[Albion] Stronger or Weaker

[Charlies Shinpad]

The question was about Sunday, not about the days after that.

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[oldboyroy]

Obviously weaker but hopefully we'll address that before window shuts

 

[wellquickwoody]

Trouble is neither of them is anywhere near as good

To be fair Tom, you are nowhere near as good a football guru as you think you are.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

We are neither nor.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Obviously weaker as we have lost two of our most influential players from last record breaking season.

Still be have more money in the bank as that seems to be the aim.

 

[Baldrick]

Weaker short term, stronger medium to long term

 

[rippleman]

Weaker if we lose Cucu.

I think we have replaced Biss and Maupay but Cucu leaving is a different matter altogether. We aren't going to have a replacement in place by Sunday and I'm not aware that we have a PL-ready LB/LWB youngster to step up. You really can't expect to lose your POTS so close to the start of the season and be stronger.

 

[dazzer6666]

Weaker if we lose Cucu.

I think we have replaced Biss and Maupay but Cucu leaving is a different matter altogether. We aren't going to have a replacement in place by Sunday and I'm not aware that we have a PL-ready LB/LWB youngster to step up. You really can't expect to lose your POTS so close to the start of the season and be stronger.

If ? ? ?

 

[doogie004]

Richer but 100% weaker


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[The Fits]

Biss and Cucu are both world class players. Very hard to replace. However, Potter’s (and staffs) influence can’t be overstated. Cucu didn’t join us as a LCB. There’s quotes from him saying people used to laugh at his defending. That’s a very quick turnaround. Potter has to take credit for that. And there’s absolutely no doubt that Potter et al honed Biss into the player he’s become.
So my feeling is right now we are weaker, of course we are, but give it a few months and I’m pretty sure they won’t be missed.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Mitoma, Undav and Colwill gives us some strength in depth in a season where 5 subs will be allowed and I think Caicedo and Mwepu between them can cover the loss of Biss, albeit in a slightly different way. What we might lose in break up play and tackling we might just gain in goals scored and assists.

Cucurella is a massive blow though and obviously leaves us weaker overall. Colwill is a temporary sticking plaster on the face of it in that respect, despite offering other options. But it will be interesting to see how good he really is and if we are actively looking for another LB/LWB. Other interesting thoughts are whether Tross wants to play LWB in preparation for the World Cup.

All is not lost. Far from it. We've cut some dead wood in Zeqiri, Duffy and probably Clarke, Andone's unlikely to get a squad number and Webster is back to full fitness. With a fully fit Welbz as well we have better attacking options than for a long time - I've not seen "the striker" thread appear yet!

All in all - and I'm more glass half empty on us normally - we should be reasonably competitive again. We may well score more (we need to) and we'll almost certainly concede more but we should be looking at 45-50 points again with the squad we have currently.

As for Sunday it's a traditional free hit, they have many of the same disinterested players and a coach making a PL debut. I'm going, I'm looking forward to it and anything we get is a bonus.

 

[RandyWanger]

Weaker

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

You are one depressing poster!

And you're happy-clapping about the revolving exit door of talent? I'd like to have some of what you're having

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

To be fair Tom, you are nowhere near as good a football guru as you think you are.

Good point, well made

 

[Brian Fantana]

Weaker, without a doubt. Losing Cucu is an enormous blow.

 

[boik]

Trouble is neither of them is anywhere near as good

Might remind you about saying that about Moises. Boys got what it takes.

 

[Popeye]

Weaker on the face of it but I am quite sure TB and company have a Cucurella replacement in mind and others if need be. They love the Albion and want us to succeed, not just be in it for the money like the majority of other owners. Was always going to be hard to get a result at Old Trafford regardless of whatever squad we had, but that still doesn't mean we can't get something out of it.

 

[Napper]

weaker , potential to be more exciting if new players can step up

we'll flirt with relegation at times probably if we dont strengthen. Re-assess end Aug

 

[Hotchilidog]

I think we are over Bissouma's departure, in my opinion the midfield now looks to be more dynamic than it was at the start of last season, with more options up front to boot! So I'd say we are stronger in that regard.

Having lost Cucurella, we are undoubtedly weaker in his position. That said I'm fairly sure Potter will combat this with a tweak in formation and maybe a tactical shift regarding our lines of attack and distribution of left sided defensive duties.

My glass is decidedly half full right now.

 

[Justice]

I think we will miss Bissouma more than Cucurella, judging by the friendlies we are moving our best goal scoring number 10 back deeper , we weren’t exactly flush with goals last season or the season before that. Biss also used to drop back and cover defensive positions naturally when the wing backs pushed up the pitch this will all take work with another player. Time will tell I guess.