Summer Ins and Outs

[Hound]

JLow reckons someone else is leaving today, and not Weiser.

Not sure who it could be to be honest

[muirinho]

JLow reckons someone else is leaving today, and not Weiser.

Not sure who it could be to be honest

Maybe he heard "contract news" and "no, no-one is coming in" and misinterpreted?

We're pretty thin in most areas of the squad, I can't think of anybody obviously "surplus to requirements".

[CountryRoyal]

JLow reckons someone else is leaving today, and not Weiser.

Not sure who it could be to be honest

That's a double signing announced then.

©genome

[Jim Royal]

I think there may have been some progress with the Wells transfer today. We certainly need another striking option if we're to mount an automatic promotion challenge.

[maffff]

Dickie is off to Lincoln on loan.

Ward has gone to Hungerford, also on loan.

[FiNeRaIn]

Plus Stephen Reid's sudden departure.

Doesn't make pretty reading does it. The squad has been pretty much decimated this summer with only a few signings made. What really concerns me is the number of youngsters released or sold. Can't provide much inspiration to the current academy players. I strongly fear we are going to start next week with a thin and unbalanced squad which also opens the possibility of last minute panic buys being made, at which point we are at the mercy of an extremely inflated market and mercenary players and agents. I have to say this smacks of extremely poor management I'm afraid.

No matter how anyone tries to spin it this summer has been massively disappointing, we've lost some good first team players and some youngsters like Cooper who we had high hopes for. What we have brought in so far is underwhelming and with no real speculation linking us to proven players at the moment I don't see how people aren't concerned we've stepped backwards. As is usual we don't need to break the bank but we need to stop whining about prices, wages and agents and just bite the bullet like everyone else. I thought we'd have had people settled in ready to go by now, not having to hang on for a deadline day panic fest before ending up with a journeyman on loan from the prem.

[Snowflake Royal]

Plus Stephen Reid's sudden departure.

Doesn't make pretty reading does it. The squad has been pretty much decimated this summer with only a few signings made. What really concerns me is the number of youngsters released or sold. Can't provide much inspiration to the current academy players. I strongly fear we are going to start next week with a thin and unbalanced squad which also opens the possibility of last minute panic buys being made, at which point we are at the mercy of an extremely inflated market and mercenary players and agents. I have to say this smacks of extremely poor management I'm afraid.

No matter how anyone tries to spin it this summer has been massively disappointing, we've lost some good first team players and some youngsters like Cooper who we had high hopes for. What we have brought in so far is underwhelming and with no real speculation linking us to proven players at the moment I don't see how people aren't concerned we've stepped backwards. As is usual we don't need to break the bank but we need to stop whining about prices, wages and agents and just bite the bullet like everyone else. I thought we'd have had people settled in ready to go by now, not having to hang on for a deadline day panic fest before ending up with a journeyman on loan from the prem.

No real speculation? We've been lined with every striker who has two legs!

[Hound]

I think let's wait and see if and when that happens

Do agree it'd been nice to have brought in some quality, but we've tried and presumably been priced out. Equally I don't think anyone would be too happy if we blew 10m straight on the likes of Wells or McCormack, least of all the other players in the squad if they were being paid big money

We brought in some important players after the season started last year when they were made available. I expect the same will be the case this year, and it's a case of hanging in there for the right deal

We do also have McCleary, Harriott, Yann and Mendes back fairly shortly - all good players who would expect to be in the matchday squad

[Woodcote Royal]

No matter how anyone tries to spin it this summer has been massively disappointing, we've lost some good first team players and some youngsters like Cooper who we had high hopes for. What we have brought in so far is underwhelming and with no real speculation linking us to proven players at the moment I don't see how people aren't concerned we've stepped backwards. As is usual we don't need to break the bank but we need to stop whining about prices, wages and agents and just bite the bullet like everyone else. I thought we'd have had people settled in ready to go by now, not having to hang on for a deadline day panic fest before ending up with a journeyman on loan from the prem.

The above is complete and utter nonsense.

As has already been pointed out, we lost Al Habsi, who has been replaced by someone comparable and we lost Williams, whose departure had been factored in for months. Who else have we lost who wasn't pushed out the door

Meanwhile, the transfer window, just like every other season for the best part of 2 decades that I've been reading these pages, is open for another month, yet the same people insist on popping out of the woodwork to post the same delusional cr@p every tedious summer without fail

"Massively disappointing" might be an apt description of the window closing on a potless club who had failed to add to a squad which had spent the previous campaign staving off relegation.

All I see, with very little reading between the lines required, is a club trying to build on a very successful campaign by investing wisely in it's future and if that means starting the new season with a few missing pieces from it's final jigsaw, so be it......................................... because this, more often than not, is the norm.

[FiNeRaIn]

No matter how anyone tries to spin it this summer has been massively disappointing, we've lost some good first team players and some youngsters like Cooper who we had high hopes for. What we have brought in so far is underwhelming and with no real speculation linking us to proven players at the moment I don't see how people aren't concerned we've stepped backwards. As is usual we don't need to break the bank but we need to stop whining about prices, wages and agents and just bite the bullet like everyone else. I thought we'd have had people settled in ready to go by now, not having to hang on for a deadline day panic fest before ending up with a journeyman on loan from the prem.

The above is complete and utter nonsense.

As has already been pointed out, we lost Al Habsi, who has been replaced by someone comparable and we lost Williams, whose departure had been factored in for months. Who else have we lost who wasn't pushed out the door

Meanwhile, the transfer window, just like every other season for the best part of 2 decades that I've been reading these pages, is open for another month, yet the same people insist on popping out of the woodwork to post the same delusional cr@p every tedious summer without fail

"Massively disappointing" might be an apt description of the window closing on a potless club who had failed to add to a squad which had spent the previous campaign staving off relegation.

All I see, with very little reading between the lines required, is a club trying to build on a very successful campaign by investing wisely in it's future and if that means starting the new season with a few missing pieces from it's final jigsaw, so be it......................................... because this, more often than not, is the norm.

You posted the same patronizing crap a while back as well, and nothing has changed. Mannone is yet to prove whether he is comparable to AAH so wind your neck in, Darlow would have been a much better option both for now and future return on investment. Williams was the heartbeat of our midfield regardless of whether we suspected he would leave or not so thats a mute point.

What you are alluding to is not " the norm" anymore. Literally every successful team these days has to invest significantly to push their squad on. We haven't done that this far so you can throw insults around like a child all you want,. Even if we bring a player or two in right before the deadline they'll take time to settle in and we may well end up over paying due leaving it so late. A very successful campaign is founded by the right type of signings early, not panicking right before deadline or right before the start of the season because your squad has gaps.

As people have said in the past, you can tell the organized clubs from who has their business out the way early in the summer and who isn't rushing to fill gaps as the start of the season approaces, at the moment we are heading towards that.

[Esteban]

Far too much has been made of the Academy lads we let go. None of them moved to clubs at the same level as us and they've all reached an age where they need to play regularly to improve. They're not good enough to improve our squad at the moment and they've run out of time.

The alternative is we hold on to them, ship them out on loan and suffer from a swollen squad that stunts the development of younger players.

Sam Smith and Danny Loader probably benefitted this pre-season from Stacey and Fosu leaving. They may have come through our academy, but that shouldn't preclude them from being judged by the same parameters as everyone else.

[FiNeRaIn]

The only academy guy I mentioned was Cooper as he has a decent amount of championship experience and impressed a lot on Millwalls promotion push. He's still young for a defender of his type and may push on. It certainly doesn't leave an immediate hole in the first team, but it does leave a hole in the squad. We got some cash for him so its not unreasonable to assume this is put into a bid for a goalscorer we should be signing.

[Esteban]

Fair enough, but he won't push on if he's not playing and he's not as good as any of the other centre backs we currently have.

We do need to make signings, but there's a month left of the window. I don't see us making expensive panic buys, we're far more likely to sign players from foreign leagues we've been scouting for a while.

[Woodcote Royal]

No matter how anyone tries to spin it this summer has been massively disappointing, we've lost some good first team players and some youngsters like Cooper who we had high hopes for. What we have brought in so far is underwhelming and with no real speculation linking us to proven players at the moment I don't see how people aren't concerned we've stepped backwards. As is usual we don't need to break the bank but we need to stop whining about prices, wages and agents and just bite the bullet like everyone else. I thought we'd have had people settled in ready to go by now, not having to hang on for a deadline day panic fest before ending up with a journeyman on loan from the prem.

The above is complete and utter nonsense.

As has already been pointed out, we lost Al Habsi, who has been replaced by someone comparable and we lost Williams, whose departure had been factored in for months. Who else have we lost who wasn't pushed out the door

Meanwhile, the transfer window, just like every other season for the best part of 2 decades that I've been reading these pages, is open for another month, yet the same people insist on popping out of the woodwork to post the same delusional cr@p every tedious summer without fail

"Massively disappointing" might be an apt description of the window closing on a potless club who had failed to add to a squad which had spent the previous campaign staving off relegation.

All I see, with very little reading between the lines required, is a club trying to build on a very successful campaign by investing wisely in it's future and if that means starting the new season with a few missing pieces from it's final jigsaw, so be it......................................... because this, more often than not, is the norm.

You posted the same patronizing crap a while back as well, and nothing has changed. Mannone is yet to prove whether he is comparable to AAH so wind your neck in, Darlow would have been a much better option both for now and future return on investment. Williams was the heartbeat of our midfield regardless of whether we suspected he would leave or not so thats a mute point.

What you are alluding to is not " the norm" anymore. Literally every successful team these days has to invest significantly to push their squad on. We haven't done that this far so you can throw insults around like a child all you want,. Even if we bring a player or two in right before the deadline they'll take time to settle in and we may well end up over paying due leaving it so late. A very successful campaign is founded by the right type of signings early, not panicking right before deadline or right before the start of the season because your squad has gaps.

As people have said in the past, you can tell the organized clubs from who has their business out the way early in the summer and who isn't rushing to fill gaps as the start of the season approaces, at the moment we are heading towards that.

You could (and probably did) make the same claims in all the previous 15 seasons including those when we finished with 106pts, not to mention 8th in the top flight............................if you didn't, there were no shortage of anguished cries of "No Ambition" because we hadn't spent mega bucks and/or spent a pittance on numerous no hopers such as Little, Kitson and Doyle.

The norm, with a whole month before the window closes, is that hundreds of transfers will take place throughout August; are you suggesting seriously that these will involve only clubs of the disorganised variety

Many of these signings will be the result of a domino effect that starts from the top and descends through the leagues. A striker we eventually sign may be happy currently as 2nd or 3rd choice in his Premiership squad but will reconsider his options if a big signing drops him to 4th........................this is also the norm and why many clubs, organised or otherwise, won't complete their squads until the season is under way.

If stating the blindingly obvious is patronising, that's your fault not mine.

[Snowball]

Mannone is yet to prove whether he is comparable to AAH so wind your neck in, Darlow would have been a much better option both for now and future return on investment.

Mannone's pedigree is as good as anything we could imagine signing. AAH, when signed, was signed as NUMBER 2
and was an error-prone probable has-been, even a joke according to some. The guy came good, but that was a surprise TBH.

PS I have sat down with him, a great bloke, so no criticism intended in the above.

Williams was the heartbeat of our midfield regardless of whether we suspected he would leave or not so thats a mute point.

I have always maintained Williams was BAD for the team. True, when he wanted to he could run about a lot and "add energy"
but half the time (at least) he had to do so because he couldn't do the sensible, team-orientated simple thing.

I'm happy to bet he won't get a lot of time in the Prem.

What you are alluding to is not " the norm" anymore. Literally every successful team these days has to invest significantly to push their squad on.

Like Huddersfield?

Like Burnley?

We haven't done that this far so you can throw insults around like a child all you want,. Even if we bring a player or two in right before the deadline they'll take time to settle in and we may well end up over paying due leaving it so late. A very successful campaign is founded by the right type of signings early, not panicking right before deadline or right before the start of the season because your squad has gaps.

What you consider poor transfer policy may, ultimately, be excellent policy. I think it's fair to say Spurs have their head screwed on, and as yet they haven't spent. The early buyers pay OVER the odds, and I am happy if the club practises common-sense and waits for value-for-money purchases.

If that means finishing eighth, so be it.

As people have said in the past, you can tell the organized clubs from who has their business out the way early in the summer and who isn't rushing to fill gaps as the start of the season approaces, at the moment we are heading towards that.

Count how many Championship clubs have flashed the cash/made lots of changes. Only two of them can be guaranteed "success".

You think Wolves are going to get automatic?

[Nameless]

Much of the supposed decimation of the squad is of young players who have been out on loan for a year or more so have hardly been integral to our performances. They've also not, for the most part, done much on loan to suggest they would add to a top end Championship squad. Disappointing, but important in the context of FineRain's long distance comments.
The other big holes have been created by a slightly worrying number of players either suffering injury or still returning from long term injury, and players going out on loan.
Of the former it doesn't sound like many will be out beyond September which does make buying replacements rather questionable.
Of the later probably only Rakells might have solved our short term striking problem.
The releasing of so many youngsters actually should be encouraging to the next generation. It frees up room for the likes of Loader, smith and Rimonhota (and hopefully Frost, Barrett, Osho, Richards and others) to fill spaces in the first team squad. To have them held back by Cooper, Fosu and Keown if these had not proven themselves first team climber would not have been good for the club or the Academy players.
It's now up to the next wave to,prove they have the quality and attitude required. Some will not make the grade, if a couple do then that will be a major positive.
There's a clear recognition that we do need more players in, there also seems a firm view that the club won't be dragged into the crazy prices being paid by clubs who look rather desperate, Selling clubs are holding off selling in some cases in the hope that someone will pay £10 million for an average player, those clubs will have to get real soon or get nothing for players they are wanting to move on.

[Sutekh]

And the decimation of youngsters continues. Rob Dickie has left to join Lincoln City on a 6 month loan with a view to a permanent switch.

http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/sp ... ins-263292

[Hound]

are we killing them first?

interesting one that - thought he'd hang around the squad for a while. notice its also with a view to a perm transfer

[muirinho]

are we killing them first?

Only 1 in 10

[maffff]

Count how many Championship clubs have flashed the cash/made lots of changes. Only two of them can be guaranteed "success".

You think Wolves are going to get automatic?

Wolves, Villa and Boro can't all go up auto. I'll be surprised if two go up at all.

Might be a fair few tears at the end of this season.