Looking to next season

SteveJonesLegend

SteveJonesLegend

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I think with 38, we are safe now as I cant see the bottom 3 getting another 5 points, let alone the 10 needed to catch us, so I thought I might dare to think about our 4th season in the PL...

Whilst we've not 'really' been in trouble, we really have limped over the line IMO this season... We started poor, perhaps due to a tough start, but have never really looked convincing, or got going... Yet still look to finish in a solid mid table position...

We've discussed this loads, but Eddie will need to think long and hard about the squad players that are really pushing the limits of their abilities, now and look to add more strength to a stuttering squad (and yes I do realise that stuttering squad has us 10 points clear of the bottom 3)...

Last season saw us strengthen up the middle, and only Defoe has failed to make an impact really. As much as I want him to forge a regular start for himself, it wouldn't surprise me to see his contract mutually cancelled this summer...

I'm still not sure if the bottom two-thirds of the PL is poor, or competitive...

With the likelihood of it been 3 form Wolves, Villa, Fulham and Cardiff... and us looking to lose WBA, Stoke and Soton :) We could be replacing 3 usually mid table sides with some unknowns...

If they all do a Huddersfield and Brighton next year then we could be looking over our shoulders more than usual...

For me, Joe Allen should be on top of Eddies shopping list, if in fact Stoke do go down... But Id also like to see us get a partner for Ake and a LB, as Daniels is getting to that 'Franno' point... Do we also need to strengthen up top with none of our strikers being on form this term...

I do worry a little with prices as they are and so much off field investment needed... Will we suffer on the field as a result...?

Some players that I don't see (unfortunately for some) have much of a future at DC, include Arter, Surman, Pugh, Franno, B.Smith, Defoe, Mings, Hyndman... Not saying that they'll all go, but surely a couple will, and if not, then bench warming seems to be their future...

Regardless, I'm looking forward to a summer of hopeful signings and the fixtures coming out in June...
 
I think we need LB CB RB CM as a minimum, the defence really is creaking.

Nice to haves would be another striker - none of the front men have totally convinced this season have they?

A replacement for Ibe as well - two years in and he's more poor than good still.

Quite a lot of recruitment needed I feel.
 
Indeed we need several upgrades on our current squad. If we had bought a player or two in during he January transfer window, it would have eased the transition process a bit.
If we bring in 4 players over summer, it will be very difficult to blend them in to the 1st team at once.
 
I think it is crunch time next season in some respects , there are players who will probably need to take the ‘back up role’ having been first team or at the least have someone genuinely offering a transition. At the moment I don’t see it . Signings that were made as being ones for the future don’t seem to be turning into such and Eddie himself admits it’s a half season at least for someone to bed into first team.
 
Not convinced that Ibe is "more poor than good"... He has been a shinning light in a faltering team at times this season and had a great run, where we missed him after his mystery absence for the line up...

For me, he has developed well this year and if goes the same again, he'll be a regular on the wing for us...

I guess no one will really know the Arter situation so best just leave it there... We do need more strength up the middle...

I'd also argo that RB is not essential.. A.Smith is a great player IMO and again, leads the attack for the back at times... We have both Fraser and Franno (at a push) that can play back up to him if really need be...
 
AlGard said:
Indeed we need several upgrades on our current squad. If we had bought a player or two in during he January transfer window, it would have eased the transition process a bit.
If we bring in 4 players over summer, it will be very difficult to blend them in to the 1st team at once.
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Agree with this. Too much of an overhaul in the summer, especially if it takes the mandatory 6 months for new recruits to "learn the Bournemouth way" will have us in trouble.

Feel it was an opportunity missed to start the transition process in Jan. As it is, we do have plenty of potential in the forward positions still, so we need to sort out the defence. With a more solid back line, it would free up the likes of King and Ibe to concentrate on attacking rather than (failing) to track back.
 
We need another summer similar to last with around 3-4 signings going straight into the first choice squad, plus 1 or 2 longer term punts. They should probably be 2-3 defenders, a central midfielder and possibly a winger. Defence (as we've been saying for how long now?) needs to be the focus of the renewal this summer, finally.

Keeping Ake is crucial first off, he's just so good and would give much more slack to rebuilding other defensive positions.

We'll do ok if we can end up with defensive options of:

A.Smith + new right back
S.Cook+ Franno + new right sided CB
Ake + Mings for the left CB, plus S.Cook who is often better on that side
Daniels LB. Question marks over B.Smith. A.Smith can cover if the new RB is good enough to hold that side down.
A new left back would be perhaps a luxury.

Boruc and Federici will surely leave, both out of contract. So does Ramsdale step into the no.2 slot, or do we look for a no.2 keeper? Only Moss and Howe etc know how good or ready Ramsdale might be.

Add a starting quality central midfielder to the pecking order of L.Cook, Gosling, and Surman.
Arter will surely leave.

We'll have to see what type of wide man Howe looks for. We have wide attackers who we keep trying to crowbar into a midfield four where they don't really want to be, like Ibe and Stanislas. We don't have many out and out wide midfielders who graft up and down the pitch like the declining Pugh. If Howe wants to keep playing 4-4-2 he has to address this issue and sign a proper wide midfielder. I'd personally rather we just switched to a front 3 and did away with wide midfielders.
 
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A couple of experienced signings needed. Defensive cover and midfield. However to the hit the ground running without partaking in Eddies bedding in process they won't come cheap, so perhaps they won't happen.

Our biggest achievement will be to hang onto Ake. I think its a bit early for clubs to come hunting for Lewis Cook.

With Eddie at the helm the club shouldn't struggle. If the likes of Hudds / Swansea /Brighton survive plus a Cardiff / Fulham then I won't fear next season. How long can the Watford method continue before they run out of managers I wonder.

I'll agree that we've stuttered this season but it hasn't been a disaster. Spending off the pitch might have an impact on signings next season but we can't have our cake and eat it, unless there is substantial investment.
 
Nibbling on a slice of cake I hope that there is some progress on the training ground soon as that will be a positive legacy going forward.

As to the new ground who knows what is going on in the background.

I think we are all agreed that some of our League 1 heroes need replacing especially at full back. Mings has to come into the mix and Brad Smith is still young and very much an unknown.

Eddie seems to like those he knows so perhaps a punt on Jay Rod from West Brom although I have always liked the hustle and bustle of Rondom.

2 in midfield still doesn't seem to be totally effective if the 2 "wingers" are isolated . Hyndman also has to come into the mix he has served his Eddie time and is an unknown factor. A bad winner to replace Arter if he goes or his "problems" are not resolved. Allen from Stoke is a good shout.

But we are there for another season, unless it goes horribly wrong in the next few weeks, with what we have so I think it will be tinkering with identified targets early on rather than drastic surgery. Be grateful Holland aren't in the World Cup putting even more of a spotlight on Ake.
 
We've got Simpson and Mings at cb, agree we need a cm and lb and more importantly a winger. I've only got faith in Stanislas at the moment and he's always injured, the other 3 are far too inconsistant!
 
1. Cut out the deadwood. Players like Wiggins, Federici, B. Smith, at the moment Arter (unfortunately), are essentially stealing a living and are unlikely to feature at this moment in time. Sell them, release them, whatever.

2. Start "Phasing Out" the old guard (Francis, Surman, Pugh, Daniels etc.) Good to have players with experience on the bench rather than to lose them entirely. Daniels has been poor for a while now, but could possibly rediscover his form.

3. Sort out the Loanees. Gradel, Afobe and Grabban being the key ones. Afobe has made it clear he doesn't want to be here. No idea what the situation is with Gradel, looked good in pre-season, shipped out on loan. Will probably be moved on. I can see Grabban staying, and I still like him as a player, but the Championship is probably his ceiling. Would expect us to move him on (if we can; maybe another loan??). Mahoney's form at Barnsley is quite concerning; is he good enough to play for us? Based on this season, no.

4. Sort out the Youth Players. Either give the more promising youth players a substantial chance, or loan them out so they don't wither away in the reserves. I fear for Simpson. He should have gone out on loan if he wasn't going to get any games. He could end up the same as Cargill, which would be a disgrace, honestly. He was the pick of the defense vs City. Not sure what the plan is regarding Hyndman, either. He looks pretty good, but he needs a good, season long loan at a decent Championship team that plays like us (Brentford, maybe?), instead of just sitting in the stands. It's good to see players like Taylor and Simpson getting involved in matchday squads, but this seems more like a token gesture rather than a signal of intent.

Sort all this s*** out, then we can think about who we should sign IMO.
 
While I've admired Eddie's loyalty to his 'senior' players I think they've had their time now. We can't carry players based on their past performances. Three or four of them are being shown up a bit too often for me. On their day any of them could be match winners but is it too much of a gamble to keep them for another season? They could all find clubs in the Championship I'm sure.
 
We conceded 67 goals each the first 2 seasons.

56 so far with 4 games to go. So around 60 this season bar a disaster.

£30M on Begovic and Ake has saved around 7 goals.
 
northstandmark said:
Crucially, the referee must trust the VAR's judgment sufficiently so that if the VAR makes a call, the ref implements it. No need for the ref to stop the game and amble over to a TV screen on the touchline. We'd be talking about 5-10 second delays rather than minutes.

I know FIFA worry that any usage whereby the VAR overrides the ref (such as in Rugby) changes the foundational 'the referee's view is final' dynamic, and might make the video offical too powerful / high profile etc. But it seems the commonsense way to go for me.

It's not like the video refs are aliens, they are the on-pitch referee's colleagues and friends, having gone through the same courses and certifications, part of the same cohort. One week's video ref will be next week's on-pitch ref, and visa versa. There is no need to hold the on-pitch referee in quite such a sacrosanct position, so much so that it makes the whole thing a cumbersome laughing stock, as the current VAR implementation has at times.
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how r u getting on with the new mb? ;-)
 
NWCherries98 said:
Start "Phasing Out" the old guard (Francis, Surman, Pugh, Daniels etc.) Good to have players with experience on the bench rather than to lose them entirely. Daniels has been poor for a while now, but could possibly rediscover his form.
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These players would still be serviceable, IMO, if we can get on a Cups run. Would certainly still match up well against lower divisions, as long as they don't gather too much rust from lack of play.

Agree with the overall "Sort Out" process, NWC. Boy, will sure be a busy few months for EH and team.
 
AlGard said:
We conceded 67 goals each the first 2 seasons.

56 so far with 4 games to go. So around 60 this season bar a disaster.

£30M on Begovic and Ake has saved around 7 goals.
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Al back with his ahem, financial expert, head on.

Woe, the defence is in debt...
 
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