Maybe this is why we aren't signing anyone. We currently have 48 professionals on our books. Under new Premier league rules, the first team squad needs to be trimmed to 25 by the end of the transfer window of which at least 8 players must have been trained in England or Wales prior to their 21st birthday. Well we wont have a problem as far as having the requisite number who have been trained in England or Wales, but try getting the squad down to 25 is not that easy. So the 48 are below.
Goalkeepers
1. Gomes 2. Cudiccini 3. Alnwick 4. Button 5. Jansson 6. Ranieri
Defenders
7. Hutton 8. Bale 9. Walker 10. Naughton 11. King 12. Bassong 13. Essou-ekotto
14. Dawson 15. Woodgate 16. Corluka 17. Kaboul 18. Butcher 19. Smith 20. Blackwood
21. Butcher 22. Byrne 23. Caulker
Central midfielders
24. Livermore 25. Jenas 26. Sandro 27. O’Hara 28. Huddlestone 29. Palacios 30. Parrett
31. Carroll 32. Nicholson 33. M’Poku
Attacking midfielders
34. Townsend 35. Modric 36. Kranjcar 37. Lennon 38. Bentley 39. Dos Santos 40. Taarabt
41. Mason 42. Rose 43. Bostock
Strikers
44. Keane 45. Defoe 46. Pavyluchenko 47. Crouch 48. Obika
A number of these players are quite easy to eliminate, however when you get down to around 32 players it starts getting tough. Players like Townsend who has looked very good will most likely miss out. Long term injury victim, Woodgate could miss out as he is not even training at the moment, so who is to day he will be playing before the end of December when the squad can be changed. The advantage of the new rules is that players who were under 21 on the 1st January in the year the season commences are able to be part of the squad in addition to the 25. So Townsend and Taarabt can be viwed as additional players.
Ultimately I left out O'Hara who I believe will be leaving anyway, Kyle Naughton who I don't think has done enough and the final player to leave out was Taraabt. It was a choice of 1 of Dos Santos, Rose and Taarabt. This will probably lead to Taraabt leaving but I hope not as I believe he will be a fine player, but he isn't just yet. The one inclusion to this squad was Kyle Walker. He has done quite well on the tour of the US and fully deserves his chance. So my squad would be:
Goalkeepers
1. Gomes 2. Cudiccini 3. Alnwick
Defenders
4. Bale 5. Walker 6. King 7. Bassong 8. Essou-ekotto 9. Dawson 10. Corluka 11. Kaboul
Central midfielders
12. Jenas 13. Sandro 14. Huddlestone 15. Palacios
Attacking midfielders
16. Modric17. Kranjcar 18. Lennon 19. Bentley 20. Dos Santos 21. Rose
Strikers
22. Keane 23. Defoe 24. Pavyluchenko 25. Crouch
Of course there may be some coming and goings with Keane, Jenas, Bentley and Dos Santos potentially going, however this is how I see it form where it stands at the moment.
