Do we really need a winger?

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

Bobby recently stated we needed a winger in our ranks, and to this end the kid from Fiorentina has been mentioned. However Shauny was outstanding in pre season, we have Adam Johnson who ideally should be on the left, and Vlad the Impaler who has bags of potential.
let's not chuck the baby out with the bath water.
Do we need another wide man of dubious quality?

[Kladze]

We need someone who can cross the ball accurately and consistently, yes.

[Beanieboy]

and we have Bellamy, have we forgotten Bellamy?...he's the dogs.

[Ted Hughes]

SWP has done most of what could be asked of him in most games from what I've seen & although both he & AJ are, imo, a class below the likes of Silva, Tevez, Aguero, they are good enough, at their best, to play plenty of games in a busy season & have assets some of the others lack.

The question for Bob though is; can he trust SWP to stay at this level? Will he go back to being a headless chicken who can't beat a man once the season starts or has he turned the corner? It may have come too late to save him.

[Dameerto]

I would just like to point out, Jo had a really good preseason last year. He's the reason I haven't gone overboard raving about SWP this year.

[Ted Hughes]

I would just like to point out, Jo had a really good preseason last year. He's the reason I haven't gone overboard raving about SWP this year.

I think 'really good' is pushing it a bit far! Almost average in the most disorganised, crappy, piss poor, pre season for years, is how I would have described it last year. SWP is looking good even amongst team mates who are playing well & are organised.

[Dameerto]

Nah he did well in a few games I saw, I really thought he was going to have a good season. Got himself into some good positions and stuck the ball in the net, pretty much all we could have asked him to do.

[Wooders]

and we have Bellamy, have we forgotten Bellamy?...he's the dogs.

Sorry mate, whilst Mancini is manager we do not have Bellamy

[Ted Hughes]

Nah he did well in a few games I saw, I really thought he was going to have a good season. Got himself into some good positions and stuck the ball in the net, pretty much all we could have asked him to do.

Fair enough. I thought he looked average in a desperately poor, unfit, team.

[DoomMerchant]

Nah he did well in a few games I saw, I really thought he was going to have a good season. Got himself into some good positions and stuck the ball in the net, pretty much all we could have asked him to do.

Fair enough. I thought he looked average in a desperately poor, unfit, team.

I saw three of the matches in the US last summer and both the team and jo were lacking severly --it was indeed piss poor. This summer has been worlds apart.

[CityGer]

Those that mention SWP as a possibility for our squad this season need to watch Bobby's interview after the game on Saturday. He couldn't have been any clearer, without coming straight out with it, on the fact that Shaun won't be here.

[john@staustell]

SWP esecially has looked OK against some US pub teams and a super-slow Inter, but I'm not sure Bobby will rely on him or AJ too much. But in any case both are preferred on the right, so I guess he wants a left-sided winger?

The other factor to bear in mind is that managers like Mancini and Taggart often tell untruths in press interviews. Just to make mischief I think.

[kinkylola]

I do not think mancini's system has much space for out and out wingers that can't also operate in the middle of the park, and I think this is what lets shauny down (in mancini's opinion). While he has had a great pre-season, a season and a half's worth of experience may have given mancini a slightly different opinion. and that is that swp will operate on the flanks, stay there mostly, drift in every once and awhile and not really cross that effectively.

I like swp a lot, but mancini has obviously been given license to create his own system here and unfortunately swp isn't part of that, from what it seems. swp is a homegrown legend imo, and I won't ever forget him. I thought it was horrible when he left for chelsea and i thought it was amazing when he came back to us. I don't think there is anyone who won't remember him fondly, but if mancini doens't see space for him in the future, I think it's probably in everyone's best interests that he move on. I would hate to just have him on the bench, rarely getting a game and being ineffective when he did get one. It would be gutting. It's not swp's fault either, there aren't many players who can come into a game once every month or so and be effective.

[Mase]

We need someone who can cross the ball accurately and consistently, yes.

Milner delivers the ball well.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

We need someone who can cross the ball accurately and consistently, yes.

Milner delivers the ball well.

But apparently doesn't want to play on the wing.

[ashton287]

We need someone who can cross the ball accurately and consistently, yes.

Milner delivers the ball well.

Kolarov has a cross in him.

The reason we don't use/need wingers is because kolarov/richards are meant to be getting forward and delivering the ball not get forward then cut inside and try scoring or in micah's case try running people over.

Mancini saying he wants another winger makes me think he might be planning on changing the system.

[Dubciteh]

I think we should stick with SWP, whoever we sign may not be content with bit part role and that's essentially what any new player will have unless there a massive signing(im talking cerci and the likes here), SWP has done well in preseason in every game and did well at the back end of last season when coming off the bench, the rags match springs to mind.

We are linked with aaron lennon today, we would be aswell to stick with SWP as go for him, one of the worse crossers of the ball for a winger in my living memory....

[CityGer]

I think we should stick with SWP, whoever we sign may not be content with bit part role and that's essentially what any new player will have unless there a massive signing(im talking cerci and the likes here), SWP has done well in preseason in every game and did well at the back end of last season when coming off the bench, the rags match springs to mind.

We are linked with aaron lennon today, we would be aswell to stick with SWP as go for him, one of the worse crossers of the ball for a winger in my living memory....

Agree with that. If the alternative is Lennon then I'd rather Shaun stayed.

[Mase]

I think we should stick with SWP, whoever we sign may not be content with bit part role and that's essentially what any new player will have unless there a massive signing(im talking cerci and the likes here), SWP has done well in preseason in every game and did well at the back end of last season when coming off the bench, the rags match springs to mind.

We are linked with aaron lennon today, we would be aswell to stick with SWP as go for him, one of the worse crossers of the ball for a winger in my living memory....

Agree with that. If the alternative is Lennon then I'd rather Shaun stayed.

Don't think Lennon has a shot on him like SWP has either.

[Dubaimancityfan]

We need someone who can cross the ball accurately and consistently, yes.

Milner delivers the ball well.

Kolarov has a cross in him.

The reason we don't use/need wingers is because kolarov/richards are meant to be getting forward and delivering the ball

not get forward then cut inside and try scoring or in micah's case try running people over.

Mancini saying he wants another winger makes me think he might be planning on changing the system.

That's the impression that I have. We did fine against Inter without any wingers for 70 minutes or so. We also have Clichy who can cross the ball and if really needed Kolarov can play in front of him on the LW. I think he will do well there without the burden of full time defending. He can get into good shooting positions and we know he can score from long distances.
With AJ and Vlad, the RW is covered, so probably Sweep will not have a place although he's done well in last few matches and I for one would like to see him stay. However Mancio might have other ideas ?