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I think he said can play at LB but not LWB. So expect him at LB in a back 4. The decision to match up with Coventry, meant 3/5 at the back
My point was that we don’t have any wing backs so why are we playing with them. It doesn’t make sense to do that, nor to match up with a team’s shape if you don’t have the players to do it. We have the players to play pretty much any other formation, which I think is leaving people confused because to choose the one we can’t play - after allowing the only two wing backs at the club to go out on loan - just seems absolutely bizarre. It actually weakens us in other areas of the pitch. And then complaining about ‘bad luck’ and referees afterwards just makes things worse, IMO.
 
My point was that we don’t have any wing backs so why are we playing with them. It doesn’t make sense to do that, nor to match up with a team’s shape if you don’t have the players to do it. We have the players to play pretty much any other formation, which I think is leaving people confused because to choose the one we can’t play - after allowing the only two wing backs at the club to go out on loan - just seems absolutely bizarre. It actually weakens us in other areas of the pitch. And then complaining about ‘bad luck’ and referees afterwards just makes things worse, IMO.
I agree generally with that. I was more focussing on what he had , rather than the right and wrongs of it. We have had some success with players being played out of position and maybe, that played into it.
I think Spence and coulsen wanted to play and decided to leave for that
 
Bola being out, McNair being out, Payero out, Siliki just coming in, Sporar just coming in..

All looks worse when you have players out on loan that look like they could plug in the gaps we currently have.
 
Bola being out, McNair being out, Payero out, Siliki just coming in, Sporar just coming in..

All looks worse when you have players out on loan that look like they could plug in the gaps we currently have.
I can't figure out why on earth we would release or loan out three players who were quite suited to playing as wingbacks, then start playing with wingbacks again.

I'm also at a loss as to how we haven't had two specialist left backs in the first team squad for two seasons.

Wasn't Peltier talked up as someone who can play anywhere across the back?
 
I can't figure out why on earth we would release or loan out three players who were quite suited to playing as wingbacks, then start playing with wingbacks again.

I'm also at a loss as to how we haven't had two specialist left backs in the first team squad for two seasons.

Wasn't Peltier talked up as someone who can play anywhere across the back?
This is the issue, IMO. I still think Warnock has credit in the bank because of the way he breathed new life into the club when we were staring into the third tier, and because of the way he had us going right through to the January of last season. That credit he built up accounts for giving him time to get his squad together, to work on his system, to get new lads up to fitness, to pull it all together - all of the things almost every manager has to do at the start of every season. You should never really look at the league table for 10, 12, 14 games anyway. That's when it starts to take a general shape and you can see what's happening. I think you have to give a manager time to blend it together and Warnock deserves backing on that despite the season petering out last time around after he'd signed a few players.

The issue that blurs the lines this season is the faffing on with formations before seemingly settling on one that appears to be the only one the club doesn't have the players to play because the manager has loaned them out. Throw this in with a handful of nonsensical press conference comments and that's why things have started to feel a bit messy. What happened in the second half of last season is also going against him, rightly or wrongly.

It is quite a confused state of affairs at Boro now but it really shouldn't be. We have a pretty good squad and have been very active in the market, so a manager that has been in place for 60-odd games and three transfer windows should really have most of his work nailed down by now. To be still searching for a system and scouring the bargain bins for a left back at this stage of a tenure is pretty strange IMO.
 
I can't figure out why on earth we would release or loan out three players who were quite suited to playing as wingbacks, then start playing with wingbacks again.

I'm also at a loss as to how we haven't had two specialist left backs in the first team squad for two seasons.

Wasn't Peltier talked up as someone who can play anywhere across the back?
Hernandez over Spence and Siliki over Coulson.. 3-4-3?

Big changes, but I guess we need to have one game with injuries to see glimmers of it happening!
 
I would think Neil Taylor will want decent money that we won’t be prepared to offer at this stage. You’d also think that he’d be expecting to play, which could hinder Bola’s progression. I’d have him in heartbeat though, but get the feeling that we’ll try to get Bola fit and make it through to January and then reassess.
 
A few free agents available at the moment..

- Andy Carroll
- Jack Wilshere
- Jordon Ibe
- Jack Rodwell
- Hal Robson-Kanu
- Wilfried Bony
- Ahmed Andre Wisdom
Robbie Brady
Mendez-Laing
Kevin Mirallas
Josh Sims
Dan Crowley
Carlos Tevez
Robbie Brady
Mendez-Laing
Kevin Mirallas
Josh Sims
Dan Crowley
 
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Think Brady would have been a decent addition. A great left foot although listing to Burnley fans he's never been right since getting crocked.

Definitely wouldn't be held to ransom though. I imagine Bournemouth probably offered double what we did. That's fine. We can't moan as we out payed most champo clubs for years.
 
I agree with S7 - Brady probably wanted around £25k/week and we offered £12.5k - Bournemouth have parachute payments and Russian billionaire, so probably paid him £25k/week.
 
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