Is our squad good enough ?

[BeniiBlue 0]

having read stories bout conte supposedly "demanding" 5 signings, i was a bit taken back by it as i didn't really think we needed 5 extra players but looking at the squad thats just in LA, i do see we are a bit short on numbers all over the place, i mean can we really rely on remy as a back on striker ? and in defense i mean we know how short we are there so no need to really get into that......anyone slightly worried about the squad sheet ? 

[mccg 1,528]

Deffo need a world class CB imho,maybe new LB ,depends on how Mr Conte ends up playing formation wise ,if we are going to play 1 up front then we don't need any more strikers but if its 2 up front then we do,another Essien/Lamps like CM wouldn't go amiss .

[El P. 1,354]

Now it's good enough for second - third place I think with this awful defense .

[kmk108 1,186]

Now that the transfer window is closed, what is everyone's thoughts now?

I think we've got a good squad at the moment. Some of the players who under performed last season have stepped it up this season. Batshuayi and Kante have made instant impacts in games. Time will tell how the defense stands up, but it's definitely improved from last season. That's not to say everything is great, but compared to last season, there's plenty to be happy about. I love what I see from the chemistry of the team. Of course, when the team is losing people aren't going to be happy, but it's been a while since the players have seemed to get along so well. One of the bonuses of signing David Luiz over the other CB targets is his attitude and sense of humor. Players are making jokes on social media, having fun in training, and seem to genuinely buy into Conte.

[Heisenberg 1,824]

We have a squad that should finish third because we have the 3rd best team in England on paper, maybe Conte can push them to the limit and we finish second, but overall finishing above third would be over-achieving and not getting in the top four would definitely be a failure, of course there is a scenario a bit idealistic where Conte's system will work so well that we'll win the league, but thats not much possible knowing our flaws on the back and knowing that upfront there is still much to do, its like us winning the league when José came back, we were close with a team that was good but not title contenders, because Hazard was outstanding that year, maybe if this year Kante will be outstanding and Hazard delivers, we can fight until the end, who knows...

[nofacej 132]

Our squad is in decent shape. It's not the strongest team we've had, but it should be good enough to comfortably make top 4.

I also think people here tend to overrate Manchester City and United's squads, or at least underrate ours.

[Mceachran 109]

I think our squad is good enough.  Even the best squads only dominate when their top players are firing and everyone is putting in a top shift.

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

I don't think squad is as good as the two Manc sides but better than the rest. We'll challenge but finish in top 4 with no issues providing no key injuries.

[DDA 9,690]

53 minutes ago, Gianfranco_Z said:

I don't think squad is as good as the two Manc sides but better than the rest. We'll challenge but finish in top 4 with no issues providing no key injuries.

You really believe that United has a better squad than us? City yh but United no. The test of time will prove to expose United's weaknesses. 

[Jase 43,479]

Good enough to finish in the top 4 but not quite good enough to win the title. There are still issues to be resolved in defence, midfield and attack.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

41 minutes ago, Jason said:

Good enough to finish in the top 4 but not quite good enough to win the title. There are still issues to be resolved in defence, midfield and attack.

IMO team work will be important too. Leicester won last year, despite City having miles better players.

If we get together on good run, anything is possible, even title. 

Majority of this squad won the title two years ago. If last year was a one-off, we should be right back on top again. Add Kante, Bats, Luiz plus a good manager to that. 

On other sids we can finish 8th or sth if things go south. 

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, BlueLyon said:

IMO team work will be important too. Leicester won last year, despite City having miles better players.

If we get together on good run, anything is possible, even title. 

Majority of this squad won the title two years ago. If last year was a one-off, we should be right back on top again. Add Kante, Bats, Luiz plus a good manager to that. 

On other sids we can finish 8th or sth if things go south. 

Maybe but what happened last season with Leicester is a one off and City and United have raised the bar this season, with the signings, squad depth and manager too.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

2 minutes ago, Jason said:

Maybe but what happened last season with Leicester is a one off and City and United have raised the bar this season, with the signings, squad depth and manager too.

I realy dont buy into this "get best players and you will win league". Certainly not in first year at least. 

Good example was Atletico who won la liga. 

Obviously these are all one off examples, but then again real is buying top players every year and fail to win la liga. 

Its all about chemistry and adjustment to league. And we dont exactly lack quality either.

If Hazard and Costa keep the form. Our new boys Kante and Bats play same as so far, I would put us right next to manchesters in terms of chances.

Our only problem is defence and hopefuly Luiz and Alonso will fix that.

[Jase 43,479]

Just now, BlueLyon said:

If Hazard and Costa keep the form. Our new boys Kante and Bats play same as so far, I would put us right next to manchesters in terms of chances.

That's the problem. IF Hazard and Costa don't keep up their form, then we are in trouble. City and United have depth and the players to come in and do the job if others aren't performing. We don't.

And for the record, I never implied anything about 'getting the best players will win you the league'. It's just that City and United have way more quality than us at the moment.

[oldportblue 547]

I think we will be in the mix with MU and city come April/May... whether we can actually win it is anyone's guess but with hazard and costa on point right now, there's no reason we can't

[Sideshow Luiz 2,310]

Our squads aren't as strong the the 2 Manchester sides.  But, we don't have to rotate as much.  Barring injury or suspension, we can play our best/in form XI every week.  

[BlueLyon 9,359]

6 hours ago, Jason said:

That's the problem. IF Hazard and Costa don't keep up their form, then we are in trouble. City and United have depth and the players to come in and do the job if others aren't performing. We don't.

And for the record, I never implied anything about 'getting the best players will win you the league'. It's just that City and United have way more quality than us at the moment.

City perhaps, but United? They have Ibra, Pogba and De Gea. Maybe Martial, but we have Bats. Thats about it. They also play Blind on CB, Fellaini on CM and Valencia at RB. They play Mata ahead of Miki. Where they have Ibra and Pogba, we have Eden and Costa. The only difference is Jose who made Fellaini and Blind better players. Then there is Rooney...

City has great depth I agree, but United? Seriously? To be honest their only game changer is Ibra, who is 35.

[blu35_army 551]

don't forget now we have supersub like Fabs, Moses and Bats that can make difference when we're stuck playing with small team....