GOALKEEPERS
Gavin
Bazunu
The first thing that anyone ever says about Baz is that he is “good with his
feet and you need that in a Russell Martin team”. Whilst this statement is undoubtedly true, the
question is whether the fact that he is good with his feet override the fact
that he is not particularly good with his hands? In days gone by, a professional footballer
with Baz’s skillset would not even be a goalkeeper and even in this evolved
version of the game that we have now, it’s still a bit of an issue if you have
a goalkeeper who doesn’t save very much when it really matters. To have the
worst expected goals against (letting in shots you should have saved) in the Premier League for a team that got
relegated is perfectly understandable but to have it again a season later in
the Championship, when the team is one of the best in the division, is not
really acceptable. Nearly 12 more goals conceded than he should have... not good and no amount of good passing really makes up for that. As I said at the end
of last season, he is still so young for a goalkeeper and could certainly
benefit from learning and improving without the pressure of being in the firing
line every week. All this is a moot
point with regards to next season of course because of the achilles injury that
he got which is basically going to rule him out for the entire season. Premier
League ready? Not as a first choice, even if he was fit.
Alex McCarthy
Well here’s a story. Alex had basically been employed all season to take
corners in the warm-up and that was it, bar one early season Carabao appearance against Gillingham, where no one tried. He never played for any of the team is
below the first team and he was never on the bench for the first team, just
there, in the warm-ups, crossing balls in for Bazunu and Lumley to catch and clapping encouragement. Such is the life of the third choice keeper. I
had severe question marks over his attitude seeing as he seemed perfectly happy
to be picking up his money and not playing and then all of a sudden, he was
playing. It remains one of the great
unexplained calls of the season by the manager but bloody hell, was it the
right call. Macca came back into the team after Baz got
injured and has been pretty faultless as the goals-against dried up in the main (barring the Leicester debacle),
and we surged through the playoffs and into the Premier League. It was previously an
absolute inevitability that he would leave at the end of the season regardless
of where we ended up, but a combination of the Baz injury and us being promoted,
means that it’s now not certain. I am
certain that he will be offered a new contract and it will just be a case of
whether the money and the number of years on it stacks up for McCarthy. At 34 years old, most goalkeepers will be
looking for a two-year contract at least and he won’t be keen on a drop in
money either. So, it will be interesting to see how that one plays out and
should he be here next season, will he be able to cope with the demands of
using his feet in the Premier League where everything is that much quicker.
Premier League ready? Yes as a goalkeeper with his hands, not sure about with
his feet.
Joe Lumley
Second choice all season until it was time for him to step into the team and
then he remained second choice with McCarthy parachuted in ahead of him. I can
honestly say that if I was Joe Lumley I would’ve gone absolutely fucking mental
at that point and have been demanding a transfer in the summer. It was especially weird given that he had just
signed a new contract extension as well. Sadly for Joe, it was proven to be
100% correct decision to parachute McCarthy in ahead of him. Joe proved in a
couple of cup games this season that he had something about him, despite
letting in a laughable goal at Watford when he decided not to use his arms and
tried to save a free-kick with his teeth. Premier League ready? As a starter –
no, as a back-up that never plays other than cup games we don’t particularly
care about, yes.
FULL-BACKS
Kyle Walker-Peters
When we look back on this season in the future, we will still
find it amazing that KWP stayed with us after relegation from the Premier
League. A full England international a few months previously who never at any
point seemed to be angling for a move or throwing his toys out. A season of great consistency of performance and the best right back in the division by some considerable distance. His attacking threat was always there, whatever
the tweaks in his role that Russell Martin applied, as he played as a
conventional right back, left back, a right winger, a right wing back and
inverted right back in central midfield at times, all handled impeccably. The
attacking side of his game is always been seen as better than defensive side
but when it really mattered, against the likes of Leeds, he was right on it and
didn’t give the Championship Player of the Season Crysensio Summerville a kick. We certainly missed him
the one game he didn’t play, away at Ipswich when all the goals came down the side
he would’ve been playing. I think he’s only got one year left on his contract
but having been promoted we have a much better chance of keeping him than we
did before. Premier League ready? Of course he is.
Ryan Manning
A free transfer arrival at the start of the season and spend
the whole season as our only natural left back. Clearly more suited to playing
as a wing back than a full back but ironically, when we switched that formation
at the end of the season, Ryan Fraser was preferred. Always seem to be the
scapegoat if things went wrong earlier on in the season and some of his
performances were a bit ropey but he was never as bad as he was made out to be.
A regular criticism was the Manning Chasm which appeared usually when he was
far too far infield. It was clearly a
tactic for the back four to defend narrow but there were times when Manning
seem to take it to extremes and be stood next to the left sided centre back.
When he is on it and concentrating on defending I think there’s a player in
there but his lack of consistency is a worry going forward. Premier League
ready? You’d have to say no on the evidence of this season but it will
certainly help him if we play with a back three and he naturally will be
stationed wider on the pitch. I can see him being the back-up left back behind
a new signing
James Bree
Came into the team at left back when Ryan Manning was
struggling and proved to be a bit of an improvement, certainly from a defensive
aspect. Was also switched to the right with KWP on the left which allowed him
to play on his best side and get up the pitch and get the occasional cross in. A hamstring injury, picked up when he tried to match a winger for pace, left him out of the side and he got back in the team for the odd game at the end of the season and had an
absolute stinker away at Ipswich when he made mistakes leading to the first two
goals and then got himself sent off by repeating one of his earlier mistakes.
That game highlighted what a dreadfully passive defender he can be, terrified of
pace so he stands off and he’s never close enough to the winger when you need
him to be. We signed him when we were in the Premier League and he wasn’t good
enough and now we’re back in the Premier League and he still isn’t good enough
and he’s not going to be either. Seems like a nice lad and he always tries his
best but it’s time to move on for all parties. Premier League ready? Just not good enough.
CENTRE BACKS
Jan Bednarek
Jan the redemption man. Having returned for the second half
of last season with his tail between his legs having stunk the place out on a
loan spell Aston Villa, he repaired quite a lot of the damage last season by
putting in some decent performances despite the team going down the pan and
getting relegated. The fact that a 40 cap Polish International is prepared to
stick around for this season says a lot for the man and he basically has an
excellent season. He is the most consistent of our central defenders and when
he plays in the middle of a black three, his organisational skills stand out, as
does his ability to spot problems and cover for the other defenders. One of the
few good things that Nathan Jones did was to call him ‘Janny B’, which of
course, fits in the song ‘Daddy Cool’, which is not sung enough. A
slight question mark over the fact he is entering the last year of his deal but
I assume a new contract is in the works and he will undoubtedly be a starter in
the Premier League next season. Premier League ready? Yes.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis
For the life of me I have no idea how we secured a loan deal
for this guy because he should have been in the Premier League already. It’s unbelievable that Burnley didn’t make much of an effort to
sign him for their Premier League campaign but their loss was our gain as the
Jason Wilcox factor enabled us to get him in on loan from Manchester City and
thus preventing Mason Holgate from having to play. After a shaky start coming
to terms with playing Russell Martin ball, he absolutely excelled throughout
the season with a range of long passing that offered a real option rather than
just trying to pass our way through teams. In addition to that of course, he is a
properly committed defender and an absolute leader of men, hence he has been
captain of the England under 21s. He will play for England one day and it’s
absolutely wonderful news that we managed to get a deal which meant we had an
obligation to buy in the event of the team being promoted. I guess we can call that Jason Wilcox' farewell present. THB is absolutely ready to
be a starter in the Premier League next season and the big offers will be coming in next summer.
Mason Holgate
I've only included him here for a laugh. When we signed Holgate on loan, a mate who is an
Everton fan sent me a text which read “he is an absolute liability and you will regret
it“. Good knowledge. His debut was a 5-0 defeat at Sunderland where
he was directly responsible for two of the goals and that kind of set the tone
for his entire stay. With Jack Stephens injured he got in the team for one game
against West Brom at home and played really well and was man of the match in
many peoples eyes. His next outing came
at Preston where rather than doing his job, he decided to be the big man and
try and start a fight with a Preston substitute which ultimately led to us
conceding two goals and being very fortunate to escape with a point. His final
game for us was in the FA Cup away at Watford where he look like a good player
for half the game and an absolute fucking clown for the other half. Basically, he could do it when he wanted to
but there’s something wrong in his head. It was a masterstroke to bin off his loan deal
and Sheffield United had a shocker by taking it over. It’ll be really interesting to see where he
ends up next season. My money is on the lower half of the Championship or
somewhere like Turkey. Premier League ready? Not our problem mate.
Jack Stephens
Named captain of the team just before he got injured and had
to watch Jan Bednarek and THB form what was clearly going to be our best centre
back pairing. Awkward. Upon his return, Russell Martin found any
opportunity possible to shoehorn him into the team, often to the detriment of
someone who is a natural left or right back and he became the Cornish
Beckenbauer for a few games playing a hybrid left back/midfield role, which
never really looked convincing. Jack was one of the players that Russell Martin
100% wanted in the team and it took to the last game of the regular season for
him to set up with three central defenders, thus allowing three of our best
players to all start in something approaching their natural positions. With us
now playing three at the back, Jack excelled as the team got stronger and
stronger throughout the playoff campaign. Jack will be back in the Premier
League next season, probably as a starter and if that’s the case, he will be
captain. Premier League ready?
Has the experience so it won’t be a surprise to him. If we stay with a back three then I think he’ll
be fine.
MIDFIELDERS
Flynn Downes
Most Saints fans will be keeping an eye on social media and
mainstream media all summer to see what happens with regards to Flynn Downes
and whether we sign him or not. He has been the single biggest reason why we’ve
got promoted this season with some absolutely superb performances in midfield. He makes the whole team work. When he is there
we have been a match for anyone this season but when he’s not, the stats rather starkly tell you how much we relied on him. Teams need characters as well as good
footballers. Teams also need chefs who cook food for the players as well and
don’t let idiots like Flynn give themselves E.Coli poisoning. Never fall in love with a loan player they say? Too late for that. If he stays at West Ham then I hope they use
him and give him the run of games the player of his ability deserves. My hope
is that at 25, he fancies starting every game in the Premier League instead of
just a few. West Ham changing their manager has put a little bit of a different
slant on it but with West Ham being the club they are and Lopetegui being the
manager that he is, I would imagine that Flynn is not the sort of player that
they will go for. Premier League ready? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Shea Charles
A season that started well for Shea has somewhat tailed off
as Russell Martin seem to lose a bit of faith in him as the season went on. It
looked like he was going to be the regular number six at the start of the
season until Flynn Downes arrived and once he stopped shitting out raw liver. Then it
was assumed that Shea would be his back up with versatility meaning he got the
odd chance at centre back, right back or at number eight. A couple of dodgy
performances at centre back early in the season left him on the bench when
players got fit but he was criminally underused when Downes was unavailable
which in my opinion cost us a few points. His passing can be a bit loose at times which
I think is what counted against him but if anything, the change to 3 central
defenders is probably going to help his game time next season because he’s an
option in a back three as well as his usual defensive midfield position.
Premier League ready? Not as a starter but will be a decent squad option.
Will Smallbone
Wasn’t involved in the relegation shitshow of course because
he was out on-loan at Stoke and so was well prepared for the division that
Saints found themselves in upon his return. Overall, it’s been a decent season
for Will. The question was always about
his physical capability of playing week after week but he has largely answered
those questions this season. He has had some average games but not
always his fault because Russell Martin had it in his head for a while that Will
could play is a number six when he absolutely cannot unless we are playing a
team that has no pace or anyone who can tackle in midfield and who are going to
just let us have the ball and knock it around for 90 minutes. His lack of pace
is an issue if the midfield is strung out as he seems incapable of sprinting
anywhere. Concentrating on his strengths
however - his best games have all come in the number 8 position where he keeps
the ball moving and has developed this priceless knack of arriving at exactly
the right moment to slot the ball into the net. His finishing has improved as
the season has gone on as he’s realised that sometimes you do need to put your
foot through it rather than just try and roll it into the corner. Premier
League ready? If you’d asked me around Christmas I would’ve said absolutely
not. I still think he has a lot to prove but he is a young player who is going
to be better for the experience of the season so like with Joe Aribo, if he can
adapt to the pace of the Premier League, then maybe.
Joe Aribo
You’ve got the power to know, you are indestructible, always
believe in, Ari-BO. No one would’ve given a solitary shit if Joe had left last
summer, but he stayed and was nowhere near the team for the first three months
of the season apart from one appearance against Ipswich, where he was terrible.
He got given another chance around November time when the team was playing well
and he slotted in, looking fitter and stronger and he had a defined role as a
number eight which seemed to suit him more than any of the other myriad of
positions he has played in his career ranging from winger, centre forward and
even left back on some occasions for Rangers. Just when things were going well,
he went off to the AFCON to largely be a substitute for Nigeria in January and
when he came back he seemed to have lost a bit of spark but regained it in
plenty of time for the important end of the season when he became one of our
most consistent and influential players, becoming especially important after
Stuart Armstrong got injured. I will never forgive him though for making me, a
confirmed punk rock fan, sing Spandau Ballet songs at the football. No mean
feat. Premier League ready? I feel that he can definitely give it a much better
go than he did in his first season. The
question is whether he can adapt to the pace and I think that will become
apparent pretty quickly.
Stuart Armstrong
It was a sad sight when Stuart Armstrong limped out of the
game against Cardiff, thus ending his season and his time at Saints. As I write it has just been confirmed that he
is leaving for destination unknown. His
last season in the Premier League was pretty average so it was good to see him
put in a regular run of decent performances in the Championship, where his
level of intelligence and ability stood out and he still has magnificent hair
as we all know. There had been no real mention of a potential new contract
being on the table so him leaving is not a surprise and I think that’s getting
promoted to the Premier League probably made that more unlikely. For me, bearing in mind his last Premier
League season and his age, there was a big question mark over whether he would
be capable of being much of a factor next season anyway and I’d be surprised if
the link to Fulham comes to pass. The
other rumour has been Fiorentina and that makes much more sense to me – I can
imagine Stu playing in Italy and thriving. As he leaves, I expect he’ll be
remembered fondly by all Saints fans. I always like intelligent players with
ability and that’s Stuart Armstrong. He
was certainly one of our better signings of that period post-2016 when the golden age of
the black box was largely over. £7 million for well over
200 appearances is a hell of a bargain. Premier
League ready? Not applicable (for us anyway)
Joe Rothwell
The first
of the two players to arrive on loan from Bournemouth. Bournemouth fans were
arsed about Brooks but Rothwell? Not so much.
He had a good reputation at Championship level through spells at
Bournemouth and Blackburn but was not cutting it in the Premier League. Initially, was very difficult to see what sort
of midfielder he was and then he scored an absolutely ridiculous goal against
Huddersfield which was part of a two-goal salvo that rescued that particular
game. He then repeated the trick game against Sunderland with another two
goals. Other than that though he was very underwhelming. The closer he got
towards our own goal, the worse he was and he couldn’t deal with receiving the
ball in tight areas with his back to play, at all. A horrific performance against Hull saw him
solely being used as Stuart Armstrong‘s understudy thereafter, but when
Armstrong picked up his season-ending injury, Rothwell was not used. Overall, he’s provided an extra body in
midfield in the squad but even if we hadn’t gone up, I don’t think we’d be
looking at a permanent move. Some players
are never going to be suitable for Russell Martin’s style of play and maybe
that was the case with Joe. Premier
League ready? It will be up to Bournemouth to answer that.
David Brooks
We were very fortunate to be able to sign a player of his ability in January, on loan from Bournemouth. The feeling about this from the start , was that Bournemouth were acting in the players, rather than their own interests by letting him come on loan to us. It’s quite funny to think that it would’ve boiled the piss of quite a few Bournemouth supporters, intent on stoking the fake rivalry. Bearing in mind the journey that Brooks has been on with cancer, the loan spell has been incredibly important for him to get his body used to playing regular football again. His performances have been a bit patchy with sometimes him looking ridiculously good and other times not quite being on it but given the journey he’s been on, I think that’s perfectly acceptable. He wouldn’t be the player you'd choose to win a tackle for your life and he never will be, but he works hard, is clearly very intelligent in the way he plays football and there’s always room for players with ability. Overall, on balance, I hope that we sign him as he has a very high ceiling and will only get better as he builds up. Nothing has been mentioned as yet to whether we are going to try to sign him and the only reason I can think of is that Bournemouth have categorically decided that he’s not being sold. If that’s the case, one thing I do hope is that if he plays against us for Bournemouth next season, we give him a good reception and don’t give him a hard time like idiotic fans Stoke did with Will Smallbone for example. Premier League ready? On ability, definitely.
Sam Edozie
Sam has had a strange season. Got himself in the team early on and then found himself bumped down the pecking order with the arrival of Ryan Fraser. Also found himself behind Kamaldeen Sulemana because at that particular time, we hadn’t given up on him actually providing something for the money that we paid for him. Sammy got back in the team around December time and started rattling in goals at a decent rate but his season was interrupted by a dreadful tackle by Norwich’s Jack Stacey, who hitched a ride with his full weight on Sam‘s ankle. I think overall this season he has been very unlucky but there is definite promise there and the manager clearly likes him. It was good to see him have a bit of an impact at the end of the season and play a significant amount of time in the Playoff Final at Wembley. One to watch for next season. Premier League ready? Bench option I feel but a lot of scope to keep improving.
Ryan Fraser
Wee Man has been an absolute revelation. There were many people who were not enthusiastic about the prospect of him joining the club back in the summer, due to the questions that had been asked over is attitude in the way he left Bournemouth. His career had gone down the pan a little bit when he got his move to Newcastle at a time when Newcastle were soon to be taken over by a sovereign state and suddenly go stratospheric with the type of players they were buying. Not only that, the manager he’d walked out on at Bournemouth, ended up as Newcastle manager as the Karma Gods had a bit of a laugh with Wee Man. Russell Martin told us to trust his judgement on his old Scotland team mate and he came on-loan to us and made an immediate impression with late goals at Hull and Millwall to turn two points into six. As the season went on, the goals dried up a bit but by the end Russell Martin was using him as a wingback to really good effect, so much so that he started the play-off final against Leeds and did a brilliant job. It should be an easy deal to do with Newcastle to get him here next season and he is a player who hundred percent really wants to be here. Wee man - Premier League ready? Valuable squad player.
Kamaldeen Sulemana
£25 million quid and after a season and a half - fuck all. For context, Sekou Mara has done more and he cost half as much. Has not looked like he has wanted to be here since the moment he arrived and is one of those players who would’ve been off in a heartbeat at the end of last season if anyone had come in with the money, which no one was ever going to do because he hasn’t done anything. A classic Catch 22. Probably didn’t want to stay and play in the Championship because he thought he was too good for it but when he played, it turned out that he wasn’t good enough for it. Towards the end of the season Russell Martin said he wasn’t going to play any players who didn’t really want to be here and since then, Kamaldeen has barely played a minute, which I think, tells you everything you need to know. We’re going to take a massive loss of his transfer fee and wages paid out, but it will be worth it to get him out the door. Premier League ready? He probably thinks he is but no one else does.
STRIKERS
Adam Armstrong
Ultimately,
he has scored the goals that have fired us back to the Premier League,
including of course, the winner at Wembley against Leeds. I find myself in the
ridiculous position of still being frustrated with a player who has scored 24
goals for us this season because of the amount of chances he misses, the first
touches that go astray and the lack of strength when within close proximity to a
defender. However, that's just
focusing on the negatives and without him this season, we would not have got
promoted, so whatever happens at Premier League level, he has totally paid back
the transfer fee that we spent on him three years ago. He is unquestionably
better in the wide positions, away from most of the traffic, where he can
concentrate on finding spaces between full-backs and centre backs. He has 100%
earned the right to have another crack at the Premier League and if he starts
well and gets confident at that level, then he can answer all of the “can he
cut it in the Premier League?” style questions. To be honest, we need him to.
His two seasons in the Premier League were distinctly underwhelming but the
extenuating circumstances are that Ralph Hasenhüttl apparently never rated him
and didn’t want to sign him in the first place, which put paid to his first
season after he got dropped round about Christmas time. The second season was the Ralph/Nathan/Ruben
shitshow in which everyone was dreadful and we didn’t use any player to their
strengths. Let’s hope that playing to
his strengths, the style of play and playing for a manager who actually rates
him, will mean he has a better go at it this time. Premier League ready? Jury
is out on that one but it would be brilliant if he could bang in the goals at a
higher level. Needs a good start.
Che Adams
In the
words of The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go? On the one hand, here is a
player who has had a contract offer on the table all season and has decided not
to sign it and waited to be a free agent. He has contributed enough this season
for him to leave with our best wishes, should he decide to do so. On the other
hand, you could never fault his effort even though his contract was running
down and he stepped up to the plate when it mattered in the second half of the
season when we needed him to. Che is now of an age where he should have some
consistency in his performances but even within the same game sometimes, he can
look like a Premier League ready forward and five minutes later, look like
someone who has never kicked a ball before. If he could play at his best level
for 80% of the time, instead of the 40% that he currently manages, he would
never have been in the Championship last year in the first place and everybody
would have been looking to sign him for the relatively paltry £15 million that
we were asking for him last summer. We are undoubtedly a better team with him
in it and if he leaves, we have to try and replace him with someone better. If
he stays however, he has to do better than he has in his previous three Premier
League seasons. I feel that I will accept what happens either way, should he
stay or should he go. Premier League
ready? I can’t imagine he’ll be any better than he was in previous seasons
there. He’ll be ok, no more no
less.
Ross Stewart
Well what
can you say about Ross Stewart? Not a lot really as he has barely kicked a ball
this season. Brought in to score the goals to fire us out of the Championship
but we are now in a position of hoping that a good half a season in the Championship
for Sunderland, will see him step up to the Premier League. It’s a bit of a
stretch to expect him to do that but you never know, he might. He is so
incredibly highly rated by anyone who has seen him play with any regularity
that it just may turn out as a player who we signed for the season just gone,
turns out to be the godsend that we needed at a higher level. He looks like a
player – with physicality and pace and a decent shot on him – but a) can he
stay fit and b) can he step up. We can
but hope. Premier League ready? Wouldn’t
it be fantastic if he was but there is absolutely no way of knowing.
Sekou Mara
Two seasons
in for Sekou and all he has really proven that he is a player to bring on when
you are 3-0 up against a team who have given up, when the game is dead. Quite
simply, he didn’t prove that he was even Championship level during the season
and our promotion to the Premier League will mean that he has to go, either
back to France permanently or out on loan to someone. Seems to have no idea
about what it takes from the physical sacrifice point of view, to be a
serviceable footballer in England. Despite being quite a big lad he’s not
prepared to put himself in harms way and there’s just nothing there. More hairstyles than decent performances. Premier League ready? Not in this lifetime.
OUT ON LOAN
Mateusz Lis
So far, he was signed by us to loan out and there has never been any indication that he was ever considered to be a first team keeper for Saints. So, did we sign him just to bring in loan fees every year or are we watching his development with a view to bring him back? Still only 27 and on loan at Goztepe last season and winning promotion with them and very highly regarded. There is absolutely no way of knowing what the plan is for Lis.
Romain Perraud
In a season where loads of players didn’t give a shit, that allegation could never have been levelled at Romain. Apparently though, he didn’t get on with Russell Martin for the moment he walked in the door so the exit was always on the cards. Has not been a massive success back in France but even with our lack of Premier League level options at left back, I can’t see it being him who comes to the rescue. Premier League ready? I don’t think so.
Lyanco
Spent the season playing in Qatar for a club I’ve never heard
of. Apparently, there was a deal in place for him to join them permanently, but
he doesn’t want to do that, so he will be coming back, to be shipped out again
no doubt, hopefully permanently. He’s a good lad who provided some light relief
in the relegation season but there is a feeling that all his heart and passion
is an attempt at hiding the fact that he just isn’t very good. Premier League
ready? Nowhere near.
Duje Caleta-Car
Left because he didn’t want to play in the Championship and in his case, as an experienced international player, that’s enough for
me to say that he can go. If you
think that playing badly in relegated side is reason enough to declare that
you’re too good for the division below, then I think your attitude needs to be
questioned and we don’t need any bad attitudes in what is going to be a very
tough season. A slight caveat on his one season with us is that it was the
Ralph/Nathan/Ruben shitshow but no. Premier League ready? On ability he
probably is but on attitude definitely not and I’m not sure he’d have the
ability to play the way Russell Martin wants his centre backs to play.
Armel Bella-Kotchap
There is
obviously a good player in there and Russell Martin said at the start of the
season that he would like Armel to stay but like Caleta-Car, Armel didn’t want
to stay and so went off to PSV in the oh-so-challenging Dutch league. Armel is
built like Tarzan and fights like Jane and is clearly made of biscuits because
even a move to the less physical Dutch league, saw him pop his shoulder out and
miss about seven months of the season. Premier League ready? I think that if he
wants to come back and is prepared to get his head down and work then he could
be re-integrated into the squad as he plays a position where we are going to need
bodies next season and there’s a player in there if he gets his head and body
right. At his age he’s not beyond
redemption and it would be cheaper to keep him than to buy a replacement. I feel that he will go if we get a half
decent offer and if that’s the case, I can’t see myself crying myself to sleep
about it.
Charly Alcaraz
Stayed after the relegation and signed a new contract and was
then loaned out a few months later when Juventus took an interest in signing
him. He went with an option to buy that
Juventus were never going to pay and like ABK, he got injured and didn’t do
much at all. A lot of noise has been made in the media from Italy about Juve
wanting to sign him again but I am firmly of the opinion that we should tell
them to get serious or fuck off. Put
some money on the table and then we’ll talk. The implication was that he didn’t
have the learning capacity to take in what was wanted in our team and I doubt
his comprehension of English has improved whilst on loan in Italy. Premier
League ready? Has the ability but I think we will be looking to cash in and spend the money elsewhere.
Paul Onuachu
Has
undoubtedly been the most successful of the players that we loaned out, banging
in goals all over the place for Trabzonspor, who like Juventus are really
taking the piss with the noises they are making about wanting to sign a player
that we paid £20 million for, for nothing. What’s “fuck off” in Turkish?. There
is a parallel universe where Tall Paul comes back and bangs in the goals in the
Premier League but we don’t live in that universe. We live in the universe
where there is a player who is not suited to Russell Martin style of play. I
would love him to be a success for us as I believe he was badly treated but I
don’t think it’s going to happen in this lifetime. Premier League ready? Even
if Che Adams leaves, I really can’t see it. He'll go to raise funds if a proper offer comes in.
PREMIER LEAGUE READY?
Lots of work on the squad to do. Here's my wish list... assumptions are that no one unexpected leaves (KWP, Bednarek, Arma, Stephens in their last year etc) and that Che goes. Another assumption is that this is about survival and not about qualifying for Europe etc.
A first choice goalkeeper is a priority. Maybe someone on loan with McCarthy and Lumley as the backups for the season. Highly unlikely that Baz is going to play for the first team at all next season or that Mateusz Lis is an option.
Full backs... I make it we have KWP for the team and Manning for the bench meaning that we need a left back who is a starter first and foremost. We'll also need another right back to cover KWP as Bree is simply not good enough. Perraud to be moved on.
Bednarek, Stephens, THB are fine but we need another central defender which could be ABK or it could be someone else. No way back for Caleta-Car and Lyanco.
Le God willing we'll have Flynn Downes in midfield but Aribo and Smallbone will need proper competition and we'll have to replace Stuart Armstrong and Rothwell. So, two midfield players. Alcaraz to be moved on to raise funds.
We need a winger to replace Sulemana with someone who might actually contribute. Maybe try and turn Brooks loan into a permanent deal. If we want to play with three up at any point, we will probably need two wide players to be signed.
Assuming Che leaves or even if he doesn't, a striker is priority as Arma in the Premier League is a question mark, as is Ross Stewart being able to stand up for long enough. Tall Paul to be moved on to raise some cash. Sekou Mara to be moved on because it's never happening.
So much to do and so much money and so little time. Bring it on.