Transfer rumours

[MackworthRamIsGod]

Overall yesterday turned out to be decent, what seems like a fantastic addition in defense and a decent goal scoring attacker in Harness, as well as keeping hold of Cash.

Just the elusive striker to have capped it off.

Get one of the free agents, 2 or 3 are more than good enough and survival will look a more realistic proposition.

[Donkey Derby]

46 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

It’s staggering really that Warne’s team basically tries to score a goal by 

1 - get it wide and cross it into the box 

2 - counter attack with pace 

3 - hope we get a set piece and the ball drops kindly for anyone in the box.

So he has had 4 full transfer transfer windows and not sorted getting a centre forward that is tall, strong and can head the football and hopefully bring others into play and be aimed at when we lump it forward that can affect 1&3 

Warne's first transfer window we were under a full embargo

The next 2 we were under working to an EFL business plan

This is the first window he has not had restrictions, although he has had to undertake significant rebuild  in a higher division.

Considering we aren't the most attractive girl in the room, apart from bringing in a target man (who could still be signed from the unattached list) this window has not been that bad.

 

 

Edited August 31 by Donkey Derby

[brady1993]

2 minutes ago, jono said:

Yes, When you think about Mac 1 .. Martin wasn’t exactly the most feared striker but with Russell, Hendrick and Bryson buzzing round  opportunities were created. 

Martin was a case of a clearly talented player who had flaws and therefore for a while a lot of managers struggled to work him out as he didn't fit an archetype. Sometimes he had a bit of success and sometimes he wouldn't. Turned out though if you played to his strengths tactically and got players buzzing around him rather than worrying over what's he not good at.....

I don't think we are in an entirely dissimilar position right now with Yates. I think we've got the personal to get the most out of him and if we can work it out tactically to get the most from him I think he'll likely fly. I think the more we focus on tackling that problem as a club and the less we focus on getting a big target man as a free agent to lump crosses at, the better off we will be. 

[Sparkle]

12 minutes ago, Donkey Derby said:

Warne's first transfer window we were under a full embargo

The next 2 we were under working to an EFL business plan

This is the first window he has not had restrictions, although he has had to undertake significant rebuild  in a higher division.

Considering we aren't the most attractive girl in the room, apart from bringing in a target man (who could still be signed from the unattached list) this window has not been that bad.

 

 

My point was that he has had the opportunity to bring a certain type of player in to suit the way he wants to play despite any restrictions there were or weren’t in place 

[Barney1991]

22 minutes ago, jono said:

Yes, When you think about Mac 1 .. Martin wasn’t exactly the most feared striker but with Russell, Hendrick and Bryson buzzing round  opportunities were created. 

Please don’t mention mac1 I start to reminisce about that football and then realise I’m leaving In 2 hours to watch warne ball 

[On the Ram Page]

1 hour ago, Rich84 said:

All this talk of looking at an OoC striker now the window is shut, we already have 1 senior player too many for the squad, so we'd need to leave 2 out to keep the space open for an incoming.

The squads have to be declared by 11 o'clock tonight I believe,  so unless someone's left / had contract cancelled last minute then there's a couple of tough decisions to be made.

Luthra is a possibility as can use the youth keepers as 3rd choice back up, but who else?

I hear Barks name mentioned, but then why use him in every game so far if the intention was to offload, I know the Yr extension was triggered due to number of games last year, but if he really wasn't in the plans then I would have thought he wouldn't have been used and a conversation would have happened weeks ago to get him off the wage bill

It’s just Barks apparent lack of effort, challenging etc that grinds a bit. He has shown some skill in the past but his performances have been pretty woeful this year, when I thought he may have a point to prove. He would be the one I left out. (We are also still not sure what CBT has to offer yet!)

[Mick Brolly]

Most posters seem to think it’s been a decent window while some are calling it pathetic and embarrassing and saying that we’re certain to finish bottom can’t please everyone

[May Contain Nuts]

16 minutes ago, Mick Brolly said:

Most posters seem to think it’s been a decent window while some are calling it pathetic and embarrassing and saying that we’re certain to finish bottom can’t please everyone

Nobody is calling the whole window pathetic and embarrassing, just the lack of signing a hold up striker. (I'm not agreeing with the viewpoint)

Even these annoyed at the bit we failed at generally think it's been a good window overall.

Edited August 31 by May Contain Nuts

[Castor]

41 minutes ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

Overall yesterday turned out to be decent, what seems like a fantastic addition in defense and a decent goal scoring attacker in Harness, as well as keeping hold of Cash.

Just the elusive striker to have capped it off.

Get one of the free agents, 2 or 3 are more than good enough and survival will look a more realistic proposition.

I think that's the crux of it, If we landed a decent centre forward then it would have been considered a very good window. 

[Chester40]

2 minutes ago, Castor said:

I think that's the crux of it, If we landed a decent centre forward then it would have been considered a very good window. 

Conversely... if we had got the lump (Juke/Smith?) that Warne's detractors were moaning we could get...I'd be more worried.  

It would signal we were going to just rely on tactics that dont use half the team.

Surely now we have signalled we intend to use pace and actually play some football. 

[LeedsCityRam]

42 minutes ago, brady1993 said:

Martin was a case of a clearly talented player who had flaws and therefore for a while a lot of managers struggled to work him out as he didn't fit an archetype. Sometimes he had a bit of success and sometimes he wouldn't. Turned out though if you played to his strengths tactically and got players buzzing around him rather than worrying over what's he not good at.....

I don't think we are in an entirely dissimilar position right now with Yates. I think we've got the personal to get the most out of him and if we can work it out tactically to get the most from him I think he'll likely fly. I think the more we focus on tackling that problem as a club and the less we focus on getting a big target man as a free agent to lump crosses at, the better off we will be. 

Totally agree about potential with Yates & the side setting up to feed him opportunities. The issue this summer hasn't been strikers but the build up play/lack of clear chances created in open play & the additions of Harness & Chirewa should improve us in that regard.

Re big target man, I also wouldn't want a Ladapo type there for us to be aiming punts at but do believe we need that profile of forward in games where we will be penned in & need an out ball. Currently the ball is coming back to us too quickly & that will inevitably lead to 30% possession stats, tired bodies & late defeats. Having a Kazim type CF who is able to hold the ball & bring others into play will greatly improve us particularly on our travels. I don't see Yates as being able to have that same level of impact in those types of games.

[jono]

30 minutes ago, Barney1991 said:

Please don’t mention mac1 I start to reminisce about that football and then realise I’m leaving In 2 hours to watch warne ball 

I think it’s rose tinted. Some great games for sure but I really don’t think this Warne Ball monika is honest. We played in a way the worked in L1 . We did play the ball on the ground at times. Our midfield lacked mobility. We played pragmatic football for the league we were in and the players we had. There is a huge amount of work to do, rebuilding a team with new faces and facing higher quality opposition. One thing Warne does is adapt .. which Mac didn’t and Mac had considerable advantages at his starting point. Give Warne a chance that extends beyond a handful of matches before branding him with an assumed style. 

[IlsonDerby]

If you were grading the transfer window for us I’d give it a B. 

Improved on GK and starting striker, fingers crossed we’ve adequately replaced our central midfield and we’ve bought in 2 very decent supporting attackers from a team who were promoted last season who are huge upgrades on what we had previously.
 

We’ve also added a quality CB which gives flexibility to formations and adds quality. 
 

Too many loans and lack of a different kind of striker for it to be an A. 

[The_Sheriff]

36 minutes ago, Mick Brolly said:

Most posters seem to think it’s been a decent window while some are calling it pathetic and embarrassing and saying that we’re certain to finish bottom can’t please everyone

In reality I can't see how it's a pathetic window.

Goalkeeper I'm very confident is an upgrade

Defence a slight upgrade

Midfield is definitely an upgrade despite losing bird

Strike force has only slightly improved and that's the disappointment but I still think Yates will score a few and there's a free agent or 2 out there if we could get them will give us a solid upgrade.

 

It's far from a 10/10 window as we are still too weak left back. Attacking mid and striker options.   But surely it's a 6 at an absolute minimum.

We have enough to at least scrape survival I think

Edited August 31 by The_Sheriff

[brady1993]

15 minutes ago, Mick Brolly said:

Most posters seem to think it’s been a decent window while some are calling it pathetic and embarrassing and saying that we’re certain to finish bottom can’t please everyone

I think it's because there's good and bad to the window and it just depends where particularly you balance it as to your view.

For whatever reason you want to ascribe it too, I think it's a window were we wanted or maybe had to do too much especially with the resources available. Most of the signings taken in a vacuum look good. Kenzo and Zetterstrom show that we are using a touch more ingenuity in how we acquire players and are both players we can start building a side around over the course of seasons. Phillips is a coup on loan (maybe an expensive one but hard to say), will be a massive injection of quality and makes playing 3 at the back look a more promising prospect. 

Strangely the issues with the window are all things that are bit more ephemeral. Tactically how Warne has set up so far since being with us kinda relies on a tall athletic striker leading the line, and we couldn't get that. I only think that's a problem if Warne rigidly sticks to his guns tactically rather than re-thinking the approach. Most of the signings are short term with many in key positions, 5 signings are loans with what looks like at least 4 are going to be first choice then and a further two signings are in their 30s. This exacerbates that a lot of the signings last year were short term, meaning going into next summer we likely need another big overhaul. The last point is that it still feels like we are stuck between formations and systems. Warne wants 3 at the back but we have (depending on how you count players) 5-6 centre mids and 5-7 wingers, some players are more suited for intricate possesion whilst some more hitting on the break. 

Ultimately I think how good this window will have been depends on how well Warne can build something cohesive to get more than the sum of its parts out of the squad, especially as we don't really have what he'd ideally want for how he wants to setup. 

[Comrade 86]

18 minutes ago, Mick Brolly said:

Most posters seem to think it’s been a decent window while some are calling it pathetic and embarrassing and saying that we’re certain to finish bottom can’t please everyone

I'm teetering between pretty decent and pretty damn good. Of course, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, but it sounds like we were close but no cigar on Al Hamadi which would have made for a stellar window IMO. Folk found it hilarious that a few were predicting a top 2 finish after the last summer window closed and look how that turned out.

In truth, I remain somewhat less confident that he can repeat the dose in the rarefied atmosphere of the Championship, but I'm certainly not putting it past him either. That said, even if we can just consolidate, I'd be more than OK with that, though I conceded that others feel rather differently.

[Elwood P Dowd]

2 minutes ago, LeedsCityRam said:

Totally agree about potential with Yates & the side setting up to feed him opportunities. The issue this summer hasn't been strikers but the build up play/lack of clear chances created in open play & the additions of Harness & Chirewa should improve us in that regard.

Re big target man, I also wouldn't want a Ladapo type there for us to be aiming punts at but do believe we need that profile of forward in games where we will be penned in & need an out ball. Currently the ball is coming back to us too quickly & that will inevitably lead to 30% possession stats, tired bodies & late defeats. Having a Kazim type CF who is able to hold the ball & bring others into play will greatly improve us particularly on our travels. I don't see Yates as being able to have that same level of impact in those types of games.

I do wonder if PW has replaced the CF, would hold the ball up, with a group of players who have the pace to attack as a unit.

A defenders nightmare must be having three pacy players running at him, the big question is can we turn the players pace into goals, can someone stick the ball in the net.

I remember Raheem Sterling when he was all pace and no end product.

 

[Barney1991]

13 minutes ago, jono said:

I think it’s rose tinted. Some great games for sure but I really don’t think this Warne Ball monika is honest. We played in a way the worked in L1 . We did play the ball on the ground at times. Our midfield lacked mobility. We played pragmatic football for the league we were in and the players we had. There is a huge amount of work to do, rebuilding a team with new faces and facing higher quality opposition. One thing Warne does is adapt .. which Mac didn’t and Mac had considerable advantages at his starting point. Give Warne a chance that extends beyond a handful of matches before branding him with an assumed style. 

Mac 1 we were 1 game away from the premier league. If we could have finished and didn’t bottle it with nerves we would have gone up. Still to this day for a play off final was one of the most one sided I’ve seen. Also with a wage bill of about 13 million a year 

Still convinced if he hadn’t gone that summer Mel sacked him the following season with the arrival of dunk we were chasing others we’d have gone up 

Edited August 31 by Barney1991

[brady1993]

11 minutes ago, LeedsCityRam said:

Totally agree about potential with Yates & the side setting up to feed him opportunities. The issue this summer hasn't been strikers but the build up play/lack of clear chances created in open play & the additions of Harness & Chirewa should improve us in that regard.

Re big target man, I also wouldn't want a Ladapo type there for us to be aiming punts at but do believe we need that profile of forward in games where we will be penned in & need an out ball. Currently the ball is coming back to us too quickly & that will inevitably lead to 30% possession stats, tired bodies & late defeats. Having a Kazim type CF who is able to hold the ball & bring others into play will greatly improve us particularly on our travels. I don't see Yates as being able to have that same level of impact in those types of games.

I don't disagree. My point is that plan A so far under Warne and with how we've approached this window has hinged on getting a physical striker in as first choice to play with Yates. I'm saying that as a plan should be completely scrapped and re-thought as to how we best use Yates with what we have and how we keep the ball better without relying on somebody to punt it up to.

Getting a target man who's better than Collins in with that being the plan B is fine but given the market we are now shopping in and given were we are at in the season, I think it does need to be thought as a plan B.

[Chester40]

The players we have brought in suggest we intend to be physically solid in defence,  strong/athletic in midfield, with our attacking options coming from a skillful 10/AM and rapid pace on the wings. 

I can see Yates getting plenty of goals.

We also have Wilson for trickery,  Ward for crosses, and the option to swap to attacking wingbacks.

I just can't see where Washington or Collins fit in ...  hopefully Collins has only played because of circumstances and we may still edevelop into an exciting team who attack with skill and pace.