TL;DR - I think we've got the players bar one or two, and can pull things together to be a better team overall by the end of the season than we were when promoted last time.
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Having a hike in the dark just now, I was weighing up what I thought of the squad now compared to the Premier League season, for a bit of a handle on where we would/could be by the end of this season. Thinking a bit of the squad now in the Championship but also how it might be in the PL after another two thirds of a season of development. So a bit of a woolly criteria really!
I thought I'd give a value to each 'department' with first choice and most used reserve for that department, rather than full squad or by every individual position, on the basis that it's something like the first eleven plus a few extras, assuming not decimated by injury.
+3 significantly improved
+2 improved
+1 slightly improved
0 unchanged
-1 slightly degraded
-2 degraded
-3 significantly degraded
Keepers (0)
Muric/Palmer > Palmer/Walton
Whilst Muric was a cracking keeper on his day, Walton's looking decent now and I think his footwork has improved too
Full backs (-1)
Davis/Tuanzebe/Johnson > Davis/Furlong/Johnson
Furlong a downgrade on Tuanzebe, but Davis may be a slightly better player overall for me than he was last season. More rounded and his lack of assists I put more down to a lack of targets making good runs than his delivery.
Centre backs (0)
O'Shea/Greaves/Burgess > O'Shea/Greaves/Kipre
About the same for me - O'Shea looks a totally dominant player now, Greaves slowly calming down, and Kipre solid. Burgess was solid and great distribution too and Woolfy just out of shot.
Midfield (+1)
Morsy/Cajuste/Phillips > Matusiwa/Taylor/Cajuste
Matusiwa is immense in there, an upgrade on Morsy (leadership covered below), got to think that right now Taylor is a bit up on Phillips and Cajuste is a bit down on Cajuste last year.
The three (+1) (three back ups as more starters and always changed)
Omari/Chappers/Clarke/Burns/Szmodics/Broady > Egeli/Nunez/Philogene/Macateer/Akpom/Clarke
Going out on a limb a bit, I see Egeli as likely to be at Omari levels by the end of the season. Most of the rest I see as a bit of an upgrade or unchanged at worst.
Centre forwards (-2)
Delap/Hirst > Hirst/Azon
This is a bit unfair on Hirst and Azon, but Delap was outstanding as a battering ram, pressure remover and crowd inspirer. I like Hirst and Azon in different ways, but we're a star player short up there in my opinion.
= So in terms of the squad overall as individuals, I think we're only a little down (-1 aggregate on my method)
Leadership (-2)
Morsy+Chappers+Burns+others > O'Shea+Davis+others
I didn't allow for leadership in my assessment of Morsy above, so whole team leadership here - O'Shea is getting to grips with it, but Morsy's leadership was exceptional and inspirational.
Co-ordinated patterns of play (-3)
One of the main reasons we were able to compete for half a season or so in the Prem was the level of co-ordination and understanding we had. We're nowhere near that yet.
Team spirit (-2)
Was sky high from the kick off against Liverpool on the back of two great seasons, and stayed high until well into 2025. I don't think it's too bad at the moment at all, but we don't see that sort of camaraderie yet.
= These three arbitrary criteria I've come up with for the 'team' stuff are perhaps more important than the individual departments, and we're quite a way down in my opinion on where we were, but I think all the first two of those can step up one or two points, and the third will then naturally follow suit.
Overall I think we've got the players with the addition of another special striker, a CM and maybe a RB upgrade and KMc can work his tactical and psychological magic to pull the teamwork and spirit together to be a better team overall by the end of the season than we were when promoted last time.
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