Honestly, I think we just need to make three additions in the off-season based on what we have right now:
1) Striker. Not necessarily an expensive one, but just a finisher.
2) A left winger. While I believe that Downing will get another season to prove himself (let's face it, we paid a £20mill fee for him, he's not gonna be offloaded after a single season), we need another option on the left side. Also, what confused me last season was that we played Downing on the right side on more than a few occasions when we probably would've been more effective with Maxi or Kuyt on the right side & Downing on the left. With Maxi & Kuyt probably being offloaded, we're probably gonna need to improve on both wings, but as of right now, we need to get another left winger not only to give ourselves a bit of insurance but also get the message across to Stewie that he's not been good enough (if he hasn't already figured it out himself).
3) A backup CDM. While Spearing has tried his best, it's clear that once Lucas went down, our season went downhill. Spearing was just not good enough and in some cases hindered our overall performances. In fact, our best performances after Lucas went down were when Spearing was not on the pitch & we played Carroll & Suarez alongside each other. Carroll would hold up the ball & we'd have a much more fluid attack than we had with Spearing in a five-man midfield & a lone striker up top. When we had two strikers up top, it proved that a CDM wasn't necessary for success, but it could if you had the right guy playing the role. Lucas fit the role. Spearing didn't. A new CDM would enable us to have insurance for Lucas getting injured AND would allow Lucas to rest more often, which would be vital this season with him coming off the ACL injury.
As far as departures, I'm gonna guess that it goes along these lines:
- Jones
- Aurelio (40k/week off wage bill)
- Kuyt (approximately 70k/week off wage bill)
- Maxi (he reportedly makes 90k/week, but I highly doubt that we pay all of that because he said that he'd take a pay cut upon joining us from Madrid)
- Joe Cole (there's just no way he stays. I cannot see it. on the decline with massive wages? bye bye.)
- Jay Spearing (Just not good enough unfortunately. He did his best, but we're probably gonna replace him)
I also think that we could see Aquilani sold to somebody, which would probably be best for him & us. I also believe that some young fringe players, such as Danny Wilson & Nathan Eccleston, could actively seek a move in order to further their careers (Eccleston especially after his comments about 9/11). I also have a feeling that we're gonna see one big name guy try to move (such as Glen Johnson or Martin Skrtel). It won't be because they're unhappy or unsettled, but because they wanna play Champions League and, when they moved here, they expected to play at that level regularly, but are now entering their third straight year without an appearance at that level. I know we don't wanna think about it like that, but I just have a feeling that we're gonna see it.
I don't wanna make any predictions who we're specifically gonna buy (let's face it, nobody knows & we'd just be getting our own hopes up) or how much the new manager is gonna have to spend, but hey, I'm hopeful that we'll be able to make a few upgrades & move forward. It's gonna be a long summer, but regardless of what happens, we'll come out of it stronger as a club & hopefully surprise a few people out there next season.
YNWA
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