do we have a better squad than this time last year?

[andrew_dundee]

with the loss of Jones and Fletcher among others the obvious answer is probably not, however players like Miller and the retunring Zemmama would suggest yes, thoughts?

[yogi984]

Of course we do. We lost jones and fletch but have stokes, benji zemmama, miller, galbraith, mcbride, stokes and spoony now. Much more depth and when the defence gets sorted in jan or the summer were sorted.

[CallumLaidlaw]

we lost Jones and fletch, but to me Stokes is a great replacement for Fletch, and Benji is back too.
We may not have replaced Jones, but Bamba has moved to the back and done a good job.
So we lost Bamba in midfield, and Chisholm and Keenan were allowed to leave. McBride, Cregg and Miller are a MUCH better 3 than theose 3.
Zemmama is back
Galbraith looks much more promising than O'brien
Stack is better than McNeil
Wotherspoon has come in and may end up being the replacement for Van Zanten, and looks as if he will be much better, definitely as an attacking fullback.

We may need cover for a couple of positions, but we are definitely stronger all-round than last season

[blaikie]

Yes we have a better squad and management team than last year. We are weaker at the back this season than last. But we have a midfield that we could only dream of at this stage last season. Most of us feared that once Fletcher left we wouldn't have anyone to fill the void. But with the signing of Stokes I think we're stronger up front. :agree:

[blackpoolhibs]

Of course we do. We lost jones and fletch but have stokes, benji zemmama, miller, galbraith, mcbride, stokes and spoony now. Much more depth and when the defence gets sorted in jan or the summer were sorted.

I agree, and i see you think Stokes is twice the player i do.:wink:

[yogi984]

I agree, and i see you think Stokes is twice the player i do.:wink:

:) forgot a much much better manager too.

[blackpoolhibs]

:) forgot a much much better manager too.

Oh i dont know, Gannon would have been better.:devil:

[yogi984]

Oh i dont know, Gannon would have been better.:devil:

Haha hey may well have been but that would have been a massive gamble after the mixu fiasco. Maybe gannon could come in when yogi goes if hes not talking over from sir alex by then?:)

[Sloppy]

nope
IMHO i think that out of brown,thomson,fletcher, whittaker fletcher has been the player we have missed the most :boo hoo:

[--------]

with the loss of Jones and Fletcher among others the obvious answer is probably not, however players like Miller and the retunring Zemmama would suggest yes, thoughts?



I have absolutely no doubt that we do.

Yogi has been in post for how long? About four months? And he's had ONE transfer window to work in to bring in new players.

McBride, Cregg, Galbraith, Stokes, Stack and Miller are all IMO more than decent signings for a team that finished last season in the middle of the SPL. To get Zouma and Benji back and playing is another big plus, and we have a statement of intent from Yogi (backed by action) that young players WILL be promoted into the side when ready. And McCann's re-hab's progressing, without Hughes taking chances with him.

We need a centre-half - NOT a straight replacement for Jones, IMO, but ideally someone more like Yogi himself when he came from Celtic. A leader, good in the air, but a bit more mobile over the grass.

As for Fletcher (robbed of a cracking first League goal for Burnley yesterday by a dodgy offside flag, sadly) - I don't think we're missing him too much. Fletch back, or Benji and Stokes in his place? I think I'll stick with the two guys we have, personally.

Naw - of course we have a better squad now than in May. :devil:

[cjhibee1]

nope
IMHO i think that out of brown,thomson,fletcher, whittaker fletcher has been the player we have missed the most :boo hoo:

Really? I think Fletcher was very over-rated. I think we have missed Thomson and Brown the most. We just haven't had a replacement for him until Miller for Thomson. However, Brown can't really be replaced.

[Allant1981]

Would have loved to see Fletch and stokes up front but if fletch hadnt gone then we might not have the players we do now ie stokes and miller so its turned out ok so far, hopefully the wins keep coming and rangers keep failing to score

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

IMO it was not the playing squad that was the problem last season, it was the manager and the tactics [ or lack of]:grr:

[blackpoolhibs]

Stack v McNeil Imho Stack is better
McBride v Chisholm McBride every time.
Cregg v Keenan Cregg
Stokes v Fletcher Stokes will score more goals, but Fletcher is a very good player, its close, but Fletch wins it for me at the moment.
With Benji, Zemamma and Wetherspoon added, of course we are better, and thats before we mention Miller, a player who would enhance any team in the SPL.

[el capitano]

Stack v McNeil Imho Stack is better
McBride v Chisholm McBride every time.
Cregg v Keenan Cregg
Stokes v Fletcher Stokes will score more goals, but Fletcher is a very good player, its close, but Fletch wins it for me at the moment.
With Benji, Zemamma and Wetherspoon added, of course we are better, and thats before we mention Miller, a player who would enhance any team in the SPL.
agree with this, also johannson and van zanten out and miller in makes us so much stronger

[basehibby]

OK - compared to this time last year....

Goalies - Ins - Stack, Flynn
Outs - McNeil, Groff
Stack still a relatively unknown quantity for me but much more experienced than McNeil so probably an improvement here.

Defence - Ins - Currie - promoted from the 19s
Outs - Jones, Van Zanten
We won't be missing DVZ with McCann coming back from injury and Wotherspoon/McCormack capable of slotting in, but Jones was a big player for us so we're weaker in this dept.

Midfield - Ins - McBride, Cregg, Miller, Galbraith, with Welsh and Wotherspoon promoted and Zemama back from loan.
Outs - Chisolm, O'Brien, Keenan, Sheils, Yantorno, Morais
Sheils is the only midfielder out who really cut the mustard for us while all the ins look likely to make a meaningful contribution - massive improvement in the midfield!

Attack - Ins - Stokes, with Benji returning from loan and Byrne promoted
Outs - Campbell, Pinau (remember him???) , Fletcher
Fletcher was great for us and will no doubt get even better with experience. But Stokes and Benji are also very talented players and Byrne looks very promising, so on balance I think our options in the striking department have improved.

So - we're much stronger and better balanced in the midfield with arguably better options up front and between the sticks. The defence is the only area which has really been weakened since a year ago and Yogi and Rice will need to get busy in Jan to shore things up in there.

Overall though - great work from our new management team in the transfer market so far - players seem to have been signed with a real purpose in mind with a couple of real coups in there in Miller and Stokes - and all for a tidy profit as well! The tache will be pleased - and so am I :thumbsup:

[Hibrandenburg]

Think this is about the time when things started to go horribly wrong.