On paper Isted, Taylor, Edun, Jones, May and Camara ARE good signings.
Unfortunately football isn't played on paper so as yet Isted hasn't impressed, Jones has been exposed at times, Edun has looked sharp but not yet able to complete 90 minutes, Camara the epitome of going from the sublime to the ridiculous whileTaylor is also not fit and also hasn't impressed. That leaves May who has worked very hard, looked good but has scored once and that was a penalty.
There are mitigations for all of them and all might be the spine of a good team but far too early to call on the evidence so far.
Remember Kirk was hailed as a great signing too and some still want to give him an 8th or 9th chance!
Dobson was dismissed very quickly, as was Clare who is shining for Wigan
When/if everyone is fit, when/if we sign a striker and a right back (what is the delay over Dabo?) and when/if we start winning games on a consistent basis, then we can start to say this was a good window.
Until then we are a long, long way from that.
Great post.
I’m optimistic we will get there.
If we don’t, then I think there should be questions asked, of why we haven’t got the most out of those players.
Now that Kanu is scoring we have 4 strikers on our books. Unless we are going to unload one of them I would be very surprised if we sign another one, unless it is a loan. The priority is to sort out the defence-keeping goals out is the biggest problem to fix now.
Chuks really is not an option and Kanu needs a loan (appreciate he's scored a couple already - but still needs a decent loan spell)
You're half right Why does DK need a loan? Miles didn't, he was thrown in last term "just a kid" Didn't DK score loads more goals than ML in age group football
In the absence of any more attacking signings CAFC needs DK in the XI or 18 every game
But not all 18 year olds are equal.
Micheal Owen and Wayne Rooney didn't need a loan so why did Harry Kane?
Bowyer was a regular, and star player, in the 2nd tier at 17/18 Parker wasn't.
I actually wouldn't loan out Kanu, even if we did bring in 2 more strikers, certainly not before Xmas, he still needs more u21 football and a few cameos, for now. There is no need to rush him, or shouldn't be.
Now that Kanu is scoring we have 4 strikers on our books. Unless we are going to unload one of them I would be very surprised if we sign another one, unless it is a loan. The priority is to sort out the defence-keeping goals out is the biggest problem to fix now.
Chuks really is not an option and Kanu needs a loan (appreciate he's scored a couple already - but still needs a decent loan spell)
You're half right Why does DK need a loan? Miles didn't, he was thrown in last term "just a kid" Didn't DK score loads more goals than ML in age group football
In the absence of any more attacking signings CAFC needs DK in the XI or 18 every game
Because if we had any other senior strikers fit or available, he wouldn't be playing. I'd argue that both Kanu and even, in a perfect world (say, where Aneke wasn't made out of paper), Leaburn could still benefit from a loan spell. Rushing these kids into lots of minutes early into their careers can lead to injuries and additional pressure from going straight into a L1 team with (perhaps feeling lofty right now) ambitions of promotion.
Leaburn has already had a couple of times out injured already and, arguably, that could be down to too much, too soon. You ideally want these players being the impact subs/cover at this stage of their career, not the 30+ appearance players. We should be looking after our academy players and slowly get them involved - it's exciting to see them contribute, but going straight from U23s to L1 is a huge jump in so many aspects. They need to be managed carefully and seen as more of an asset in a year or two, rather than now.
I've gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but this is what warrants the need to sign a couple of strikers, imo.
Now that Kanu is scoring we have 4 strikers on our books. Unless we are going to unload one of them I would be very surprised if we sign another one, unless it is a loan. The priority is to sort out the defence-keeping goals out is the biggest problem to fix now.
Chuks really is not an option and Kanu needs a loan (appreciate he's scored a couple already - but still needs a decent loan spell)
You're half right Why does DK need a loan? Miles didn't, he was thrown in last term "just a kid" Didn't DK score loads more goals than ML in age group football
In the absence of any more attacking signings CAFC needs DK in the XI or 18 every game
Because if we had any other senior strikers fit or available, he wouldn't be playing. I'd argue that both Kanu and even, in a perfect world (say, where Aneke wasn't made out of paper), Leaburn could still benefit from a loan spell. Rushing these kids into lots of minutes early into their careers can lead to injuries and additional pressure from going straight into a L1 team with (perhaps feeling lofty right now) ambitions of promotion.
Leaburn has already had a couple of times out injured already and, arguably, that could be down to too much, too soon. You ideally want these players being the impact subs/cover at this stage of their career, not the 30+ appearance players. We should be looking after our academy players and slowly get them involved - it's exciting to see them contribute, but going straight from U23s to L1 is a huge jump in so many aspects. They need to be managed carefully and seen as more of an asset in a year or two, rather than now.
I've gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but this is what warrants the need to sign a couple of strikers, imo.
Eight days to bring in minimum of three players. Cosgrove I’d say is 50/50 whether he chooses us over others. If not, then what then is the big question. Not signing another striker is unthinkable and I’d go as far as saying kills our season dead regardless of Miles returning. I’m guessing Dabo will be announced.
I think far too much responsibility is being placed on Leaburn's shoulders. He's still a junior pro in my eyes and despite the love-in for his familial connection, he is raw talent and should be a squad player as back up to the main lead strikers (when they arrive). Of course some players can make the step up, hence people speak of Bowyer, and Rak Sakyi, but they were/are different players. Leaburn has already shown that he can get injured and therefore should not be relied upon to salvage our season. May is a good addition, but he needs a player alongside him, at least of his quality, if the club are serious about promotion. If indeed they are, then more dead wood needs to be cleared across the team. If any fan can see it, the owners will definately be aware.
The question is how much do they want to put in, to achieve their targets?
Now that Kanu is scoring we have 4 strikers on our books. Unless we are going to unload one of them I would be very surprised if we sign another one, unless it is a loan. The priority is to sort out the defence-keeping goals out is the biggest problem to fix now.
Chuks really is not an option and Kanu needs a loan (appreciate he's scored a couple already - but still needs a decent loan spell)
You're half right Why does DK need a loan? Miles didn't, he was thrown in last term "just a kid" Didn't DK score loads more goals than ML in age group football
In the absence of any more attacking signings CAFC needs DK in the XI or 18 every game
Because if we had any other senior strikers fit or available, he wouldn't be playing. I'd argue that both Kanu and even, in a perfect world (say, where Aneke wasn't made out of paper), Leaburn could still benefit from a loan spell. Rushing these kids into lots of minutes early into their careers can lead to injuries and additional pressure from going straight into a L1 team with (perhaps feeling lofty right now) ambitions of promotion.
Leaburn has already had a couple of times out injured already and, arguably, that could be down to too much, too soon. You ideally want these players being the impact subs/cover at this stage of their career, not the 30+ appearance players. We should be looking after our academy players and slowly get them involved - it's exciting to see them contribute, but going straight from U23s to L1 is a huge jump in so many aspects. They need to be managed carefully and seen as more of an asset in a year or two, rather than now.
I've gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but this is what warrants the need to sign a couple of strikers, imo.
Isn't the point of a loan to get lots of minutes?
Not always, or not exclusively. It's just as much giving them a new experience, taking them out of their comfort zone, exposing them to new ideas and coaching etc. The minutes are just part of it.
Isted, Jones, Edun, Camara, Taylor & May is a great window!
Add that to Hector, Dobbo, Fraser & Leaburn and we’ve completely rebuilt the spine of the team with a lot of ability!
Any side with that list of players should absolutely be in the mix come May.
If ‘in the mix come May’ is play-offs then the last time we reached the league one play offs we had a spine/core of Bauer, Pearce, Sarr, Cullen, Beilik, Aribo, Taylor and Grant (for part of season). These were ably assisted by Djicksteel, Solly, Purrington, Pratley and Williams. From your list, only Dobson would compete to get in the side from that season.
I’m not expecting our starting XI to be as strong as that season, but that’s comparing how our current players are viewed now to how that team was seen after winning the playoffs.
Before that season started Aribo and Dijksteel had a lot to prove and they got better over time.
Cullen had a fairly unsuccessful loan in the Championship.
Bielik didn’t get going on loan at Walsall due to injury. He was inconsistent for us until later on that season.
Pratley stepped up in the playoff games and halfway through the season looked like he was possibly a player declining and wasn’t expected to have much of an impact.
Sarr split opinions and still does despite three seasons in the Championship with other clubs.
Solly was no longer the player he was.
Grant had a promising spell at Crawley but top end L1 was a big step up.
Taylor looked a very good signing but still had to prove he could make the step up in expectations.
It was a very good team for L1 but it wasn’t rated that highly by the majority in August of that season. That team only got 4 points from the first 4 games.
Our football has been less painful to watch this year and i like the fact we lob it forward quicker. A decent powerful centre forward or 2 and that change will make much more sense and ideally we will have the option to play it into feet to the centre forward as well - something we haven't done since Taylor. The round the back endlessly and then eventually down the wing was tedious to watch and we only have one half decent winger now anyway. We looked very good against Millwall (apart from Kirk) with a lot more movement and interchange in the middle of the park and had we brought the players expected in soon after and had Fraser and Camara not got injured (and leaburn much earlier), i'm sure we would be sitting here on circa 9 points. Things happen, players are hard to shift, youngsters and senior pro's make bizarre mistakes. I'm still more optimistic than before the takeover and think things will come good. Without the new signings by the end of the window that optimism will be gone but i'm happy to wait til then to judge and cut some slack for the owners, manager and players. For many, moaning about owners has become a way of life on here and the port vale defeat has opened the misery floodgates that they bask in. I think the squad is going in the right direction and things may look very different in a months time - fingers crossed.
Anyone think that Andy Carroll may do a one season job for us - looks like hes leaving Reading - would add height to our side for set pieces at both ends as well as someone Alfie could play off ??
Anyone think that Andy Carroll may do a one season job for us - looks like hes leaving Reading - would add height to our side for set pieces at both ends as well as someone Alfie could play off ??
Anyone think that Andy Carroll may do a one season job for us - looks like hes leaving Reading - would add height to our side for set pieces at both ends as well as someone Alfie could play off ??
So he can keep Chuks company? Make a difference to the first team? No
I’m certain we’ll sign some more players. What I’m now not convinced of is exactly how much quality they’ll bring. Dabo will be one and I’m happy with that. Unconvinced by Cosgrove and I think he was low on our list of strikers if at all. Not sure we’ll get anything more other than a couple of Prem loans. Won’t be enough for top six.
Now that Kanu is scoring we have 4 strikers on our books. Unless we are going to unload one of them I would be very surprised if we sign another one, unless it is a loan. The priority is to sort out the defence-keeping goals out is the biggest problem to fix now.
Chuks really is not an option and Kanu needs a loan (appreciate he's scored a couple already - but still needs a decent loan spell)
You're half right Why does DK need a loan? Miles didn't, he was thrown in last term "just a kid" Didn't DK score loads more goals than ML in age group football
In the absence of any more attacking signings CAFC needs DK in the XI or 18 every game
Because if we had any other senior strikers fit or available, he wouldn't be playing. I'd argue that both Kanu and even, in a perfect world (say, where Aneke wasn't made out of paper), Leaburn could still benefit from a loan spell. Rushing these kids into lots of minutes early into their careers can lead to injuries and additional pressure from going straight into a L1 team with (perhaps feeling lofty right now) ambitions of promotion.
Leaburn has already had a couple of times out injured already and, arguably, that could be down to too much, too soon. You ideally want these players being the impact subs/cover at this stage of their career, not the 30+ appearance players. We should be looking after our academy players and slowly get them involved - it's exciting to see them contribute, but going straight from U23s to L1 is a huge jump in so many aspects. They need to be managed carefully and seen as more of an asset in a year or two, rather than now.
I've gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but this is what warrants the need to sign a couple of strikers, imo.
Isn't the point of a loan to get lots of minutes?
Not always, or not exclusively. It's just as much giving them a new experience, taking them out of their comfort zone, exposing them to new ideas and coaching etc. The minutes are just part of it.
Assuming that any loan for Kanu would be national league or small league 2 club he would be much better off here, wouldn't he?
Henry, who is that bit older, and has that much more u21 football under his belt probably does need that.
In general I don't think there is much advantage loaning youngsters below 2 levels below their assumed ceiling. If they are physically ready for mens football and potential premier league players they will, soon enough, be challenging for a place in our team.
One other benefit you didn't mention, for the slightly older players is the importance of 3 points and the impact it has on the lives of their team mates in a way it doesn't in youth football.
For what it is worth, I think we're right to go for targets that may attract Championship and League 1 promotion rivals.
However we have to be realistic in both our valuation of targets and our chance to turn those players heads. Offering say £200,000 for players like Ladapo would be moronic (Not saying we have bid for him to purchase at all, never mind for £200k).
I think there's a high chance we're targeting players out of our price budget and that we probably won't attract without stupid salaries.
Either way, I have little doubt we'll bring in 3-5 more... Mostly loans and I pray they're good enough.
Don't know if he'd be available but Andrew Moran who impressed for Brighton against our U18s along with Evan Ferguson could be an interesting AM option, scored twice last night for their U23s in the EFL Trophy.
Don't know if he'd be available but Andrew Moran who impressed for Brighton against our U18s along with Evan Ferguson could be an interesting AM option, scored twice last night for their U23s in the EFL Trophy.
Isted, Jones, Edun, Camara, Taylor & May is a great window!
Add that to Hector, Dobbo, Fraser & Leaburn and we’ve completely rebuilt the spine of the team with a lot of ability!
Any side with that list of players should absolutely be in the mix come May.
If ‘in the mix come May’ is play-offs then the last time we reached the league one play offs we had a spine/core of Bauer, Pearce, Sarr, Cullen, Beilik, Aribo, Taylor and Grant (for part of season). These were ably assisted by Djicksteel, Solly, Purrington, Pratley and Williams. From your list, only Dobson would compete to get in the side from that season.
I’m not expecting our starting XI to be as strong as that season, but that’s comparing how our current players are viewed now to how that team was seen after winning the playoffs.
Before that season started Aribo and Dijksteel had a lot to prove and they got better over time.
Cullen had a fairly unsuccessful loan in the Championship.
Bielik didn’t get going on loan at Walsall due to injury. He was inconsistent for us until later on that season.
Pratley stepped up in the playoff games and halfway through the season looked like he was possibly a player declining and wasn’t expected to have much of an impact.
Sarr split opinions and still does despite three seasons in the Championship with other clubs.
Solly was no longer the player he was.
Grant had a promising spell at Crawley but top end L1 was a big step up.
Taylor looked a very good signing but still had to prove he could make the step up in expectations.
It was a very good team for L1 but it wasn’t rated that highly by the majority in August of that season. That team only got 4 points from the first 4 games.
What I was trying to say was we need those numbers to step up to the plate together this season to be ‘in the mix’ in May. I’ll happily hold my hands up if in 5 years time we are mid table championship and a number of those initially listed have gone on to get promoted to or get premiership contracts or are playing regular championship football.
They may end up all being Rak-Sakyi quality signings who fire us to promotion but considering how many of our own talented young players we are currently forced to use it feels risky to add even more young players in to a squad lacking experience.
Personally I think it will be mainly premier league loan signings now.
These can make or break a season. Remember after an initial succesful run how we struggled when JJ took over from NA? Then in Jan window we got 2 loans Spurs and Chelsea that didn't make our team. It was a major handicap. I remember asking Steve Gallen on one of those Zoom meetings about the lack of Premiership loans in Sept/Oct time and he was very defensive about it.
Isted, Jones, Edun, Camara, Taylor & May is a great window!
Add that to Hector, Dobbo, Fraser & Leaburn and we’ve completely rebuilt the spine of the team with a lot of ability!
Any side with that list of players should absolutely be in the mix come May.
If ‘in the mix come May’ is play-offs then the last time we reached the league one play offs we had a spine/core of Bauer, Pearce, Sarr, Cullen, Beilik, Aribo, Taylor and Grant (for part of season). These were ably assisted by Djicksteel, Solly, Purrington, Pratley and Williams. From your list, only Dobson would compete to get in the side from that season.
I’m not expecting our starting XI to be as strong as that season, but that’s comparing how our current players are viewed now to how that team was seen after winning the playoffs.
Before that season started Aribo and Dijksteel had a lot to prove and they got better over time.
Cullen had a fairly unsuccessful loan in the Championship.
Bielik didn’t get going on loan at Walsall due to injury. He was inconsistent for us until later on that season.
Pratley stepped up in the playoff games and halfway through the season looked like he was possibly a player declining and wasn’t expected to have much of an impact.
Sarr split opinions and still does despite three seasons in the Championship with other clubs.
Solly was no longer the player he was.
Grant had a promising spell at Crawley but top end L1 was a big step up.
Taylor looked a very good signing but still had to prove he could make the step up in expectations.
It was a very good team for L1 but it wasn’t rated that highly by the majority in August of that season. That team only got 4 points from the first 4 games.
What I was trying to say was we need those numbers to step up to the plate together this season to be ‘in the mix’ in May. I’ll happily hold my hands up if in 5 years time we are mid table championship and a number of those initially listed have gone on to get promoted to or get premiership contracts or are playing regular championship football.
Comments
Leaburn
May
Ladapo
Cosgrove
(Aneke as a bonus player if we ever see him again)
Kanu out on loan
However if we loan him out just to then loan in a premier league youngster to play, unless they're shit hot, I'd rather keep him here and play him.
Micheal Owen and Wayne Rooney didn't need a loan so why did Harry Kane?
Bowyer was a regular, and star player, in the 2nd tier at 17/18 Parker wasn't.
I actually wouldn't loan out Kanu, even if we did bring in 2 more strikers, certainly not before Xmas, he still needs more u21 football and a few cameos, for now. There is no need to rush him, or shouldn't be.
Leaburn has already had a couple of times out injured already and, arguably, that could be down to too much, too soon. You ideally want these players being the impact subs/cover at this stage of their career, not the 30+ appearance players. We should be looking after our academy players and slowly get them involved - it's exciting to see them contribute, but going straight from U23s to L1 is a huge jump in so many aspects. They need to be managed carefully and seen as more of an asset in a year or two, rather than now.
I've gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but this is what warrants the need to sign a couple of strikers, imo.
The question is how much do they want to put in, to achieve their targets?
When the window shuts we'll know.
Before that season started Aribo and Dijksteel had a lot to prove and they got better over time.
Cullen had a fairly unsuccessful loan in the Championship.
Bielik didn’t get going on loan at Walsall due to injury. He was inconsistent for us until later on that season.
Pratley stepped up in the playoff games and halfway through the season looked like he was possibly a player declining and wasn’t expected to have much of an impact.
Sarr split opinions and still does despite three seasons in the Championship with other clubs.
Solly was no longer the player he was.
Grant had a promising spell at Crawley but top end L1 was a big step up.
Taylor looked a very good signing but still had to prove he could make the step up in expectations.
It was a very good team for L1 but it wasn’t rated that highly by the majority in August of that season. That team only got 4 points from the first 4 games.
Make a difference to the first team? No
Henry, who is that bit older, and has that much more u21 football under his belt probably does need that.
In general I don't think there is much advantage loaning youngsters below 2 levels below their assumed ceiling. If they are physically ready for mens football and potential premier league players they will, soon enough, be challenging for a place in our team.
One other benefit you didn't mention, for the slightly older players is the importance of 3 points and the impact it has on the lives of their team mates in a way it doesn't in youth football.
However we have to be realistic in both our valuation of targets and our chance to turn those players heads. Offering say £200,000 for players like Ladapo would be moronic (Not saying we have bid for him to purchase at all, never mind for £200k).
I think there's a high chance we're targeting players out of our price budget and that we probably won't attract without stupid salaries.
Either way, I have little doubt we'll bring in 3-5 more... Mostly loans and I pray they're good enough.
...hope can do mad things to your mind!
I’ll happily hold my hands up if in 5 years time we are mid table championship and a number of those initially listed have gone on to get promoted to or get premiership contracts or are playing regular championship football.
Then in Jan window we got 2 loans Spurs and Chelsea that didn't make our team. It was a major handicap. I remember asking Steve Gallen on one of those Zoom meetings about the lack of Premiership loans in Sept/Oct time and he was very defensive about it.
Suppose that's intel, Dabo not who he's referring to