25/26 January Transfer Window (108 Viewers)

[robbiethemole]

Promotion confirmed?

probably not!!

 

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[robbiethemole]

I’m concerned about our away form, nothing else at this moment.

Ipswich have been bottle jobs away from home, their away record is comparable to ours. Likewise, Boro have got to come to our place.

I’ll begin to worry if we lost v QPR and fail to beat Oxford. At that point we could genuinely find ourselves 2nd place with Ipswich breathing down our necks facing Boro at home. Beat QPR and Oxford, I’m confident we beat Boro and put daylight between us again.

It’s pretty normal for things to be tight at the top and teams who have started as quickly as we have do experience small drop offs. Look at Leicester and Ipswich in 23/24.

If before the season started, we’d have been told we were 8 points clear of 3rd and top of the table by February, you’d all be buzzing with that. Yet I’m seeing people lose their nerve and it’s a little bit embarrassing - it’s a rut, and Boro, Ipswich and Hill will hit their own spells of bad form.

but they've both strenghted in midfield whereas we have a fucking gaping hole in ours

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

but they've both strenghted in midfield whereas we have a fucking gaping hole in ours

Dan Neil isn’t better than Grimes or Torp… Jack Taylor has been distinctly average in a v good setup. Neil improves them but not us.

We need a player like Matusiwa who is physical. I’d argue he was one of the key difference makers in both fixtures against us.

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Sending Yang back already?

That's what I'm thinking

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

 

[SkyBlueDom26]

Dan Neil isn’t better than Grimes or Torp… Jack Taylor has been distinctly average in a v good setup. Neil improves them but not us.

We need a player like Matusiwa who is physical. I’d argue he was one of the key difference makers in both fixtures against us.

Neil is definitely better than Torp, and arguably better than grimes. He can actually tackle and run

 

[shmmeee]

Would love to know what our budget is. Do we reckon it’s purely wages holding us back?

 

[SBT]

Would love to know what our budget is. Do we reckon it’s purely wages holding us back?

Holding us back from what? We just signed another player?

 

[hill83]

Holding us back from what? We just signed another player?

Signing more established players that are ending up at Ipswich and similar who have bigger wage budgets.

 

[shmmeee]

Holding us back from what? We just signed another player?

Competing for players with other teams and spending loads on this lad and Bassette and the like who will be cheap wages. We seem happy to spend on fees but not to compete on wages.

 

[SBT]

Competing for players with other teams and spending loads on this lad and Bassette and the like who will be cheap wages. We seem happy to spend on fees but not to compete on wages.

Depends if you think we were ever in on those players - are we assuming that this signing precludes any more business now? Or do you think this is it?

 

[hill83]

Depends if you think we were ever in on those players - are we assuming that this signing precludes any more business now? Or do you think this is it?

Surely a CM will be coming in. Has to be.

 

[theferret]

Would love to know what our budget is. Do we reckon it’s purely wages holding us back?

The fact we spent £8 million, pretty much our entire transfer budget for the season (to this pont) on two players who can't get in the team doesn't help. All this clamour for new signings, the chances of us signing anyone that forces their way into the starting lineup is slim. Sure, we can strengthen the squad and that helps, but can't see us spending the kind of money needed to bring in someone that goes straight in. We have what we have.

 

[shmmeee]

Depends if you think we were ever in on those players - are we assuming that this signing precludes any more business now? Or do you think this is it?

Well it’s more looking at who we do go for. Drop £2m on Bassette and €5m on this lad and £5m on L1 players but won’t get Bamford in or whatever.

Mostly I’m genuinely curious what our constraints are.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Neil is definitely better than Torp, and arguably better than grimes. He can actually tackle and run

You’re tripping.

 

[shmmeee]

The fact we spent £8 million, pretty much our entire transfer budget for the season (seemingly) on two players who can't get in the team doesn't help. All this clamour for new signings, the chances of us signing anyone that forces their way into the starting lineup is slim. Sure, we can strengthen the squad and that helps, but can't see us spending the kind of money needed to bring in someone that goes straight in. We have what we have.

We are spending that money though, just not on players who go straight in. Thats what makes it weird.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Well it’s more looking at who we do go for. Drop £2m on Bassette and €5m on this lad and £5m on L1 players but won’t get Bamford in or whatever.

Mostly I’m genuinely curious what our constraints are.

When you have 3 strikers in double figures for the season, that’s probably a constraint…

 

[shmmeee]

When you have 3 strikers in double figures for the season, that’s probably a constraint…

Eh?

edit: with you now. I suppose if it’s not down to Lampard but we’ve just spent €5m on a right winger when we’ve got two already. Would genuinely have made more sense to spend it on a LB at least. Just seems weird from the outside.

 

[SBT]

Well it’s more looking at who we do go for. Drop £2m on Bassette and €5m on this lad and £5m on L1 players but won’t get Bamford in or whatever.

Mostly I’m genuinely curious what our constraints are.

This guy’s costing £5 million?! Hadn’t seen that…

 

[Para1140]

Frank seems to be obsessed with wingers and playing gun ho outscoring the opposition

 

[shmmeee]

This guy’s costing £5 million?! Hadn’t seen that…

Coventry City: Undisclosed Jahnoah Markelo fee revealed in Switzerland

Whilst it’s not rare for transfers to be completed and the fee to be undisclosed by clubs, it usually comes out pretty quickly. That’s the case with Coventry City and Jahnoah Markelo. Coventry City and FC Zurich clearly agreed to not officially disclose the transfer fee, however, someone has...

sportwitness.co.uk

 

[quinn1971]

Strange one that, 3rd choice RW… obviously saving the big one until Monday

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Eh?

edit: with you now. I suppose if it’s not down to Lampard but we’ve just spent €5m on a right winger when we’ve got two already. Would genuinely have made more sense to spend it on a LB at least. Just seems weird from the outside.

I’ll reserve judgement for now but you’d think we have a plan for him and potentially other players.

My gut feeling is that I can just see Sakamoto being moved somewhere else. Maybe LW or even AM, why else sign 2 RW? Since Sunderland away (2-2), I’ve wanted to see him play LW (or even LWB in niche examples) again because he’s got a good delivery. At AM, perhaps he gives us a bit of legs off the ball but question how well he’d do with 2-4 players around him.

 

[David O'Day]

Neil is definitely better than Torp, and arguably better than grimes. He can actually tackle and run

Torp's been great this season.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Torp's been great this season.

It’s just a ridiculous thing to say. Neil is a good player but 2 goals and 3 assists last season doesn’t necessarily strike me as being a huge game changer.

He’s better than Jack Taylor imo, so upgrades their options.

Looking at Grimes v Neil head to head in 24/25, Grimes is the better player with Neil being more solid defensively. Torp is obviously much better than both players as a chance creator.

 

[Terry Gibson's perm]

Torp's been great this season.

I like Torp but he does get overrun at times.

 

[Nick]

I like Torp but he does get overrun at times.

So does everybody with the way we play.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

So does everybody with the way we play.

It’s an intensity thing, for the first 50-60 minutes last night, he was good and won the ball high up the pitch. If we had a more physically dominant player than Allen, that’d suit the system v well.

The tactical instruction is to clearly try to win the ball high up the pitch and if the opposition beat the press, to ‘turtle’ defensively in a narrow shape, hence our fullbacks retreat narrowly if they can’t win the ball.

 

[long way home]

If Doug gets the deal for the lad from Brentford he may just redeem himself with me. If we dont see a CM i fear the worst. The new signing lets give the benefit of the doubt, need to see him play before i pass judgement.

 

[19Skybluearmy76]

Well this came out of the blue, let's hope there's more to follow. It seems strange we've forked out a reported £5m for a winger we don't need. The fact this money has been spent gives me hope that there will be other additions in the key areas.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

Sending Yang back already?

Yang is on the left. This guys on the right. Where we've got Sakamoto and Esse.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Strange one that, 3rd choice RW… obviously saving the big one until Monday

Have you ever considered that it’s Sakamoto who’s probably falling down the pecking order?

It’s quite funny because even when we brought Esse in, people were insisting it was competition for Sakamoto and until recently the idea that we was ‘arguably’ better than Esse…

Sakamoto is a cult hero, if you don’t like him, you have no heart. He’s been with the club a while and his numbers are consistently ‘above average’.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

Who???

Jahnoah? No, I don't.

 

[Deity]

Competing for players with other teams and spending loads on this lad and Bassette and the like who will be cheap wages. We seem happy to spend on fees but not to compete on wages.

Jesus you two. Do you ever stop moaning.

Do you know how entitled you sound ?

 

[shmmeee]

Jesus you two. Do you ever stop moaning.

Do you know how entitled you sound ?

Think your reading comprehension has let you down here mate.