Assessment of players who have been at the club since last summer...

I was just thinking about the poor run we had after Christmas and how many of the players who were regulars during that time might have stagnated. Quite a few from that run have been involved in our first two games this season where we have generally looked poor, so I'd like to read your opinions regarding which areas of the first XI need freshening up.

I know many of you feel that the players should take more responsibility for our start, so who should be dropped, who needs extra competition and who looks out of place in the position they play? I'm not judging the new signings because they could all go from being awful to great very quickly (hello Michael Turner), but I think it's fair to say that the start of this season has seen some familiarly mediocre performances in certain positions.

My assessment of the squad:

Garrido - Has looked sub par for many months now and doesn't look anywhere near as good as he did last August-November. Doesn't provide as much quality in the final third as he used to and has become a liability with his marking of wingers when sitting deep. For me this is a problem position and I feel the first change that needs to be made is bringing in Olsson at left back who deserves a chance after a promising pre-season.

Turner - Is certainly good enough to start right now but desperately needs support from the absent Bassong, or indeed a new CB signing. His place would only be threatened if he were to suffer from a bad run of form like he did in early 12/13, or if another quality CB signing goes on to upstage him when Bassong becomes available again. Still, for me his presence in the team isn't an issue.

Martin - I don't think that he has let us down very often in the right back position but there is an argument to suggest that Whittaker offers more going forward despite being prone to errors at the back. I don't think he's the answer at CB but we don't have too many options with Bassong out at the moment, although Ryan Bennett might feel aggrieved after a good end to 12/13. I think the solution to this would be to buy another CB because this is a problem area for the squad.

Snodgrass - One of our best performers last season who produced lots of goals and assists. He's only just coming back from in injury (as I was only told yesterday!) so should be looking to nail down a starting place when fit. We don't have anyone as creative as him from free kicks or out wide in open play so he's really vital to our team.

Johnson - Has had a poor start to this season and continues to struggle with his passing. He's also generally dependent on a superior midfield partner doing a lot of his work for him. I think he needs to be dropped in favour of another player who can retain the ball with far more consistency. Should be moved into the role as a bench warmer/reserve for Tettey/Fer, unless either are badly out of form.

Tettey - Along with Fer and Ruddy he was one of the main reasons behind our ten match unbeaten streak last season, although his form did deep slightly in the new year after he started to suffer from a few niggling injuries. At his best he offers quality protection to the defence and has the athleticism to break quickly from box to box. Lacks a bit of quality in terms of technique but as a shield to the back four I believe he's better than Johnson while being on a similar (if not slightly superior) level to BJ technically.

Howson - Has improved on certain areas of his game but still looks out of place in most of the positions Hughton deploys him in. I think he needs to be benched unless he's allowed to have a run of games in a central attacking midfield position. Snodgrass and Redmond can both play on the right wing while Tettey and Fer are superior/orthodox CDM/CM's in my opinion.

Hoolahan - Hasn't offered much in the way of goals or assists since 11/12 but is still one our brightest creative sparks in terms of opening up space when dribbling before finding a good option out wide. While we don't have many alternatives in the no.10 role who can make a defence splitting pass I do believe that there's an argument for Howson to have a run of games in that position due his potential for having a bigger goal threat. It also has to be considered that Hooper and Elmander might prompt Hughton to drop Wes altogether in some games when playing 4-4-2.

Posted By: Common Sense Police, Aug 25, 12:21:01