Next 3 to come in

[FinallyGamble]

Isco
Marquinhos
Bony

 

[york away to this!]

Ajay
Spursmad
Tolmie

 

[Harlequin]

Guidetti plays/takes up the bench spot. He has proven at every level he has been exposed to that he can score and deserves the chance. He will definitely have been given assurances when he got his new deal last year as he has never hidden the fact that he believes he is good enough to be playing more regularly.

Aside from that you can pull anything apart with what ifs. The chances of having both Sergio and Dzeko injured at the same time are minimal. If for whatever reason they are we play Guidetti for the few games we need to in addition to his cup games. It is absolutely insane to have three top bracket strikers for one position on the off chance that two are injured at the same time.

Shall we sign Reina and Valdes as back up on the off chance Hart and Costel get injured?

3 strikers for 1 position is more than enough. The only issue I could foresee is being pigeon-holed into a certain "plan" when either Aguero or Dzeko is injured.

What I mean is:

A) Aguero starts, is able to come deep and involve himself in build up play, drags defenders out of position with his movement, works hard defending from the front etc.

B) Dzeko starts, occupies the opposing CB's and allows space between the midfield, defence for creative players like Silva, Nasri to exploit, able to get onto the end of crosses from Navas, Clichy, doesn't work overly hard defending from the front.

For me Dzeko and Aguero are very different players that suit different attacking structures. When they're both fit we're able to change the basis of our attacking play quite radically with one/two substitutions in a one ST system. However, when one is injured we'll be more restricted in the way in which we build attacks.

However, this is all just conjecture, and with players like Yaya, Fernandinho, Rodwell there's plenty of potential for goals from midfield. Add to this Guidetti hasn't really been given a chance at EPL level so we're still unsure what personal characteristics he'd bring to the table as a lone ST. Hard to make a decision based purely on his season with Feyenoord. He certainly deserves a shot, and the addition of another ST would likely reduce his minutes severely.

The squad on paper looks very balanced to my mind and where we to start the season tomorrow I'd be confident in our ability to take the title. I'd still like to see a few more departures to reduce the squad to a more manageable size. Until that happens, more purchases are unnecessary.

 

[jimmy blue shoes]

I'm not convinced we need to add to the defence. Best defence in the league for the last few seasons and we have versatile players. Rekik is coming through and will surely get a few cup games under his belt. Not to mention having cover with Y. Toure, Rodwell and Garcia who all can play CB if we absolutely required.

LB: Clichy/Kolarov/Lescott
LCB: Nastasic/Lescott
RCB: Kompany/Richards
RB: Zabba/Richards

CB cover: Rodwell, Garcia, Y. Toure

The midfield is very busy with the two new additions and I can't see how we would be in a position to add to it without first selling. Garcia will almost certainly be much improved next season after a full pre-season under his belt. Fernandinho, Toure and Silva are guaranteed starters leaving Milner, Nasri, Navas, Barry and Rodwell fighting for the remaining 1/2 positions.

I suspect Rodwell will be heavily involved and is clearly highly regarded (see Khaldoons end of season interview) so that leaves 0/1 places left for the remaining four.

With the amount of midfielders you would have to think we are going with one up top with a major emphasis on the midfield supporting. If this is the case having more than two top class strikers is unmanageable. Aguero, Dzeko and the emerging Guidetti is fine.

I believe the club are thinking the same and realises the squad possessed too many 'first team profiles'. It is not manageable and causes friction. In my opinion you need a 15 first team profiles with the rest being dependable back ups. A smaller harmonious squad (Barcelona, Dortmund) is better than a large friction riddled squad (Real Madrid). It creates a strong unity with players understanding their role within the team, the club and gives them the confidence to play to the top of their ability.

Let’s not forget that we had a very good squad under Mancini however there seemed to be a real lack of a unified team with players not understanding their role or place in the team. It pains me to say but you only need to look at United to see how creating a team can work well. The team that won the league last season had very few world class profiles yet won it at a canter. Valencia, Cleverly, Jones, Evra, Rio, Smalling are all very average yet started many of the games.

The squad has had the fat trimmed and is now (after the sale of Tevez) manageable. If anyone else is to leave they will be replaced but I do not foresee us adding further 2/3 first team players to what is already there.

If Pelle can create a team with the existing squad I genuinely have no concerns going in to the season as we are.

We need a new left back mate. Kolarov is just not good enough, he gets caught out of position, lacks pace when defending and generally slows play down when he has the ball.

And we will pretend you didn't mention Lescott at full back.

 

[dadnlad]

P jones
T cleverly
D welbeck

 

[ONTHERUNWITHTHAKSIN]

Di Maria
Pepe
Cavani

 

[Harlequin]

We need a new left back mate. Kolarov is just not good enough, he gets caught out of position, lacks pace when defending and generally slows play down when he has the ball.

And we will pretend you didn't mention Lescott at full back.

Rekik is able to play there and it might be the only way to secure him competitive minutes next season - less pressure at LB then at CB. Also surprised you guys didn't mention that Zaba is able to cover LB as well, at a much higher level than Kolarov at any rate.

I'd like to see Kolarov leave but whether we need someone to replace him is arguable. Ideally yes, but on paper we have 4 players able to cover the position: Clichy Zaba, Rekik, (Lescott)

If we were to bring in someone Coentrao might be available at a reasonable price. Hasn't shown his best at Madrid but would still be a good addition in my eyes. Alternatively go for someone who isn't going to demand a high number of minutes - a developing player (something the rags have been very good at recently, as much as it pains me to say it, - Fabio, Rafael, now Varela)

 

[nmc]

Kevin Phillips
Nicky Shorey
Jamie O'Hara

: )

 

[Sir Joe Aguero]

Higuain, Matuidi, Cabaye and a decent left-back, such as Baines or Coentrao.

Would love to see some young, pacy and exciting players come in such as Deulofeu, Tello, Bruma, Reus, Di Maria. Then, a decent but quite cheap striker such as Villa, Remy, Soldado.

 

[chrisoasis]

Lewy/David Villa
Jovetic

Enough for me.