State of play so far.

We certainly need a replacement for Lerma i.e. a 'break up play' midfield enforcer. We look a little lightweight in the centre of midfield at the moment.

Off topic - does anybody know the whereabouts of Marcondes, Lowe and Dembele as they have not appeared in the Marbella videos ??
 
Reality and Realism said:
Off topic - does anybody know the whereabouts of Marcondes, Lowe and Dembele as they have not appeared in the Marbella videos ??
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Marcondes has had an operation.

Lowe and Siriki are together somewhere doing training together looking at their Instagram.
 
If there's one player that's Up for It...it's Brooksy !

Pray that this magnificent player has a good season. Like watching butterflies skating on silk .
 
Its always interesting to see the first choice team of a new manager, particularly one who has had a full pre season.

Our interpretations of it are interesting too. Personally my view is as a man of football intelligence he will value shots and goals so we are very likely to see Billing and highly unlikely to see Christie at all but time will tell. I agree Anthony might come more to the fore and Brooks unlikely to be a wide man in his system as everything is about pace. Agree he will vie with Billing for the 10.

I’d expect a front three if fit of Tavs, Kluivert and Dom (out of who we currently have). Billing behind them and as it stands Rothwell and Cook behind him but we have to get two better and have them as back up.
 
It should go without saying that all AFCB fans should be excited about the new season and the future. But I hope increased expectations don’t get the better of us.

I think the low expectations last season worked in our favour, and GON admitted that his job was easy at first because he could motivate the team by pointing to all the people saying they weren’t good enough.

I would love more but I will be more than happy if we implement a more attractive playing style and finish 17th.
 
The front 4 will be a really interesting dilemma for Iraola. On paper we're pretty stacked (outside of the Striker position) with Traore, Tavernier, Billing, Christie, Ouattara, Anthony, Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo all able to play some variation of RW, AM, LW. Realistically all of these will expect and arguably most deserve to be first choice regulars, but there will only be space for 3 out of the 8.

Might be difficult to keep everyone happy depending on who slots in. I know Kluivert has previously played ST for some of his clubs so possibly he's seen as an option to rotate with Dom along with Semenyo?

Priority clearly has to be a RB, (2?) LB, and a defensive mid.
 
red_james said:
The front 4 will be a really interesting dilemma for Iraola. On paper we're pretty stacked (outside of the Striker position) with Traore, Tavernier, Billing, Christie, Ouattara, Anthony, Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo all able to play some variation of RW, AM, LW. Realistically all of these will expect and arguably most deserve to be first choice regulars, but there will only be space for 3 out of the 8.

Might be difficult to keep everyone happy depending on who slots in. I know Kluivert has previously played ST for some of his clubs so possibly he's seen as an option to rotate with Dom along with Semenyo?

Priority clearly has to be a RB, (2?) LB, and a defensive mid.
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100% this is why I get surprised when we are linked with other wingers… although all speculation to be treated with a huge fistful of salt at this time of year…

If we get two defensive midfielders and a couple full backs I don’t think we need much else. The harder part will be clearing out some of our recent buys.
 
What recent buys need clearing out? Obviously anyone in the squad might not be rated by Iraola but in general it will be the championship signings that will be let go.
 
cardiffcherry said:
Foley has said that people will be surprised by some of the players we sign. The reality is that if we are competing for players of a higher class/with bigger reputations, those players are likely to bide their time before agreeing to sign for us and we may end up paying a premium.

We are not a big club and are one of the favourites to be relegated. I think we’ll end up doing most business at the end of the window as other options for players are exhausted.

I just hope we target hungry players with something to prove, rather than ones who see us as beneath them but come for the money.
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I think you're right. The skill will come in having a wide funnel of compatible players so when it comes to the crunch we have a few targets we can make some decisive moves for.

Unless it's an old pro looking for a final payday I don't put much stock in whether they think they're beneath coming to us or not. Ultimately they need to perform to move to someone that matches their ego or go somewhere even less fashionable. Look at Zaniolo, who had the chance to step up to the EPL, dropped from Roma to Turkey but didn't down tools and has suitors ready to pick him up again.
 
SlowDownDerek said:
Well, I'm still really excited. It's always really interesting when a new manager gets to have a fresh look at a squad because you don't know who they are going to like and dislike.

I have a sneaking suspicion he's going to love Jaidon Anthony and possibly not fancy Phil Bill so much.
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In one of the training videos, the first one I think, Gavin Kilkenny seemed to be getting a lot of love from Iraola. He kept shouting "Gav ! Gav !" at every opportunity, in a way actually very reminiscent of AP's famous "Dan ! Dan !".

I wonder if there is an opportunity for Kilkenny to see more action this season ?
 
thegazzyb said:
I wonder if there is an opportunity for Kilkenny to see more action this season ?
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FWIW...perceptions that the manager plays a front 3 seem to me to be wide of the mark...his side seemed to be a 4 2 3 1 from the press details I have seen...
 
Neil Dawson said:
100% this is why I get surprised when we are linked with other wingers… although all speculation to be treated with a huge fistful of salt at this time of year…

If we get two defensive midfielders and a couple full backs I don’t think we need much else. The harder part will be clearing out some of our recent buys.
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We need another striker. Our best option there can’t score regularly at this level and the back up options are even worse. Amazes me that some think we don’t need another striking option. What do we do if Dom gets injured?
 
We should bear in mind that the guys who have been on international duty have to be assessed by Iraola .
 
KingKieffer said:
We need another striker. Our best option there can’t score regularly at this level and the back up options are even worse. Amazes me that some think we don’t need another striking option. What do we do if Dom gets injured?
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Presumably, you'd want someone pacey, mobile, that can score at the top level and will give everything for the cause?

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Plan B has one out of four.
 
KingKieffer said:
We need another striker. Our best option there can’t score regularly at this level and the back up options are even worse. Amazes me that some think we don’t need another striking option. What do we do if Dom gets injured?
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That’s a good post.
Makes a change that anyone who doesn’t agree with you isn’t called blind or similar. Just amazes you instead.
Well done.
I do agree as it happens, although we haven’t seen much of Semenyo to judge.
 
nd9cherry said:
FWIW...perceptions that the manager plays a front 3 seem to me to be wide of the mark...his side seemed to be a 4 2 3 1 from the press details I have seen...
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Yes, this is what I’ve read to. Similar to Eddie Howe, variant of 4-4-2, wingers pushed up, number 10 in the hole etc.

We’ll have to see what it looks like in practice.
 
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