klaus_afcb
First Team
It's too early, I know, but the alternative is concentrating on work, so here goes...
Where do we think we need to strengthen in the summer?
Personally, I'd go with what we have up front, on the left, and in CM. Solanke, Moore and Lowe are good enough in attack, for me, and I think we're well enough stocked on the left with Anthony, Dembele (and Lowe). Lerma and Cook are PL quality and I'd be happy with Pearson and Kilkenny as back up. We can obviously reassess all those positions in Jan.
I think the real areas we need to strengthen are on the right, behind the striker, and in defence. For me, Christie is not quite enough to be our main man on the right, and Brooks will obviously take time to come back. I also think we need competition for Phil Bill, so a new starting RWF and another starting/rotation option in AM I see as essential.
In defence, I think we'll need two CBs, one of which could be Phillips. Kelly, Phillips, Mepham, Hill, and another should be enough to start the season with. I also think we need a new starting RB. As good as Smith is, he's the wrong side of 30 and I'm not convinced Stacey is a strong enough option. On the left, I'd be happy starting with Zemura, but he'll need competition. So that's two CBs, a starting RB, and rotational LB.
Overall, that leaves us with a shopping list of a starting RWF, a rotational AM, 2x CBs, a starting RB, rotational LB, and, of course, a back-up keeper. So 7 signings in all, a couple of which could be loans. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me and should leave us with enough to build training ground...
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Edited to add, the caveat on the above is assuming we don't lose anyone.
Where do we think we need to strengthen in the summer?
Personally, I'd go with what we have up front, on the left, and in CM. Solanke, Moore and Lowe are good enough in attack, for me, and I think we're well enough stocked on the left with Anthony, Dembele (and Lowe). Lerma and Cook are PL quality and I'd be happy with Pearson and Kilkenny as back up. We can obviously reassess all those positions in Jan.
I think the real areas we need to strengthen are on the right, behind the striker, and in defence. For me, Christie is not quite enough to be our main man on the right, and Brooks will obviously take time to come back. I also think we need competition for Phil Bill, so a new starting RWF and another starting/rotation option in AM I see as essential.
In defence, I think we'll need two CBs, one of which could be Phillips. Kelly, Phillips, Mepham, Hill, and another should be enough to start the season with. I also think we need a new starting RB. As good as Smith is, he's the wrong side of 30 and I'm not convinced Stacey is a strong enough option. On the left, I'd be happy starting with Zemura, but he'll need competition. So that's two CBs, a starting RB, and rotational LB.
Overall, that leaves us with a shopping list of a starting RWF, a rotational AM, 2x CBs, a starting RB, rotational LB, and, of course, a back-up keeper. So 7 signings in all, a couple of which could be loans. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me and should leave us with enough to build training ground...
--
Edited to add, the caveat on the above is assuming we don't lose anyone.