WE currently have a squad of 23 so we have spaces for 2 more. That 23 excludes the under-age players so excludes Wharton, Riad and Franca. Hardly a paper-thin squad

“That’s a joke son, I say, that’s a joke.” “Nice boy, but he’s sharp as a throw pillow.” “He’s so dumb he thinks a Mexican border pays rent” “ “Son… I say, son, some people are so narrow minded they can look through a keyhole with both eyes.”__ Forhorn Leghorn

You have to drill down and look at the overall make up of the squad…..not simply the total numbers. We have 3 right backs (2 of whom are 33 or older) and 1 left back. We have an excess of defensive players in midfield and fewer attacking options. It’s not just that we are 2 players down we also have an unbalanced squad. The combination of these 2 is a major concern.

Yup that is my position, unless others go I think we will not bring any more in.

One more point

OG seems to be a little like Pep G. He looks to see if players are versatile. Yes, we have 3 right backs in name but one of them (Clyne) has been playing both wing-back and CB and Ward has also played CB. Both were given an extra year presumably because they are seen as useful squad players owing to their versatility.

Lerma has shown he can slot in at CB if required as well (and like Kouyate has done so the national Team).

As for attacking midfielders, the Palace site classifies both Eze and Sarr as midfielders. We can add to those two, Schlupp, Kamada, Ahamada (came to us as a box-to-box midfielder) and Rak-Sakyi (6 in total) as against 4 defensive ones (Doucoure, Lerma, Wharton and Hughes).

I agree we need a LB/LWB.

Sorry, but I don't see the squad as being unbalanced other than the lack of a LB/LWB back-up.

PS. As OG doesn't use wingers as such, the width coming from the WBs, players such as Sarr, Eze and Rak-Sakyi if playing, will be expected to play in the narrower twin no 10 roles behind the striker

Edited by doombear (04 Aug 2024 2.15pm)

Edited by doombear (04 Aug 2024 2.18pm)

It is a weird one this summer! Depending on who leaves we probably have between £0 and £200m to spend! Dougie and the team must be having a nightmare preparing for every scenario!