Deano’s wishlist - the Jan transfer speculation/guaranteed nonsense thread

[Matt Collins]

Of all the options I'd have bjarnason as holding midfielder at the moment (when fit).

[Brassneck]

Tuanzebe is playing loads better than Chester in my view

Surprised others disagree

I certainly don't disagree which is part of the reason why I have been saying a CB is not priority in January.

Tuanzebe is the man - He is the right side of the central defence on merit.  If you bring in a left sided central defender then Chester, our captain is the one who has to make way.

[tomd2103]

Goalkeeper will certainly be changed in Jan, maybe all three.

Left sided centre back is an absolute must, the hype re Tuanzebe simply has to end, the guy cannot defend to save himself. McKenna is left sided isnt he? Big brute with pace ideally.

Holding midfielder is another must, wouldnt be surprised to see Jedinak leave in Jan. Bjarnasson and Whelan have their uses but neither is the solution. Hourihane categorically is not the solution.

McKenna is left footed and plays on the left side of central defence.  I think we might go for Chris Mepham from Brentford, but expect both would be costly. 

[Matt C]

A keeper and a centre half to provide some competition could be enough

[Ads]

The errors Chester is commitng are criminal and have nothing to do with which side the defence he's on. Letting players get in front of him, passing to the opposition, dragging himself out of position to attempt to win the ball, being beaten by a long straight ball.

He's been absolutely diabolical. Last night a couple of goals, Small Heath, QPR, Norwich, Reading, Preston. He's cost us so many points it's beyond parody.

Tuanzebe is miles the better player and even he has his efficiencies in the air and was at fault last night.

[mr underhill]

Let's be honest , ideally we need a completely new defense with the likes of Cafu and Chester then put into understudy roles. As for Nyland, he needs to return to the land of the Trolls immediately. A Scandi drama for all the wrong reasons.

[Jon Crofts]

A ridiculous bid for Johnstone on 1 Jan should be top of the list.

[Villatillidie25]

A ridiculous bid for Johnstone on 1 Jan should be top of the list.

Tom Heaton all day - rumours we’re favourites for him. Johnstone’s kicking is shocking so while he’s better than the calamity we’ve got, he’s not good enough for the premiership.


We desperately need a left back; Taylor is woeful going forward and there’s too much of a gap through the channel between him and Chester all the time.
Need a centre back as well as I’d drop Chester on current form.
Ideally we’d get a really athletic midfielder who can play at the base - I’ve heard kante has fallen out of favour with Sarri....

[themossman]

Regarding the defence - we’ve had such a mixed bag of results it’s hard to call a trend and before last weekend I was actually thinking we could afford to run with what we had, buy some cover and let the defence including Nyland carry on forming an understanding, whilst working to counter the vulnerability to set pieces and route one balls through the coaching. 

I’ve changed my mind but I still think we should be careful about making too many changes. Nyland obviously needs to go and Taylor too. But I think Axel and Chester can be a good first choice pair at CB and I’d like to see how they do with a good keeper behind them who can organise. Chester is a quality player but he’s not a leader and he’s never going to fill Terry’s shoes.

I reckon the key to stopping results like like night is replacing Hourihane with a more physical presence, more mobile and happy to tackle but smith obviously doesn’t like an out and out clogger. A NRC type player would do the job. 

[VILLA MOLE]

Of all the options I'd have bjarnason as holding midfielder at the moment (when fit).

how long is he out ,  he protects the back four and has legs

[Gareth]

Wouldn’t be surprised if come August the keeper, back 4 and defensive midfielder are all changed.  Heatin in Jan would be good, also wouldn’t be surprised in slightest if Bannan came in as that player to take ball from centre halves and bring it forward.

Nyland in terms of distribution is a huge upgrade on Johnstone / Guzan etc but he just seems unable to cut out the basic keeping mistakes.

Hutton for all his cult hero status is not a good defender & surely this is his last year as a starter.

Taylor has been ok recently but will need to be upgraded

Tuanzebe will go back to United a better player but not sure he’ll make it there, does a lot of things very well but still v inconsistent.

Chester seems completely out of it in team with a higher line and an expectation to pass the ball, he is a stopper and that is the limit of his abilities - scares me every time he has ball at his feet

Hourihane, never been a great fan sure he is great over a dead ball but in open play he seems to always be chasing 2/3 yds behind the ball which is pointless - certainly isn’t a deep lying midfielder

Whelan, seems to think he can play that deep role but he also seems to lose the ball in bad places a hell of a lot.  Hopefully this is his last year.

[UK Redsox]

McGinn gives the ball away just as much as the other midfielders but his speed/tenacity often allows him to rectify the error straight away.

I'm not adverse to Whelan playing whist Bjarney is out, but he needs to be either sitting deep or playing up field. He hasn't got the legs to do both anymore.

I don't see how Bannan would fit in, other than as back up for Jack

[mr underhill]

it wouldn't surprise me in the least if we kick off next season with a virtually brand new side, with the obvious exceptions like Grealish and McGinn. Lots of players will be returning to their parent clubs, lots will be flogged and lots are out of contract and won'y get offered another one. If we had the money Abraham would be top of the shopping list after defensive upgrades and I'd look to move on Hogan, Kodjia ( if a reasonable bid came in) and Albert, who I have the upmost respect form but who isdn't going to get the extension he wants.

[darren woolley]

Goalkeeper and a couple of defenders.

[footyskillz]

Tuanzebe is playing loads better than Chester in my view

Surprised others disagree

I certainly don't disagree which is part of the reason why I have been saying a CB is not priority in January.

Tuanzebe is the man - He is the right side of the central defence on merit.  If you bring in a left sided central defender then Chester, our captain is the one who has to make way.

Axel was in error for the 5th goal by grabban however. How Grabban was allowed to shoot let alone score was rather naive.

Well as a partnership I do like Chester and Tuanzabe and best option


Here's a thought I wouldn't be averse to playing Tuanzabe at defensive midfield if we did bring in a centre back.
He brings the ball out well enough and would be usefil in team and not dropped.

Chester as captain can't see being dropped .