I think people are seeing the amount of money they are splashing on young targets who have played at the level above, and are clearly being targeted to be able to kick on in the championship, and think that it should apply to a 31 year old who will likely be sold if Birmingham go up.
I think a lot of people on social media are certainly hoping Birmingham muck it up, rather than actually believing it.
They're signing players from the Dutch top flight for big fees. JBG was unreal for us, and had a steady career as a Premier League regular afterwards. If these signings they're making are even half as good as JBG, they'll make a bit of a mockery of this league imo.
The difference between Ipswich in 21/22 to 22/23, is that they didn't burn their money. In 21/22 they bought some decent players, also bought a lot of turd, their signings for 22/23 were a bit more savvy. Birmingham look to be replicating their 22/23 window. I expect them to do what Ipswich done, and be near the 100 point mark.
Make no mistake, spending cash efficiently wins you leagues, still don't understand how there is a debate about it. See every league last season, the big spenders will either win the league or be thereabouts. Always has been that way, always will.
I'm not sure that it was the transfer dealings that were the problem, more that the manager Paul Cook couldn't produce a team out of them. When McKenna took over, he immediately improved them.
You need a good budget AND good management to do well. Birmingham have a cheat code budget, but an unproven manager when compared to say Steve Evans.
It's weird, they can essentially sign players now that they wouldn't be able to in the championship under the current rules. No doubt they hope if they spend big and smash the league this season, they can use the momentum to carry them through next season like Ipswich have
Think that is exactly their plan. Build a good championship squad now, add in a bit of momentum from a league 1 promotion and they could go straight towards the upper end of the championship first season with a small chance of play offs/promotion
I can see their plan mate but as we all know getting out of this league isn’t a given. It took Ipswich a couple of attempts once they started spending.
They bought Scott Fraser first time around, then started buying champ quality players
Chelsea spent a lot, but a lot of it was on young talents, and in a league where everyone else above them also spend absurd amounts of money. Despite their poor start, they still managed to finish 6th and only 5 points away from Villa, who have a very good and expensive squad themselves. They also had a lot of outgoings so were on a bit of a rebuild.
Birmingham aren't up against the likes of City, Arsenal, Liverpool etc who also spend a fortune, they're up against a league full of sides with small budgets, and paying low wages.
They'll get promoted, whether it's this season, next season, it's inevitable. I can't say the same for us, or any other team in this league. I've already seen people saying this is a good building season or play-offs would be nice. Completely different level of ambition.
Just because Birmingham are ambitious, doesn’t mean they will go up. I would put money on them and I’m not a gambling man.
they’d gone for a manager that has never managed, and signed players that have never played in England before. How will those players cope on a Tuesday night in Stockport.
throwing money and being ambitious doesn’t guarantee success. The infrastructure needs to be in place.there is also a risk that this may all go wrong for Birmingham.
im guessing they threw money at Rooney last year and paid him more than eustace. How did that work out.
Transfers in as of end of 22 July: 161 by 23 Teams. Most Active: Burton (17) Least Active: Reading (0) Teams with 10+ signings: 4 Teams with 8+ signings: 7 Teams with 7+ signings: 10 Teams with 4+ signings: 23 Fee Paid/Undisclosed: 66 Free: 78 Loans: 17
Barnsley: 4 Conor Hourihane - Derby (Free) Marc Roberts - Birmingham (Free) Jackson Smith - Walsall (Undisclosed) Matthew Craig - Doncaster (Loan)
Birmingham: 7 Ryan Allsop - Hull (Undisclosed) Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Undisclosed) Alfie May - Charlton (Undisclosed) Emil Hansson - Heracles (Undisclosed) Alex Cochrane - Hearts (Undisclosed) Willum Thor Willumsson - Go Ahead Eagles (Undisclosed) Christoph Klarer - Darmstadt (Undisclosed)
Blackpool: 5 Jordan Rhodes - Huddersfield (Free) Ashley Fletcher - Watford (Free) Zac Ashworth - West Brom (Undisclosed) Hayden Coulson - Middlesbrough (Undisclosed) Lee Evans - Portsmouth (Free)
Bolton: 4 Chris Forino - Wycombe (Free) Luke Southwood - Cheltenham (Free) Klaidi Lolos - Crawley (Undisclosed) Scott Arfield - Charlotte FC (Undisclosed)
Bristol Rovers: 11 Isaac Hutchinson - Walsall (Undisclosed) Clinton Mola - Reading (Free) Ruel Sotiriou - Leyton Orient (Undisclosed) Dan Ellison - Chippenham (Undisclosed) Bryant Bilongo - Middlesbrough (Undisclosed) Joel Senior - Morecambe (Undisclosed) Taylor Moore - Valenciennes (Free) Michael Forbes - West Ham (Loan) Josh Griffiths - West Brom (Loan) Jamie Lindsay - Rotherham (Free) Promise Omochore - Fleetwood (Undisclosed)
Burton: 17 Elliot Watt - Salford (Free) Geraldo Bajrami - Notts County (Free) Tomas Kalinauskas - Den Bosch (Free) Jason Sraha - Shrewsbury (Undisclosed) Ben Whitfield - Barrow (Free) Julian Larson - Nottingham Forest (Undisclosed) Charlie Webster - Chelsea (Undisclosed) Alex Bannon - Queens Park (Undisclosed) Udoka Goodwin-Malife - Swindon (Undisclosed) Danilo Orsi - Crawley (Undisclosed) Rumarn Burrell - Cove Rangers (Free) Dylan Williams- Chelsea (Loan) Billy Bodin - Oxford (Free) Jack Armer - Carlisle (Undisclosed) Jack Hazlehurst - Chorley (Undisclosed) Jack Cooper-Love - Elfsborg (Undisclosed) Ivan Inzoudine - FC Chambly Oise - (Undisclosed)
Cambridge United: 8 Kelland Watts - Newcastle (Free) James Gibbons - Bristol Rovers (Free) Shayne Lavery - Blackpool (Free) Vicente Reyes - Norwich (Loan) Ryan Loft - Port Vale (Undisclosed) Taylor Richards - QPR (Loan) Gary Gardner - Birmingham (Free) Korey Smith - Derby (Free)
Charlton: 7 Will Mannion - Cambridge United (Free) Luke Berry - Luton (Free) Josh Edwards - Dunfermline (Undisclosed) Alex Mitchell - Millwall (Undisclosed) Matty Godden - Coventry (Undisclosed) Gassan Ahadme - Ipswich (Undisclosed) Greg Docherty - Hull (Free)
Exeter: 6 Jack McMillan - Partick (Free) Josh Magennis - Wigan (Free) Jay Bird - Arbroath (Free) Ryan Woods - Hull (Free) Ed Francis - Gateshead (Undisclosed) Joe Whitworth - Crystal Palace (Loan)
Huddersfield: 4 Lasse Sorensen - Lincoln City (Undisclosed) Mickel Miller - Plymouth (Free) Herbie Kane - Barnsley (Free) Anthony Evans - Bristol Rovers (Undisclosed)
Leyton Orient: 5 Sonny Perkins - Leeds (Loan) Charlie Kelman - QPR (Loan) Daillang Jaiyesimi - Charlton (Free) Lewis Warrington - Everton (Free) Sean Clare - Wigan (Undisclosed)
Lincoln City: 9 Conor McGrandles - Charlton (Undisclosed) Jamie Pardington - Cheltenham (Free) Tom Bayliss - Shrewsbury (Free) JJ McKiernan - Morecambe (Tribunal Fee) Rob Street - Cheltenham (Undisclosed) Tedndayi Darikwa - Apollon Limasoll (Free) Dom Jefferies - Gillingham (Undisclosed) Tom Hamer - Burton (Undisclosed) George Wickens - Fulham (Undisclosed)
Northampton: 6 James Wilson - Port Vale (Free) Nik Tzanev - AFC Wimbledon (Free) Callum Morton - Salford (Loan) Cameron McGeehan - Colchester (Free) Jack Baldwin - Ross County (Undisclosed) Tom Eaves - Rotherham (Free)
Peterborough: 6 Abraham Odoh - Harrogate (Undisclosed) David Kamara - Welling (Undisclosed) Chris Conn-Clarke - Altrincham (Undisclosed) George Nevett - Rochdale (Undisclosed) Rio Adebisi - Crewe (Undisclosed) Cian Hayes - Fleetwood (Undisclosed)
Reading: N/A
Rotherham: 12 Jonson Clarke-Harris - Peterborough (Free) Joe Rafferty - Portsmouth (Free) Shaun McWilliams - Northampton (Free) Reece James - Sheffield Wednesday (Free) Sean Raggett - Portsmouth (Free) Joe Powell - Burton (Free) Liam Kelly - Coventry (Free) Zak Jules - Exeter (Free) Alex MacDonald - Stevenage (Free) Cameron Dawson - Sheffield Wednesday (Free) Joseph Hungbo - Nurnberg (Loan) Esapa Osong - Nottingham Forest (Loan)
Shrewsbury: 7 George Lloyd - Cheltenham (Free) Toto Nsiala - Burton (Free) Harrison Biggins - Doncaster (Free) Toby Savin - Accrington (Undisclosed) Tommi O'Reilly - Aston Villa (Loan) Luca Hoole - Bristol Rovers (Undisclosed) John Marquis - Bristol Rovers (Free)
Stevenage: 4 Louis Appere - Northampton (Free) Dan Kemp - MK Dons (Free) Lewis Freestone - Cheltenham (Undisclosed) Daniel Phillips - St Johnstone (Free)
Stockport: 9 Jay Mingi - Colchester (Undisclosed) Jayden Fevrier - Colchester (Undisclosed) Jack Diamond - Sunderland (Free) Callum Connolly - Blackpool (Free) Lewis Bate - Leeds (Free) Corey Addai - Crawley (Undisclosed) Sam Hughes - Burton (Free) Lewis Fiorini - Manchester City (Undisclosed) Michael Mellon - Burnley (Loan)
Wigan: 6 Michael Olakigbe - Brentford (Loan) Calvin Ramsay - Liverpool (Loan) Dion Rankine - Chelsea (Free) Andy Lonergan - Everton (Free) Will Aimson - Exeter (Undisclosed) Tyrece Francois - Fulham (Free)
Wrexham: 5 Arthur Okonkwo - Arsenal (Free) Lewis Brunt - Leicester (Undisclosed) George Dobson - Charlton (Free) Sebastian Revan - Aston Villa (Undisclosed) Callum Burton - Plymouth (Free)
Wycombe: 5 Alex Hartridge - Exeter (Free) Nathan Bishop - Sunderland (Loan) Tyreeq Bakinson - Sheffield Wednesday (Free) Daniel Harvie - MK Dons (Undisclosed) Daniel Udoh - Shrewsbury (Free)
I don’t think comparisons with Ipswich work. Ipswich spent a lot, but nothing like the fees we’ve seen Birmingham spend and it was all mostly on league 1/2 players in that first season that went wrong.
Birmingham are spending way more, and spending on players that are above this level. The best comparison I can think of is possibly Wrexham who bought lots of league 1 level players while they were in the national league/league 2. Worked pretty well for them
Having a big budget doesn’t guarantee success, we’ve seen that. But when your big budget is probably 20 times the size of some of your nearest rivals then it’s hard not to see that being a team that is going to win the league
I don’t think comparisons with Ipswich work. Ipswich spent a lot, but nothing like the fees we’ve seen Birmingham spend and it was all mostly on league 1/2 players in that first season that went wrong.
Birmingham are spending way more, and spending on players that are above this level. The best comparison I can think of is possibly Wrexham who bought lots of league 1 level players while they were in the national league/league 2. Worked pretty well for them
Having a big budget doesn’t guarantee success, we’ve seen that. But when your big budget is probably 20 times the size of some of your nearest rivals then it’s hard not to see that being a team that is going to win the league
Exactly. Who is going to be nervous about going to Stockport on a Tuesday night with a team full of over 6ft Dutch hard bastards who cost 50x more than Stockport's squad.
Ipswich bought players who were arguably more used to English football and L1 than Birmingham are doing.
Quality means a lot, and if all their players settle then they'll do very well. But it remains to be seen how that quality translates to playing against very physical teams on tiny scuffed up pitches, among the other challenges of playing in this league.
I don’t think comparisons with Ipswich work. Ipswich spent a lot, but nothing like the fees we’ve seen Birmingham spend and it was all mostly on league 1/2 players in that first season that went wrong.
Birmingham are spending way more, and spending on players that are above this level. The best comparison I can think of is possibly Wrexham who bought lots of league 1 level players while they were in the national league/league 2. Worked pretty well for them
Having a big budget doesn’t guarantee success, we’ve seen that. But when your big budget is probably 20 times the size of some of your nearest rivals then it’s hard not to see that being a team that is going to win the league
Exactly. Who is going to be nervous about going to Stockport on a Tuesday night with a team full of over 6ft Dutch hard bastards who cost 50x more than Stockport's squad.
Are they? Or are some of them tidy footballers that expect time on the ball but think they’re above this level and aren’t up for the fight? I don’t know anything about them, it’ll be interesting to see how they all do.
I don’t think comparisons with Ipswich work. Ipswich spent a lot, but nothing like the fees we’ve seen Birmingham spend and it was all mostly on league 1/2 players in that first season that went wrong.
Birmingham are spending way more, and spending on players that are above this level. The best comparison I can think of is possibly Wrexham who bought lots of league 1 level players while they were in the national league/league 2. Worked pretty well for them
Having a big budget doesn’t guarantee success, we’ve seen that. But when your big budget is probably 20 times the size of some of your nearest rivals then it’s hard not to see that being a team that is going to win the league
Exactly. Who is going to be nervous about going to Stockport on a Tuesday night with a team full of over 6ft Dutch hard bastards who cost 50x more than Stockport's squad.
Are they? Or are some of them tidy footballers that expect time on the ball but think they’re above this level and aren’t up for the fight? I don’t know anything about them, it’ll be interesting to see how they all do.
Yes, several of them are. I don't claim to be an expert on the players they've signed but on paper they're signing a good mix of physicality and skill.
I don’t think comparisons with Ipswich work. Ipswich spent a lot, but nothing like the fees we’ve seen Birmingham spend and it was all mostly on league 1/2 players in that first season that went wrong.
Birmingham are spending way more, and spending on players that are above this level. The best comparison I can think of is possibly Wrexham who bought lots of league 1 level players while they were in the national league/league 2. Worked pretty well for them
Having a big budget doesn’t guarantee success, we’ve seen that. But when your big budget is probably 20 times the size of some of your nearest rivals then it’s hard not to see that being a team that is going to win the league
Exactly. Who is going to be nervous about going to Stockport on a Tuesday night with a team full of over 6ft Dutch hard bastards who cost 50x more than Stockport's squad.
Are they? Or are some of them tidy footballers that expect time on the ball but think they’re above this level and aren’t up for the fight? I don’t know anything about them, it’ll be interesting to see how they all do.
On paper, they made some impressive signings…just a shame the game isn’t played on paper. They have made one really good signing for this league in Alfie and, from their perspective, the rest of the retained ‘relegated from the Championship last season players’, together with the new signings just need to accept that individually they are not better than him this season and their best chance of success will be to put more effort in and let May have a free rein.
I don’t think comparisons with Ipswich work. Ipswich spent a lot, but nothing like the fees we’ve seen Birmingham spend and it was all mostly on league 1/2 players in that first season that went wrong.
Birmingham are spending way more, and spending on players that are above this level. The best comparison I can think of is possibly Wrexham who bought lots of league 1 level players while they were in the national league/league 2. Worked pretty well for them
Having a big budget doesn’t guarantee success, we’ve seen that. But when your big budget is probably 20 times the size of some of your nearest rivals then it’s hard not to see that being a team that is going to win the league
Exactly. Who is going to be nervous about going to Stockport on a Tuesday night with a team full of over 6ft Dutch hard bastards who cost 50x more than Stockport's squad.
Are they? Or are some of them tidy footballers that expect time on the ball but think they’re above this level and aren’t up for the fight? I don’t know anything about them, it’ll be interesting to see how they all do.
On paper, they made some impressive signings…just a shame the game isn’t played on paper. They have made one really good signing for this league in Alfie and, from their perspective, the rest of the retained ‘relegated from the Championship last season players’, together with the new signings just need to accept that individually they are not better than him this season and their best chance of success will be to put more effort in and let May have a free rein.
Genuinely think May is one of their weaker signings. They signed him because they hadn’t signed anyone, he was available and going to a promotion rival Huddersfield. I don’t think he’s a great fit for their style but with the quality in their squad I’m sure he will still do alright but I think he’d have scored more goals at Huddersfield or if he’d stayed with us
Think a lot are forgetting the quality of their existing players. Krystian Bielik is there and just signed a new contract, also got plenty of quality above this level from the likes of Jordan James, Siriki Dembele etc
They might have a slow start while players gel, but then their opening fixtures are quite kind so they’ll probably be fine. I’d be quite confident backing them to win the league
I don’t think comparisons with Ipswich work. Ipswich spent a lot, but nothing like the fees we’ve seen Birmingham spend and it was all mostly on league 1/2 players in that first season that went wrong.
Birmingham are spending way more, and spending on players that are above this level. The best comparison I can think of is possibly Wrexham who bought lots of league 1 level players while they were in the national league/league 2. Worked pretty well for them
Having a big budget doesn’t guarantee success, we’ve seen that. But when your big budget is probably 20 times the size of some of your nearest rivals then it’s hard not to see that being a team that is going to win the league
And still Wrexham needed a penalty save against Notts County to be sure, and were miles behind Stockport last season.
Birmingham have spent big, seem to buying Stanfield for the Championship, but they don’t look on paper as good as Ipswich did under McKenna, or as well coached.
Birmingham under Nathan Jones would win this league
A lot of League One is the dart arts. It's a grotty league and you need a balance of high quality players, as well as sh*t houses. I don't know much about Birmingham's squad but it looks like they've ticked off the 'high quality' box. Have they ticked off the 'sh*t houses' box, though?
Quality of refereeing in this league makes this essential and it's the sort of thing that may be neglected by Birmingham given the style of manager they've gone for and players they're targeting who, for the most part, have limited League One experience.
Will likely eat my words but they'll struggle this season IMHO.
They play Rangers tomorrow night, their first real test against a team that’s probably at upper L1 level so like us getting turned over by Aberdeen last season it’s likely to be a good indicator of where they are going to be in terms of competitiveness for this season.
A lot of League One is the dart arts. It's a grotty league and you need a balance of high quality players, as well as sh*t houses. I don't know much about Birmingham's squad but it looks like they've ticked off the 'high quality' box. Have they ticked off the 'sh*t houses' box, though?
Quality of refereeing in this league makes this essential and it's the sort of thing that may be neglected by Birmingham given the style of manager they've gone for and players they're targeting who, for the most part, have limited League One experience.
Will likely eat my words but they'll struggle this season IMHO.
This.
We know ourselves its something we've been missing last couple of seasons, we tried the Garner tippy tappy and Holden honest pro approach but the last time we were promoted we had 3 lovely sh!thouse players covering the thirds in Taylor, Pratley and Pearce mixed in with the quality.
They play Rangers tomorrow night, their first real test against a team that’s probably at upper L1 level so like us getting turned over by Aberdeen last season it’s likely to be a good indicator of where they are going to be in terms of competitiveness for this season.
They also beat Shrewsbury away pretty comfortably last week
They play Rangers tomorrow night, their first real test against a team that’s probably at upper L1 level so like us getting turned over by Aberdeen last season it’s likely to be a good indicator of where they are going to be in terms of competitiveness for this season.
They also beat Shrewsbury away pretty comfortably last week
Not an upper L1 level team though. They finished 19th last season so it’s a question have of have those 7 signings they’ve made so far improved them at all ?
On the subject of money (revenue rather than spend), obviously knew Wrexham have been bringing in decent money, but hadn't realised Stockport not done badly either.
In 2022-23, Stockport had revenue of £8.6m, which seems high, considering we brought in £9.8m the same season and were a league above.
On the subject of money (revenue rather than spend), obviously knew Wrexham have been bringing in decent money, but hadn't realised Stockport not done badly either.
In 2022-23, Stockport had revenue of £8.6m, which seems high, considering we brought in £9.8m the same season and were a league above.
You’d have to drill down and see what’s included on each clubs ‘revenue’ numbers to get a true comparison though TBF Charlton do seem to be a frustrating club to give money to at times (charges for buying online, charges for buying tickets on the day, long, slow queues,, stadium outlets/kiosks closed on match days, bars closing early, high ticket prices when we have more empty seats than some clubs have seats in total)
A lot of League One is the dart arts. It's a grotty league and you need a balance of high quality players, as well as sh*t houses. I don't know much about Birmingham's squad but it looks like they've ticked off the 'high quality' box. Have they ticked off the 'sh*t houses' box, though?
Quality of refereeing in this league makes this essential and it's the sort of thing that may be neglected by Birmingham given the style of manager they've gone for and players they're targeting who, for the most part, have limited League One experience.
Will likely eat my words but they'll struggle this season IMHO.
Agreed it's all about doing the double over the other teams. Hitting tops when you can and not (mentally) checking out early in each game.
A lot of League One is the dart arts. It's a grotty league and you need a balance of high quality players, as well as sh*t houses. I don't know much about Birmingham's squad but it looks like they've ticked off the 'high quality' box. Have they ticked off the 'sh*t houses' box, though?
Quality of refereeing in this league makes this essential and it's the sort of thing that may be neglected by Birmingham given the style of manager they've gone for and players they're targeting who, for the most part, have limited League One experience.
Will likely eat my words but they'll struggle this season IMHO.
This.
We know ourselves its something we've been missing last couple of seasons, we tried the Garner tippy tappy and Holden honest pro approach but the last time we were promoted we had 3 lovely sh!thouse players covering the thirds in Taylor, Pratley and Pearce mixed in with the quality.
This season we'd be looking at the likes of Godden, possibly Potts and Mitchell Sr., even Docherty and Berry to be the pros who can use plenty of experience to do a bit of winding up and general shithousery.
What looks promising is that they are shithousers but can also play a bit too, so hopefully we're going to see a team who have a more combative and competitive edge. Certainly Jones won't have much time for Fraser or Kirk style shirking of the physical aspects.
I think people are seeing the amount of money they are splashing on young targets who have played at the level above, and are clearly being targeted to be able to kick on in the championship, and think that it should apply to a 31 year old who will likely be sold if Birmingham go up.
just booked a hotel for the Brum game in February .. I have absolutely NO idea what the relative league positions of us and them will be .. REALLY looking forward to finding out .. long way to go I know
Comments
You need a good budget AND good management to do well. Birmingham have a cheat code budget, but an unproven manager when compared to say Steve Evans.
they’d gone for a manager that has never managed, and signed players that have never played in England before. How will those players cope on a Tuesday night in Stockport.
throwing money and being ambitious doesn’t guarantee success. The infrastructure needs to be in place.there is also a risk that this may all go wrong for Birmingham.
im guessing they threw money at Rooney last year and paid him more than eustace. How did that work out.
when did football run efficiently ...... it's a madhouse !
Most Active: Burton (17)
Least Active: Reading (0)
Teams with 10+ signings: 4
Teams with 8+ signings: 7
Teams with 7+ signings: 10
Teams with 4+ signings: 23
Fee Paid/Undisclosed: 66
Free: 78
Loans: 17
Barnsley: 4
Conor Hourihane - Derby (Free)
Marc Roberts - Birmingham (Free)
Jackson Smith - Walsall (Undisclosed)
Matthew Craig - Doncaster (Loan)
Birmingham: 7
Ryan Allsop - Hull (Undisclosed)
Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Undisclosed)
Alfie May - Charlton (Undisclosed)
Emil Hansson - Heracles (Undisclosed)
Alex Cochrane - Hearts (Undisclosed)
Willum Thor Willumsson - Go Ahead Eagles (Undisclosed)
Christoph Klarer - Darmstadt (Undisclosed)
Blackpool: 5
Jordan Rhodes - Huddersfield (Free)
Ashley Fletcher - Watford (Free)
Zac Ashworth - West Brom (Undisclosed)
Hayden Coulson - Middlesbrough (Undisclosed)
Lee Evans - Portsmouth (Free)
Bolton: 4
Chris Forino - Wycombe (Free)
Luke Southwood - Cheltenham (Free)
Klaidi Lolos - Crawley (Undisclosed)
Scott Arfield - Charlotte FC (Undisclosed)
Bristol Rovers: 11
Isaac Hutchinson - Walsall (Undisclosed)
Clinton Mola - Reading (Free)
Ruel Sotiriou - Leyton Orient (Undisclosed)
Dan Ellison - Chippenham (Undisclosed)
Bryant Bilongo - Middlesbrough (Undisclosed)
Joel Senior - Morecambe (Undisclosed)
Taylor Moore - Valenciennes (Free)
Michael Forbes - West Ham (Loan)
Josh Griffiths - West Brom (Loan)
Jamie Lindsay - Rotherham (Free)
Promise Omochore - Fleetwood (Undisclosed)
Burton: 17
Elliot Watt - Salford (Free)
Geraldo Bajrami - Notts County (Free)
Tomas Kalinauskas - Den Bosch (Free)
Jason Sraha - Shrewsbury (Undisclosed)
Ben Whitfield - Barrow (Free)
Julian Larson - Nottingham Forest (Undisclosed)
Charlie Webster - Chelsea (Undisclosed)
Alex Bannon - Queens Park (Undisclosed)
Udoka Goodwin-Malife - Swindon (Undisclosed)
Danilo Orsi - Crawley (Undisclosed)
Rumarn Burrell - Cove Rangers (Free)
Dylan Williams- Chelsea (Loan)
Billy Bodin - Oxford (Free)
Jack Armer - Carlisle (Undisclosed)
Jack Hazlehurst - Chorley (Undisclosed)
Jack Cooper-Love - Elfsborg (Undisclosed)
Ivan Inzoudine - FC Chambly Oise - (Undisclosed)
Cambridge United: 8
Kelland Watts - Newcastle (Free)
James Gibbons - Bristol Rovers (Free)
Shayne Lavery - Blackpool (Free)
Vicente Reyes - Norwich (Loan)
Ryan Loft - Port Vale (Undisclosed)
Taylor Richards - QPR (Loan)
Gary Gardner - Birmingham (Free)
Korey Smith - Derby (Free)
Charlton: 7
Will Mannion - Cambridge United (Free)
Luke Berry - Luton (Free)
Josh Edwards - Dunfermline (Undisclosed)
Alex Mitchell - Millwall (Undisclosed)
Matty Godden - Coventry (Undisclosed)
Gassan Ahadme - Ipswich (Undisclosed)
Greg Docherty - Hull (Free)
Crawley: 10
Antony Papadopoulos - Welling (Free)
Charlie Barker - Wealdstone (Undisclosed)
Josh Flint - FC Volendam (Free)
Rushian Hepburn-Murphy - Swindon (Free)
Scott Malone - Gillingham (Undisclosed)
Toby Mullarkey - Grimsby (Undisclosed)
Gavin Holohan - Grimsby (Free)
Michael Dacosta Gonzalez - Bournemouth (Loan)
JJ Wollacott - Hibernian (Undisclosed)
Muhammadu Faal - Maidstone (Free)
Exeter: 6
Jack McMillan - Partick (Free)
Josh Magennis - Wigan (Free)
Jay Bird - Arbroath (Free)
Ryan Woods - Hull (Free)
Ed Francis - Gateshead (Undisclosed)
Joe Whitworth - Crystal Palace (Loan)
Huddersfield: 4
Lasse Sorensen - Lincoln City (Undisclosed)
Mickel Miller - Plymouth (Free)
Herbie Kane - Barnsley (Free)
Anthony Evans - Bristol Rovers (Undisclosed)
Leyton Orient: 5
Sonny Perkins - Leeds (Loan)
Charlie Kelman - QPR (Loan)
Daillang Jaiyesimi - Charlton (Free)
Lewis Warrington - Everton (Free)
Sean Clare - Wigan (Undisclosed)
Lincoln City: 9
Conor McGrandles - Charlton (Undisclosed)
Jamie Pardington - Cheltenham (Free)
Tom Bayliss - Shrewsbury (Free)
JJ McKiernan - Morecambe (Tribunal Fee)
Rob Street - Cheltenham (Undisclosed)
Tedndayi Darikwa - Apollon Limasoll (Free)
Dom Jefferies - Gillingham (Undisclosed)
Tom Hamer - Burton (Undisclosed)
George Wickens - Fulham (Undisclosed)
Mansfield: 4
Lee Gregory - Sheffield Wednesday (Free)
Keanu Baccus - St Mirren (Free)
Frazer Blake-Tracy - Swindon (Free)
Deji Oshilaja - Burton (Free)
Northampton: 6
James Wilson - Port Vale (Free)
Nik Tzanev - AFC Wimbledon (Free)
Callum Morton - Salford (Loan)
Cameron McGeehan - Colchester (Free)
Jack Baldwin - Ross County (Undisclosed)
Tom Eaves - Rotherham (Free)
Peterborough: 6
Abraham Odoh - Harrogate (Undisclosed)
David Kamara - Welling (Undisclosed)
Chris Conn-Clarke - Altrincham (Undisclosed)
George Nevett - Rochdale (Undisclosed)
Rio Adebisi - Crewe (Undisclosed)
Cian Hayes - Fleetwood (Undisclosed)
Reading: N/A
Rotherham: 12
Jonson Clarke-Harris - Peterborough (Free)
Joe Rafferty - Portsmouth (Free)
Shaun McWilliams - Northampton (Free)
Reece James - Sheffield Wednesday (Free)
Sean Raggett - Portsmouth (Free)
Joe Powell - Burton (Free)
Liam Kelly - Coventry (Free)
Zak Jules - Exeter (Free)
Alex MacDonald - Stevenage (Free)
Cameron Dawson - Sheffield Wednesday (Free)
Joseph Hungbo - Nurnberg (Loan)
Esapa Osong - Nottingham Forest (Loan)
Shrewsbury: 7
George Lloyd - Cheltenham (Free)
Toto Nsiala - Burton (Free)
Harrison Biggins - Doncaster (Free)
Toby Savin - Accrington (Undisclosed)
Tommi O'Reilly - Aston Villa (Loan)
Luca Hoole - Bristol Rovers (Undisclosed)
John Marquis - Bristol Rovers (Free)
Stevenage: 4
Louis Appere - Northampton (Free)
Dan Kemp - MK Dons (Free)
Lewis Freestone - Cheltenham (Undisclosed)
Daniel Phillips - St Johnstone (Free)
Stockport: 9
Jay Mingi - Colchester (Undisclosed)
Jayden Fevrier - Colchester (Undisclosed)
Jack Diamond - Sunderland (Free)
Callum Connolly - Blackpool (Free)
Lewis Bate - Leeds (Free)
Corey Addai - Crawley (Undisclosed)
Sam Hughes - Burton (Free)
Lewis Fiorini - Manchester City (Undisclosed)
Michael Mellon - Burnley (Loan)
Wigan: 6
Michael Olakigbe - Brentford (Loan)
Calvin Ramsay - Liverpool (Loan)
Dion Rankine - Chelsea (Free)
Andy Lonergan - Everton (Free)
Will Aimson - Exeter (Undisclosed)
Tyrece Francois - Fulham (Free)
Wrexham: 5
Arthur Okonkwo - Arsenal (Free)
Lewis Brunt - Leicester (Undisclosed)
George Dobson - Charlton (Free)
Sebastian Revan - Aston Villa (Undisclosed)
Callum Burton - Plymouth (Free)
Wycombe: 5
Alex Hartridge - Exeter (Free)
Nathan Bishop - Sunderland (Loan)
Tyreeq Bakinson - Sheffield Wednesday (Free)
Daniel Harvie - MK Dons (Undisclosed)
Daniel Udoh - Shrewsbury (Free)
Quality means a lot, and if all their players settle then they'll do very well. But it remains to be seen how that quality translates to playing against very physical teams on tiny scuffed up pitches, among the other challenges of playing in this league.
Think a lot are forgetting the quality of their existing players. Krystian Bielik is there and just signed a new contract, also got plenty of quality above this level from the likes of Jordan James, Siriki Dembele etc
They might have a slow start while players gel, but then their opening fixtures are quite kind so they’ll probably be fine. I’d be quite confident backing them to win the league
Birmingham have spent big, seem to buying Stanfield for the Championship, but they don’t look on paper as good as Ipswich did under McKenna, or as well coached.
Birmingham under Nathan Jones would win this league
Quality of refereeing in this league makes this essential and it's the sort of thing that may be neglected by Birmingham given the style of manager they've gone for and players they're targeting who, for the most part, have limited League One experience.
Will likely eat my words but they'll struggle this season IMHO.
This.
We know ourselves its something we've been missing last couple of seasons, we tried the Garner tippy tappy and Holden honest pro approach but the last time we were promoted we had 3 lovely sh!thouse players covering the thirds in Taylor, Pratley and Pearce mixed in with the quality.
Look how that turned out...
Hitting tops when you can and not (mentally) checking out early in each game.
What looks promising is that they are shithousers but can also play a bit too, so hopefully we're going to see a team who have a more combative and competitive edge. Certainly Jones won't have much time for Fraser or Kirk style shirking of the physical aspects.