Rate Our Window!

[Canary dwarf 221]

33 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Webber has pulled it off again whilst securing the financial future of the club should we not get promoted. 

I cant believe some of the negativity I've read about Batth. A player who got POTS in a team that finished above us last season, who their fans love, to be our third choice CB. Who did people think we would get better?

No idea about the Striker we've signed so not going to pretend to know if that's good or not. But every other signing so far hasn't been a let down.

I think @Dean Coneys boots and @cambridgeshire canary are being far too simplistic re long term outlook. The likes of Batth on a one year deal is with the long term view of us having 4 young CBs getting first team football and potentially finding their way into the first team.

The likes of Stacey, Gini, Fassnacht aren't old.

Then we have Sargent, Idah, Rowe, Warner, Sainz. Fisher all as young players in and around the first team.

Probably the most balanced we've been in a while.

I didn't know bath was their  player of the season and he was so popular with the fans maybe doesn't seem like such a bad signing after all ,why did he not stay there , was he not offered a new contract ? Did he just want too leave ?

[Harry53 209]

2 hours ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Personally, I've gone 'satisfied'. 

We've addressed the key problem from the end of last season, mainly the fact we were a soft touch. Barnes, Duffy, Batth, Stacey, even Fassnacht and Forshaw, all add leadership, experience and mental toughness.

These new players have hundreds of games each at Premier League and Championship level (bar Fassnacht, obviously) and provided they still have the hunger, will be good additions and complement the younger players and those still adapting to English football like Rowe, Idah, Sargent, Gibbs, Sainz, Sara and Nuñez.

We also have a consistent tactical plan and players have been brought in to reflect that. This is in contrast to the last couple of summers, which seemed at times like we were signing players first and then figuring out how to use them afterwards.

The only slight disappointment is that we've sold Omobamidele, Rashica and Aarons for £35m and spent hardly any of it. The new recruits collectively are likely on less money than Pukki, Krul and the other biggish earners we've shifted, and the only transfer fee of note has been the couple of million for Fassnacht.

Also, if (and it is still an 'if') Sargent is out long term, we're looking at just three players in Barnes, Idah and Hwang for two positions, before we start with round pegs in square holes or changing systems. It's a little disappointing we didn't spend a little more to ensure we got another quality forward in, even if it were just a loan.

All in all though, I'm satisfied. My prediction before the season started was 9th, but with the squad as it is now we should be looking at the playoffs.

You may be disappointed we didn't spend any money,  but we didn't need to. Also we are in debt so the money probably goes towards paying off this. Personally I think the recruitment has been spot on. We have all had our moan about SW appalling overspend on previous recruitment, but I feel he has redeemed himself with what look like excellent additions to the squad.

Signing the South Korean looks to be very astute business. All these signings only add to the excitement for what this season could bring. 

[Branston Pickle 3,659]

1 minute ago, Canary dwarf said:

I didn't know bath was their  player of the season and he was so popular with the fans maybe doesn't seem like such a bad signing after all ,why did he not stay there , was he not offered a new contract ? Did he just want too leave ?

I think their supporters are asking similar questions.  It seems he nearly went to Blackburn earlier in the window so was obviously made available for transfer - presumably finances played a fairly big part?  I don’t know the ins and outs of their squad but presumably they have bought in someone - he played 40 times last season so would otherwise be a pretty big gap to fill.

[hogesar 9,676]

8 minutes ago, Canary dwarf said:

I didn't know bath was their  player of the season and he was so popular with the fans maybe doesn't seem like such a bad signing after all ,why did he not stay there , was he not offered a new contract ? Did he just want too leave ?

Their fans think it's because he was on high wages and their owners are on a mission to build a really young team. I don't know how true that is but it's what their fans seem to be saying.

[norfolkngood 1,087]

Fantastic free signings by Webber 

good youngster from Man City who I hope to see on bench this season ,

only disappointing bit for me I think the incoming money could of been reinvested in some younger players for the future maybe loaned back to their club for rest of season we could of bullied some of the lesser clubs waving a million for their star youngsters 

[shefcanary 2,409]

2 hours ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

we've sold Omobamidele, Rashica and Aarons for £35m

I think you will find only £22m of that is guaranteed - the remainder will only be received if these players (and their clubs) meet certain milestones. I would say as we stand here today I wouldn't like to gamble on more than a couple of million ever being received!

[Canary dwarf 221]

5 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Their fans think it's because he was on high wages and their owners are on a mission to build a really young team. I don't know how true that is but it's what their fans seem to be saying.

I just read on another thread why , it seems they wanted to reduce their wage bill , however the fans aren't happy !

[daly 501]

2 hours ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

I suppose for the short term its a semi decent gamble. A hardened season pro for the defence and an unknown gamble up top as a brief sticking plaster is an OK 6.5/10.

 

But for the long term? Dear oh dear. 2/10

Long term 0/100

Been here since 46/47 season 

Nothings changed

Edited September 2, 2023 by daly

[graz 22]

Compared to the brainless scattergun approach to signings we adopted when we last went up,  I'd say this has been pretty good. At least there's been some coherence and logic to the signings and I like the mix of youth and experience.

[ricardo 7,395]

11 minutes ago, daly said:

Long term 0/100

Been here since 46/47 season 

Nothings changed

Haven't seen the Dagenham Girl Pipers lately.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

19 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

I think you will find only £22m of that is guaranteed - the remainder will only be received if these players (and their clubs) meet certain milestones. I would say as we stand here today I wouldn't like to gamble on more than a couple of million ever being received!

Yeah, fair point. £11m for Omobamidele, £7m or so  for Aarons and about £5m for Rashica, I believe. 

It's said that the add-ons for Aarons are 'achievable', do hopefully we'll get a good wedge on top.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821]

1 hour ago, hogesar said:

Webber has pulled it off again whilst securing the financial future of the club should we not get promoted. 

I cant believe some of the negativity I've read about Batth. A player who got POTS in a team that finished above us last season, who their fans love, to be our third choice CB. Who did people think we would get better?

No idea about the Striker we've signed so not going to pretend to know if that's good or not. But every other signing so far hasn't been a let down.

I think @Dean Coneys boots and @cambridgeshire canary are being far too simplistic re long term outlook. The likes of Batth on a one year deal is with the long term view of us having 4 young CBs getting first team football and potentially finding their way into the first team.

The likes of Stacey, Gini, Fassnacht aren't old.

Then we have Sargent, Idah, Rowe, Warner, Sainz. Fisher all as young players in and around the first team.

Probably the most balanced we've been in a while.

I agree with all of this, except the first six words. 

Whilst I'm pleased by the window and think Webber has done well, I think it's too soon to be so conclusive. We've been burnt many times in the past by lauding our transfer window business, only to see some players flop after we had such high hopes. 

Hopefully he has 'pulled it off', but we can't count our chickens.

[Robert N. LiM 4,356]

I think the short and long term look fine. We've bought Championship-ready players and responded to the of lack of experience and lack of leadership in last season's team. We've also made some academy signings that will hopefully strengthen us in the long-term.

I think the question marks are actually over the medium-term. If we get promoted this season, it's hard to say many of the current first XI are PL-ready - even fewer than our last two promotions, I would argue. We'd have to have a sensational window next summer to even have a shot of staying up - and doing business in the PL has long been an Achilles heel for us.

But, even typing that out seems quite entitled. This is a really tough league, and planning for the PL before you've reached it is very, very difficult - I think it might have been at the root of our problems last season. Doing what you can within the club's financial constraints to reach the PL and then start again from there may seem like short-termism to some, but I'm not sure we have another option.

 

[nutty nigel 7,536]

Neither satisfied or dissatisfied. Just glad it's done.

[Ian 1,129]

4 hours ago, Newtopia said:

I do not get the negativity around long term.

We have development players out on loan, in the first team squad we have Gunn, Gibbs, Fisher, Sara, Rowe, Nunez, Idah, and Sargent all of who will sell for multiple millions if they do well.  We also have Tomkinson and Warner who the club seem to rate as well.

It's not rational. No coincidence it's the same attention seeking characters posting excessive negativity for a reaction.

It seems some are literally desperate for something to have a moan amount - I didn't see too many people saying how great it was to have a "squad for the future" last season when we were playing terribly in the here and now.

[PurpleCanary 5,562]

18 minutes ago, Robert N. LiM said:

I think the short and long term look fine. We've bought Championship-ready players and responded to the of lack of experience and lack of leadership in last season's team. We've also made some academy signings that will hopefully strengthen us in the long-term.

I think the question marks are actually over the medium-term. If we get promoted this season, it's hard to say many of the current first XI are PL-ready - even fewer than our last two promotions, I would argue. We'd have to have a sensational window next summer to even have a shot of staying up - and doing business in the PL has long been an Achilles heel for us.

But, even typing that out seems quite entitled. This is a really tough league, and planning for the PL before you've reached it is very, very difficult - I think it might have been at the root of our problems last season. Doing what you can within the club's financial constraints to reach the PL and then start again from there may seem like short-termism to some, but I'm not sure we have another option.

 

Good post. A problem Webber had was that in the Championship he felt he had to adopt a schizophrenic transfer policy. Players to get out of the Championshio AND players good enough for the Premier League. This time it seems clear he concentrated on players to get us out of the Championship, and will worry about the EPL if we get there.

[Conrad 170]

2 hours ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Yeah, fair point. £11m for Omobamidele, £7m or so  for Aarons and about £5m for Rashica, I believe. 

It's said that the add-ons for Aarons are 'achievable', do hopefully we'll get a good wedge on top.

£4m from the Maddison sale? 

[baldy09 156]

Dads Army brings to mind-

[baldy09 156]

3 minutes ago, Conrad said:

£4m from the Maddison sale? 

That should sort the half time pies out for the fans 

[Capt. Pants 4,234]

So 75% are either satisfied or very satisfied.

Just in case anyone hasn't voted yet.

[nutty nigel 7,536]

About the same amount who wanted Farke out...

[daly 501]

9 hours ago, ricardo said:

Haven't seen the Dagenham Girl Pipers lately.

Now that is some memory 🎼🎼🎼🎼

[Yobocop 1,099]

13 hours ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

As a very short term sticking plaster 8/10 

As long term strategy for our future 1/10 

Think we tried the future thing and look where we are 

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

I agree. It seems to me that we've finally found a means to make the self financing club model work. 11 senior players coming in to replace 8 leaving. Fassnacht, Sainz and Hwang are the only ones new to the English leagues and we've also recruited 8 young players. Of these, Fisher has already moved into the first team squad as backup RB and Adegboyega, Lima, Reyes, Manning, Montóia and Ogwuru look to have the potential to do the same and Forsyth has gone out on loan to gain first team experience. That creates an additional level of depth below the first team in case of injuries. That seems to prioritise present and future potential simultaneously. 

[Google Bot 3,278]

4 minutes ago, Yelloow Since 72 said:

I agree. It seems to me that we've finally found a means to make the self financing club model work

Trouble is that the squad relies on a Sarge and Sara who were big money signings.  Have to ask the question that without them where would we be?

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

28 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

Trouble is that the squad relies on a Sarge and Sara who were big money signings.  Have to ask the question that without them where would we be?

Well we're about to find out about Sargent, but a while ago everyone was asking how we will get on without Pukki and where would the goals come from? Rowe has 4 plus 1 in the cup and Barnes, Idah and Fassnacht all have 2 each and hopefully Hwang will settle in quickly.

Sara would be hard to replace but we have added Forshaw (a DM!) as an alternative to McLean and we have considerable depth in midfield now with Manning and Lima in the U21s. As a bonus, Adegboyega has first team experience in Ireland and can also play as a DM.

Edited September 4, 2023 by Yelloow Since 72

[chicken 2,625]

33 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

Trouble is that the squad relies on a Sarge and Sara who were big money signings.  Have to ask the question that without them where would we be?

£8m isn't really big money for a good striker at this level.

[Google Bot 3,278]

2 minutes ago, chicken said:

£8m isn't really big money for a good striker at this level.

Big money for us though, and it was in reply to the suggestion that we've found a model that works based on this seasons strategy.  However, I was pointing out that the strategy wouldn't work without two signings that would break the model of cheap youngers and free signings of experienced players.

We looked much different with Idah leading the line on Saturday, and compare us in pre-season with and without Sara.  Two massive parts of the team that shows that we need to generate cash to bring in that level of player, and not all of them work.

[Google Bot 3,278]

37 minutes ago, Yelloow Since 72 said:

Well we're about to find out about Sargent, but a while ago everyone was asking how we will get on without Pukki and where would the goals come from? Rowe has 4 plus 1 in the cup and Barnes, Idah and Fassnacht all have 2 each and hopefully Hwang will settle in quickly.

Personally, it was clear the goals were going to come from Sarge after his 13 out of position last season and should've been played ahead of Pukki - who looked mentally worn.

Thing is, Idah isn't going to do much if we're wanting him to fill in for Sarge in the same role, I'd love to say he will - but we need not get dragged into a project developing him and trying to pick up points - instead we to bring Hwang in and see what he offers.   But he looks very much like someone who drifts out wide and could as be as frustrating as he is spectacular with his unorthodox style.

37 minutes ago, Yelloow Since 72 said:

Sara would be hard to replace but we have added Forshaw (a DM!) as an alternative to McLean and we have considerable depth in midfield now with Manning and Lima in the U21s. As a bonus, Adegboyega has first team experience in Ireland and can also play as a DM.

As it stands and our great start to the season, losing Sara and Sarge would be a massive blow.  We can talk of potentials, but these are proven standards that cost money and took a while to bed in - but both have age on their side.

I really like Forshaw, but Sara has shown across a season how different we look as a team with him in it vs not.  He's very unique in his ability to defend, carry the ball up the field, good on the ball, great corner ability and has a killer free-kick.  That's a lot of player to replace.

Likewise, Sarge has an engine, eager to chase across the 90 mins, good in the air and has developed a great (telepathic?) link up with Barnes.  That's not something easy to replace.

It's hard to put a finger on what Idah is good at, perhaps better in the box?  Outside of it he's too slow to react and his level of press is a careful jog 90% of the time, I noted Barnes was pretty annoyed with him at times on Saturday.

We need a change of approach if we go with Idah leading the line, and that could send us backwards. It's clear that we're best with the overloads and energy breaking forwards - But Idah comes across as a little dopey and slows most moves as he needs time to think.

Maybe he's better used as a lump up top who's in and round the box?   I really don't know....  I just feel that Sarge/Sara are major key components of this squad and both very hard to replace.  And both players we couldn't afford in this current model that we're relying on.

Edited September 4, 2023 by Google Bot

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

I can see that, but we also have Barnes and Hwang up front and 2 other goalscorers in Rowe and Fassnacht and we have yet to see what Sainz and Hwang can bring. 

As for Sara, it's a drop down to Núñez who has similar skills, but the advantage of Wagner's tactics is that we don't depend on any one player, as the tactics can be tweaked to adjust to player changes. We need more games to see how this will play out over the season as a whole, but at least we shouldn't need players to be played out of position to cover for injuries.