Davie P 4 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 It is quite clear (and was pointed out on this forum, as well as others as early as January 2016) that we did not have a strong spine throughout our team. The Centre backs were suspect defensively, the full backs were great going forward but were defensively inept, our holding midfielder was a square peg in a round hole and our top goal scorer was a left footer playing on the right wing. Pedro has been left with an entire team of squad players i.e. you could replace any player with anyone sitting on the bench and it would neither weaken or strengthen the team substantially. I am still struggling to work out Pedro's preferred tactics as this seems to vary i.e. high press - no press; long ball - playing out from the back and through the midfield; 1 striker - 4 strikers in a 4-2-4 etc. so difficult to say how the rumoured signings will fit into any coherent system. However, what I am encouraged by is that the rumours would appear to be players that would add quality throughout the spine. (All rumours other than Wes & Garner) GK - Wes CB - Alves HM - Dorrans/Jack AM - Naismith (I know but take away the emotion for a minute) CF - Garner Now if you start to build around this, you can see the importance of a strong spine GK - Wes DF - Tav: Alves: Wilson: Wallace Holding - Jack: Rossiter (if fit) Attacking MF - Dorrans: Naismith: McKay CF - Garner You then have Miller, Hodson, Bates, Beerman, Kranjcar, Dodoo, Holt etc. Just the signing of 4 strong players would make a massive difference. Over a period of time, you could then look to strengthen in the other areas, but it probably wouldn't be the crisis that we currently face where basically every player (perhaps bar Wes and Barrie) could be replaced. Tav and Wallace would provide the width and Jack would drop back into the 3rd CB role when they maraud forward (ala Dier at Spurs). From Pedro's comments it does appear that Garner has a future and the team has to play to his strengths to get the best out of him, whereas under MW formation and structure, it was impossible to see any value that he brought to the team, particularly with that price tag. We would probably need another CB (surprised by Clint Hill decision) and possibly another Holding midfielder - (Will Rossiter ever be fully fit?) I'll wait and see how the signings transpire, but I will be quietly optimistic for a much better season if we get them over the line. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhunter 0 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 jack naismith and garner is nowhere near a strong spine 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 How and who will be interesting. Will we switch to back 3 something we havent traditionally done. I think id like to see something along the lines of the following (and i refuse to put Naismith in). Foderingham Wilson Alves New Signing Tavernier Rossiter Dorrans McKay Kranjcar Miller New Signing 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhunter 0 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 How and who will be interesting. Will we switch to back 3 something we havent traditionally done. I think id like to see something along the lines of the following (and i refuse to put Naismith in). Foderingham Wilson Alves New Signing Tavernier Rossiter Dorrans McKay Kranjcar Miller New Signing mckay at left wing back nah 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 mckay at left wing back nah More of an attacking winger. He has ability and Id put him in. We dont need 5 defenders in the majority of SPL games, Tav will already get back as a 4 when required. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Could Wallace play on the left of a back 3? If so he could be put in but I wouldnt want to see him as our left wing back. Id prefer more offensive type player. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhunter 0 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Could Wallace play on the left of a back 3? If so he could be put in but I wouldnt want to see him as our left wing back. Id prefer more offensive type player. no because he lacks the phyicality and positioning needed, he's arank poor defender in all honesty, he could play at left wing back though if the left sided CH was solid its all moot though as PC only plays a back 4 as far as i'm aware 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 no because he lacks the phyicality and positioning needed, he's arank poor defender in all honesty, he could play at left wing back though if the left sided CH was solid its all moot though as PC only plays a back 4 as far as i'm aware Agree, Im not Wallace biggest fan as a player. So if PC plays a back 4 we will need 2 new full backs to improve. Tavernier should be a right winger, he has pace and skill and likes to drive forward. When playing a back 4 I like 4 solid defenders a bit like Advocaats side when Porrini filled in at RB. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Could Wallace play on the left of a back 3? If so he could be put in but I wouldnt want to see him as our left wing back. Id prefer more offensive type player. I'm sure Waldo played as a CB @ Hearts for a while....I'm sure I read/heard somewhere that it was his preferred position (but probably wrong) 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaffer 1,665 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I agree that these signings would strengthen the team, however if we had to make just one signing, I would expect it to be a striker. When you watch our games, we would win almost all of them if we had a reasonable finisher. We make more than enough chances in every game (except in that recent home game against Celtic) to win easily, but we can't finish our chances. If we can find someone who can, and I appreciate it's a huge IF, we can do well next season. There's a huge pressure on PC to fill that slot wisely, and for me it's the one I'm looking forward to. For me, it's that single signing that will determine how our next season goes. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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