Is our squad really that bad?

[millsy]

For 7 weeks this board was full of "informed comment" that our Director of football and his cronies had no intention of securing the services of any manager of pedigree or track record, allegedly because Mike Rigg just wanted a nobody who would be his "yes man" and allow him to run his dictatorship and take us into oblivion etc.

This has proven not to be the case and some have now turned their sights onto our first team players, who may certainly be grossly under-performing but it seems ludicrous to me to say they don't care and/or they're useless. Here again, I'm not a Rigg devotee (don't know much about the man) but surely we can all see that Cairney, Ream, O'Hara, Stearman, Fredericks are all good footballers, can't we? Also, decent judges elsewhere are fans of Garbutt, Richards and Pringle. Is everybody else wrong in their judgement of all these players, or could it possibly be that they have not yet been managed, coached and trained effectively?

Add to the above, the class of Ross and our own emerging youngsters, Emerson, LVC and Moussa, plus Dan and until the other day, poor Cauley and we have a nice balance of youth and experience available. I haven't even mentioned Scott, Kaca, Hutch and our keepers, who all have something to offer.

Let's stop complaining and get behind our new manager, who I'm desperately hoping will be able to knock these guys into a team that plays with aggression and pace. If he can, the confidence will grow and this is the magic ingredient which separates winners from losers, all other things being equal.

Just my views.

[The Swan]

I don't think that our squad is that bad. As you say we have some very good young players.

Our new Head Coach must be given time to get our players doing the things right that we have been doing wrong.

Hopefully they can get something right before we end this season in the bottom three.

Next season maybe we can push for promotion.

[RaySmith]

Football is a team game is a cliché, but true.

So we need all the different elements of our squad to fully gel. Then there are injuries, etc, as well as managerial changes.

Also, this is a very competitive league - and all clubs have talented players. I don't think there's much , if anything, between us and the top teams in the division , but we need the confidence that winning a few games  brings, when those goal chances are taken, and  defenders don't make many errors..

[Mince n Tatties]

There is  no hiding the fact that our defence  has
been terrible for a long time now.
So I wouldn't class 3 of the players you mentioned
as good,average maybe at best I'm afraid..

[Denver Fulham]

We don't have any wing players who have the pace and skill required to play there (well). It's a massive flaw in the current roster.

It think it's a case of Slavisa can balance out the roster, we'll see 1 + 1 will eventually equal 4.

[bill taylors apprentice]

I could write a long list of the accolades (player of the year etc) won by the players we signed this summer. It amazes me when people suggest that some, eg Stearman, are suddenly no good at this level. We also already had the best attacking playing in the league (in terms of goals + assists) in McCormack.

But our defenders are c. 10% lighter than the other good partnerships I've looked at in this league. We don't have a decent defensive midfielder. Lonergan, whilst a good stopper, doesn't seem to claim much in the air. We generally play at least one full back (Garbutt, Fredericks) and/or central midfielder (Cairney) on the wing each week... And of course we're 19th in the league

So my view is that Jokanovic needs to (and will) be given the funds to bring in a few quality players in the summer, such as a big heavyweight CB to play alongside Stearman, a proper DM, a proper winger... But those expecting another team overhaul will be surprised

I think you have hit the nail on the head!

[HatterDon]

I think our squad is more than competitive in the Championship and that our youngsters are exceptional as a group.

Here's three major reasons why we're where we are at the moment [in no particular order]

1. Poor tactical coaching -- it's why our defense is always under siege, and why our back four gets blamed for lack of pressure on the ball and on our opponents. Given decent dead-ball defense routines, we'd be well into the top half.

2. Injuries -- especially in three critical areas -- Right Back [three players crocked], keeper [two down], and now striker [two down].

3. Questionable squad/team selection -- [and this is either down to Kit or the front office] The team has cried out all season for a Dickson Etuhu-type player. Matilla the Hun looks to have the requisite parts, but he's hardly played. We've also needed a creative playmaker since Cap'n' Danny left, but Hyndman was barred from the pitch while Kit was in charge.

Our squad at the end of the summer transfer period was easily good enough to finish 7th or 8th.

[Woolly Mammoth]

I am confident enough to feel that our squad are strong enough, and have the ability to climb the Division over the remainder of the season. We have enough quality to allay any fear of relegation. It's the preparation and organisation and match management, that needs polishing up and fine tuning, add the commitment and application of the players, under what appears I hope is a proper leader in the new manager.
Obviously we need to start picking up points, and continue l
Picking up points, otherwise what I have just stated will mean absolutely nothing, as its results that will improve our position in conjunction with better performances.
Only time will tell if it has a happy ending come the end of the season.
But I will stick my neck out, and put my head on the block, and stand up and be counted and say that the best is yet to come.

[HatterDon]

I am confident enough to feel that our squad are strong enough, and have the ability to climb the Division over the remainder of the season. We have enough quality to allay any fear of relegation. It's the preparation and organisation and match management, that needs polishing up and fine tuning, add the commitment and application of the players, under what appears I hope is a proper leader in the new manager.
Obviously we need to start picking up points, and continue l
Picking up points, otherwise what I have just stated will mean absolutely nothing, as its results that will improve our position in conjunction with better performances.
Only time will tell if it has a happy ending come the end of the season.
But I will stick my neck out, and put my head on the block, and stand up and be counted and say that the best is yet to come.

:54:

[love4ffc]

Agree under the right manager our squad is strong enough to climb the the division.  But I will also say I think we have a lot of average to just above average players.  Players that will be great for squad players next season.  Still think we need almost a whole new back line, better wingers (mainly right), a good holding CM and one more really good striker for next season. 

[Max Headroom]

No, it's quite strong. Could be improved in one or two places but things will improve. Jk is a good coach!

[davew]

I am confident enough to feel that our squad are strong enough, and have the ability to climb the Division over the remainder of the season. We have enough quality to allay any fear of relegation. It's the preparation and organisation and match management, that needs polishing up and fine tuning, add the commitment and application of the players, under what appears I hope is a proper leader in the new manager.
Obviously we need to start picking up points, and continue l
Picking up points, otherwise what I have just stated will mean absolutely nothing, as its results that will improve our position in conjunction with better performances.
Only time will tell if it has a happy ending come the end of the season.
But I will stick my neck out, and put my head on the block, and stand up and be counted and say that the best is yet to come.

Safe bet, it can't get any worse (lol).

[JIMMY D]

Yes it is really that bad. Just check the results and the teams who are winning against us. If we want to compete next season half the team will have to go.

[filham]

In the summer we bought in about a dozen new players and the odds were always against each and every one being a success, it has proved so. One or two of the new players are just not up to Championship standard.

We have too many players of equal quality competing for the two centre midfield position, no player with real pace for the wide position and most important of all we are missing that big strong ugly centre back . We did not buy sensibly in the summer.

Jokanovic  now has the job of getting something out of this squad that has key parts missing.

[colinwhite]

We do have squad full of decent players on paper. But unfortunately having a squad capable of getting promotion or even being up there needs more then that.
In my view we have a lot of players with good qualities ,but where their weaknesses make them unplayable in certain systems . We also have a  load of good tidy footballers, but we lack strength ,energy size (in midfield ) and defensive awareness to back it up .
So in that sense our squad is unbalanced ,like a ship with a "tilt" in the water it has difficulty effectively moving forward.