nogbad van 50

McG had a stellar year yes but come on, he was getting the supply and was definitely not prolific until last season. Collins wasn't good last season (I really, really didn't rate him) but has looked great in pre-season and Washington was a £2.5m player a few years ago so whilst I agree that'd it'd be great to have another decent striker, I think PW is trying to create a squad that goes up rather than be thin in some positions.
And it wasn't our front line that let us down last year (obvs), it was the defence and we're much, much stronger at the back now. 
IMO we're going up with the squad we have now and PW has said he wants 2 or 3 more so I'll take bets that we'll go up as Champions. 
 

Think you need to take a break and have a kit kat,  that and give your head a wobble.

Great shout and I'd be amazed if we've not approached him but ,sadly,I don't think we'd be able to meet his wages.

Yes and I’m not the one signing him. I’d imagine Warne would base it on much more but what I’m saying is it was clear to see he was sharp and he is still talented. He’d be a real asset at our level. 

.....Well, I couldn't have put it more succinctly myself. Many on here seem to think there's a hidden stash of young goal scoring gems, available at zero cost who can't wait to join DCFC on L1 wages...we need to tinge our hopes and dreams for the coming season with a large dollop of realism...

But as fans we only get to base our opinions on 90 minutes of action once or twice a week. If a manager decides after seeing him on a daily basis that he could be useful for the coming season then surely that supersedes anything else? 
 
Is he the ideal singing? No obviously not. Could he be a useful addition for the coming season? Most likely yes. If we roll the clock back 12 months or so we would see very similar threads for the signings of Wildsmith and Mcgoldrick. Nobody anticipated DM to post his career best numbers last season, he actually missed some glaring chances as well so could have been even more. You’ve got to factor in the drop in quality in the leagues when signing players, Waggy could end up posting similar numbers, we don’t know.

We haven’t assembled Dad’s Army, will you please stop volunteering these unfounded generalisations about the squad?
I’ll once again provide you with some facts, we have so far signed Elder who is 28, Vickers who is 27, Ward who is 27, Wilson who is 23, Nelson who is 30, Bradley who is 31 and Washington who is also 31.
The first team squad includes Bird (22), Cashin (21), Rooney (19), Sibley & Thompson (21), Wildsmith (27) Barkhuizen (30), NML (31), Hourihane Smith & Collins (32).
The oldest outfield player we have is Forsyth at 34 and Loach is the oldest overall player on the books at 35.
Last season we had Curtis Davies (38), James Chester (34), Richard Stearman and David McGoldrick (35). The age profile of the squad this year is improved from last year.
Now specifically on the subject of Waghorn. At 33 is he an ideal signing? No he’s not. Another question, do we want to go into the season with only 2 senior strikers? No we don’t. So would it be logical to sign Waghorn on sensible terms if they can be agreed, to bolster the depth of the squad in the immediate, whilst potentially still looking to secure a younger striker to complete our 4 striking options for the season? Yes it would.
What are the other options? There are a fair few free agents, I’ve been looking through a list this morning. The youngest and most exciting would be Josh Maja at 24, I suspect he’s above our current means and ambitions. Assombalonga and Afobe at 30, could be good options but not sure if they pass your age test? Bas Dost, Islam Slimani, Mattia Destro? All former internationals, would be cheat codes at this level, also all 32-35 and unrealistic. Jonathon Kodija? Was a beast for a couple of seasons at Bristol City and Villa, but he’s also 33. Sean Maguire is 29, left Coventry in the summer, might not be a bad shout.  Macauley Bonne is 27 and scored at this level before so he could be another option. There really aren’t that many viable free agent options. We seemingly have to be sensible with the fees we spend. And any loans could be unproven. That’s the situation we’re in, maybe sign Waghorn to boost the depth and add an option, maybe don’t and look elsewhere 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

I know what you’re saying, I mean why can’t we just sign a tall, fast, good in the air, great touch, good link up play and scores at least 25 goals a season! Oh and on a free, it’s just so frustrating!

Our fan base may well make us the biggest club in this division. We may well be generating two or three times more match day revenue than many of the other clubs. This is of little consequence if the financial restrictions we are being force to operate under, means we are one of the smallest clubs in terms of our spending power in the transfer market.  
Until the EFL allow us to get off the naughty step, this is the situation Warne as to work with. I'm sure Warne was made aware of the budget he'd be working with when he took the job. 
I think Warne as done well in his recruitment so far but unfortunately acquiring the players that can provide the goals needed to get us promoted, may require money being spent on a transfer fee. Something which as I've already said the EFL seem determined to stop us doing. 
So yes while not quite being reduced to scrambling in the dirt. I do believe we'll need all the skills of our recruitment team to find the players Warne will need to finish assembling a squad capable of promotion. 
 

@sage, this is the sort of moronic comment I was referring to.

I like the way you use the closing sentence to sum up your post.
Cant quite decide if some fans have been in a coma for the last few years or are just out of touch with reality. 
 

I get what you mean about McGoldrick and Knight’s individual quality. But do you really think keeping those 2 and only adding Bradley and Elder to a squad that had no recognised right sided defenders, had no backup goalkeeper once the loanee left, only Forsyth, Cashin and Bradley as senior cbs, and Collins and McGoldrick as the striking options supported by Barkhuizen, NML and Sibley would be enough for top 2? It would look something like this;
Gk - Wildsmith/Youth?/Youth?
Lwb - Elder/?
Rwb - Knight and Smith?
Cb - Bradley/Cashin/Forsyth/Rooney
Cm - Hourihane/Bird/Knight or Smith (depending which one is at rb)/Thompson/Youths?
Am/Wf - Sibley/Barkhuizen/NML
CF - McGoldrick/Collins
Even with Knight and McGoldrick that squad needs additions, more depth, better balance. 

I sort of see your point in that I think you’re championing the signing of younger players who might offer something different and exciting with longevity and resale value rather than established but older players….however using Jordon Ibe to support your point isn’t the strongest example given how he last spell turned out. Ebiowei maybe a better option?
There’s no guarantees with any signings, for every Thorne or Ebiowei there’s a Bobby Duncan or second stint Jordon Ibe. If Waghorn signs, it’s to do a job and there’s no amount of worrying or grumbling on our part that changes it, we’ve just got to trust/hope/pray he can still contribute on the pitch to our continued recovery and success as a club. 

My thoughts exactly-knows the club,works hard and can cover 2/3 positions.Good squad player,especially at this level. We all know what he can't do but as Brian Clough used to say about his signings," I've signed him for what he can do!"

Bit of a churlish comment from you for a change! Just to satisfy your pedantry it's a reflection of the fact that he's aware of the club and its expectations,the clubs traditions ,the supporters fanaticism and I ,for one,won't forget his celebrations outside the ground after his brace against Sheff Wed a couple of seasons back. He wore the shirt with pride and it's nothing less  than ii'd expect from him.

It's not about accepting mediocrity, it's about being realistic. Good strikers cost money. Money that we don't really have available to spend at the moment. We've strengthened the squad as much as we can, but we have to make do really. It's impossible to comment on what our best option was at the start of the summer really, but we're still a club in recovery. It is what it is. 

How can it be a no from you without knowing what the other options are? Good strikers are notoriously difficult to get, especially in league one with no real ability to pay a fee. Personally I'm just trusting Warne will choose the best options available to him, if it happens to be Waghorn then so be it. 

And that’s the thing. The divided opinion on here in a nut shell. “We need a young dynamic lower league find not an old journeyman at the end of his career who’s legs have gone .” Versus .. “he’s done it before he can do it again and that young lad has no track record and didn’t score enough anyway” … Thing is both carry risks and rewards 
 
You simply have to trust the manager and scouts. …. And then say “I told you so” 🤣

Radcliffe was brought in for our U21 side - let him have a season there and call upon him when needed. He can also play CB, apparently, so if we're not bringing in another then he becomes cover for one of the three positions there too. 

Think if Radcliffe could go on loan and get 30+ starts somewhere this season it’d really benefit him. I think Thompson and Robinson are just ahead of him so his minutes might be limited 

Cant imagine Ipswich wanting Barkhuizen or valuing Sibley at 500k, Maybe something like that could work for Nombe at exter, but I’d offer Barkhuizen on a permanent + Radcliffe on loan and next to no fee.

Ask Jack Marriott the proud owner of both on his CV 

The thing with Waggy as a free agent is that he's on £0 a week... I agree he wouldn't be a starter ...I agree he'd get 10+ goals a season at this level...and also agree that he'd give us depth to the squad... which we don't have on the front line. Not an ideal but younger more prolific players don't exist at this level...

I agree that players obviously need to push for as much money as possible but I don't agree that the signings don't see Derby as a decent move. I'm not delusional and saying we're a huge club but we've got the history, decent ground, decent fans (in that we're not too demanding) and the training facilities are top class.
Obviously I'm biased but I don't think there's a L1 club close to having our combination of infrastructure, fan base and history (Bolton have the history but little else, maybe Portsmouth too). I doubt these lads would have signed for Cheltenham Town even if they paid 20%+ more in wages. Would you want your legacy to have DCFC on it or Fleetwood Town...? 
So I do think, given where these lads have come from, they would see playing for us as an honour. Have you see Luton's ground...?! 😉

He is an intelligent business man with a capable team around him. All football teams finances are a matter of public record once filed. It isn't hard to work out what every team spent on wages and fees in league 1, factor in inflation and compare to our own finances. He also has a manager who has worked in L1 and knows what a good budget is.