| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading 23:02 - Aug 13 with 4129 views | Tommy_ITFC |
So can anyone clarify if McKenna has ever said we need at least 6 more additions to our current squad before the end of the window?
Because to me that sounds ridiculous. |  |
| |  |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:08 - Aug 13 with 3787 views | Vegtablue |
He did not. He said we needed "lots" more before the Townsend signing (maybe after, but I think before). Most recently he said we were "a couple" of signings behind where we wanted to be at this stage of the window, 'this stage' being a few days ago. He hasn't clarified what his understanding of "lots" is in a footy transfer context TMK. | | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:21 - Aug 13 with 3712 views | Mookamoo |
6 is about right. Szmodics and Ahmedhodžić seem likely, Our two premiership loanees will come nearer the window (young CM / left sided AM), and I assume a starting CM and a keeper will make 6.
Plus a couple of others we might be able to snaffle for the future if the deals are there. |  | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:22 - Aug 13 with 3710 views | Illinoisblue |
Where did you read that he said we need 6 players? |  |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:34 - Aug 13 with 3659 views | Vegtablue |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:08 - Aug 13 by Vegtablue |
He did not. He said we needed "lots" more before the Townsend signing (maybe after, but I think before). Most recently he said we were "a couple" of signings behind where we wanted to be at this stage of the window, 'this stage' being a few days ago. He hasn't clarified what his understanding of "lots" is in a footy transfer context TMK. |
To my own mind though, I don't see how we'd be targeting less than 5.
We 'know' we want another CB. We've been linked to a few and now Phil is running his Anel story. +1
We currently have three CMs. We will surely add two there, even if one of those isn't intended to play a lot of minutes. Last season we had Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Travis and Ball. I don't see how McKenna would be comfortable with having just four and I don't see Humphreys being that fifth option, when Kieran didn't consider him an option there for the Championship. +2 minimum.
We've lost Sarmiento and Moore in attacking positions, even disregarding how depleted we are through injury. We've gained Delap and Ladapo's returned from loan. We know we're after Szmodics. I'll eat my imaginary hat if we're just one attacker away from McKenna's intended squad honestly. If he's after two, we've hit 5 (and so on). [Post edited 13 Aug 2024 23:40]
| | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 00:43 - Aug 14 with 3541 views | Stewart27 |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:21 - Aug 13 by Mookamoo |
6 is about right. Szmodics and Ahmedhodžić seem likely, Our two premiership loanees will come nearer the window (young CM / left sided AM), and I assume a starting CM and a keeper will make 6.
Plus a couple of others we might be able to snaffle for the future if the deals are there. |
We absolutely cannot compete with one striker.
I expect two more in. | | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 05:09 - Aug 14 with 3364 views | PioneerBlue |
6 is a fiction but other than that here are the recorded facts:
Post match following Fortuna Düsseldorf on twtd
KMcK said, Blues need to make “a lot more additions” and he was aiming for 2 specialists in each position, and that with a challenging season ahead needed players to be able to cover further injuries.
To that point it was broad consensus that we needed
LB cover for Leif - Townsend arrived
2 x Cmf - replacing Travis and Ball
Forward - town had targeted Szmodics and Billy Jean at that point
That’s 4.
I could see up to 6 if you think about 1 + high level Striker, 1 + replacement for anyone that leaves in the window like Edmundson only as example. [Post edited 14 Aug 2024 7:11]
| |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 06:45 - Aug 14 with 3244 views | ibbleobble |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:21 - Aug 13 by Mookamoo |
6 is about right. Szmodics and Ahmedhodžić seem likely, Our two premiership loanees will come nearer the window (young CM / left sided AM), and I assume a starting CM and a keeper will make 6.
Plus a couple of others we might be able to snaffle for the future if the deals are there. |
This keeper chat… 😂 | | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 07:57 - Aug 14 with 3013 views | Steve_M |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:34 - Aug 13 by Vegtablue |
To my own mind though, I don't see how we'd be targeting less than 5.
We 'know' we want another CB. We've been linked to a few and now Phil is running his Anel story. +1
We currently have three CMs. We will surely add two there, even if one of those isn't intended to play a lot of minutes. Last season we had Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Travis and Ball. I don't see how McKenna would be comfortable with having just four and I don't see Humphreys being that fifth option, when Kieran didn't consider him an option there for the Championship. +2 minimum.
We've lost Sarmiento and Moore in attacking positions, even disregarding how depleted we are through injury. We've gained Delap and Ladapo's returned from loan. We know we're after Szmodics. I'll eat my imaginary hat if we're just one attacker away from McKenna's intended squad honestly. If he's after two, we've hit 5 (and so on). [Post edited 13 Aug 2024 23:40]
|
You missed Jackson from the attacking players we've lost but agree. We are light just in numbers let alone quality. |  |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:07 - Aug 14 with 2955 views | Meadowlark |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:34 - Aug 13 by Vegtablue |
To my own mind though, I don't see how we'd be targeting less than 5.
We 'know' we want another CB. We've been linked to a few and now Phil is running his Anel story. +1
We currently have three CMs. We will surely add two there, even if one of those isn't intended to play a lot of minutes. Last season we had Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Travis and Ball. I don't see how McKenna would be comfortable with having just four and I don't see Humphreys being that fifth option, when Kieran didn't consider him an option there for the Championship. +2 minimum.
We've lost Sarmiento and Moore in attacking positions, even disregarding how depleted we are through injury. We've gained Delap and Ladapo's returned from loan. We know we're after Szmodics. I'll eat my imaginary hat if we're just one attacker away from McKenna's intended squad honestly. If he's after two, we've hit 5 (and so on). [Post edited 13 Aug 2024 23:40]
|
Can you, or someone explain to me how the 25 man PL squad size works if we sign all these players? |  | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:11 - Aug 14 with 2915 views | bournemouthblue |
4 is the number mentioned to me which is about right I would say
A striker
Number 10
A centre mid (probably two needed really)
A centre back
I'd be amazed if we don't want a striker, is SS also that player I don't know, I don't see him as a striker? |  |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:17 - Aug 14 with 2828 views | Pique |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 07:57 - Aug 14 by Steve_M |
You missed Jackson from the attacking players we've lost but agree. We are light just in numbers let alone quality. |
Exactly, this is what people are forgetting. Last season we had a regular rotation of 7/8 players for the three positions behind the striker (Burns, Chaplin, Broadhead, Hutchinson, Harness, Jackson, Sarmiento and occasionally Aluko). And those changes were made regularly because it was (and is) critical to how we play.
Currently we have five players for those positions, and one of them is injured for months. So nowhere near enough. Taylor could cover there, but he's currently need for a position where we had five serious options last season and now have only three. Delap can play in one of them, but he's our only realistic starting striker right now.
So anyone thinking we don't need six hasn't really been paying attention. We need six minimum, probably more like seven or eight, if we're to play with the press and intensity that have been the hallmarks of our game for two seasons.
Edit: and that's not even including the extra centre back that McKenna clearly wants. [Post edited 14 Aug 2024 8:20]
|  | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:31 - Aug 14 with 2762 views | BlueBoots |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:34 - Aug 13 by Vegtablue |
To my own mind though, I don't see how we'd be targeting less than 5.
We 'know' we want another CB. We've been linked to a few and now Phil is running his Anel story. +1
We currently have three CMs. We will surely add two there, even if one of those isn't intended to play a lot of minutes. Last season we had Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Travis and Ball. I don't see how McKenna would be comfortable with having just four and I don't see Humphreys being that fifth option, when Kieran didn't consider him an option there for the Championship. +2 minimum.
We've lost Sarmiento and Moore in attacking positions, even disregarding how depleted we are through injury. We've gained Delap and Ladapo's returned from loan. We know we're after Szmodics. I'll eat my imaginary hat if we're just one attacker away from McKenna's intended squad honestly. If he's after two, we've hit 5 (and so on). [Post edited 13 Aug 2024 23:40]
|
Think you're close with that summary - have to remember that we are already on 22 out of 25 for squad numbers, so even 5 signings would mean moving a couple of players out either permanently or on loan.
CB - Think we're set there, but, as we always do with our transfer business, if a player becomes available who can improve the squad we have to consider it.
CM - "Last season we had Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Travis and Ball." Ball didn't play much last season, and arguable that we've already replaced him with Johnson who can cover the positions that Ball did. I would say +2 maximum rather than minimum
Attack - I think a proper, physical No.9 has to be the priority with Hirst injured and AAH coming back from his. Need more cover than one of Delap or Ladapo on the pitch or on the bench. When they're all fit, I make it we already have 8 players who can play a role behind the No.9, so again it's about looking for players in that area who can improve the group - we're obviously targeting the left side as Omari, Burns and Delap have us well covered on the right.
I think the 3 remaining spots in the squad will be a CM, LW and No.9 - any further will mean 1 in, 1 out. |  |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:42 - Aug 14 with 2695 views | Pique |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:31 - Aug 14 by BlueBoots |
Think you're close with that summary - have to remember that we are already on 22 out of 25 for squad numbers, so even 5 signings would mean moving a couple of players out either permanently or on loan.
CB - Think we're set there, but, as we always do with our transfer business, if a player becomes available who can improve the squad we have to consider it.
CM - "Last season we had Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Travis and Ball." Ball didn't play much last season, and arguable that we've already replaced him with Johnson who can cover the positions that Ball did. I would say +2 maximum rather than minimum
Attack - I think a proper, physical No.9 has to be the priority with Hirst injured and AAH coming back from his. Need more cover than one of Delap or Ladapo on the pitch or on the bench. When they're all fit, I make it we already have 8 players who can play a role behind the No.9, so again it's about looking for players in that area who can improve the group - we're obviously targeting the left side as Omari, Burns and Delap have us well covered on the right.
I think the 3 remaining spots in the squad will be a CM, LW and No.9 - any further will mean 1 in, 1 out. |
On your first point, there are a few candidates. Ladapo will be moved on. Humphries needs a loan, and Al-Hamadi probably does too. Edmondson may go too if we get the extra centre back. | | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:46 - Aug 14 with 2674 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 07:57 - Aug 14 by Steve_M |
You missed Jackson from the attacking players we've lost but agree. We are light just in numbers let alone quality. |
Absolutely baffles me how so many people don't seem to appreciate how much more we need in those attacking positions!
From the last game vs Huddersfield, we have lost (either permanently or to injuries of a substantial length) Jackson, Sarmiento, Moore, Broadhead, Hirst and gained Delap. Four short simply on numbers let alone quality. Harness has done well in pre-season but he's gone from not even getting on the bench to in contention to start against Liverpool. | | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:52 - Aug 14 with 2604 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:31 - Aug 14 by BlueBoots |
Think you're close with that summary - have to remember that we are already on 22 out of 25 for squad numbers, so even 5 signings would mean moving a couple of players out either permanently or on loan.
CB - Think we're set there, but, as we always do with our transfer business, if a player becomes available who can improve the squad we have to consider it.
CM - "Last season we had Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Travis and Ball." Ball didn't play much last season, and arguable that we've already replaced him with Johnson who can cover the positions that Ball did. I would say +2 maximum rather than minimum
Attack - I think a proper, physical No.9 has to be the priority with Hirst injured and AAH coming back from his. Need more cover than one of Delap or Ladapo on the pitch or on the bench. When they're all fit, I make it we already have 8 players who can play a role behind the No.9, so again it's about looking for players in that area who can improve the group - we're obviously targeting the left side as Omari, Burns and Delap have us well covered on the right.
I think the 3 remaining spots in the squad will be a CM, LW and No.9 - any further will mean 1 in, 1 out. |
Am I right in thinking, unlike last season in Championship , under age loanees from Premier Lesgue clubs do not count towards the 25 man squad. |  |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:54 - Aug 14 with 2588 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 07:57 - Aug 14 by Steve_M |
You missed Jackson from the attacking players we've lost but agree. We are light just in numbers let alone quality. |
The bench options are our biggest weakness at the moment. Last season we pulverised teams in the last 15 minutes by bringing on players who were as good, if not better, than some of the starting eleven. We simply don’t have these options at the moment and that’s a worry.
We’ll compete in games as things stand but I think the opposition will do to us in the last. 15 minutes what we did to others last season.
I simply can’t believe we won’t make 5 more additions before the bed of the window. |  |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 09:15 - Aug 14 with 2504 views | Len_Brennan |
Others have outlined it well above, that, although you won't find a quote from McKenna aaying 'at least 6', it is very much implied from what he did say, how he said it & indeed the reality of our situation.
He did say "a lot more", and I would argue that 'a lot' is not a number between 1 & 4, certainly more than 3, in any circumstances. | | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 09:17 - Aug 14 with 2497 views | PhilTWTD |
He didn't put a number on it, just said "a lot more" after the Fortuna game, since when we've signed Townsend.
 McKenna: We Need to Make a Lot More Additions 27th Jul 2024 19:33Town boss Kieran McKenna says the Blues need to make “a lot more additions” in order to have a squad capable of competing in the Premier League but says nothing is imminent, although target Sammie Szmodics was absent from the Blackburn squad for their friendly this afternoon.  39
|  | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 09:26 - Aug 14 with 2388 views | Vic |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 23:21 - Aug 13 by Mookamoo |
6 is about right. Szmodics and Ahmedhodžić seem likely, Our two premiership loanees will come nearer the window (young CM / left sided AM), and I assume a starting CM and a keeper will make 6.
Plus a couple of others we might be able to snaffle for the future if the deals are there. |
But the question was 'Has KM actually used that figure or is it just something we've assumed'? |  |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 09:31 - Aug 14 with 2348 views | FrimleyBlue |
He's never given a number, but you have to assume the following
Potential Fringe players he'd like to replace with Better quality
Ladapo
Harness
Wolfy/Edmundson, still not sure which one
Luongo
Taylor
Al Hamadi - who I think will go out on loan
potential extra additions
RW to compete with Burns
LW to compete with Broadhead |  |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 09:42 - Aug 14 with 2267 views | BlueBoots |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:52 - Aug 14 by Pinewoodblue |
Am I right in thinking, unlike last season in Championship , under age loanees from Premier Lesgue clubs do not count towards the 25 man squad. |
Correct - U21 loanees from Prem Clubs count towards squad numbers in the Championship, but not the Prem.
There is the homegrown player rule in the Prem which we didn't have to deal with last season, but we're nowhere near that being a problem for us. | |
| |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 10:38 - Aug 14 with 2124 views | Xatticus |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:07 - Aug 14 by Meadowlark |
Can you, or someone explain to me how the 25 man PL squad size works if we sign all these players? |
https://www.premierleague.com/news/102383
Slicker, Humphreys, Al Hamadi, Hutchinson, and Delap are U21. There is an incentive to keep Slicker, Humphreys, and AAH around to shore up numbers, but any combination of the three could depart on loan.
By my count, we are at 22 if we register everyone listed as members of our senior squad, but some of those can obviously be moved on our not registered.
Donacien and Ladapo could be left out. Edmundson could be moved on if we add a CB.
We have plenty of room to work with at present. | | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 10:59 - Aug 14 with 2004 views | Vegtablue |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:07 - Aug 14 by Meadowlark |
Can you, or someone explain to me how the 25 man PL squad size works if we sign all these players? |
Sure, let's consider the squad's current composition. We have 22 senior players, with Humphreys, Delap and Hutchinson considered U21. Our seniors set in stone are (most likely) Muric, Clarke, Johnson, Davis, Townsend, Woolfenden, Greaves, Burgess, Tuanzebe, Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Burns, Chaplin, Broadhead, and Hirst. I was open to more GK movement in the event Slicker or Walton wished to pursue a #1 spot elsewhere, but without such whispers I add both to the list, taking the number to 18.
The four I've omitted are Edmundson, Harness, Al-Hamadi and Ladapo. We'll begin with the easiest to discount, Ladapo. Shipped off to a L1 outfit in January, who seldom started him, Ladapo isn't in our final 25 plans. Securing a move for him at some point affords us four senior spaces, without moving anyone else on. Before the summer, I'd thought Harness was at similar or greater risk to Jackson of leaving us. Jackson's contract was soon up but he continued to receive minutes here, while Harness was almost fully displaced. It's unusual that with a much sterner test in front of us, with the same manager and with a player who has long bedded into the manager's systems, Harness now appears odds-on to make the cut. I hear he's impressed in pre-season, much like he did last summer, but would still attach a faint question mark there.
Al-Hamadi is difficult to assess on account of his injury last season. Did he play as many minutes as he did because Hirst was injured and Moore couldn't last 90', or did he play as few minutes as he did because of a groin problem that clearly required surgery? I have no idea if he's a shoo-in for the 25 or if he's earmarked for a Championship loan. Finally to Edmundson, a squad favourite, is he at risk? He played 10 games last season, half of which were against the stronger sides in the league. I understand why many consider CB already sorted and I don't know if our desire to strengthen here is at Edmundon's expense, or if we plan to play with three CBs. It's hard to ignore the signs that we're pursuing one more CB signing, though.
Hopefully this helps with fleshing out the numbers. We almost certainly have room for four now, or more than four if we're interested in permanent signings born after January 1st 2003. Above four seniors and we will be improving on x amount of last season's more fringe players.
I agree with the poster who stated 'max 2 CMs', in reply to my 'min 2 CMs', but I don't think we can risk embarking on this difficult season with just one CM addition. Johnson is 1st choice RB and has never played CM in his senior career. Experimenting with him in CM if we suffer an injury feels worse than Southgate toying with Trent in the middle at the Euros, which was predictably disastrous. Luongo cannot last 90 mins regularly in the Prem; we are stretched to the limit in this position today and that's with 'everyone' healthy. Has a PL squad ever lined up with only four players who may comfortably play CM?
Lastly, as mentioned by others, our biggest strength last season was in finishing games with the same intensity with which we started them. Five 'finishers' in most matches, all of which were at least Championship quality by the second half of the campaign. Today we have three or four, depending on formation, one of which is top L1 quality, another lower Championship, another unknown. McKenna must want at least 5 if his eyes are fixed on another CB, I'm sure of it lol.
*Apologies to Jackson for forgetting him earlier! | | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 13:06 - Aug 14 with 1773 views | Facefacts |
There's probably exasperation from the manager with Mark Ashton's way of working.
We all know people who are like that. He let slip in the stadium walk with Andy Warren that 'we won't overpay, as soon as you do that you're in trouble.' But he had already overpaid to get in some targets earlier in the window. People like MA won't back down because they see it as weakness, being 'had', or taken for a fool.
If you cross MA, he walks away, and won't come back. For the sake of the extra £500K, the No. 8 squad number will remain free as Blackburn crossed him over Sammie Szmodics. The manager decides the squad numbers, so No. 8 is free as a protest by the manager. 8 was worn by Delap in pre-season.
I also think this was the case with Hladky's agent. He crossed Mark Ashton. Remember Hladky came to see McKenna in June and both wanted him to stay, but the contract situation was out of both their hands. Let's wait for Muric's early performances to see if we would have been better/cheaper keeping Hladky. If so, it's down to Mark Ashton.
Fotis I'm still hoping will come in as the No. 9 as we bid higher than anyone else but he doesn't want to join us. However his club wants to accept the ITFC offer as it's the best. This one isn't down to Mark Ashton, it's just that this guy thinks he needs to join a bigger club than us.
Difficult situation but it shows how personalities can dictate the circumstances, not logic, or reason. |  | | |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 14:00 - Aug 14 with 1652 views | ibbleobble |
| Unsure of the accuracies of what I've been reading on 08:17 - Aug 14 by Pique |
Exactly, this is what people are forgetting. Last season we had a regular rotation of 7/8 players for the three positions behind the striker (Burns, Chaplin, Broadhead, Hutchinson, Harness, Jackson, Sarmiento and occasionally Aluko). And those changes were made regularly because it was (and is) critical to how we play.
Currently we have five players for those positions, and one of them is injured for months. So nowhere near enough. Taylor could cover there, but he's currently need for a position where we had five serious options last season and now have only three. Delap can play in one of them, but he's our only realistic starting striker right now.
So anyone thinking we don't need six hasn't really been paying attention. We need six minimum, probably more like seven or eight, if we're to play with the press and intensity that have been the hallmarks of our game for two seasons.
Edit: and that's not even including the extra centre back that McKenna clearly wants. [Post edited 14 Aug 2024 8:20]
|
This conversation has been rattling around for months and is really boring now. What KM is doing differently from last season is bringing in a bit more utility to temper the squad given Aluko barely featured and Harness despite featuring a lot was a bit part ie: Szmodics can play 9 or 10, Delap can play as a 9 or RW. I assume whoever comes in as the LW will be able to play as a 9 or 10.
Our recruits will number 4 or 5 not 7 or 8 (depending on who leaves).
We play at least 9 games less than last season too. | | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
