The January 2024 "Will we actually sign a striker or just Che Adams/Kieffer Moore" Transfer Thread

[Deutsch Wolf]

Brownhill is OK.

But we don't need 5 first team CMs for 2 spots.

 

[sycophantia]

I wouldn't be against Brownhill as a back up to Gomes and Lemina but surely we need to address other positions first, doubt there's going to be loads of money to spend January.

 

[Tony Towner]

Brownhill is OK.

But we don't need 5 first team CMs for 2 spots.

Traore out on loan? It's what the plan was if we'd signed Reed

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I’d take Joao over him every single time.

Brownhill looked the better player out of the two the other night.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

With Hwang going to be away and Neto coming back from a hamstring injury the priority has to be a wide forward, if not two. Yesterday was crying out for Hwang and Cunha to be replaced after an hour and the only option was Sasa so we ended up flogging already tired players.

 

[Boozad]

I don't mind Brownhill at that price, but a backup CM is a long way down on my priority list.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1733611017916084493

How many contracts does he have?

 

[The Bear]

Is Doyle a done deal for €5m in the summer or do we have the option of turning that down?

Maybe they're thinking of investing that in Brownhill instead.

 

[Tony Towner]

Is Doyle a done deal for €5m in the summer or do we have the option of turning that down?

Maybe they're thinking of investing that in Brownhill instead.

It was said as an option, but reported afterwards it's an obligation. You'd imagine it's not one we'd lose money on though if we just wanted to spin him

 

[Wilf Wolf]

Doyle reminds me of Jack Price, busy, a good first touch and a good passer but not sure he has enough to be a regular starter in the PL. I know he’s young but he won’t get any quicker and that may be his undoing. That said if he becomes a bit stronger he could become a similar player to Ward-Prowse who has certainly improved with age and makes up for his deficiencies with outstanding set pieces.

 

[sycophantia]

I wonder if Sasa might be sold? GON doesn't seem to want to use him, he doesn't really fit in how he wants to play. Sasa and Fabio out? New striker and wide forward in?

 

[Tony Towner]

I wonder if Sasa might be sold? GON doesn't seem to want to use him, he doesn't really fit in how he wants to play. Sasa and Fabio out? New striker and wide forward in?

I'd move both out if we can. Sasa isn't going to suit the way GON wants to play and he is incapable of or refuses to amend that when he brings him on, so he's going to offer little. Ironically with all the side to side, playing in front of them rubbish yesterday, having Sasa on and getting crosses into the box may have given them something different to think about, even though he's not a target man.

 

[Templeton Peck]

4231 gets the best out of our best players IMO. I'd like see us give it a proper go before we sell Sasa. We'd need one good CB in the short term to make it work.

Sa
Semedo CB Dawson RAN
Lemina Gomes
Bellegarde Cunha Neto
Kalajdzic

 

[Tony Towner]

4231 gets the best out of our best players IMO. I'd like see us give it a proper go before we sell Sasa. We'd need one good CB in the short term to make it work.

Sa
Semedo CB Dawson RAN
Lemina Gomes
Bellegarde Cunha Neto
Kalajdzic

I agree with the formation, but still don't think Sasa is quick enough to make it work in the way we'd need it to

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

3/5 at the back has served us well, particularly against the better sides. Bring Neto and RAN back in and it'll serve us well against the lower placed teams too, (it hasn't been that bad anyway)

We were dismal at the start of the season with 4 at the back, Dawson, Toti and Kilman have been (largely) excellent since the switch.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

Yesterday, the goal aside, we had no idea how to break them down. It wasn’t a one-off either, it was a repeat of the Burnley game. If you can’t play through two organised banks of players the options are go round or over. Semedo gets stage fright at the sight of the opponents area and Bueno doesn’t seem much better though in his defence for much of the first half yesterday he was extremely isolated as Sarabia, Hwang and Cunha were on the right. Without Neto we can’t get around the back down the wings so having an option to go over the top would be nice. Cunha and even Silva used to make runs into the channels but gradually they’ve stopped as the ball was rarely played. If we don’t use the channels a long ball to a centre forward would at least provide some variety and give opponents something to think about. Whether Sasa is that man I’m not sure but I am sure that if we continue to play the way we have in the last two games we won’t pick up many points as both Burnley and Forest are woeful.

 

[Tony Towner]

3/5 at the back has served us well, particularly against the better sides. Bring Neto and RAN back in and it'll serve us well against the lower placed teams too, (it hasn't been that bad anyway)

We were dismal at the start of the season with 4 at the back, Dawson, Toti and Kilman have been (largely) excellent since the switch.

Disagree, in games like yesterday you've got a centre half doing nothing. Getting an extra attacking player on the pitch has to increase your chances of breaking them down. For me it's a 3 or a 4 opposition dependant and not the rigidity he showed yesterday

 

[Kenny]

Disagree, in games like yesterday you've got a centre half doing nothing. Getting an extra attacking player on the pitch has to increase your chances of breaking them down. For me it's a 3 or a 4 opposition dependant and not the rigidity he showed yesterday

If he has zero trust in a 2 its not going to happen though. He started the season with a back four so I would say that's his favoured formation but it just highlights the weakness of the CB's we have.
It's an argument we had under Nuno even back in the Championship.
We played Sunderland, the worst team by a long stretch. They played so defensively when they hoofed it clear our back 3 had no Sunderland player near them. Stuck rigidly to the 3...0-0.

I doubt we will buy defenders to move back to a 4 in January, so it will wait until next summer. Until then it's down to us either finding a way though defensive set ups, having a fit Neto or signing similar players to Neto in January.

As it stands our remaining games for this year we shouldn't have to worry about teams sitting deep on us. Everton the most likely but they are certainly more attacking than a standard Dyche team.

 

[Tony Towner]

If he has zero trust in a 2 its not going to happen though.

Then he's a poor manager. Putting Toti at left back when he took Bueno off wouldn't have affected the way Forest approached the game. As it was they still should have scored from the little of the ball they had, ironically because the lump he did put on at LWB gave it away.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Disagree, in games like yesterday you've got a centre half doing nothing. Getting an extra attacking player on the pitch has to increase your chances of breaking them down. For me it's a 3 or a 4 opposition dependant and not the rigidity he showed yesterday

And if we were playing 4 at the back you'd still have 3 at the back when we attack, as we do now, it's not about the formation, it's about attacking intent, we had plenty of that yesterday from when they scored to half time, for a myriad of reasons (personally I think mostly fatigue and individual player performance) that didn't continue into the second half.

You slot Neto and RAN back into the team we started yesterday and i believe we win that game, and we perform better against Burnley too.

 

[Tony Towner]

And if we were playing 4 at the back you'd still have 3 at the back when we attack, it's not about the formation, it's about attacking intent, we had plenty of that yesterday from when they scored to half time, for a myriad of reasons (personally I think mostly fatigue and individual player performance) that didn't continue into the second half.

You slot Neto and RAN back into the team we started yesterday and we win that game, and we perform better against Burnley too.

But RAN and Neto weren't playing yesterday, Semedo and Bueno offered nothing as an attacking outlet, the former rarely does and he's first choice, so you are playing with only 3 offensive players against a side sitting deep, it's tactical malpractice.