Obviously it is silly season and so the transfer rumour mill is in full flow. Clearly we know there are a bunch of players we are trying to ship out and some positions we want to strengthen. A lesser talked about point however, is the fact that due to having no European football, we will have substantially fewer games next season, which should arguably translate to a smaller squad size.
If you look at some of the most successful "smaller" sides in the PL in the last 5-10 years, it has often been a case of them having a relatively settled XI and not too much rotation. When you are only playing once a week, you dont really need to rotate at all except due to injuries. Clearly, injuries are always a problem and a potential risk, but not one in my opinion that would justify stacking the squad with often-expensive rotation options and bench warmers. Ultimately a settled core of 11 starts plus about 5 options, plus a handful of youngsters who can fill in, is all we should really need.
This isnt a post about who that starting XI should and shouldnt be, but rather thinking about a bit of forward planning. The ambition and goal this season must be to get back into Europe, as well as good cup runs. Lets assume that we achieve that - it means that in the 26/27 season we would be back to needing a bigger squad again. Effectively - if all goes well - we have a single season now to get our first XI in order and playing well, and then will need to add further strength in depth in a year's time.
How do we do this? Assuming we want to avoid a mad rush for players next year, I think exploring the loan market is the way. Fringe players like Mainoo, Collyer, Amass.... maybe even Hojlund and Mount - these are all players that would either benefit from a year of regular football, and/or could do a job elsewhere. If we were able to loan out some of these for respectable loan fees then it would help us financially, and give us a returning cadre of players in a years time to enlarge the squad ready for European competition. Not to mention that a year with regular football would probably do wonders for them (thinking of the youngsters). Meanwhile, with only one game per week, the likes of Casemiro, Martinez and Shaw could feasibly be utilised regularly this season hopefully with fewer fitness issues.
My view is that whilst we have some players who clearly need to leave on permanent deals, we have another lot of youngsters and/or squad players who arent likely to get much gametime in the season to come, but who we could suddenly find ourselves in need of again if we do get back into Europe. We should be looking to enter next season with a lean, trimmed down squad and not worrying about rotation too much - which will help our chances in the league to this end.
If you look at some of the most successful "smaller" sides in the PL in the last 5-10 years, it has often been a case of them having a relatively settled XI and not too much rotation. When you are only playing once a week, you dont really need to rotate at all except due to injuries. Clearly, injuries are always a problem and a potential risk, but not one in my opinion that would justify stacking the squad with often-expensive rotation options and bench warmers. Ultimately a settled core of 11 starts plus about 5 options, plus a handful of youngsters who can fill in, is all we should really need.
This isnt a post about who that starting XI should and shouldnt be, but rather thinking about a bit of forward planning. The ambition and goal this season must be to get back into Europe, as well as good cup runs. Lets assume that we achieve that - it means that in the 26/27 season we would be back to needing a bigger squad again. Effectively - if all goes well - we have a single season now to get our first XI in order and playing well, and then will need to add further strength in depth in a year's time.
How do we do this? Assuming we want to avoid a mad rush for players next year, I think exploring the loan market is the way. Fringe players like Mainoo, Collyer, Amass.... maybe even Hojlund and Mount - these are all players that would either benefit from a year of regular football, and/or could do a job elsewhere. If we were able to loan out some of these for respectable loan fees then it would help us financially, and give us a returning cadre of players in a years time to enlarge the squad ready for European competition. Not to mention that a year with regular football would probably do wonders for them (thinking of the youngsters). Meanwhile, with only one game per week, the likes of Casemiro, Martinez and Shaw could feasibly be utilised regularly this season hopefully with fewer fitness issues.
My view is that whilst we have some players who clearly need to leave on permanent deals, we have another lot of youngsters and/or squad players who arent likely to get much gametime in the season to come, but who we could suddenly find ourselves in need of again if we do get back into Europe. We should be looking to enter next season with a lean, trimmed down squad and not worrying about rotation too much - which will help our chances in the league to this end.