The Officially Not Official Summer Transfer Thread 2023

[horsefly 4,310]

17 minutes ago, Robert N. LiM said:

Agree with that, except to note that I think there's every chance that AO would have been a starter this season had we not been intending to sell him.

Yep! I think that's true. He had obviously been flagged up as leaving, otherwise he would have been in the mix for a starting place. Although it has to be said he had a pretty mediocre last season (not the worst player, but not the best either). Clearly the management see Tomkinson and Warner as genuine prospects for stepping up after this season, and so far Duffy and Gibson have been very solid in defence. 

[Robert N. LiM 4,481]

21 minutes ago, PurpleCanary said:

One of the ironies is that we have had to cut costs because the club for once actually did what some posters called for and overspent. And not entirely on the right players, or at least not on the right players for that time.

In terms of the big picture, this month should see the details of the new share allocation earmarked for Attanasio. Fans should not get too excited about this development.

That money, however much it turns out to be, is destined for other purposes than immediate squad building. And the short- to medium-term plan is not for him to bankroll us in the transfer market. Organic growth rather than splash the cash plurges.

Excellent post from the reality-based community.

[horsefly 4,310]

1 hour ago, Pegz said:

What i dont understand is if Batth was our No.1 transfer target, why did we wait to sell AO before getting him in? Batth reported to be a free transfer its not like Norwich were waiting for the funds to go out and sign a new centre half just doesnt add up to me.

Probably because if Omo had stayed we wouldn't have needed him.

[Badger 2,412]

1 hour ago, eeyore said:

lastly as I said in a previous post why moan now when most of us have limited knowledge of the new players unless you get a kick out of being negative ?

With  some, Deann Coney's Boots leaps to mind, this is the key factor.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,856]

33 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

I guess it could be something like £12-14m up front with a bunch of add-ons.

Which would be more than we've actually sold him for, according to reports. It's been reported that Forest are paying an initial £11m, rising to £20m with achievable clauses. I'm guessing those would be based on Premier League survival, appearances and international caps?

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,800]

...now 1 week on....and we still dont know the extent of Sargent's injury

All a bit weird

[KiwiScot 1,460]

Reading a Sunderland article where the boss goes on about it being a difficult decision to let Danny Batth go. Even though he's not been playing him this season and him wanting to get regular football.

[Newtopia 519]

3 minutes ago, KiwiScot said:

Reading a Sunderland article where the boss goes on about it being a difficult decision to let Danny Batth go. Even though he's not been playing him this season and him wanting to get regular football.

That does seem odd to me, he has to be our third choice CB doesn’t he?

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,856]

3 minutes ago, Newtopia said:

That does seem odd to me, he has to be our third choice CB doesn’t he?

A third choice centre back in the Championship will still get regular football. It's a massive division with tons of matches, 50+ if you include the cups. 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,795]

2 minutes ago, Newtopia said:

That does seem odd to me, he has to be our third choice CB doesn’t he?

You really think Gibson should be first choice?

[mrdi 373]

If you put chronology of last night to one side and just looks at all the ins and outs as a list, it’s been an excellent window, IMO. 

From last night, I think Hwang will add an interesting dynamic and while Batth seemed to come out of nowhere, his signing makes a lot of sense. 

I actually think we got good money for Andy O; I’ve never been as convinced of his development curve as others (perhaps tainted by last season, but…). 

I like this mix of players. Battle-hardened campaigners in key positions to properly balance the squad up. We’ve got a team other clubs will hate to play. Right now, I’m looking forward to every game again. 
 

[Newtopia 519]

5 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

You really think Gibson should be first choice?

Well he seems to be.  I always think the opposition strikers fancy getting in and around him, as he has a mistake in him, but he is a good ball player, and without him on the left of the two we look less balanced and overall less secure.

I get the Bathh signing, but I was surprised we didn’t go for a Left footed option.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Newtopia

[Son Ova Gunn 165]

23 minutes ago, PurpleCanary said:

 

 

8 minutes ago, Robert N. LiM said:

Excellent post from the reality-based community.

The irony of the ‘reality’ based community trying to spin this approach as necessity and a way of ensuring club survival etc. At what point does running a club needing to make a 35+ million transfer profit per summer while receiving parachute payments become unsustainable? 
The financial reality is that we need Wagner to perform miracles this season to avoid the horrible vision of what a team with a L1/2 transfer budget would look like next season and after a great start he’s not really been backed from above… a situation that’s become all too familiar when the team just needs a CB or a holding mid etc.

[Kanadyan Kanary 121]

20 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

...now 1 week on....and we still dont know the extent of Sargent's injury

All a bit weird

I agree, we would normally have info by now. Perhaps the injury is not as bad as originally thought and they have just not said anything in the hope of warding off any potential suitors during the final week of the transfer window. The loan striker still makes sense as back up.

[jaberry2 556]

My general view all the signings have been all good short term options. Wang is a quality player who will add goals and assists. The new CB should displace Gibson at some stage too. My only concern is that this only fills a short term void really and that if we did get promoted we would need quite a few players. A big IF of course

[Well b back 3,279]

3 hours ago, TheGunnShow said:

Just seen that Batth has been captain or vice-captain too during his career, and it looks like we've got him on a free. After being initially a shade underwhelmed, it really does look like Wagner's gone for battle-hardened leaders and fighters to address our lack of them which was really apparent in our collapse at the end of last season.

Warner, Tomkinson and Fisher are clearly getting readied as the next defenders off the production line. With Barnes, Forshaw, Duffy, Batth and to some extent Stacey we've got a spine of Championship-seasoned, tough professionals in for the other talent to thrive.

Whilst only results will give us the definitive answer of whether this was a good window or not, we can't deny that we suddenly have a lot more experience, drive, and bite in the ranks. And the fact that Omo's made a move to the Premier means we should still be a really promising location for young talent to consider.

And Hills, he’s gone to Accrington on loan

[Terminally Yellow 2,477]

28 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

...now 1 week on....and we still dont know the extent of Sargent's injury

All a bit weird

Not really. You don't go into a competitive market having advertised how desperately you need to do business. 

I fully expect we'll get a far more detailed answer after today's game.

[Terminally Yellow 2,477]

The fact of the matter is as much as I was unimpressed with yesterday's activities, the window as a whole has been generally positive. I would back this team to properly steamroller last year's team every time. 

[Well b back 3,279]

10 minutes ago, jaberry2 said:

My general view all the signings have been all good short term options. Wang is a quality player who will add goals and assists. The new CB should displace Gibson at some stage too. My only concern is that this only fills a short term void really and that if we did get promoted we would need quite a few players. A big IF of course

But as shown last year we wouldn’t have been getting promoted with what we had. This is much more of a ‘ get promoted squad ‘. 
 

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

9 hours ago, PurpleCanary said:

Anyone expecting us to spend much of the money we have received this window hasn’t been paying attention to the club’s financial position.

So why do people harp on about us being a well run club?

[PurpleCanary 5,580]

28 minutes ago, Son Ova Gunn said:

 

The irony of the ‘reality’ based community trying to spin this approach as necessity and a way of ensuring club survival etc. At what point does running a club needing to make a 35+ million transfer profit per summer while receiving parachute payments become unsustainable? 
The financial reality is that we need Wagner to perform miracles this season to avoid the horrible vision of what a team with a L1/2 transfer budget would look like next season and after a great start he’s not really been backed from above… a situation that’s become all too familiar when the team just needs a CB or a holding mid etc.

If that situation happened every season from now on then it wouldn't be sustainable. But the aim clearly is to get as far as possible out from under the debt we have, using that profit on transfer dealings.

And the bringing on board of Attanasio is intended to help to an extent in the short-term and perhaps more significantly in the longer run. But even if he takes over as owner (which I believe is the eventual plan) I very much doubt you will see a drastic change in the way the club operates financially.

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

7 hours ago, Fen Canary said:

30 million banked, high wage earners off the books and a squad that looks to more balanced, more experienced, more aggressive and more nous than we had last year. All in all it looks a pretty successful window to me. The only downside is Sargent getting injured and I have my doubts as to whether his replacement will be as effective but I don’t hold that against the club as they were effectively forced into last minute panic stations with that one

The emergence of Rowe has obviously given the board breathing room and another jewel they can sell. If that is a well run club then luck must be a skill.

[Gordon Bennett 789]

48 minutes ago, Newtopia said:

That does seem odd to me, he has to be our third choice CB doesn’t he?

 

46 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

You really think Gibson should be first choice?

I've never really subscribed to the idea of 1st, 2nd, 3rd choices. You have a squad all of whom are competing for a place in the team each week. There are so many games and so many subs nowadays anyway that most players are going to play at one time or another. Gibson and Duffy have the shirts at the moment but an injury, suspension or bad game are never that far away so Batth will get his chance and stay in. 

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

2 hours ago, eeyore said:

The moaning contingent make me wonder what planet they are on, let’s get some perspective.

Sold Ono for a few million, a youngster with potential but who has not developed further in the last year and replaced with a much older defender on only a years contract for free. It’s a stop gap cover signing replacing another cover defender unless he uproots trees.

The Korean International is another stop gap signing to potentially cover Sarg or replace Idah if he fails. Comparing scoring records can be misleading, for instance some of his playing time was on the wing.

lastly the permanent free signing of a young striker from Man City who could prove to be a gem or fail but that applies to all the U21 squad.

lastly as I said in a previous post why moan now when most of us have limited knowledge of the new players unless you get a kick out of being negative ? If after a few weeks they all appear to be poor signings then moan away to your hearts content but give the poor sods a chance !

Well that is one way of contradicting yourself. And if you cannot even get a players name right then your post is of little consequence.

[PurpleCanary 5,580]

38 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

So why do people harp on about us being a well run club?

Because over the lifetime of S&J's ownership it has been generally true. Given their pauperism the club has significantly overperformed, and outperformed other comparably sized and even bigger clubs.

But that pauperism means every major decision has to be got right all the time, and that just never happens. No club achieves that. The difference is that while other clubs have filthy rich owners who can limit the damage, if we get a big decision wrong it is very damaging. And in crude terms we are suffering from the after-effects of one misjudged transfer window.

PS. Just seen this idiotic comment of yours:

"The emergence of Rowe has obviously given the board breathing room and another jewel they can sell. If that is a well run club then luck must be a skill."

Yes, of course it is pure luck that having put millions in the Colney and the academy we are actually producing talented youngsters.

Edited September 2, 2023 by PurpleCanary

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

I am not disappointed with the window per se. I was just disappointed with yesterday's dealings.

We didn't sign players, IMO, who have a future here. We just temporarily fixed the hole in the bucket.

And I think its perfectly fair to feel disappointed that we have people saying AO was just fourth choice. That is just nonsense. Forest obviously think he is good enough to play in the EPL. Our coach, for his or the Boards own reasons, wasn't selecting him.

[Big O 225]

2 hours ago, BroadstairsR said:

At the same time we seem to have acquired more promising youngsters than ever before. It seems to have become obsessive.

Centre-backs, forwards, you name it. I liked particularly the idea of the centre back from Ireland and the Citeh striker, but they all come with promise, but, in truth, I've lost track of them all. "Webber's babies" (as emphasised by his wife in her recent interview.)

I see these "veterans" as a necessary stop gap, and hopefully more until we once again our place in the riches in order to have that customary one season there in order to get the paras.

Not sure about Kueng(?) Strange history with Forest buying him and then immediately loaning him to Sampdoria and now coming to us without ever playing for them. A YouTube star as is commonplace, but the level of opposition is unclear.

I'll reserve on this one until he plays in the yellow, but Forest's initial interest should indicate something.

Forest did sign about 50 players last year though so not a huge surprise he didn’t play for them.

I think he is a player who is a gamble that we went with whilst Sargent is injured. I noted he is 6’1” so clearly slightly different to what we have got currently.

I personally think the next 1-2 months will finally give us a definitive view on Idah. Lots of views either way but the boy has never really had a run of games. Hoping he steps and scores a few for us 

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

16 minutes ago, PurpleCanary said:

Because over the lifetime of S&J's ownership it has been generally true. Given their pauperism the club has significantly overperformed, and outperformed other comparably sized and even bigger clubs.

But that pauperism means every major decision has to be got right all the time, and that just never happens. No club achieves that. The difference is that while other clubs have filthy rich owners who can limit the damage, if we get a big decision wrong it is very damaging. And in crude terms we are suffering from the after-effects of one misjudged transfer window.

If you have owners who are not considered wealthy seems to be a bit of an excuse to me at times. Yes, of course wealthy owners can use their own wealth to guarantee loans etc. There aren't too many Abramovic's around who hand out their own money.

And I don't just include owners in the mix for a well run club. For instance, I still believe it was daft to send the talent of Maddison out on loan when he could have been helping us stay in the EPL. Who knows if we had remained what we might have achieved?

But then we sold him because we had entrusted the coach with some record signings for us like never before and we were precariously close to administration we are led to believe.

And well run does indeed depend on decisions that have to be precise enough to work well. Major ones like investing in a better academy do not have immediate benefits of course whereas the signing of Buendia did.

Yesterday disappointed me. With the start we have made, leaving aside the unfortunate injury to Sarge, I actually hoped we wouldn't just be bringing in cover but competition as well. We all think we know which player would be good and luckily that is left to the club but until the two signings prove my doubts unwarranted, I remain disappointed and as you alluded to, believe the decisions made were safety first regarding the club's finances. Which of course comes back full circle to well run club.

Anyway, looking forward to Idah continuing his change of attitude and performance today. He knows he in now a first choice for a while and I sincerely want him to prove those of wrong who never doubted his ability but his attitude.

OTBC

Edited September 2, 2023 by keelansgrandad

[Fen Canary 866]

39 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

The emergence of Rowe has obviously given the board breathing room and another jewel they can sell. If that is a well run club then luck must be a skill.

So the board and management deserve no credit for identifying Rowe and aiding his development? I suppose Godfrey, Aarons, Emi, the Murphys, Maddison etc we’re all just strokes of luck as well, rather than a well run academy 

[Big O 225]

44 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

We didn't sign players, IMO, who have a future here. We just temporarily fixed the hole in the bucket.

I think the logic is that we already have the young players that present our future coming through but temp stop gaps and educators are required to bring them through safely. It is in effect the strategy, bring in lots of youngsters and coach at least a few of them through to the first team.

there are enough let go by the big clubs to gamble on some being later developers