No doubt about it. Next season we HAVE to start with Wood and Vydra. Defenders have struggled pretty much since they started together. And will only get better with games and pre season.

They could be as important a partnership as mee and tarks.

Get a couple of other bits right and who knows where we could get to.

Need another tho... I was of the opinion we go with what we have up top but an injury and we become a hell of a lot weaker.

Took a long time for it to get off the ground tho... and that’s disappointing especially as the battering ram was well rumbled.

bobinho wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:45 pm

Need another tho... I was of the opinion we go with what we have up top but an injury and we become a hell of a lot weaker.

Or do we fast track Richardson?

bobinho wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:45 pm

Need another tho... I was of the opinion we go with what we have up top but an injury and we become a hell of a lot weaker.

Took a long time for it to get off the ground tho... and that’s disappointing especially as the battering ram was well rumbled.

I love Barnes and jay. And what both have done for us. But personally I’d offload one of them while we can still get a decent fee. Get a younger striker in. And start with wood and vydra with either of jay or Barnes as experienced backup.

I would let Barnes go, keep Jay but need one more in the creative mould and either play Richardson or loan him out.

Can't disagree about sticking with the little and large combo up top, they really have caused opposition defenders countless problems between them, and as their understanding grows they can surely only improve, plus our link up play from midfield to the forwards has also improved immeasurably since this duo where paired together.

Vyds has been a revalation since teaming up with Chris Wood. Defenders do not like his pace. Long may it last

Would keep all four and bring in an additional striker, and loan out Richardson. Its very rare all the current four are all fit (today was an exception). Would look at a youngster on loan from one of the big clubs like Man City/ Man Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal. Should not be too difficult (Cotterril used to do it fairly easily)

Big man/little man, both with pace. That’ll do for me.
We were so one dimensional with Wood/Barnes.

RalphCoatesComb wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:53 pm

Vyds has been a revalation since teaming up with Chris Wood. Defenders do not like his pace. Long may it last

Absolutely. They also don’t know how to defend it. Either drop deep which helps us. Or push on and risk getting caught out. An outlet we haven’t had since ings.

warksclaret wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:56 pm

Would keep all four and bring in an additional striker, and loan out Richardson. Its very rare all the current four are all fit (today was an exception). Would look at a youngster on loan from one of the big clubs like Man City/ Man Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal. Should not be too difficult (Cotterril used to do it fairly easily)

I don’t think we will be looking for a loan.... utterly pointless as whoever it is will be as well sitting on the bench at his own club than here.

Dyche won’t get any joy from anywhere other than Barclays should he be looking for a loan.

huw.Y.WattfromWare wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:58 pm

Big man/little man, both with pace. That’ll do for me.
We were so one dimensional with Wood/Barnes.

But Vydra isn’t little. He’s an inch off six feet tall.

boatshed bill wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:46 pm

Or do we fast track Richardson?

I hope he gets the opportunity to progress next season and continues to do so.

Much as I like Ashley Barnes I feel it may be best for both him and the club if we could move him on, similar to Sam Vokes' situation when we got good money and a move that suited him

boatshed bill wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:40 pm

Much as I like Ashley Barnes I feel it may be best for both him and the club if we could move him on, similar to Sam Vokes' situation when we got good money and a move that suited him

Not sure anyone will be willing to pay much for Barnes given his age and injury problems the last couple of seasons.

RalphCoatesComb wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:53 pm

Vyds has been a revalation since teaming up with Chris Wood. Defenders do not like his pace. Long may it last

It's not just his pace though it's also his clever movement that creates the space for himself and others around him.

The only minor downside to today was his goal not standing, it was the correct call just, but it was very close.

I think the Americans will need to attack the transfer market in big style for Barnes to leave the club.

They won’t, Barnes stays . No problem .

jrgbfc wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:05 pm

Not sure anyone will be willing to pay much for Barnes given his age and injury problems the last couple of seasons.

Probably not a big fee, but we have had remarkably good value out of AB, so anything would be a bonus.
I'd also add that the only reasons I would be happy to see him leave would be (a) if he wanted to go and (b) if we have the money to bring in an upgrade.

Funnily enough, seeing “Americans” and Barmes” in the same sentence above. Barnes’ guile would make him an utter handful in the MLS

Edit

Good to see we've moved on from the Yanks to more respectable Americans now. Maybe we can instead refer to the club as our own again?

Vydra is a very talented footballer .Its just a shame that its taken this long for him to flourish with us.

randomclaret2 wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:54 pm

Vydra is a very talented footballer .Its just a shame that its taken this long for him to flourish with us.

Absolutely and credit to him for his patience and professionalism

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:49 pm

I love Barnes and jay. And what both have done for us. But personally I’d offload one of them while we can still get a decent fee. Get a younger striker in. And start with wood and vydra with either of jay or Barnes as experienced backup.

Both Barnes and Jay are done at this level as consistent performers.

Get a third in and use Richardson sparingly

Whilst Richardson is clearly a very talented lad, and consequently gets plaudits from people who have never seen him kick a football competitively, i've also been impressed by Max Thompson, he's scored a few for the U23s.

Claret_tinted wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 3:29 pm

Both Barnes and Jay are done at this level as consistent performers.

Get a third in and use Richardson sparingly

I don’t understand comments like this. What are you basing it on? About 10-15 games when the whole team was massively below par? It’s like a player always has to be flavour of the month and their competition are ‘done at this level’ or their ‘legs have gone’.

The current front two are without doubt the on form partnership but this is likely to change at some point. We are lucky to have 4 strikers who are capable at this level. Considering our lack of depth in some other positions this is a huge bonus. I wouldn’t be too disappointed for us to make room for a younger striker by moving Barnes or Jay on but to say they’re done at this level is quite disrespectful.

gandhisflipflop wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:50 pm

I would let Barnes go, keep Jay but need one more in the creative mould and either play Richardson or loan him out.

I'd agree with the latter. Richardson out on loan to a Championship/League One side. Sad to say I agree, I'd let Barnes go too. He's been a proper handful but we need to expand our attacking options.

I’d say Jay still has prem goals in him and a touch of class but great servant Barnes has been we have to offload him and probs Vydra who is nowhere near a regular prem striker week in week out.
We’ve been awful much of the season and the squad is rank with deadwood from Lowton , Bardsley , JBG , Barnes , most of the midfield , Brady . We need 3 quality additions inc RB , right winger /mid / quality CM and a quality prem centre forward to lead with Wood

AlargeClaret wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:52 pm

I’d say Jay still has prem goals in him and a touch of class but great servant Barnes has been we have to offload him and probs Vydra who is nowhere near a regular prem striker week in week out.
We’ve been awful much of the season and the squad is rank with deadwood from Lowton , Bardsley , JBG , Barnes , most of the midfield , Brady . We need 3 quality additions inc RB , right winger /mid / quality CM and a quality prem centre forward to lead with Wood

Blimey. We’ve been awful and we are 14th in ‘the best league in the world’. Vydra nowhere near a regular prem striker and all that dead wood. What a terrible mess we are in.

WYDRA.

A Vydra Ultra could be quite smug

Culmclaret wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:18 pm

Blimey. We’ve been awful and we are 14th in ‘the best league in the world’. Vydra nowhere near a regular prem striker and all that dead wood. What a terrible mess we are in.

Well, if we’d lost vs Wolves we’d have been in an absolute relegation 6 pointer with Fulham . The first XI desperately needs strengthening in various areas . We’ve hung on this season with a mix of guile , prem experience and an aging yet battle hardened squad . Without quality upgrades we’d go down next season with this squad almost guaranteed . A few quality signings though a a hugely different picture can evolve . As for Vydra I like him ,good effort lively but really isn’t a finisher ,and if he stays at the expense of Jay and Barnes fine but we need a box ready prem striker in the mix

Rileybobs wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:41 pm

I don’t understand comments like this. What are you basing it on? About 10-15 games when the whole team was massively below par? It’s like a player always has to be flavour of the month and their competition are ‘done at this level’ or their ‘legs have gone’.

The current front two are without doubt the on form partnership but this is likely to change at some point. We are lucky to have 4 strikers who are capable at this level. Considering our lack of depth in some other positions this is a huge bonus. I wouldn’t be too disappointed for us to make room for a younger striker by moving Barnes or Jay on but to say they’re done at this level is quite disrespectful.

Barnes: defenders have worked him out, they know he’s always looking for a foul and to wind them into making a mistake. He’s too predictable.

His legs are a yard short, and he isn’t able to get into the defensive shape quickly enough to stop teams out letting past him and creating overloads in the midfield and beyond.

Jay Rod: technically very good still, and heart is there in his work rate. His pace has left, which has a negative knock on in the most important parts of his game. Too similar to Wood who is an upgrade.

I’d keep him as a squad player but I wouldn’t think he’d see much game time. Very good ambassador for the club and young players coming through.

We have Wood, Vydra and we need two others. I would expose Richardson and add a backup for Wood.

Claret_tinted wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:40 pm

Barnes: defenders have worked him out, they know he’s always looking for a foul and to wind them into making a mistake. He’s too predictable.

His legs are a yard short, and he isn’t able to get into the defensive shape quickly enough to stop teams out letting past him and creating overloads in the midfield and beyond.

Jay Rod: technically very good still, and heart is there in his work rate. His pace has left, which has a negative knock on in the most important parts of his game. Too similar to Wood who is an upgrade.

I’d keep him as a squad player but I wouldn’t think he’d see much game time. Very good ambassador for the club and young players coming through.

We have Wood, Vydra and we need two others. I would expose Richardson and add a backup for Wood.

If you think we need two more strikers then you’re going to be very disappointed come the start of next season.

I wouldn’t be overly surprised to see Barnes move on in the summer.

Rileybobs wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:49 pm

If you think we need two more strikers then you’re going to be very disappointed come the start of next season.

I can think all I want!

If we’re thinking...

I want a new RB, 2 x CB, 2 x CF, RW, and a CM

Claret_tinted wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 9:16 pm

I can think all I want!

If we’re thinking...

I want a new RB, 2 x CB, 2 x CF, RW, and a CM

Of course. But we don’t need two new strikers do we? Whilst one new striker would be nice I think it will be fairly low down on our list of priorities this summer unless one or ours wants to move on. It’s the position where we have the most strength in depth.

AlargeClaret wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:27 pm

Well, if we’d lost vs Wolves we’d have been in an absolute relegation 6 pointer with Fulham . The first XI desperately needs strengthening in various areas . We’ve hung on this season with a mix of guile , prem experience and an aging yet battle hardened squad . Without quality upgrades we’d go down next season with this squad almost guaranteed . A few quality signings though a a hugely different picture can evolve . As for Vydra I like him ,good effort lively but really isn’t a finisher ,and if he stays at the expense of Jay and Barnes fine but we need a box ready prem striker in the mix

....but we didn’t lose to Wolves: we walloped them with an exhilirating performance.....

Fans are so fickle. Ashley Barnes off the bench is an option that would terrify tiring defenders.. if he can have a good summer and come back fit, I would be happy to keep him at the club.

Jay Rod when he is in form remains an important player for us, been a difficult season for him... when Jay is buzzing he remains one of our best attacking options. If we are starting to look at filling the squad out, I can see us playing Jay more as formations allow.

I am reasonably confident that the team will be freshened up quite a bit in the summer.

It has took SD a long time to move away from long ball punts straight up the middle to a static front two.
We are now seeing both Vydra and Wood making runs down the channels (behind full backs) where they have shown good control and distribution of the ball. This is because their movement means they are not being clattered directly from behind by CB's but are actually dragging them out of their comfort position. The ability of Wood in this new role is just as pleasing as that of Vydra, and his first goal was a good example of close ball control
Jay could adapt to the same system but not sure about Barnes. Ash is a choice if we are going direct, chasing a goal, and for that reason see him staying
Vydra will be 29 next month but only has another season on his contract so just hope he and SD can agree to extend this further in the summer

jojomk1 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:50 am

It has took SD a long time to move away from long ball punts straight up the middle to a static front two.

Is that what he has done since he arrived ?