I like the look of the squad, especially if we add Ayala

There's the old chestnut about having 2 players for every position but when your entire squad is untested in the Premiership you need loads of options to turn to in case some players simply cannot manage the step up. I suppose the squad would be something like this (with emergency backups in brackets). There's a lot of options and different possibilities in terms of formation etc there! Still think maybe it would be nice to have another keeper option, and if we do end up playing more often with wingers, we might need to add another one there. But looks good dunnit ? If it all goes pear shaped early on, plenty of options to shake it up !

GK: Ruddy, Rudd, (Steer)
LB: Naughton, Tierney, Drury, (De Laet)
CB: Barnett, De Laet, Whitbread, Ayala, Ward
RB: Martin, Naughton (De Laet)
DM: Johnson, Fox
MC: Crofts, Johnson, Bennett, Surman, Smith
AMC: Hoolahan, Bennett (Martin)
Wingers: Bennett, Pilkington, (Surman)
CF: Holt, Morison, Wilbraham, Martin
FW: Morison, Jackson, Vaughan, Martin

Who will be the fringe players this year I wonder. Obviously need the first few games to see who's dealing with the step up and who isn't but my early guess would be that Chris Martin, Drury and Koey (and obviously Wilbrahimovic) might find it tough to get in the team. And perhaps poor old Ward has really got himself injured at a bad time. I think Vaughan will feature when he comes back in. Maybe not as much as if he'd managed to stay fit through pre-season, but once he regains fitness and match fitness he's a different option to the other strikers.

That was a bit usacanary wasn't it ? Haterz!

Posted By: Steve in Holland, Aug 12, 11:12:26