Where are the new players?

[Capt. Pants 4,226]

The flip side is we haven't got loads of players to bed into a complex way of playing that we had under Farke. I expect us to hit the ground running, there really are no excuses for us to get of to a rapid start.

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,294]

8 minutes ago, king canary said:

It's June. 

Well done. Next week we'll learn shapes. 

[king canary 7,604]

Just now, GodlyOtsemobor said:

Well done. Next week we'll learn shapes. 

Great. When do we learn patience?

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,294]

Just now, king canary said:

Great. When do we learn patience?

If you have to ask then you've already failed 

[littleyellowbirdie 2,546]

1 hour ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

What is stupid about expecting transfer activity during a transfer window within a bloated squad that has massively underperformed and lost its identity? 

You've sort of answered your own question here. Most of them have underperformed, which will make them difficult to sell, and if they're in contract and don't want to go then we're stuck with them. We just have to be grateful that few of them are likely to be on megabucks. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by littleyellowbirdie

[A Load of Squit 5,161]

1 hour ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

I guess I am expecting to see action. There is no point paying wages for players who don’t have a future here. So let’s see some sales. We still lack creativity so let’s see more than one summer signing!! 
 

 

 

Looks like there's quite a few who that we're not paying wages.

Norwich

In

Isaac Hayden, Newcastle United - loan

Out

Daniel Adshead, Cheltenham - undisclosed

Rocky Bushiri, Hibernian - undisclosed

Matthew Dennis, MK Dons - undisclosed

Freddie Allen, Doncaster Rovers - free

Josip Drmic, Dinamo Zagreb - free

Reece McAlear, Tranmere Rovers - free

Solomon Alidor-Hamilton - released

Josh Giurgi - released

Nelson Khumbeni - released

Ola Okeowo - released

Aston Oxborough - released

Lukas Rupp - released

[Danke bitte 965]

If @ged in the onion bag was here he’d probably say the new players are already with us, it’s just those who were previously with us blocking their development path. Which I kind of agree with. 
 

This potential approach also addresses @Christoph Stiepermann’s point about fragile / scarred mindset - if we can play youth that haven’t been damaged by last season then their energy and fearlessness wouldn’t go amiss. Especially if they surround some older heads like Hayden, Pukki, Hanley etc. 

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

1 hour ago, kinggoblin said:

Sometimes I think you have to take a step back and look at our squad, I for one am glad that we haven't gone gung-ho and got rid of, or gone mad and bought for the sake of it. Our squad must be the envy of every other fan of a championship side, ok we made a mess of our season in the prem, but the strength we have with our existing players must send fear through other sides, and remember a lot was hopefully down to first season settling of the squad together. Personally I have great belief in what we have, and am pretty confident of a top 2 place

Did you actually watch the performances at the end of the season? 

[horsefly 4,298]

1 hour ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

I don't judge our business by other clubs transfer activity. 

 

I'd have liked US to have done abit more by now not Millwall or Rotherham etc. 👍👍

Indeed! I'd have loved them to have already brought in 12 new PL level multi-million pound superstars. But let's try to be a bit realistic; the fact that very little has been done by our rivals would suggest to most rational people that there is no evidence that NCFC has been slacking in its work. Unless of course you have inside info that they have done sod all to look for other players. Good transfer practice suggests a club doesn't broadcast to the world exactly who they would like to buy. After all, we are ahead of many of our rivals in having already brought in Isaac Hayden, and who knew anything about that before it happened?

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

2 hours ago, king canary said:

I don't really know what you're expecting here?

We've been told not to expect a jam packed summer, we've got one player in a key position in through the door and we've not sold anyone. 

 

Well, we've sold Dennis and Adshead for undisclosed fees, but yeah (did we get anything for Bushiri?). To be honest, I'd take another central midfielder and that would be it. We'll need a pretty big squad for this congested season so more than anything, I just want our squad to be fit, reasonably well drilled, and firing on all cylinders from the get-go.

[king canary 7,604]

26 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Well, we've sold Dennis and Adshead for undisclosed fees, but yeah (did we get anything for Bushiri?). To be honest, I'd take another central midfielder and that would be it. We'll need a pretty big squad for this congested season so more than anything, I just want our squad to be fit, reasonably well drilled, and firing on all cylinders from the get-go.

Alright Mr Pedant.

I don't think the combined fees of those three are suddenly freeing up much cash for new first team signings. 

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Just now, king canary said:

Alright Mr Pedant.

I don't think the combined fees of those three are suddenly freeing up much cash for new first team signings. 

I don't think we need too many signings. Too many and there's no chance of the side gelling, and as I (and I think you might have, and certainly a few others have) said, we'll need a pretty big squad this time out simply due to the fixture congestion.

If Smith's smart with managing player workloads, and it should be easier for him compared to Farke in the Championship last time with the new 5 substitutes rule, our extra depth should really help us by Championship standards.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

Did you watch the garbage played at the end of last season. There was no obvious style of play or tactic and the team seemed to have completely lost confidence. The idea that the starting XI doesn’t need a rethink is madness. 
 

I would argue we need to sell several and bring in at least three or four 

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

3 minutes ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

Did you watch the garbage played at the end of last season. There was no obvious style of play or tactic and the team seemed to have completely lost confidence. The idea that the starting XI doesn’t need a rethink is madness. 
 

I would argue we need to sell several and bring in at least three or four 

I would argue that Dean Smith has a ton of experience at Championship level and probably knows what he's doing.

On average, we'll be playing against vastly weaker opposition on a weekly basis, which will enable us to play a lot more on the front foot and exert our style of play on the opposition from the get-go. Let's face it, Klopp wouldn't have kept that squad in the PL last season.

We've already signed our specialist DM, which was by far the most pressing priority. Beyond that, using a scalpel rather than a scythe is pretty wise in my opinion. We've got loads of proven Championship quality in the squad, so judge them on their performances at that level rather than the end of last season.

We had the same thing two years ago, when loads of posters were concerned about whether we could shake off the negativity caused by the long losing streak (and the awful performances that went with it).

Looking forward to the fixtures being released tomorrow, there's nothing to fear in this division. We'll be there or thereabouts.

[Green Canary 21]

Is the gap really so great between PL and champs that a team that would have had zero chance, even with an exceptional managers, will be challenging for promotion? Maybe, but I'm not sure. Are we as strong as we were two years ago? Almost certainly not. I'm not saying it's impossible but I think Smith has a tough job on his hands unless a few younger players really come through fast.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

22 minutes ago, Green Canary said:

Is the gap really so great between PL and champs that a team that would have had zero chance, even with an exceptional managers, will be challenging for promotion? Maybe, but I'm not sure. Are we as strong as we were two years ago? Almost certainly not. I'm not saying it's impossible but I think Smith has a tough job on his hands unless a few younger players really come through fast.

Yes far too much complacency from the usual clappers who totally underestimate how significant a role Emi and Skipp played in the last promotion campaign. Without those two we would have been bang average championship standard- as last season made clear. 

 

[kinggoblin 37]

27 minutes ago, Green Canary said:

Is the gap really so great between PL and champs that a team that would have had zero chance, even with an exceptional managers, will be challenging for promotion? Maybe, but I'm not sure. Are we as strong as we were two years ago? Almost certainly not. I'm not saying it's impossible but I think Smith has a tough job on his hands unless a few younger players really come through fast.

Yes I think the gap is huge between the two leagues, and remember we had Emi and still managed to get tailed off when we last got relegated, so I think any argument saying we are not as strong now shouldn't apply.

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

9 minutes ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

Yes far too much complacency from the usual clappers who totally underestimate how significant a role Emi and Skipp played in the last promotion campaign. Without those two we would have been bang average championship standard- as last season made clear. 

Far too much mithering from the usual pessimists who totally underestimate the quality we have in our squad. Nice to see that you read my detailed post, and then swerved it completely with a blanket statement about 'the usual clappers'. I'd expect nothing less from you, though. Enjoy your summer of misery!

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Jeez, Smith wasn't clueless, the problem was he had a team that wasn't good enough and had some hefty flaws in it. If your midfield is defensively as weak as ours was, there's not really a lot a new manager can do. We had a brief spell between Idah hitting form and then getting injured where it looked like something was brewing that could yield a few more results in the top flight, then we never had the chance to find out if that was the case. After that, there's only so much tinkering you can do with turnips.

Farke departed from his preferred brand of football and the clause on getting Gilmour in as many games as possible to lower the fee paid to Chelsea didn't help matters. This time we've got a proper defensive midfielder in on loan, performance-based criteria to make the deal permanent, and best of all, no-one saw the deal coming. In other words, whoever's doing the transfers is quietly doing things in the background and trying not to get caught in bidding wars / overextending our small transfer kitty.

A proper defensive midfielder should also mean our full-backs can push and be a bit more adventurous. If Giannoulis's head is screwed on he should be a real threat next season piling in down the left (I still wonder if Tzolis could be the left-winger in a Greek left flank combination, you'd think those two know each others games reasonably well) and he certainly was last time out in the Champs.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

I’m perfectly happy thanks. But I do have a realist approach to life. And what we were playing at the tail end of last season will be nowhere near good enough to bring us promotion. 

[C.I.D 302]

4 hours ago, hogesar said:

Unbelievable. You have to be trolling. This can't be a genuine poster.

What scenario do you think is happening here?

Do you think we've received offers for the players we don't want but we've responded with  "Ah, hold on actually. We'd like to pay their wages for a little longer".

Or do you think we've forgotten to let people know these players are available? Do you think their agents have forgotten to try and get their clients moves?

Or, possibly, do you think the players are only just returning from holiday and there's been minimal transfers in reality across most of England?

or.........the entire squad is on tenterhooks waiting for the next words of wisdom from a certain T Cantwell before deciding their next career move 😉

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

16 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

 Enjoy your lifetime of misery!

Fixed it for you

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

To be somewhat fair to DCB, we got the Emi transfer out of the way on 10 June last year, after Webber did his best to publicly drum up as much interest in our players as possible. The Emi sale subsequently funded a good portion of our transfer incomings.

So if we are looking to shift Aarons on to fund our purchases then surely the sooner this is done the better! But certainly not cause for a moan now though...

[yellowrider120 762]

15 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

Far too much mithering from the usual pessimists who totally underestimate the quality we have in our squad. Nice to see that you read my detailed post, and then swerved it completely with a blanket statement about 'the usual clappers'. I'd expect nothing less from you, though. Enjoy your summer of misery!

Well that must include one J Hugill who managed a grand total of THREE league goals in the Championship last season I believe. Both Idah and Sargent are still relatively young but their record of scoring goals v appearances in professional football does not inspire confidence that they can step up and score the goals required should Pukki suffer injury and / or loss of form (assuming he stays of course).   

[1902 1,167]

2 hours ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

Did you actually watch the performances at the end of the season? 

Yes, because it's not like relegated sides are increasingly being promoted straight afterwards despite failing miserably in the league above 

 

Maybe we need a name for it. Something that's on a string, goes up and down alot, a childhood toy perhaps...

Edited June 22, 2022 by 1902

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

1. We've signed a player which is more than 2/3rds of teams in this division so far.

2. We've been told by Webber and in articles on both the Athletic and Pink Un we have the money to get in one or two but otherwise need a sale.

3. We've not made any sales of significance.

4. We have possibly the largest squad in this league. It needs to be trimmed.  

5. We also have a squad capable of competing at this level. I think even if we had space in the squad, had the money to bring the players we wanted and everything went according to plan we'd want 3 maybe 4 new signings at most? 

This thread is just negativity for the sake of it

[Badger 2,405]

53 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

I'd expect nothing less from you, though. Enjoy your summer of misery!

It's not just the summer - he is miserable in the autumn, winter and spring as well!  😀

[The Raptor 1,206]

They're waiting to get the new kit before we sign anyone. They'd look silly posing in the old one won't they!

[horsefly 4,298]

36 minutes ago, Badger said:

It's not just the summer - he is miserable in the autumn, winter and spring as well!  😀

Just discovered this footage of DCB taking a walk

 

[hertfordyellow 460]

My two cents on this season...

1) It's exciting going into this season as I literally have no idea how we will do. I knew we would be up there last time (I predicted 2nd). We could have a load of players who don't want to be here, sulking their way to 12th or the combined talent we obviously have (at this level) come together under Smith and blitz another 95ish points. 

2) We were kind of luck we didn't have a long injury to either Skipp or Buendia last time. If we had then we wouldn't have finished in the top two. This time round I think we have lots of options (so injuries not as much an issue), but no one as brilliant as those two. It's probably a more healthy position I guess.