The Fatman
Espen Baardsen
Does anyone know, when the official squad, is released?
Will we have adequate cover for any of VDV, Cuti, Maddison, Udogie or Vicario if any suffer long term injuries?
Not to be a buzzkill while the getting is good but that does seem like the pertinent question to ask. Hoping that they all get through the season unscathed seems a long shot.
VDV, Romero and Vicario = NoWill we have adequate cover for any of VDV, Cuti, Maddison, Udogie or Vicario if any suffer long term injuries?
Not to be a buzzkill while the getting is good but that does seem like the pertinent question to ask. Hoping that they all get through the season unscathed seems a long shot.
That would certainly be the theory, look at Arse the other year out of Europe, almost played the same team each week. Leicester and Chelsea when they won the league, both out of Europe and basically playing the same XI every week.Perhaps our limited number of games this season will help us avoid too many injuries.
Will we have adequate cover for any of VDV, Cuti, Maddison, Udogie or Vicario if any suffer long term injuries?
Not to be a buzzkill while the getting is good but that does seem like the pertinent question to ask. Hoping that they all get through the season unscathed seems a long shot.
It's an international break , get ready .....Perhaps our limited number of games this season will help us avoid too many injuries.
There will be cover, just depends if you think it's adequate
Vicario - Foster and Austin
VDV - probably Davies (we need another CB in Jan!)
Romero - Phillips (not sure if he can cover LCB and Dier. Maybe Royal, but he has never played there.
Udogie - Davies and Sessegnon when fit.
Maddison - Lo Celso. Possibly one of the academy players?
We were never going to change the first team and the back up players in 1 window though.
VDV, Romero and Vicario = No
Maddison = Lo Celso (i also wonder what Bentancur will look like with more freedom in the 8 role ?)
Udogie = Davies (who is actually alright in this role, but obvs not as good as Udogie) or Sess when fit again (would be very interested to see him under Ange personally)
I know some will say Maddison to Lo Celso is a drop off but you could go round most teams in the country bar City and ask what cover they have if you take out their best players. Eg Arse without Odergaard, Pool without Salah, Saudi Sportswashing Machine without Guimeres, etc etc.
still buzzing here, nothing killed
Perhaps our limited number of games this season will help us avoid too many injuries.
Perhaps our limited number of games this season will help us avoid too many injuries.
A non european squad should have about 18 top players plus some kids on clear pathways. Having about 35 players, with 15 bed blockers, isnt just dumb, its actively harmfulI'm loving it. We need a "lack of cover" to move forwards, because we need to clear the decks of highly paid players that are not giving us bang for buck.
We can make do for 6 months or whatever, so that we can HOPEFULLY make it into Europe for next year and freely sign better players, for a completely fresh squad feel.
Bentancur will be back by then and he’s basically our best CM, so only really losing 1 “starter” for a couple of games.My biggest worry is Jan/Feb when the AFCON and Asian cups are on. Considering 2 of the 3 we will likely lose are 2/3rds of our midfield.
A non european squad should have about 18 top players plus some kids on clear pathways. Having about 35 players, with 15 bed blockers, isnt just dumb, its actively harmful
It's an international break , get ready .....
Ah well that's a great thought but then wouldn't it be even more helpful to drop out of the FA cup early to ensure we have even fewer games so the "cover" is even more adequate? (Not being arsy at you but hope my point is clear over the lack of competition in the squad to be able to facilitate actual success rather than celebrating how few games we have to play)
If we had 35 (senior) players. But never mind. Keep on embarrassing yourself.