What Size Squad should the Lions start Touring with?

Sir Clive was criticised for many for a bloated squad. Now Gatland has been criticised for many for not bringing enough cover. Where do you think the balance lies? What size squad would you tour with?

I tend to go along with Gatland and keep a smaller more exclusive squad. To be fair, he has been unlucky with injuries although I think decisions not to take a third fly half and rely on Hogg as cover were not the right call. But the Lions should be an exclusive club of the best players from Britain and Ireland. No disrespect to any players, but I think having too many players devalues the jersey when you see some pretty ordinary players turning out in it. Or calling back Williams, even just to fill a hole also devalues the jersey.

Given the number of losses over the decades, I think there has been a lot of ordinariness turning out in Lions shirts.

But I'd say less players and less games played.

Three pre-games against highest ranking clubs in the host nation at the time, then the three tests.  More of a genuine Lions squad where all players genuinely do have a shot at the tests rather than what even this tour has developed into - a them and us tour - based on some pretty iffy selections where good players suffered the consequences of playing in poorly formulated sides.

So less smaller games where a false divide based on 'quality' can emerge and a genuine fight for places with a smaller group of players.

IIRC Woodward split the squad into 2 teams, not all traveling together. IMHO this is where he went wrong if the sqaud had been kept together you wouldn't have had such a big split with some players knowing they had little to no chance of making the test team

How many people are in the Welsh national squad? That should do it.