Well It’s Time For My Holiday In The Sun But-
Wed Jul 16, 2014 2:28 pm
Like always I will be looking forward to the new season starting shortly after I return, in fact the day after I get back I’ll be watching the pre-season friendly against Wolfsberg which hopefully will give us all some idea of the starting 11 OGS will be using in the Championship next season.
Following an already busy closed season with players coming and going, and in the case of Caulker, Medel and Campbell all still here with at least one foot out of the door, it has got me thinking about what our starting 11 will look at next season.
Almost as important is which players are likely to occupy the bench because when you have those names then you can see which players are likely to be surplus to requirements and therefore will need to be moved on.
At goalkeeper if Marshall is here then he starts and that’s probably the easiest call of all to make. That will leave Joe Lewis and Simon Moore left to fight it out for the substitute place on the bench. Surely whoever loses that fight will be surplus and likely to be moved on.
In defence we have 4 specialist centre backs with Hudson, Turner, Cala and the Argentinian MM signed but no one has ever seen. We also have a couple of players in Catherine and Connolly who can play in the CB position and with OGS chasing Fonte we appear to have decent cover there. But only 2 can start and surely there will only be room for one other on the bench. In my opinion there is only one shoe in here and that’s Turner, I also think he will be captain next season. If Fonte does sign or whoever OGS get instead of him then I expect him to be the other CB with Cala taking a place on the bench. We will need at least one other CB in case of injuries so what happens to the others.
At fullback I expect Brayford and Fabio to claim the starting places which will leave John, Catherine and Connolly to fight it out for a place on the bench with another required to act as cover in case of injuries so again there is at least one player surplus to requirements.
Midfield is the area where we have the most “Cover”, in fact far to much cover with Whitts, Mutch, Gunnarsonn, Kim, Noone, Burgstaller, Eikrem, Daehli, Dikacoi, Kiss, Ralls, you could even add Mason to that group. In my opinion Daehli and Mutch are the shoe in players. Which others make the starting 11 or the bench is debateable but one thing is sure it will take a huge injury crisis for Ralls or Kiss to get near the team so surely they need to be moved on.
A similar situation exists amongst the forward with Maynard, Guerra, Mecheda, Le Fondre, Berget, Mason and of course not forgetting Kenwynne Jones and Velikonja. With 2 likely to start and 2 positions on the bench and maybe another 2 in case of injuries that will leave 2 who will need shipping out. In my opinion they are Jones and Velikonja and the sooner that happens the better.
In respect of the starting 11 I believe Guerra and Macheda will start with Maynard and Le Fondre on the bench which is bad news for Joe Mason but that’s life I suppose.
OGS still has a lot to sort out starting with the “want away” players and, in my opinion, that is a priority so he can concentrate on the squad and how it will line up and play. When the “want away” crew are gone we need to “cull” the not even fringe players who, in my opinion, short of a massive injury crisis will get nowhere near the first team, Amondarain, Connolly, Kiss, Ralls, Jones and Velikonja are players who will add only cost to the squad next season.
I’m excited about our prospects for next season as I believe OGS will in the main employ a 442 formation, just like DJ, so we may well be lucky enough to watch some entertaining football again. But before entertainment OGS must get the team organised with commitment and togetherness akin to the squad put together by MM a couple of seasons ago.
If he can do that then come next May we will be looking forward to welcoming the big guns of the PL to the Cardiff City Stadium again.
I can’t wait.
Following an already busy closed season with players coming and going, and in the case of Caulker, Medel and Campbell all still here with at least one foot out of the door, it has got me thinking about what our starting 11 will look at next season.
Almost as important is which players are likely to occupy the bench because when you have those names then you can see which players are likely to be surplus to requirements and therefore will need to be moved on.
At goalkeeper if Marshall is here then he starts and that’s probably the easiest call of all to make. That will leave Joe Lewis and Simon Moore left to fight it out for the substitute place on the bench. Surely whoever loses that fight will be surplus and likely to be moved on.
In defence we have 4 specialist centre backs with Hudson, Turner, Cala and the Argentinian MM signed but no one has ever seen. We also have a couple of players in Catherine and Connolly who can play in the CB position and with OGS chasing Fonte we appear to have decent cover there. But only 2 can start and surely there will only be room for one other on the bench. In my opinion there is only one shoe in here and that’s Turner, I also think he will be captain next season. If Fonte does sign or whoever OGS get instead of him then I expect him to be the other CB with Cala taking a place on the bench. We will need at least one other CB in case of injuries so what happens to the others.
At fullback I expect Brayford and Fabio to claim the starting places which will leave John, Catherine and Connolly to fight it out for a place on the bench with another required to act as cover in case of injuries so again there is at least one player surplus to requirements.
Midfield is the area where we have the most “Cover”, in fact far to much cover with Whitts, Mutch, Gunnarsonn, Kim, Noone, Burgstaller, Eikrem, Daehli, Dikacoi, Kiss, Ralls, you could even add Mason to that group. In my opinion Daehli and Mutch are the shoe in players. Which others make the starting 11 or the bench is debateable but one thing is sure it will take a huge injury crisis for Ralls or Kiss to get near the team so surely they need to be moved on.
A similar situation exists amongst the forward with Maynard, Guerra, Mecheda, Le Fondre, Berget, Mason and of course not forgetting Kenwynne Jones and Velikonja. With 2 likely to start and 2 positions on the bench and maybe another 2 in case of injuries that will leave 2 who will need shipping out. In my opinion they are Jones and Velikonja and the sooner that happens the better.
In respect of the starting 11 I believe Guerra and Macheda will start with Maynard and Le Fondre on the bench which is bad news for Joe Mason but that’s life I suppose.
OGS still has a lot to sort out starting with the “want away” players and, in my opinion, that is a priority so he can concentrate on the squad and how it will line up and play. When the “want away” crew are gone we need to “cull” the not even fringe players who, in my opinion, short of a massive injury crisis will get nowhere near the first team, Amondarain, Connolly, Kiss, Ralls, Jones and Velikonja are players who will add only cost to the squad next season.
I’m excited about our prospects for next season as I believe OGS will in the main employ a 442 formation, just like DJ, so we may well be lucky enough to watch some entertaining football again. But before entertainment OGS must get the team organised with commitment and togetherness akin to the squad put together by MM a couple of seasons ago.
If he can do that then come next May we will be looking forward to welcoming the big guns of the PL to the Cardiff City Stadium again.
I can’t wait.
Re: Well It’s Time For My Holiday In The Sun But-
Wed Jul 16, 2014 5:20 pm
With regards to formation I think OGS will mix between 4-4-2 & 4-3-3.
My main concern is his swopping & changing of the starting 11 as he did last season. IMO he needs to realize his best team & stick with it apart from the obvious tweaks.
My main concern is his swopping & changing of the starting 11 as he did last season. IMO he needs to realize his best team & stick with it apart from the obvious tweaks.
Re: Well It’s Time For My Holiday In The Sun But-
Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:44 pm
All ifs buts and maybe's, my opinion is;
Ole needs to know his best 18 players not just his best 11, reason being due to his MU days and watching/playing the SAF 442 formation this is what he will adopt as his main starting formation, however if things are not going so well he will make changes and bring on players changing it to a 433 style of play, based on the fact he is a bit of a tactition and has already shown last season he is willing to shake things up during a game.
I believe it could work in the championship as long as the same 15-18 are used consistently and it is drilled enough in training.
My concern however is if the squad is still a big one and he doesn't get a good start in the first 6-8 games he will change the players too much and the system will not then work for him, and he could find himself fighting for his job as opposed to promotion come Xmas.
In short find the starting 11 plus the bench, stick to it only bringing in fringe players to cover injuries and maybe cup games, and have a good start, if he does that then I reckon auto promotion could very well be on the cards for young Ole
Ole needs to know his best 18 players not just his best 11, reason being due to his MU days and watching/playing the SAF 442 formation this is what he will adopt as his main starting formation, however if things are not going so well he will make changes and bring on players changing it to a 433 style of play, based on the fact he is a bit of a tactition and has already shown last season he is willing to shake things up during a game.
I believe it could work in the championship as long as the same 15-18 are used consistently and it is drilled enough in training.
My concern however is if the squad is still a big one and he doesn't get a good start in the first 6-8 games he will change the players too much and the system will not then work for him, and he could find himself fighting for his job as opposed to promotion come Xmas.
In short find the starting 11 plus the bench, stick to it only bringing in fringe players to cover injuries and maybe cup games, and have a good start, if he does that then I reckon auto promotion could very well be on the cards for young Ole
Re: Well It’s Time For My Holiday In The Sun But-
Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:47 pm
Have a great time Gary and look forward to seeing you this season and many more of your quality posts 
Re: Well It’s Time For My Holiday In The Sun But-
Thu Jul 17, 2014 5:15 am
top post again
Re: Well It’s Time For My Holiday In The Sun But-
Thu Jul 17, 2014 8:44 am
OriginalGrangeEndBlue wrote:With regards to formation I think OGS will mix between 4-4-2 & 4-3-3.
My main concern is his swopping & changing of the starting 11 as he did last season. IMO he needs to realize his best team & stick with it apart from the obvious tweaks.
Spot on with the changing the squad constantly because he has had a full pre season and OGS needs to have clear in his mind exactly which players will make up his match day 18. There will always be times when changes are needed either because of injuries or our opponents, but not every week like he did last season.
I also believe it is important that we don't have players with little or no chance of making the squad hanging around the place. Identify the the Ole and get them shipped out a.s.a.p
Re: Well It’s Time For My Holiday In The Sun But-
Thu Jul 17, 2014 9:31 am
Another great post Castleblue. I totally disagree about Connolly being surplus to requirements however. Connolly will be a very useful member of the squad next season. He's been promoted from the Championship on 3 seperate occasions with ourselves, Reading and QPR. He knows what the Championship is all about, has the character, know how and experience, can cover centre back or right back, plus he was one of our best performers when we went up.
Re: Well It’s Time For My Holiday In The Sun But-
Thu Jul 17, 2014 8:57 pm
Tonteg Bluebird wrote:Another great post Castleblue. I totally disagree about Connolly being surplus to requirements however. Connolly will be a very useful member of the squad next season. He's been promoted from the Championship on 3 seperate occasions with ourselves, Reading and QPR. He knows what the Championship is all about, has the character, know how and experience, can cover centre back or right back, plus he was one of our best performers when we went up.
Yeah I agree with this, versatile and always been solid and good in the air. Also I believe mason will get the nod before Maynard, just from ole's quote saying we want to keep him I think ole has seen the quality in him that he didn't get chance to see before