Sheffield Wednesday recruited a load of free transfers last season and they are in the playoffs. This is definitely something we are looking to replicate
If we offer so many of our young players contracts it says a lot about the direction of travel.
Agree. The right direction IMO.
Why? We need to get out of this league ASAP, using a bunch of our youngsters won't do that, they're not all world beaters, and the physicality of the men's game is vastly different to knocking the ball about around a load of spotty yoof from up north.
We need to sign the best players in this league, early in the window, and get it right
I think getting out of this league is probably two seasons away and will come about when we can integrate and support the squad with our talented youth. I have not suggested we use them now and nor would I. That said, there are a couple out on loan that I am looking forward to seeing play pre-season to see how they have developed.
The current under 18’s team are the most exciting team I have seen in yonks. Why do you not want to get them on contract? What is the point of going for Cat1 if our youth players have left? The youth players are the future and are more important at this moment in time than a few journeyman footballers. We have to get out structure right first and foremost IMO.
Signing the best players in the league sounds simple, and if you have shed loads of cash to spend you may even be able to do it. You will have to outbid every other Club on wages/fees which can cost dearly if they don’t work out and you have them on three year deals. If the money does not continue to flow the whole Club could be in jeopardy. Even then success does not automatically follow as Ipswich demonstrated this season. Do you seriously expect TS to do this? I wouldn’t and I don’t think he will.
A new manager, a couple of decent long term signings, a few freebie’s and a couple of loan players may get us into the playoffs next season and who knows? If not successful we should be in a decent position to give it a real go for automatic the following season.
When TS said Premiership in five years I though Championship in five years more realistic given that the core of our Club had been ripped out and so much work was/is required to rebuild it. That is still my opinion.
All sounds very sensible... but in today's football world TS losses £8M a year standing still in L1 - so another 2 years sees him £32M down and any young kid who is decent won't be here in 2 years time as we have seen from Burstow, Jenkinson, Gomez, Palmer and even 4th generation Charlton fan Beadle.
Signing them up is hugely important but building a strategy around them growing with us in L1 to deliver Championship football seems flawed to me.
If we offer so many of our young players contracts it says a lot about the direction of travel.
Agree. The right direction IMO.
Provided a number of them graduate to the first team, and it doesn’t become such a production line of players for other clubs. I think one point of tension as it were is our developing players verses loans. I would not take a loan where another club wants an indifferent player to gain experience. For me loanees have to be of the likes of Cullen, Belik or Gallagher, not Levitt or John blocking progress of our guys.
I agree.
I think the tension dissipates when the loan players are quite clearly better players. For example James Vennings would be understandably unchuffed if John started in midfield.
The ‘production line’ would be more secure if we were Cat1, but as a Club we will always be preyed upon by bigger clubs, but it would help us get more money and deals when we sell them, which we will need to sustain things.
Sheffield Wednesday recruited a load of free transfers last season and they are in the playoffs. This is definitely something we are looking to replicate
Not a bad plan if the players are good. We got Yann, Hollands, Hayes, Evina, Matt Taylor and perhaps most importantly Mikel Alonso on frees in 2011/12, and Morrison and Hamer for nominal fees because they were unwanted. In 2018/19 Lyle Taylor, Pratley and Jonny Williams were all free. You can build a great squad with free transfers as long as they fit the system. The real question right now is what the hell the system's going to be
The whole "free transfer" category is a nonsense now anyway since Bosman, as it doesn't differentiate between players let go by their previous clubs, or players refusing to sign another contract.
I've mentioned him before but Viktor Johansson would be a great signing if he left Rotherham.
Been second choice most of the season so may prefer first choice in L1 over second choice in the Championship.
These comments from Warne strike me as a "I'd like to sell and get money from Johansson, Lindsay and Miller, make us an offer...." rather than wanting to sign them up long term
Don't know as much about the rest mentioned beyond him & Michael Smith, anyone else know more?
Did you see him up at Rotherham last month? He was shite! Wayward kicking, looked nervy and no communication with his defence. Rotherham mate of mine said that Vickers breaking his hand and VJ going in goal was one of the reasons behind their dip in form in the last 6 weeks.
Having said all that he's probably better than MacG...
I've mentioned him before but Viktor Johansson would be a great signing if he left Rotherham.
Been second choice most of the season so may prefer first choice in L1 over second choice in the Championship.
These comments from Warne strike me as a "I'd like to sell and get money from Johansson, Lindsay and Miller, make us an offer...." rather than wanting to sign them up long term
Don't know as much about the rest mentioned beyond him & Michael Smith, anyone else know more?
Did you see him up at Rotherham last month? He was shite! Wayward kicking, looked nervy and no communication with his defence. Rotherham mate of mine said that Vickers breaking his hand and VJ going in goal was one of the reasons behind their dip in form in the last 6 weeks.
Having said all that he's probably better than MacG...
The one with the broken hand may have been better than McG. Especially if he could catch with the other one.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
I've mentioned him before but Viktor Johansson would be a great signing if he left Rotherham.
Been second choice most of the season so may prefer first choice in L1 over second choice in the Championship.
These comments from Warne strike me as a "I'd like to sell and get money from Johansson, Lindsay and Miller, make us an offer...." rather than wanting to sign them up long term
Don't know as much about the rest mentioned beyond him & Michael Smith, anyone else know more?
Did you see him up at Rotherham last month? He was shite! Wayward kicking, looked nervy and no communication with his defence. Rotherham mate of mine said that Vickers breaking his hand and VJ going in goal was one of the reasons behind their dip in form in the last 6 weeks.
Having said all that he's probably better than MacG...
Fair enough, he's looked decent when I've seen him!
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
Probably part of the reason they've gone down, only Gillingham scored less - He was also frozen out for large parts of the season what with refusing to sign a new deal - Am surprised that he played as many as 31-games for them this season.
Got three goals / eight assists when he had the likes of Dale | Kirk around him last season.
Might be too similar to Dobson, as remember when we played @ Crewe, he basically marked Lee out of the game.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
Probably part of the reason they've gone down, only Gillingham scored less - He was also frozen out for large parts of the season what with refusing to sign a new deal - Am surprised that he played as many as 31-games for them this season.
Got three goals / eight assists when he had the likes of Dale | Kirk around him last season.
Might be too similar to Dobson, as remember when we played @ Crewe, he basically marked Lee out of the game.
We were lucky that Dobson did not pick up an injury as we had no cover at all for his position and we need quality competition for places.
If we were to continue with 2-5-2, having two defensive midfielders would allow wingbacks to attack and still have cover.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
He will be off, strange they haven’t mentioned they’ve offered him a deal but he will be a league 1 player next year, hopefully with us. Better than Albie and Gilbey definitely. Has an engine, 4 goals and 4 assist in 32 league games, what I mean by free agents who improve us.
It is when he plays for a dog crap side and plays box to box. An improvement on what we have undoubtedly. It’s no coincidence that most fans in this league have shown an interest in Tom Lowery, never seen anyone want Gilbey or Albie other than MK Dons fans for Gilbey.
Didn't Lowery have a contract standoff for most of last summer and didn't really feature in their first few games? Was hoping he might be someone on our radar
Comments
Signing them up is hugely important but building a strategy around them growing with us in L1 to deliver Championship football seems flawed to me.
Going Bolton it looks like.
https://www.crewealex.net/news/2022/may/2021-22-retained-list/
Having said all that he's probably better than MacG...
I get a feeling we won't sign a keeper anyway.
Got three goals / eight assists when he had the likes of Dale | Kirk around him last season.
Might be too similar to Dobson, as remember when we played @ Crewe, he basically marked Lee out of the game.
Albie Morgan 1 Goal and 9 assists in 29 matches in all comps. Goal interaction every 3.2 games.
If we were to continue with 2-5-2, having two defensive midfielders would allow wingbacks to attack and still have cover.
Believe players also get paid by their old club if they’re still out of contract at the end of August. Not sure what that means for insurance.