Summer transfer window 2017/18

Actually wouldn't be surprised to see Bruce go for Sako, as he's a match winner and with the way Bruce sets up we'll be needing a few of those. He's effective on the right-wing too, so could play in the same team as Green.

I'd prefer Tom Ince and Bruce is a fan, but not sure if we could afford or attract him to join us.

If we want to improve our style and ability to keep hold of the ball, I think we have to start thinking about replacing the likes of Baker, Hutton and Jedinak in the first team; we've already got a replacement for Hutton, we also need a ball playing central defender who's not only good at defending but who also has good distribution, so the ball's not just played long everytime. As for a replacement for Jedinak there's been suggestions that Derby might be willing to sell Will Huges, so maybe worth looking at.

Replace Jedi! Why would you? I know he's not the fastest or the most precise player on the pitch, yet this season we haven't won a single game when he's not played, as for Baker he's not the smartest defender but boy is he brave and in all honesty he's still young and still learning, the jury is still out on Hutton, he's had a few good games and a few bad ones.

It looks like Jedinak might be switching into the back according to comments made by Bruce.

I think us not winning any games whilst Jedinak is out of the team says more about the way we're set up than anything else. With him or without him we're very negative and defensive with our play, so of course we're going to do better when he plays, as he suits that system. Trouble is that system is what's holding us back, we need to employ a more attacking style of play, having Jedinak in the midfield is an hindrance to that. Playing him in defence might be a good idea.

The real question is whether Hourihane and Lansbury can form a partnership. Both are without question good enough to play for promotion candidates, but I question whether they can do the defensive job well enough.

achilles wrote:It looks like Jedinak might be switching into the back according to comments made by Bruce.

Not a bad move if you ask me! then go for Joe Ledley for a DM, always put's in a shift and for all you youngster's 30 is no old!

I must say whenever I've seen Ledley, I haven't been that impressed by him. It's hard to guess what we'll do really, because we don't know how Bruce wants us to play or even what formation he intends to employ.

To be honest I think what needs addressing the most is the fact that we only scored 47 goals, only Wigan, Rotherham and small heath scored less, at the start of the season I'd have never have guessed that Burton would score more than us. But I think that problem is just as much down to tactics as it is to personnel.

@deadbuzzardalive Joe is hit and miss (like any over player) I've watched a few Palace games this season, mainly to see Benteke and how he'd perform, personally I think he's very good and would strengthen the midfield should Jedi drop back to centre back, age and experience also helps the youngster's progress, IMO.

deadbuzzardalive wrote:I must say whenever I've seen Ledley, I haven't been that impressed by him. It's hard to guess what we'll do really, because we don't know how Bruce wants us to play or even what formation he intends to employ.

To be honest I think what needs addressing the most is the fact that we only scored 47 goals, only Wigan, Rotherham and small heath scored less, at the start of the season I'd have never have guessed that Burton would score more than us. But I think that problem is just as much down to tactics as it is to personnel.

The end of that opening sentence............."because we don't know how Bruce wants us to play or even what formation he intends to employ". That for me shows the disconnect between what the club are telling us they want to do (identity, style of play etc etc) and what is actually happening/going to happen. Could anyone at the club tell us what the Steve Bruce identity is? Can anybody here help me with what the Steve Bruce way is? What is the Steve Bruce identity that runs through Birmingham, Wigan, Huddersfield, Sunderland, Hull? What is the thing that is identifiable throughout his tenures at those clubs?

I think the option to field a midfield without an enforcer/DM/anchor (whatever you wish to call it), only arrives when you have a team that a) don't give away possession easily b) are able to pass the ball on the pitch with accuracy.

So far it's a been a rescue operation for Bruce where he needed to get the defensive organisation right. He needed to get the mind set right and add som resilience to a team that gotten used to being the shittest turd in the league for quite some time. Thus a player like Jedinak makes us look better as he clears up all the loose balls left by the others.

Hopefully passing the ball from A to B is next up on the tactics board and our midfield can get going without a pure DM.

So we have arrived at a point were we are asking professional footballers to actually play football and pass to one another!

It was Round who said he wanted to give the club an idendity, and have it so the that there would be a definite style of play, played by everyone from the development teams all the way to the first team. We haven't seen any evidence for it though.

Round is probably the most important man at the club on the footballing side of things but we never get to hear from him, in the same way that we do fom Xia and Bruce. So we're kind of blind to what he's actually done, or what he intends to do, except the few snippets we heard when first joining. Would be useful to get some kind of update from him.

A lot of outs and a few ins of better quality for me.
Where do we start?

NARLA24 wrote:A lot of outs and a few ins of better quality for me.
Where do we start?

With a better manager!

Fpuppys wrote:Replace Jedi! Why would you? I know he's not the fastest or the most precise player on the pitch, yet this season we haven't won a single game when he's not played, as for Baker he's not the smartest defender but boy is he brave and in all honesty he's still young and still learning, the jury is still out on Hutton, he's had a few good games and a few bad ones.

I like Jedi - but he his a very defensive midfielder - almost a 3rd CB - that IMO leaves us short going forward, you can see the hole in the midfield at times - this leaves us with a predictable long ball up the field.

I also think the team is set up to reduce shots on sam johnstone - I know any defence will try do that - but we seem to have half the team doing it. I think a more solid keeper would allow us to committ more players up the second half of the pitch...

deadbuzzardalive wrote:It was Round who said he wanted to give the club an idendity, and have it so the that there would be a definite style of play, played by everyone from the development teams all the way to the first team. We haven't seen any evidence for it though.

Round is probably the most important man at the club on the footballing side of things but we never get to hear from him, in the same way that we do fom Xia and Bruce. So we're kind of blind to what he's actually done, or what he intends to do, except the few snippets we heard when first joining. Would be useful to get some kind of update from him.

I think round is finding his feet. I haven't followed that closely but the u23's u18's seem to have done quite well this term - so maybe some credit to round there. I do recall one interview where round said something like "Steve Bruce runs the first team as he see's fit "- everything else comes under Rounds remit if he's building that part well maybe he will get a greater say in the next manager. I think Bruce was a 'ship steadier' appointment - long term i think round is looking for a more modern type manager.

NARLA24 wrote:A lot of outs and a few ins of better quality for me.
Where do we start?

First team for me:

???
Bree - Chester - Baker - Taylor
Adomah - Hourihane - Lansbury - Green
Grealish
Kodjia

Sure, Kodjia is selfish but he does the business and could score a lot of goals for us next season.

Alternative front two could be Hogan behind Kodjia or Audrey up front with Hogan.

I'd like to see Veretout come back, although I don't know if he'd work in a 4-5-1.

We have FB cover in Hutton (who we're stuck with), De Laet and Amavi (yes, yes, I know but we can adapt to give him more midfield cover) and if the Jedi can work in defence we'd just need one more central defender. Bacuna, Richards, Cissokho and Elphick can go.

Johnstone is ok and getting better but he's not ours, probably not quite good enough to be the main goalie and probably wouldn't want to be reserve, for which we have the perfectly capable Steer anyway. I like Steer but have no idea if he's good enough to be number 1. He's still only 24. Mark Bunn? No idea. We still have Gollini but I doubt he'll come back unless we get promoted next season and make sure he's looked after.

If we're stuck with Gabby and Gardner then we'll have to use them as reserves, although I do like the way Gabby gets properly stuck in. Could he play behind Kodjia and hold up the ball while the midfield arrives? Bjarnason is presumably ok midfield cover but we don't really know yet, do we?

It sounds like Kozak has gone (good luck to him, he always tried his hardest and was never given a proper go) and Sanchez too. Tshibola looked great when he was here and should definitely be recalled (and Gardner sent out on loan). Gil looked good but do we really need him back? He and Grealish looked good in the one game Sherwood played them both behind Benteke, could they do the job for Kodjia in a 4-3-2-1?

That leaves McCormack. If he can get fit again and resolve his issues with Bruce and anything we don't know about then maybe he and Hogan could work together?

I think overall we have some very good players there but can't suggest who we might bring in. A lot of it will depend on whether Bruce insists on playing his buys. By which I mean if Kodjia has to start because he's scoring all the goals, will he also play Hogan even though the two don't work together? Could we even see Kodjia gone and a new team player striker coming in, someone who will work with Hogan and the midfield rather than go it all alone?

We're being linked with Bristol City defender Aden Flint, with the Somerset version of the Birmingham Mail saying we've bid for him. Derby, West Ham and Albion also linked.

On the goalkeeper situation Bruce has said that he's spoken to United about bringing back Johnstone so as long as he and United agree to it, he'll probably be our first choice goalie next season, as I can't see them letting him rejoin us to sit on our bench rather than theirs, and as far as I know Bunn's contract runs out this summer so just depends on whether it gets renewed or not.

Interesting times, at this point in time my team for next season would be:

Ruddy (with Steer as backup to prove his fitness and then perhaps take over from Ruddy)
Hutton or De Laet if he proves his fitness, Bree isn’t quite ready yet.
Chester
Baker or Jedinak or a new signing as Jedinak could also cover for Chester if needed.
Taylor
Adomah - Hourihane - Lansbury – Green, we have to try if Hourihane and Landsbury works but higher up the pitch, not convinced by Adomah but again he has the second highest assists in the league so he must be doing something right (just that I keep on missing it), Green I have high hopes for and could be a surprise packet next season.
Hogan – McCormack, really think that this could work. It obviously relies on Hogan getting himself fit and over his injuries and McCormack sorting himself out to the satisfaction of Bruce. I know dropping Kodjia our top goalscorer and player of the season borders on the idiotic but we have to start playing as a team and involving the midfield, not bypassing them.

Obviously the start of next season the team will be nothing like that, but at least it will offer yet more debate.

achilles wrote:I know dropping Kodjia our top goalscorer and player of the season borders on the idiotic but we have to start playing as a team and involving the midfield, not bypassing them.

Thing is though we have players able to bring the ball up through the midfield, it's the manager telling the goalie and defence to hoof forward to Kodjia. I've mentioned it before but at Fulham once Kodjia was red carded every time the defence or goalie had the ball they hoofed it up to Hogan, who was outnumbered and not tall enough to retain the ball even once, and not being supported by his midfield, who were all on defensive duties from the start of the match. For me that's the manager telling them to do it and them sticking to the game plan regardless of what's happening in the match. We have to wonder if Bruce will adopt the same tactic again next season or if he'll have seen something with Hourihane and Lansbury in the Brighton match he thinks he can do something with.

achilles wrote:So we have arrived at a point were we are asking professional footballers to actually play football and pass to one another!  

Yep I think that just about sums things up

Kodjia can be selfish at times, but that by itself doesen't stop us playing as a team, again that's more down to tactics and team selections. I still think he can play with Hogan myself if the system's right.

We've got a bit of dilemma as to whether we need to sign another striker really. We don't know if McCormack's going to get over his problems, Hogan seems injury prone as does Hepburn-Murphy, and Kodjia himself might miss a sizeable chunk of the season and having missed pre-season it might take him weeks to get up to match fitness, once he returns.

Think we might have a bit of a clear out before we sign anybody. Bunn, Steer, one of Hutton or De Laet, Amavi, Cissokho, Elphick, Bacuna, Tshibola, Gardner, Richards, Veretout, Gil, McCormack and Agbonlahor are all players who could possibly move on, and then I wouldn't be surprised if there's one or two surprise departures.

Being linked to Kundai Benyu 19 year old midfielder at Ipswich, Tottenham and Celtic are also linked, but then again premier league teams were also linked with Bedeau and Bree. If he feels he might have a better chance of first team football with us, we might stand a chance. That's if the rumour is even true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTC0Ao7MCo&feature=youtu.be

Looks half decent. But then again youtube makes anyone look decent.