The transfer window on reflection

Hasn't really settled the arguements over the board and their running of the club between the happy clappers and the more sceptical amongst us. Because as usual with the 80% mob it's smoke and mirrors. Yes they've tied Woodrow down to a longer deal but they've not replaced either Brown or Moore in the squad. Yes they've signed James but as good as he could be lets face facts he hasn't played at first team level for months is prone to injury and there is a strong possibility we might not get many games out of him. They've signed several young players and I include Kane in those, that are straight out of their play book in other words players that if they perform well over the next 18 months will be gone at the first sign of a profit. I've seen some on here saying what a great window it's been I think they've been listening to Conman a bit too much. It's been a decent window as I don't think the squad has been weakened unlike last summer, is the squad stronger maybe maybe not alot depends on how many games we get out of James.
As the board learned it's lesson over out going transfers maybe we've lost only Brown this window and I think most will accept the sale of one player for good money in the window but did we only lose Brown because of the current climate in football during Covid or because the board have really learnt from past mistakes only time will tell I suppose.
The next thing the board have to do is get the head coach appt right to be fair to them they have with the last two but they've then managed to alienate them within 12 months let's hope this time we get a good coach and manage to keep him for at least a couple of seasons.
I'm still not 100% sure about the 80% mob but at least in this window they've not made me feel like heading off to Oakwe (oops sorry whitey) Grove Street with flaming torches. This window gets a B+ grade if they'd have secured a replacement for just one of Moore or Brown it would have been an A to A* .

 

It's a D for me. They've strengthened in the area we already had most players and have done a complete Boris on us in trying to hide the fact they still haven't signed a striker by announcing a contract extension for an existing player.

 

I think that's the most well balanced post I've seen from you. Good read. Thanks for sharing.

 

ps that'd be stairfoot not super

 

Mate, you’re as entitled to your opinion as the next man. That’s what the game is all about - opinions.

It’s all about getting results on the pitch. And that is where the focus is now. Tough one today, but fingers crossed.

 

I'm swerving towards this view. It's been a Spackmanesque window given the number of midfielders we've signed. Given the injury to Ben Williams I would have thought a left back would have been high on the must have purchases especially as Jordan Williams will be needed on the right side of defence now we've cancelled Ludewig's loan. I'm not too fussed about the lack of a striker if the new midfield recruits can help us to reorganise midfield so that Cauley is not being expected to fill in as a Number 10. We've effectively got another striker on that basis. I think we're shy of defensive options out wide and we're potentially one injury short of a crisis in that department.

 

Was looking like we would lose Woodrow and Mowatt , kept them and signed two quality midfielders . So been a decent window . Would have liked a target man to give us more options but we will have to find other ways to score now

 

Weve just signed a right back though?

 

Thanks for clarifying, I think we'd worked that out though lol

 

True but he's another right footed player.

 

But I was replying about the fact we'll be short at left back with Jordan Williams having to move back to right back due to Ludewig leaving.

I was making the point we've signed a right back as extra cover

 

Personally I think we've got cover at left side/LWB as Jordan W plus Styles and maybe Uduor could do it. We're more lilkely to be playing 3 at the back Helik-Solly-Mads and Jordan can cover that as well. I don't think we'll be playing 4 4 2 for a while so a Left Back is superfluous imho

 

Given the resources at the club's disposal and the financial difficulty of the times, I don't think that the board could have done much more. We have only lost one of the core squad in Brown, but I would argue that we have replaced him with Frieser and now Kane, both of whom should be Championship quality. We have acquired James for the centre midfield and he adds experience amongst the youngsters from which everyone should benefit. I know that there are arguments about his fitness, but, if I had to choose someone to do in midfield what Sollbauer has done in defence, I couldn't choose much better than Matty. Lastly, we have Woodrow retained on a new contract, for which his agent will, no doubt, take a lot of credit. He has a new manager (acting) and new contract, so I will be hoping that he will be reborn like a new signing and start smashing the quality goals again, because, for me, he is a class act who scores quality goals and is good enough technically to play in advanced midfield a well.

Whether it will be enough will be open to debate. I am not sure how much the squad were looking forward to the season under Struber. I think that both Woodrow and Chaplin could be players reborn under a new coach, including the acting one. Let's hope so. If the form picks up, ideally starting today, we could go on a good run and become safely established in at least mid-table. COYR

 

Which of our midfield players create chances? None that were here prior to this week. We weren't just not scoring, we weren't creating chances. Matty James is a great player but creating chances is not his game. I guess it must be Herbie Kane. I confess I know nothing about him. If he does create lots of chances, I know how, as a manager, I would approach a game when the opposition squad has just one creative player. And unless that player is very, very, very good, I think I'd be successful in nullifying their attacking threat.

 

I expect that we are looking for a new Head Coach who wants to play the press. I also expect that the systems that we use as the basis for the press will remain very much as they were under Struber (4-diamond-2 or 3-4-1-2). What does that mean for our new players? We do not have a left wing back, but I do not think that matters greatly because Jordan Williams can play there effectively. Presumably he and Callum Brittain will be our first choice wing backs. The 2 other players in central midfield will eventually be Alex Mowatt and Matty James, with Herbie Kane ahead of them in the hole between midfield and attack. Until James is fit, I suspect that Styles will fill in for him, but his defensive instincts are not quite there yet, and I suspect that we will still be found wanting until James is fit. I very much hope that Kane, in the No10 position, can open doors to the front 2 in a way that neither Luke Thomas nor Cauley Woodrow ever did consistently or effectively. The big question though, is can the front 2 score the goals to win us enough matches.


There is no doubt that Woodrow or Chaplin or Schmidt would score more goals if they were paired with a big man in the front two. We tried for the whole of the window to acquire one, but in the end, we have failed, and it is undoubtedly a blow. Equally, there was no big man towards the end of last season, when we did so well. But it has to be said that Brown was a big factor in that success because his mobility was a key factor in the success of our press, and the successful press was a big factor in both goals scored, and clean sheets at the other end. The big question is this. How can the current team be balanced differently, in order to give us the positive results we seek. With a fit Matty James providing the know how in front of our back 3, Kane can play further forward and he should not need to get back as quickly. However, there is no point expecting the press to work as well as it did last season. An unfit or semi-fit Matty James will be very much less effective, and it is hard to see how the team functions well enough to win games in that case. I also have doubts about Mads Andersen playing on the left of a back 3, based on his performances since Helik arrived. Nevertheless, I shall be watching with interest over the coming weeks, whilst the team settles and understanding grows.

 

You may be right.

Wilson, occasionally, experimented with 3 solid midfield players in his 3-5-2 system. 3 from Redfearn, Sheridan, Tinkler and Bosancic. Instead of two of those plus Bullock, Marcelle or Liddell playing... pretty much where they wanted. It nullified us. Not all four of those midfield players are everyone's favourite, Tinkler particularly getting undeserved criticism, but they could all play. Without the genuine creativity of one of the other three we just weren't the same. We appear to have equivalents of those four solid midfield players (without the added bonus of Redfearn's shooting) but I don't see anyone in our squad who could put Sol Campbell on his arse or score two at Maine Road or get 150 career goals.