January 2023 Transfer Window

[BWFC_Insane]

Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Any minute now...

You’d expect a name that sounds reasonable to be out there relatively soon if something is likely to happen.

Good to do business quietly but there is quiet and there is dead…..

[GhostoftheBok]

Marc seems to be saying all business that was set up is off and we're just trying to loan a defender.

Crazy stuff, given where we were thought to be last week - assuming he is correct.

[GhostoftheBok]

You’d expect a name that sounds reasonable to be out there relatively soon if something is likely to happen.

Good to do business quietly but there is quiet and there is dead…..

Yup.

[GhostoftheBok]

On the "don't announce your horrific injuries" front. Arsenal just signed Jorginho and then dropped word that Elneny is out for the season. They had played it very strongly as another in a recurring list of issues that restrict his game time, but it's worse than they let on.

[jmjhb]

Marc seems to be saying all business that was set up is off and we're just trying to loan a defender.

Crazy stuff, given where we were thought to be last week - assuming he is correct.

Crazy good, or crazy bad?

[GhostoftheBok]

Crazy good, or crazy bad?

Unplanned stuff in transfer can be good, but 90% of the time it's crap. Not to say we've not IDed good players. We're in League One, so there are loads of players who could do a good job at our level. I'd rather be hearing that we were using the loan gap we used as planned, though, because we'd got the defender(s) we intended.

Also if Ken Zohore ends up at Wednesday or Derby that'll really impact the promotion race.

[GhostoftheBok]

Just to add to the above, we angle our transfer business to try and pay as little as possible for targets. Even if it means waiting. On deadline day any unplanned "swoop" is likely to cost above market value, as clubs can't replace who goes and usually need to - so you pay not just for the player, but much of the cost of replacing them.

DSB's been casting his eye around for the unwanted lads, because those are the ones you might still get on reasonable terms - as they're essentially costing their clubs money. Even there, this is not a lot of time to get business done.

Obviously we could all be chatting for no reason and the club could happily be doing the media work on a couple of new players, but as Insane says it feels like a quiet one. There are a couple of here who say they know people at the club, but I understand nobody's talking right now regardless.

[BWFC_Insane]

Just to add to the above, we angle our transfer business to try and pay as little as possible for targets. Even if it means waiting. On deadline day any unplanned "swoop" is likely to cost above market value, as clubs can't replace who goes and usually need to - so you pay not just for the player, but much of the cost of replacing them.

DSB's been casting his eye around for the unwanted lads, because those are the ones you might still get on reasonable terms - as they're essentially costing their clubs money. Even there, this is not a lot of time to get business done.

Obviously we could all be chatting for no reason and the club could happily be doing the media work on a couple of new players, but as Insane says it feels like a quiet one. There are a couple of here who say they know people at the club, but I understand nobody's talking right now regardless.

Nobody knows anything. I think we are looking at one loan at best and I’d suggest given how short we are at the back we best get it.

The only thing I know is that Aimson going was not in the plan and it’s likely shifted our target of a loan from midfield to centre back.

I think it’s fingers crossed someone does us a favour of a centre half time.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

DSB's been casting his eye around for the unwanted lads, because those are the ones you might still get on reasonable terms - as they're essentially costing their clubs money. Even there, this is not a lot of time to get business done.

I've been searching for centre-backs with lapsing contracts, as they're the most likely for us to be able to come to terms with - as we did with Bod and Dempsey last January. And they should preferably be out of favour - of course a new player might make them more dispensable as of now, but you're on better ground if your target hasn't played much of late.

There's not many that aren't 32+.

[GhostoftheBok]

So we're basically hoping Peter Kioso shows up on loan again?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

So we're basically hoping Peter Kioso shows up on loan again?

That sort of thing.

on Peter K - didn't play for Rotherham till Bonfire Night (groin injury), in and out since.

[Worthy4England]

The only thing I know is that Aimson going was not in the plan and it’s likely shifted our target of a loan from midfield to centre back

So there is a plan then?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

In the Champo, I looked at
• Kean Bryan (still out injured after months on end, recent updates don't imply imminent return)
• Kyle Bartley (just back from injury, manager making excited noises)
• Jordan Thorniley (Blackpool short on centre-backs, he’s been playing a lot)
• Gabe Osho (mentioned the other day - has also been fairly regular recently)

In our division:
• Dynel Simeu - Saints loanee did well at Carlisle last year but has just been lent to Morecambe
• Ryan Astley - Everton loanee at Accy, but seems settled there
• Lloyd Jones (Cambridge) - discussed before, former Liverpool prospect who played for Northampton, but at 27 he’s perhaps neither here nor there

[The_Gun]

Hmm... I'm heading towards being concerned. If we come out of this window without adequate cover at centre back and in central midfield I think we may struggle to even make playoffs.

[GhostoftheBok]

Hmm... I'm heading towards being concerned. If we come out of this window without adequate cover at centre back and in central midfield I think we may struggle to even make playoffs.

Centre back might scupper us with some tough, physical away days.

Central midfield was really about having enough quality to try and get to the autos, or win a play-off final. At the minute we definately take a dip if we get an injury in that engine room. Not sure it's bad enough to totally derail us.

[BWFC_Insane]

Hmm... I'm heading towards being concerned. If we come out of this window without adequate cover at centre back and in central midfield I think we may struggle to even make playoffs.

I’m not that worried. Midfield it’s a question of an upgrade to MJ or Sheehan and given we only have one loan slot left and probably not the money to do a permanent it is what it is.

We definitely need a centre half but I assume one will pop up. I’m worried about their experience or lack of potentially in a loan.

But I think we will go into the rest of the season with enough to make a fist of it, but not enough to guarantee anything and certainly beholden to injuries more than I think we’d like to be. But that’s where it is.

[GhostoftheBok]

I’m not that worried. Midfield it’s a question of an upgrade to MJ or Sheehan and given we only have one loan slot left and probably not the money to do a permanent it is what it is.

We definitely need a centre half but I assume one will pop up. I’m worried about their experience or lack of potentially in a loan.

But I think we will go into the rest of the season with enough to make a fist of it, but not enough to guarantee anything and certainly beholden to injuries more than I think we’d like to be. But that’s where it is.

That all seems reasonable.

The defender I thought we'd see arrive is in League Two, but played at the weekend and clearly there's no sign of the bugger.

We will get *someone* in, Markham and Evatt between them have too many contacts not to get that done. I suspect we may have missed our priority today, if we were chasing loans, with that defender going elsewhere; but I live in hope.

At this late stage, a loan centre back would be welcome - despite being a bit of a scale-down from last week.

[GhostoftheBok]

The other side of all this is what the teams who want to catch us, or avoid being caught, are doing. Where we finish isn't just about us.

I'd say we've had the better of it up until today, but others are now gaining on us.

[BWFC_Insane]

I’m not that worried. Midfield it’s a question of an upgrade to MJ or Sheehan and given we only have one loan slot left and probably not the money to do a permanent it is what it is.

We definitely need a centre half but I assume one will pop up. I’m worried about their experience or lack of potentially in a loan.

But I think we will go into the rest of the season with enough to make a fist of it, but not enough to guarantee anything and certainly beholden to injuries more than I think we’d like to be. But that’s where it is.

That all seems reasonable.

The defender I thought we'd see arrive is in League Two, but played at the weekend and clearly there's no sign of the bugger.

We will get *someone* in, Markham and Evatt between them have too many contacts not to get that done. I suspect we may have missed our priority today, if we were chasing loans, with that defender going elsewhere; but I live in hope.

At this late stage, a loan centre back would be welcome - despite being a bit of a scale-down from last week.

When you think about it, Aimson was the biggest loss this window. Experienced. Form of his life. The ideal centre back between Toal and Johnston if Santos isn’t playing (or for me instead of). And whilst he obviously wanted to play and you couldn’t say he was happy not doing, he was not ever going to rock the boat. A great pro.

Losing him is a pretty tough blow as we won’t get a better player in. And it’s one we didn’t expect up until the middle of last week. A surprise we hadn’t planned for at all this window.

[GhostoftheBok]

When you think about it, Aimson was the biggest loss this window. Experienced. Form of his life. The ideal centre back between Toal and Johnston if Santos isn’t playing (or for me instead of). And whilst he obviously wanted to play and you couldn’t say he was happy not doing, he was not ever going to rock the boat. A great pro.

Losing him is a pretty tough blow as we won’t get a better player in. And it’s one we didn’t expect up until the middle of last week. A surprise we hadn’t planned for at all this window.

Seems odd it took us that much by surprise when he and his agent had been sounding clubs out for ages. He even said in the open he'd looked strongly at leaving this window. If we didn't have contingency planning on that it was a real failure of imagination. I don't even work there and I've always got lists in the back of my head for contingencies related to Wanderers - it's just habit.

If he was that unlikely to rock the boat and we were that horrified, why let him go? We said it was good money, but unless we had something rock solid to replace him it's very daft.

Obviously I completely disagree about Aimson being ideal for us at the back, he's nowhere close, but he was a reliable pro. We'll have to see what things look like at midnight, once all the news has filtered out.