The Starting XI that will get us promoted or so says James. Following on from the editors missive yesterday Mr Dielhenn gives us his take.

Unless Simon Grayson dips into the loan market to further bolster his big squad, our transfer activity this summer is finished.  And the finished article is a pretty impressive improvement on the squad that got promoted last season, but will leave fans endlessly debating who the strongest eleven are.  So, here goes.

Kasper Schmeichel should be the first name on the team-sheet.  No arguments there, surely.  He has been fantastic so far, and looks like a Premier League goalkeeper in the making.  The defence in front of him is the main concern.  Paul Connolly looks like a decent addition at right-back, and I think he could grow into an established player for us.  At left-back, Federico Bessone has been shaky, but is still better than Andy Hughes, who I think should have been released this summer.  Left-back is still a problem area for us.  I would omit Richard Naylor from the starting eleven.  I know he’s the captain, and I’m sure he can still have an influence in the dressing room and on the training pitch, but I think he’s past it now.  We paid quite a bit of money for Alex Bruce, so let’s stick him in Naylor’s place alongside Neill Collins.  Admittedly Collins hasn’t been great this season either, but there is a lack of competition in that position.  Paddy Kisnorbo is injured, and Leigh Bromby is average, so it will be interesting if Callum Davenport can add anything to our squad if he is signed up.

I think Neil Kilkenny and Jonny Howson pick themselves in central midfield.  They both have the technique for this division, although they lack physicality.  I think Bradley Johnson is too erratic and Adam Clayton too untested, so Kilkenny and Howson will probably be the preferred pairing of the majority of fans.  We have plenty of options on the wings though.  Sanchez Watt and Lloyd Sam have been good thus far, but I don’t think they will keep their place when other players return to fitness.  Robert Snodgrass, for me, is a surefire starter on either the left or right.  When fit, I rate him as our best attacking player.  On the other wing I’d choose between Ross McCormack or Max Gradel.  Both are also comfortable up-front, but I think they are better suited to an attacking role from the wing.  I think the pace of Sam and Watt can impact a match from the bench.  It’s also impossible to assess how Ramon Nunez may fit in.

Up-front, Luciano Becchio would definitely start in my team.  I’m critical of his finishing ability, but paired with another striker who feeds off him, I think his work-rate is important.  Although I’d definitely have another striker alongside Becchio, I think that position is currently up for grabs.  Billy Paynter would probably get the nod when fit, as he knows where the back of the net is, unlike the Argentine.  I know a lot of fans want to see Davide Somma given a fair chance – as do I – but I think Grayson is doing the right thing by protecting him from the spotlight.  His rise so far has been quick and it’s important that his confidence isn’t shattered.  The likes of Sam, Watt, Gradel, Snodgrass or McCormack could also partner Becchio up-front if their form makes them impossible to leave out.  Mike Grella, let’s face it, will never be a first-team striker, and should probably go out on loan somewhere.

Schmeichel

Connolly     Bruce     Collins     Bessone

Snodgrass   Howson  Kilkenny McCormack

Paynter   Becchio

It’s all about opinions.  This is mine.  If you agree or disagree, voice your opinion below.

James Dielhenn.

He once lifted the League trophy when only 14 players were used.

Michael looks at the business done and thinks we might just have got it right by accident.

Despite having some sympathy with the Martinez view that the transfer window should close the day before the season kicks off (although I note that didn’t stop him and Wigan signing players at the last minute) the one thing that is true is it’s all certainly exciting. From a Leeds United perspective, we needed midfield cover, we signed midfield cover. But the problem is you have to assess across the whole transfer window and notwithstanding my comments last week on us reining in our signings addiction its clear we have signed a potential whole new team.

Obviously sometimes the story is about what didn’t happen as opposed to what did but in this case those are peripheral matters. Davenport is a free agent so can still be added to the roster, Ward from Bolton could happen anytime over the next 3 months. In terms of non-outs, Robinson has set his stall out to see his contract run out and I don’t expect that to change. Michalik has perhaps done the right thing by him and can only be a good thing if he finds his form at Carlisle United and Sheehan moving off to Swindon Town, via a cancelled contract, bothers nobody. No the real story of summer 2010 is we have somehow added to the squad across all positions without spending much.

Before we look at this whole new team and consider whether it’s good enough for us I want to divert towards one of my pet hates, the “undisclosed fee”. I don’t know why any football club insists on these smokescreens but I do know Leeds United are a bad example of it. We all know that we don’t pay over £500k for players, I fail to understand what the club thinks is being preserved by not admitting it. Collins, Bruce and McCormack were clearly the only £300k plus signing this time around, everyone else will be under free except Clayton about £100k. What have we spent this summer? £1.4m at most, Leicester City spent twice as much as that on a Sunderland reserve yesterday! It’s time the FA and the FL banned this undisclosed nonsense.

Anyway back to us, lets for a minute imagine we had not dipped into the transfer market (yes unrealistic but a worthwhile exercise), our first 11 would look something like this: Higgs, Crowe, Naylor, Bromby, Hughes, Howson, Kilkenny, Johnson, White, Becchio, Snodgrass (I left out Kisnorbo and Parker because they were never going to be fit for the season start when the window opened). It’s not a bad 11, some issues with the full-backs but not necessarily a relegation side. Now let’s put the signings into a team. Schmeichel, Connolly, Bruce, Collins, Bessone, Sam, Clayton, Nunez, McCormack, Becchio, Paynter (and that’s not counting Watt on loan). Perhaps a bit attacking and the inexperience of the central midfield an issue but again would stand up in terms of sustaining our place in the championship. So the next question is what does the whole squad tell us?

I have come to the conclusion that Grayson didn’t have a major plan to improve the squad when the euphoria of promotion settled down, he simply took it player at a time, position at a time. In the end, if you factor in the young lads on loan elsewhere, the young lads staying, the players Grayson doesn’t fancy but are still on our books and the two potential post transfer window incoming to come, we have 3 players for every position, and in some cases, due to some flexibility in the players concerned, more than 3. This clearly will provide some with a rational for believing promotion is possible, and to some extent it probably is. That doesn’t change the fact we shouldn’t get wound up if we don’t get it or even give it a proper shot, but it does provide a little pressure for Grayson to show some variety in his team selections.

Whilst we all want a settled first 11, injury free and on form, there is no point having 20 expensively paid professionals sitting on their backsides. It is a long season, players will rise and wilt. Injuries, suspensions and maybe even unsolicited offers for our better players in January may force some shuffling of the pack. But it is a large pack and as discussed last week, time has come to settle that pack down to see how we go. The base has been constructed and it is now time to build a style and consistency that makes other in our division sit up and take notice. If this team ever takes the field this season: Schmeichel, Clayton, Kisnorbo, Bruce, Parker, Snodgrass, Howson, Kilkenny, Watt, Becchio, Somma, subs Higgs, Bromby, White, Nunez, Sam, Grella, Paynter then I might be quite pleased and impressed! Grayson has got what he wanted; he now has to use it well.

Michael Green.