The Squad planning thread

CAM:

We don't have nearly enough creativity in this squad. I love Phil, but with only a year left on his deal, there needs to be an honest conversation this summer about his future. He’s more of a natural goal scorer, and what we’re really lacking is creativity. We need to bring in creative players—Cherki is a good start—but we also need someone who can consistently provide 10–15 assists a season and act as a true creative outlet against opposing teams, who they need to account for, and it may cost Phil his spot. We need to get back to being ruthless in how we build our teams; we can't let past performances dictate how we proceed in the future.

Midfield:

Bernardo's legs have gone, and he does not offer anything anymore, and we need to find a young box-to-box type player with energy who can both make tackles and crash the box. Reijnders looks more like an attacking threat than a true box-to-box 8, good player, but we still need another player who can take control of the game. The biggest thing I think we have seen these days is that physicality in the middle of the park is paramount to a team's success.

CB:

Guehi seems to be on his way, and Alleyne and some of the guys on loan seem to be good prospects with Dias and Gvardiol coming back. I don't think we need to do a ton.

RB:

Nunes is a high-floor, low-ceiling RB (Ala Zinchenko at LB 2021-2022). He is perfectly fine when everything around him is elite, but he is not a long-term answer there. Rico is not good enough to play RB for us, simple as.
 
CAM:

We don't have nearly enough creativity in this squad. I love Phil, but with only a year left on his deal, there needs to be an honest conversation this summer about his future. He’s more of a natural goal scorer, and what we’re really lacking is creativity. We need to bring in creative players—Cherki is a good start—but we also need someone who can consistently provide 10–15 assists a season and act as a true creative outlet against opposing teams, who they need to account for, and it may cost Phil his spot. We need to get back to being ruthless in how we build our teams; we can't let past performances dictate how we proceed in the future.

Midfield:

Bernardo's legs have gone, and he does not offer anything anymore, and we need to find a young box-to-box type player with energy who can both make tackles and crash the box. Reijnders looks more like an attacking threat than a true box-to-box 8, good player, but we still need another player who can take control of the game. The biggest thing I think we have seen these days is that physicality in the middle of the park is paramount to a team's success.

CB:

Guehi seems to be on his way, and Alleyne and some of the guys on loan seem to be good prospects with Dias and Gvardiol coming back. I don't think we need to do a ton.

RB:

Nunes is a high-floor, low-ceiling RB (Ala Zinchenko at LB 2021-2022). He is perfectly fine when everything around him is elite, but he is not a long-term answer there. Rico is not good enough to play RB for us, simple as.

I’ll never change my opinion that if we’d paid whatever it took, and I mean proper big bollocks fuck Arsenal and the cartel PL levels of cash to get Declan Rice we’d have zero problems right now and would be top of the league.

Semenyo and Guehi will be great signings though and very much needed. Once Dias is back we’re good at CB for the season with Khus there too. Loan Alleyne out again, needs experience at this level.

Never sell Foden, you can’t have too many good players. Bernie is a legend but he can’t play at the level he did as frequently as we’re expecting from him.

Lewis needs selling to any club that will take him.
 
Out before start of next season
Ortega, Stones, Ake, Bernardo, Kovacic, Philips, Grealish and Bobb.

In, 2 Midfielders and a RB
 
Hugo needs to toast Bernardo now and get Anderson in this window! The midfield is horrendous at the minute! Fucking Casemiro taking the piss out of a City midfield?!? Nah fuck that! How the mighty have fallen
I knew we weren’t winning when they were doing rondos around us in the first half. Not a Pep midfield
 
I knew we weren’t winning when they were doing rondos around us in the first half. Not a Pep midfield

Yep! Still shocked now about the state of that! Can’t deny the injuries to a point but we just didn’t seem bothered or felt that with the players there we couldn’t win!!? Took it for granted I guess with the players we had but my god the Arsenal squad is light years ahead of ours!
 
Hugo needs to toast Bernardo now and get Anderson in this window! The midfield is horrendous at the minute! Fucking Casemiro taking the piss out of a City midfield?!? Nah fuck that! How the mighty have fallen
I just can’t see it happening this month mate. Forest’s owner won’t sell in their position and it makes sense to go all out in the summer.

We’ve made 2 great signings (hopefully) due to a RC and a contract expiring - we probably wouldn’t have been able or willing to get either otherwise.

Let a legend in Bernardo (who was phenomenal midweek bow out on his own terms).

We have brought in loads of good players who need a bit of time, and a bit of fine tweaking in the transfer market this summer, imo.

What we really need is to get 2 or 3 back from the treatment room too.
 
Out before start of next season
Ortega, Stones, Ake, Bernardo, Kovacic, Philips, Grealish and Bobb.

In, 2 Midfielders and a RB
As if there is still City fans that think we don’t need a world class winger…I despair.
 
Yep! Still shocked now about the state of that! Can’t deny the injuries to a point but we just didn’t seem bothered or felt that with the players there we couldn’t win!!? Took it for granted I guess with the players we had but my god the Arsenal squad is light years ahead of ours!
I genuinely don’t believe that. We are two midfielders and a RB from catching up.
 
Nah, even Erling looks impotent at the moment!! No spark in the back g games and we give up so many chances?
It’s fatigue and Pep. Everyone sorts them self out and we win something this season even if it isn’t the PL
 
I think we are still a RB, CM (8) and a RW short. Livaramento (if fit), Anderson and Rodrygo please (Rodrygo for his versility across the front line)
 
We're blowing out of our arses because we have had to rely on a small core of players who are now injured or fatigued. The rest of the squad simply isn't good enough, so we're turning to the same players time after time.

I have us down as needing two new midfielders and a right-back in the summer. I'm going to put Anderson and Livramento down for illustration. I don't know who the second midfielder will be, but the two I have named have been heavily linked so I'm happy to put them in for now.

Nominally you need two players for every position and an extra goalkeeper. So 23 players in total, and a couple of prospects. For the purposes of this exercise, I'm not going to include Mukasa or Alleyne.

Out - Grealish, Akanji, Ortega, Stones, Phillips, Bernardo, Ake, Lewis, Kovacic and Bobb. Throw in some academy lads and there's probably around £150m incoming in player sales. Just on those ten players, there's around £1.5m-per-week in wages and bonuses saved.

26/27 Squad

Donnarumma
Trafford
Bettinelli

Nunes
Nico O
Livramento
Ait-Nouri
Gvardiol
Khusanov
Guehi
Dias

Rodri
Nico G
Anderson
New MF
Reijnders
Foden

Savinho
Doku
Semenyo
Haaland
Marmoush
Cherki

I think Reis, Alleyne and Echeverri probably get more time out on loan.

It is a rebuild and it's still to be completed. There is a lot of deadwood and we need our new players to learn the ropes. It will take time and we need to be patient. I'm not, however, looking at any truly incredible teams that we need to overhaul. Arsenal are stubborn and hard to beat, but not insurmountable if we get it right.
 

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