Fullah is our best hope for that over a signing I think.
Then we are in huge trouble.
Just like we were in huge trouble last season when everyone was saying we should sign a creative midfielder and we didn’t?
We did add one in January but barely used him, because we don’t need one
Funny how everyone says we don’t need a creative midfielder, yet we were in for one this summer, Ethan Galbraith.
That’s exactly my point though, a creative midfielder as good as Galbraith is never going to sign for us. It’s not realistic, any player that good is going to have better teams in for them. I’m sure Jones would love a creative midfielder, but he would also need them to be brilliant without the ball as that’s way more important for us. That kind of player is nearly impossible to find as a new team in the championship on our budget.
I’m guessing you were one of those calling for us to sign one last season, you were proved wrong then and in my opinion you’re wrong again. I think saying we need a better midfielder is fine, I probably agree with you, though Costello hasn’t had enough time to show if he’s the answer yet
That’s not true, if there was no chance he’d sign for us, we’d never be in for him in the first place.
But my point stands, we need one and Jones wanted/wants one. Im not saying that is going to be the difference between staying up or not, but this team would be better with one in the side.
We don’t need a creative midfielder. We need midfielders that are brilliant without the ball, if they are also good with the ball that’s a bonus.
People (sounds like you were one of them) were saying the exact same last summer, that signing a creative midfielder could be the difference between promotion or not
A creative midfielder would only improve us if they are equally as good as what we have now without the ball. That’s why it’s basically impossible for us to sign one, we tried with Galbraith, he was our first choice, but it was never going to happen, so we signed Costello for that role, he’s not creative but I reckon he’s probably very good out of possession and tidy enough with it
Being realistic, a creative midfielder that’s a realistic level for us to sign right now, would make us a worse team. Because they’d be worse than Docherty/Costello without the ball, which for us in the championship is way more important than creativity.
We will stay up by being defensively solid, and scoring enough goals in the way we did last year. Adding a creative midfielder that’s isn’t as good without the ball risks that defensive solidity. We didn’t score goals last year playing through the thirds with creativity, we aren’t ever going to be that team.
We score goals by pressing and winning the ball high, or getting the ball to Small (now Apter) and TC in 1v1 situations and then also set pieces. So far this season we’ve scored 2 goals, 1 from a set piece, and another from getting TC 1v1. We’ve created the 18th most chances in the league, that’s fine for us, creating chances isn’t our problem, finishing them is
Fullah is our best hope for that over a signing I think.
Then we are in huge trouble.
Just like we were in huge trouble last season when everyone was saying we should sign a creative midfielder and we didn’t?
We did add one in January but barely used him, because we don’t need one
Funny how everyone says we don’t need a creative midfielder, yet we were in for one this summer, Ethan Galbraith.
That’s exactly my point though, a creative midfielder as good as Galbraith is never going to sign for us. It’s not realistic, any player that good is going to have better teams in for them. I’m sure Jones would love a creative midfielder, but he would also need them to be brilliant without the ball as that’s way more important for us. That kind of player is nearly impossible to find as a new team in the championship on our budget.
I’m guessing you were one of those calling for us to sign one last season, you were proved wrong then and in my opinion you’re wrong again. I think saying we need a better midfielder is fine, I probably agree with you, though Costello hasn’t had enough time to show if he’s the answer yet
That’s not true, if there was no chance he’d sign for us, we’d never be in for him in the first place.
But my point stands, we need one and Jones wanted/wants one. Im not saying that is going to be the difference between staying up or not, but this team would be better with one in the side.
We don’t need a creative midfielder. We need midfielders that are brilliant without the ball, if they are also good with the ball that’s a bonus.
People (sounds like you were one of them) were saying the exact same last summer, that signing a creative midfielder could be the difference between promotion or not
A creative midfielder would only improve us if they are equally as good as what we have now without the ball. That’s why it’s basically impossible for us to sign one, we tried with Galbraith, he was our first choice, but it was never going to happen, so we signed Costello for that role, he’s not creative but I reckon he’s probably very good out of possession and tidy enough with it
Being realistic, a creative midfielder that’s a realistic level for us to sign right now, would make us a worse team. Because they’d be worse than Docherty/Costello without the ball, which for us in the championship is way more important than creativity.
We will stay up by being defensively solid, and scoring enough goals in the way we did last year. Adding a creative midfielder that’s isn’t as good without the ball risks that defensive solidity. We didn’t score goals last year playing through the thirds with creativity, we aren’t ever going to be that team.
We score goals by pressing and winning the ball high, or getting the ball to Small (now Apter) and TC in 1v1 situations and then also set pieces. So far this season we’ve scored 2 goals, 1 from a set piece, and another from getting TC 1v1. We’ve created the 18th most chances in the league, that’s fine for us, creating chances isn’t our problem, finishing them is
Sorry, I have to disagree—18 chances feels a bit of an exaggeration. I’d say 10 of those were half chances at best, and the other 6 were more like slight sniffs of opportunities.
We have European scouts, and I know we also have one in Japan, but surely we should be exploring the European market more directly.
I’m not sure we have that kind of extensive network. I think we will look to recruit from abroad but probably next season onwards. Probably too risky to do as a newly promoted side, once we’ve stayed up we can probably start to do so
We have European scouts, and I know we also have one in Japan, but surely we should be exploring the European market more directly.
I’m not sure we have that kind of extensive network. I think we will look to recruit from abroad but probably next season onwards. Probably too risky to do as a newly promoted side, once we’ve stayed up we can probably start to do so
It’s no more of a risk than signing Apter, Kelman, and Knibbs, who have never played at this level. I’m not knocking those players, but every signing comes with some degree of risk.
We have European scouts, and I know we also have one in Japan, but surely we should be exploring the European market more directly.
When did we hire European scouts and one in Japan? If it was recently it’s probably not going to result in signings for a window or two.
I would imagine the Japanese scout is part of the tie up with ACA, one of our smaller investors. AFAIK they have a partnership with a club in Japan so no doubt have a toe in the scouting and recruitment network out there somewhere
We have European scouts, and I know we also have one in Japan, but surely we should be exploring the European market more directly.
I’m not sure we have that kind of extensive network. I think we will look to recruit from abroad but probably next season onwards. Probably too risky to do as a newly promoted side, once we’ve stayed up we can probably start to do so
It’s no more of a risk than signing Apter, Kelman, and Knibbs, who have never played at this level. I’m not knocking those players, but every signing comes with some degree of risk.
Jones and our recruitment team know the players in league 1 a lot more though so it’s much less risky. It takes time to build up the knowledge to scout well from abroad, I’m sure we have been putting the wheels in motion since promotion
Plus physically players from Europe often struggle to adapt immediately to the physicality of English football and playing 46 game seasons. The league 1 players have obviously already been doing that
Stating the obvious, the benefits of the RD years were sparse to say the least. But I do have good memories of the likes of Buyens, JBG, Bauer, Sarr (eventually), Bulot and Texeira coming in.
This is what everyone was crying about last summer, it was the wrong opinion then and it’s the wrong opinion now
This discussion has been had many times on here, but if we sign a creative midfielder on our budget in the championship, then they are not going to be good enough at the other side of the game (a player that is would be out of our budget). Out of possession is much more important than in possession for us in the championship
We will create goals like we did last season, winning the ball high up the pitch with our press, or with the ball isolating Apter and TC in 1v1 situations and then also set pieces. We’ve created enough chances in the first 4 games, we just haven’t been clinical enough
We will not sign a creative midfielder, as just like last season when everyone was crying out for one in August, we don’t need one
I humbly disagree.
We haven't created chances this season, especially not from Apter or TC. Yesterday we scored from about the only decent cross put in. Apter usually puts in better crosses than TC but usually they are when he cuts back onto his left foot & they are easily defended.
The "missess" against Leicester were fashioned from desperate balls into the box when we were crashing the game. Similar yesterday but from once we had got it back to 1-1. 4 games in and no forward player has had an effort at goal that you can call a chance.....certainly not one created by a through ball or a bit of skill.
This is what everyone was crying about last summer, it was the wrong opinion then and it’s the wrong opinion now
This discussion has been had many times on here, but if we sign a creative midfielder on our budget in the championship, then they are not going to be good enough at the other side of the game (a player that is would be out of our budget). Out of possession is much more important than in possession for us in the championship
We will create goals like we did last season, winning the ball high up the pitch with our press, or with the ball isolating Apter and TC in 1v1 situations and then also set pieces. We’ve created enough chances in the first 4 games, we just haven’t been clinical enough
We will not sign a creative midfielder, as just like last season when everyone was crying out for one in August, we don’t need one
I humbly disagree.
We haven't created chances this season, especially not from Apter or TC. Yesterday we scored from about the only decent cross put in. Apter usually puts in better crosses than TC but usually they are when he cuts back onto his left foot & they are easily defended.
The "missess" against Leicester were fashioned from desperate balls into the box when we were crashing the game. Similar yesterday but from once we had got it back to 1-1. 4 games in and no forward player has had an effort at goal that you can call a chance.....certainly not one created by a through ball or a bit of skill.
These facts would disagree with your opinion, we are also joint second in the league for accurate crosses per 90. Apter created plenty against Watford. I wasn’t even really saying they have created loads, just that our style of play when we have possession is not about playing through the thirds in midfield where a creative midfielder would help, it’s about getting the ball to Apter and TC in 1v1 situations, like it was last season with Small and TC.
Creating clear cut openings has maybe been an issue, but we’ve had a few, maybe only one yesterday where Leaburn hit the bar. And that’s also the kind of thing that is likely to develop more over the season, as it did last. We’ve definitely created more than we did in August last season, and we are a league higher
This is what everyone was crying about last summer, it was the wrong opinion then and it’s the wrong opinion now
This discussion has been had many times on here, but if we sign a creative midfielder on our budget in the championship, then they are not going to be good enough at the other side of the game (a player that is would be out of our budget). Out of possession is much more important than in possession for us in the championship
We will create goals like we did last season, winning the ball high up the pitch with our press, or with the ball isolating Apter and TC in 1v1 situations and then also set pieces. We’ve created enough chances in the first 4 games, we just haven’t been clinical enough
We will not sign a creative midfielder, as just like last season when everyone was crying out for one in August, we don’t need one
I humbly disagree.
We haven't created chances this season, especially not from Apter or TC. Yesterday we scored from about the only decent cross put in. Apter usually puts in better crosses than TC but usually they are when he cuts back onto his left foot & they are easily defended.
The "missess" against Leicester were fashioned from desperate balls into the box when we were crashing the game. Similar yesterday but from once we had got it back to 1-1. 4 games in and no forward player has had an effort at goal that you can call a chance.....certainly not one created by a through ball or a bit of skill.
Apter’s created joint 4th most chances and 3rd for big chances in the championship this season, Campbell has created joint 16th most chances in the championship this season. I know stats aren’t everything but they are creating chances they’re just not necessarily falling in the perfect place or to the players we want them to, they do offer creativity
Fullah is our best hope for that over a signing I think.
Then we are in huge trouble.
Just like we were in huge trouble last season when everyone was saying we should sign a creative midfielder and we didn’t?
We did add one in January but barely used him, because we don’t need one
Funny how everyone says we don’t need a creative midfielder, yet we were in for one this summer, Ethan Galbraith.
That’s exactly my point though, a creative midfielder as good as Galbraith is never going to sign for us. It’s not realistic, any player that good is going to have better teams in for them. I’m sure Jones would love a creative midfielder, but he would also need them to be brilliant without the ball as that’s way more important for us. That kind of player is nearly impossible to find as a new team in the championship on our budget.
I’m guessing you were one of those calling for us to sign one last season, you were proved wrong then and in my opinion you’re wrong again. I think saying we need a better midfielder is fine, I probably agree with you, though Costello hasn’t had enough time to show if he’s the answer yet
That’s not true, if there was no chance he’d sign for us, we’d never be in for him in the first place.
But my point stands, we need one and Jones wanted/wants one. Im not saying that is going to be the difference between staying up or not, but this team would be better with one in the side.
We don’t need a creative midfielder. We need midfielders that are brilliant without the ball, if they are also good with the ball that’s a bonus.
People (sounds like you were one of them) were saying the exact same last summer, that signing a creative midfielder could be the difference between promotion or not
A creative midfielder would only improve us if they are equally as good as what we have now without the ball. That’s why it’s basically impossible for us to sign one, we tried with Galbraith, he was our first choice, but it was never going to happen, so we signed Costello for that role, he’s not creative but I reckon he’s probably very good out of possession and tidy enough with it
Being realistic, a creative midfielder that’s a realistic level for us to sign right now, would make us a worse team. Because they’d be worse than Docherty/Costello without the ball, which for us in the championship is way more important than creativity.
We will stay up by being defensively solid, and scoring enough goals in the way we did last year. Adding a creative midfielder that’s isn’t as good without the ball risks that defensive solidity. We didn’t score goals last year playing through the thirds with creativity, we aren’t ever going to be that team.
We score goals by pressing and winning the ball high, or getting the ball to Small (now Apter) and TC in 1v1 situations and then also set pieces. So far this season we’ve scored 2 goals, 1 from a set piece, and another from getting TC 1v1. We’ve created the 18th most chances in the league, that’s fine for us, creating chances isn’t our problem, finishing them is
Sorry, I have to disagree—18 chances feels a bit of an exaggeration. I’d say 10 of those were half chances at best, and the other 6 were more like slight sniffs of opportunities.
It was 18th best in terms of chances created, not 18 chances. In terms of xG created we are currently 18th in the championship. That doesn’t sound great but we are realistically going to be down the bottom of xG created, as we are going to be down the bottom half of the league, but as I said we are 4th best defensively at the moment which is our strength. If we continue to be the 18th best attacking team in the league and even just a top half defensive team then we will easily stay up
I’m sure there will be a massive meltdown if we don’t. But I really don’t think it’s a major deal. We want to sign a wing back, if we don’t then we still have Apter, Costello, Ramsay, Edwards, Bell, Fullah. That’s plenty of options
Well that optimism of “the best transfer window ever” quickly died down didn’t it.
It can be both. It is our best window for a long time in terms of money spent and quality. But it can also not be enough for the level. Not saying it’s the case but both statements can be true at the same time.
Well it’s not the best in quality if they’re deemed not good enough is it.
Yes it is. The players we have brought in this window are better than literally every player we for a long time. Would you prefer Charlie Kirk over Apter or maybe Innis over Bell? The difference is the scale of competition and what we can afford.
We're one division higher, so obviously the new signings are better. Being better than Kirk isn't the issue, it's how they compare with the comparable signings other Championship clubs have made.
Knibbs, Kelman, Apter versus Poku, Galbraith, Kone for example.
Yes we’re saying the same thing. This can be our best window in isolation but also not be enough for the level. Both can be true
Remember when we got promoted and the majority on here (including me) were in the ‘I’d take 21st’ camp? Well, finishing 21st involves losing quite a few games, so let’s all keep it together and put the hysteria on hold. Losing is never nice, but it’s going to happen. We are good enough to stay up.
This is it for me. I’m sure most of us would take 21st and just avoiding relegation if offered to us now, but to do so we will be losing the majority of our games. That’s just the reality of it. Hell, even if we finished where we currently sit now in the table (16th and 5 places above the drop), we will be losing more than we win.
I’ve been thinking back to something Daniel Storey said in CAST’s preseason meet the press webinar. As a neutral, he was impressed by our preseason business and predicted that we’d finish comfortably above the drop but said the fact of the matter is that we’ll be losing far more than we win this season…however it’s how we deal with this and our mentality as a club and a fanbase that will really determine how we fare this season.
We’re really going to have to grow a pair this season and not let the hysteria set in. This is gonna be a proper dog fight of a season and we’ve all got to be up for the battle without immediately ragging on NJ and the team, especially this early.
100%. On another thread, I also shared something similar about Mr Storey’s views during the CAST evening.
The squad will develop and settle over the coming months, but we are likely to lose a lot of games overall. That’s going to make some of us uncomfortable.
And yet we are going to be ok.
Staying in this incredibly competitive division is our primary goal this season.
@golfaddick so the cross and Leaburn shot that hit the crossbar just... Doesn't exist in your world?
I do believe Golfie mentioned Miles being unlucky in hitting the bar in the post match thread. Overall most people, including Nathan Jones, have been correct in stating that for all our possession against Leicester and QPR, we do not create enough. QPR were committed to stopping us by fair means or foul, but our delivery from those free kicks resembled hit and hope, that has to change.
“ 4 games in and no forward player has had an effort at goal that you can call a chance” 🤣🤣🤣
Campbell weak effort last Saturday on the 6 yard box .. Kelman 3 efforts at Cambridge that were deflected over but were on target … Doc and Lloyd also had two efforts on target that were deflected over .. and of course Campbell and Leaburn yesterday
Comments
A creative midfielder would only improve us if they are equally as good as what we have now without the ball. That’s why it’s basically impossible for us to sign one, we tried with Galbraith, he was our first choice, but it was never going to happen, so we signed Costello for that role, he’s not creative but I reckon he’s probably very good out of possession and tidy enough with it
Agree on the European front.
We haven't created chances this season, especially not from Apter or TC. Yesterday we scored from about the only decent cross put in. Apter usually puts in better crosses than TC but usually they are when he cuts back onto his left foot & they are easily defended.
The "missess" against Leicester were fashioned from desperate balls into the box when we were crashing the game. Similar yesterday but from once we had got it back to 1-1. 4 games in and no forward player has had an effort at goal that you can call a chance.....certainly not one created by a through ball or a bit of skill.
Creating clear cut openings has maybe been an issue, but we’ve had a few, maybe only one yesterday where Leaburn hit the bar. And that’s also the kind of thing that is likely to develop more over the season, as it did last. We’ve definitely created more than we did in August last season, and we are a league higher
Didn't want him anyway...
“ 4 games in and no forward player has had an effort at goal that you can call a chance” 🤣🤣🤣
And yet we are going to be ok.