Snog, Marry, Avoid: Summer 2023 Transfer Window

[GhostoftheBok]

Another twist. Baccus has a knee injury that needs further investigation so sounds like that’s why that one is now dead not down to championship interest.

It sounds like both Baccus and Kane ran into issues during their medicals and we've spread some BS about out of respect to the selling club. With the Flick interest now being said to be "wide of the mark" (which if we wanted a loan it was always going to be) then we're back to throwing guesses into the void.

The Dempsey news is good. I think everyone rates him as a player and he's a good age. He seemingly signed up a few days ago, so it may be that Johnston has too and we're just trickling news out a bit each day. I live in hope.

One thing that will be interesting is Ian's comments when we finally sign a wing back and midfielder. I'm still going with "He was my first choice."

[GhostoftheBok]

Which would render the summer thus far somewhat underwhelming. I’ll admit I didn’t know the last two names but Wilson is a kicker.

The advantage we have now over previous summers is we can put a decent 11 out even if it take us a while to sign upgrades.

Don't get me wrong, I really wanted Wilson et al; but we remain a decent shout for the play-offs as things stand.

[BWFC_Insane]

Another twist. Baccus has a knee injury that needs further investigation so sounds like that’s why that one is now dead not down to championship interest.

It sounds like both Baccus and Kane ran into issues during their medicals and we've spread some BS about out of respect to the selling club. With the Flick interest now being said to be "wide of the mark" (which if we wanted a loan it was always going to be) then we're back to throwing guesses into the void.

The Dempsey news is good. I think everyone rates him as a player and he's a good age. He seemingly signed up a few days ago, so it may be that Johnston has too and we're just trickling news out a bit each day. I live in hope.

One thing that will be interesting is Ian's comments when we finally sign a wing back and midfielder. I'm still going with "He was my first choice."

Agree with that. Iles hastily re written piece on Baccus’ injury screams an issue with the medical. He was here late last week so one assumes that the medical revealed something on the knee that has flared up post the World Cup.

I’d definitely rather we didn’t sign players with injury issues and the line that we ‘pulled out of Wilson after doing our due diligence’ also screams medical issues to me.

[BWFC_Insane]

Which would render the summer thus far somewhat underwhelming. I’ll admit I didn’t know the last two names but Wilson is a kicker.

The advantage we have now over previous summers is we can put a decent 11 out even if it take us a while to sign upgrades.

Don't get me wrong, I really wanted Wilson et al; but we remain a decent shout for the play-offs as things stand.

But the club needs top two. I think ultimately the bottom line is that we look weaker than last season right now and have work to do. We are a number of very good players away from realising the owners ambitions. Or finding a different way to get results on a consistent basis with the players we have. Which would require Evatt changing how we play.

Either way I think there is a lot to do and I’m not convinced this market gets easier in August either this time.

[Worthy4England]

^I mean I’m saying statistically I find it less likely that we will find loans of that age who will be good enough over a season to get us promoted. In a full view of what we have and what we lack.

I would be disappointed if we went from full internationals to a wet behind the ears kid who might be amazing in two years but isn’t ready yet.

We want to be top two which means an incredible consistency of performance is required from game 1 to game 46. No good with the inconsistency of last season. We need to win game after game.

We need players equipped to do that. You might find some loans who can do that. But not that many where they haven’t played proper football for a decent period before. IMHO. Shoretire has all the ability but I’m not interested in us developing someone’s player. If he comes here on loan it’s about him getting into double figures in goals and putting in the dominant displays we need from such a role.

If we sign a wing back they need to be better in the attacking third than Bradley was. That’s a hard truth but looking at how we get better than last season that’s something we need. If Bradley came back we’d need to find that on the left hand side.

I think Evatt knows what we're trying to achieve and therefore will get us the best players he can, that gives him that opportunity.

I just think the focus on Bradley is a red herring. We have two wing-backs and a central midfield. We want to be better in the attacking third across all of them.

[GhostoftheBok]

Agree with that. Iles hastily re written piece on Baccus’ injury screams an issue with the medical. He was here late last week so one assumes that the medical revealed something on the knee that has flared up post the World Cup.

I’d definitely rather we didn’t sign players with injury issues and the line that we ‘pulled out of Wilson after doing our due diligence’ also screams medical issues to me.

This is the thing. It's much better to find out now. As much as I wanted these guys in, I don't want them in to sit on the treatment bench.

What it may mean is that Baccus is available very cheap in January, or for free next summer. Assuming his treatment goes well. So we can stick a pin in it.

To put a positive spin on it. Hopefully that means we are fairly confident on Baxter. It's not like we're waving folk through.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

To put a positive spin on it. Hopefully that means we are fairly confident on Baxter. It's not like we're waving folk through.

This is a good point. I'm disappointed about Kane Wilson but as you said the other day, better to reject medically than buy a sicknote. (I know the medical thing hasn't been confirmed, but I'm taking succour from it.)

Keanu Baccus - whatever. I'd never heard of him a week ago, so on we go. And like you I thought the Flick transfer never made sense for the club holding his registration, literally the stakeholder. Wilson is a bigger shame as he felt a good fit with the chance of progression, and on a wider note it's one of the two big holes in the squad needing filling. GK's done, and we now need to see the proof of the pudding. RWB - Dacres-Cogley might well be a solid option but I don't think any of us are expecting him to be The Answer. So it's now four signings where the general consensus is sort of "Ohhhhkaaay, let's see how it turns out" rather than "Transfer coup".

[GhostoftheBok]

But the club needs top two. I think ultimately the bottom line is that we look weaker than last season right now and have work to do. We are a number of very good players away from realising the owners ambitions. Or finding a different way to get results on a consistent basis with the players we have. Which would require Evatt changing how we play.

Either way I think there is a lot to do and I’m not convinced this market gets easier in August either this time.

The question is whether we can be patient or we need to just take what we can get. We're not in the latter position.

This is bad news on the transfer front, but it's not panic stations.

[GhostoftheBok]

So it's now four signings where the general consensus is sort of "Ohhhhkaaay, let's see how it turns out" rather than "Transfer coup".

That's where I am right now, yes.

My reaction to all the signings has been "That makes sense" rather than "Oh my god!" or "HMS Piss the League!"

I hold a suspicion Shola will be back. Which I'm sure will upset a few and have people wondering where the improvement is coming from. I still think January was really about this summer.

The biggest issue is that there aren't many players of Wilson's promise available to us and the left side is far from a sure thing as it stands. As Insane likes to remind us, the wingbacks matter in a wingback system.

[BWFC_Insane]

But the club needs top two. I think ultimately the bottom line is that we look weaker than last season right now and have work to do. We are a number of very good players away from realising the owners ambitions. Or finding a different way to get results on a consistent basis with the players we have. Which would require Evatt changing how we play.

Either way I think there is a lot to do and I’m not convinced this market gets easier in August either this time.

The question is whether we can be patient or we need to just take what we can get. We're not in the latter position.

This is bad news on the transfer front, but it's not panic stations.

What we need to do is maximise the quality we get. Patience if necessary, what we cannot under any circumstances do is wait till August thinking we’ve got a couple they fall through and then Evatt tells us he’s turned down outstanding players cos we don’t need them.

My gut tells me that this year the sort of players we need to get where we want to be need fees paying for them and that probably they are ones we have to do relatively soon. I think the late in summer signings are either out of our price bracket or the sort of patch up ones that aren’t going to cut it.

We need to be offering clubs money now so they feel they have the time to replace and their options aren’t exhausted. Cos I don’t think we are blowing anyone out of the water or backing anyone into corners late in the window.

[GhostoftheBok]

We need to be offering clubs money now so they feel they have the time to replace and their options aren’t exhausted. Cos I don’t think we are blowing anyone out of the water or backing anyone into corners late in the window.

We are offering clubs money now, though, right? It's just that the deals haven't gone through.

We're early in the window (you're talking about waiting until August when it's not even July) and we've put cash on the table for three players. We got one and two look to have medical issues, so we've moved on (or that's Iles' reporting, which seems really out of whack this season).

We absolutely need to get the quality right, if we don't do that part why both spending money?

There's a difference between sitting back and saying "It'll be reet, we got some in" and knowing you have a safety net so you don't need to make iffy calls. We don't know what went on with Wilson, but perhaps if we didn't have Cogley in we'd have taken a risk there. Those are the margins.

[BWFC_Insane]

We need to be offering clubs money now so they feel they have the time to replace and their options aren’t exhausted. Cos I don’t think we are blowing anyone out of the water or backing anyone into corners late in the window.

We are offering clubs money now, though, right? It's just that the deals haven't gone through.

We're early in the window (you're talking about waiting until August when it's not even July) and we've put cash on the table for three players. We got one and two look to have medical issues, so we've moved on (or that's Iles' reporting, which seems really out of whack this season).

We absolutely need to get the quality right, if we don't do that part why both spending money?

There's a difference between sitting back and saying "It'll be reet, we got some in" and knowing you have a safety net so you don't need to make iffy calls. We don't know what went on with Wilson, but perhaps if we didn't have Cogley in we'd have taken a risk there. Those are the margins.

I mean we have a list of players we want. I’m not sure why we’d not be pushing on and trying to sign them now. Everything we do has to be geared to maximising our chances of winning the league. I’m not really sure on the advantage of waiting. Someone might become available but equally we might find like last summer they don’t and we are then in a position of Evatt having to change in order to get better results out of the group we have.

I’m not convinced waiting will help us in the situation we are in. I think we have identified what we need so we now have to go and get those players. If we are unable to do so then it needs a considerable rethink.

[GhostoftheBok]

I mean we have a list of players we want. I’m not sure why we’d not be pushing on and trying to sign them now. Everything we do has to be geared to maximising our chances of winning the league. I’m not really sure on the advantage of waiting. Someone might become available but equally we might find like last summer they don’t and we are then in a position of Evatt having to change in order to get better results out of the group we have.

I’m not convinced waiting will help us in the situation we are in. I think we have identified what we need so we now have to go and get those players. If we are unable to do so then it needs a considerable rethink.

Sometimes a deal just needs time and it depends on the deal. Some players we've had an interest in in the past are currently on international duty, for example. So if we were still interested we'd probably be willing to wait for them to finish up later in July.

If City say, "We may have a lad for you, but we need to look at him in preseason" do we blow them off for the sake of speed, or wait a couple of weeks?

If we have a target who is available now or cash then sure, pay the fee if it works for us. You don't wait for the sake of it.

[BWFC_Insane]

I mean we have a list of players we want. I’m not sure why we’d not be pushing on and trying to sign them now. Everything we do has to be geared to maximising our chances of winning the league. I’m not really sure on the advantage of waiting. Someone might become available but equally we might find like last summer they don’t and we are then in a position of Evatt having to change in order to get better results out of the group we have.

I’m not convinced waiting will help us in the situation we are in. I think we have identified what we need so we now have to go and get those players. If we are unable to do so then it needs a considerable rethink.

Sometimes a deal just needs time and it depends on the deal. Some players we've had an interest in in the past are currently on international duty, for example. So if we were still interested we'd probably be willing to wait for them to finish up later in July.

If City say, "We may have a lad for you, but we need to look at him in preseason" do we blow them off for the sake of speed, or wait a couple of weeks?

If we have a target who is available now or cash then sure, pay the fee if it works for us. You don't wait for the sake of it.

City had a lad for us in January. If we are waiting for him or Shoretire then I don’t think we are going to get close.

So no. We don’t hang about for wet behind the ears kids. If city have a player who has a decent amount of proper men’s football at this level or above behind him and is proven then sure. We might wait for that.

It’s a balance. I want us to get the best in we can. I also don’t think that we will manage that later in the window. It will then be about loans and hopefuls and I don’t think you can build a top two challenge on those players as we’ve seen. This is a critical window and we need the improvements that overcome our losses and make up the gap.

For me we have ok numbers but it’s proven experienced quality we need to add and not just one or two but probably 3 or 4 at least if we want to be chasing the top 2. Players who have been there and done it. That for me is what we need.

[Worthy4England]

They're on the pi$$ in Portugal. Probably not noticed any texts from the recruitment folks saying "That Aussie. His knee's fcucked. LoLz."

[GhostoftheBok]

Players who have been there and done it. That for me is what we need.

So none of Wilson, Baccus or Flick would have suited you then?

Wilson hasn't really pulled up trees above League Two. The other two have never played in England and aren't massively experienced in football at a proper level.

[GhostoftheBok]

They're on the pi$$ in Portugal. Probably not noticed any texts from the recruitment folks saying "That Aussie. His knee's fcucked. LoLz."

"What's wrong with his legs?"
"Not legs, boss. Leg. The right one is missing."
"Missing!?"
"Yes, boss. His left leg is amazing. I've got nothing against his left leg. The problem is neither has he."

[BWFC_Insane]

Players who have been there and done it. That for me is what we need.

So none of Wilson, Baccus or Flick would have suited you then?

Wilson hasn't really pulled up trees above League Two. The other two have never played in England and aren't massively experienced in football at a proper level.

Baccus is a full international who has played 30 plus games in the Scottish premiership.

Flick has 12 Bundesliga appearances and 16 in Bundesliga 2.

So I’d take players who have played in the top flight at a similar age and profile or who are full internationals and played at a higher level.

Wilson was a bit questionable in terms of this level but had at least played a decent amount of football for his age.

Their records on the face of it wouldn’t have worried me in the same way as a kid who you literally know nothing about how they will cope with it across a season.

If we are signing players in their top domestic league and full internationals for decent countries then for me that reflects the indicators of the sort of quality we need.

[Worthy4England]

They're on the pi$$ in Portugal. Probably not noticed any texts from the recruitment folks saying "That Aussie. His knee's fcucked. LoLz."

"What's wrong with his legs?"
"Not legs, boss. Leg. The right one is missing."
"Missing!?"
"Yes, boss. His left leg is amazing. I've got nothing against his left leg. The problem is neither has he."

Don't worry Chris, we found Jack Grealish at 4 am, on a sun-lounger and got him to sign a contract!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'm intrigued by Ilesy's (repeated) use of "due diligence" in regards to the Kane Wilson back-off. What could he mean?