The Squad planning thread

Skrastins said:
probably one if little positive good things after Pep leaves - squad size

i'd be more than happy if we increase the squad size, to medium. not like balloned squad like Chelsea, i think that was one of Marescas biggest challenges there

1. Chelsea squad was stacked with average talented players
2. Also injuries did not help, tho i don't know if those injuries were due Maresca's training or Chelsea injury curse


also Rodri might get a breather, lol
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The problem will inevitably be keeping people happy, especially ‘big’ names, and more so if we’re not lifting pots. Chelsea was assembling a young squad but Maresca needed a couple of wiser heads, particularly in defence, and that was something its board didn’t want to consider.
We should be aiming to get to the situation where using all 5 substitutions is standard, not occasionally at the death when 3 up, and where the intensity of games is not allowed to drop. I want to hear pundits complaining again about our unfair advantage as we put teams to the sword.
 
Skrastins said:
probably one if little positive good things after Pep leaves - squad size

i'd be more than happy if we increase the squad size, to medium. not like balloned squad like Chelsea, i think that was one of Marescas biggest challenges there

1. Chelsea squad was stacked with average talented players
2. Also injuries did not help, tho i don't know if those injuries were due Maresca's training or Chelsea injury curse


also Rodri might get a breather, lol
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Having a large squad causes more problems than it solves if, like now, the depth is mediocre and playing them in any circumstance means our chances of winning significantly drops.

But our problem is not the squad size, it's the squads quality. We used to be able to rotate 3-5 players every game without a noticeable drop in quality. If we rotate 3-5 players today we struggle against more or less any team in the league.
 
Gabriel said:
The choice for a larger squad was presumably to help us successfully compete consistently across multiple fronts, something we had failed to do. The alternative would have been to continue to rely on a smaller squad that peaks spectacularly but then descends equally so. The larger squad model has to be given at least another season, but if it proves too costly, disruptive, or underperforms, then tough decisions will need to be made.
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This big squad hasn't worked though has it?

Its a bloated squad, made up of numerous players that are rarely fit when required, and then a group of players that Pep simply doesn't like/trust to give regular playing time to

Ake
Stones
Ait Nouri
Rico Lewis
Nico G
Reijnders
Foden (has to go in for this season)
Savinho
Marmoush

I'd love to see how many games those players have started this season; add a keeper and another player and you'd have 11 players that would probably finish in the top 6 if all were fit

We have a big squad, but ultimately it's been largely the same 11-13 players that have played since January

Having said that its just simply not possible to compete in 4 competitions with a squad of players where only half of them are trusted
 
2nd place. FA Cup winners. Carabao Cup winners.
At any point in PL history that would be a great season.
The future is bright.
The larger squad is simply a transition between older, top-class players and younger players replacing them over the next year.
 
Maresca plays with two CDMs so if Rodri did leave to play his system we'd have to sign another 6 as well as Anderson.
 
chris85mcfc said:
This big squad hasn't worked though has it?

Its a bloated squad, made up of numerous players that are rarely fit when required, and then a group of players that Pep simply doesn't like/trust to give regular playing time to

Ake
Stones
Ait Nouri
Rico Lewis
Nico G
Reijnders
Foden (has to go in for this season)
Savinho
Marmoush

I'd love to see how many games those players have started this season; add a keeper and another player and you'd have 11 players that would probably finish in the top 6 if all were fit

We have a big squad, but ultimately it's been largely the same 11-13 players that have played since January

Having said that its just simply not possible to compete in 4 competitions with a squad of players where only half of them are trusted
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I’m not sure Guardiola has ever been convinced on the merits of a large squad, which is why we have seen him basically choosing two teams at points in this season, different ones either side of Christmas.

We’ll give it another go next season, but I expect a clearing of the old guard (Stones, Silva, Ake, Kovacic, maybe even Rodri) and then see what the new manager can do. If successfully competing across five fronts still proves infeasible, however, then the domestic cups need to be deprioritised.
 
Gumzy97 said:
Maresca plays with two CDMs so if Rodri did leave to play his system we'd have to sign another 6 as well as Anderson.
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Rodri won't be leaving this summer,you can be pretty sure of that,plus we may see Foden more in CM,and Maresca likes his inverted full backs playing alongside his 6 so O'Reilly and Nunses capable of that.
 
blueparrot said:
Rodri won't be leaving this summer,you can be pretty sure of that,plus we may see Foden more in CM,and Maresca likes his inverted full backs playing alongside his 6 so O'Reilly and Nunses capable of that.
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I think we might be in for a surprise and O'Reilly takes that CM postion in the 4-2-3-1. Maresca was the one that really wanted Chelsea to sign O'Reilly for his midfield.
 
DMA's said:
Marca going big on this tonight. Fucking hell

Rodri, crazy to join: Pep Guardiola's departure, barring a radical last-minute twist, opens a door that for years remained completely closed to Madrid


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If Madrid want Rodri surely getting a dinosaur in as manager is the wrong way to do that
Mourinho is such a bad appointment in 2026
Sacks by Alonso and ending up with mourinho is next level sabotage
 
I`d genuinely think about moving Rodri on if Pep leaves and signing Anderson and Tonali with O`Reilly also moving into the midfield area. Rodri isnt going to get any rest this summer with the world cup and is only going to slow dow so if we could get say £50-60m then i`d do it personally and get a young fresh start under a new manager.
 
Gumzy97 said:
I can't shake the idea that Maresca will push for Enzo Fernandez you just got to watch interviews and he just highlights him every single time.
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Chavs will want at least their money back though mate? Could get Tonali for £80m?!
 
richards30 said:
Chavs will want at least their money back though mate? Could get Tonali for £80m?!
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Chelsea need a big sale according to their journalists they might have to take less for players they've spent alot of money on.
 
Gumzy97 said:
Chelsea need a big sale according to their journalists they might have to take less for players they've spent alot of money on.
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id doubt they sell star player tho

Maybe Enzo or Palmer if they forces a move

most likely they will sell bench players - Delap, Guiu, Disasi, Jackson etc
 
Big summer for Viana this.

The club has spent around 450m in the last 18 months (even if there is some debate if last years January window was on him or Txiki, I would assume all of the transfers were done with input from Vianas and not against his will).
It's hard to argue the club has seen an improvement anywhere close to what you could expect from that kind of investment.

65m on Marmoush
52m on Nico
32m on Reis
13m on Nypan
2m on Bettinelli
27m on Trafford
32m on Ait-Nori
48m on Reijnders
=
271 million spent in around 12 months on players who are, at best, fringe players in our squad.
This summer its time to start delivering players who will make a real difference or its time to start asking some serious questions.
 
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