Our bloated squad is damaging us

[ThaiSweetChilli]

Was it homer?

Yes

Was it free?

No. £1.50 and a cheese cob

 

[camberwell fox]

No. £1.50 and a cheese cob

That's not a euphemism is it?

 

[Volpone]

Demarai gave someone i know gonorrhea.

I hope someone knows that is extremely libellous.

 

[ThaiSweetChilli]

That's not a euphemism is it?

No, that would be toad in the hole. In this case, with yellow gravy.

 

[popillius]

I hope someone knows that is extremely libellous.

Only if it isn't true.

 

[Brown Nose]

I hope someone knows that is extremely libellous.

There are worse stories doing the rounds about Gray.

 

[Fox Fan]

There are worse stories doing the rounds about Gray.

Can you post them - should be fine as long as you do the old *Allegedly

 

[Brown Nose]

Whilst we prepare for a new season, we are struggling to work out who will be available. It is worth remembering that out main problem remains that we have far too many players.

Say our starting line up at WBA is as follows:

Schmeichel, Castagne, Benkovic, Soyuncu, Justin, Ndidi, TIelemans, Praet, Gray, Vardy, Barnes

Then say we name the following as subs: Ward, Thomas, Morgan, Mendy, Albrighton, Iheanacho, Perez

Then add the following players missing through injury - Maddison, Ricardo and Fuchs. And we have Evans suspended.

Then we add senior players not included above such as Choudhury, Jakupovic, Ghezzal, Slimani, James, Amartey, Diabate, Silva. That's 30 players so far.

Now let's consider all the U23s that appear to be around the first team squad. Okay, let's not bother. But just in these three preseason matches, the following have appeared for the first team: Stolarczyk, Daley-Campbell, Knight, Dewsbury-Hall, Johnson, Leshabela, Tavares, Hirst, Muskwe. That's 39 players now.

So why do we feel that we're desperate for new players? Because our bloated squad is full of players that aren't good enough. So far this summer, our club have failed miserably to get rid of the rubbish. At least half the above offer absolutely nothing.

 

[pork pie fox]

Whilst we prepare for a new season, we are struggling to work out who will be available. It is worth remembering that out main problem remains that we have far too many players.

Say our starting line up at WBA is as follows:

Schmeichel, Castagne, Benkovic, Soyuncu, Justin, Ndidi, TIelemans, Praet, Gray, Vardy, Barnes

Then say we name the following as subs: Ward, Thomas, Morgan, Mendy, Albrighton, Iheanacho, Perez

Then add the following players missing through injury - Maddison, Ricardo and Fuchs. And we have Evans suspended.

Then we add senior players not included above such as Choudhury, Jakupovic, Ghezzal, Slimani, James, Amartey, Diabate, Silva. That's 30 players so far.

Now let's consider all the U23s that appear to be around the first team squad. Okay, let's not bother. But just in these three preseason matches, the following have appeared for the first team: Stolarczyk, Daley-Campbell, Knight, Dewsbury-Hall, Johnson, Leshabela, Tavares, Hirst, Muskwe. That's 39 players now.

So why do we feel that we're desperate for new players? Because our bloated squad is full of players that aren't good enough. So far this summer, our club have failed miserably to get rid of the rubbish. At least half the above offer absolutely nothing.

Getting rid of the rubbish is easier said than done, in some cases, though.

I agree that in general our U23s seem pointless. The players who have really progressed to the first team squad (Chilwell, Barnes, Choudhury, for example) have mostly benefitted from good loan moves. What’s left is a largely pointless team full of players who have no real prospects of progressing.

 

[ThaiSweetChilli]

It's not so easy to get rid of the dead wood, primarily because of wages. But definitely bloated with a lot of rubbish.

Amartey, James, Silva, Slimani and Ghezzal aren't bad players necessarily but they either aren't good enough for the PL or don't fit how we play. James is always crocked as well and who knows about Amartey. Get rid of these and we have hundreds of thousands a week free from the wage bill.

Dewsbury-Hall has already been loaned out and did well by all account; 4 goals and 1 assist in 10 games i think. Another season loan with a possible Jan recall maybe, unless BR thinks he's good enough for the Prem.

The rest of the u23s who knows. Tavares seems a talent.

 

[ThaiSweetChilli]

It's not so easy to get rid of the dead wood, primarily because of wages. But definitely bloated with a lot of rubbish.

Amartey, James, Silva, Slimani and Ghezzal aren't bad players necessarily but they either aren't good enough for the PL or don't fit how we play. James is always crocked as well and who knows about Amartey. Get rid of these and we have hundreds of thousands a week free from the wage bill.

Dewsbury-Hall has already been loaned out and did well by all account; 4 goals and 1 assist in 10 games i think. Another season loan with a possible Jan recall maybe, unless BR thinks he's good enough for the Prem.

The rest of the u23s who knows. Tavares seems a talent.

Mind you, Hirst also looks a talent. Tall, presses a lot, good header

 

[Skitzo]

there have been complaints for years from those that follow the Youth system about the way Beaglehole runs the U23s favouring big physical players, chasing the PL2 trophy over doing what its meant to be there to do, developing players that fit into the first team system.

any player that is over 20 not in the first team squad should be out on loan playing first team football to either develop into first team players here or earn a transfer elsewhere. If we cannot get them a loan they should be released and stop clogging up the system.

As for the players we don't want in the senior squad, we are probably stuck with Silva and Slimani until their contracts expire, Diabate is cheap enough he may well find a move, possibly Ghezzal too

 

[Jeff]

With the number of fixtures in the first half of the season I was going to suggest keeping some of the younger players rather than sending them out on loan, in case they're needed for the first team.

But most of the "promising" players no longer count as under 21, so they'd take up a space in the 25 man Premier League squad.

Assuming the rules haven't changed, players who were born before 1st January 1999 would have to be named in the 25 man squad to play in the league.
So that rules out Johnson, Knight (he's 23 tomorrow), Dewsbury-Hall (22 today), Ndukwu, Muskwe, Eppiah, etc..

Even if we get rid of Slimani, Silva, Diabate and Ghezzal, we'll have 25 senior players without adding any of the younger ones to the squad (other than Justin, who counted as an under-21 last season).


Maybe the reason we've only made one new signing so far is because we have to get rid of players first.

 

[mabrah]

Start paying up contracts up? Flogging surplus-to-needs players n BOGOF deals? I dunno. Shirley we're not the only club with this issue? How is it we're turning our noses up at what we've got? Maybe us fans have become 'entitled'. Doesn't feel like it to me, just seems like we've got an unbalanced squad with limited depth in areas.

 

[Skitzo]

Start paying up contracts up? Flogging surplus-to-needs players n BOGOF deals? I dunno. Shirley we're not the only club with this issue? How is it we're turning our noses up at what we've got? Maybe us fans have become 'entitled'. Doesn't feel like it to me, just seems like we've got an unbalanced squad with limited depth in areas.

because the players we want rid of like Slimani and Silva are on massive money for their worth, clubs in mainland Europe on the whole won't pay a decent fee for them as well as take on those wages

 

[big_mac4824]

Surely if the youth lads can not get into the first team because of inflated wages by the dead wood, the logical solution is to loan them out for a season? If Beaglehole does not want to produce the players we need that fit into the first team system then we get rid?

 

[Skitzo]

Surely if the youth lads can not get into the first team because of inflated wages by the dead wood, the logical solution is to loan them out for a season? If Beaglehole does not want to produce the players we need that fit into the first team system then we get rid?

Beaglehole is very close to Rudkin, any attempt to overhaul the U23s and academy is fought by Rudkin who still holds the director of academy position, its a separate role from DoF and needs to be given to someone else

 

[TommyK]

Beaglehole is very close to Rudkin, any attempt to overhaul the U23s and academy is fought by Rudkin who still holds the director of academy position, its a separate role from DoF and needs to be given to someone else

Does it need overhauling? I'd say we've produced some decent talent over the years.

 

[Blue Maniac]

Does it need overhauling? I'd say we've produced some decent talent over the years.

Far outweighed by those who we’ve only heard of via the released list at the end of each season.

 

[jb5000]

Isn't that normal though? We should be comparing the academy's output to those at other EPL clubs rather than who or who does not make it through.

Until we sold Chilwell we had three players in or around the typical matchday squad who had come through the academy. We also seem to have Chilwell's long term replacement coming through too. OK, it's not the Busby Babes, or even Fergie's Fledglings, but once in a generation outcomes like those I don't see who's doing it better.