"Moving on then, what about our wide defenders. We've been weak here so I'm already looking out particularly on the right. Julian, give us your thoughts."
"OK boss, here's my list for everyone to have a look at."
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I see you've extended the loans for Ake and Barbosa, they are good for the moment. I think Barbosa is almost ready to be the first choice, although I need to keep working with him on marking - we saw how easily Hazard lost him in the Cup. So we should be fine this year. Young Skokic is a good long term option I think, he will be Premier League quality soon enough. I think the strategy should be to use Barbosa this year, and Skokic as backup looking to bring him into the team from next year. We might need a fallback next year but the loans should have us covered for this season."
"Excellent news. Phil, your thoughts on Skokic's potential? We have a few youngsters here - should we be looking to drop some off the lists?"
"In my view Skokic is not up to Premier League standards this year - we will be very vulnerable on the left if he is in the team. But he has the potential to be better than either Barbosa or Ake, even though those two are still developing. Yes he will be a good option in 2 or 3 years time but we will likely need a backup next year too. I would like to keep him here rather than sending him out on loan for development though, I find that we bring on the players much better in house than if they are on loan."
"In terms of the long list of others, I'd say Knudsen is worth keeping as a long term backup to Skokic, and maybe to develop into a centre back. Dan Dickinson has work permit problems and is in Croatian limbo at the moment. He's not really worth the effort in my view, best to sell him off now. Smith Tiesse is also not worth extending."
"OK. So to summarise, we are set for three years time, providing Skokic and Knudsen continue to develop well. And we are ok this year with Ake and Barbosa. But it might be worth looking for a player to fill the gap to Skokic being ready. Steve - make a note that this is a lower priority target, but we should keep an eye out for free players that fit the mould - say mid 20s, decent skill levels but ok if they are not going to be a star. What about the right, Julian?"
"If you could all flick on to the report for that side you'll see we have a problem here."
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It was a good option to train Donacien up as a fullback, he has adapted to the role well and is a decent backup player. But he is not really Premiership level in my view, more a Championship player. I know you just extended his contract - but I am not sure that was wise. I guess we don't have any other options right now."
I grimace at the suggestion that I've made a mistake, but I appreciate the honesty. I don't want yes men, I want these guys to give it to me straight. And yes I think I did act hastily in giving Donacien a pay rise. Sentimentality is a killer in this business.
"Anyway, we still have Sweeney as a loan and I notice you didnt ask to get him extended. I think that's the right option - he'll be a good player in a few years, but he's not ready to play at this level right now. We still have Holmes, he should go really, he is a League 1 level player in my view, and we didnt use him much at all last year. Our young term option is Svatopluk Bocek, that kid we got for free a couple of years ago. He is not bad, but I dont envisage him being a star at this level, maybe he will get to at best "decent" in a couple of years. We desparately need both a short and long term option in this position".
"OK, that matches what I was thinking. Phil - Bocek good enough for more development, or not?"
"Well with due respect to Julian, I see a bit more in the lad than he does. He will get to a good Premier League standard in a few years, definitely worth keeping around. He is nowhere near ready for Premier League, we already spoke about the risk you were taking giving him some game time last year. Young De Bonis also has good potential, but I'm less certain about him, it could go either way at this stage. We've also got Jamie Webber who came up through our youth network a couple of year ago. He will never make Premier League standard but might be worth keeping as a backup - perhaps farm him out to a lower division side at this stage."
I am a little surprised by this assessment of the youngsters. I knew we were taking a big risk playing Bocek last year, he didnt even have a one star rating at that stage. But it did help his development, and Phil is now talking up his potential. That's a good sign for a few years time, but we are in trouble right now.
"OK. Steve, are you getting this? We need either a loaner or a decent player that can play fullback for us for a few years. Let's hope one lands on our doorstep because we can't afford much in transfers!"