Forshaw will be released. Dallas will be here next year, he is under contract and nobody is going to be willing to take him given the injury situation. I think the club need to sit Cooper down and tell him that he is a squad player from here on. He'll be behind Koch, Wober, Cresswell, so will be fighting for the fourth place centre back with Llorente and Struijk. If Cooper wants to carry on playing then I'm sure something can be agreed between club and player to go their seperate ways. If Cooper is happy to play 5 games a season then I suppose he's under contract and there's not much to add. There's a decision to be made at right back. There's not much between Ayling and Kristensen imo. I think Ayling is getting the nod due to his leadership at the moment. Kristensen has started poorly but there are signs of improvement in him as he comes to terms with the pace of the game over here. The elephant in the room is Cody Dramah. His contract runs out at the end of next season. If he signs a long term contract with us, do we go all in on him and let Ayling or Kristensen (or both) leave? Then we have Hjelde....
Think the international break came at just the right time for us. They absolutely battered Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Contraversial maybe but in my opinion our LCB position is covered Wober and Struijk and Hjelde our RCB is Koch and Cresswell. So I don’t have an opening for Cooper. Tyler Adams take captains spot too so no need of Coops
The squad needs tidying up this summer. In a perfect world I'd sell Struijk, Llorente. Release Cooper. The first team centre halves would be Koch and Wober backed up by the two promising centre halves Cresswell and Hjelde. I'd offer a much improved contract to Dramah for 5 years using Coopers money (wages) and loan him back out for a season. Keep Ayling but I'd expect Kristensen to kick on next season. Use the Struijk money to buy a promising young left back to push Firpo and to play for the 21's. Make Wober captain. I'd sign McKennie permanently to bolster midfield. Him and Adams to form the starting partnership, Roca as main back up. The saving on Llorente wage would pay for McKennie. Sell Bate for whatever we can. Promote Gyabi to 1st team and send Greenwood out on loan to the Championship to get 50 games under his belt. See if we can grab Milner to play as backup and offer him a coaching role. He's a great example for all our young players and loves the club. Release Forshaw. Sell Shackleton. Attacking midfielder should be our priority and major signing this summer. If that has to be funded by Aaronson sale then so be it. Sell Dan James. Up top, sell Gelhardt. See if anyone is stupid enough to buy Bamford. Get Viktor Gyokeres from Coventry to fight it out with Rodrigo and Georginio. Loan Mateo Joseph out to a Championship club. All that before the 49ers even have to really put their hands in their pockets. Have I forgotten anything?
Cresswell and Hjelde are both unproven at PL level so quite a big risk to not have experienced back up. There's also Monteiro as another young centre half looking to step up. To be honest if just one of them makes the grade that will be a success. Keep Cooper for one more season then, who along with Ayling will continue to be phased out but only if other players are more deserving of the shirt. So far Wober looks superior to Cooper but we haven't seen enough quality from Kristensen or Drameh yet. Worth noting that you don't have to break the bank to sign better players as Wober, Koch, Summerville, and Gnonto are proving. Gyabi and Joseph we'll have to wait and see but it looks like Joffy and Greenwood will fall short. Rodrigo should be given a new contract as a priority this summer. As stated during one of his lean spells he's a player who will mature like a fine wine and is definitely a keeper. Harrison unless he signs a new deal wil have to be sold with Dan James coming back as his replacement. Personally I'd have no problem with that as long as Sinisterra, Summerville & Gnonto all stay, although I'd rather Harrison commited to another contract and why he only signed on a 3 year deal is still a mystery. Anyway let's see how the next few games go before we can even start to think about next season.
The problems I see with all that is. We don’t know what division we’ll be playing in, which changes everything. We might want to sell players but we don’t know if the ones we want to sell are the ones other clubs want to buy. Reports are Koch is wanted by Newcastle and Gnonto by every top club in Europe so their heads may have been turned. We are in that difficult position whereby every good player we find others are ready to poach them unless the 49s are ready to spend to make us competitive. That said, the only player you’ve all named that I’d care about losing is Gnonto, every other player is replaceable (not in one go I know before anyone points that out)
Didn’t look too bad walking off but I suppose we won’t know till squad is announced for arsenal game next week
Even if Cooper was the best player at the club he is rarely available. Marsch said earlier this season that he can't train like the rest of the squad. That's why he is on the 'hit list'. I also think Koch and Wober are better. Struijk just isn't ever going to be first choice. He's not quick enough, doesn't read the game well enough and isn't aggressive enough. He is mentally fragile. We bought him for 500k and with his age and experience gained here would surely attract at least 20 times that amount (10 million). That's just business decision. Both Cresswell and Hjelde have done well in the Championship and look like they can step up, certainly as squad players. Dramah looks awesome as a wing back. Sign him up and send him to play in a back 4 next season. Javi likes Kristensen at centre half and Ayling can also play there at a push. That gives us hella options. I know you like Dan James but he doesn't have the quality of Harrison, Gnonto, Summerville or Sinisterra. We are well covered out wide and his wages must be decent given his fee. That would help pay for someone with real quality in the 'Pablo' position if you like.
Gnonto injury looks 'structural'. They were spraying his foot. Might be metatarsal or even heavy bruising caused by the slip. Hopefully the 2nd scenario.
Dan James took a battering from Welsh fans after their last game. He stunk the place out. We dont need him we have Summerville, Harrison, Gnonto, Sinisterra, Amari Miller and now looks like the new kid from Barcelona coming in.James isnt wanted by Welsh fans, Fulham fans, most Leeds fans. £25m well spent eh
Agree on Struijk and yet he played virtually every game this season until the concussion injury at Old Trafford, it's possible he's better than either of us are giving him credit for. Regarding Dan James I'd agree about the lack of quality in the final third with the rest of his game being more than acceptable. For some reason I just keep hoping that someone will teach him what probably he can't be taught. Seriously though, he's had one season with us and if Harrison leaves I'd like him to be given a second chance.
