So many questions for Jokanovic and to a lesser extent Rigg to answer

[FulhamStu]

Are the current goal keepers good enough
Are the right backs incl Grimmer good enough
Who to retain and discard from out central defenders
Who to bring in to play left back
Who to bring in to play right MF
Will Parker retire if not what to offer him
Do we give O'Hara an extension
Same question for Kaka
Shall we try and keep Baird
Do we cash in on McCormack if he wants out
How much can we get for Dembele and Hyndman
Who will play up front next season

And the biggest one of all for Rigg, what contract extension can and should we get Jokanovic to sign.

Plus I am sure many other player questions to answer.

[MJG]

Are the current goal keepers good enough......As a group Yes and we have some good ones in the lower teams. I'd say no need to look beyond what we have so can use money elsewhere

Are the right backs incl Grimmer good enough.........I'd let Richards go and keep Fredericks and Grimmer to compete for the role. Good balance of one attacking and one more defensive player.

Who to retain and discard from out central defenders....Burn, Madl, Ream, Amorebietea(Maybe)..look to buy/sign one more with pace.

Who to bring in to play left back...I'd go with Husband if possible with Jordan Evans hopefully signed onto be the reserve.

Who to bring in to play right MF...Clearly need a winger for the right, but also the left as well. Williams may be able to push on but I'm not sure yet.

Will Parker retire if not what to offer him...hes having an indian summer but would still comand a hefty wage. Time to let go.

Do we give O'Hara an extension...yes hes worth another year and gives us a different option to what we have in LVC,Tunnicliffe etc. Also let Parker go hes most senior man we have in the middle.

Same question for Kaka...I would keep buit only to play wide left, if nopt then we let go on a free.

Shall we try and keep Baird...Yes a no brainer

Do we cash in on McCormack if he wants out...If he wants out and more money, if we can get £10M for him I think you do. But must have other targets lined up.

How much can we get for Dembele and Hyndman...Be lucky if we get 3-5M combined for them. might even walk away with less than that.

Who will play up front next season.,...two new strikers I reckon

And the biggest one of all for Rigg, what contract extension can and should we get Jokanovic to sign....lets see where we are in oct/nov

[epsomraver]

Are the current goal keepers good enough......As a group Yes and we have some good ones in the lower teams. I'd say no need to look beyond what we have so can use money elsewhere

Are the right backs incl Grimmer good enough.........I'd let Richards go and keep Fredericks and Grimmer to compete for the role. Good balance of one attacking and one more defensive player.

Who to retain and discard from out central defenders....Burn, Madl, Ream, Amorebietea(Maybe)..look to buy/sign one more with pace.

Who to bring in to play left back...I'd go with Husband if possible with Jordan Evans hopefully signed onto be the reserve.

Who to bring in to play right MF...Clearly need a winger for the right, but also the left as well. Williams may be able to push on but I'm not sure yet.

Will Parker retire if not what to offer him...hes having an indian summer but would still comand a hefty wage. Time to let go.

Do we give O'Hara an extension...yes hes worth another year and gives us a different option to what we have in LVC,Tunnicliffe etc. Also let Parker go hes most senior man we have in the middle.

Same question for Kaka...I would keep buit only to play wide left, if nopt then we let go on a free.

Shall we try and keep Baird...Yes a no brainer

Do we cash in on McCormack if he wants out...If he wants out and more money, if we can get £10M for him I think you do. But must have other targets lined up.

How much can we get for Dembele and Hyndman...Be lucky if we get 3-5M combined for them. might even walk away with less than that.

Who will play up front next season.,...two new strikers I reckon

And the biggest one of all for Rigg, what contract extension can and should we get Jokanovic to sign....lets see where we are in oct/nov

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[Riversider]

Disagree with a couple of points, don't think we currently have a right back on our books that is good enough to start next season if we are serious about going up, same goes with left back,
And I don't see Baird as a "no brainer", he will be 35 next season , surely we can do better than O'Hara and Baird next season if we want to have a push at promotion, two midfielders on a par with Cairney would be progress.

[MJG]

Disagree with a couple of points, don't think we currently have a right back on our books that is good enough to start next season if we are serious about going up, same goes with left back,
And I don't see Baird as a "no brainer", he will be 35 next season , surely we can do better than O'Hara and Baird next season if we want to have a push at promotion, two midfielders on a par with Cairney would be progress.

You need balance tho. I'm not saying that thoise two would start every game, but you require say 6-8 CM's to get through a season. Cairney, LVC, Tunnicliffe, Ohara, Baird is a good starting point in my book. We need another creative player in the mould of Cairney which none of the others are. You wont get two more players on a par with Cairney..do you mean attacking wise or quality wise?

Its all a balance, cant just chuck out 75% of the squad and start again. We need some continuity and I think SJ has shown what he can do with players we alrerady have. Just need to supplement them with a few more coming in.

[millsy]

Good post and when you list the decisions required in this way it's quite daunting. Good news is, I think we have some good foundations to build from.

For me the priorities in summer are:

Two strong and mobile full backs. Only keepers here are Fred and Grimmer.

A quick striker to stretch defences and a centre forward who can control, hold or lay the ball off accurately. These to complement Ross, if he stays or to replace him if he goes.

At least one adventurous wideman, who can take men on and cross a ball and I would really like a mid/late 20s busy midfield dynamo, in the Steed mould. Someone who plays like Houlihan or Joe Allen, who can replace Scotty as the heartbeat of the team and occasionally weigh in with a goal. Hyndman could potentially fit the bill but I think he's going.

In truth, I will be happy to see a mini clear out, with the likes of Kaca, Dembele, Garbutt, Richards and even big Matt and Matilla if they're not going to feature, all moving on for various reasons. This should clear the way for some effective recruitment.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

I agree with MJG's assessments except possibly on renewing Kacaniklic's contract if we can find someone younger with potential.

[Twig]

Also need decisions on the long term loans. Stek, Mitro....?

[MJG]

Also need decisions on the long term loans. Stek, Mitro....?

Sell

[westcliff white]

If Ross and Dembele go we have to Keep Mitro unless we are bringing in suitable replacements. Not wanting to start the debate which has been done to death, just saying we need to unless we bring in suitable replacements.

[MJG]

If Ross and Dembele go we have to Keep Mitro unless we are bringing in suitable replacements. Not wanting to start the debate which has been done to death, just saying we need to unless we bring in suitable replacements.

Think of the combined fee for those and what you can get to build the squad. Could be in region of £20M

[westcliff white]

If Ross and Dembele go we have to Keep Mitro unless we are bringing in suitable replacements. Not wanting to start the debate which has been done to death, just saying we need to unless we bring in suitable replacements.

Think of the combined fee for those and what you can get to build the squad. Could be in region of £20M

I agree with you on the mount we could get in. However, to replace 2 forwards / strikers with , as it stands now, 30 goals (could be 40 by season end) would £20 million + say #12 million from the sale of both Dembele and McCormack cover that considering we need some other players as well? thats without considering would we stay within the god forsaken FFP rules.

[MJG]

If Ross and Dembele go we have to Keep Mitro unless we are bringing in suitable replacements. Not wanting to start the debate which has been done to death, just saying we need to unless we bring in suitable replacements.

Think of the combined fee for those and what you can get to build the squad. Could be in region of £20M

I agree with you on the mount we could get in. However, to replace 2 forwards / strikers with , as it stands now, 30 goals (could be 40 by season end) would £20 million + say #12 million from the sale of both Dembele and McCormack cover that considering we need some other players as well? thats without considering would we stay within the god forsaken FFP rules.

Thats going to be the trick tho. using that money to find 50 goals from 2 players at least and we need more midfielders to chip in as well. There are players out there and its about scouting and finding them. I get feeling SJ would prefer two pacy, strong stikers. Im not sure where Ross fits in if I'm right.
But any sales are free money really when it comes to FFP and with an allowance of 13M extra to lose, that should be enough to get the players we need.

[westcliff white]

If Ross and Dembele go we have to Keep Mitro unless we are bringing in suitable replacements. Not wanting to start the debate which has been done to death, just saying we need to unless we bring in suitable replacements.

Think of the combined fee for those and what you can get to build the squad. Could be in region of £20M

I agree with you on the mount we could get in. However, to replace 2 forwards / strikers with , as it stands now, 30 goals (could be 40 by season end) would £20 million + say #12 million from the sale of both Dembele and McCormack cover that considering we need some other players as well? thats without considering would we stay within the god forsaken FFP rules.

Thats going to be the trick tho. using that money to find 50 goals from 2 players at least and we need more midfielders to chip in as well. There are players out there and its about scouting and finding them. I get feeling SJ would prefer two pacy, strong stikers. Im not sure where Ross fits in if I'm right.
But any sales are free money really when it comes to FFP and with an allowance of 13M extra to lose, that should be enough to get the players we need.

As always we tend to agree on most things, I think he would like two pacey strikers as well. I would hope he has spoken to Dembele to clarify if there  is any hope of him staying, but I think that horse has bolted.

I had forgotten about the extra 13 million.

I really am hopeful about next season and the finish to this, if we can make the right additions I think my hope may be more than just hope.

[MJG]

Sentiment seems to affect fans' views of certain players. Personally I'd want most of our youth players (Bettinelli, Burn, Evans, Grimmer... and Woodrow for that matter) and the 35/36 year old Baird all kept well away from the first XI if we're genuinely hoping to go up next year. And naturally we've already written off Labyad (on whom we've an option to extend) and Stearman, it seems.

Just for clarification Baird is 34 today.

[beijing ben]

If Ross and Dembele go we have to Keep Mitro unless we are bringing in suitable replacements. Not wanting to start the debate which has been done to death, just saying we need to unless we bring in suitable replacements.

Think of the combined fee for those and what you can get to build the squad. Could be in region of £20M

I agree with you on the mount we could get in. However, to replace 2 forwards / strikers with , as it stands now, 30 goals (could be 40 by season end) would £20 million + say #12 million from the sale of both Dembele and McCormack cover that considering we need some other players as well? thats without considering would we stay within the god forsaken FFP rules.

Thats going to be the trick tho. using that money to find 50 goals from 2 players at least and we need more midfielders to chip in as well. There are players out there and its about scouting and finding them. I get feeling SJ would prefer two pacy, strong stikers. Im not sure where Ross fits in if I'm right.
But any sales are free money really when it comes to FFP and with an allowance of 13M extra to lose, that should be enough to get the players we need.

Sorry if you have addressed the issue before, I'm really busy at the moment and not often on here, but why are you sure that we will be ok to avoid a transfer embargo? Is 13 million really enough for us? I was assuming we would still need to sell...

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

Sentiment seems to affect fans' views of certain players. Personally I'd want most of our youth players (Bettinelli, Burn, Evans, Grimmer... and Woodrow for that matter) and the 35/36 year old Baird all kept well away from the first XI if we're genuinely hoping to go up next year. And naturally we've already written off Labyad (on whom we've an option to extend) and Stearman, it seems.

I don't understand this. Bettinelli and Burn are first team regulars. Woodrow is on the fringes but would benefit from a loan spell to get regular games. Grimmer should be mature enough after his loan spell to be challenging for a place.

We went out and bought the best part of a team over the summer and found that half of those were no better or comparable to those 'youth' players we already had. We need to develop a team and constant turnover interferes with that.

[J]

Sentiment seems to affect fans' views of certain players. Personally I'd want most of our youth players (Bettinelli, Burn, Evans, Grimmer... and Woodrow for that matter) and the 35/36 year old Baird all kept well away from the first XI if we're genuinely hoping to go up next year. And naturally we've already written off Labyad (on whom we've an option to extend) and Stearman, it seems.

Just for clarification Baird is 34 today.

Ok so He'll be the same age next season as Parker this season and Admittedly I'm a big fan of Parker right now.

But it can't be good to have a central midfielder we have to rotate every other game so his knees don't break.

Plus with all due respect to Baird, when they were in their prime Parker was in a different class

But Baird has played in a Europa League final ;)

[MJG]

Sentiment seems to affect fans' views of certain players. Personally I'd want most of our youth players (Bettinelli, Burn, Evans, Grimmer... and Woodrow for that matter) and the 35/36 year old Baird all kept well away from the first XI if we're genuinely hoping to go up next year. And naturally we've already written off Labyad (on whom we've an option to extend) and Stearman, it seems.

I don't understand this. Bettinelli and Burn are first team regulars. Woodrow is on the fringes but would benefit from a loan spell to get regular games. Grimmer should be mature enough after his loan spell to be challenging for a place.

We went out and bought the best part of a team over the summer and found that half of those were no better or comparable to those 'youth' players we already had. We need to develop a team and constant turnover interferes with that.

The 'youth' got us 1 pt in 7 games under Magath.

Bringing in some new players has saved us from double relegation but not got us any higher than 17th last season, 18th so far this season. Evidently we need more quality.

I'm not suggesting another overhaul - just a few new players - just so happens I don't think betinnelli, burn et al are good enough for the first 11 if the objective is promotion

Magath''s misuse of the Youth players got us 1 in 7 also that's 18 months ago now

[Ordar]

Are the current goal keepers good enough - They're ok, no more than that. If someone amazing comes available then go for it.
Are the right backs incl Grimmer good enough - I like Fredericks, although only as a wing back or RM. Richards is terrible and should be sold. I thought Grimmer did alright when he played.
Who to retain and discard from out central defenders - Keep, Madl, Burn, Amorebieta. SJ obviously doesnt like the others so will likely be sold.
Who to bring in to play left back - I predict a signing from abroad
Who to bring in to play right MF - If we're playing 532, which seems SJ's preference then we dont need wide players. LVC, Cairney can do a job there if required
Will Parker retire if not what to offer him - He wont retire. Might be a contract renegotiation.
Do we give O'Hara an extension - I would.
Same question for Kaka - I wouldnt. Too many failures
Shall we try and keep Baird - I probably wouldnt due to age
Do we cash in on McCormack if he wants out - I would definitely not sell to a Championship team. No point strengthening a rival. Plus I'd want 10m+
How much can we get for Dembele and Hyndman - barely anything as they'll be out of contract. Will probably end up at about 4m for the pair via the courts.
Who will play up front next season - Praying that its anyone but Woodrow