Summer transfer window 2024 (9 Viewers)

Winny the Bish

Well-Known Member
To the people that are desperate for a CM - is it numbers or quality you're concerned about?

I think numbers wise we're OK and if we do sign a CM then we'll have to move someone on (Allen or Palmer).

At the moment we have 6 players for 3 positions which seems like reasonable depth, 7 might be too much?
Definitely quality. A team with serious promotion ambitions shouldn't be starting Jamie Allen.
 

BlueSkiesForever

Well-Known Member
Eccles statistically one of the best defensive midfielders in the league

Without Sheaf I don’t think he’s half as good, and I still find that he’s not adventurous enough on the ball. If we’re playing a 4-2-3-1 then fine he’s decent enough in the 2 with Sheaf, but if we’re playing a 4-3-3 then there’s more onus on that right or left side for him to create attacks from midfield and try and thread the ball through to our attackers, and that’s the issue I personally have with Eccles.

Just my opinion, I know lots of people will disagree and see Eccles in a different light and that’s fine, I just think he needs to be more confident and creative with the ball for him to be a real quality midfielder.
 

Perennial Lurker

Well-Known Member
Without Sheaf I don’t think he’s half as good, and I still find that he’s not adventurous enough on the ball. If we’re playing a 4-2-3-1 then fine he’s decent enough in the 2 with Sheaf, but if we’re playing a 4-3-3 then there’s more onus on that right or left side for him to create attacks from midfield and try and thread the ball through to our attackers, and that’s the issue I personally have with Eccles.

Just my opinion, I know lots of people will disagree and see Eccles in a different light and that’s fine, I just think he needs to be more confident and creative with the ball for him to be a real quality midfielder.
Absolute drivel as usual
 

Matt smith

Well-Known Member
To the people that are desperate for a CM - is it numbers or quality you're concerned about?

I think numbers wise we're OK and if we do sign a CM then we'll have to move someone on (Allen or Palmer).

At the moment we have 6 players for 3 positions which seems like reasonable depth, 7 might be too much?
Quality, we have the numbers

Allen isn’t good enough
 

Matt smith

Well-Known Member
Without Sheaf I don’t think he’s half as good, and I still find that he’s not adventurous enough on the ball. If we’re playing a 4-2-3-1 then fine he’s decent enough in the 2 with Sheaf, but if we’re playing a 4-3-3 then there’s more onus on that right or left side for him to create attacks from midfield and try and thread the ball through to our attackers, and that’s the issue I personally have with Eccles.

Just my opinion, I know lots of people will disagree and see Eccles in a different light and that’s fine, I just think he needs to be more confident and creative with the ball for him to be a real quality midfielder.
Eccles is the least of our problems in that midfield though

Sheaf
Eccles
Torp
New CM

then I’d be content with our options in there
 

PVA

Well-Known Member
Crikey, Allen is taking some stick here. He’s a perfectly good championship midfielder.

I’m fine with him coming on for 15 or 20 minutes when we need some energy in the middle.

I’m absolutely not fine with him starting as a holding midfielder, I don’t want to see that again.

If he were to leave right now I don’t think he’d have many championship suitors tbh, other than probably the newly promoted sides.
 

Skyblue Bangkok

Well-Known Member
To the people that are desperate for a CM - is it numbers or quality you're concerned about?

I think numbers wise we're OK and if we do sign a CM then we'll have to move someone on (Allen or Palmer).

At the moment we have 6 players for 3 positions which seems like reasonable depth, 7 might be too much?
Qualityv
Are you referring to Joe Allen or Jamie Allen?
I think he's a very good league 1 player.
 

SkyBlueGuy

Well-Known Member
I think Allen seems to be taking a lot of flack a little unfairly. I don't think Robins would see him as a starter when the squad is all fit, but he's a great option off the bench. He has energy, can play in a couple of different positions and has shown he has enough quality for this league on a number of occasions. His movement in the attacking third is often better than some of our other players (Palmer for example). He's contributed some important goals and you never see him casually jog back when the ball is overturned. At the start of last season I had serious doubts about him, but he changed my mind.

I still think we could do with another CM/ CDM type player with a bit more physically and a good passing range, but Allen would not be my first choice to move on if we did get one in. I wouldn't imagine he's one of our top earners, so I think he probably represents value to the squad.
 

PVA

Well-Known Member
I still think we could do with another CM/ CDM type player with a bit more physically and a good passing range, but Allen would not be my first choice to move on if we did get one in. I wouldn't imagine he's one of our top earners, so I think he probably represents value to the squad.

Surely you wouldn't move on Torp or Eccles before Allen though?

If we do bring in another CM and have to ship someone out it has to be Allen really.
 

Macca1987

Well-Known Member
I think Allen seems to be taking a lot of flack a little unfairly. I don't think Robins would see him as a starter when the squad is all fit, but he's a great option off the bench. He has energy, can play in a couple of different positions and has shown he has enough quality for this league on a number of occasions. His movement in the attacking third is often better than some of our other players (Palmer for example). He's contributed some important goals and you never see him casually jog back when the ball is overturned. At the start of last season I had serious doubts about him, but he changed my mind.

I still think we could do with another CM/ CDM type player with a bit more physically and a good passing range, but Allen would not be my first choice to move on if we did get one in. I wouldn't imagine he's one of our top earners, so I think he probably represents value to the squad.
I agree he doesn't seem to casually jog back, but in a majority of cases he just runs alongside a bigger faster midfielder/attacker and doesn't cause any problems for them. Not having a go at him perse, but we need better starters in the first 11 then him, as others have said, maybe an impact sub when others are tiring and playing in the opposition half, not as a defensive midfielder
 

SkyBlueGuy

Well-Known Member
Surely you wouldn't move on Torp or Eccles before Allen though?

If we do bring in another CM and have to ship someone out it has to be Allen really.
It's a shame to say it, but Palmer would be my first choice honestly. Don't think he fits our system, has bags of potential but we probably only see it 1/5 times he has the ball. I would imagine he's on higher wages and we have a number of other players who could play CAM (even though we don't have one in the current system) as well (Rudoni, EMC, BTA, Torp, Allen etc.)
 
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SkyBlueGuy

Well-Known Member
I agree he doesn't seem to casually jog back, but in a majority of cases he just runs alongside a bigger faster midfielder/attacker and doesn't cause any problems for them. Not having a go at him perse, but we need better starters in the first 11 then him, as others have said, maybe an impact sub when others are tiring and playing in the opposition half, not as a defensive midfielder
I agree about being a starter. And I also know what you mean about having limited ability to win the ball back against bigger players. But I wouldn't say that this is ineffective. Just like O'Hare did, heal gets close to players and puts them under pressure, hovering them less time to make decisions. Pretty sure we saw that against Bristol a few times where the pressure on the player on the ball caused them to make wayward passes resulting in a Cov throw in.

Again, not getting at Palmer specifically (he made an absolutely crucial tackle against Bristol at one point). But when he's on the flaw complaining he didn't get a free kick, or makes the wrong pass, the lack of pressure really shows.
 

Calista

Well-Known Member
we have a number of other players who could play CAM (even though we don't have one in the current system)
There seems to be an acceptance among a lot of people that we have somehow switched to 4-3-3, with a 'flat' midfield.
Admittedly I haven't attended live yet, just watched on screens where it's harder to see overall patterns. But I'm still seeing 4-2-3-1, maybe a bit more flexible than last year, but with one midfielder generally playing ahead of the other two.
 

Balli001

Well-Known Member
There seems to be an acceptance among a lot of people that we have somehow switched to 4-3-3, with a 'flat' midfield.
Admittedly I haven't attended live yet, just watched on screens where it's harder to see overall patterns. But I'm still seeing 4-2-3-1, maybe a bit more flexible than last year, but with one midfielder generally playing ahead of the other two.
I have watched live and its a 4-3-3
 

PVA

Well-Known Member
There seems to be an acceptance among a lot of people that we have somehow switched to 4-3-3, with a 'flat' midfield.
Admittedly I haven't attended live yet, just watched on screens where it's harder to see overall patterns. But I'm still seeing 4-2-3-1, maybe a bit more flexible than last year, but with one midfielder generally playing ahead of the other two.

It was 4-2-3-1 in the first two games and the average position maps show it.

It was particularly clear against Stoke:

1723812549153.png




And a little less clear against BC because of all the subs and players swapping positions, but Palmer clearly playing as a 10:


1723812595420.png
 

Calista

Well-Known Member
It was 4-2-3-1 in the first two games and the average position maps show it.
It was particularly clear against Stoke:
View attachment 37816
And a little less clear against BC because of all the subs and players swapping positions, but Palmer clearly playing as a 10:
View attachment 37817
Glad I'm not going completely insane ;)
As a matter of interest, where do you find these position maps? I can see it's WhoScored.com, but which part of the site do you have to go to?
 

rexo87

Well-Known Member
Is a strange one because particularly in the Everton pre season game Rudoni was dropping very deep to get the ball off the centre backs at times which i thought really helped us link Defence and Midfield. That was massively lacking in the BC game and position maps show it
 

PVA

Well-Known Member
Glad I'm not going completely insane ;)
As a matter of interest, where do you find these position maps? I can see it's WhoScored.com, but which part of the site do you have to go to?

Click on Match Report, then scroll down to Player Positions (y)


1723813446388.png
 

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