|
2022/23 Preseason: Roster Status
U18 Team
I've mentioned how strong our development system here is at Middlesbrough and while many of our top prospects have either graduated to the U23 or senior squads, we still have a few notable prospects worth watching. Players to look at in the future include GK Sean Gregory (1.5/4.0), DL Martin Guest (1.5/3.5), DC Darren Moore (1.0/3.0), MC Jack Bates (1.5/3.0), AML James Wood (1.5/3.5) and our top prospect, 17 year old striker Matt Dickens (2.0/4.0).
U18 Graduates
DR - Matthew Gibbins 3.0/4.0
DR - David Hale 1.5/2.5
MC - Tim Liddle-Campbell 1.5/2.0
MC - Adam Miles 1.5/2.5
MC - Ben Stephenson 2.0/4.0
MC - Cain Sykes 2.0/3.0
ST - Ben Appleby 2.0/4.0
ST - Jake Simpson 2.0/4.0
It's an embarrassment of riches at Middlesbrough - I've never managed a club that has so many talented home-grown youngsters. Gibbons is unquestionably the most talented in the group of seven up above and looks like he could be a first-team option at 19 years old. Ben Stephenson, Jake Simpson and Ben Appleby are also excellent looking prospects. Very impressive...
Senior Roster
GK - Our starting keeper is up there in age but he may be the Championship's best. Darren Randolph (3.5/3.5) is a 35 year old Irish international and is heading into his sixth season at Middlesbrough after coming over from West Ham United in a £5 million transfer back in 2017. Randolph played in every single game last year so as you can imagine, the backup situation is bleak. Middlesbrough spent £300,000 to bring in Dillon Phillips (3.0/3.0) from Charlton last July but he only played in one game all season...as a substitute. Not a ringing endorsement! There are a couple of marginal keepers on the U23 team and a solid 16 year old prospect with our U18 squad but I'll likely have to look at the transfer or loan market for a backup to Randolph. Still, we're in good shape here as long as Randolph stays healthy.
D - Our central defense looks to be a strength on this team, with four very strong looking players in 28 year old Semi Ajayi (3.5/3.5), 32 year old Aden Flint (3.0/3.0), 30 year old Diego Polenta (3.5/3.5) and 20 year old Nathan Wood (3.5/4.0). I'm a sucker for pacy central defenders and Wood certainly qualifies - I'm loving our depth and quality here! Things are much more suspect at fullback - we have two solid veteran options on the left side in 32 year old Joe Bennett (3.0/3.0) and 34 year old vice-captain George Friend (3.0/3.0). Things are a bit bleaker on the right side - the aforementioned Matthew Gibbins (3.0/4.0) is supremely talented but just graduated from the U18 squad. That said, he's easily the best I've got at the moment. Harold Essien (2.0/2.5), David Hale (1.5/2.5) and Djed Spence (1.5/1.5) are replacement level players and I'll need to look for upgrades. I notice that last year, the club had 18 year old Newcastle prospect Aron Potts here on loan for half a season. I may look at bringing him back in, as he's a 3.5/4.0 player which would make him a star at this level.
M - Middlesbrough look pretty solid in central midfield with some excellent veteran talent. 33 year old Adam Clayton (3.0/3.0), 34 year old Jonny Howson (3.0/3.0) and 29 year old George Saville (3.5/3.5) are a fine trio, with Saville especially looking like a perfect fit for my box-to-box role. At defensive midfield, the team look to have a gem in 26 year old Norwegian Mathias Normann (3.5/3.5), a very versatile playmaker. There are also a couple of fine looking former U18 prospects in the aforementioned Ben Stephenson (2.0/4.0) and 19 year old Hussein Pirbhai (2.0/4.0). We could use a more dynamic presence for our Mezzala role but otherwise, we're looking pretty great in central midfield. It looks like Middlesbrough played either a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-4-2 last year, as the team has a couple of wide midfielders who don't look capable of moving up into the attacking positions I crave. One of the team's best players is 27 year old MR Grant Ward (3.5/4.0) - he may be a candidate for sale if I can't figure out how to properly use him.
F - At left wing, we have a couple of enticing options in 25 year old Polish international Bartosz Kapustka (3.5/4.0) and 19 year old Ian Barnett (3.5/4.0), who came out of our youth academy and was talented enough to spend his 18 year old season on loan with Southend in League Two. Kapustka is best suited as an inside forward while Barnett is a natural winger. I'm delighted with both. Things are bleak on the right side at the moment: we have 31 year old Jota (2.5/2.5) and 20 year old Joe Gibson (2.0/2.0), along with a bunch of strikers who can play the right wing in a pinch. We will need an upgrade here for sure. The club is blessed with some fine strikers, most notably 31 year old Andre Gray (3.5/3.5), a natural pressing forward who scored a team-leading 19 goals last season after coming over from Watford in a £2 million deal the year before. He's perfect for my pressing system but his age worries me, as strikers tend to lose their pace right around his age. Another interesting player is 24 year old Luis Suarez...not that one! This Suarez was another Watford prospect who joined the club in a £4.6 million deal only three weeks after they picked up his teammate Andre Gray in a separate transfer. Suarez hasn't been as prolific as Gray (he scored 12 goals last year versus Gray's 19) but he's a complete forward with solid credentials. There are also a couple of fine looking youngsters in U18 graduates Ben Appleby (2.0/4.0) and Jay O'Brien (2.5/3.5), along with an overabundance of veteran depth on the team ripe for sale in 28 year old Saido Berahino (3.0/3.0) and 31 year old Martin Braithwaite (3.0/3.0). We have additional depth pieces as well on the U23 team. We are incredibly deep at striker and if we use a one striker system, as expected, I'll need to start moving some of these guys out in order to bolster our numbers elsewhere.
We have a largely veteran roster that's solid in most areas but we still have a number of key things to address:
-- We need to find a capable backup in goal, preferably a youngster with potential to eventually take over as a starter.
-- We desperately need depth and perhaps a starter at right fullback along with a younger depth option on the left side.
-- We could use a more dynamic presence in central midfield, preferably a natural Mezzala to compliment our fine veteran core and perhaps a backup at defensive mid.
-- We need an injection of quality at right wing, along with depth at both AML and AMR.
-- We need to get rid of our veteran depth at striker, as we're carrying way too many for a team that plans on utilizing a one-striker formation.
Time to get to work...
|