Would love it if we could get Steve Morrison from Norwich. Unlikely but would be excellent alongside Yann, BWP or Haynes IMO
Agree but he was excellent for themi during first half of season so can't see Lambert letting him go, more likely go for Simeon Jackson out of the two.
Here's the list of the Championship top scorers for this season. Out of these, who do you think we could realistically have a chance of signing?
Player Team Goals 1 Richard Lambert Southampton 25 2 Ricardo Vaz Te West Ham United 20 3 Billy Sharp Southampton 19 4 Ross McCormack Leeds United 18 5 Marlon King Birmingham 16 Kevin Phillips Blackpool 16 Matt Fryatt Hull City 16 Charlie Austin Burnley 16 9 Darius Henderson Millwall 15 David Nugent Leicester City 15 Jay Rodriguez Burnley 15 12 Michael Chopra Ipswich Town 14 Carlton Cole West Ham United 14 Marvin Emnes Middlesbrough 14 15 Chris Burke Birmingham 13 Robert Snodgrass Leeds United 13 17 Peter Whittingham Cardiff City 12 Andrew Keogh Millwall 12 Adam Le Fondre Reading 12 Steve Davies Derby County 12 Chris Wood Bristol City 12 Paul Taylor Peterborough United 12 23 Kevin Nolan West Ham United 11 Nikola Zigic Birmingham 11 Craig Davies Barnsley 11 Luciano Becchio Leeds United 11 Lukas Jutkiewicz Middlesbrough 11 Adam Lallana Southampton 11 Troy Deeney Watford 11 Ashley Barnes Brighton 11
If we are going to see a couple of 'marquee signings' in the summer then they have to be a ball playing central midfield player and a top notch striker that is going to pretty much guarantee you 20 - 25 goals. Problem here is that these type of players command a hefty transfer fee and wages. Is that money going to be available?
As alreay said elsewhere the defence is already solid and gives us a great platform to build on so no major investment needed there.
Just using solly as an example. If anyone can identify a young quality full back, with untapped potential and then get him on the cheap, then it would be powell. (He's already done it with wiggins)
I would like to see Waggy given a run at right back, perhaps in a cup match if he is behind Green next season. harry converted the even younger Danny Rose to full-back because of injuries and he has looked decent.
Fryatt, Austin, Wood (does he belong to WBA?), Taylor and Davies should be in our range and all likely to score more with better quality players. Rodriguez & Emnes likely to go in budget cuts but will probably go to a bigger club.
If we are going to see a couple of 'marquee signings' in the summer then they have to be a ball playing central midfield player and a top notch striker that is going to pretty much guarantee you 20 - 25 goals. Problem here is that these type of players command a hefty transfer fee and wages. Is that money going to be available?
!
Problem is, how many players "guarantee" or even get close to guaranteeing 20-25 goals, Craig Mackail Smith scored hatfuls in L1 but struggled to find the net in the Championship, Rhodes may be the same. Only a small number of the top Championship scorers have a better than 1 in 2 record or 20+, those are either out of our budget I'd imagine or in the Premiership
Personally think we have a player in BWP who has a good a chance as any of getting goals in the division, amazing that a player with a better than 1 in 2 record in League 1 is being written off so easily. He has matured and is more experienced than the last time he was at that level and if it was not for his drought mid season he would surely be up there when it comes to our POTY.
If Blackpool get promoted, does Super Kev have one more year? Scored plenty for Blackpool without being a regular scorer and a very useful back up.
The potential premiership players in our present squad - Solly, Wiggins, Jackson and maybe Stephens, Morrison and Kermorgant. Will have a better idea after watching them in the Championship, you are of course correct; when we get to the Prem, like Norwich we will only see 3 or 4 that have played in this campaign.
Lambert also added better quality loan players in the final push for promotion - Lansbury (Arsenal) & Pacheco (Liverpool) in particular. His team evolved as the season progressed.
I'm sure CP is aware which players in the current squad are capable of stepping up and the areas where he needs to improve. More pace in Central Defence? More dynamism in Central Midfield? Extra strength up front? It would also be handy if the likes of Pope, Cousins and Harriott pushed through to challenge for the first team.
We need a striker to emulate Norwich or southampton, jordan Rhodes anyone?
Rhodes thrives on the through ball and our long kick to Kermo doesnt suit his play, so thats out...
No one has mentioned that we need to get a striker that suits our kind of play, Remember the great Liverpool teams, the secret was in the slotting in of similar players, i.e. Heighway for Callaghan on the left wing, Dalglish for Keegan up front, Johnson fot Toshack up front etc...
This is a good model to emulate and the Germans are doing well with this:-)
Not sure we could afford Rhodes even if we were interested. Think he will go for a similar fee to Mackail Smith last season, that is assuming Huddersfield choke in the Play Offs again.
Very interesting to see how many lower league players are thriving at the higher level. The only surprise in that for me is the fact that they are being given the opportunity,which is great to see. Far too many clubs imo had been suckered into buying journeymen and foreigners and had ended up with only financial difficulties. The need for "the finished article" has clouded far too many a managerial mind but thankfully the newer managers seem to be clued into the fact that a seriously large pool of talent exists in the lower leagues and they are tapping into it with great success. A lot of these players are young and hungry for success and just need a chance to prove their worth. SCP did his homework last summer and picked some of the best and I expect he will do the same this summer. So I'm not expecting journeymen to be brought in . Time will tell. The squad can be improved for sure but SCP will know who cuts the mustard at Championship level and will recruit accordingly. Looking forward to see how it all unfolds during the summer. Judging by all the above stats we will see quite a few fresh faces .:))
Pritchard is a fine example of a young manager spotting lower league talent. The player is a gem . A bit of weight on him and he could be fantastic next season. Hope he gets a chance.
The only players we have with a chance of ever stepping to the Prem as regulars are Solly, Wiggins and Hamer...they all have talent and age on their side but all have some way to go, any others and you are kidding yourselves.
Morrison, Kermy, JJ, Hollands and Pritchard should be fine in the Champ although even Hollands & JJ may become more squad players.
We have a super backbone with which to work but it will be down to the quality of strikers and midfielders bought in that will decide what happens to us next year as we simply do not have a Lambert or Holt up front (IMO) or a Hoolahan in midfield.
For me the team next year if we have the funds to really go for promotion (which is a big if) would be:
Hamer Solly Morrison New CB Wiggins JJ Hollands or Pritchard New CM New RW Kermy New S
I would then keep BWP, Haynes, Stephens, Cort, Green & Evina and (apart from kids) not fussed about any of the others, albeit everyone of them (Taylor esp) has done us really proud this season.
Surely it is a case of who is going to step up to the Championship rather than who could possibly play at Premership level. We have a few players who have played at Champs level but came to us with doubt from their pevious clubs. The rest have not played at this level, basically we won't know till we get in to the season, but we do have some dead wood in the overall squad which we and CP is well aware of. The interesting thing will be if CP decides to unload any that have played a role in our promotion. We know that Hayes is one likely canidate, but who else, I would expect CP has doubts about the step up with one or two. Of course contracts and clubs being interested could help determine their destiny.
Surely it is a case of who is going to step up to the Championship rather than who could possibly play at Premership level.
Agree. All this talk of current players who could make it in the Prem is premature. We need to get out of the Championship first (in the right direction!).
Great thread. It certainly reinforces what I think that we will need to sign a minimum of five players that have the ability to be first choice from day one if we are to progress to anything other than a position of consolidation. Will totally depend on how much money we have to play with and I would be happy if two of the five were quality division one players but I really do think that a new striker, playmaker and centre back all have to have been playing at a higher level.
Agree with SHG - and thanks to HI and others for the analysis. We did discuss this at various points in the season (until we were told to shut-up for being ''premature'' and risking putting the curse of the commentator on our prospects of promotion!). I think there were very few on here who did not accept that we would probably need half a new team to be competitive in the championship. Not many took the view that Powell should be loyal to the players who got him up, and the Poyet ''too loyal'' comment is revealing.
The owners will give Powell the necessary financial backing, I think (why shouldn't they?) - and he will spend it as wisely and cleverly as he did last summer.
The owners will give Powell the necessary financial backing, I think (why shouldn't they?) - and he will spend it as wisely and cleverly as he did last summer.
The owners have said that the club is not financially viable in League One but I have no idea if the same is true in the Champ. Given the huge financial benefits of even one season in the Prem I assume the owners are planning to get promoted from this division asap so I would not be surprised to see a fairly significant investment this summer. Let's face it, if you know that being in the Prem is worth in excess of £50m for one season plus another £50m over the next 4 years even if you're relegated then spending £10m* to get a decent Champ squad to earn promotion is not that much of a gamble.
The new Financial Fair Play rules don't allow a club to spend more than £8m over income, be that in loans or equity next season. That figure drops the season after and again the season after that.
So if we "break even" in the Championship on ticket sales we are limited to how much we can spend. Still, £8m is a lot of money at this level.
The Championship is a dangerous divison because of the potential riches from promotion to the PL. It is very tempting to splash cash you don't have in an attempt to reach the promised land, only to end up in a financial mess. Pardew's time after we went down springs to mind...
The new Financial Fair Play rules don't allow a club to spend more than £8m over income, be that in loans or equity next season. That figure drops the season after and again the season after that.
So if we "break even" in the Championship on ticket sales we are limited to how much we can spend. Still, £8m is a lot of money at this level.
So you need to sign a shirt sponsorship deal or stadium deal that pays well over the odds if you are able to do so and as a result significantly increase your income that way ? Les Bordes would no doubt be willing to pay CAFC oodles of cash to get onto the front of the famous red shirt.
I agree with the BWP point made - if we have the BWP whp started the season with us - and why shouldn't we? He will get goals.
What concerns me with BWP is the chances he misses and he's record of one on ones with the keepers. When you get a chance in the Championship you need to take it or you will be punished.
I love the guy and I hope he comes good in a higher league, I would love to see him bag another 20 goals next season.
I disagree that the Premiership is a cash cow. Just look at clubs who have been up their for years (Everton, Aston Villa etc) and are bleeding money at an uncontrollable rate. The reality is that even if we gained promotion to the top division we would need to spend all that additional income (and more) just to survive (and that would be no guarantee). What promotion to the Premiership gives our owners is an attractive re-sale proposition to a billionaire who is looking for ways to stroke his ego publicly.
Comments
Player Team Goals
1 Richard Lambert Southampton 25
2 Ricardo Vaz Te West Ham United 20
3 Billy Sharp Southampton 19
4 Ross McCormack Leeds United 18
5 Marlon King Birmingham 16
Kevin Phillips Blackpool 16
Matt Fryatt Hull City 16
Charlie Austin Burnley 16
9 Darius Henderson Millwall 15
David Nugent Leicester City 15
Jay Rodriguez Burnley 15
12 Michael Chopra Ipswich Town 14
Carlton Cole West Ham United 14
Marvin Emnes Middlesbrough 14
15 Chris Burke Birmingham 13
Robert Snodgrass Leeds United 13
17 Peter Whittingham Cardiff City 12
Andrew Keogh Millwall 12
Adam Le Fondre Reading 12
Steve Davies Derby County 12
Chris Wood Bristol City 12
Paul Taylor Peterborough United 12
23 Kevin Nolan West Ham United 11
Nikola Zigic Birmingham 11
Craig Davies Barnsley 11
Luciano Becchio Leeds United 11
Lukas Jutkiewicz Middlesbrough 11
Adam Lallana Southampton 11
Troy Deeney Watford 11
Ashley Barnes Brighton 11
As alreay said elsewhere the defence is already solid and gives us a great platform to build on so no major investment needed there.
An interesting summer ahead!
Personally think we have a player in BWP who has a good a chance as any of getting goals in the division, amazing that a player with a better than 1 in 2 record in League 1 is being written off so easily. He has matured and is more experienced than the last time he was at that level and if it was not for his drought mid season he would surely be up there when it comes to our POTY.
If Blackpool get promoted, does Super Kev have one more year? Scored plenty for Blackpool without being a regular scorer and a very useful back up.
Will have a better idea after watching them in the Championship, you are of course correct; when we get to the Prem, like
Norwich we will only see 3 or 4 that have played in this campaign.
I'm sure CP is aware which players in the current squad are capable of stepping up and the areas where he needs to improve. More pace in Central Defence? More dynamism in Central Midfield? Extra strength up front? It would also be handy if the likes of Pope, Cousins and Harriott pushed through to challenge for the first team.
No one has mentioned that we need to get a striker that suits our kind of play, Remember the great Liverpool teams, the secret was in the slotting in of similar players, i.e. Heighway for Callaghan on the left wing, Dalglish for Keegan up front, Johnson fot Toshack up front etc...
This is a good model to emulate and the Germans are doing well with this:-)
Morrison, Kermy, JJ, Hollands and Pritchard should be fine in the Champ although even Hollands & JJ may become more squad players.
We have a super backbone with which to work but it will be down to the quality of strikers and midfielders bought in that will decide what happens to us next year as we simply do not have a Lambert or Holt up front (IMO) or a Hoolahan in midfield.
For me the team next year if we have the funds to really go for promotion (which is a big if) would be:
Hamer
Solly
Morrison
New CB
Wiggins
JJ
Hollands or Pritchard
New CM
New RW
Kermy
New S
I would then keep BWP, Haynes, Stephens, Cort, Green & Evina and (apart from kids) not fussed about any of the others, albeit everyone of them (Taylor esp) has done us really proud this season.
The owners will give Powell the necessary financial backing, I think (why shouldn't they?) - and he will spend it as wisely and cleverly as he did last summer.
*figure plucked out of thin air
So if we "break even" in the Championship on ticket sales we are limited to how much we can spend. Still, £8m is a lot of money at this level.
I love the guy and I hope he comes good in a higher league, I would love to see him bag another 20 goals next season.
What promotion to the Premiership gives our owners is an attractive re-sale proposition to a billionaire who is looking for ways to stroke his ego publicly.