January 2023 Transfer Window

[GhostoftheBok]

I just don’t see Dapo in the number ten role in the current system. We look best when Lee is playing well. And that’s for two reasons. One because he’s very clever on the press and two because he’s the most intelligent footballer we have and he finds pockets of space to drift in and out of.

I don’t see Dapo as that sort. He’s more get the ball isolate a defender and torment them. He’s not really got that all round vision - something Evatt mentioned in the summer and I haven’t seen that change yet.

In a more direct team or a counter attacking team I think he could be a good number ten picking up the loose balls in attacking areas. But how we play demands a different sort in there. Dempsey has struggled to do it. Kachunga can do it but he’s so slow when he gets the ball that I’ve seen icebergs turn faster.

Dapo for me needs to play out wide and cut inside. Or find a freer role that lets him move right across the front line. He’s not for me a number ten in this current setup.

I agree. However, in the current system that's where he'd play if we sign two strikers.

As you said earlier, we could switch systems; but I don't think we will.

If we ended up with (just for argument's sake) Dad Bod, Charles, Smith and Nlundulu a striker options, then I find it almost impossible to imagine that we wouldn't see a lot of Dapo off the forwards. Maybe with a licence to drift to the left a lot to try and balance that side, but nominally as a '10'.

I share all your concerns about him as a '10' for us, but I don't think we sell him or write him off. Evatt will keep trying to make it work.

[GhostoftheBok]

Ian Evatt on Tyler Smith of Hull (then Sheffield United):

“I’ve spoken to Sheffield United and I’ll do all I can to keep him. If it means locking him in my own house, I will do because he’s a big player for us.

“He’s got ten goals, he’s a 19-year-old kid whose attitude to training is a minority these days.

“Some of the young players of today probably don’t train as hard as they should do, they take things for granted, some of them, but Tyler certainly doesn’t.

“His work ethic – I have to drag him off the training pitch every single day and tell him ‘that’s enough.’

“I have to physically get him off the pitch because he wants to improve and he wants to learn and he’s going to have a fantastic career and we’re seeing the fruits of what he can do right now and hopefully we can keep him here.

“That’s the double threat with having Jacob, who’s been physically different class, up there to then having Tyler running in behind you constantly.

“He’s a pest, he doesn’t stop running, he’ll get chances and when he gets chances, he scores goals, it’s as simple as that. It’s great at the minute and I’m really pleased with them.”

Link to the original article: https://www.nwemail.co.uk/sport/1727320 ... arrow-afc/

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Nlundulu seems to be close to a done deal according to the BN
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... -nlundulu/

The Macauley Bonne nugget could be Iles having some fun or it could be sign of us maintaining our interest. Either way, it's interesting. The post-summer reports were that we thought we had him at one point, but you'd expect competition now. Possibly from Plymouth now they've lost their star man.

Bonne and Nlundulu would throw the cat amongst the pigeons in a way I wanted to see done in the summer. A proper kick up the arse for those that stay past January (because if those two came in we'd certainly see some leave).

Isn’t Morgan Whittaker, whom Plymouth have lost back to Swansea, more of a winger (or an attacking midfielder in their 3-4-2-1)? Up front they have Niall Ennis on 8 goals in 24, Ryan Hardie on 8 in 23, and Sam Cosgrove on 6 in 18. Can never have too many Ferraris etc but I doubt they’ll be prioritising a No9 as such.

Macauley Bonne is an odd one - one of the few successes under Paul Cook, scoring a dozen, then choked off more or less completely under the far more Evattian Kieran McKenna. But I don’t disbelieve we were after him, and a freebie would be good. 27, but that’s younger than Bod and Kacha and only a fortnight older than Dion.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Worth noting that Tyler Smith (who’s just turned 24 - again sort of the age Dapo was when he arrived) seems to be out of contract at the end of the season. Nixon has reported that Hull are ready to loan him out, with plenty of League One interest, but if our hat is in the ring then maybe the previous relationship between Smith and Evatt would count for something.

Question is, if two forwards come in, who except Baka is leaving? Would there be a taker for Kachunga? Would Evatt want shut? He’d be way back in a long queue.

[GhostoftheBok]

Isn’t Morgan Whittaker, whom Plymouth have lost back to Swansea, more of a winger (or an attacking midfielder in their 3-4-2-1)?

Yes, very much '10'; but the suggestion is they may look to rejig that three.

[GhostoftheBok]

Worth noting that Tyler Smith (who’s just turned 24 - again sort of the age Dapo was when he arrived) seems to be out of contract at the end of the season. Nixon has reported that Hull are ready to loan him out, with plenty of League One interest, but if our hat is in the ring then maybe the previous relationship between Smith and Evatt would count for something.

Question is, if two forwards come in, who except Baka is leaving? Would there be a taker for Kachunga? Would Evatt want shut? He’d be way back in a long queue.

The honest answer to all this is "dunno."

100% there have to be more outgoings than just Baka if we are, as Marc says, bringing in 2 attackers. I think most people, if asked what they'd want in, would have said "striker and a 10" rather than "two strikers" - mostly for the reasons Insane listed regarding Dapo in that role behind the strikers.

If the account linking us to Smith has anything to it (which I am somewhat doubtful of) then you'd have to think that, again if asked, most people would say Baka and Kachunga should make way.

Would there be takers for Kacha? In a January window, I'd say yes. There's usually a club willing to pick up a forward with his experience who works hard and implements the manager's plan.

Would Evatt want shut? I really think Evatt likes him, for that last reason listed above as to why there might be takers. He does the job Evatt asks him to do every time he puts the shirt on. He doesn't always play well, but Evatt never has to worry about him having got the memo. He hits his mark and reacts to every trigger. However, he's not giving us the end product.

Others (maybe Insane) will know better than I do these days, but from what I'm told Kachunga is a big deal at the training ground. Setting standards and helping keep lads motivated. If that's right then that might keep him around as much as anything else.

[sonicthewhite]

Kacha = the new ping pong master!

[GhostoftheBok]

I had a read through the thread before I joined it and my goodness, people seem a lot more despairing of life than am I. "Sadlier is a better player than Evatt is a manager" was hilarious, but the general "We're in bad shape" tone surprised me. We're not.

We have improved season on season under Evatt. We're improved again this season. Why on earth anyone, even Insane, would be talking about sacking him at the minute baffles me.

I've realised that I'm approaching this from a much, much more optimistic positions than a number of people. We're 5th and on course for a much better points haul that last season, despite having had injuries to key players. That tells me that Evatt and Markham are actually doing well, rather than being on some kind of last chance.

We are a good League One side which isn't far off being a very good league one side. We may not be able to do enough this window to go up, but if not I think we will go up next season.

Last January we went in hard to rescue the season and it hugely impacted what we could do in the summer. We don't need to rescue anything this time, we just need to tweak things with on eye on going up a significant level in the summer (whatever league we're in). We obviously need to give Evatt more tools to try and go up this term, but we also need to work on the basis of not negatively impacting the summer budgets.

Nlundulu is precisely the right sort of signing for that. In the summer we needed to find an attacker to shake things up and get a reaction out of the lads. We didn't, but we can do it now. The profile of player I felt we needed was someone young with pace, power and technical ability - which is what Nlundulu looks like. It's late and has cost us a few points, but on our budgets that's life. He's got the potential to offer a longer term solution there, so it's not a negative hit for the summer; rather he boosts us in that market if the deal works out.

We're basically exactly where I felt we needed to be at this stage and we seem to be doing what we need to do to make further progress. I'm feeling much more positive than the general mood.

[nicholaldo]

Worth noting that Tyler Smith (who’s just turned 24 - again sort of the age Dapo was when he arrived) seems to be out of contract at the end of the season. Nixon has reported that Hull are ready to loan him out, with plenty of League One interest, but if our hat is in the ring then maybe the previous relationship between Smith and Evatt would count for something.

Question is, if two forwards come in, who except Baka is leaving? Would there be a taker for Kachunga? Would Evatt want shut? He’d be way back in a long queue.

He is, although his club have the option of a further year's extension.

[GhostoftheBok]

Isn’t Morgan Whittaker, whom Plymouth have lost back to Swansea, more of a winger (or an attacking midfielder in their 3-4-2-1)? Up front they have Niall Ennis on 8 goals in 24, Ryan Hardie on 8 in 23, and Sam Cosgrove on 6 in 18. Can never have too many Ferraris etc but I doubt they’ll be prioritising a No9 as such.

Going back to this, I hadn't noticed Plymouth had signed both Ben Waine the excellent Callum Wright. So they have indeed rejigged that forward line, including adding the striker (Waine) they'd tasked agents to find. Can probably scrap any idea of them getting another.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Worth noting that Tyler Smith (who’s just turned 24 - again sort of the age Dapo was when he arrived) seems to be out of contract at the end of the season. Nixon has reported that Hull are ready to loan him out, with plenty of League One interest

He is, although his club have the option of a further year's extension.

Ah, really? Hmm, OK. Think I read that he scored a couple against Wigan. Which is funny, but annoyingly might have persuaded his club/manager just in time that he has some worth, as player or asset.

Because I was thinking as I failed to get to sleep that if we loaned Nlundulu and Smith, that takes us to five loanees, which I think is the maximum for a matchday squad. If Smith were being pushed out, it might be worth considering offering him a short-term contract, so he gets to try us as much as we try him. Arguably could do same for Nlundulu but he’s contracted to 2024.

[GhostoftheBok]

If Smith were being pushed out, it might be worth considering offering him a short-term contract, so he gets to try us as much as we try him. Arguably could do same for Nlundulu but he’s contracted to 2024.

It's a tricky one, isn't it. Players don't like to lose money (does anyone?) and Championship/U23-Elite contracts are typically better terms than the loaning clubs end up offering at our level. If we wanted to take him permanently in January it'd probably be a much more difficult deal than a loan and once those terms are on the table clubs who might otherwise try for him the summer suddenly perk up.

If we say "Come and play for us for 6 months and see how it goes" and another club offers the security of 2.5 or, god forbid, 3.5 years then we'd likely be waving goodbye.

Money at this level isn't usually enough for players to actively want short term solutions. As with Nlundulu, who has apparently chosen to come here because we're offering him a long term future if he impresses.

[The_Gun]

I understand the logic of bringing in the likes of Nlundulu who we can sign up for the longer term, but I also feel like getting a real top young player in for 6 months might be what we need to push us over the edge this season.

Ghost, as you seem to have your ear closest to the market, do you think there's any chance we bring in an attacking loanee from one of our larger neighbours?

[TANGODANCER]

I understand the logic of bringing in the likes of Nlundulu who we can sign up for the longer term, but I also feel like getting a real top young player in for 6 months might be what we need to push us over the edge this season.

Ghost, as you seem to have your ear closest to the market, do you think there's any chance we bring in an attacking loanee from one of our larger neighbours?

I know the question was aimed at Ghost, but personally I'd say say the presence of Trafford and Bradley suggest the possibility may well exist. Both have been successful ventures that can't just go unnoticed?

[brommers95]

I can’t say I truly understand the logic of bringing in a winger if we’re going to continue with the 3-5-2. Trust the process I suppose…

[BWFC_Insane]

I can’t say I truly understand the logic of bringing in a winger if we’re going to continue with the 3-5-2. Trust the process I suppose…

Played as a right wing back for Exeter didn’t he? Good player. Not sure how it works with Bradley though. Williams has also played on the left….

[Worthy4England]

I had a read through the thread before I joined it and my goodness, people seem a lot more despairing of life than am I. "Sadlier is a better player than Evatt is a manager" was hilarious, but the general "We're in bad shape" tone surprised me. We're not.

We have improved season on season under Evatt. We're improved again this season. Why on earth anyone, even Insane, would be talking about sacking him at the minute baffles me.

I've realised that I'm approaching this from a much, much more optimistic positions than a number of people. We're 5th and on course for a much better points haul that last season, despite having had injuries to key players. That tells me that Evatt and Markham are actually doing well, rather than being on some kind of last chance.

We are a good League One side which isn't far off being a very good league one side. We may not be able to do enough this window to go up, but if not I think we will go up next season.

Last January we went in hard to rescue the season and it hugely impacted what we could do in the summer. We don't need to rescue anything this time, we just need to tweak things with on eye on going up a significant level in the summer (whatever league we're in). We obviously need to give Evatt more tools to try and go up this term, but we also need to work on the basis of not negatively impacting the summer budgets.

Nlundulu is precisely the right sort of signing for that. In the summer we needed to find an attacker to shake things up and get a reaction out of the lads. We didn't, but we can do it now. The profile of player I felt we needed was someone young with pace, power and technical ability - which is what Nlundulu looks like. It's late and has cost us a few points, but on our budgets that's life. He's got the potential to offer a longer term solution there, so it's not a negative hit for the summer; rather he boosts us in that market if the deal works out.

We're basically exactly where I felt we needed to be at this stage and we seem to be doing what we need to do to make further progress. I'm feeling much more positive than the general mood.

It's interesting, innit. There are lots of different types of season - one where you know you're in deep doo doo and manage to stay up on the last day and that constitutes "huge victory." the one where you know you're in huge trouble and don't and that's obviously a sad day. At the other end, there's the one where you storm to promotion and the fact that Jim hit 15 passes astray every game don't count as he managed to set up 11 goals from LWB, then there's probably us, this season and I don't think anyone has us in any of those categories...(may be the odd outlier).

So that sorta leaves lower half - don't think that would get many votes, leaving top half and playoffs. The reality probably is, with the playoffs being where they are currently, we're tantalisingly 4th, 5th, 6th at the moment, but finer margins down to 11th than those margins to get us to 3rd, 2nd, 1st. I think many would view missing out on Play Offs wouldn't be a season that delivered what it should.

So for me, I'm probably sat at the top end of my seasons' expectations (safe 3rd would be nice), and generally (again for me) players are probably pulling their weight. So what's amiss?

I think it comes down to the feeling (when we don't win), that this is to do with square pegs and round holes, which are never cited when we do win and the feeling which Evatt hasn't done anything to discourage that there's lots more to come from this set of players - something he's been saying since probably late Sept/early Oct. If he genuinely believes there's lots more to come from the set we already have, then that would put us near the automatics rather than near the "missing out"

There's also our ability (or inability) to break stubborn teams down - ok from def to final third, then it seems to falter and it looks slow and ponderous (probably because it often is). This has been put down to many things over the course of the season - shit long balls out of defence, Bradley not being Fossey, nothing progressive in MF, nothing much on the left, strikers who can't hit a cows arse and wtf is Kachunga doing (which I suspect is probably demonstrated in part by that little set of stats showing we're the highest pressing team in the League)...taken collectively, you could say that's a lot of problems, or you could say we're in 5th which is about where I'd expect. Guess that's whether your cup is half full or half empty.

[GhostoftheBok]

Played as a right wing back for Exeter didn’t he? Good player. Not sure how it works with Bradley though. Williams has also played on the left….

Randell Williams could 100% play left wing back in our system and would be an excellent addition to the squad. Exactly the sort of player you have been asking for. Genuinely two footed player.

[brommers95]

I can’t say I truly understand the logic of bringing in a winger if we’re going to continue with the 3-5-2. Trust the process I suppose…

Played as a right wing back for Exeter didn’t he? Good player. Not sure how it works with Bradley though. Williams has also played on the left….

Possibly, I don't remember him doing too much defending watching him back in League Two. Hope we're not making the same mistake we made with Sadlier

[GhostoftheBok]

So for me, I'm probably sat at the top end of my seasons' expectations (safe 3rd would be nice), and generally (again for me) players are probably pulling their weight. So what's amiss?

I think it comes down to the feeling (when we don't win), that this is to do with square pegs and round holes, which are never cited when we do win and the feeling which Evatt hasn't done anything to discourage that there's lots more to come from this set of players - something he's been saying since probably late Sept/early Oct. If he genuinely believes there's lots more to come from the set we already have, then that would put us near the automatics rather than near the "missing out"

There's also our ability (or inability) to break stubborn teams down - ok from def to final third, then it seems to falter and it looks slow and ponderous (probably because it often is). This has been put down to many things over the course of the season - shit long balls out of defence, Bradley not being Fossey, nothing progressive in MF, nothing much on the left, strikers who can't hit a cows arse and wtf is Kachunga doing (which I suspect is probably demonstrated in part by that little set of stats showing we're the highest pressing team in the League)...taken collectively, you could say that's a lot of problems, or you could say we're in 5th which is about where I'd expect. Guess that's whether your cup is half full or half empty.

I think I went for 4th when people asked where we'd finish.

Aside from whatever the hell is going on at MK Dons the season looks basically the way I imagined it would. The teams 1st-3rd are pulling away and 4th-8th are all much of a muchness.

Evatt will believe he can close the gap to 2nd. I don't think we can, but I do think we can build on what we've got and improve markedly heading into the summer. I think we'll be in the play-offs and by that stage we may be the form side - assuming these deals we are now hearing about come off and people stay fit.

I think I'm less worried about the issues in the side as I saw them coming. The strikers were always going to go wrong without fresh blood and we didn't sign a '10' or someone to break lines from midfield. I said I wasn't happy with the summer business and this is why. However, I also don't think it's a big issue. We have more issues on the pitch than I would like, but Evatt has us higher up the table than I'd have expected if you'd told me about all the injury issues in the summer. The huge improvement defensively is the main boon there.

I think it'll be reet