Naismith to Hearts (again)

[Naismith to Hearts (again)]

I''ve got nothing against the guy personally - He''d probably admit himself that his signing for us has pretty much been a disaster. Massively over inflated price to start with and premiership wages and then played in a struggling team with a manager quickly running out of ideas and out of his depth.

All clubs have signings that don''t work out and this is just one of ours - it rankles a bit more due to the money involved, but it''s part and parcel of the game.

It also rankles that he is a decent player, but we just haven''t seen the best of him.

Wildschutt is in a similar bracket IMHO.

The current regime seems to be targeting signings that fir into a particular style of play that we are aiming for whereas previously we seemed to sign good players that just don''t fit in, like Naismith & Wildschutt and even going back to RVW.

Watkins is probably the most recent case and, thankfully, SW & DF recognized this and were able to move him on while his reputation is intact and so a more palatable signing. I''d imagine paying sensible wages for a Championship club also smoothed his move.

[We All Wanted A Rebuild]

A full rebuild can take years - e.g. we have some players on contracts that we no longer want, but no one will buy/sign them, so we are stuck until they go. IMHO the rebuild of our squad won''t be complete until they go...obviously we need to sign players to replace them too, but hopefully ones that will contribute

[Loanee Strikers]

I wonder if (hope) Idah could be the break through star of the season - similarly like J. Lewis was good enough, so made himself indispensable

[Sell Klose now or let him go for a free next summer ?]

As much as I like him and rate him, I actually think we could cope quite well without him - we are well stocked with Hanley, Zimmerman, Raggatt and Franke

[Next Season]

I don''t think Farke will enjoy the patience many fans have had this season - I''m sure many are thinking "give him until Xmas, if not sooner", so I think he may be under more pressure.

I expect an improvement: in play, results and league position - I don''t think we will make the play offs, but it''d be nice to be in the mix until close to the end of the season.

[Oliveira's next club..]

Doesn''t seem like CJ or Oliveira bought into Farke''s regime, so CJ was moved on and Oliveira may soon follow. Hopefully Farke can either be given sufficient funds or find an absolute gem to replace them...unless Idah really is the real deal and can step up?

[Mason Mount]

Whether its Mason Mount or not, I think this approach could be the one we go for next season: sell Oliveira and bring in a gifted youngster from a top 6 club to spearhead our attack, in a similar vein to Tammy Abraham''s loan moves.

[My Players Out]

based on wages I''d expect Naismith, Jarvis, Martin, Klose and Pinto all to be told they can find other clubs...whether they can is a different question

[Leitner Has Said His Goodbyes.]

I think he''s a very good player and I''d like us to sign him - with the number of games we have in the championship and even with McLean coming in, I think he''d cause competition for places and get decent game time

[Search for a striker or two.]

Could Idah make the step up? good enough = old enough

[Rowett]

Seems like we are getting under opposing managers'' and fans'' skin this season - partly down to Maddison''s swagger, our much improved game management and our intent on retaining possession - personally, I''m all for it!

[Moritz looks good]

[quote user="bringbackchippy"]At last someone to replace Ian Crook! Looks a player[/quote]

Kartoffelchippy ?

[Deadline Day]

[quote user="Alex "][quote user="Rogue Baboon"]Re Oliveira, have to agree with Lincoln. Yeah he may not be in form, but in a Wolves style system where he gets chances put on a plate he would score a lot more.

Plus his agent is Mendes, who is in charge of transfers at Wolves? If Wolves decide they want a striker tomorrow it seems Oliveira would be an obvious choice & I dont think there is much we could do about it[/quote]

Don’t think it was Lincoln that said that, Rogue 😉

Re the right back position, didn’t we sign a young lad in the last couple of weeks from Huddersfield who’s been playing for their U23’s this season? I didn’t see official confirmation but the player confirmed he’d signed on his Twitter I believe.[/quote]

Ah yes, Jordan Thomas - I''d forgotten about that - so, he could provide cover if needed, therefore, let''s close the window now :)

[Deadline Day]

I wonder if we might bring in a RB on loan, but that seems unlikely - Reed did a good job there and I suppose we could shuffle our CBs around to cope if we need to.

I hope that we don''t sell anyone - surely we''ve earned enough already not to be tempted?

[Replacements?]

If Edwards really is a "mini Messi" then he could score goals for us if we use a false 9 ?

I''d rather we did sign a striker and a RB - loans for both positions would make sense

[The Webberlution... It's time to buy into this.]

Exactly right KIO - excellent and articulate post - sums up my feelings too.

[Naismith is off to...]

I have Naismith down as a worse signing the RVW

I''m usually pretty open minded about who we sign, but I was very skeptical of Naismith and especially at the fee we supposedly paid. Sadly, he has not proven me wrong.

I hope he does well at Hearts, but only because it might make someone sign him permanently.

[Sheff Utd]

I hope the recovery rate and their general conditioning allows enough time for those knackered at the end of the game to be ready for Saturday.

Pinto had cramp which shouldn''t preclude him from playing the next game.

Didn''t seem as though anyone picked up any knocks, so it''s then just a matter of overcoming the fatigue.

I hope Farke can get them buzzing to be back out playing with the same intensity and application

[Jamal Lewis.]

He had a great game - but then pretty much everyone did themselves proud.

There was just that moment that we switched off for their goal, which rather than being solely attributed to Hanley, seemed to be a collective of him and Pinto and the Norwich right in general that hesitated and allowed Kenedy to cross

[Nelson Oliveira]

I thought he applied himself well and proved himself to be a team player - weirdly, I had a feeling he might miss the pen, but it was a good save to deny him, so can''t grumble about that.

If Oliveira continues to work hard to be part of the team, I think he can do well - feel like he needs a goal to get himself on top form

[Worst possible outcome]

I really hope that this gives the team belief that they can produce the goods against top sides, so why not those around them in the championship.

The unnerving part is the bad run we went on after the Arsenal game. Although, with that experience behind them and Farke''s man management, I hope that it does spur the team on to take this attitude and application into the league.

[Are You a Happy Clapper Or A Member Of The ' Angry Mob ' ?]

I guess I''m a "happy clapper" in that I believe in what the club are doing at the moment and still fully support the team...as I have done through thick and thin.

As has been mentioned many times, we are paying the price at the moment for some signings that have not worked out for us (all clubs have them).

I believe that Football clubs'' success/failure is cyclical and some have wider cycles than others, so I''m used to expecting and getting through the lows and enjoying the highs

[January Departures]

Must be very frustrating for Farke & Webber that they could really do with shifting on players that are high earners, but that nobody else might want or the player might not want to move without a hefty pay-off: feels like a similar situation to RVW and Laffterty with regards to Jarvis & Naismith. Unfortunately, our financial situation might mean that the players other people do want might go first and we are still left with "dead wood".

I presume there are plenty of other clubs in similar situations, but I feel those 2 player signings taint Neill''s legacy somewhat

[Congratulations to Korey Smith]

[quote user="Crafty Canary"]An excellent winner for Bristol City against Man Utd tonight. I have always felt he was unlucky here that the club''s two promotions out grew his budding career here. He never let us down and was a star in League One.[/quote]

Congrats to the guy - I rated him highly when he was at Norwich, but his development could not keep up with our rapid rise at the time, so he inevitably ended up out on loan and then sold - I''m glad he''s making a good career for himself and may yet find himself in the Premier League

[Ricardo's report v Sheff Wed]

Could Stipermann be groomed for a CM holding role in future once the LB position is sorted?