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Go on then…Rate the summer 2024 Transfer window.


gdm

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Positives

We kept our important players.

No looming point deductions.

Got rid of some deadwood.

Got a couple of project players.

 

Negatives

Didn't improve key positions.

Got involved in a transfer saga that made us look like amateurs.

Potentially sold the answer to our RW problems.

 

5/10

 

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I'm still digesting it all really, but undoubtedly a poor window.

 

It feels like there's a couple of things at play:

 

1) PSR. PSR is not only limiting our transfer spend, but our mentality too. Rather than be bold or innovative, we've become incredibly risk adverse, placing a handicap on the pool of targets we're willing to bid on in fear of buying a dud.

 

2) Executive upheaval. Staveley leaving and Mitchell being appointed has definitely caused disruption of sorts. It might not be sinister, but it felt chaotic and had a reactive feel to things.

 

3) An inability to shift players. Fair enough,  it was a slow market, but to still have all of Targett, Trippier, Longstaff, Almiron and Wilson on the books when we were allegedly willing to listen to offers for all of them is a poor showing and is unhelpful from a PSR perspective.

 

Usually I struggle to grumble with our incoming transfer business, but this was undoubtedly a blip and the narrative of the window will only put the pressure on Mitchell and Eales moving forward. I fully expect the former to start to implement changes in the coming months, along with a PR campaign including new contracts and a stadium announcement from the latter.

 

 

Edited by The Prophet

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It's a 2/10 unfortunately

 

First team not strengthened at all

Squad strengthened slightly

Deadwood mostly still here

 

It's basically pigshit. It's a collective failure and we've been made to look like fucking idiots considering we're throwing in £60m bids for a month and still not getting players in. Couldn't even get a player on loan to paper over the cracks 

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Just now, midds said:

It's a 2/10 unfortunately

 

First team not strengthened at all

Squad strengthened slightly

Deadwood mostly still here

 

It's basically pigshit. It's a collective failure and we've been made to look like fucking idiots considering we're throwing in £60m bids for a month and still not getting players in. Couldn't even get a player on loan to paper over the cracks 

Spot on

 

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1/10

 

Why?

5 keepers 

no CB

no RW

Hayden 

J Lewis 

M Targett

Almiron 

Wasted an entire summer 

 

The 1 is for Osula as we needed a young striker 

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Poop. All the talk about strict criteria for signings is extremely baffling and actually worrying. Talking like the squad is home and hosed already. We've got blatant gaps all over the place.

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Shambolic. Can't even bring myself to give it a numerical rating, but it was shit. I'm sure the two senior outfield acquisitions we made will be good signings in their own right but they feel very much like side dishes next to an empty plate.

 

If you look past the Hall loan-to-buy creative accounting, we've basically spent £10m on first-team players in two transfer windows. It's not good enough.

 

5 senior keepers on the books, of which only one is up to snuff. The one who was a large part of us not getting a European spot retaining his no. 2 position and only an injury or a red card away from a repeat.

 

Still loads of unwanted or unused players hanging around that we weren't able to shift. 

 

Two full-backs starting at centre-back again at the weekend and nothing done about it. 

 

It's really, really poor. I know the motivation and the effort to succeed from all involved at the club is not comparable in any way to the Ashley era windows, but the disappointment and end result of this window feels like one. Couple of cheap squad lads brought in, no action at the end of the window while everyone round us strengthens.

 

Total shite and I hope the club review it thoroughly and make sure it doesn't pan out like this again.

 

 

Edited by Pilko

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1 minute ago, ElDiablo said:

Poop. All the talk about strict criteria for signings is extremely baffling and actually worrying. Talking like the squad is home and hosed already. We've got blatant gaps all over the place.

It’s about being careful with our money. Their wasn’t a strict criteria when we were about to sign Tosin for free 

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It was expected that we would sell a big name player...  and the club found a way to avoid that.

 

That should be considered an achievement somewhat guys [emoji38]

 

We kept Isak, Bruno, Gordon, Big Joe, etc.

 

Must count for something.

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Five

 

It was a window that we couldnt afford to go big on a player and get it wrong, itll be the same for the next 3+ windows. We dont have the luxury of going for a player like Chiesa and for it not to work. Everytime we spend it has to work, Guehi was clearly identified as the lowest risk (albeit at a premium). 

 

Matt Targett is the closest player we have to being a miss and the fans are already critical of the signing and he is now a finacial burden on the club.

 

I'd have liked for us to sign players but we cant spunk money away only to then have to replace them with a smaller bankroll.

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1 minute ago, gdm said:

It’s about being careful with our money. Their wasn’t a strict criteria when we were about to sign Tosin for free 

 

Of course we should be diligent and smart with money. There's a myriad of professionals at the club hired to facilitate that. When they have been unable to deliver any progress at all, when other clubs seem to have managed OK playing under the same rules, I think is cause for concern. This criteria seems to have been dogmatic and it's harmed our chances of competing this year.

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15 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

Rather than be bold or innovative, we've become incredibly risk adverse

This is absolutely key. The usual suspects can spunk millions on absolutely unproven players and if it doesn't work out, no matter. Buy again. We just can't take that route, forcing us into this corner we've been boxed into in the summer

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Got a whole season to enjoy first, but next summer feels like crunch time.

 

Loads of players our of contract. Obviously some will be offered a new deal, but we may need cash in the bank or a sizeable sale to restock the squad.

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2/10. Kept good players but how long for? And are their hearts in it now?

 

No interest in “being clever in the market” that we hear about when it comes to navigating PSR. Instead we’ve tried to spend £70m on an England based player.

 

It isn’t the lack of signings that’s done it for me. Could’ve quite easily swallowed that but there’s clearly something not right behind the scenes and it needs sorted ASAP. Hope to see some imagination in the market moving forward, whatever needs to happen to get to that point. 

 

 

Edited by Danh1

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3 minutes ago, Tiotes Witch Doctor said:

2/10

 

Shambolic, absolute amateur hour, trust in those running the club is slowly eroding.

 

:lol:

 

@Andy pull the fucking trigger will you please. Done with reading this shite for my own mental health. Ta. 

 

 

Edited by Optimistic Nut

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Disaster. 1/10.

Second summerwindow in a row, where those signed have next to no impact on the upcoming season.

 

 

Edited by matta

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+ We didn't sell Isak, Gordon, or Bruno but...

 

- reportedly unsettled one of them and significantly increased the likelihood of losing them all

 

+ Signed a 3rd striker and a defender, but

 

- the striker is an unknown quantity, with our 2nd striker being permacrocked and...

 

- the defender is potentially injury prone

 

+ Got rid of Fraser and got Ritchie, Dummett, Karius off the books, but...

 

- Lost Anderson and Minteh and somehow managed to downgrade our 'keepers without getting a number 2

 

- No centre back

- No right winger

- No 2nd goalkeeper 

- No dedicated DM

 

- we're weaker now than we were 12 months ago, not just in our starting XI but in terms of depth too

 

- a couple of key injuries and we're absolutely fucked

 

- the Guehi saga was up there as one of the most embarrassing transfer attempts I've seen our club involved in, which is really saying something 

 

- our recruitment tactics look borderline unhinged and all of it has invited questions and additional pressure on the team, manager, and club

 

In summary it's been inconceivably shit, so bad that if anyone told you this would be the outcome 3 days ago, let alone 2 months ago, you'd think they were off their rocker.

 

In insisting on only attempting to take big steps forward we've not only not taken any smaller steps forward while every club around us has, but we've also jeapordised the steps we've already taken. It's been the very definition of the expression 'letting perfect be the enemy of better'

 

2/10 solely on the basis that Anderson and Minteh weren't Gordon and/or another. Naive, unprofessional, bone-headed, potentially damaging and lamented with irrelevant excuses. A transfer window that already felt like a pumped up Bowyer/Anita one as it was happening, without any need for hindsight.

 

So bad that my previous excitement for us pushing on with the project and potentially pushing for 4th or even 3rd is now downgraded to 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th and concern over Howe's position and the players I would have been confident would stay with a successful 24/25.

 

Hated it. Nearly as bad as it gets, particularly considering the pre-transfer window excitement  :lol:

 

 

Edited by Kid Icarus

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