Leighton Baines

[Chunky Frankfurter]

About priorities for me tbh mate. No Seamus, and need to replace two if not three centre backs before Baines.

Exactly. Some way down our priorities for me.

 

[davek]

About priorities for me tbh mate. No Seamus, and need to replace two if not three centre backs before Baines.

Baines another year older. To me he gets demoted next season. If he is a certain starter we are going nowhere fast.

 

[Ivo]

Or maybe the Wigan one

Ryan sessegnon I was thinking of.

 

[BigDunc'sFod]

Baines another year older. To me he gets demoted next season. If he is a certain starter we are going nowhere fast.

True enough. Baines will be 33, as will Williams. Jagielka will be 35. Seamus will have one leg and Funes Mori will be Funes Mori.

 

[Paul w]

Should have been replaced long since.

 

[bluestevon]

Baines another year older. To me he gets demoted next season. If he is a certain starter we are going nowhere fast.

Very few of the current squad should be automatic starters I would hope Dave

Schneiderlin, Gueye, Davies I'd hope would be, and Lukaku and Barkley if they stay, and honestly out those only Schneiderlin is consistent enough to be a 100% choice every game he's available for.

Baines need competition, so do Lukaku and Barkley, Coleman also, need an entire replacement of the cb s as none are good enough at the club, keeper needs at least competition and probably improving, and that second slot up front which DCL, Valencia, lookman and mirallas have played at various times needs a top quality player brought in to fill with those being backups.

Huge amount of money needed to get this squad fit for purpose. At most one or two of what I mentioned could be made up with a young player stepping up the way Davies has done, but that's no guarantee of happening.

 

[ToffeeDan]

Howard, Hibbert, RFM, Jags, Baines, Barry, Gibson, Pienaar, McGeady, Kone, Osman

Ring out the old.. ring in the new (old) - Stek, Williams etc

 

[davek]

Very few of the current squad should be automatic starters I would hope Dave

Schneiderlin, Gueye, Davies I'd hope would be, and Lukaku and Barkley if they stay, and honestly out those only Schneiderlin is consistent enough to be a 100% choice every game he's available for.

Baines need competition, so do Lukaku and Barkley, Coleman also, need an entire replacement of the cb s as none are good enough at the club, keeper needs at least competition and probably improving, and that second slot up front which DCL, Valencia, lookman and mirallas have played at various times needs a top quality player brought in to fill with those being backups.

Huge amount of money needed to get this squad fit for purpose. At most one or two of what I mentioned could be made up with a young player stepping up the way Davies has done, but that's no guarantee of happening.

Some weeks when we're busy flat track bullying rubbish we don't look far off, but then games like this happen and the temptation is to go completely the other way and order a large skip to bin near,y all of them off. I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

If we retain Barkley and Lukaku, which is possible, then we have a very decent core of solid players to work with (along with the FB additions and a GK of repute). But I think we need more creativity. We look bereft of inspiration and matches like this finds us out. Deulofeu should never have been let go, and he should be brought back too this summer. If not, then it has to be bought again. To me, we look ok and were competitive enough to stay about wher pe we are, but we don't look like a team that can progress easily next season. I think we'll struggle in fact, because the game Koeman rolls out is all about energy and that will be severely tested with extra games in the EL.

 

[Abraders]

Some weeks when we're busy flat track bullying rubbish we don't look far off, but then games like this happen and the temptation is to go completely the other way and order a large skip to bin near,y all of them off. I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

If we retain Barkley and Lukaku, which is possible, then we have a very decent core of solid players to work with (along with the FB additions and a GK of repute). But I think we need more creativity. We look bereft of inspiration and matches like this finds us out. Deulofeu should never have been let go, and he should be brought back too this summer. If not, then it has to be bought again. To me, we look ok and were competitive enough to stay about wher pe we are, but we don't look like a team that can progress easily next season. I think we'll struggle in fact, because the game Koeman rolls out is all about energy and that will be severely tested with extra games in the EL.

Decent post this, davek

 

[Jreverton1]

Very few of the current squad should be automatic starters I would hope Dave

Schneiderlin, Gueye, Davies I'd hope would be, and Lukaku and Barkley if they stay, and honestly out those only Schneiderlin is consistent enough to be a 100% choice every game he's available for.

Baines need competition, so do Lukaku and Barkley, Coleman also, need an entire replacement of the cb s as none are good enough at the club, keeper needs at least competition and probably improving, and that second slot up front which DCL, Valencia, lookman and mirallas have played at various times needs a top quality player brought in to fill with those being backups.

Huge amount of money needed to get this squad fit for purpose. At most one or two of what I mentioned could be made up with a young player stepping up the way Davies has done, but that's no guarantee of happening.

Is Scheiderlin injury prone?

 

[Zatara]

Some weeks when we're busy flat track bullying rubbish we don't look far off, but then games like this happen and the temptation is to go completely the other way and order a large skip to bin near,y all of them off. I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

If we retain Barkley and Lukaku, which is possible, then we have a very decent core of solid players to work with (along with the FB additions and a GK of repute). But I think we need more creativity. We look bereft of inspiration and matches like this finds us out. Deulofeu should never have been let go, and he should be brought back too this summer. If not, then it has to be bought again. To me, we look ok and were competitive enough to stay about wher pe we are, but we don't look like a team that can progress easily next season. I think we'll struggle in fact, because the game Koeman rolls out is all about energy and that will be severely tested with extra games in the EL.

Do we lack creativity or could it appear that way because our defence is sat so deep we just have huge gaps ?

 

[davek]

Do we lack creativity or could it appear that way because our defence is sat so deep we just have huge gaps ?

I dont see a lot of players with vision in this set up. In behind Lukaku we have Barkley who can be inspirational; Schneiderlin can pick a pass out. Lookman (why's he not being played?) seems to have flair. The rest are hard working but have essentially average football brains.

 

[arch stanton]

Do we lack creativity or could it appear that way because our defence is sat so deep we just have huge gaps ?

yesterday we lacked structural discipline, players getting too ahead of the game leaving massive gaps for their decent players to work in and run at our back line. It was patently obvious from where i was watching, not sure why RK couldn't see it.

 

[bluestevon]

I dont see a lot of players with vision in this set up. In behind Lukaku we have Barkley who can be inspirational; Schneiderlin can pick a pass out. Lookman (why's he not being played?) seems to have flair. The rest are hard working but have essentially average football brains.

Pretty much agree with that, although i do think Davies is a very clever player as well mate - maybe too clever for some of those around him at times ...

 

[davek]

Pretty much agree with that, although i do think Davies is a very clever player as well mate - maybe too clever for some of those around him at times ...

I'm in two minds about Davies. I sometimes think he flatters to deceive; other times he looks the most exciting prospect we have.