Perhaps the main difference pertaining to Cardiff City's squad this season is the depth they now boast in each position.
While last year it was a positive to celebrate the clutch of academy kids coming through the system, it became clear the reliance upon them was unsustainable in such an uncompromising division.
Take someone like Ollie Tanner, for example. If he had been with the Bluebirds last term, he might have been forced into the starting XI early on and the onus and pressure would have been placed squarely on his shoulders. Now, though, that isn't the case. He, like Rubin Colwill, will have to bide his time as Callum O'Dowda, Sheyi Ojo, Jaden Philogene and Gavin Whyte provide some seriously stern competition for those positions.
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The fact Steve Morison named Tanner on the bench for the season opener against Norwich City perhaps tells its own story, though. It shows where he is in the manager's thinking.
Many supporters eager to see him in action. He looked sharp in pre-season before a small injury setback and he came with a burgeoning reputation as an exciting talent, despite stepping up from the Isthmian League with Lewes FC.
Speaking about the winger on Thursday, Morison said: "Ollie Tanner is a project, he has time to grow." There is hope that he is an exciting project, but a project nonetheless.
The 20-year-old will see the move to the Bluebirds as a bit of a shock to the system; training full-time, every day and playing in front of 20,000 supporters on a Saturday afternoon is quite the shift for him.
But that isn't to say he is not in the manager's thinking or, indeed, that Morison doesn't think he is up to it. While Colwill, Isaak Davies and Joel Bagan were given huge responsibility last season, Morison now has the luxury of dipping Tanner in and out of the side when he sees fit. It's a far healthier environment in which to nurture the player's talent.
"He's got as good a chance as anyone," Morison said when asked about his potential first-team involvement. "But I think his development is key because it has to be done correctly. He has come up seven steps, not trained week in week out, or every day. He's not played ever at the type of atmosphere or level that he will be expected to.
"He is going to have ups and downs. He is going to be in and out. He will play games in the under-21s. He is just a slow burner and we just need to manage him right. Then, hopefully, we can release him and he becomes a fully-fledged member of the starting XI and gets to excel.
"It goes back to that message: Be patient. We have got a squad now where we can manage people and we can take people in and out, we can do it properly."
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