The Squad for 2019-20

[aldoes mustache]

just seems we are over loaded up top. and he only had 16 games in lg 2 last season scoring twice . also i did not say it was pointless just said we have to much up top . also he missed most of last season with injuries

 

[Chris Johnston]

If we are incapable of making a marquee signing up front, surely we want as many attacking options as we can get ?

I am not sure how you can view this signing as pointless, when you don't yet know the respective abilities of the forwards we have brought in. Hepburn-Murphy could be better than the others.

I suppose the question is how much are we paying for these loan signings?
We do seem to have too many strikers, though if we haven't spent much, it maybe makes sense to have numbers to gamble with, if that too striker isn't around or affordable.
Maybe they want to see how the season pans out, and raise some cash for a striker to follow Nors footsteps...

 

[Ian]

We were never going to get a straight replacement for Norwood and while it seems a bit hit and miss with the forwards, there will be plenty of options and competition in those areas. I would hope the young lads would view this as an opportunity to show what they can do.

I was quite impressed with some of the young players against LFC so I think they might surprise one or two of us with their talent and performances.

 

[Mungy's Hairdresser]

Correct me if I’m wrong but in terms of established defenders to cover the back four positions we have only six due to Ellis & Gumbs long term injuries? That’s very thin in my view so hopefully we’ll bolster in this dept with the equal luxury of the forward line.

 

[Boz]

MH, I think the first year pro Carl Spellman also counts as a defender and there is talk of another left-sided defender coming in. My concern is if something happens to Perkins, we're struggling for tackling midfielders. On his career to date and the thoughts of Villa fans, I'm not convinced Hepburn-Murphy will be a great addition to our attacking resources, but so long as we have the funds to plug other gaps, it's not a major issue.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Our strategy on forwards seems strange, but I am happy to trust Micky. Two are on only six-month deals. If you can't attract a top name, you have to try two or three others and hope. It's what we had to do for most seasons in League One. looking back, we had a lot of dross upfront and survived in L1 for 10 years. Greenacre and Lowe were our only top goalscorers this century until Norwood and Cook arrived.

 

[aldoes mustache]

lets just hope one of the young ones can do a cassidy and show us all what they can do i want nothing more than that . now with the first game tickets on sale its getting close now cant wait

 

[ONIGP]

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy would be a fantastic loan signing - a young player who has played Premier League and Championship and is still part of the England age group set up. I'm not sure how this can be viewed with any negativity. Ok, we have signed some forwards already but hats of to the club for taking an opportunity that has arisen - if it has, of course!

 

[Ian]

I think if you don't sign established players, it's treated with a dash of negativity as they are often young and unproven. It seems to be a large part off Tranmere's recruitment policy now we find ourselves in league one with a smallish budget compared to others so let's hope we've found some gems.

 

[ADD]

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy would be a fantastic loan signing - a young player who has played Premier League and Championship and is still part of the England age group set up. I'm not sure how this can be viewed with any negativity. Ok, we have signed some forwards already but hats of to the club for taking an opportunity that has arisen - if it has, of course!

I see that ONIGP, but if you look behind the press reports it looks a bit different. His career seems to have stalled badly and I assume this loan move is his last opportunity to impress Villa as his contract is up at the end of the season. Yes he has played Premiership but 19 minutes in total with his last appearance over 3 years ago. He has played 120 minutes in the Championship all as substitute. He didn't do much at Cambridge scoring only 2 in 16 games though to be fair in a poor team. I assume that if he is coming that is because Woodburn is going elsewhere to a Championship club which is a shame as rumours of him coming seemed pretty strong a while ago. I wonder also if this reflects the fact that MM is already having second thoughts about some of the forwards brought in - Payne maybe? Otherwise I would have thought MM would have been focussed more on the defence? Hopefully, however if he does arrive he will be an absolute belter!

 

[Ooh Johnny Johnny]

I don't mind if we have 5 forwards in the squad as long as they are all given sufficient game-time to show what they can do. But Micky hasn't really used his full array of attacking options in recent seasons. Last season, Nors ran himself into the ground every game and there was a case for bringing on a fresh pair of legs - Mullin and/or Dagnall - with 10 minutes to play. Of course, we've been blessed with goals from Cook and Nors over the past 2 seasons but this season will present fresh challenges. Playing a number 10 behind a lone striker has been effective but, at this level, I'd personally prefer us to play 4-4-2 with a big target man upfront. Only time will tell...

 

[bigmart]

Hepburn-Murphy can play out wide I think so will provide cover their as well

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I wonder also if this reflects the fact that MM is already having second thoughts about some of the forwards brought in - Payne maybe?

I doubt that MM is so knee-jerk in his reactions to players. In any case, most of these signings take weeks or months to arrange so we have probably been tracking Hepburn-Murphy for some time.

 

[Ian]

Not sure how how MM can have second thoughts when the season hasn't even started yet! Let's give them a chance to play and see what they can do first.

 

[aldoes mustache]

the only one i think could be a prob is payne as he was like that at Bristol rovers . hope im wrong and he hits the lg for a fair few goals lets just wait and see

 

[Ian]

Will you be able to get to more games this season @aldoes mustache ?

 

[aldoes mustache]

i realy hope so but im getting a head chefs job just been confirmed today so im gonna be run off me feet . this time im in charge and not a tw$%t who thinks he is better than he is i get to around 6-7 games would love to get to more but with family and work . its gonna be hard . we have got 3 kiddies tickets just for the hell of it . god i love this club

 

[Ian]

Good to hear. The kids tickets are crazy cheap, I buy them for mine and even if they only go to half the games, it's worth it.

 

[aldoes mustache]

yes they are cheap but we have to break this red and blue mindset that kids have . we need to get into more schools and give tickets away just to get em started . its great seeing there faces when they look at the billboards at the ground and see there faces on it . the club and trust are doing great work with nearly 4300 season tickets with nearly 600 new ones and over 650 kids ones its going great . lets just hope the job on the pitch can keep them coming in to the ground . oh if ya like a good quiz night with Phemed food and drink deals and a quality place for a party . brom golf club the place to be . we have 130 for a music night this saturday ABBA it is this week . and we have a comedy night next sat thats full as well . im a busy boy at the mo lol

 

[Ian]

Make sure you bring your earplugs for when ABBA comes on.

One positive that came from the LFC friendly if we ignore the obvious financial benefits, I was talking to a red and he was impressed with the setup and said he was going to bring his kids to the games.