Who opened the door? My money is on Janus! 2024 January transfer thread.

[GhostoftheBok]

Thanks. I believe you, but do you have a link? I'd be interested to cock an eye, if one can indeed do so, even if it's horseshit.

I *think* it's in this interview. About 9 minutes in.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gx8by7

It's something along the lines of only looking at transfers in terms of contingency planning, which might change if "opportunities arise." Otherwise no plans to act.

[Mar]

Thanks. I believe you, but do you have a link? I'd be interested to cock an eye, if one can indeed do so, even if it's horseshit.

I *think* it's in this interview. About 9 minutes in.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gx8by7

It's something along the lines of only looking at transfers in terms of contingency planning, which might change if "opportunities arise." Otherwise no plans to act.

That was on Dec 2nd, prior to our wobble. Presumably eyebrows would've been raised after the Portsmouth game as to whether or not we need to push to secure top two.

Don't think the strategy would change that much, but it might give rise to expediating some transfers to play it safe.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Thank you both.

[GhostoftheBok]

That was on Dec 2nd, prior to our wobble. Presumably eyebrows would've been raised after the Portsmouth game as to whether or not we need to push to secure top two.

Don't think the strategy would change that much, but it might give rise to expediating some transfers to play it safe.

I suspect Cogley's poor form may change minds a bit. It looked like we thought we'd get away with him and Matheson, but not Matheson "may" go on loan depending on what goes on.

[Mar]

https://youtu.be/-E9DQ8xnM7o?si=Grq_pEz66z8Mfn9h

Ovie Ejarias just been released from Reading citing injury record and Readings financial woes.

Looks to me like an ideal player for our game. Not sure how well his injury fares but from watching that YouTube video I'm getting Maghoma and Nlundulu vibes. Maybe even Sammy Ameobi vibes too.

Surely wouldn't look out of place watching him walk past players and then pass simply to others.

[GhostoftheBok]

We've take on injury wrecks before with success (Lee), but as much as I enjoy Ejaria I'm not sure he's worth the risk at this stage.

On his day he's unplayable at Championship level, but his days have become few and far between.

Reading cutting sail and the fine for their owner may be an indication that we can prize other assets away from them, though. Femi Azeez being the one I'd really like to see Evatt work with.

[Mar]

We've take on injury wrecks before with success (Lee), but as much as I enjoy Ejaria I'm not sure he's worth the risk at this stage.

On his day he's unplayable at Championship level, but his days have become few and far between.

Reading cutting sail and the fine for their owner may be an indication that we can prize other assets away from them, though. Femi Azeez being the one I'd really like to see Evatt work with.

Weren't we touted with Azeez in summer?

As for Ejaria, its hard to gauge actual injury issues when there may be contractual factors involved such as additional appearance bonuses. We had issues with Spearing and Andrews, if thats the case with Ejaria they may be highlighting the injuries to save face.

I watched Femi Azeez highlights and Ejaria highlights and didn't see the fuss with Azeez. Maybe something i'm missing. But then again, if you do the basics right consistently, you don't end up getting a highlight reel.

[GhostoftheBok]

if you do the basics right consistently, you don't end up getting a highlight reel.

Daniel Braaten springs to mind there. Amazing highlight reel that had fans on social media going crazy...shocking footballer. Stuart Holden probably doesn't have a highlight reel, on the the other hand.

When we're talking about players at clubs in financial distress, Azeez is up there with Adam Mayor for me - lads who Evatt could turn into proper assets.

Both physically where they need to be to play top level football, can go either way when attacking, work hard, have pace and their delivery is solid. It might be neither of them keep developing, but if you were plucking our kind of wingbacks out of the lower leagues and saying "He might make it" they'd be on the list.

Azeez's deal expires in the summer, I think. Mayor's runs until 2025, but with Morecambe where they are you'd think that wouldn't stop us if we wanted him.

Morecambe have a few at the minute (including loanees) who will end up in the Championship at some stage.

[Mar]

if you do the basics right consistently, you don't end up getting a highlight reel.

Daniel Braaten springs to mind there. Amazing highlight reel that had fans on social media going crazy...shocking footballer. Stuart Holden probably doesn't have a highlight reel, on the the other hand.

Exactly. I think there's an argument for Evatt to look at players who could be Premier League quality and help turn them into Premier League quality. Muamba for example had hit his peak with us, whereas the likes of Mark Davies and Jack Wilshire screams unfulfilled potential.

When we're talking about players at clubs in financial distress, Azeez is up there with Adam Mayor for me - lads who Evatt could turn into proper assets.

I'd like to have us going for both quality but risk and some steady eddies who can nullify the opposition and pass decently to facilitate the attack.

I get the impression Azeez and Mayor fall into the second category.

[Worthy4England]

I thought Wilshere and Davies both screamed "hugely injury prone" tbf, mate.

[BWFC_Insane]

if you do the basics right consistently, you don't end up getting a highlight reel.

Daniel Braaten springs to mind there. Amazing highlight reel that had fans on social media going crazy...shocking footballer. Stuart Holden probably doesn't have a highlight reel, on the the other hand.

Exactly. I think there's an argument for Evatt to look at players who could be Premier League quality and help turn them into Premier League quality. Muamba for example had hit his peak with us, whereas the likes of Mark Davies and Jack Wilshire screams unfulfilled potential.

When we're talking about players at clubs in financial distress, Azeez is up there with Adam Mayor for me - lads who Evatt could turn into proper assets.

I'd like to have us going for both quality but risk and some steady eddies who can nullify the opposition and pass decently to facilitate the attack.

I get the impression Azeez and Mayor fall into the second category.

Muamba was a consistent premier league player. Speculate about his peak all you like but he was a better player than Davies who was never consistent and failed to apply himself and nobody knows what happened to Wilshere but again I’d suspect poor attitude and failure to apply himself.

Too many of these young prodigies are overhyped, over indulged and then everyone says ‘what happened to him’? The answer is usually that they weren’t ever as good as people made out and failed to work hard enough or maximise the talent they did have.

I know someone who coached Shearer as a youngster and they said that they saw many better forwards coming through the system than shearer down the years that barely had a career if at all. The difference was he just worked on his game every second of every day and ensured he was good at the things he needed to be good at. Small amount of natural talent compared to some but a lot of application to maximise that talent.

[GhostoftheBok]

I know someone who coached Shearer as a youngster and they said that they saw many better forwards coming through the system than shearer down the years that barely had a career if at all. The difference was he just worked on his game every second of every day and ensured he was good at the things he needed to be good at. Small amount of natural talent compared to some but a lot of application to maximise that talent.

Could also be the chap in question was a bad judge of talent. If he was consistently wrong about which kids were the good ones, that's probably a bad sign.

[Worthy4England]

I'd find that fairly stunning (not that he improves through application) but he had sod all to work with. On the plus side, if our pub players work hard, it'll be reet!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'd find that fairly stunning (not that he improves through application) but he had sod all to work with. On the plus side, if our pub players work hard, it'll be reet!

Shearer can't have impressed Newcastle much at his schoolboy trial - what with being put in goal...

I do have a lot of time for players who work hard to improve themselves. Harry Kane was no huge shakes as a kid or even a young man –just over a decade ago, in the final months of his teens, he was loaned to second-tier Leicester and scored 2 in 15 even though they sneaked into the playoffs (can't remember who they sneaked past) - but he worked diligently and intelligently to cover his shortcomings (eg lack of pace) and augment his abilities. It's another reason to love Thomo, who many of us had expected to top out as a fourth-tier player at best. Of course, to improve a player that much also takes good coaching...

[GhostoftheBok]

he was loaned to second-tier Leicester and scored 2 in 15 even though they sneaked into the playoffs

Let us remember that he was at that stage being "managed" by Nigel Pearson, who tried to use a highly technical lad who hadn't filled out yet as a battering ram.

12 months earlier Kane had done enough on loan in the Championship to earn himself a move to a Prem side. He broke his foot almost immediately and that season was mostly rehab for him. That injury, combined with Nigel Pearson being who he is, did for 12/13 for Kane.

Kane was a young,, big, English striker and thus the assumption was that he'd be a brute. Norwich signed him to understudy Grant fecking Holt (if memory serves) and Leicester took the same view. Whenever he had a manager who correctly saw a technical, intelligent forward he did well even before he filled out.

Kane was always "special." I will die on that hill.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

he was loaned to second-tier Leicester and scored 2 in 15 even though they sneaked into the playoffs

Let us remember that he was at that stage being "managed" by Nigel Pearson, who tried to use a highly technical lad who hadn't filled out yet as a battering ram.

12 months earlier Kane had done enough on loan in the Championship to earn himself a move to a Prem side. He broke his foot almost immediately and that season was mostly rehab for him. That injury, combined with Nigel Pearson being who he is, did for 12/13 for Kane.

Kane was a young,, big, English striker and thus the assumption was that he'd be a brute. Norwich signed him to understudy Grant fecking Holt (if memory serves) and Leicester took the same view. Whenever he had a manager who correctly saw a technical, intelligent forward he did well even before he filled out.

Kane was always "special." I will die on that hill.

Fair enough. But the (many) Spurs fans I worked with didn't rate him at all (although I daresay their tune will have changed in hindsight). There's a steep curve from scoring 5 in 18 for Orient to 62 in 89 for England – a frankly unbelievable one, and we Englishmen should be glad of it.

[GhostoftheBok]

Fair enough. But the (many) Spurs fans I worked with didn't rate him at all (although I daresay their tune will have changed in hindsight). There's a steep curve from scoring 5 in 18 for Orient to 62 in 89 for England – a frankly unbelievable one, and we Englishmen should be glad of it.

Yes, there were loads of Spurs fans who wrote him off (I too am immersed in that particular fan base). Same with Bale.

Every fan base has it's negative idiots.

[Worthy4England]

I'd find that fairly stunning (not that he improves through application) but he had sod all to work with. On the plus side, if our pub players work hard, it'll be reet!

Shearer can't have impressed Newcastle much at his schoolboy trial - what with being put in goal...

I do have a lot of time for players who work hard to improve themselves. Harry Kane was no huge shakes as a kid or even a young man –just over a decade ago, in the final months of his teens, he was loaned to second-tier Leicester and scored 2 in 15 even though they sneaked into the playoffs (can't remember who they sneaked past) - but he worked diligently and intelligently to cover his shortcomings (eg lack of pace) and augment his abilities. It's another reason to love Thomo, who many of us had expected to top out as a fourth-tier player at best. Of course, to improve a player that much also takes good coaching...

The point I was making wasn't that a lot of hard work doesn't improve a player, it generally does. But you're unlikely to get past Bolton Sunday, unless you have a bit of something. You're probably not getting trials and the like. None of which rules out all the outliers...

[BWFC_Insane]

I'd find that fairly stunning (not that he improves through application) but he had sod all to work with. On the plus side, if our pub players work hard, it'll be reet!

Shearer can't have impressed Newcastle much at his schoolboy trial - what with being put in goal...

I do have a lot of time for players who work hard to improve themselves. Harry Kane was no huge shakes as a kid or even a young man –just over a decade ago, in the final months of his teens, he was loaned to second-tier Leicester and scored 2 in 15 even though they sneaked into the playoffs (can't remember who they sneaked past) - but he worked diligently and intelligently to cover his shortcomings (eg lack of pace) and augment his abilities. It's another reason to love Thomo, who many of us had expected to top out as a fourth-tier player at best. Of course, to improve a player that much also takes good coaching...

The point I was making wasn't that a lot of hard work doesn't improve a player, it generally does. But you're unlikely to get past Bolton Sunday, unless you have a bit of something. You're probably not getting trials and the like. None of which rules out all the outliers...

It’s not that someone is a pub player and through hard work becomes Messi. It’s that there are loads of technically talented players who don’t make it to the top level even though at 16 they were maybe ahead of others. Because they didn’t maximise their ability.

The difference between the very top and the rest is in a lot of cases in the head rather than anything else.

[dave the minion]

. It's another reason to love Thomo, who many of us had expected to top out as a fourth-tier player at best. Of course, to improve a player that much also takes good coaching...

Eh? Good coaching? You can't be right, 'cos we all know we have a useless & clueless manager who couldn't coach himself out of a paper bag.......