' THE BIG QUESTION ? ? '

I think this squad is good enough, but it will take a ruthless manager to get the best out of it. Basically, its too big.

BUT, if you can put together a team for 442 attacking, and a different team for a 451 "hard to beat", then you might be on to something. We have enough variety of players to provide both, and keep opponents guessing. One thing Malky proved was that a solid defence will give you a better chance of promotion than a good attacking team any day. But even his teams sometimes struggled to come from behind.

A 442 with the current team.
A 451 with Kenwynne up front, Ravel or Daehli in centre midfield behind him and add Adeyemi or Dikachoi as defensive midfield. Obviously, some players would play under both systems, and much as I admire him I'm not sure I would want Whitts in the defensive team. but you see the idea. Is it too much to ask of players of this ability?

Our squad is good enough but the management team is not . I will give Slade time but I personally think he is out of his depth and his 1st few games at home were down to "new manager syndrome" hope I'm proved wrong though
The club is broken from top to bottom , Scott Young a legend as a player for us but he should be nowhere near a team with premiership ambitions (I don't even think he is good enough for league 1 personally) Tan can't settle on a chief executive (think this is his 4th or 5th now!)Obviously the rebrand. Fans divided the whole thing stinks and is getting worse not better , More debt than we were before Tan gave us his millions , worse league position for years, not in blue

You're a glass half empty man, aren't you? Have you thought of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy? You could benefit

Malky would get them up. Team ethic, he's pissing himself over this shambles!!!!!!

Who is the right manager? Not pulis he's a trouble shooter! Need forward thinking young manager get best out of the players we have, & need couple of players in key positions we will be top 2 positive on that.

Was Pulis a trouble shooter when he took stoke up and established them in the PL for 8 years?
You call him a trouble shooter as if it's somehow a bad trait. In reality isn't just the sign of a good manager that he can turn poor sides into good ones? Isn't every manager a trouble shooter when they take a job as usually it's replacing somebody who has failed and a team is struggling?

How many managers out there can you name who have had more than 2 promotions?

I just don't think city need him! As put in other thread we need progressive young manager to take us forward pulis us not that man.

So you don't what slade either? Pulis may not be young but he would certainly be progressive. Build the foundations first.

Defo think right squad if used right and maybe mason and super kev mcnaughton back, and would like to see Chris hughton as our managet with the squad

On paper this squad is has far more quality than the previous promotion campaign, but its def needing the right manager. Player for player we have way more talent.

Players who should be starting but obviously they have off field issues, Kim, guerra, daehli,


We have international players in the squad too who would more than likely feature for most championship sides,

How many champ teams will lose 7 or 8 internationals this week?.

Nowhere near good enough except for a very good goalkeeper, one exceptional centre back and two very good full backs. Three extremely good squad players; one on loan till January and two out of favour, likely to be discarded also in January. The rest: honest tryers but no particular quality amongst them

I think this squad is good enough, but it will take a ruthless manager to get the best out of it. Basically, its too big.

BUT, if you can put together a team for 442 attacking, and a different team for a 451 "hard to beat", then you might be on to something. We have enough variety of players to provide both, and keep opponents guessing. One thing Malky proved was that a solid defence will give you a better chance of promotion than a good attacking team any day. But even his teams sometimes struggled to come from behind.

A 442 with the current team.
A 451 with Kenwynne up front, Ravel or Daehli in centre midfield behind him and add Adeyemi or Dikachoi as defensive midfield. Obviously, some players would play under both systems, and much as I admire him I'm not sure I would want Whitts in the defensive team. but you see the idea. Is it too much to ask of players of this ability?

Good post & sums up what I believe in that the squad is well good enough with the right blend of players u & tactics we should get to the play offs comfortably.

The biggest disgrace has been the managerial recruitment. The owner and his hand-picked henchmen are simply not competent enough to head-hunt managers.

Vincent Tan could of employed Pulis if he was serious about sorting his club out. Tan is more than happy playing football manager for real though.

It will come out one day VT picks the team, I am convinced of it. Slade is not that incompetent to overlook talents in the squad whom not given a chance. Smacks of outside influence.

VT has the ear of Scott Young, a man who nobody is impressed with getting the job, including an ex-team mate who might of been tempted to stick up for him a bit (Blake).

People slag Blakey on here, but I though he was very honest in his assessment.

Not one player has ever said anything positive about his abilities to manage or how Young is 'going places'

Vincent gives jobs to those he can manipulate, it will never work out

I think that this is the best squad in the Championship with strength and depth.There are grafters (Turner, Gunnarson, etc.) and playmakers (Daehli, Morrison, etc.), at least two decent players for each position.

The problem I feel are the coaching staff. They don't seem able to motivate the players and don't utilise the squad to change the game when we need a boost. They make like for like substitutions such as Kenwyne for Kiko, maintaining similar formations.

I have to question any manager who has 3 CB's as substitutes. He obviously doesnt want to use substitutes from a tactical perspective which greatly concerns me.