by SlightlyJames » Jun 09, '16, 10:43 am
Hm. Well, so far we've got the pre-contract Accrington lads, Matt Crooks and Josh Windass coming in, we've got Jordan Rossiter and Joey Barton coming in on free transfers. They all primarily play in midfield as I understand it and if there's any area of the field we're saturated in, it's there. So you'd have to imagine they'll need to be versatile and spend a decent amount of time occupying other roles in the squad, maybe Windass heading up to play as a wide attacker and Crooks or Rossiter doing more of a utility job further back.
With that in mind, there is no question whatsoever that we need a defensive rock. I've heard nothing of Dom Ball coming back for another season, that really leaves only Danny Wilson and Rob Keirnan, both players who can be solid on their day but are also prone to errors that will be exploited more and more as we play in more competitive fixtures, particularly potentially European dates in the coming years. I was reading today that there was interest in Steven Taylor who was recently released by Newcastle, I feel like he would be a sorely needed steady hand.
Wes Foderingham didn't have a poor season in goal for us, while there were more errors than I'd ideally be comfortable with, I'm willing to give him a season to try and iron that out. Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie are both Keepers with a lot of promise and Kelly in particular will undoubtedly have his eyes set on regular first team football, either here or elsewhere so there's no need to go overboard with expensive signings in that area.
In terms of spearheading an attack, right now our options are Martyn Waghorn and Kenny Miller. Waggy won the golden boot this year and before his injury he was in great form. Kenny filled those shoes after the injury and can still do a hell of a job for us when it matters. Ryan Hardie will be back from his loan at Raith where he did an alright job but time will tell if the gaffer thinks of him as being ready for the first team just yet, a new center forward is a likelihood I feel.
Lee Wallace and James Tavernier were ever present in the full back positions this season and were consistently two of the better performers in the team, which is lucky because in the event of a dip in form or an injury there was no cover to speak of. Fraser Aird gave a good account of himself on loan for the Vancouver Whitecaps I hear, so he can be a very solid deputy right back but that does leave Waldo as our only left back. A smidge more depth would be appreciated, though in terms of specific players I've no idea.
If I'm guessing I'd say we will probably dip into the loan market and bring in a reserve from a Premier League side, Warburton and McParland have ties to the Spurs and Liverpool academies, respectively, so that may very well be where we'd be looking.