Apologies to Dean Austin (9 Viewers)

[Mcbean]

I do worry about Wright undoubtedly a good player but how long will it take him to get match fitness- how long will our “fans” give him - hopefully Frank eases him in very slowly !

 

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[2024/25 League 1 Champs?]

I do think we’re a Kai Wagner / Harrison Burrows (can’t believe we didn’t go in for him), and a solid RWB to compete with MVE away from a top two squad

 

[rob9872]

When we were doing shit I was blaming Austin and everybody said it was robins recruitment .. now we are doing well its Austins team were all fucking knobs tbh

Tbf some of us are fucking cunts instead

 

[mmttww]

We're all fucking knobs tbh

The most accurate thing ever posted on here.

 

[rob9872]

The most accurate thing ever posted on here.

 

[mmttww]

Am I being hit on? If not, I don't get this at all.

 

[rob9872]

Of course sweetie

(basically it was an open goal joke about 'fucking knobs')

 

[SBT]

I think you're stretching on all fronts if you look at the ages and improvement in all. Certainly not wasted.

Well yeah, to be clear, a player not recouping his fee doesn't mean it's a wasted signing, not at all.

Players can deliver value on the pitch, and they can deliver value from being sold on. Ideal scenario is they do both (Gyokeres, Hamer, McNulty etc), but sometimes you sign players who just help you to win now. I would argue most of Austin's signings seem to fall in the latter category, which is fine, but it does mean they have to come in and perform from day 1 to be a success, especially if you paid a premium for them. Many (if not most) of Austin's signings have taken a while to heat up, especially considering some of the fees involved.

 

[JSL]

Next is will turn out that Aled Williams is actually an ace GK coach so more egg to our faces

 

[Terry Gibson's perm]

When we were doing shit I was blaming Austin and everybody said it was robins recruitment .. now we are doing well its Austins team were all fucking knobs tbh

The worst signings seem to have been the ones that Robins or more likely Vivash wanted Collins and Dasilva followed by Lati who I could see some sense in at the time.

 

[chiefdave]

This and the Lampard thread will be golddust for Grendal's spreadsheet when we're next on a bad run

 

[SBT]

Next is will turn out that Aled Williams is actually an ace GK coach to more egg to our faces

The evidence is pretty clear that he's been the most successful GK coach we've had in years if not decades.

 

[Hincha]

Easy to say how shit they all are when confidence is shot. We’ve signed some good players for this league and some real potential.

Whoever decided on the transfer policy of only signing potential is the issue. No leadership or experience at all.

Dean Austin position untenable

Really? Or is it just people with different opinions arguing about a relatively opaque situation that they feel passionate about? Nicely put. You can have one of these...

www.skybluestalk.co.uk

Stand by what I said in this thread while others were throwing toys out the pram. We had to churn an entire squad in 2 years and had only one outfield experienced pro (Bidwell), they were never bad players.

I'm glad this has been noticed as an issue and rectified with the signing of Grimes.

 

[Evo1883]

The worst signings seem to have been the ones that Robins or more likely Vivash wanted Collins and Dasilva followed by Lati who I could see some sense in at the time.

Ah yes , ofcourse

Either way , a few of us said in the recruitment thread these players were good enough as they'd finished 9th and reached a cup semi final .. the squad depth simply weren't there to finish the job .. thats proving again to be true , but with more depth now

 

[mmttww]

it was an open goal joke about 'fucking knobs'

Too smart for me. I'll stick to GIFs, I reckon.

 

[Hobo]

I have never had a problem with the recruitment. Some took a while to settle and get going but that is to be expected.

Dasilva is the only one who has really disappointed and even he has had some good moments. He was a 'free transfer' and at the time I thought he was a good acquisition.

Fans expect too much too soon from players.
I expect Wright and Sheaf will need several games to find their true form again after injury.
Football is largely a confidence game.

 

[Martw]

I will be the first to admit that I thought he was having a clanger as Head of Recruitment but he’s got some real quality and future assets in this squad.

We all knew on paper these were good players but we really did question if something wrong happened with recruitment.

Just shows what a different manager/setup can do with a group of players. No dig at Robins but realism. Unfortunately Austin got caught in the firing line of our anger and frustration at the start of the season.

The likes of Dovin, EMC and Rudoni are fantastic additions and to get Grimes in Jan is outstanding.

The money has been spent wisely since he came in. We have a very valuable squad.

Currently a top 7 deck soon to be top 6!

I think its clear that (so far) the quality of coaching has improved - so yes good players recruited that are now benefiting from a better coaching team.

 

[Skybluedownunder]

Since Dean Austin came in December 2022
All fees from Transfermarkt

Jan 2023

Sean Maguire - free - 3/10
Low risk but useless signing.

Josh Wilson Esbrand - loan - 4/10
Needed LB cover, was ok.

Brooke Norton-Cuffey - loan - 7/10
Got better as the year went on, big part in the play off push.

Luke McNally - loan 8/10
Great signing.

2023/24

Haji Wright - €9m - 9/10
Big outlay for someone unproven in England, Sheff U have just spent more on Tom Cannon. Great signing and credit Dean Austin. Our best player and one of the best in the league.

Ellis Simms - €7m - 7/10
Had some up and down spells so far, been much better under Lampard.

Ephron Mason-Clark- 5m- 8.5/10
Great signing

Liam Kitching- €4.6m - 5/10
Quite like Kitching but not worth what we paid.

Milan Van Ewijk- €4.3m - 9/10
Will play in the premier league

Victor Torp- €2.5m - 7/10
Started slow but another looking much better under Lampard

Bobby Thomas - €2.3m - 7/10
Probably our best CB

Sakamoto - 2.25m - 6/10


Brad Collins - €685k 3/10
No better than Wilson, pointless signing.

Jay Dasilva - free - 3/10

Joel Latibeaudiere - free - 5/10
Big Character and bit of a leader but not good enough.

Yasin Ayari - loan - 3/10
Obviously a decent player but we didn’t see it here.

Luis Binks - loan - 5/10

2024/25

Jack Rudoni €5.8m - 8/10


Luis Binks €3.8m - 5/10
Didn’t really want him back and haven’t seen anything to change my mind

Brandon Thomas- Asante - €2.95m - 6/10

Norman Bassette -€2.7m- 6/10
Think this signing will age well

Oliver Dovin- €1.9- 8/10
Best player last 10 or so games

Raphael - Undisclosed - N/A
Matt Grimes- Undisclosed N/A
Jamie Paterson - free- N/A

sorry for the essay quiet night at work

You and [mention]JoeCCFCPUSB [/mention] live in Europe or something?


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[Skybluedownunder]

Think on paper all the signings are decent players with maybe Kitching being the only one we really overpaid for.

Said earlier in the season my worry was how the squad was built as opposed to the signings. Grimes looks to be a smart signing and gives me hope in the future to see a more balanced view to building the team with a focus on youth but also experience to guide said youth.

Just wish we got a rightback in as well to protect us if MVE gets hurt

I’d say we also overpaid for BTA personally.

Good thing was there was potentially offers in Jan for offers similar to what we paid but I don’t feel he plays like a player of that price tag


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[SBT]

I’d say we also overpaid for BTA personally.

Good thing was there was potentially offers in Jan for offers similar to what we paid but I don’t feel he plays like a player of that price tag


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Hard to argue we overpaid for him given the number of clubs who were supposedly keen to take him off our hands in January. Given his track record in this division the fee seemed pretty reasonable - we supposedly paid a similar sum for Bassette who has never played at anything like this level.

 

[quinn1971]

Remember the meltdown when we didn’t bring Matty James in think we’re best just supporting sometimes, lampard, king, Austin all know what they’re doing, we’re in good hands

 

[Winny the Bish]

I still think that outside of MVE the defender signings have been poor. Thomas the only other I'd be somewhat happy with and he can't pass.

 

[SleepyGinger]

Giving Kitching a 5 the same as Binks and less than BTA and Bassette is hilarious

Price considered yeah, what would you say about it 15 games ago?

 

[Ccfcisparks]

Price considered yeah, what would you say about it 15 games ago?

Kitching barely cost £1m more than BTA and has contrbuted massively more than Bassette. Its still ridiculous

 

[clint van damme]

Remember the meltdown when we didn’t bring Matty James in think we’re best just supporting sometimes, lampard, king, Austin all know what they’re doing, we’re in good hands

Which was totally justified.
We were short on numbers and short on experience.
It's not like we had the midfield pool available that we have now, if we had, no ine would have been calling for Matty James.

 

[SleepyGinger]

Kitching barely cost £1m more than BTA and has contrbuted massively more than Bassette. Its still ridiculous

Bassette is a 20 year old striker who historically cost a lot more than defenders, I think that will prove to be a very good signing.

Apparently we had offers of what we paid for BTA or slightly more in January, I wouldn’t imagine it would be the same for Kitching. He’s not a bad player but it was an over pay.

 

[Nick]

I still think that outside of MVE the defender signings have been poor. Thomas the only other I'd be somewhat happy with and he can't pass.

See his pass last game that split the defence?

 

[SBT]

Bassette is a 20 year old striker who historically cost a lot more than defenders, I think that will prove to be a very good signing.

Based on what?

 

[SleepyGinger]

Based on what?

You really can’t see any potential?

 

[Ccfcisparks]

You really can’t see any potential?

No, i dont think many can.

 

[Balli001]

You really can’t see any potential?

Potential to be the next Andy Morrell definitely

 

[Lamps]

You really can’t see any potential?

But when he comes good most will say they always saw it coming. Just like with Gyokeres

 

[KenilworthSkyBlue]

No, i dont think many can.

Bassette has definitely got potential, but there's a lot to work on for him to reach the level required to compete and perform in this league week in week out.

He undoubtedly needs a loan move away next season , probably in L1 or in Scotland for him to work on his game and gain some experience as did look like a fish out of water for the most part when he featured.

I can see why FL has taken him out of the side. It was way too soon to thrust him into the thick of it at this stage really.

 

[Grendel]

You really can’t see any potential?

He has some pace but looks miles off the level

 

[Skybluedownunder]

Bassette has definitely got potential, but there's a lot to work on for him to reach the level required to compete and perform in this league week in week out.

He undoubtedly needs a loan move away next season , probably in L1 or in Scotland for him to work on his game and gain some experience as did look like a fish out of water for the most part when he featured.

I can see why FL has taken him out of the side. It was way too soon to thrust him into the thick of it at this stage really.

No more Scotland loans they are a complete waste of time but I do think a loan would help him.

I can’t believe Lampard stuck by him for so long when he wasn’t scoring.

JDS, Collins & Bassette should have been took out a hell of a lot earlier than they did.


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