WHERE WILL WE FINISH?

[ivoralljack]

Anybodys' guess really. Looking at our pre-season I'd say firmly in the bottom half but I'm sure we will get better. It very much depends on whether Piroe will still be with us so, assuming he will be, with a mixture of Joe Allen, hope and downright bias thrown in, I'm going for us to scrape the play-offs in 6th place.

 

[The Blobster]

6th to 10th is my best bet , our defensive errors and lack of fluency up front will cost us goals for and against .

 

[Yankee_Jack]

Agree - it pivots about Piroe and to a lesser extent Obafemi and individual/team character. Our midfield is looking solid. If Congreve gets the starts, by Christmas we'll be wondering how we ever managed without him.

We could get promoted ... even automatically. We have the goals. Countering this optimism: we lack defensive consistency ... not sure Darling is the answer to that; we lack a promotion level keeper ... at least we won't play our best keeper. I am hopeful that the addition of Allen will resolve the character issue in the sense that as the senior / international pro he wouldn't suffer no-shows in the locker room.

I'd like to play 4 vs 3+2 as there are midfield / offensive players I'd like to have on the field, but I'm not sure we can be solid defensively without the 3+2 setup.

Thinking out loud ....

Benda
Naughton - Wood - Cabango - Darling - Grimes
Fulton - Allen
Piroe - Congreve
Obafemi

Grimes can play LWB. Naughton is in his natural role. Gets our strongest players on the field. Reduces our weakest link to Darling.

 

[ivoralljack]

I see you've omitted Paterson. Being fair, he did contribute goals and assists last season despite the hiatus over his contract. Had he played and enjoyed continuity his final and overall contribution could have been quite impressive. But at least he's there to either start or come on as an impact sub and add pressure to those competing in midfield. We need as much depth as possible to achieve a decent finish, something we probably lack right now.

 

[Yankee_Jack]

I omitted Paterson as I think that Congreve has more to offer now and definitely in the future. He's got technical ability and physicality that Paterson doesn't. If we had a natural LWB then I'd have Grimes in that #10 role and omit Congreve ... I guess we sort of do in Manning and that would still be a good option ... but I'd still prefer to see Grimes and Congreve on the field. One niggly thing is that both Piroe and Congreve are optimal cutting inside onto their left foot to shoot, so one has to be disadvantaged in my setup.

The one thing for sure is that the team selected to play against Rotherham will not be the same team that selects itself come the end of August.

 

[CroJack]

Next season EFL Championship clubs are allowed to have 7 players on the bench and use up to 5 subs. I think we'll benefit from the new rule.

 

[CroJack]

We can easily finish in the top six if we fix our defence, but I think Martin will insist on playing from the back no matter what, which means we'll be conceding loads of stupid goals.

 

[Behindthegoal]

It’s about time I went to Wembley again. So I’m predicting a top 6 finish.


And a good run in the carabao.


And at least the semis in the FA cup.


PS. There’s magic mushrooms in Bishops Wood just round the corner from me.