roversfan99

Im not convinced its got the quality to be totally confident in.

We have badly needed a centre back ever since Hyam left. A loanee definitely doesnt replace him but I am far from convinced that a player of Cashin's profile is what we need in the short term either. Signing a left footer really leaves us imbalanced, and the options we have gives me a feeling that we need to cobble something together rather than it being a well balanced group. Cashin isnt the tallest and would probably be best on the left, McLaughlin is average and definitely not dominant or good in the air so is probably best suited to being on the left, and Pratt is best suited to the left. Wharton is also best suited to being on the left but is injured. Towards the right, we have just O'Riordan who is untested, Miller who is not a natural centre back and is shall we say erratic. Its all very left sided, there is no one that you could say is great in the air, and no one at the level of Hyam or Batth. Seems to be universally not rated by Birmingham fans. Hopefully in terms of quality he is more of the Derby Cashin although much of that was in League 1. But my concerns are more around the balance of our centre backs rather than his quality necessarily.

Certainly has his flaws and has struggled to find a home in the last year or 2. Had a good loan spell at Sheff United. But he clearly isnt a "really bad footballer." He scored something like 35 goals across his last 2 seasons here. Still would be a massive upgrade on what we have now.

I just cant fathom actively wanting to get knocked out of the cup and lose a match.

He has had an injury so that will be why.

I enjoy the FA Cup 3rd round usually. I never entertain the idea of it being a hindrance and always really want us to go through. Even if we rotate, it usually feels like we have a chance. Its pretty depressing that we will be going to the mighty Hull with an uncompetitive squad feeling like coming close to a result would be a massive shock.

Andy Bayes has corrected himself anyway.

I was thinking as it came post press conference if it came up there. Wouldnt think so though. Our club is always on top of admin.

Andy Bayes seems to think that O'Riordan is cup tied.

You just repeat how certain clubs operate. Its not an opinion. My point is that IMO its an illogical way to run a football club. Makes no sense trying to copy off other sports. I feel like power mad higher ups are the cause of many clubs running inefficiently. The manager should have full say on transfers and tactics and those above and around him should do what they can to assist with that.

Looking forward to seeing numerous signings in action at the weekend.

My point is about that we have jettisoned any natural leaders, seemingly to cut the wage bill and to presumably remove anyone with strong opinions. Its not about which of the current squad should be captain. It is transfer related as we could do with a leader in the middle of the defence, or at least someone with experience. Not someone on their last legs like McFadzean. And Cashin wouldnt fit the bill for me.

Its going to be one terrible looking we team we manage to put out.

Yep, a sad day. Amorim was doing well in making United a laughing stock. More relevant to Chelsea, but football is going into a strange direction. Off the field executives and high power staff members yield too much power and managers (or head coaches) are becoming less and less "important." People who havent managed a team now decide the players to sign, the players to sell, get involved in what tactics to play etc. It makes no sense, and often ends in chaos.

Yes, but as I said. That particular squad was full of senior leaders. Clint Hill, Shaun Derry, Paddy Kenny, Fitz Hall etc. They weren't looking to Taarabt for inspiration, for leadership, for guidance. It was purely a case of making Taarabt feel special, a somewhat token gesture knowing that if they needed some leadership, it would come not from the captain but the leaders I mentioned regardless of who had the armband. If we also had a core of experience and leadership, then you can do similar with Cantwell. As it is, that is not the case and not only is it to make Cantwell feel special, but he is probably the one they turn to because theres no one else. I suspect it is beyond you to suggest that we are lacking in experience and leadership. And when you see a bang average Sean McLoughlin, fresh off a spell as a Hull squad player, not in any way appearing from the outside to be an obvious leader, leading out our team in a league game, nothing in you thinks how has it come to this? And thats not having a go at him personally. You dont like me saying it but it comes down to standards.

My overall point is that there is a severe lack of obvious leaders and experience within the squad. Taarabt was made QPR captain in a squad full of actual leaders so it was a token gesture in a way. We dont have that beyond Cantwell. And I think the captaincy was moved away from Taarabt after a bit.

Do you not agree that the squad is lacking well beyond merely just temporary loan cover until the injured players?

I touched on in my post that we dont really have any captains. We shoved senior players out the door, and currently there are 2 captains at Championship clubs who are superior to us that were here last season. Tronstad probably would be but I suspect wasnt considered as he will be off in the summer. The fact that McLaughlin wears the armband sometimes tells you a lot. He is certainly not captain material either. Can see a semblance of logic in giving him the armband, to try and get him to step up similar to what Warnock did to Taarabt. But I dont think he is a natural captain. But as a player, definitely a number of much bigger concerns in our team.

Tronstad is the best player we have. Cantwell though is far from our biggest problem, we certainly dont have players on the bench capable of improving. He isnt captain material but I am not sure we really have anyone that stands out.

I think 1 was a penalty. Who would you be bringing in for him?

He does actually try things though. Such as the quality for the goal shortly after. He is a soft arse and he isnt a captain for me but I cant see anyone I would drop him for.

Bench for who? He was crap v Wrexham but much better today. He also did make something happen for the first with an excellent cross.

He was one of our better players today, his cross for the first was excellent and he is hindered by a lack of technical ability around him. I don't buy the idea that he is a "luxury player" either. He does work harder than his image might suggest. I am not saying that he always is effective, he was really poor v Wrexham, and he is not a good striker of the ball in terms of scoring goals. But we shouldnt stop selecting him.

I think we would need at least 3 wingers. I would be fine sticking with the back 3 though so a couple of wing backs, a couple of strikers and a right footed centre back. And not just cheap squad fillers.

A manager with a limited say in recruitment despite him being the one who actually has to get results using those players. Chelsea have loads of good players but many are in similar positions and key areas of weakness remain unresolved. If they werent so intent on a "structure" mirroring other sports then maybe they would be closer to the top.