Rate the transfer window

Ccfcisparks said:

I dont think either would get the interest that means we would sell them

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Your probably right but despite what DK has brought to the club I watched the In the boardroom interview/blog with him and he clearly said he wasn’t here to chuck money into anything without a return and I believe at some point he’ll cash in stock as he called it leaving us disappointed. It’s a good watch on you tube if you haven’t already seen it.

ccfcno9 said:

Your probably right but despite what DK has brought to the club I watched the In the boardroom interview/blog with him and he clearly said he wasn’t here to chuck money into anything without a return and I believe at some point he’ll cash in stock as he called it leaving us disappointed. It’s a good watch on you tube if you haven’t already seen it.

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Depends if he sells us to a sheikh

Are we allowed to judge it now?

Seem short on the left side, have players that will have to not be registered as we could not shift them, and lacking that key man in the middle.

Went with a 5 and sticking with it. Think we’ve ended up with a Championship squad with a few Premier League quality players sprinkled in. Could we have done more with the money spent? Definitely. However, we do also have to consider the limitations we are under in both financially and also with attracting the right quality of player. I’m sure we’ve been turned down by a lot of players this summer, not as publicly as Hull but I’m sure it’s happened all the same, but of the players we’ve signed a few feel like big overpays (Tchaouna and Rushworth in particular). We will see how things settled after a few more weeks, and a big international break to boot, but as things stand I think Lampard has big task on his hand keeping us up with this squad.

4. We’ve bought players on the up and the way down. Rushworth aside we’ve not bought a single player aged between 24 and 28. Essentially Doug can’t afford/will not pay for players at their peak. The ‘Coventry way’ I guess…

I personally dont think we got the balance right. But that might not be down to strategy might just be competition, money or preference of a player. Anyway no time to moan we have got the 25 names and until jan comes that doesn't change.

I like the business we have done, just would’ve preferred 2-3 signings.

We’ll probably end up playing 5-3-2/3-4-3 variations at times this season.

Don't see how we can make any judgement based on just two league games.

Been here before haven't we and players have been judged and written off far too early in previous seasons.

We have trusted Lampard before. Why can't we trust him now?

4 - We have brought in players with potential rather than those ready to fight for a place and play in the toughest league in the world.
What worries me is Hull and Ipswich have followed the Sunderland, Forest model which is proven to work and King has just decided to do his own thing.
This leaves us with glaring holes at LB, LW and CM. I think we really needed an experienced head in the middle of the park. Cherif really concerns me, previous club in a rush to move him on and then not fit having spent £20m and also doesn’t speak the language.
I’ve accepted we are going straight back down and the whole Yo-yo thing isn’t guaranteed at all. I really hope we somehow scrape 17th and would accept that now.
I hope people don’t turn on Lampard and King doesn’t suddenly bin him for a Dyche but can see it happening.
That said I will get behind the team and support them and hope they prove me wrong and keep us up or at least battle to the last day.

Way too early to judge after two games

Let's see where we are after 10 games

I am surprised there were not more outgoings though, particularly as permanent transfers

8. We spent £120m. We signed a possible future England keeper. Yirenkyi could be a world star. Amenda looks a steal. Mfuni is serious talent. Cherif I’m trusting in the scouting and Tchouana looks good competition for Saka. The only one I wouldn’t have done is Hamer. Cheap but looks a spent force. Awoniyi = decent value for money as a CF

Worst case scenario now at least is we go down with a parachute payment, make a return on Amenda and Yirenchi ( and maybe Rushworth, Cherif and Rudoni) and balance the books in the Championship with a still half decent, competitive squad.

I felt a lot didn't come off as we perhaps expected this window, plus I question how much thought went into some of our signings. A brief summary:

Amenda and Yirenkyi we'll likely make a significant profit on all being well and genuinely seem like sizeable upgrades from what we had previously.

I thought Brighton had our pants down with Rushworth if I'm honest. It's a massively inflated fee for a GK which prior to this season hasn't played a single game in any top flight division anywhere.

Putting Pinnock on a 3+1 year contract is completely bizarre to me regardless of whether we needed experience of not. We were clearly held to ransom and we knew we needed the experience so folded on his demands. Concerned by his age and whether he has the legs for starting week in, week out. Could've done with bringing in another really.

Awonyi we'll need to wrap in cotton wool but if we can keep him fit I think he'll be a good addition.

Not particularly impressed of what I've seen of Tchaouna so far, but we'll see after a run of games when he's settled.

Cherif screams of a signing that we went for him because he became available and we acted quickly. Highly rated though so lets see how he progresses. Funds perhaps could've been better spent elsewhere though.

Mfuni seems well thought of but it's a big ask for him this season given his age. Personally I think it's a bit of a disaster not bringing in an established LB and we'll still have to largely rely on JSD until Jan.

Big gap at LW. You can't rely on EMC for a full season and there's no one really to rotate with him other than I'm guessing Cherif or Wright once he's recovered?

Concerned with the lack of depth at CDM. I would've looked to bring in someone better than Grimes as I'm just not sure he's a PL player.

Hamer's conditioning could be a real issue this season. One which seemed like a good deal at the time due to the value but again, was it money well spent?

Another big criticism I have is we should've been more proactive in moving players on. What was the reason behind us failing to generate any fees for fringe players? That's frankly appalling given we finished top by some distance last season.

Ultimately, I think it's going to be a very long season and I suspect we'll have to do a lot of business in Jan if we have any hope of staying up.

Totally blown the window and our first chance back in 25 years. Hull and Ipswich have recruited far better and for a clear system. We have overpaid on Tchouma who isn’t any better than what we already have.

Maybe desperate Dean wasn’t the right person to manage a £120M budget - with his former recruitment experience being at Woking and Northampton.

January window will be so expensive we won’t be able to get anybody in and could have drifted 15-20 points from safety by then.

Otis said:

Don't see how we can make any judgement based on just two league games.

Been here before haven't we and players have been judged and written off far too early in previous seasons.

We have trusted Lampard before. Why can't we trust him now?

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Just for context these were last season's signings
Rushworth - Hit
Onyeka - Hit
KKH - miss (great player but injured and didn't force his way in or even trusted to rotate with MVE)
Yang - miss
Esse - miss (2-3 good games then disappeared down the pecking order)
Wolfie - miss
Markelo - miss
Brau - miss

Still a bit early to be able to know, but initial impressions:

Signings:

Rushworth
VFM: 5.5 Current ability:7 Potential: 8
Happy we got him, but fee was higher than expected and the deal took ages, and though more than one deal will be worked on a one time, it taking ages meant we couldn't focus our attention on others.

Bentley
VFM: 2 CA: 5.5 P: 4
Odd signing. We needed another keeper if we hoped to send Dovin on loan for fitness but I expected it to be a free transfer given we don't expect them to play. Looked shaky in his one game and don't see him as much of an improvement on Wilson as a back-up

Amenda
VFM: 8 CA: 7.5 P:8
Looks like the signing of the summer. Seems ready for the PL and will likely be sold for big money next summer.

Pinnock
VFM: 5 CA: 7 P:4
Brings PL experience to the backline but ATM I have doubts about whether 'his legs have gone' a bit. Not played much in recent seasons so is a bit of an unknown quantity in that respect.

Mfuni
VFM: N/A CA: ? P:8+
Bit of an unknown quantity. Highly rated but is an 18yo with a handful of games under his belt and used to playing in one of the best set-ups in the world going to be able to make a difference to a team that is likely to be struggling and playing lower quality football?

Onyeka
VFM:6 CA:6.5 P:6
Should provide some bite to the midfield but falls down on technical ability. Has been rarely used by Brentford in recent seasons suggesting his ability at this level is limited.

Hamer
VFM: 5.5 CA:7 P:6
Can add a creative spark but his lifestyle is not good for Pl level. If his few appearances doesn't look near the player that left and seems to be blowing out of his arse after 20 mins. Probably end up as a sub when we're looking for a moment of magic.

Yirenkyi
VFM:6 CA:6.5 P:8
Paid a lot for a youngster who for most teams would be a development project. We need him performing now. So far has shown flashes of ability but also naivety and that he has a lot to learn as it's a big step up from the Danish league.

Tchaouna
VFM:5 CA:6 P:7
£20m will include a lot of add-ons, but still paid a hefty fee for a player relegated last season. Has slowed down a number of our attacks thus far passing back but could be dangerous if he has confidence. Seems to drift inside but doesn't shirk defensive duties. Think he'll blow hot and cold. Put it this way - do we think he looks better than EMC? Who we bought for £4.5m?

Awoniyi
VFM:6 CA:6.5 P:6.5
Adds PL experience and will give his all. Can hold up the ball and up for the physical challenge. However, also injury prone and has never been prolific, which isn't great for a team that isn't likely to create tons of chances. Don't think he'll be able to manage 90mins at high intensity.

Cherif
VFM:5.5 CA:6 P:8+
Could go on to be a superstar or fade into obscurity, but right now he's a youngster learning his trade and hasn't set the scoring charts ablaze with his proficiency in front of goal. Needing a personal fitness plan straight after signing just to get him to the required base level isn't great. Is he going to add enough to the squad RIGHT NOW to warrant the big fee?

So overall I think we've paid a fair or above price for most of our signings rather than got great deals and most of them have doubts or deficiencies.

Squad Balance
We've got 6 CB's but our back-up LB is a 33yo who looked past it in the Championship last season or an 18yo CB moving across to a less favoured position.
We've got 6CM's (3 of whom we signed in this window) yet somehow we still look very light in this department and lacking a proper DCM and playmaker.
Then we've got one dedicated LW and then either two CF's who could potentially play as an inside left forward or a RW who could shift across if absolutely necessary.

Squad balance just looks out and I'm not entirely sure what the plan is with the signings. While I like squads to have different options it just feels a bit scattergun rather than a concerted effort to fill gaps and deficiencies in the squad.

Less importantly, the U21's still look unbalanced, and we've got more U21 keepers than we do strikers.

Outgoings
Very strange. We did (eventually) get Dovin a loan to get his fitness back up and sent a few out on loan. But the fact we couldn't get someone to pay a fee for Kitching and having to loan him is poor.

Plus we've still got the likes of Lati, Bidwell, Woolf (albeit injured), probably one of Eccles or Torp and BTA who in all reality should have been moved on and there must be enough in fees and wages there for one or two more quality incomings.

Although Wright's injury has caused problems, Simms entering the last year of his contract and still being in limbo about where he fits in is poor management. Either sell him or get him a new contract. And personally if Wright had been fit I'd have probably looked to sell him instead/as well as I think he's at his peak value for us.

The fact a team that pissed the Championship last year can't offload some of the players involved with it to Championship teams is damning. Makes you wonder just how good a deal maker Doug really is? So far we've not sold many of the players bought under him so it remains to be seen.


TLDR - I'd give the transfer window a 4.5/10

Earlsdon-Loyal-Blue said:

Totally blown the window and our first chance back in 25 years. Hull and Ipswich have recruited far better and for a clear system. We have overpaid on Tchouma who isn’t any better than what we already have.

Maybe desperate Dean wasn’t the right person to manage a £120M budget - with his former recruitment experience being at Woking and Northampton.

January window will be so expensive we won’t be able to get anybody in and could have drifted 15-20 points from safety by then.

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Hulls owner is a complete clown. I doubt they’ll survive and will end up like Sheffield Wednesday

Grendel said:

Hulls owner is a complete clown. I doubt they’ll survive and will end up like Sheffield Wednesday

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I dont think they will end up like Sheff W

Ccfcisparks said:

I dont think they will end up like Sheff W

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he’s a lunatic with it seems a very short boredom threshold. They’ve signed 18 players with very little apparent quality.

Grendel said:

he’s a lunatic with it seems a very short boredom threshold. They’ve signed 18 players with very little apparent quality.

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Where have you got this assumption that they are very little quality?

Ccfcisparks said:

Where have you got this assumption that they are very little quality?

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which do you think are and would think “yes I’d like them compared to our players” ?

Grendel said:

which do you think are and would think “yes I’d like them compared to our players” ?

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No no. I asked you the question. What evidence do you have they are little quality

skybluecam said:

We’ve done and spent more than I ever imagined

Confusing thing is why we’ve not signed a left back yet, and Mfuni is not the calibre I would’ve wanted. Also can’t quite understand why we’ve had 3 wingers leave since last season (Esse, Markelo, Yang) and only brought one in. Unless the plan is to play Cherif there. Hamer can’t play out wide.

Hamer signing isn’t baffling at all, cheap punt on a player who knows the club already.

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The only thing I will say with Hamer is that he may have been brought in view of the potential relegation to provide quality in the championship and he had run his contract down with Sheffield Utd

The most important thing for me is that we don't spend money so frivolously we jeopardize the future of the club. The reality is most promoted sides get relegated and spending lots of money does not guarantee success. Right now it seems that we are struggling to land some of our targets because they would prefer to go elsewhere (wages presumably being the main factor). Lets not forget we punched above our weight last season. If we are to survive we will have to punch even higher.

Our biggest problem is that I don't think we can play the same way as we did last season to have success at this level. We don't have enough quality. We will need to adapt our style/tactics and do so quickly. If we get relegated hopefully we learn lessons that will help us bounce back and have a better chance second time around.

I can't tell if the 4 that rated it 10 out of 10 actually mean it or are just taking the piss.

stupot07 said:

I can't tell if the 4 that rated it 10 out of 10 actually mean it or are just taking the piss.

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Look at who liked it. Clearly they believe it.

Article from Sky - Premier League transfer window: Sky Sports reporters rank your club's summer after dramatic Deadline Day
Rated us 8/10

If you had said we will spend 120mil before the window most would have been happy. What puts it into perspective is what other teams have spent with a number spending that much on a single player. Hull spending a 1/4 more than us and Ipswich over 50% more. I thought we had a chance of staying up before the season but now think we have less of a chance of pulling it off.

San Francisco said:

Article from Sky - Premier League transfer window: Sky Sports reporters rank your club's summer after dramatic Deadline Day
Rated us 8/10

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Someone needs to tell them you cannot rate transfer windows until the players have had chance to bed in

Ask again at Xmas.

San Francisco said:

Article from Sky - Premier League transfer window: Sky Sports reporters rank your club's summer after dramatic Deadline Day
Rated us 8/10

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Saw that, Mirror rated it as a C- (Hull B+, Ipswich B)

We've finished the window with a left side of EMC/BTA and Dasilva/Bidwell

Plus we've added a 19 year old who is apparently not fit and a 29 year old that has never been fit.

Liquid Gold said:

We've finished the window with a left side of EMC/BTA and Dasilva/Bidwell

Plus we've added a 19 year old who is apparently not fit and a 29 year old that has never been fit.

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Apart from that though...

San Francisco said:

Article from Sky - Premier League transfer window: Sky Sports reporters rank your club's summer after dramatic Deadline Day
Rated us 8/10

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Very odd article, seems they are afraid of pissing everyone off as every rating is between 7 and 9 out of 10.

Everybody but Everton that is who got a 2/10.