Summer transfer speculative hopes and dreams

[marty mcfly]

I would disagree that Deulofeu is best suited to AM, certainly not yet. He's not disciplined enough.

Funny I always think of the No10 position as the one position where you don't need to be disciplined since it allows you to go wherever you need to to get the ball and doesn't require you to track back much. It's why I think it's perfect for Deulofeu.

 

[marty mcfly]

To be fair to him I don't watch loads of German footy. But he wasn't great against us, and was pretty poor for Belgium against Wales the other day.

I'll take you guys' word for it as I'm sure you've seen more of him than me.

De Bruyne was awesome against us. They dominated the possession and we just got lucky both nights they didn't have their shooting boots on and we where clinical.

 

[Phenom]

To be fair to him I don't watch loads of German footy. But he wasn't great against us, and was pretty poor for Belgium against Wales the other day.

I'll take you guys' word for it as I'm sure you've seen more of him than me.

His stats alone show how well he's performed this year.

 

[D410]

3 weeks to the pre season games.

Tick Tock.

 

[ijjysmith]

His stats alone show how well he's performed this year.

Not such a great fan of stats really. But take your point.

 

[Jacko93]

Funny I always think of the No10 position as the one position where you don't need to be disciplined since it allows you to go wherever you need to to get the ball and doesn't require you to track back much. It's why I think it's perfect for Deulofeu.

The issue here, for me is the same as why Barkley has been struggling. Any mistake is amplified, as losing the ball here invariably give the opposition twice as many choices as losing it in the wing. You need in a player at No10 who can see a pass, and will release it early to beat offside traps, stretch the back four and draw the defence out, while, when needed, finding the ball and defending from the front. None of these are Deulofeu

 

[Phenom]

Not such a great fan of stats really. But take your point.

@chicoazul is going to be so disappointed in how you've just disregarded all of OptaJoe's work there.

 

[marty mcfly]

The issue here, for me is the same as why Barkley has been struggling. Any mistake is amplified, as losing the ball here invariably give the opposition twice as many choices as losing it in the wing. You need in a player at No10 who can see a pass, and will release it early to beat offside traps, stretch the back four and draw the defence out, while, when needed, finding the ball and defending from the front. None of these are Deulofeu

Again I disagree. Look at his clips and notice how many throughballs he played when in the middle. He played a lovely one against fulham for us. I think he can do more of that. There's another one if you keep watching the clip.



Also when you see him running at the defense from the middle you can see them having kittens.

 

[meagher94]

Lennon is still a must for me if we can get him for < £6m. We still have crap depth on the wings considering Pienaar is unreliable and McGeady is a little bit rubbish, and this is assuming Mirallas stays.

We obviously need an attacking midfielder and a centre back but I don't think our need for a backup right back is being talked about enough. If Coleman were to get an injury that kept him out for more than a couple of months we'd be absolutely goosed. We at least need to loan somebody to cover there. I suppose it depends how much faith Martinez has in Browning playing there.

 

[marty mcfly]

Lennon is still a must for me if we can get him for < £6m. We still have crap depth on the wings considering Pienaar is unreliable and McGeady is a little bit rubbish, and this is assuming Mirallas stays.

We obviously need an attacking midfielder and a centre back but I don't think our need for a backup right back is being talked about enough. If Coleman were to get an injury that kept him out for more than a couple of months we'd be absolutely goosed. We at least need to loan somebody to cover there. I suppose it depends how much faith Martinez has in Browning playing there.

Or even Browning might be going on loan. I highlighted it as an issue last season but in fairness Hibbert did OK. Stones can also play there if we get a really good backup CB although I know that's not ideal.

 

[BlueToff]

Do you need to be world class to be a squad player for Real Madrid?

Surely this is exactly the kind of move he wants and who Madrid want. A very good player who can act as an impact sub and do a job when needed who also isn't demanding to start every game.

No, Perez wants big names. Mirallas is no where near big enough or good enough. Plus swap deals just don't happen - or not big ones like that.

 

[BlueToff]

I do think Mirallas will leave, but I don't think Lennon will be his replacement. I think Lennon will come in either way, and Kev will make way for the 'playmaker' that RM mentioned.

 

[BlueToff]

Again I disagree. Look at his clips and notice how many throughballs he played when in the middle. He played a lovely one against fulham for us. I think he can do more of that. There's another one if you keep watching the clip.



Also when you see him running at the defense from the middle you can see them having kittens.

I think he can do a job there. But a midfield of
McCarthy-Barkley
---------Del------
would get destroyed by most teams. Del may well move inside at points, but I think he's better on the right or left cutting inside and linking up that way.

 

[meagher94]

I do think Mirallas will leave, but I don't think Lennon will be his replacement. I think Lennon will come in either way, and Kev will make way for the 'playmaker' that RM mentioned.

See, if Mirallas leaves we potentially need two wingers AND a playmaker. That depends on whether Pienaar can stay fit as backup.

Edit: This could also be solved if the playmaker could also play on the left wing.

 

[BlueToff]

See, if Mirallas leaves we potentially need two wingers AND a playmaker. That depends on whether Pienaar can stay fit as backup.

I'm pretty sure the playmaker will count as one of those wingers though, and the other will be Lennon.

Presuming nobody else leaves, we'd then have:

*playmaker
Lennon
Del
McGeady
Osman
Pienaar

That's 6. Three 'traditional' wingers, two utility players in Ossie and Pienaar, and then the playmaker able to play anywhere behind the front man.

Martinez clearly said "the squad will get smaller". We don't need a huge squad, we just need a few quality additions.