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How would you rate our January 2023 Transfer Window?


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Gave it a 7. Looking at it in the longer perspective, I think the ins and outs are well thought out. Gordon looks like someone that will fit our style very well, and Ashby could be a bargain. Shipping Shelvey and Woods makes sense.

In the short perspective it would have been good to get a replacement for Shelvey, but that is something we can do in the summer. I have a lot of patience though and even with our position in the league and the potential for both a cup win and european football, I don't care that much if we succeed this season as long as we take the right steps in the longer perspective.

 

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7. Could have used a midfielder but think they really like Maddison and Leicester wasn't letting him leave in January and he should be obtainable in the summer.  Gordon can play in the midfield and on the wings and Chelsea wanted him for 60m in the summer.  We got rid of some deadwood and the club is much younger today than it was before the window.  

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6 for me. I think the signings are all great prospects, but really would like to have seen some ready to go proven talent coming in to consolidate our CL form. But that isn't necessarily realistic when we have longstanding Big Six teams going after the same players. We will have to be smart in our recruitment, and I feel we have been by snapping up future talent.

 

I think Gordon will be a big hit personally, think he'll be a great fit for Eddie's blueprint. I'm also really happy to have got rid of Wood and avoided handing Shelvey and extended contract. Long term this will be important, even if it's not ideal right now.

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I voted 5 

 

Gordon being the big money signing that has a lot of improving to do. He could end up being an perfect kind of Howe player or he could bomb and I personally think it’s impossible to tell yet. 
 

Ashby looking like a bargain and one we were after for a while but one for the future. 
 

Same with Kuol. 
 

We’ve moved on some ageing squad players but you could make a case that the overall squad is weaker as we’ve haven’t replaced them. 

Getting decent money for Wood was incredible business.

 

I know others aren’t as concerned but the cm situation is at the very best interpretation a massive risk and I think given we’re pushing for a European finish it’s one the club shouldn’t have rolled the dice on. 
 

Im pretty sad about Shelvey leaving too. Assuming we get into Europe he’s a player that could have played his part with the vast increase in games. 

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Gained quality, lost depth.

 

Long term, good. Short term, slightly disappointed that we didn't get a couple more bodies in. After all, everyone else seemed to.

 

Still, they've earned my trust by what they've done so far so no big deal but if we fall outside the top 4 by the end of the season I think there'll be a few eyes cast back to this last month and what we could have done differently.

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Moved on players who don’t have long term futures I.e. Wood, Shelvey, Darlow.
 

Gordon can play attacking midfielder so could be argued he covers Shelvey and as he can play wing allows ASM to play as a third choice striker if needed but would have to be really unlucky for Wilson and Isak to be injured at the same time.
 

Ashby for the future. Overall squad improvement but could have been better. 5/10.

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6. We got players in two of the positions we needed them, but not CM, which is what I feel we needed most. I’m also skeptical about Gordon, I haven’t seen anything impressive from him. Shifting Wood and Shelvey is a plus.

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4 or a 5 for me, probably.

 

I don't know anything about Ashby, and I'm waiting to see about Gordon, though hoping for the best and wishing them both well.

 

To lose an established striker and a midfielder, whatever you think of either of them, and not directly replace them feels risky. Bruno's sending off and Isak's possible concussion underline that. Wood and Shelvey would have been in the squad next week for sure. I wonder what Howe's feelings are on losing those two.

 

Not too fussed if we missed out on Gallagher, if he even was a serious target. Hopefully a couple of decent signings in the summer instead, but we probably can't keep defying gravity with our current squad.

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Gordon is Wood's replacement.  Howe spoke about not replacing him like for like, but with a more flexible player who could play across the front line.

 

Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and until this season City don't really have an old fashioned striker, they have forwards who drift and play out wide if necessary. I think we'll end up going the same way. 

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A little disappointed we didn't bring some quality in the middle, we've been struggling for goals and need someone to unlock low block teams. Didn't like the idea of Gordon mostly because he was one of the faces I hated at Everton but I'm quite excited to see what Howe can do with him now, Ashby looks a huge prospect and we got rid of some high earners from our wage bill. A solid 7/10 with an eye on what we're going to do in the summer. I just hope we've got enough to continue our push on the top 4.

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5 purely because we didnt strengthen where we needed to the most -CM. It wasnt the window i was expecting considering where we are in the table.  We have got to be well ahead of schedule to where they thought we would be. So I was expecting a conserted push in Jan to bring in some quailty to help cement that top 4 finish. The extra income as a result would surely offset any additional spend we would made. You would be able to get more from sponsorship deals alone. 

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Not sure about marks but I think it’s a very positive window. Wood and Shelvey really don’t add anything, finding someone to take them is class. 
 

Signed two very promising young players with a very high ceiling. 
 

I’m sure the club know we need a CM so either they couldn’t get the right person or they decided not to bring forward summer spending. Both understandable. 

 

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Seen in the context of a long term rebuilding project it's understandable that we didn't spend big on players we didn't really want to maintain a position we didn't even expect to be in at this stage.

 

Of course it'd be heartbreaking to see 3rd or 4th slip away after the first half of the season because they didn't bring in some overpriced stopgaps, but our punching so far above our weight is exacerbating it for everyone.

 

I don't think it's been a great window, but I believe in what they're trying to do and I admire them for sticking to the project, assuming that's what's happening :lol:

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Its been an odd window for me.

We've an injury prone main CF (Wilson) and another coming back from long term injury (Isak). Wood was the cover, he's gone. I haven't seen anyone else in the squad play that role in any way that can pass for a couple of games. 

ASM, definitely not. JL7? Well, he seems better adapted to CM now. He can do AM but I don't even think he's much cop holding the ball up with his back to goal tbh. Never seen Gordon play for us so can't really count him, and as I understand it, he didn't score a few from CF for Everton either.

I do like Gordon and have done since I first saw him. Thought he had potential. He hasn't got any better since but hopefully there's room to grow there. He has the necessary physicality.

 

At CM I think it's been poor. We have 4 players for 3 positions. We play super high intensity and EH is not a fan of rotation. Sooner or later one of those players has to get injured or just fatigued.

The 4th won't be fresh either because he's been playing a LW.

It makes the decision to let Shelvey go without a replacement in first (or at all asa it turned out) bad planning. Because now it relies on luck more than normal.

Before people have a go at Shelvey, I thought he looked our best option at 6 last season. Think he was better there than Bruno. This year I can't compare because Shelvey hasn't been available. Bruno has been great though and has looked better than I can remember any of our lot doing! But it does tell me at least that Shelvey could've slotted in and done a job.

You need to be lucky anyway, and we have been. But trusting that to hold all season is inviting trouble.

 

Red cards you can't plan around. That happens.

 

5/10

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Only a 5.5 for me. Happy with Kuol and Ashby, delighted with the amount of money spent - they've backed him handsomely yet again. We've also moved on 2 big squad members saving a few quid in wages and eventual fees too. More than happy with all of that. 

 

Still think the Gordon money could have been spent better to enhance the team though and that is my rather big negative. He might be brilliant and I genuinely hope he is but I'd have preferred a different player being totally honest. 

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It's a 5 for me.  While there were clearly good aspects like getting big earners who didn't contribute much, like Wood and Shelvey, off the wage bill.  Also Kuol and Ashby look like sensible low risk buys with big potential.

 

But it feels like a missed opportunity and we should have been bolder in addressing some obvious weaknesses in the team.

 

Gordon feels like a big risk at that price.

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The opportunity to push on in critical moments has historically been spurned a fair few times, and here was another. Happy to see the back of Wood and Shelvey,but to not replace the latter with a bit more quality could fuck up our CL challenge, and I feel that is a bit reckless.  5 for me 

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10 minutes ago, Holloway said:

The opportunity to push on in critical moments has historically been spurned a fair few times, and here was another. Happy to see the back of Wood and Shelvey,but to not replace the latter with a bit more quality could fuck up our CL challenge, and I feel that is a bit reckless.  5 for me 

 

Is it reckless to risk not qualifying for the Champions League? I think internally they probably see it as an absolute bonus. 

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