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Transfers: what do we need?



Behind Enemy Lines

Well-known member
Jul 18, 2003
4,797
London
As it stands, this is our current squad:

Keepers: Kuszczak, Brezovan & Ankergen

Defence: Bruno, Calderon, Dunk and Greer.

Midfield: Bridcutt, Orlandi, Crofts, KLL, Buckley, (Forster-Caskey, March)

Strikers: Ulloa, CMS, Barnes, Hoskins, (Barker and Agdestein)

I've bracketed youngish-fringe.

You can see how thin we look, before you take into account likely bids for Bridcutt or Buckley. This is what I think we need:


A left-back, possibly two, depending on Makismenko's progress.

2 new centre-backs. If its Upson then fine but we need another with pace. I am concerned about a lack of pace at the back.

3 new midfield players. Spanish Dave back ? Plus one other creative and a midfield "rock/hard man". (BTW next season is huge for Crofts - what is his role going to be?)

And a new striker, possibly two .
 


SULLY COULDNT SHOOT

Loyal2Family+Albion!
Sep 28, 2004
11,283
Izmir, Southern Turkey
To improve we need:

A back up GK

A CB

two LBs

One CM

One striker to play behind Ulloa

and keep everyone from last year.
 


nwgull

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2003
13,653
Manchester
To improve we need:

A back up GK

A CB

two LBs

One CM

One striker to play behind Ulloa

and keep everyone from last year.

Do we really need another backup 'keeper? I don't think that we can realistically expect to sign a keeper who's better than the 2 we already have and is happy to only get 3-4 starts a season.

CB will hopefully be Upson.

LB - Shorey with Maksimenko as back up?

CM - I'd like to see some Spanish flairmeister signed with the help of oscar's contacts.

Striker to support Ulloa - Perfectly happy with potential partnerships with CMS, Barnes and Hoskins.
 


deletebeepbeepbeep

Well-known member
May 12, 2009
20,889
I'd like

2 x CB (Upson + 1 quicker promising youngster)
2 x LB (Shorey + 1 quicker more dynamic)
1 x CM (someone that can inject some pace into the midfield and pass)
1 x AMR/L
 


Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,730
Brighton
People seem to forget that we had the best defensive record in the league last season. Upson, Greer and El Abd would be MORE than sufficient. Would I WANT better? Sure, always. But in terms of needs, those 3 are very good.
 




deletebeepbeepbeep

Well-known member
May 12, 2009
20,889
People seem to forget that we had the best defensive record in the league last season. Upson, Greer and El Abd would be MORE than sufficient. Would I WANT better? Sure, always. But in terms of needs, those 3 are very good.

Neither Upson or El Abd are currently registered with Brighton.
 


pishhead

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
5,246
Everywhere
I think it all depends on the system Oscar will deploy. We certainly don't need a back up gk though.
 


pishhead

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
5,246
Everywhere
People seem to forget that we had the best defensive record in the league last season. Upson, Greer and El Abd would be MORE than sufficient. Would I WANT better? Sure, always. But in terms of needs, those 3 are very good.

Plus Dunk is more than decent as a back up.
 




midnight_rendezvous

Well-known member
Aug 10, 2012
3,737
The Black Country
Considering the reports I've read suggest Oscar plays a 4-3-3 formation so I wouldn't bother with another striker. Ulloa and Barnes will be fit to start and once CMS and Hoskins are fit we could have 4 players competing for one position. So with that in mind i'd go for another winger as Buckley is prone to hamstring trouble and KLL is not the most consistent of payers. I know Spanish Dave is naturally a einger but he lacks pace so i'd get another one in. As others have said though a big CM man to help out Bridcutt and a pacey CB/ LB.
 


Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,521
Gus was many things but one of them was a prety decent judge of a player. If he liked the look of Maksimenko - and we're now a year or so on - then I'm content for him to be considered replacement for Painter.

Yes, Shorey in for Bridge. Not as good but not going to give us any problems either.

I'd try and sign Upson for a year, even if it means pay a couple of extra grand a week. I don't think he'll do a job in the Prem and he could start to go off this season anyway. I agree that a decent pacy centre-back is a priority.

Midfield is simple - we need an upgrade for Hammond. Someone who can spray the ball around with a bit of pace and contribute 8 or 9 goals. I'm happy with the rest of the squad in that area. Re-signing Spanish Dave a must.

Upfront concerns me. Ulloa is top drawer but what if he gets injured? We might get lucky if CMS or Hoskins gets fit and starts scoring, but I would have been tempted to sell CMS while he still has value and bring in a Simeon Jackson who will be hungry and confident at this level, having done such a good job in the Championship with Norwich.

I also think now is the time to sell Barnes. Again, he has value, but was very much a Gus man. I worry about his temperament and ability to convert under pressure.

I'd be tempted to go for someone like Yakubu up front. Still only 30, would provide presence and quality, good cover for Ulloa and together they'd batter the opposition centre backs.
 


Farehamseagull

Solly March Fan Club
Nov 22, 2007
13,770
Sarisbury Green, Southampton
Assuming El-Abd and Spanish Dave come back I would be happy with just one left back, one centre back and a winger who can play either side all of the quality who can come straight into the side.

If budget allows I would ideally want another striker also as I think it will be risky to rely on CMS and Hoskins too heavily after their long term injuries and they both still have something to prove. This isn't a priority though as if Oscar plays 4-3-3 as expected with a lone striker then Barnes and Ulloa should hopefully be enough with the other two as back up.
 




brightonrock

Dodgy Hamstrings
Jan 1, 2008
2,482
+ One/two left backs (depending on Maxi's progress)
+ One centre back (upson or elabd would be fine imo)
+ One/two central midfielders ('enforcer' dcm man and a creative acm - hopefully lopez??)
+ A winger (only buckley & lualua in the squad and both are injury prone - barnes/orlandi/lopez (if he comes back) are all better through the middle imo)

So 6 maximum imo. Even in the worst injury crisis we rarely had to turn to the development squad so they (maxi/ince/march/jfc/toby/barker) serve as suitable cover, numbers-wise. With ffp in mind, there's no point having a squad of 28/29 if you're only going to use 20/21.
 


yxee

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2011
2,521
Manchester
So 6 maximum imo. Even in the worst injury crisis we rarely had to turn to the development squad so they (maxi/ince/march/jfc/toby/barker) serve as suitable cover, numbers-wise. With ffp in mind, there's no point having a squad of 28/29 if you're only going to use 20/21.

I agree, although for me it's a bit worrying that we didn't turn to the DS in the worst injury crisis. Why didn't we? Are they not good enough at this level?

We had 3 of 4 strikers out (and the 4th in desperate need of a rest), yet still no confidence being shown in Barker/Toby. That's more of a negative for me than a positive.
 








Munkfish

Well-known member
May 1, 2006
11,861
Last Year, it was pretty clear that we needed a Goalkeeper, left back and a Forward.

This Year im not so certain and I guess we need to find out how Oscar plays for us to be sure.

However a must for me is the following.

CB X2 (1 if we sign Upson 0 if we re-sign El-Abd)

LB X1

CM X1 (Even if we resign Lopez)

AMC X1
 


Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
21,578
Cowfold
People seem to forget that we had the best defensive record in the league last season. Upson, Greer and El Abd would be MORE than sufficient. Would I WANT better? Sure, always. But in terms of needs, those 3 are very good.

Agreed, (assuming of course that Upson and El Abd put pen to paper again), we do need a left back though ( that's even if we do sign Shorey). I'd also like to see us sign a back up keeper to put pressure on the pig, and let Ankergren and Brezovan go. Both of them, in my opinion, are out out of their depth at this level.
 


Seaber

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2010
1,130
Wales
If we managed to resign El-Abd, Lopez, Vicente and get Upson in, the only really new players we'd need would be a left back.

We're sorted up front if everyone stays, and a couple of additions to midfield and we're fine. I'm happy to have Brez/Casper as back up.
 




shaolinpunk

[Insert witty title here]
Nov 28, 2005
7,187
Brighton
Upfront concerns me. Ulloa is top drawer but what if he gets injured? We might get lucky if CMS or Hoskins gets fit and starts scoring, but I would have been tempted to sell CMS while he still has value and bring in a Simeon Jackson who will be hungry and confident at this level, having done such a good job in the Championship with Norwich.

I also think now is the time to sell Barnes. Again, he has value, but was very much a Gus man. I worry about his temperament and ability to convert under pressure.


Admittedly, they didn't present much of a challenge, but Barnes was outstanding as the lone striker vs Blackpool near the end of last season.

Strong with the ball, good in the air, intelligent link-up play and movement... maybe it was a one-off or maybe he kept his head down while he was banned and worked on his all-round game but if he can play like that every week he's a perfectly good backup to Ulloa.
 


mejonaNO12 aka riskit

Well-known member
Dec 4, 2003
21,481
England
Unless I've got this wrong, including loanees returning to their parent clubs and us releasing people/peoples contracts expiring we have lost:

2 Lb's
2 cb's
2 cm's

Assuming Oscar will play a 4-3-3 I'd go for

2 left backs.
2 CB's (including El Abd signing on)
2 central midfielders (1 first team, one more of a squad player) +David Lopez re-signing
One wing forward. Pacey




I would love Vicente to come back, but I just can't see it happening, sadly.
 



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