Summer 2020 transfers

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Another name linked: Antoni Sarcevic. Just turned 28, 6ft 1in, creative midfielder. Italian and Serbian by ancestry but Mancunian by birth, at City to 15, then 100+ games each for Fleetwood and Plymouth. It says here the Plymouth fans called him the "Manchester Messi"... he's out of contract, they offered him an extension but he turned it down and left... he wants to move back north...

Seems it's us v Salford for Sarch, so who is he? Former City schoolboy who then dipped into non-league. In 2013 (aged 21) he was signed by Fourth Division Fleetwood and scored 13 in 42, including five pengies and the free-kick winner in the play-off final:
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He stayed at Fleetwood for another two seasons, in which he was a regular but scored much fewer goals (2 in 37 and 3 in 39). Then in summer 2016 he moved on a free to third-tier Shrewsbury, but manager Micky Mellon soon moved to Tranmere, new boss Paul Hurst didn't fancy Sarch and the contract was cancelled in early December 2016. He held out until late January 2017 before agreeing to join fourth-tier Plymouth.

He's been a regular ever since, playing 114 of 159 league games: he helped them up immediately, then spent two seasons in the third tier and helped them back up last time. 2019/20 was also his goaliest season since Fleetwood's promotion, with 10 in 30 (including five penalties plus a rebound from his own penalty), and he was voted Plymouth's Player of the Season.
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But what's he like? The rather good site Argyle Life has a few thoughtful pieces on him. Highlights follow:

8 Oct 2018: Turning the ship around – Part 3: The Sarcevic factor http://argyle.life/analysis/turning-the-ship-around-3/

Let’s start with his most easily quantifiable skill: defending. Throughout this season up to now, Sarcevic ranks sixth overall in terms of total defensive actions per-90 minutes, only behind the four centre backs and Yann Songo’o. However, when you remove interceptions and blocks from the equation – stats which those players rack up at a much higher rate due to their deeper position – and focus just on dispossessions (tackles and duels won), Sarcevic comes out on top for the entire team. Significantly, he makes more than all of his fellow central midfielders.

Probably covering more ground than any of his teammates, Sarcevic closes down the opposition superbly, regularly picking the best moments to press and dispossess them while otherwise maintaining his position to deny them an easy route to goal... not only does Sarcevic make the most defensive interventions among the other central midfielders, he also leads the team’s defence from the front. He is the player who most visibly directs the midfield during defensive phases, gesturing to his midfield partner when to come forward together and pointing other teammates into position.

When you put this combination of defensive technique, acumen and leadership together you get a very special player, one who is able to lead a team to defend on the front foot and protect their 18-yard box. Defending like this pushes the opposition midfield further backwards, which tends to push their wingers and strikers backwards too as they go in search of the ball. Obviously, the further from goal the opposition start their attacks, the harder it is for them to create goal-scoring chances.

What is not in doubt is that he has installed more steel and organisation from the centre of the pitch when he has played there...

Sarcevic is a very strong ball carrier, literally. Lameiras, Carey, Grant and Ladapo are all good at dribbling past an opponent using trickery and speed, but Sarcevic can operate as a battering ram to force his way through the opposition’s midfield line. Think less David Silva, more Yaya Toure: he beats players by positioning his body between them and the ball, using his strength and generating momentum. Second, he brings a more aggressive style of passing to midfield. Averaging 1.84 high-risk passes per-90 minutes – at a ratio of just over 1 high-risk pass for every 10 low-risk passes he attempts – Sarcevic is willing to take a chance in possession to get the ball into a more advanced position. Finally, his attacking movement off the ball helps Carey and Lameiras to create chances... His ability to get himself into dangerous positions in the opposition’s box is a perfect example of the kind of attacking movement that only he brings to this side from midfield. Whereas Ness prefers to infrequently make late third-man runs, Sarcevic – like with his defending – leads from the front. It is not uncommon for him to find himself as Argyle’s furthest forward player, drawing attention away from the sole striker. By comparison, his fellow central midfielders are far less likely to take risks when either they or the team are in possession.

So, defensively solid and an attacking threat unlike any other player in the team, doesn’t that make Sarcevic the complete midfielder? Not quite. It’s the bits in-between that he struggles with. Most importantly, he needs to work on his passing – Sarcevic averages fewer passes per-90 minutes (22.2) than any other midfielder, while only Songo’o has a lower pass accuracy than his 70.5%. It is for this reason that he needs a deep-lying playmaker like Fox behind him and a more comfortable passer, like Ness or Grant, beside him. Second, his finishing needs a lot of work. He may get himself into great positions, but from those he needs to start converting more. Having ranked 15th out of 19 for shot accuracy last season, he’s yet to hit the target this year from his 13 shots. Should he hit form, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t go on to score anywhere between five and ten goals, but he needs to increase his goal return to take the next step forward in his career.

Nevertheless, it is vital that Adams gets Sarcevic back to full fitness and reintroduces him to the line-up. He brings qualities to the team that nobody else in the squad possesses.

11 Aug 2019: Antoni Sarcevic: Plymouth Argyle’s Midfield Enigma http://argyle.life/matches/match-analys ... r-0-08-19/

...We’ve seen enough of Sarcevic since he came to Home Park in January 2017 to know exactly where his strengths and weaknesses lie. In short, he has always appeared better off the ball than he has on it. Energy, pressing and running from deep? Excellent. Turning, passing and finishing? Not so much. As a player deployed as part of the engine room he can excel. However, he’s not somebody you’d trust or expect to create openings on his own.

Sarcevic... has never been a creator. Across the last two games, he and manager Ryan Lowe have had to find ways to take advantage of his undoubted strengths in a position that isn’t particularly suited to them. It’s had a mixed record so far, but there are positives that we ought to pick up on.

First of all, his pressing has been something that has stood out, particularly at Crewe. Let’s not forget; counter-pressing and winning the ball back quickly are two staples of Ryan Lowe’s style when not in possession. There is arguably nobody better at the club at doing this than Sarcevic.

His energy can force opponents into playing the ball quickly, resulting in mistakes, or trying to hold onto the ball under pressure, risking a loss of possession. Whatever the case, when done correctly, pressing to the level we see from Sarcevic can help the side achieve Ryan Lowe’s objective of turning the ball over quickly.

...The fact that Argyle tend to overload the penalty area when attacking helps, allowing Sarcevic to sit back a little and aim to pounce on any loose balls when the ball does reach the final third. Indeed, it was by getting in such a position that he was able to drill home the winning goal against Colchester. That goal is actually Sarcevic’s first for Argyle from outside the box.

Primarily, and unsurprisingly, the flaws in Sarcevic’s game become more apparent when Argyle are in possession, particularly in the middle third. His passing was poor against Colchester, particularly when compared to his teammates. This was not necessarily due to his success rate, but more due to the number and quality of those passes. For the second week running, he completed passes at a rate slower than every other midfielder in green.

Sarcevic was rarely involved during build-up play, and when he was, he usually played a simple pass to keep possession rather than a telling ball to put the opposition under pressure. There’s nothing wrong with a player like that in principle, but that is not what his role demands in this system.

With all of this in mind, will Sarcevic be able to make an attacking midfield position his own this season? After Saturday’s encounter, Ryan Lowe set him a target of ten goals for the season, which would be two more than he has in his previous two-and-a-half years with the club. Sarcevic certainly is lacking something in midfield at the moment, but if he add goals to the team to make up for his lack of creativity then that will go some way to plugging the gap.

11 Sep 2019: Is Antoni Sarcevic the answer at right wing-back? http://argyle.life/analysis/is-antoni-s ... -question/

...Sarcevic’s ability to drop back and pick up the ball, as well as his effectiveness in possession, is not good enough to help a team be dominant in possession. Nor is he a creative type in the same way Danny Mayor is, or Graham Carey and Ruben Lameiras were.

However, it is definitely worth noting that Sarcevic does bring another skill to midfield. His excellent, deep runs from midfield mean that Mayor and McFadzean have yet another target to aim for when they’re working their magic down the wing. His goal against Walsall was a great demonstration of this. However, these skills could be put to even better use in a different position…

What makes Sarcevic a match for the wing-back position? Well, where to start? For starters, movement off the ball is one of his greatest assets as a footballer. Though he is not particularly creative in possession, he is excellent at exploiting the creativity of others, as he did when scoring against Walsall. But to take it that one step further, just go back to his Fleetwood days and look at the way Sarcevic racked up assists... In the most prolific spell of assisting goals throughout his career, the majority of non-set piece assists came from wide-right deliveries. Why not attempt to reconstruct that?

Then you have the statistical profile. Despite spending far less time in possession than McFadzean per-90, Sarcevic is averaging dribbles and key-dribbles at a higher rate. His ratio of attempted high-risk passes to non-risk is the same as McFadzean’s. He averages even more shots and danger-zone shots as McFadzean.

While Sarcevic has yet to create a key-chance this season, that’s largely because he is currently playing in a position unsuited to him. Starting from wing-back, he could find himself in similar sorts of positions to Callum McFadzean, in-behind the defence with a simple low cross required, instead of having to thread an intricate through ball.

25 Nov 2019: Mayor and Sarcevic stand out in Bradford win http://argyle.life/matches/match-analys ... d-1-11-19/

Territory plays to Sarcevic’s strengths
There were fears for Sarcevic heading into the season. It appeared as though he was expected to line up in a position requiring passing ability and creativity, and we knew from previous seasons that this wasn’t a strong point in his game. Power, dribbling and energy? Absolutely. Quick feet, skill and trickery? Perhaps not. Yet he has proved over the last few months that there is very much a place for him in the side.

There are two major reasons we can point to for this being the case. The first is that he has at least improved on those creative aspects of his game. Last season he’d resemble an oil tanker when trying to turn on the ball in advanced positions. This year, whilst he’s not been perfect, he’s at least shown a development, whether that be through clever backheels or passes with the outside of his foot to get teammates in behind.

One much more relevant factor to consider, however, has been that change of style. Sarcevic’s form in general has seen a sharp upturn since the focus switched from possession to territory. That’s no coincidence. The system as it stands, rather than hindering Sarcevic as it seemed like it was set to, aids his game in a major way.

We saw an awful lot of that against Bradford at the weekend. Sarcevic looked at his best when he had space to run onto the ball, and Argyle’s style of playing the ball long and into space was right up the 27-year-old’s street. Just look at this as one example – a throw-in from Edwards was launched directly into the space in front of Sarcevic and very nearly led to Argyle’s third goal.

Earlier in the season, he’d have received that ball and faced a block of midfielders occupying the space between him and goal, but now he’s able to run beyond the midfield. They did the exact same thing against Leyton Orient. No longer does he have to pick out a teammate, through a crowded field, under pressure. He’s not able to stretch his legs and motor forwards.

17 Jun 2020:Sarcevic leaves Argyle; here’s to you, Antoni - http://argyle.life/opinion/antoni-sarce ... es-argyle/

Sarcevic responded excellently to question marks over his level of involvement in the side after Ryan Lowe’s appointment as manager last summer. Initially, he was considered perhaps not technically refined enough to be a second number 8 in Lowe’s ball playing 3-4-1-2 system, even though he has obvious qualities.

Conversely, although no less effective in my opinion, it is the more technically gifted Danny Mayor, who has played the role of facilitator, whilst Sarcevic has used his strong running and tenacity to clinch the top of the Argyle scoring charts with 11 goals and 6 assists in all competitions, his best since a breakthrough 15 goal season at Fleetwood in the same division six years ago.

Within those eleven goals, it is the stunner at Salford and the curler that won the game at Forest Green that spring to mind, but perhaps most fittingly his final Home Park goal, in front of the fans that he had built such a connection with, a penalty in the 2-1 win over Crewe, is the one that ultimately clinched promotion.

131 appearances 20 goals 15 assists, one Antoni Sarcevic.

[sonicthewhite]

Looks like probable exits for Daryl Murphy and Jason Lowe. I expected the first but thought Lowe may have been kept on as one of the older and wiser heads.

[BWFC_Insane]

Looks like probable exits for Daryl Murphy and Jason Lowe. I expected the first but thought Lowe may have been kept on as one of the older and wiser heads.

I think Lowe is better than League 2 and will likely do better. I'm also not convinced he's a good fit for Evatt. Lowe IMO is a very good box to box ball winning midfield player - but he's certainly not a technical type. Whilst you need both sorts I cannot see Lowe dropping into space to receive the ball from the CBs - it just isn't his game. And say Spearing who is also an enforcer most certainly does at least try and pick the ball from the back. Not that I particularly want Spearing but I think it is important we have a group who buys into what Evatt does - if your CM is struggling (and Lowe would be an expensive one) you will notice it!

[Harry Genshaw]

^ surprises me that Insane because that's how I imagined Lowe would fit in there for us. I assume amongst all the attacking options of Evatts system, there would be 1 holding midfielder ala Paul Warhurst sat in front of the 3 centre backs.

Lowe, rarely wastes possession but offers little attacking threat, so I'd have thought he was well suited to that position. His leadership skills will be a loss imo but I do think he's too good for division 4. Bridcutt as an alternative?

[The_Gun]

^ surprises me that Insane because that's how I imagined Lowe would fit in there for us. I assume amongst all the attacking options of Evatts system, there would be 1 holding midfielder ala Paul Warhurst sat in front of the 3 centre backs.

Lowe, rarely wastes possession but offers little attacking threat, so I'd have thought he was well suited to that position. His leadership skills will be a loss imo but I do think he's too good for division 4. Bridcutt as an alternative?

If Lowe is too good for Div 4, then Bridcutt is way, way too good. Perhaps I'm underestimating the impact the current situation is going to have on finances, but I would be extremely surprised if we were able to offer high enough wages to entice either of those players to drop down a level next year.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

^ surprises me that Insane because that's how I imagined Lowe would fit in there for us. I assume amongst all the attacking options of Evatts system, there would be 1 holding midfielder ala Paul Warhurst sat in front of the 3 centre backs.

Although his system sounds fluid he seems to play a 3-4-1-2 - so that’s two “8”s (central midfielders rather than sitters) behind a “10”. Those two central midfielders and the wingbacks are to drop back when not in possession, but I don’t think there’s a specific deep-sitting role a la Warhurst/Campo/Hierro/Pirlo.

So while Evatt has talked of building round an experienced spine, I don’t think we will have a generalissimo in there. Energy will be important. Lowe is not an unfit man; he was capable of bursts forward that were all the more surprising for his usual shop-minding diligence. He was also perhaps unfairly castigated for his passing, which frequently sought to keep possession for a second rather than risk turnovers with a lower-percentage hopeful forward ball - understandable in isolation given our disastrous form. Even so, Spearing has more forward-passing vision, I think, and probably suits an Evatt side better. However, I think Spearing - and probably Lowe - will get better offers than D4; what they choose to do may depend upon family circumstance.

As for Bridcutt - i assume we got him wage-free. That wouldn’t happen under a free transfer - and I’m not sure his position suits Evatt’s system unless he’s one of the back three, which feels a tad risky.

[BWFC_Insane]

^ surprises me that Insane because that's how I imagined Lowe would fit in there for us. I assume amongst all the attacking options of Evatts system, there would be 1 holding midfielder ala Paul Warhurst sat in front of the 3 centre backs.

Lowe, rarely wastes possession but offers little attacking threat, so I'd have thought he was well suited to that position. His leadership skills will be a loss imo but I do think he's too good for division 4. Bridcutt as an alternative?

I like Lowe - he's a good player. I just don't think he ever looked comfortable in possession. It just wasn't his game. I guess we'll see what happens - I'm not saying they'd not keep Lowe more that I suspect he's not one they'd compete with bigger and higher up the ladder offers for. Perhaps I'm wrong.

[Prufrock]

He doesn't seem to fit for me. Seems like a good guy to have around and other managers clearly value his versatility and seen to trust him to do a job. But Evatt has talked several times about recruitment being position specific.

I don't think there will be much room for generalists.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Iles says Doyle announcement "Won't be today. Later in week, I hear." Why? "Just that's what has been agreed."

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Slightly bored and insomniac, last night I looked up which players Evatt had played alongside the most. No guarantee he'll like them, of course, but...

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ian-eva ... =&status=0

Some of them are retired, but the active player Evatt lined up alongside the most is Jay O'Shea (DOB 10 Aug 1988), the Dublin-born winger or attacking midfielder. Having been promoted from D4 in 2014 at Evatt-skippered Chesterfield (alongside Eoin Doyle, Jmie Devitt and Sam Hird), he then played over 100 third-tier games for the Spireites before being loaned to Sheffield United in Jan 2017 and helping them win Division Three; that summer he joined Bury and although they went down he helped them back up again for his third promotion in six seasons. When they popped last summer he was rescued by Robbie Fowler at Brisbane Roar; no contract-length details are on the internet but Fowler recently left his position.

Next active name on the list is our old friend Alex Baptiste (31 Jan 86), Evatt's usual centre-back partner at Blackpool from summer 2009 to November 2012 (including promotion to and relegation from the Premier and the subsequent play-off final defeat to West Ham). Baptiste left Doncaster this summer.

He played alongside Evatt 117 times, the same number as Sam Hird (7 Sep 87). A schoolboy striker, Hird switched to centre-back, although he can also play in defensive midfield; he and Evatt were the Spireites' default centre-back partnership from October 2013 to December 2017, including that 2014 promotion and the 2015 third-tier play-offs.

Next extant player is Matt Gilks (DOB 4 June 1982), the Rochdale-born goalkeeper who played behind Evatt in that formative spell at Ian Holloway's Blackpool. Now 38 and with his Fleetwood contract lapsing this summer, he might be a good back-up GK – or perhaps coach?

Skipping past Samy Morsy and Tendayi Darikwa (contracted for another season to Champo clubs Wigan and Forest respectively) plus Dan Gardner (joined Salford this summer) and Jimmy Ryan (halfway through a two-year Rochdale contract), we bump into a certain Charlie Adam (10 Dec 1985), whose Reading contract is up this summer. He's not the first style of player I'd think of for Evatt, and there might be age-and-wage problems, but there's perhaps half an idea there of someone useful in possession and able to spring counter-attacks. Could Evatt even do a Clough-with-Mackay-at-Derby and move the Scotsman back to being the generalissimo in a backline? Unlikely, perhaps, but it's a thought.

Other former team-mates available for nowt:
• 6ft3in midfielder Ollie Banks (27) whose contract has lapsed at Tranmere, who seem to be refusing to name a retained list
• Kristian Dennis, Mancunian striker (30) who bagged 19 for Chesterfield in 2017/18 despite them slipping out of the League. He then signed for Notts County on a two-year deal with a year's option, but as the Pies also slipped out of the league he's been on loan at Grimsby and may leave
• Liam O'Neil (26), Cambridge defender/midfielder who came through at Chesterfield alongside veteran Evatt after release by WBA; he later joined hometown club Cambridge, and although they've offered him an extension, he doesn't seem to have signed it yet
• Neil Eardley (right-back, 31), released by Lincoln this summer
• Gary Roberts, Wigan forward, 36

Obviously all this is bored speculation for no real reason, but it's just another slice of possibilities. Managers usually like to hire a few people they know, and especially in this situation where there's a big number of spaces to fill, Evatt might want a few familiar faces. As ever, we'll see...

[officer_dibble]

Good work. Baptiste would do a job at this level I am sure. For me we need someone with experience in that backline.

[The_Gun]

Very thorough research, DSB. But isn't cobbling together a squad of ageing journeymen kind of the opposite of what we're supposedly trying to do?

Of course one or two older signings is fine, and I'm sure that's what you're advocating, but for me I'd like to see us linked with some younger players.

[BWFC_Insane]

Very thorough research, DSB. But isn't cobbling together a squad of ageing journeymen kind of the opposite of what we're supposedly trying to do?

Of course one or two older signings is fine, and I'm sure that's what you're advocating, but for me I'd like to see us linked with some younger players.

I guess the issue is what younger players are accessible to us in our current situation of suitable quality....we have signed Faal for example. Is he good enough? I guess we'll find out but most 21/22 year olds who are going to be good enough will be under contracts....

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I wouldn’t recommend signing them all, or indeed any gaggle of one-last-jobbers. Nor, apparently, would Evatt, who has hinted strongly at youthful or at least zestful players around a strong experienced spine. He also seems to want winners - fatuous in isolation, but those with experience of promotion. So I wouldn’t be astonished if one or two of these turned up, if they fit the Evatt template, and be employed alongside younger players. For instance it would be far from disastrous IMO to have a back three of Baptiste, Brockbank and Kean Bryan.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Very thorough research, DSB. But isn't cobbling together a squad of ageing journeymen kind of the opposite of what we're supposedly trying to do?

Of course one or two older signings is fine, and I'm sure that's what you're advocating, but for me I'd like to see us linked with some younger players.

I guess the issue is what younger players are accessible to us in our current situation of suitable quality....we have signed Faal for example. Is he good enough? I guess we'll find out but most 21/22 year olds who are going to be good enough will be under contracts....

Aye - I’ve wondered about looking at possible releases from the older end of top-flight academies - it’s quite a research job though. Here’s the Premier League released lists: https://www.premierleague.com/news/1697050

[irie Cee Bee]

Good read DSB. We will definitely need a couple experienced center backs to guide our promising inexperienced young Centre Backs, especially in the very physical league. We cannot afford to have a weak centre for teams to bulldooze through us.

[Prufrock]

Do we know whose decision giving Edwards 3 years was? He looked far better than Zouma to me (though I think Zouma is a total donkey so not hard) but that's a lot for a 23 year old with not a lot of games. Was Phoenix involved then? Don't think he'd played much under Hill when he signed it.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Do we know whose decision giving Edwards 3 years was? He looked far better than Zouma to me (though I think Zouma is a total donkey so not hard) but that's a lot for a 23 year old with not a lot of games. Was Phoenix involved then? Don't think he'd played much under Hill when he signed it.

Hill was appointed 30 Aug 2019. Edwards got a three-year contract on 12 Sep 2019. Phoenix joined 6 Feb 2020 (I thought he was here by late January).

[BWFC_Insane]

Do we know whose decision giving Edwards 3 years was? He looked far better than Zouma to me (though I think Zouma is a total donkey so not hard) but that's a lot for a 23 year old with not a lot of games. Was Phoenix involved then? Don't think he'd played much under Hill when he signed it.

He got injured didn't he? An interesting point this throws up is whether Phoenix is making football decisions. Is he for example deciding who we offer deals to or not? Because there is a big difference between a manager saying I want X,Y and Z and your former agent DoF deciding whether financially the deals required make sense - AND your DoF who hasn't got an in game football background deciding who should be offered deals at all.

I suspect Hill's decision. I quite liked look of Edwards but as you say, 23, barely played....needs a full season now desperately. Interested to see if he's in IE's plan.

[The_Gun]

Very thorough research, DSB. But isn't cobbling together a squad of ageing journeymen kind of the opposite of what we're supposedly trying to do?

Of course one or two older signings is fine, and I'm sure that's what you're advocating, but for me I'd like to see us linked with some younger players.

I guess the issue is what younger players are accessible to us in our current situation of suitable quality....we have signed Faal for example. Is he good enough? I guess we'll find out but most 21/22 year olds who are going to be good enough will be under contracts....

Clearly it's a tougher market to shop in, but we need to become a 'buy low (obviously we have to buy for nowt currently), sell high' trading club if we're going to move up the divisions. That doesn't mean we have to exclusively sign 18 year old prospects, of course, but I would want the majority of signings to be in the 20-28 years old bracket, so that if they do turn out to be successful we can realistically expect to make money from selling them on.

As DSB highlights, the released lists from clubs higher up the ladder must be a decent pool to have a look in for lads with potential. A consistently high proportion of the best players in the football league are cast-offs from the big academy systems.