What game were you watchinh Mouseman. We totally dominated them, their keep made several great saves, we hit the woodwork 3 times.
Yes I would like more depth but players have to beleive they have a chance of playing. We cannot have 35 players in our squad and hope to keep everyone happy.
MB always wanted a small squad for obvious reasons
I think on balance we just about have. The back 4/5 and midfield are fairly rotational so should be able to bandage over any issues. Up front we have plenty of fire power which ever combination he chooses to play, same old story, just need to convert the chances!!.
The old argument is that we want to give game time to our own players, but when we delve into the transfer market players are only going to join if they can get straight into the team, which then puts back some of the players already in the club and on the fringe. Catch 22!
As much as I did want us to get 3 quality signings for greater squad depth, we do seem to have just about enough to cover injuries, suspension and loss of form....
Keepers.... Meslier, Darlow, Klaesson
RB.... Roberts, Byram, Archie, Shacks
LB.... Firpo, Byram
CB.... Rodon, Cresswell, Coops, Strukij, Ampadu
Holding midfield.... Ampadu, Gruev, Kamara, Gray
Attacking midfield.... Rutter, Piroe
Wingers.... Summerville, James, Anthony, Gnonto
Strikers.... Bamford, Piroe, Joseph, Geldhart
I suppose he has to keep the squad happy so I'm right behind him and this squad should be able to get us oop automatically....! 👍⚽
Exactly my feeling. It's obviously proving difficult to find the right balance.
Think Farke has decided on his favourite starting 11 a fair while back.
Not easy for those waiting on the bench to seize their chance, because they'll feel the pressure from the fans & club/management.
The need for instant result (pressure) is always there at LUFC.
Many fans feel (as with MB) that there is no plan B. In part that is true and just like under Bielsa everything needs to fall into place in order for us to win/look good.
Winning or even drawing ugly or when not firing on all cylinders just doesn't happen.
Intensity, effort & movement need to be spot on.
Luckily at ER that is often the case, away is a very different story (we seem to be more sloppy and get bullied with ease).
Another issue is that we haven't really got something completly different on our bench. Yes, plenty of like for like players, but a creative soul like Pablo or a striker who's able to rage war (win a couple of headers, is good at holding up play, dish it out a bit) are nowhere to be seen.
Anyway lets look forward to a better start in 2024.
we need to rotate if we have any chance of auto's.we don't look as dangerous when we play 3 games a week.
Gk-doesnt really need to rotate
Fb-Spence,Byram,Shacks,Gray should be rotated when all are fit or sell Firpo & sign a LB and move gray into midfield
Cb-Rodon ,Strujic & Cooper could be rotated,not sure why we didn't loan Cresswell out if DF doesn't rate him
dcm-Ampadu,Gray ,Kamara,Shacks & Gruev should be rotated
wing-Its hard to drop Summerville on the form he is on but Anthony,James & Gnonto should be rotated.
number 10-Piroe ,Summerville & Rutter could be rotated,still think we need to sign a number 10
striker-Rutter,Bamford,Piroe are all good enough to score goals in championship, Gelhardt & Joseph good enough for cameos.
I hope we have money to buy a decent attacking LB and either a number 10/striker in January.
Bit off topic but when we play teams who are going to sit back like Preston,Sunderland,etc we should sacrifice a dcm for a more attacking midfielder which the squad lacks.
we probably have the 2nd best squad in terms of depth in the league behind Leicester and injuries suspensions in the 2nd half of the season will help decide who gets 2nd spot.
Good question - there's a balance between not changing a winning formula and freshening things up in busy periods.
Farke knows best, but from here it looks like we're faltering a bit with games coming thick and fast. Preston always looked like a physical battle that needed fresh legs.
However, Farke is good in this league and he knows best so we have to get behind his team - we are still on target for me (I expect playoffs this season).
Gruev is an ex-Bundesliga and International player - Anthony has been promoted from this league with Bournemouth (and he played most of the games) so we have to say they are Championship quality, even if they haven't shown it with us yet.
No, I mean any of the 27 mentioned. He has started the same team for the last three games and, apart from injuries, more or less the same team for months. What is the point in such a large squad if they are not good enough to start, particularly when there are 4 games in 10 days?
What game were you watchinh Mouseman. We totally dominated them, their keep made several great saves, we hit the woodwork 3 times.
Yes I would like more depth but players have to beleive they have a chance of playing. We cannot have 35 players in our squad and hope to keep everyone happy.
MB always wanted a small squad for obvious reasons
On last night showing no?
I think on balance we just about have. The back 4/5 and midfield are fairly rotational so should be able to bandage over any issues. Up front we have plenty of fire power which ever combination he chooses to play, same old story, just need to convert the chances!!.
The old argument is that we want to give game time to our own players, but when we delve into the transfer market players are only going to join if they can get straight into the team, which then puts back some of the players already in the club and on the fringe. Catch 22!
As much as I did want us to get 3 quality signings for greater squad depth, we do seem to have just about enough to cover injuries, suspension and loss of form....
Keepers.... Meslier, Darlow, Klaesson
RB.... Roberts, Byram, Archie, Shacks
LB.... Firpo, Byram
CB.... Rodon, Cresswell, Coops, Strukij, Ampadu
Holding midfield.... Ampadu, Gruev, Kamara, Gray
Attacking midfield.... Rutter, Piroe
Wingers.... Summerville, James, Anthony, Gnonto
Strikers.... Bamford, Piroe, Joseph, Geldhart
I suppose he has to keep the squad happy so I'm right behind him and this squad should be able to get us oop automatically....! 👍⚽
Do we have the squad depth?
YES - the players are individually talented enough to start.
NO - does not matter how talented you are as it ( talent) can only be shown by constantly getting game time.
we need to rotate if we have any chance of auto's.we don't look as dangerous when we play 3 games a week.
Gk-doesnt really need to rotate
Fb-Spence,Byram,Shacks,Gray should be rotated when all are fit or sell Firpo & sign a LB and move gray into midfield
Cb-Rodon ,Strujic & Cooper could be rotated,not sure why we didn't loan Cresswell out if DF doesn't rate him
dcm-Ampadu,Gray ,Kamara,Shacks & Gruev should be rotated
wing-Its hard to drop Summerville on the form he is on but Anthony,James & Gnonto should be rotated.
number 10-Piroe ,Summerville & Rutter could be rotated,still think we need to sign a number 10
striker-Rutter,Bamford,Piroe are all good enough to score goals in championship, Gelhardt & Joseph good enough for cameos.
I hope we have money to buy a decent attacking LB and either a number 10/striker in January.
Bit off topic but when we play teams who are going to sit back like Preston,Sunderland,etc we should sacrifice a dcm for a more attacking midfielder which the squad lacks.
we probably have the 2nd best squad in terms of depth in the league behind Leicester and injuries suspensions in the 2nd half of the season will help decide who gets 2nd spot.
If we don't have enought depth for the Championship then we shouldn't be trying to get back to the EPL....... so logicially I have to say yes?
GK I'm not convinced about yet but Meslier, Darlow, Klaasen
FB - Byram, Spence, Gray, Ayling, Firpo
CB - Rodon, Struijk, Cooper, Cresswell
CM - Ampadu, Kamara, Gruev, Shackleton
Wide - Gnonto, Summerville, James, Poveda, James, Anthony
Front - Piroe, Rutter, Bamford, Joseph, Gelhardt
That's 27 Championship capable players?
Youth prospects like Bate, Hjelde etc not included.