What do you think about our Transfer Window?

summitclaret · Post by **summitclaret** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:05 am

Agree with Spice. It's a shame we are taking that risk out wide because we have enough income to have mitigated it. Looks like Everton were desperate to get Bolaise away and maybe if we had gone forhim a bit sooner we would have got him. I suspect that the player wanted more than we were prepared to pay, which is fair enough, but he would have had to choose between playing a lot and not playing much/at all.

With Defour's injury record, we should have got further back up in cm, maybe someone with potential.

Overall 6/10, when we needed 8/10 minimum. However, getting Tarks, Mee and JBG and Lowton signed up long term is a big positive.

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:28 am

I think we did fairly much the minimum required.

Hart was a better signing than I expected, Gibson looks like a good signing but realistically he is filling a gap from a year ago, not a new one. Similarly, Vydra appears to be replacing Wells who has been a failure of a signing (as many expected).

The team is still pretty short of pace and a midfielder who can pick a forward pass. We have enough if everyone is fit but, realistically, everyone isn't going to be fit. I wouldn't be surprised to see Defour only manage half a season again this year, he's had a minimal pre-season and the past few seasons haven't indicated he can manage a full season and we don't really have a replacement that can do the same thing (although it may be Hendrick will prove me wrong there, I think he's been a bit forgotten as a central midfielder).

On the wings we're a bit bare as well, one injury leaves us with the remaining players playing by default and no options from the bench.

Corky · Post by **Corky** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:47 am

I would have liked to have seen us bring in a pacy winger and add a bit more quality and depth in midfield. We don't seem to have much idea of how quickly or how long it will be before Defour and Brady will be back in action. And I must say that I get the feeling, whether right or wrong, that it wont be long before Defour is out injured again. Hope not but seems a bit of a sicknote type.

biggles · Post by **biggles** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:49 am

happy with who we brought in but can't help thinking [and this is partly when considering what our opponents have done to strengthen their teams] we could/should have raided the dry powder store a bit more. maybe we tried but missed, for whatever reason, some of our main targets. it's not as though we are short of money. i don't agree with what appears to be a bit of a 'saving it up for a rainy day' strategy when we need to invest in players who would bolster the first team. having said that, though, we did the same last year but ended up 7th!

burnley007 · Post by **burnley007** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:00 pm

Surprised we didn't get a GKN type of loan in this week.

agreenwood · Post by **agreenwood** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:07 pm

Corky wrote:I would have liked to have seen us bring in a pacy winger and add a bit more quality and depth in midfield. We don't seem to have much idea of how quickly or how long it will be before Defour and Brady will be back in action. And I must say that I get the feeling, whether right or wrong, that it wont be long before Defour is out injured again. Hope not but seems a bit of a sicknote type.

It’s not just how long before they are available for selection, it’s the time needed to find form. I can’t think of many players who came back from a serious knee injury and hit the ground running in terms of performance levels.

Duffer_ · Post by **Duffer_** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:39 pm

dsr wrote:It's normal to meet the new boss before you take a new job. Why do people ever go for job interviews and then not take the job as offered? Presumably because they learned something at the interview that made them decide they liked the current job better.

Anyone who is basically headhunted is going to take a look at the new place, even if they decide not to go.

I'm not sure how much of 'normal' recruitment practices apply in the crazy world of football transfers. I would suggest that Vydra, like Clucas, had no prospects in their 'current job' and were drinking in last chance saloon having alienated a potential employer so late in the window. Yet, some choose to believe Vydra wasn't greedy and didn't mess Leeds about, unlike Clucas with us. I probably wouldn't be still banging on about it if we didn't overplay our insistence on good character and use it to justify our largely successful but prudent and limited approach in the transfer market.

I still think some are guilty of double standards and I am yet to hear a solid explanation of why the Vydra situation differs from Clucas. Maybe I'm choosing not to hear it and it's a matter of degrees...I will be cheering Vydra's goal as loudly as the next fan.

UTC!

Erasmus · Post by **Erasmus** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:40 pm

It has been mentioned above, but its worth restating that the signing of Vydra in fact gave us two new outfield players in addition to Gibson as the third. The point being that Vydra taking on Hendrick's position allows the latter to resume his role as a proper central midfielder, a role in which he generally plays very well. So in fact the window was rather better than it might look at first glance.

I also think we would have paid over the odds for Rodriguez if we hadn't got Vydra, but with Vydra in place the need for another forward to take on Hendrick's current role diminished so that we weren't willing to pay an inflated price for Rodriguez. The plan might well be to see how Vydra does and then look at what WBA are willing to accept in January.

dsr · Post by **dsr** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:55 pm

Duffer_ wrote:I'm not sure how much of 'normal' recruitment practices apply in the crazy world of football transfers. I would suggest that Vydra, like Clucas, had no prospects in their 'current job' and were drinking in last chance saloon having alienated a potential employer so late in the window. Yet, some choose to believe Vydra wasn't greedy and didn't mess Leeds about, unlike Clucas with us. I probably wouldn't be still banging on about it if we didn't overplay our insistence on good character and use it to justify our largely successful but prudent and limited approach in the transfer market.

I still think some are guilty of double standards and I am yet to hear a solid explanation of why the Vydra situation differs from Clucas. Maybe I'm choosing not to hear it and it's a matter of degrees...I will be cheering Vydra's goal as loudly as the next fan.

UTC!

I don't know what happened with Clucas, so I don't know how Vydra differed. But the situation with Vydra was that Leeds offered him a job and he chose not to take it. If that is correct, there is no hint of immorality or bad character - just a rejection of an offer. Have you heard something different?

summitclaret · Post by **summitclaret** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:13 pm

The only way I would deal with WBA in the foreseeable future is if they came begging us to take somene we rated off them.

Duffer_ · Post by **Duffer_** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:19 pm

dsr wrote:I don't know what happened with Clucas, so I don't know how Vydra differed. But the situation with Vydra was that Leeds offered him a job and he chose not to take it. If that is correct, there is no hint of immorality or bad character - just a rejection of an offer. Have you heard something different?

OK - I based my opinion on what I heard from Leeds fans before I came out to Oz. I was in the air when we completed the deal and was shocked that it happened. Having now had some time on the internet, free from jet-lag, I can't really see anything too disturbing from our perspective. He was caricatured as greedy by Leeds fans but wtf was I doing taking their word?

Fair does - welcome Matej!

UTC!

Pearcey · Post by **Pearcey** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:27 pm

A winger short of exceptional. Happy with it though. Looking forward to seeing Vydra.

Erasmus · Post by **Erasmus** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:44 pm

I can't see that WBA messed us about. We asked about a player, they set a high price, we kept making increased offers but they stuck to their valuation. Presumably they see Rodriguez as an important part of their team and were only willing to let him go for the high price they quoted. How is that messing us about? They did exactly what I would expect our board to do in the same circumstances. In this case I think both clubs and the player all behaved impeccably.

jojomk1 · Post by **jojomk1** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 2:13 pm

What we finally got in was fairly good
Don't think Hart would have been considered until the injury to Pope but good to see a quick response. Just means one of the keepers will be looking to go from Jan onwards (suspect Heaton)
Vydra also seemed a last minute decision. Jay Rod saga obviously had an impact on this plus I suggest the issue of Vydra/Leeds was maybe the thing that actually alerted our recruitment team to his availability
Gibson a good signing for me (had been shouting for him from end of last season). Not only do we get a good prospect in but I think it became the catalyst for Mee and his agent to realise there was nothing else to better our contract offer hence his new deal
Agree with others that we came up well short in getting in another wide man with pace and another midfielder with pace and a bit of a tackle in their style of play
Would hate to think our recruitment team were also on the jolly boys outing to Turkey yesterday when deals could have been done - would have been well pleased had we got Arter on loan rather than him going to Cardiff
Last minute deals suggest our original targets were not many in numbers which still gives some cause for concern in the way we handle our recruitment process
6/10

SalisburyClaret · Post by **SalisburyClaret** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 2:32 pm

SD reckons it's the worst one ever

Considering we shop in the Championship, we have bought the best defender and attacker available

We remain short of pace out wide so that's a big miss as is the lack of creativity when Brady doesn't play, so we missed out on cover there

Hart should have been a loan, there's no need normally for a 4th keeper of his level. Ok these are exceptional circumstances but a loan would have made most sense

Our recruitment team haven't learnt not to deal with West Brom

Overall 7/10

Stayingup · Post by **Stayingup** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 3:01 pm

Three good incomings. Are they enhancing or adding to the team as enhancement was the stated aim?
We really need to iimprove our midfield and haven't.

LaLigaClaret · Post by **LaLigaClaret** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 3:23 pm

As said on another thread Gibson was a good buy. Vydra could be a good buy but still has to prove himself but is an improvement on Wells. Hart is a good buy because we will make money for the club when we sell one of Pope or Heaton but it was an enforced buy because of the injuries and selling one of our other keepers will spark unhappiness with fans.

However it is what we didn't do that is the reason the window was scandalous for us. We obviously had funds to buy but never spent.

We didn't get ANY of the other players we needed for the positions we were recruiting for. We didn't get our main target JayRod and we didn't seem to have any alternative in mind. We didn't get the winger we needed. We didn't get the other CM we were looking for.

We didn't even get ANY loans in despite the fact that we were struggling to put out a team in Istanbul. We were linked with very few players and I can't help but think that the Bolasie and JWP links were put out as a sop to fans to make it look like we were still trying. I thought the lame excuse that the JWP didn't have enough time to complete was ridiculous as we could have put in a Deal Sheet and completed the paperwork later. Everton are still this morning waiting to complete the paperwork on Zouma from Chelsea.

We now face the possible prospect of playing around 30 fixtures by Christmas with a squad short of numbers and quality for the EL and PL. Does anyone seriously believe we can keep rotating our midfield players with the squad we currently have and not face serious consequences. Defour and Brady are not yet fit and we don't know if they will be anywhere as good as before. O'Neill is not yet ready. Hendrick looks lacking in form. Westwood and Cork together doesn't really work well. We only have 2 fit wingers (Lennon however already has a hamstring worry). If we suffer any long term injuries then we will be in serious trouble. There aren't many options to rotate with 5 fit midfield players. The fact that we had to include so many people who wouldn't normally be considered starters yesterday is a real worry.

What happened to our European scouting system and recruitment this summer ?

Sean Dyche has worked miracles for us but he must have stood in Istanbul yesterday and thought how many more miracles does this club expect of me. I can't see him staying much longer with us because of this transfer window. If you read back on the comments he has made this summer it is obvious he expected more support from the club and in this window he didn't get it. This season should have been the opportunity to really establish ourselves in the PL but we could easily face a real struggle to keep out of a relegation fight this season. We have looked lacklustre already this season and pre-season wasn't brilliant. We lack pace and creativity.

I was chided on another thread for suggesting we needed 2 mmidfield players and a winger and was told the maximum players we could register for the PL was 25 but can anyone explain to me why we couldn't buy or loan players who would be better than Walters and Wells. Currently we have the 3 GK's, 4 FB's. 4 CH's and 4 Strikers which is 15 players. We have 7 midfield and wingers which makes 22 so 3 short unless of course you include 3 of Walters, Wells, Agyei, O'Neill and Neill who are the others we have. Is anyone seriously saying we couldn't find the 3 players I spoke of to improve on those ? O'Neill and Neill nowhere near ready, Walters and Wells definitely no longer good enough.

BigChaCha · Post by **BigChaCha** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:28 pm

It's funny how our window is seen entirely differently on the outside compared to some on here! I have lost count the amount of times I've seen online today that our transfer window is described as disappointing or frustrating.

jojomk1 · Post by **jojomk1** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:21 pm

Can understand why outsiders would see our window dealings that way
Our first choices were clearly Dawson and Jay Rod - we got neither
We were then seen as pretty sure to get Mawson and didn't
We were linked a few times with Clucas and that didn't come off for reasons maybe unknown to them
So our actual signings appeared at best to be 5th 6th and 7th choices and all at the last days
Would think anyone outside of our club would see only Spurs as less successful/organised this window

elwaclaret · Post by **elwaclaret** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:18 pm

Think the three coming in were on the money signings. Hart deal could be a master stroke - a chance for the lad to rebuild his reputation and another 2 years for us to demand a decent fee.
I would have liked a couple of Marney-esque midfielders in and another wide man but, on the whole I'm happy enough. Any window that sees good players coming in and no-one making a fuss to leave for me can never be described as a bad window... and Mee committing for tells you that too.

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:26 pm

LaLigaClaret wrote:We have looked lacklustre already this season and pre-season wasn't brilliant.

Since when has pre-season been anything other than getting players fit?

Strewth!

boatshed bill · Post by **boatshed bill** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:35 pm

claretspice wrote:Ward Prowse yesterday, and I note we're actually being linked with Stephane MBia this morning. But I'm not sure that's the point.

I wasn't aware of these two.
Although by no means a "happy clapper" I'm pleased with our recruitment.

joey13 · Post by **joey13** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:40 pm

Absolute shambles ,chasing players from clubs notoriously difficult to deal with and the same players we were chasing last season (have we even got a recruitment team if we have they certainly are slow learners .

We haven’t even spent the monies we received for Keane and Gray

Having said that Gibson and Hart are decent signings, hoping Vydra will prove to be as well
Still think we will start well Sunday and take the 3 pts

agreenwood · Post by **agreenwood** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:45 pm

BigChaCha wrote:It's funny how our window is seen entirely differently on the outside compared to some on here! I have lost count the amount of times I've seen online today that our transfer window is described as disappointing or frustrating.

That’s pretty much how Sean Dyche has described it in his interviews. He was even more forthright last night. No surprise that it’s ended up being the stock view of our business.

LaLigaClaret · Post by **LaLigaClaret** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:11 pm

Spijed wrote:Since when has pre-season been anything other than getting players fit?

Strewth!

When it includes 3 EL games and a lack of fit players through injury and we are already starting to rotate the team we have left. We might well have a lot of fixtures coming up between now and Christmas and we are already including players in the squad who wouldn't be considered to be ready yet. Because we have a PL game on Sunday we are already having to adjust who we play in each game. This in itself has already made us look disjointed. Remember the time when Dyche was being praised by all and sundry for making very few changes to the team and building consistency amongst the group was paramount.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:17 pm

The Good: Mee and Lowton signing extensions,Gibson coming in,Hart joining,Vydra is a calculated gamble but could come through.

The Bad: Mawson being poised to sign and then Fulham gazumping us,spending all summer chasing Dawson and JayRod and coming up empty-handed.
Chasing Bolasie and JWP at the 11th hour and again losing out,our wide options are thin even with everyone fit.

The Ugly: Clucas for 8 million we could have signed someone younger with potential,luckily his medical/personal terms proved a stumbling block,in hindsight we dodged a bullet there.

So in summary

GK: Fine ATM though we'll probably have to offload someone in January,whoever that is will bank good money for the club.

DEFENCE: No real issues here Tarks and Mee first choice until Gibson proves himself,Long adequate 4th choice,Lowton fine at RB,Bardsley reasonable cover,Left-back is very strong Ward might eventually cede his place to Charlie.

Midfield: Potential problem area,Cork and Defour would be first names on the teamsheet,but Defour is sidelined and injury-prone,Westwood is tidy but won't create many attacking chances,Hendrick should be moved into his natural position now Vydra can play no10,

Wide options are scarce Brady is a huge miss,Lennon picks up knocks and isn't getting any younger,JBG is class but we can't flog him to death,Walters and Wells can do a job but don't offer much creativity.

ATTACK: On paper we are OK up front Wood will score goals if he gets on the pitch,Barnes and Vokes are capable of 8-10 a season with game time,and Vydra might give us something different even from the bench.

6/10 OK window but we'll have to scrap a few one-nils,as i can't see many goals until Defour and Brady come back fit and firing.

The biggest asset we've got is Sean Dyche his man-management skills and organisation will ensure we finish mid-table at least.

jurek · Post by **jurek** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:53 pm

I think the problem lies in a potentially flawed strategy which appears
to be based on getting in 'quality' rather than quantity.
With this possibly driven, if not seriously influenced by an attitude which says
we don't want to spend too much - be it on any one player or as such in total.
And clearly also influenced by the fact that we're pretty low down, if not bottom
of the list of payers in terms of weekly wage.

Hence we initially identified both Dawson, Jayrod, Clucas and then Mawson.
Dawson and Jayrod had considerable first team experience at the top level and
Clucas and Mawson less so but had played at the top level.
As it happens we got none of them and even though we may have got close with one or two of them
we still failed to get in one of our presumably identified first targets.
The closest of which seemed to have stalled on what were willing to pay or what the player's agent demanded.

So, at the last minute (well, week) we went down to the Championship
and managed to get both Gibson and Vydras both of whom had limited top league experience.
But may prove to be reasonably good buys who can make a difference at this level.
Time will no doubt tell and hopefully Dyche can improve them as he has done with most, if not
all players we've brought in.

We were thrown out a little by our 'goalkeeping crisis' and had to respond to that
which we did relatively quickly by getting in Hart and hopefully that will prove to be a very good deal
and certainly resolved a serious crisis. Although looking back maybe it wasn't the best decision
to start Pope up in Aberdeen. He'd only been back a short while and hadn't played a game, if memory serves me well,
since the end of last season. Still that's not really the issue.

Last season we seemed to be showing signs of getting into the overseas market and made a few bids for players
but none came off. We have been linked with one or two this season but again nothing forthcoming.
But it doesn't seem as if we're doing much more than 'testing the water' and certainly not hanging on in
their for weeks as we did for Dawson and, in particular Jayrod.

I'm not suggesting quantity instead of quality but we're shackled by the 'little old Burnley' tag
in terms of our transfer mentality but perceived as 'in the money' by most other teams.

I think a little more ambition and flexibilty in strategy alongside a more serious investment in
recruitment from overseas may help although in the end we may have to 'bite the bullet'
and also look around for investment into the club.

It slightly concerning when you see the likes of Fulham, in particular managing to bring in 4/5
players on the last day whilst we seemed to be saying their wasn't enough time to sort out a deal
for Ward Prowse.

Maybe we should have stuck to the Championship and tried to get in players such as Maddison
from Norwich? He's clearly got the quality but not, at present, any experience at the top level.
I suspect Maddison wasn't even on our list which is a pity as I suspect if he was and we'd managed to get him
(or someone with similar potential from abroad) we'd all be thinking we'd had a pretty good transfer window.

Sorry this is clearly far from a quick reply.

Wokingclaret · Post by **Wokingclaret** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:48 pm

Think about it, Fulham have spent £105m, they would have to finish above 17th to win that money alone, Never mind wages

agreenwood · Post by **agreenwood** » Sat Aug 11, 2018 9:09 am

Wokingclaret wrote:Think about it, Fulham have spent £105m, they would have to finish above 17th to win that money alone, Never mind wages

They don’t need the TV money. Their owner is filthy rich.

claretandy · Post by **claretandy** » Sat Aug 11, 2018 10:22 am

6/10 for me, we are missing the pacy wideman we needed, plus a bit of creativity in midfield, if we'd of got them 2 it would have been a 10.

SGr · Post by **SGr** » Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:48 pm

6/10 also.

Marks for a few good deals given the circumstances of having little time left and limited scouting. And not losing key players.

Marks down for having little time left and limited scouting in the first place. And not bringing in another winger/centre mid.

SussexDon1inIreland · Post by **SussexDon1inIreland** » Sun Aug 12, 2018 9:09 am

Well done Sean and the Board
I am completely satisfied that we did our very best to get in new additions within our constraints of having to run the football club as a business

UTC

Right_winger · Post by **Right_winger** » Sun Aug 26, 2018 11:26 pm

Not looking so rosey now is it.

Herts Clarets · Post by **Herts Clarets** » Sun Aug 26, 2018 11:36 pm

Right_winger wrote:Not looking so rosey now is it.

It never was. We ****** about making derisory offers for players where the team didn't need to sell. We signed a keeper because both ours were injured, a centre half because going 2 seasons with only one back up was seen as a risk too far and an injured striker. Our dealings in the transfer market are amateurish to say the least and we seem to find ourselves short in key positions every season.

From Marney being injured and no back up, to going a full season with 3 centre backs to now having 3 very similar strikers and no creative midfielders. One day it will bite us on the arse.

Cleveleys_claret · Post by **Cleveleys_claret** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:37 am

Not to worry. Our recruitment has drawn up its list of targrts for the Jan transfer window. It is Jay Rod, Craig Dawson,and Sam Clucas. We are hopeful of getting the deals over the line at the 5th time of asking. No need to look elsewhere as these signings are sure things

KRBFC · Post by **KRBFC** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:46 am

So pretty much everyone on this thread knew we needed a wide player, yet the board/Dyche didn't get one. Well that's one way to shoot yourself in the foot, ah well at least we'll announce big profits again while the squad is looking paper thin. What happens now if Lennon gets injured? and what's with this stupid injury business since Dyche came in? like it's all a big secret, where the f**k is Brady?

KRBFC · Post by **KRBFC** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:47 am

SussexDon1inIreland wrote:Well done Sean and the Board
I am completely satisfied that we did our very best to get in new additions within our constraints of having to run the football club as a business

UTC

What a time to be alive eh Sussex

UTC #TheOnlyPLClubwith1widePlayer

SkiptonClaret · Post by **SkiptonClaret** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:23 am

Gnulty wrote:3 players Dyche will know what to do with, so no worries.

Like this one particularly.

SkiptonClaret · Post by **SkiptonClaret** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:24 am

Cleveleys_claret wrote:Not to worry. Our recruitment has drawn up its list of targrts for the Jan transfer window. It is Jay Rod, Craig Dawson,and Sam Clucas. We are hopeful of getting the deals over the line at the 5th time of asking. No need to look elsewhere as these signings are sure things

and Crouchy.

Top Claret · Post by **Top Claret** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:39 am

If we don't start stringing some results together we will struggle to recruit any quantity in the January transfer window.
I looked at the bench yesterday and the camera zoomed in on Gibson, his face said, ffs what have I done signing for this lot, I should have stayed with uncle Steve at the Boro

Top Claret · Post by **Top Claret** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:42 am

Like some have said we have strengthened in areas where we were strong already, we have not freshened the squad up with new faces in the midfield were they are desperately needed.
We can't rely on Defour he has and is proving to be a crock, we should have been looking for his replacement 12 months ago.

SkiptonClaret · Post by **SkiptonClaret** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 8:29 am

Top Claret wrote:Like some have said we have strengthened in areas where we were strong already, we have not freshened the squad up with new faces in the midfield were they are desperately needed.
We can't rely on Defour he has and is proving to be a crock, we should have been looking for his replacement 12 months ago.

We added a fifth keeper but I’d hardly say “we strengthened in areas where we were strong already”
We got away with it big time at Centre Half last season, Kevin Long as third choice centre back in the PL ? Gibson was a good addition but, again, he wasn’t first choice and let’s face it neither was Vydra. Mawson / Dawson and Jay Rod were the first choices you’d assume.
So basically we failed to bring in any of our first choice targets and,given Dyche’s self imposed restrictions, it’s not like we had that many.
It’s going to bite us really hard unfortunately. Three full backs on the pitch, another one on the bench with two centre halves. Total football.