So the transfer window is over. Thoughts on our squad?

[Parky]

We must have one of the tallest set of strikers in the country?

 

Loven 5ft 11 (and a half apparently)

Ranger 6ft 2

Ameobi 6ft 2

Carroll 6ft 3

Xisco 6ft 2

Best 6ft 1

 

Don't know why I found that interesting but I did 

 

Cause in your mind it corrolates to cock size innit?

[Cajun]

That's only partially true tbf.

[Parky]

That's only partially true tbf.

 

Fair enough.

[midds]

It's canny. Nowt flash but enough to keep us up with a bit of room to spare.

 

Need to keep Carroll wrapped in cotton wool though or we'll find goals (and therefore wins) hard to come by.

[OzzieMandias]

I think "Tioté" sounds mint in a Geordie accent.

[Guest neesy111]

Btw, I am happy.

[Dogmatix]

Would have been happier if we had signed another striker but pleasantly surprised

 

This. Wolfie would have been nice

[JH]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1307719/Club-club-verdict-Premier-League-clubs-ins-outs-transfer-window.html

 

Best deal: Sol Campbell Sorry to see go: Nicky Butt

 

Who writes this shit?! Also no mention of Tiote or Perch.

[Consortium of one]

Quite happy.  Would like to have seen an experienced FC come in to back up Carroll.  Tiote will hopefully give us some teeth as a ball winning CM.  Also would have liked to have gooten a good deputy for Enrique.  Still, there is overall good depth and the midfielders all bring something different to the table which could give Hughton flexibility.

[colinmk]

Pretty damn good however as has been mentioned if Carroll gets injured or suspended which I'm sure he will at somepoint we will be struggling for goals. Shola seens to have the knack of scoring against the shittier teams like he was doing in the championship and Loven is the same but against the top half team we will struggle to score any goals without Carroll. all in all though our squad is far, far better than I expected. We haven't even seen any of the new guys apart from Perch yet! Cannot wait.

[Mick]

I'm happier with our starting 11 when they are all fit and we've strengthened our squad by dropping 1st teamers down the pecking order (I hope)which is always the best way to go about it.

[summerof69]

This window has been good and much better than i expected.

[Willow]

wur guna win tha leeeg man

[Neil]

The main difference I can tell from a month or 2 ago is I now fancy you to win those key home games at home against the poorer sides. Before the transfers I didn't see anything that had changed which suggested you now would be confident of beating Stoke, Wigan etc. Now I think you're certainties to stay up and a good bet to stay out of trouble for the most part, albeit you'll have some bad days obviously.

[garth]

Very happy with the transfers, when you consider the Clubs statement a couple of months ago.

[chicago_shearer]

Postives: Best central midfield options we've had in a long time, really strong at centre-half, a great left-back, options up front and on the wing (been a long time since we've gone into a season being able to say that).  And we may have signed a world class player in Ben Arfa.

 

Negatives: Too early to think that Andy Carroll will maintain his form and give us the 10-15 goals that we need.  Shola and Best probably aren't good enough if he doesn't maintain his form or if he gets injured.  Jury is out on Perch and Simpson, and there are a couple of question marks about Harper.   No depth at the full back position.

 

All in all, B+.  It would be a monumental cock up if we went down with this team.

 

 

[Shak]

I think the squad is coming together quite nicely, we still lack enough players with quality in the final third to really scare teams but we look like we're developing quite a solid team, and we're quite young as well which is encouraging.

 

The situation at Goalkeeper isn't ideal, but it's not too bad though either. We have a below average PL keeper in Harper, and a raw but talented understudy in Krul. The way I see it, Harper will be passable until we figure out if Krul is going to be a long term solution or not. He's 22 now, we should know soon enough.

 

Enrique is looking like a quality LB more with every game he plays. His ongoing weakness is that he gives the ball away in clumsy spots, generally through lack of concentration. He's quality though when players are running at him, I never expect anyone to go by him and they very rarely do. At RB we'll have to get by this year with a mixture of the various players we have who can play RB, I reckon between the two Taylors, Simpson and Perch we'll find someone who can do a job.

 

CB we have good depth. Colo, Williamson, Taylor and Campbell is good competition for two places.

 

Central midfield I really like what Hughton has done. I expect it'll be a case of one of Smith or Tiote to partner one of Barton or Guthrie. (Probably) Barton will be expected to get on the ball, make things happen going forward and get into goalscoring positions, while (hopefully) Tiote will be more inclined to sit back and anchor the midfield. Gosling signing seems weird now looking back, I'm not sure how he'll fit into everything.

 

Jonas and Routledge are good starting wingers, but those two avoiding long-term injuries could be quite important as I don't think we've much depth after them. Disappointing that Lua Lua is gone on loan again, the coaches obviously don't seem to think he's able to play with the first team yet.

 

Ben Arfa should be class signing, obviously. Hopefully he'll give us that bit of flair in the final third we've been missing for so long. Sounds like he's expecting to play in the role Nolan has played so far, excited to see that. As for Nolan, I'll never like him because I hate the type of player he is. The epitome of Sam Allardyce football. That said, he seems a great presence in the dressing room and you can't deny his knack for getting on the end of and taking chances more than most of the players in our squad. As long as he is deployed in the role he's played so far, and never again as a genuine central midfielder, I'm happy to suffer him for another year. Could actually be a quality weapon to throw on late in games when you're chasing a goal. Lovenkrands will be another option to play just off the striker, and he can play on the wing too (albeit quite porrly, generally).

 

Andy Carroll is probably the most exciting thing we have at the club right now. A big, strong bastard of a center-forward who is a born and bred Geordie. He looks like he's developed massively in the last couple of years, and the first three games this year he's looked a real handful. Immense in the air, and quick enough as well as decent enough with the ball at his feet to be more than just a big battering ram. Typically enough though, he seems a bit of a lunatic. We need him to stay out of trouble and also hope that the expectation that will be heaped upon him now doesn't get in his head. After him we have passable depth at the center-forward spot with Shola and eventually Best being back-up options.

 

Next summer will be interesting if things go well this year.

[merlin]

Good enough to stay up, but we've pretty much committed ourselves to playing a five man midfield. Lord help us if Carroll gets injured.

 

This - balanced squad in most areas but LB and striking positions remain a concern if either of the first choices get injured OR have a loss of form. The lack of another decent striker is a concern because we are now too dependent on Carroll. Its a big ask of a 21 year old to carry the goals responsibility for at least half a season.

[ohmelads]

Always felt a forward was a massive priority in this window, but I may have underestimated Carroll's ability to step up and improve. If Ben Arfa can provide a goal threat and supplement Carroll well, then we have a promising forward line.

 

We appear to have a team spirit and that may grind us some results when our key players are missing. That will be key in determining our season. We also have competition for places in most areas of the park.

 

Overall I'm fairly happy, and believe we have the quality to survive. We should be aiming for midtable stability with this squad, not merely survival.

[mrmojorisin75]

Good enough to stay up, but we've pretty much committed ourselves to playing a five man midfield. Lord help us if Carroll gets injured or doesn't maintain his form over 38 games.

 

[ohmelads]

Gosling signing seems weird now looking back, I'm not sure how he'll fit into everything.

 

Agreed. Perhaps the intention is to move someone on in the January transfer window, which is roughly when Gosling is expected to be fully fit? How to fit Tiote-Barton-Smith-Guthrie-Gosling into two positions I have no idea. Maybe we will line up 4-5-1 a lot more this season with Carroll the lone front man and Ben Arfa and Gutierrez in the wide positions? That would facilitate 3 centre mids, which is where Hughton has stocked up on players.

 

More confusing for me is why Nolan was handed the captain's armband. If anything, surely Ben Arfa's signing puts his position under real threat? We have a glut of centre mids and quite a few strikers. Carroll could do with some pace and running alongside him and Nolan's one of our slowest and least energetic players, while I don't see a place for him in midfield with 5 centre mids fighting for 2 spots already. Unless Ben Arfa is expected to take Routledge's place on the right wing?

[Optimistic Nut]

Guthrie will be the one who goes I reckon. Just don't see him as any more than a good Championship player.

[Theregulars]

What I like most about Hughton's approach is that, aside from Campbell and Tiote, he's bought versatile players who can fill in across different positions. For a club always affected by injury that's a reassuring thing.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I'm happy with squad, we've done as much as reasonably could be expected in the transfer window. Much more probably!

 

Carroll's replacement is a worry, but from a management point of view we actually have a lot of strikers on the books. I can see why we wouldn't be able to sign another one at the moment.

 

Overall, well equipped for the season and very excited to see Ben Arfa and Tiote.

[sugoinufc]

im happy...this window has done us good.

 

if it should have been better i wouldn´t mind if we had sold best and maybe smith!

 

this squad will finish in top 15...which will be fine! 3-4 good signings and sales the next 2 windows will give us a really fine squad!

 

some of our players really have the potential to step up their game and become worth a lot or just good players. these could be krul, enrique, barton, caroll, tiote, vuckic and maybe even xisco, routledge and s. taylor if he sign a new deal!