Summer 2022 transfer rumours (Gilbey loan confirmed p513, a signing falls through last minute p541)

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

I think a bit of reality has hit home, both at the club and as a fan base.

Denying there were major fuck ups over the last 18 months does no one any good. 

You don't need to be captain hindsight to know a center half and a more suitable striker in January 21 would have probably got us in the play offs.  Nor that the two windows since then have taken us backwards.

Now let's take that on the chin, it could have been much worse, it nearly was.

If lessons have been learnt (it's still if imo) and we now do it right, it may well take 18 months.  I might take longer.  But we have appointed an excellent manager (you could argue that his 3 predecessors were as well) and the early signs are we are giving him the tools to do his job.  That's a change.  The rhetoric has changed.

Blind faith?  No.  Evidence based assessment.  So far so good, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do, Thomas's money to spend, and my life to waste.

Evidence based assessment?

We have appointed a League 2 manager.  So far, we have signed two League 2 players ... one of which finished in 18th place.

It may work out.  It may not.  But it's hardly a proven recipe for delivering a Championship-ready (not Premier League-ready) team.

I remain as optimistic as the next fan ... but don't kid yourself.  It's optimism, not evidence-based.

Did you miss the next line, that there is a hell of a lot to do?

Garner is a fantastic coach, if you look I mentioned him when it was the "who would you like next" stage of the thread.

Evidence based, yes one is obviously a player the manager knows and wants, that hasn't been the case for a while.  The other is a player the manager would have watched live at least twice last season, plus the half dozen games he watched prepping for those games.

Is it perfect?  Of course its not.  Maybe not giant strides, they could come later and will be judged accordingly, but certainly baby steps.

So, that's optimism then.

Read and respond to the whole post.

Like I said it will take time, because of previous cock ups.  Its not perfect, but there are signs it's moving in the right direction aren't there?

No where near the finished article, are we?

Agree on both?

One positive is at the moment league 1 looks a bit weaker than last year, especially if Derby can't sort out their problems. Teams that did well last season are having players pinched, MK Dons (Darling, Twine), Oxford (McNally, Brannagan), Wycombe (Stewart), Portsmouth (Curtis, Harness) Plymouth (Camara) all look likely to lose key players

swordfish said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

It's Wednesday who need the reality check! More than £125m in debt. For context, Derby was about half that when they went into admin IIRC. Living way beyond their means and have been for years. I wouldn't want to have their problems. At least we have a responsible owner trying to look out for our future.

At our current rate we would be there in 8-10 years but have a responsible owner looking out for our future.  Wednesday have spaffed a lot of money but football finances outside the PL are broken so for larger non PL clubs they are all beholdent to their benefactors.

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

I think a bit of reality has hit home, both at the club and as a fan base.

Denying there were major fuck ups over the last 18 months does no one any good. 

You don't need to be captain hindsight to know a center half and a more suitable striker in January 21 would have probably got us in the play offs.  Nor that the two windows since then have taken us backwards.

Now let's take that on the chin, it could have been much worse, it nearly was.

If lessons have been learnt (it's still if imo) and we now do it right, it may well take 18 months.  I might take longer.  But we have appointed an excellent manager (you could argue that his 3 predecessors were as well) and the early signs are we are giving him the tools to do his job.  That's a change.  The rhetoric has changed.

Blind faith?  No.  Evidence based assessment.  So far so good, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do, Thomas's money to spend, and my life to waste.

Evidence based assessment?

We have appointed a League 2 manager.  So far, we have signed two League 2 players ... one of which finished in 18th place.

It may work out.  It may not.  But it's hardly a proven recipe for delivering a Championship-ready (not Premier League-ready) team.

I remain as optimistic as the next fan ... but don't kid yourself.  It's optimism, not evidence-based.

Did you miss the next line, that there is a hell of a lot to do?

Garner is a fantastic coach, if you look I mentioned him when it was the "who would you like next" stage of the thread.

Evidence based, yes one is obviously a player the manager knows and wants, that hasn't been the case for a while.  The other is a player the manager would have watched live at least twice last season, plus the half dozen games he watched prepping for those games.

Is it perfect?  Of course its not.  Maybe not giant strides, they could come later and will be judged accordingly, but certainly baby steps.

So, that's optimism then.

Read and respond to the whole post.

Like I said it will take time, because of previous cock ups.  Its not perfect, but there are signs it's moving in the right direction aren't there?

No where near the finished article, are we?

Agree on both?

Let's not labour it.

'Evidence-based' is what I'm objecting to.

No problem with optimism.  Just don't pretend that it's based on fact.

Its based on the fact Garner is an excellent coach, happy to discuss that point off line to save boring everyone else, and he obviously has a stronger influence on signings than his immediate predecessors.

Like I said baby steps.

Next I'll have @Redrobo accusing me of being negative!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/plymouth-argyle-position-over-ryan-7221467.amp

Purrington interesting to Plymouth.

Chunes said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

I think a bit of reality has hit home, both at the club and as a fan base.

Denying there were major fuck ups over the last 18 months does no one any good. 

You don't need to be captain hindsight to know a center half and a more suitable striker in January 21 would have probably got us in the play offs.  Nor that the two windows since then have taken us backwards.

Now let's take that on the chin, it could have been much worse, it nearly was.

If lessons have been learnt (it's still if imo) and we now do it right, it may well take 18 months.  I might take longer.  But we have appointed an excellent manager (you could argue that his 3 predecessors were as well) and the early signs are we are giving him the tools to do his job.  That's a change.  The rhetoric has changed.

Blind faith?  No.  Evidence based assessment.  So far so good, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do, Thomas's money to spend, and my life to waste.

Evidence based assessment?

We have appointed a League 2 manager.  So far, we have signed two League 2 players ... one of which finished in 18th place.

It may work out.  It may not.  But it's hardly a proven recipe for delivering a Championship-ready (not Premier League-ready) team.

I remain as optimistic as the next fan ... but don't kid yourself.  It's optimism, not evidence-based.

Where a signing's previous team finished in the table seems irrelevant to me. Are they supposed to stop all the goals going in, pass through the middle, go up the other end and score them as well? It's one player. 

We finished 13th, what does that say about George Dobson this season... It says he was a great performer in a shit team. But if we were a club in the division above, signing him, there'd be people moaning that we were signing someone who finished 13th in the league below. 

And complaints about which league signings are playing in. Unless academy staff and scouts have  absolutely perfected every decision at every club in the country, there will be good players up and down the ladder. Some will prove too good for their division and move up, some will prove not good enough and move down. That's just the way it works. 

We know that. We've had the worst possible crap from the Championship and absolute gems from the league below. It's football, it's about the player, the league doesn't have much to do with anything. 

Correct.

But ... statistically, players in a lower League are not as good as players in higher League.  There will be exceptions .. and, of course, a team's final finishing place is not simply down to one player.

On balance, if I was looking at getting out of the current Division, I would prefer to sign players (and a Manager) from a League or two above ... and even from the current League ... rather than from a League below.

Wouldn't you?

Cafc43v3r said:

Dave Rudd said:

Chunes said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

I think a bit of reality has hit home, both at the club and as a fan base.

Denying there were major fuck ups over the last 18 months does no one any good. 

You don't need to be captain hindsight to know a center half and a more suitable striker in January 21 would have probably got us in the play offs.  Nor that the two windows since then have taken us backwards.

Now let's take that on the chin, it could have been much worse, it nearly was.

If lessons have been learnt (it's still if imo) and we now do it right, it may well take 18 months.  I might take longer.  But we have appointed an excellent manager (you could argue that his 3 predecessors were as well) and the early signs are we are giving him the tools to do his job.  That's a change.  The rhetoric has changed.

Blind faith?  No.  Evidence based assessment.  So far so good, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do, Thomas's money to spend, and my life to waste.

Evidence based assessment?

We have appointed a League 2 manager.  So far, we have signed two League 2 players ... one of which finished in 18th place.

It may work out.  It may not.  But it's hardly a proven recipe for delivering a Championship-ready (not Premier League-ready) team.

I remain as optimistic as the next fan ... but don't kid yourself.  It's optimism, not evidence-based.

Where a signing's previous team finished in the table seems irrelevant to me. Are they supposed to stop all the goals going in, pass through the middle, go up the other end and score them as well? It's one player. 

We finished 13th, what does that say about George Dobson this season... It says he was a great performer in a shit team. But if we were a club in the division above, signing him, there'd be people moaning that we were signing someone who finished 13th in the league below. 

And complaints about which league signings are playing in. Unless academy staff and scouts have  absolutely perfected every decision at every club in the country, there will be good players up and down the ladder. Some will prove too good for their division and move up, some will prove not good enough and move down. That's just the way it works. 

We know that. We've had the worst possible crap from the Championship and absolute gems from the league below. It's football, it's about the player, the league doesn't have much to do with anything. 

Correct.

But ... statistically, players in a lower League are not as good as players in higher League.  There will be exceptions .. and, of course, a team's final finishing place is not simply down to one player.

On balance, if I was looking at getting out of the current Division, I would prefer to sign players (and a Manager) from a League or two above ... and even from the current League ... rather than from a League below.

Wouldn't you?

A manager from a two leagues above 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

You played the 'optimism' card.  So did I.

Let's leave it there.

Athletico Charlton said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/plymouth-argyle-position-over-ryan-7221467.amp

Purrington interesting to Plymouth.

Colin, look listen, we have told you about using the Plymouth Herald as a source....

Oops your not the Pigeon and its about Plymouth.  Nothing to see here.

Dave Rudd said:

Chunes said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

I think a bit of reality has hit home, both at the club and as a fan base.

Denying there were major fuck ups over the last 18 months does no one any good. 

You don't need to be captain hindsight to know a center half and a more suitable striker in January 21 would have probably got us in the play offs.  Nor that the two windows since then have taken us backwards.

Now let's take that on the chin, it could have been much worse, it nearly was.

If lessons have been learnt (it's still if imo) and we now do it right, it may well take 18 months.  I might take longer.  But we have appointed an excellent manager (you could argue that his 3 predecessors were as well) and the early signs are we are giving him the tools to do his job.  That's a change.  The rhetoric has changed.

Blind faith?  No.  Evidence based assessment.  So far so good, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do, Thomas's money to spend, and my life to waste.

Evidence based assessment?

We have appointed a League 2 manager.  So far, we have signed two League 2 players ... one of which finished in 18th place.

It may work out.  It may not.  But it's hardly a proven recipe for delivering a Championship-ready (not Premier League-ready) team.

I remain as optimistic as the next fan ... but don't kid yourself.  It's optimism, not evidence-based.

Where a signing's previous team finished in the table seems irrelevant to me. Are they supposed to stop all the goals going in, pass through the middle, go up the other end and score them as well? It's one player. 

We finished 13th, what does that say about George Dobson this season... It says he was a great performer in a shit team. But if we were a club in the division above, signing him, there'd be people moaning that we were signing someone who finished 13th in the league below. 

And complaints about which league signings are playing in. Unless academy staff and scouts have  absolutely perfected every decision at every club in the country, there will be good players up and down the ladder. Some will prove too good for their division and move up, some will prove not good enough and move down. That's just the way it works. 

We know that. We've had the worst possible crap from the Championship and absolute gems from the league below. It's football, it's about the player, the league doesn't have much to do with anything. 

Correct.

But ... statistically, players in a lower League are not as good as players in higher League.  There will be exceptions .. and, of course, a team's final finishing place is not simply down to one player.

On balance, if I was looking at getting out of the current Division, I would prefer to sign players (and a Manager) from a League or two above ... and even from the current League ... rather than from a League below.

Wouldn't you?

I think that's a bit unrealistic. And I'd hope we sign the hungriest players who best fit the system regardless of where they're playing. 

thenewbie said:

Dave Rudd said:

Chunes said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

I think a bit of reality has hit home, both at the club and as a fan base.

Denying there were major fuck ups over the last 18 months does no one any good. 

You don't need to be captain hindsight to know a center half and a more suitable striker in January 21 would have probably got us in the play offs.  Nor that the two windows since then have taken us backwards.

Now let's take that on the chin, it could have been much worse, it nearly was.

If lessons have been learnt (it's still if imo) and we now do it right, it may well take 18 months.  I might take longer.  But we have appointed an excellent manager (you could argue that his 3 predecessors were as well) and the early signs are we are giving him the tools to do his job.  That's a change.  The rhetoric has changed.

Blind faith?  No.  Evidence based assessment.  So far so good, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do, Thomas's money to spend, and my life to waste.

Evidence based assessment?

We have appointed a League 2 manager.  So far, we have signed two League 2 players ... one of which finished in 18th place.

It may work out.  It may not.  But it's hardly a proven recipe for delivering a Championship-ready (not Premier League-ready) team.

I remain as optimistic as the next fan ... but don't kid yourself.  It's optimism, not evidence-based.

Where a signing's previous team finished in the table seems irrelevant to me. Are they supposed to stop all the goals going in, pass through the middle, go up the other end and score them as well? It's one player. 

We finished 13th, what does that say about George Dobson this season... It says he was a great performer in a shit team. But if we were a club in the division above, signing him, there'd be people moaning that we were signing someone who finished 13th in the league below. 

And complaints about which league signings are playing in. Unless academy staff and scouts have  absolutely perfected every decision at every club in the country, there will be good players up and down the ladder. Some will prove too good for their division and move up, some will prove not good enough and move down. That's just the way it works. 

We know that. We've had the worst possible crap from the Championship and absolute gems from the league below. It's football, it's about the player, the league doesn't have much to do with anything. 

Correct.

But ... statistically, players in a lower League are not as good as players in higher League.  There will be exceptions .. and, of course, a team's final finishing place is not simply down to one player.

On balance, if I was looking at getting out of the current Division, I would prefer to sign players (and a Manager) from a League or two above ... and even from the current League ... rather than from a League below.

Wouldn't you?

Well not necessarily. Players we signed from leagues above us include such glittering talents as Watson, Gunter and Arter whereas the likes of CBT (one of few bright spots last time out) show that there's unpolished gems still out there in League 2.

If a player drops from a higher level for lesser pay, there's normally a good reason for it and it's not always to the benefit of the team they sign for.

If every player we sign is a league two freebie then yes there's concerns there. But I doubt that will be the case.

Yeah if you look at our recruitment since Sandgaard has signed, we've signed loads of players from the league above who turned out to be flops. In fact, in our first season back in League 1 we could have easily fielded the following XI:
Amos
Gunter Inniss Famewo Purrington
Watson 
Pratley Shinnie
Williams
Bogle Smyth

Every single one of those players played in a higher league the season above (admittedly 4 were relegated and 2 were out on loan but still). Gunter and Watson in particular were truly awful signings and both had been reasonable in the league above. 

Cafc43v3r said:

Can we all agree that we are a long way off a top six team/squad but are moving in the right direction?

Where's the fun in agreeing?

Yeah, better stop looking upwards.  That road is littered with Watsons and Gunters.

And Bieliks, and Cullens and Gallaghers.

For fuck's sake ... we aren't getting out of this League (and beyond) with League 2 'maybes'.

cafcfan1990 said:

thenewbie said:

Dave Rudd said:

Chunes said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

I think a bit of reality has hit home, both at the club and as a fan base.

Denying there were major fuck ups over the last 18 months does no one any good. 

You don't need to be captain hindsight to know a center half and a more suitable striker in January 21 would have probably got us in the play offs.  Nor that the two windows since then have taken us backwards.

Now let's take that on the chin, it could have been much worse, it nearly was.

If lessons have been learnt (it's still if imo) and we now do it right, it may well take 18 months.  I might take longer.  But we have appointed an excellent manager (you could argue that his 3 predecessors were as well) and the early signs are we are giving him the tools to do his job.  That's a change.  The rhetoric has changed.

Blind faith?  No.  Evidence based assessment.  So far so good, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do, Thomas's money to spend, and my life to waste.

Evidence based assessment?

We have appointed a League 2 manager.  So far, we have signed two League 2 players ... one of which finished in 18th place.

It may work out.  It may not.  But it's hardly a proven recipe for delivering a Championship-ready (not Premier League-ready) team.

I remain as optimistic as the next fan ... but don't kid yourself.  It's optimism, not evidence-based.

Where a signing's previous team finished in the table seems irrelevant to me. Are they supposed to stop all the goals going in, pass through the middle, go up the other end and score them as well? It's one player. 

We finished 13th, what does that say about George Dobson this season... It says he was a great performer in a shit team. But if we were a club in the division above, signing him, there'd be people moaning that we were signing someone who finished 13th in the league below. 

And complaints about which league signings are playing in. Unless academy staff and scouts have  absolutely perfected every decision at every club in the country, there will be good players up and down the ladder. Some will prove too good for their division and move up, some will prove not good enough and move down. That's just the way it works. 

We know that. We've had the worst possible crap from the Championship and absolute gems from the league below. It's football, it's about the player, the league doesn't have much to do with anything. 

Correct.

But ... statistically, players in a lower League are not as good as players in higher League.  There will be exceptions .. and, of course, a team's final finishing place is not simply down to one player.

On balance, if I was looking at getting out of the current Division, I would prefer to sign players (and a Manager) from a League or two above ... and even from the current League ... rather than from a League below.

Wouldn't you?

Well not necessarily. Players we signed from leagues above us include such glittering talents as Watson, Gunter and Arter whereas the likes of CBT (one of few bright spots last time out) show that there's unpolished gems still out there in League 2.

If a player drops from a higher level for lesser pay, there's normally a good reason for it and it's not always to the benefit of the team they sign for.

If every player we sign is a league two freebie then yes there's concerns there. But I doubt that will be the case.

Yeah if you look at our recruitment since Sandgaard has signed, we've signed loads of players from the league above who turned out to be flops. In fact, in our first season back in League 1 we could have easily fielded the following XI:
Amos
Gunter Inniss Famewo Purrington
Watson 
Pratley Shinnie
Williams
Bogle Smyth

Every single one of those players played in a higher league the season above (admittedly 4 were relegated and 2 were out on loan but still). Gunter and Watson in particular were truly awful signings and both had been reasonable in the league above. 

Watson was not an awful signing.  Gunter was a stupid signing if we knew that Matthews was coming back anyway.  Having both was silly.

Watson was really good in the last 3 months of last season.  It probably was one too many seasons but remember he missed all of preseason with Covid.  

Of course he couldn't have played the role Dobson played after we changed shape, but that wasn't the role he was ment to play.  But saying that Bowyer got Pratley and Watson the wrong way round anyway.

Cafc43v3r said:

Can we all agree that we are a long way off a top six team/squad but are moving in the right direction?

Yes.  Certainly hope so on the basis of what has been said about Garner and his season at Swindon last year and reputation as a coach.  Re: the signings, I just cannot get excited about them, and this will probably go for the rest to come, until I see them deliver.  I’ve not really caught the excitement that some have from O’Connell and now Mandela, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think they can add something.

Questions still remain re the quality of a lot of what we have left from last season as well.  Yes, I think the likes of Dobson, CBT and Fraser can do better with better players, but I still think we’ve got dead weight in DJ and Gilbey, and I am not 100% convinced Aneke and Stockley are the men to score the goals to lead us out the league.  After that, we can’t categorically say Lavelle is good enough, we just don’t know.  So as you say, an awful lot of work to be done and I am sure like the rest of us, the proof will have to be in the results.  As a result of the last 2 years, particularly the 2 false dawns under Adkins and then Jackson’s little run when he took over, the quality of the football overall and TS’ execution of his vision so far, it’s a 4/10

Cafc43v3r said:

cafcfan1990 said:

thenewbie said:

Dave Rudd said:

Chunes said:

Dave Rudd said:

Cafc43v3r said:

NabySarr said:

Callumcafc said:

Good signing for Sheff Wed today, getting Will Vaulks from Cardiff. Very good player at this level.

Saw this and it did feel like a bit of a reality check after getting excited the last 2 days. I like our 2 signings so far but just a reminder this league is going to be difficult to even get top 6 in. Hopefully we have signings of this calibre on the way as well as picking the best of lower league 1/league 2 talent

I think a bit of reality has hit home, both at the club and as a fan base.

Denying there were major fuck ups over the last 18 months does no one any good. 

You don't need to be captain hindsight to know a center half and a more suitable striker in January 21 would have probably got us in the play offs.  Nor that the two windows since then have taken us backwards.

Now let's take that on the chin, it could have been much worse, it nearly was.

If lessons have been learnt (it's still if imo) and we now do it right, it may well take 18 months.  I might take longer.  But we have appointed an excellent manager (you could argue that his 3 predecessors were as well) and the early signs are we are giving him the tools to do his job.  That's a change.  The rhetoric has changed.

Blind faith?  No.  Evidence based assessment.  So far so good, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do, Thomas's money to spend, and my life to waste.

Evidence based assessment?

We have appointed a League 2 manager.  So far, we have signed two League 2 players ... one of which finished in 18th place.

It may work out.  It may not.  But it's hardly a proven recipe for delivering a Championship-ready (not Premier League-ready) team.

I remain as optimistic as the next fan ... but don't kid yourself.  It's optimism, not evidence-based.

Where a signing's previous team finished in the table seems irrelevant to me. Are they supposed to stop all the goals going in, pass through the middle, go up the other end and score them as well? It's one player. 

We finished 13th, what does that say about George Dobson this season... It says he was a great performer in a shit team. But if we were a club in the division above, signing him, there'd be people moaning that we were signing someone who finished 13th in the league below. 

And complaints about which league signings are playing in. Unless academy staff and scouts have  absolutely perfected every decision at every club in the country, there will be good players up and down the ladder. Some will prove too good for their division and move up, some will prove not good enough and move down. That's just the way it works. 

We know that. We've had the worst possible crap from the Championship and absolute gems from the league below. It's football, it's about the player, the league doesn't have much to do with anything. 

Correct.

But ... statistically, players in a lower League are not as good as players in higher League.  There will be exceptions .. and, of course, a team's final finishing place is not simply down to one player.

On balance, if I was looking at getting out of the current Division, I would prefer to sign players (and a Manager) from a League or two above ... and even from the current League ... rather than from a League below.

Wouldn't you?

Well not necessarily. Players we signed from leagues above us include such glittering talents as Watson, Gunter and Arter whereas the likes of CBT (one of few bright spots last time out) show that there's unpolished gems still out there in League 2.

If a player drops from a higher level for lesser pay, there's normally a good reason for it and it's not always to the benefit of the team they sign for.

If every player we sign is a league two freebie then yes there's concerns there. But I doubt that will be the case.

Yeah if you look at our recruitment since Sandgaard has signed, we've signed loads of players from the league above who turned out to be flops. In fact, in our first season back in League 1 we could have easily fielded the following XI:
Amos
Gunter Inniss Famewo Purrington
Watson 
Pratley Shinnie
Williams
Bogle Smyth

Every single one of those players played in a higher league the season above (admittedly 4 were relegated and 2 were out on loan but still). Gunter and Watson in particular were truly awful signings and both had been reasonable in the league above. 

Watson was not an awful signing.  Gunter was a stupid signing if we knew that Matthews was coming back anyway.  Having both was silly.

Watson was really good in the last 3 months of last season.  It probably was one too many seasons but remember he missed all of preseason with Covid.  

Of course he couldn't have played the role Dobson played after we changed shape, but that wasn't the role he was ment to play.  But saying that Bowyer got Pratley and Watson the wrong way round anyway.

Sorry, I have to disagree, he was an awful signing. Whether he was a decent signing on paper or not is irrelevant to how he turned out. He wasn't the worst but  a few half decent games doesn't change the fact that over the course of two seasons he was a waste of firstly, a wage under the salary cap and then a squad place in a squad cap.