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The Summer 2018 Transfer Window Rumours and Deals


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1 minute ago, DMAA said:

Agree with that. It's all down to budget and allocating it carefully so that it improves the starting line-up as much as possible. So far that appears to have been done with big money spent on 2 centre backs.

 

Watching England last night I couldn't help but think we lack pacey players to get in behind like Sterling, Lingard, Rashford, Alli. A player like that makes life easy for your creative midfielder because whether it's a quick incisive through ball or a chip over the top your man will get to it first 9 times out of 10 and suddenly you're in a really good attacking position. However our best chance of a player like that would probably be a loan.

I'd agree that our best chance of real playmaking quality would be a loan but I don't think we can depend on the one young guy.

 

We need a very fit team and an energetic, high tempo pressing game where everyone does their bit and helps create space.

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2 hours ago, Frankie said:

I think he's suffered from not playing regularly over the last year or so.  You could see he was never quite fully fit or sharp during his loan and it's a pity we didn't try to play him more often.

Can you see that changing much if he is signed as a "squad player"???  I can't.

 

We shouldn't be signing players as Squad players, to simply fill the ranks.  We need every single one of our 1st team squad to be able to offer a positive contribution to the team when they are required.  That is the only way to encourage healthy competition for places.

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Like I went onto say, there's no doubt one of the most difficult things to do as a manager is ensuring the full squad gets enough game-time to keep them fresh and sharp.

 

Last season we didn't find that balance: firstly we played Morelos far too often and guys like Herrera and Cummings not often enough.  As such we ended up with a jaded, knackered player and rusty, unreliable back-ups. 

 

Ergo, the quandary is do you sign 24 players that can all be considered first XI meaning you have a more expensive squad and unhappy players?  Or do you sign 16-18 quality players and make up the balance from youth.  No matter, you still have to rotate players into the first XI and/or change your system to ensure everyone plays regularly.

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51 minutes ago, Frankie said:

 

Ergo, the quandary is do you sign 24 players that can all be considered first XI meaning you have a more expensive squad and unhappy players?  Or do you sign 16-18 quality players and make up the balance from youth.  No matter, you still have to rotate players into the first XI and/or change your system to ensure everyone plays regularly.

My thinking...If you have a full compliment of players that can perform for the starting 11, then the decision to rotate players is much easier as you'r not dropping your No.1 option for an inferior replacement.

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51 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

Do we have a creative midfielder? We definitely need one.

Dorrans and the young lad from Liverpool will be seen as that type of player - whilst others such as Arfield and Docherty will be expected to be the box-to-box lads.  Add in McCrorie, Rossiter and Jack as the deeper, combative players then the balance isn't too bad but I'd agree another creative player might be necessary depending on the system.

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Just now, Darthter said:

My thinking...If you have a full compliment of players that can perform for the starting 11, then the decision to rotate players is much easier as you'r not dropping your No.1 option for an inferior replacement.

I'd agree that's what we want (and Celtic/Rodgers have managed this pretty well) but it arguably requires a budget we don't have.  As such, so-called squad players are still perhaps a necessary evil.

 

Generally, no matter what we do, the management of the team has to be better to rotate people in and out much more often than we did last season.

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5 hours ago, Frankie said:

I'd take Cummings as a squad player but not at £1m.

Personally don't think he is good enough of a starter to help us win the league.  Squad player, yes.  But at 1 million, no thanks.

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3 hours ago, DMAA said:

Agree with that. It's all down to budget and allocating it carefully so that it improves the starting line-up as much as possible. So far that appears to have been done with big money spent on 2 centre backs.

 

Watching England last night I couldn't help but think we lack pacey players to get in behind like Sterling, Lingard, Rashford, Alli. A player like that makes life easy for your creative midfielder because whether it's a quick incisive through ball or a chip over the top your man will get to it first 9 times out of 10 and suddenly you're in a really good attacking position. However our best chance of a player like that would probably be a loan.

How would we get "in behind" when 90% of the games we play in the opposition sit 10 behind the ball.  O Halloran had that pace but it could never be utilized.

 

I don't think pace is our issue, but more having a creative midfielder who can see a pass before anyone else and a striker or winger who can also relate to the creative midfielder and see that same pass too.

 

Also think that we need to stretch the pitch more - play with wingers (which we did last season to be fair) but we have Ibrox set out pretty narrow.  If we widen the pitch we make it more difficult for opposing teams to close spaces - playing with wingers would also then allow the central midfielders, particularly a creative one, to exploit central positions.

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2 hours ago, Frankie said:

Like I went onto say, there's no doubt one of the most difficult things to do as a manager is ensuring the full squad gets enough game-time to keep them fresh and sharp.

 

Last season we didn't find that balance: firstly we played Morelos far too often and guys like Herrera and Cummings not often enough.  As such we ended up with a jaded, knackered player and rusty, unreliable back-ups. 

 

Ergo, the quandary is do you sign 24 players that can all be considered first XI meaning you have a more expensive squad and unhappy players?  Or do you sign 16-18 quality players and make up the balance from youth.  No matter, you still have to rotate players into the first XI and/or change your system to ensure everyone plays regularly.

One of our issues in recent past is that we start games incredibly slowly.  If we start with a high press, high tempo, put teams on the back foot and go 2 or 3 goals ahead in the 1st half.... we then have the flexibility of knowing we should go on to win the game, allowing us to give squad players and youth players the last half hour.

 

We play too slowly.  Hopefully Gerrard's insistence on fitness will be coupled with a desire to play a high press, high tempo game.  If Goldson is quick (which they seem to be saying) then you don't need to play so deep in a low block - an issue last season because if we pressed high with our midfield and strikers/wingers then it left massive gaps between the lines because the central defenders were slow, and they knew that, so they dropped off.

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