So since the strongest point of our squad last season in L1 the meaningful players we have lost:
Bauer Bielik Dijksteel Aribo Reeves Fosu Grant Vetekele
That is 8 pretty handy players in my book. I think we have had a great transfer window with players in and Bowyer & Gallen have done a remarkable job on a small budget but be interested to know if people think we are stronger than when the above were all with us... I would say definitely in respect to depth of quality but interested to see if the new lads can compare to the likes of Aribo, Bielik and Grant.
I'd take Aribo and Bielek (edited) back, possibly Grant but haven't seen replacemts play hardly yet
I’m assuming everyone is finally strapped in now? Last thing we need is to lose anyone from all the excitement along the way.
Let’s hope we can enjoy the day today. At least 3 coming in through the door is what I have heard. Fingers crossed.
Look at that!
I enjoyed today, lots of emotions and nervousness, but overall we have been successful. More to come tomorrow we hope.
But the information was correct, which is pleasing.
I also do hope we didn’t lose anyone along the way, it was meant as in players, but also as in supporters. Transfer window can be a bumpy ride and cause strange things, as shown by even harveys_gardener has posted something sensible.
Best window we could’ve hoped for in all honesty. Losing Aribo and Bauer was inevitable, losing Dijksteel was a shame, but it seems to have enabled some better signings. We have kept our talisman up front and brought back some of the gang from last season. On top of that, we have added some real quality signings and now have a squad of players without having to worry on youngsters not being ready or not filling the bench.
We look a proper football team now and yes, credit must go to Roland for allowing that to happen, his track record suggests otherwise. But the most credit has to go to Gallen and Bowyer. My God, they have been, and are, absolutely fantastic. I dread to think where we would be without them. I really hope that Gallen can be at The Valley on Saturday and enjoy it. Will be a rare thing for him, but he deserves it.
Let’s show how much we appreciate this team and Lee and Gallen and the rest of the staff on Saturday. I can’t wait.
I think we'll really notice the difference when we compare this year's Carabao Cup first round lineup, when I'd expect most of the new signings to make their first start, compared to the bunch of kids that started last year. It could be a competitive cup team for the first time in a few years.
I despise the yellow toothed one as much as the next man. I still want him out with a passion. Things were looking bleak a few days ago, but now the dust has settled and it is clear that Bowyer has been allowed to be creative with his budget, I do have to take some of my recent criticisms back, I still think he is a disaster, but Bowyer has put together a very interesting squad to my mind that still may be added to!
So since the strongest point of our squad last season in L1 the meaningful players we have lost:
Bauer Bielik Dijksteel Aribo Reeves Fosu Grant Vetekele
That is 8 pretty handy players in my book. I think we have had a great transfer window with players in and Bowyer & Gallen have done a remarkable job on a small budget but be interested to know if people think we are stronger than when the above were all with us... I would say definitely in respect to depth of quality but interested to see if the new lads can compare to the likes of Aribo, Bielik and Grant.
This is my feeling as well. We've brought in a good amount of depth. But I'm not convinced there is quite the quality there as the ones we've lost. Time will tell, but I'd prefer BFG to Lockyer and Dijksteel to Solly, Grant to Aneke (who I think will turn out to be a tremendous signing) and Bielik just full stop. Plus Igor over Bonnne.
Hopefully not done yet. And we have some young players with good pedigree. I'm just not convinced this is quite as good of a squad as people are making it out to be. At least not yet.
I think Bowyer has done as well as he could. We can't be sure on the total effect until we get going - Saturday is a bit early for so many new players. What I think we can say, is we are potentially stronger. I didn't think I would be saying that a few days ago.
So since the strongest point of our squad last season in L1 the meaningful players we have lost:
Bauer Bielik Dijksteel Aribo Reeves Fosu Grant Vetekele
That is 8 pretty handy players in my book. I think we have had a great transfer window with players in and Bowyer & Gallen have done a remarkable job on a small budget but be interested to know if people think we are stronger than when the above were all with us... I would say definitely in respect to depth of quality but interested to see if the new lads can compare to the likes of Aribo, Bielik and Grant.
This is my feeling as well. We've brought in a good amount of depth. But I'm not convinced there is quite the quality there as the ones we've lost. Time will tell, but I'd prefer BFG to Lockyer and Dijksteel to Solly, Grant to Aneke (who I think will turn out to be a tremendous signing) and Bielik just full stop. Plus Igor over Bonnne.
Hopefully not done yet. And we have some young players with good pedigree. I'm just not convinced this is quite as good of a squad as people are making it out to be. At least not yet.
It’s not a proper comparison. Judge on the quality of the likes of Bielik Aribo and Grant before they started in the 1st team, not after Bowyer had developed them.
Thinking about who might play RB, other than Solly. Has JFC filled in at that position before? I seem to vaguely remember it from a while ago but could be mistaken.
This was always going to be a squad with players who have something to prove, or improve
I think its perfectly acceptable for fans to be excited.
I cant remember the last time we had a squad of this depth. I was expected the useual Rubbish.
Maybe Bowyers relationship with Roland has grown and there is indeed respect as Bowyer has said.
Don't get me wrong, Roland has been a disaster for this club,he needs to sell
But in terms of not throwing silly money at players but still building a decent looking squad on a lower budget, if we stay up, interms of selling the club definitely a smart decision.
But credit to Bowyer, Gallen for doing what they’ve done.
So since the strongest point of our squad last season in L1 the meaningful players we have lost:
Bauer Bielik Dijksteel Aribo Reeves Fosu Grant Vetekele
That is 8 pretty handy players in my book. I think we have had a great transfer window with players in and Bowyer & Gallen have done a remarkable job on a small budget but be interested to know if people think we are stronger than when the above were all with us... I would say definitely in respect to depth of quality but interested to see if the new lads can compare to the likes of Aribo, Bielik and Grant.
How many of the players you’ve listed had you seen before we’d signed them? How many of the new players have you seen play?
I think we have a pretty complete squad and good quality. I'm assuming hemed is still to be announced.
The only obvious gap is back up rb which I'm hoping we will fill with a free. I'd stI'll like to bring Harriot in so we have the option to play with wingers if we need to change something.
Add Bauer, Aribo, Grant and Dijksteel to that and we would be looking top half surely?
Dijksteel whilst clearly that sale helped fund some moves still hurts the most as it just felt unnecessary. The others We always knew there woukd be a chance of them leaving.
My only question mark is around all the loanees and late incomings buying into the whole ethos. Hoping bow can work his magic.
I think we have a pretty complete squad and good quality. I'm assuming hemed is still to be announced.
The only obvious gap is back up rb which I'm hoping we will fill with a free. I'd stI'll like to bring Harriot in so we have the option to play with wingers if we need to change something.
Add Bauer, Aribo, Grant and Dijksteel to that and we would be looking top half surely?
Dijksteel whilst clearly that sale helped fund some moves still hurts the most as it just felt unnecessary. The others We always knew there woukd be a chance of them leaving.
My only question Markus around all the loanees and late incomings buying into the whole ethos. Hoping bow can work his magic.
Can Lockyer play RB? He covered Dijksteel pretty effectively on Saturday when he was marauding forwards (miss him already!) and seemed pretty mobile.
I have no insider information, but you can work a few things out from this window. Firstly, the easiest is that Bowyer tried to be fair with Taylor. The only explanation for the Toney bids was that we would be willing to let Taylor go. But Bowyer also would have put the condition on it, that only if a replacement was found/recruited. Hopefully Taylor will get that and if his offer is improved as has been reported, maybe that ship has sailed.
Secondly, we all understandably assumed the Djiksteel sale was Roland's doing. My guess is, Bowyer demanded to be able to sell a player and manage the budget around that. The potential sale of Taylor made sense as he would have been replaced with an asset under contract. But Bowyer clearly reserved the right not to sell any more players. Maybe this was agreed when he signed his contract.
I think the fact that we have been able to put a squad together that many of us are excited about is a fantastic development. I said a few days ago, that I think Bowyer is a manager who finds a way. It isn't saying there are not good managers out there, but there are not many who find a way. From a position of thinking relegation was probable, I now think it is unlikely. I would go further and say that flirting with the play-offs could be a possibility if all the stars align.
Of course, there are going to be lots of ups and downs to come, but at least we have a squad we can be optimistic about at this stage. I am already looking forwward to doing the double over Millwall and Brentford. It is one thing having your best players stolen by Liverpool, but it is insulting when a team like Brenford, who will never be fit to tie our shoe laces as a club, tries to do it. A bid for Taylor at 4:58pm yesterday deserves a couple of damn good thrashings!
With so many new players, it poses a short term issue for Saturday. Do you throw them all in and hope they gel, probably with most of them not knowing each other. Cullen should fit in seamlessly and maybe you can risk another couple. Anyway, well done to Bowyer, Gallen and JJ. It feels like you have pulled another rabbit out of the hat, and I am pleased I learned from last season not to predict where we will finish too early.
The last year has been a brilliant case study on how you can do what Roland originally intended, if you get the right people to do it.
Imagine how much better it could have been. If "the club" learn from their mistakes of the last year, we could be onto a sustainable model. Without the need of a loaded owner.
Use all 5 loans, if you are taking U23s from the biggest clubs, try and get them back for a second season. They would grow with the club and possibly want to sign for us if they don't make it at the biggest clubs.
Take the better players from smaller clubs of bosmans. Some will work, some won't, but you could probably get some money back on the ones that don't.
Don't let under 25s play in the final year of their contract. No signy, selly. But actually offer them proper contracts. There will always be 1 or 2 you can't keep for that long but get proper money for them when they go.
Identify players likley to be released in the summer early, you might get some in January for nominal fees, allowing you to let one go early on the same basis. Think Billy Clarke and Johnny Williams.
The only time you would actually need to pay proper transfer fees would be in the "replacing Taylor on deadline day" scenario, but if all your other ducks are in a row that shouldn't be a problem.
It hasn't been a smooth year, but the squad is much better than it was 370 days ago (Sunderland away). How we have got here is in no way thanks to RD, but even he must see this is sustainable. It may even been an model that someone else is prepared to pay for.
Starting to look like the days when we sold Rob Lee and Bowyer. Both were sold for the benefit of the club. Lee’ money went towards getting us back to the Valley, and Bowyer money to strengthen the team. Just 2 years after he left we were in the Premier. is the Dijksteel money gonna have the same effect? 🤞🏻
So since the strongest point of our squad last season in L1 the meaningful players we have lost:
Bauer Bielik Dijksteel Aribo Reeves Fosu Grant Vetekele
That is 8 pretty handy players in my book. I think we have had a great transfer window with players in and Bowyer & Gallen have done a remarkable job on a small budget but be interested to know if people think we are stronger than when the above were all with us... I would say definitely in respect to depth of quality but interested to see if the new lads can compare to the likes of Aribo, Bielik and Grant.
Bielik, Aribo and Grant would walk into most Championship sides so obviously they're a big loss.
Bauer and Dijksteel are solid players too but probably more replaceable than the 3 above.
Fosu never played and Reeves and Igor were always injured.
I think overall we now have much stronger strength in depth. When everyone is fit now we potentially can't get Lapslie or Morgan on the bench. Last year Lapslie played 27 league games.
The last year has been a brilliant case study on how you can do what Roland originally intended, if you get the right people to do it.
Imagine how much better it could have been. If "the club" learn from their mistakes of the last year, we could be onto a sustainable model. Without the need of a loaded owner.
Use all 5 loans, if you are taking U23s from the biggest clubs, try and get them back for a second season. They would grow with the club and possibly want to sign for us if they don't make it at the biggest clubs.
Take the better players from smaller clubs of bosmans. Some will work, some won't, but you could probably get some money back on the ones that don't.
Don't let under 25s play in the final year of their contract. No signy, selly. But actually offer them proper contracts. There will always be 1 or 2 you can't keep for that long but get proper money for them when they go.
Identify players likley to be released in the summer early, you might get some in January for nominal fees, allowing you to let one go early on the same basis. Think Billy Clarke and Johnny Williams.
The only time you would actually need to pay proper transfer fees would be in the "replacing Taylor on deadline day" scenario, but if all your other ducks are in a row that shouldn't be a problem.
It hasn't been a smooth year, but the squad is much better than it was 370 days ago (Sunderland away). How we have got here is in no way thanks to RD, but even he must see this is sustainable. It may even been an model that someone else is prepared to pay for.
This is a really good post
Everyone is saying how good the Brentford model is. Video scouting is now part of the game and the Bees have maximised its use Over the last few years they have leapfrogged us to such an extent that they robbed us over Konsa and potentially unsettled Taylor . In terms of potential I maintain we are still a bigger club.
Our problem has been that Driesden was not very good at it and Duchalet never understood the value of a squad rather than a team . Most of the players we got from Standard Liege ( with the exception if Nego and Thuram ) were reasonable. Arjavic , Ben Haim, Bulot, Buyens and on his day Watt were excellent
A Bowyer / Gallen / Jackson type management who would have access to Liege's fringe players would have been superb.
Hopefully in a couple of seasons we can be competitive in this league again.
Comments
That's it
I enjoyed today, lots of emotions and nervousness, but overall we have been successful. More to come tomorrow we hope.
But the information was correct, which is pleasing.
I also do hope we didn’t lose anyone along the way, it was meant as in players, but also as in supporters. Transfer window can be a bumpy ride and cause strange things, as shown by even harveys_gardener has posted something sensible.
Best window we could’ve hoped for in all honesty. Losing Aribo and Bauer was inevitable, losing Dijksteel was a shame, but it seems to have enabled some better signings. We have kept our talisman up front and brought back some of the gang from last season. On top of that, we have added some real quality signings and now have a squad of players without having to worry on youngsters not being ready or not filling the bench.
We look a proper football team now and yes, credit must go to Roland for allowing that to happen, his track record suggests otherwise. But the most credit has to go to Gallen and Bowyer. My God, they have been, and are, absolutely fantastic. I dread to think where we would be without them. I really hope that Gallen can be at The Valley on Saturday and enjoy it. Will be a rare thing for him, but he deserves it.
Let’s show how much we appreciate this team and Lee and Gallen and the rest of the staff on Saturday. I can’t wait.
Hopefully not done yet. And we have some young players with good pedigree. I'm just not convinced this is quite as good of a squad as people are making it out to be. At least not yet.
I think its perfectly acceptable for fans to be excited.
I cant remember the last time we had a squad of this depth. I was expected the useual Rubbish.
Maybe Bowyers relationship with Roland has grown and there is indeed respect as Bowyer has said.
Don't get me wrong, Roland has been a disaster for this club,he needs to sell
But in terms of not throwing silly money at players but still building a decent looking squad on a lower budget, if we stay up, interms of selling the club definitely a smart decision.
But credit to Bowyer, Gallen for doing what they’ve done.
Yesterday supprised me!
Judge the window in May, not August.
The only obvious gap is back up rb which I'm hoping we will fill with a free. I'd stI'll like to bring Harriot in so we have the option to play with wingers if we need to change something.
Add Bauer, Aribo, Grant and Dijksteel to that and we would be looking top half surely?
Dijksteel whilst clearly that sale helped fund some moves still hurts the most as it just felt unnecessary. The others We always knew there woukd be a chance of them leaving.
My only question mark is around all the loanees and late incomings buying into the whole ethos. Hoping bow can work his magic.
Meant to be announced this morning although I stress I know nothing.
Secondly, we all understandably assumed the Djiksteel sale was Roland's doing. My guess is, Bowyer demanded to be able to sell a player and manage the budget around that. The potential sale of Taylor made sense as he would have been replaced with an asset under contract. But Bowyer clearly reserved the right not to sell any more players. Maybe this was agreed when he signed his contract.
I think the fact that we have been able to put a squad together that many of us are excited about is a fantastic development. I said a few days ago, that I think Bowyer is a manager who finds a way. It isn't saying there are not good managers out there, but there are not many who find a way. From a position of thinking relegation was probable, I now think it is unlikely. I would go further and say that flirting with the play-offs could be a possibility if all the stars align.
Of course, there are going to be lots of ups and downs to come, but at least we have a squad we can be optimistic about at this stage. I am already looking forwward to doing the double over Millwall and Brentford. It is one thing having your best players stolen by Liverpool, but it is insulting when a team like Brenford, who will never be fit to tie our shoe laces as a club, tries to do it. A bid for Taylor at 4:58pm yesterday deserves a couple of damn good thrashings!
With so many new players, it poses a short term issue for Saturday. Do you throw them all in and hope they gel, probably with most of them not knowing each other. Cullen should fit in seamlessly and maybe you can risk another couple. Anyway, well done to Bowyer, Gallen and JJ. It feels like you have pulled another rabbit out of the hat, and I am pleased I learned from last season not to predict where we will finish too early.
Imagine how much better it could have been. If "the club" learn from their mistakes of the last year, we could be onto a sustainable model. Without the need of a loaded owner.
Use all 5 loans, if you are taking U23s from the biggest clubs, try and get them back for a second season. They would grow with the club and possibly want to sign for us if they don't make it at the biggest clubs.
Take the better players from smaller clubs of bosmans. Some will work, some won't, but you could probably get some money back on the ones that don't.
Don't let under 25s play in the final year of their contract. No signy, selly. But actually offer them proper contracts. There will always be 1 or 2 you can't keep for that long but get proper money for them when they go.
Identify players likley to be released in the summer early, you might get some in January for nominal fees, allowing you to let one go early on the same basis. Think Billy Clarke and Johnny Williams.
The only time you would actually need to pay proper transfer fees would be in the "replacing Taylor on deadline day" scenario, but if all your other ducks are in a row that shouldn't be a problem.
It hasn't been a smooth year, but the squad is much better than it was 370 days ago (Sunderland away). How we have got here is in no way thanks to RD, but even he must see this is sustainable. It may even been an model that someone else is prepared to pay for.
Else if its a loan why not announce it with Kayal
Lee’ money went towards getting us back to the Valley, and Bowyer money to strengthen the team.
Just 2 years after he left we were in the Premier.
is the Dijksteel money gonna have the same effect?
🤞🏻
Bauer and Dijksteel are solid players too but probably more replaceable than the 3 above.
Fosu never played and Reeves and Igor were always injured.
I think overall we now have much stronger strength in depth. When everyone is fit now we potentially can't get Lapslie or Morgan on the bench. Last year Lapslie played 27 league games.
Everyone is saying how good the Brentford model is. Video scouting is now part of the game and the Bees have maximised its use
Over the last few years they have leapfrogged us to such an extent that they robbed us over Konsa and potentially unsettled Taylor . In terms of potential I maintain we are still a bigger club.
Our problem has been that Driesden was not very good at it and Duchalet never understood the value of a squad rather than a team . Most of the players we got from Standard Liege ( with the exception if Nego and Thuram ) were reasonable. Arjavic , Ben Haim, Bulot, Buyens and on his day Watt were excellent
A Bowyer / Gallen / Jackson type management who would have access to Liege's fringe players would have been superb.
Hopefully in a couple of seasons we can be competitive in this league again.