defence look? I am not going to get carried away with Elder either until I have seen him play a bit.

[Magicman]

6 minutes ago, i-Ram said:

Is our back 5 much stronger than what we expected to play last season? Injuries ravaged us. Yes we are strengthened at right back but Ward isn’t a significant upgrade on Knight in a wing back position. However, a fully fit Davies and Chester, alongside Cashin, were a pretty good core on paper. If we lose Bradley to a season ending injury how strong does our defence look? I am not going to get carried away with Elder either until I have seen him play a bit.

A lot of what ifs there - of course injuries can affect any team. We have cover in Fozzie & Rooney but need more in midfield better than the kids. 

[Ram-Alf]

The football in this division last season was...meh imo, So I expect something pretty similar this season, Our defence looks to be stronger, Our attack looks to be weaker.

Now McGoldrick has left there's some slack to be picked up, I said last season if he doesn't score then who does?, This area will be PWs make or break season, Fans can be/are fickle...it'll be "I told you so" when/if we don't score enough goals.

I expect us to be fitter but not necessarily better, We're still this "big club" to be shot down, I didn't renew my ST but got a ticket for Saturday for the North Upper massive😁

I'll go for top 2 👍

 

[admira]

3 hours ago, angieram said:

So this time last season we hadn't signed either of our forward loans. Perhaps a few are panicking a little early?

The season started a year ago today I think so Dobbin signed  after that. 

[maxjam]

This season will be the first in god knows how many that I haven't renewed my season ticket (I've moved and its a 300 miles round trip).  Given the last major game I missed was the play-off final vs West Brom I fully expect it to be a successful season 😛 

There seems to be a bit of preseason apprehension and pessimism around but I honestly think we'll do okay with the squad we've got (assuming Waggy signs).  We could obviously do with 2 or 3 more players but Warne knows that and it won't be for the want to trying if we don't get them. 

It was only just over a year ago that we nearly lost everything, we've made a lot of progress in the meantime - I think sometimes people forget/expect too much.  Whether it ends in promotion or not, another season of progress will do for me, after which we're free of all EFL restrictions and back competing with our full resources.

[i-Ram]

I am clearly a bit underwhelmed compared to the majority on here, even though I remain confident the Club will get promoted this season.

Warne seems to have used most of his budget on solid, dependable Lower Champ/upper L1 performers. Promotion by grind, work rate and small % gains, appears to be the MO which shouldn’t really surprise us given his career.

Disappointing that as yet we haven’t really picked up any young and up and coming players from L1 or L2 - nor sure we have looked there -  the only youngster being Kane who has a lot to prove after his time at Cardiff. I was expecting a few more 24-29 year olds, and I wasn’t expecting James Collins to be our first choice No.9 at the start of the season. I quite like Waghorn, but it’s not ideal is it, and even Warne isn’t really convinced either, still taking a look. Otherwise the options look like Sharp or Rhodes, aging well paid goal poachers. They will put away their share of the scraps of course, but both seem like an end to a means.

So, not an exciting evolution for me, nor does it given me much confidence that there is any plan beyond promotion. This squad would almost certainly be deep in a Championship relegation battle this season.

 

 

[i-Ram]

26 minutes ago, Magicman said:

A lot of what ifs there - of course injuries can affect any team. We have cover in Fozzie & Rooney but need more in midfield better than the kids. 

There was only one ‘if’ there actually. If Bradley gets injured, do we really look strong at the back?  I agree we need one other decent midfielder, and a bit surprised Warne only realised that yesterday too. Lose Bird or Hourihane to injury, and we look very weak in terms of creativity, and midfield drive.

[CapeTownRams]

16 hours ago, Tyler Durden said:

We don't have a divine right to get promoted out of League 1 because we have the largest home support, we won a couple of titles 50 odd years ago yada yada.

Maybe we've found our true level playing in League 1, some supporters seen desperate to go down the same route as we did when we were in the Championship to get promotion at any costs because we should be playing in the Premiership in their eyes.

Why not just be happy with what you've got. 

Look how long it took Sunderland to get out of this league - they are a much bigger club than us in all honesty and their fans had the same expectations of instant promotion as do many of ours..:

What Plymouth did last year with a small fan base and a small budget shows the true situation.

Without a quality striker (pref 2) and a really creative midfielder I don’t see this season being any different to last. That doesn’t mean that I am not hopeful !

Funny enough with all the defensive recruitment this close season I still feel we looked the most assured when we had Cash and Fozzy playing next to each other last season …: that’s before PW started tinkering and playing around with a back three…. Which I don’t like 🤷‍♂️

[maxjam]

 

[Alty_Ram]

4 hours ago, Ram a lamb a ding dong said:

Every vlogger has us top.

This says to me that Rams fans are overly pessimistic

Or it could just be lazy work. We did pretty well last year and just missed out on playoffs and word has it that we have had restrictions lifted = obviously higher finish than last year. I'm just not seeing a team that looks noticeably better though, not as a whole. We had improved some areas and gone backwards in others IMHO. Totally get us not wanting to over rely on one striker but I'm not seeing where the goalscoring slack will be taken up. Happy to be wrong but I'm just not seeing this side anywhere close to automatics. Playoffs at best for me.

[VulcanRam]

4 hours ago, i-Ram said:

I am clearly a bit underwhelmed compared to the majority on here, even though I remain confident the Club will get promoted this season.

Warne seems to have used most of his budget on solid, dependable Lower Champ/upper L1 performers. Promotion by grind, work rate and small % gains, appears to be the MO which shouldn’t really surprise us given his career.

Disappointing that as yet we haven’t really picked up any young and up and coming players from L1 or L2 - nor sure we have looked there -  the only youngster being Kane who has a lot to prove after his time at Cardiff. I was expecting a few more 24-29 year olds, and I wasn’t expecting James Collins to be our first choice No.9 at the start of the season. I quite like Waghorn, but it’s not ideal is it, and even Warne isn’t really convinced either, still taking a look. Otherwise the options look like Sharp or Rhodes, aging well paid goal poachers. They will put away their share of the scraps of course, but both seem like an end to a means.

So, not an exciting evolution for me, nor does it given me much confidence that there is any plan beyond promotion. This squad would almost certainly be deep in a Championship relegation battle this season.

 

 

From the look of pre-season it's a top 6 squad I'd like to think. It might all hinge on what loans we get in once the PL teams release their squads. We need better than Dobbin and Osula, but pace in the front line is a must. 

[Grimbeard]

20 hours ago, Tyler Durden said:

Maybe we've found our true level playing in League 1....

Why not just be happy with what you've got. 

If everyone had always thought this way, we'd still be hunter-gatherers living in caves.

Hmm.

 

 Then again, looking around me at the world today,  country going to the dogs, younger generation etc. etc. you're probably right.

[BramcoteRam84]

The league is weaker this season and I think the squad we have is better. Ward looks a good signing, smith playing in his natural position is top notch this level. I’m expecting Bird to dominate and be the best midfielder in the league and the way we will set up will play to Collo’s strengths so I’m backing him to push up to 15-20 next season. 
 

Also our business isn’t done, if we can get Waggy in and a striker and wide player on loan we could be looking really good. 
 

Im sticking with my top 2 prediction. Of the relegated teams I think Blackpool will be the most competitive, don’t think posh will be there, Pompey could be surprise package and I’m not ruling out Barnsley being a serious contender. 

[Grimbeard]

6 hours ago, Ram a lamb a ding dong said:

Every vlogger has us top.

This says to me that Rams fans are overly pessimistic

Or they know nowt.

[Rich3478]

Think the league looks a lot weaker, I’m pretty confident we’ll make top six. Just not sure there are enough goals in the team to win the tight matches and finish top two.

not a fan of a back three, but is the way we’re going to play. Let’s see how we get on.

[DCFC1388]

If we signed Waggy, when fully fit our team in a 3412 will probably look like this - 

Wildsmith - Nelson Bradley Cashin - Ward Smith Hourihane Elder - Bird - Washington Collins

Subs - Vickers Forsyth Wilson Sibley NML Barkhuizen Waghorn

That then leaves Loach, Rooney, Thompson as backups before you go down to u21s and Bardell, Robinson, Radcliffe & Brown.

That to me isnt too bad as a starting 11 n bench. Add 3 more players to that then we have a very good squad imo, some decent players will miss out when/if everyone is fully fit

[Chopper]

Agree that the league seems weaker, and in real terms I feel we have improved in defence; providing there are no injury crisis' early doors. This should hopefully mean that we dont get bullied and pick up points in games which we would have lost last year.

Forwards we are weaker, but as suggested elsewhere I'm a bit more relaxed about losing McGoldricks goals, if the way we play spreads more goals around the others. 

Thinking a few 1-0s where last year it was 3-0, but also a few 1-0s where last year it was 1-1 or 0-1. Let's hope it's enough.

[PistoldPete]

23 hours ago, Tyler Durden said:

We don't have a divine right to get promoted out of League 1 because we have the largest home support, we won a couple of titles 50 odd years ago yada yada.

Maybe we've found our true level playing in League 1, some supporters seen desperate to go down the same route as we did when we were in the Championship to get promotion at any costs because we should be playing in the Premiership in their eyes.

Why not just be happy with what you've got. 

Last season was the (joint) lowest placed finish in our entire history.  Why on Earth should we be happy with that? Other than to be happy we still have a club, as we were last time we finished so low in 1985 . 

[RoyMac5]

11 hours ago, angieram said:

I agree about the overall strength of the squad but there is that remaining niggle about the forward options.  What a poor time for Sibley to have been injured right through pre-season because this swift counter- attacking style would suit him down to the ground. A few goals from him and the mood would be lighter.

I bet he's kicking himself (which ain't going to help his recovery any! 😅)