Transfer Dealings since Saturday

Do not get me wrong. I know absolutely nothing about the players registered to other football teams. Nothing! Even when we are playing a team that contains players who I have heard of, I take very little notice, other than to register the position in which they are playing and the formation being played. Nevertheless, I am comforted to know that the club has in place a team of scouts who are paid to know a great deal more about the game than I do. Furthermore, the club is operating a system of recruitment that fits within the budget, particularly the wages budget that the club can afford. I am happy that the recruitment policy remains to recruit young and comparatively unknown players from the lower leagues, improve and develop them, and move them on at a profit. Given that we are trying to identify undiscovered talent before our competitors, it comes as no surprise that I know very little about the players that have arrived in the last two days, so I have researched their playing records last season as follows:

Adam Jackson 32 starts (1) 3 goals for Hartlepool United in League 2
Adam Armstrong 38 starts (1) 20 goals for Coventry City in League 1
Cole Kpekawa 8 starts (1) 0 goals for Leyton Orient in League 2
Sam Morsey 30 starts 5 goals for Chesterfield in League 1
13 starts (3) 1 goal for Wigan Athletic in League 1

We have sold Alfie Mawson and loaned George Moncur. Their playing records last season were as follows:

Alfie Mawson 64 starts (0) 9 goals for Barnsley in League 1
George Moncur 51 starts (0) 14 goals for Colchester in League 1

As I said right at the start, I personally know nothing about the players of other teams, but at first sight, it looks like we had a better squad on Saturday night than we have now. And yet, the BBS is in a state of high excitement and I am anxious to find out whether there is any basis for it. I shall watch the new players as they are chosen for home games, and I will make my mind up about them over a number of appearances, but perhaps in the mean time somebody can tell me what the hell all the excitement is about.

 

Seems to me that by your own list, we have increased the goal potential by +6. And a couple of extra million in the bank.

I think we're in a stronger position.

 

Might be just me, but I think the capture of Adam Armstrong and the current retention of Connor Hourihane has probably tipped most fans towards positive vibes. The success of recent signings from lower levels probably explains the optimism around Jackson and Kwepakwa, two players I've never heard of. As always, recent results dictate the mood of supporters. At the moment we're on the crest of a wave and therefore our transfer dealings have been met with optimism. But I do tend to agree somewhat with your take on things. Signing Morsy has comforted me, but unless we sign a winger I'll admit to being a tad underwhelmed. We've strengthened in terms of numbers, in key areas, but whether the new players all represent a collective boost in quality, we'll have to wait and see.

 

Keeping Conor.

 

What were the records of Alfie Mawson, Conor Hourihane, Marc Roberts and Josh Scowen like when we signed them?

People are excited because it represents the continuation of a strategy which has worked very well to date.

 

Is this a wind up?

How on earth is it a worse squad than Saturday night?

What a weird statement

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For me, it's just because it feels very much like the club know what they're doing. Mawson obviously wanted out and got a good move for which the club negotiated a good price. Something seems like it's gone a bit wrong with Moncur so they've sent him off to get some game time in the league below.

In terms of players coming in, I get the distinct feeling that we're trying to land long term targets, in order to build a balanced team. There doesn't seem to be any panic and we're not paying over the odds - we're just calmly bringing in players who the people who are paid to analyse this stuff think will improve the team. I know little about them, but then again I know little about our own players, only getting to a couple of matches a season and relying on commentary or summaries on here to inform my opinions.


My confidence and excitement comes from the fact that we appear to have professional processes and systems in place to deal with unexpected occurrences like Mawson leaving or Moncur not being quite ready. All the players brought in,although they might not have direct experience, fit the system that we know the club wants to follow,and could slot into the team that we have. This has not been the case in previous seasons, when our approach has looked far more scattergun.

 

Heaven knows, I'm miserable now.

 

That's a pretty simplistic view. Consider instead the value and contributions the players make to the squad. Moncur is a player whose favoured position doesn't fit into our formation. Mawson is a first-rate centreback which is why Swansea were prepared to spend handsomely to get him. While a direct replacement for Mawson is impossible, and we've undoubtedly become weaker in that area, we've strengthened across the rest of the squad by adding players who can play in positions we actually use.

 

This thread is like a transfer dealing minority report. I never knew we signed defenders on the bacis of how many goals they score I thought they were here to defend first and foremost.

 

Absolutely agree with this. There will always be hits and misses with our recruitment strategy. Looking at our squad last season, who can honestly say they had heard of any of the players when they signed apart from Hammill and maybe White. From a distance it looks like we have been pretty ruthless in both pursuing our targets and also showing the door to Moncur, Tuton, Harris & the Portugese lad I forget the name of, whether temporary or permanent.

What we now have is a squad with 2 players for every position, essential now there are no emergency loans. Anyone who saw Morsy totally run the game against us last season will know he is a top player. Adam Armstrong is one of the best young strikers in the country and a proven goal scorer. If Kpekawa and Jackson have anything like a similar ability, we will have made 4 cracking signings.

As far as experience is concerned, only Hammill and White had any in the Champ and we ain't done too badly so far. I recall it was a similar situation with Bournemouth when they were promoted from L1 and they were promoted the following season. Only time will tell but I firmly believe we are in a stronger position now than we were last Friday and we have money in the bank for the Jan window should we need something else at that time.

 

I know virtually nowt about any of the signings other than Armstrong and a bit about Morsy. Mawson is a big loss though. I'd say unless we can get a quality winger in we have broken even.

 

I never said that I was judging defenders on how many goals they scored. As a matter of fact, given that I have no knowledge of our new defenders, the table is intended to show how many games they played and at what level. But tell me, exactly how do you judge defenders who you have never seen play, because it is my guess that you were not a regular attendee at either Hartlepool or Orient games, and yet you appear to have made your mind up that these lads are better than what we had before.

My posts, as always, are aimed at getting people to think. To justify their gut reaction with reasoned thought, because that is exactly what I did. I found that I had become excited about our new acquisitions, but when I came to analyse why, I could not explain it. The conclusion that I drew from that reasoning is that I had become overtaken by deadline day hype. I hope that our signings will perform well for us, but I have absolutely no grounds for believing they will other than the fact that I have confidence that the people in charge know what they are doing.

 

Totally agree Red Rain that 'Dealine Day' is a wholly artificial construct probably aimed at boosting the Sky TV audiences. It likely increases the pressure on clubs and head coaches to be seen to be doing something.

As regards the new recruits, I'd venture only that all four of them have represented their country at some level. Hopefully that's a good thing - although I'd concede so has George Moncur! The profile of the lad Adam Jackson looks particularly promising, I feel.

 

You know that I always find your posts thought provoking but you do sometimes confuse me with your logic. You've just answered your own question......"I have confidence that the people in charge know what they are doing"
You've had some well thought out responses to your original post. On this occasion it's about trusting that the people in charge will carry out the plan successfully in the way that they have been doing for the last 12 months.
As someone said earlier who knew anything about most of the players we currently have when they first signed. Our recruitment policy / scouting network is outstanding and I would suggest to you that many other clubs will start following our "template" during the forthcoming years.
Trust and patience in our system with paddy and Paul at the helm is what excites me. Not deadline day headlines.

 

Not you on twitter is saying Hourihane is carrying Scowen and Scowen needs to be dropped

 

Ps.....I have seen Morsy and he is a cracking centre midfielder . Been wanting us to sign him ever since I saw him against Chesterfield last season.
Pps......get ont tinterweb and look at armstrongs goals. You'll be pleasantly chuffed.

 

I believe the two defenders will be good signings based on the fact that they are England youth internationals (admittedly not a great sign) but obviously they are highly thought of within the game


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If that's addressed to me then absolutely not. Josh is the heart and soul our team.

 

No it wasn't aimed at you ...