Reflections on the January Window (2 Viewers)

Samo · Feb 2, 2024

My initial/emotional reaction is one of disappointment. I think we have missed a huge opportunity to bolster the squad and capitalize on the momentum the team has built. It will be crying shame if we go out of the cup earlier than necessary, or even lose in the play offs for want of some January investment.
We have fewer players now than when the window opened. Yes, we bagged one for the summer but he can't help us now or towards the end of a long season when the injuries are starting to mount up. And if we could't get him now, why not plug the gap with a loan for the time being. This window has to be seen as a failure.

Having said that... Doug has made no secret of his desire to reach the premier league, and with hindsight, the summer window has turned out to be a good one. I think the difficulty lies in trying to find players who can make the transition to the prem when we get there. That means aiming for really good players who are obviously in demand. We don't want to get lumbered with too many players who are on long contracts but will never step up. I get that it's difficult. However, fortune favors the brave and it seems that many of our competitors have been a bit braver than we have. That might cost us dearly come the end of the season.

Then there is MR's latest interview. He sounds very disappointed; what are we to make of that? He talks about keeping running costs down and uses the phrase 'reality check' a number of times, but we are led to believe that the club bid 6.5m (rising to 9m) for the lad who went to Portugal. Who are we to believe? Is 9m on one player doable for us or is 2-3m on Torp and Mason-Clarke stretching the budget as MR seems to suggest. MR's reaction suggests to me that he has not been provided with what he had expected.

Any thoughts?

PUSB

fernandopartridge · Feb 2, 2024

We've lost Fadz who wasn't playing anyway and brought in Torp - i'd say that is overall a net gain. Ideally we'd have got a bit more in but it really isn't the end of the world that we didn't.

SkyblueDad · Feb 2, 2024

I am surprised at least a loan or two weren’t added, but our squad is strong and was playing really well before the FA cup. One thing I’m hoping is perhaps Sheafs’ injury is not as bad as first thought and he will be back sooner than later

Martin180 · Feb 2, 2024

Problem with a lot of the loans that might've worked are the wages . Hull and Ipswich are paying a lot of money to players on short term loans .
Might've worked but I'm happy to sit on the money we've got and use it for the right players when they become available

Seaside-Skyblue · Feb 2, 2024

Samo said:
Any thoughts?

PUSB

Anti-glare?

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exhallskyblue · Feb 2, 2024

Comparing to January windows where we always were worried about losing key players. I’d take this one where we have made 2 good signings.

SBT · Feb 2, 2024

We’ve spent ~£4-5 million on two highly rated players who are set to be key members of the squad for the next four years….hard to see how the window is a failure by those results.

Samo · Feb 2, 2024

I have clearly misread the zeitgeist; we are more easily pleased than I thought.
MR doesn't look particularly pleased though.

Manchester_sky_blue · Feb 2, 2024

It's possible for the window to not be a failure and still be disappointing. Robins clearly wanted more players in but I suspect there are very few managers who are completely happy at the end of any given transfer window.

Sky_Blue_Daz · Feb 2, 2024

Had a niggling worry that O’Hare would be sold , so I’ll put the whole day down as a win

Kingokings204 · Feb 2, 2024

O hare hasn’t left. We’ve signed two top players for this level it would seem. One comes in the summer grant it.

one good servant left us in fadz.
All this in a traditionally shit transfer window. Take it all day long tbh

edgy · Feb 2, 2024

Two things have happen which has soured the window.

1) Sheaf's injury means we are now light in a critical position. It feels like we've lost a player to that effect.
2) EMC was supposed to signed for this season. The loan back was a late change which left us with no options but to agree. Had it had gone through as planned, I'd have been happy with the dealings.

If Torp can fill Sheafs boots quickly, then we are as we were pre window. Light on the wing department. If Torp can't, then we are weaker than pre-window.

Hobo · Feb 2, 2024

We have gained two quality players even if one won't join until the summer.

McFadz was no surprise going out and Blackburn is a great short term move for him.

Not bothered about no loans coming in, they can be very hit and miss. It is good that the players coming in now all seem good with development potential as well.

I'd rather see the club get the players they really want rather than hit and hope and just bring in numbers.

skybluegod · Feb 2, 2024

Martin180 said:
Problem with a lot of the loans that might've worked are the wages . Hull and Ipswich are paying a lot of money to players on short term loans .
Might've worked but I'm happy to sit on the money we've got and use it for the right players when they become available

You are bang on with this and Robins alludes to a similar point in his recent interview. He says Doug wants to make sure he's getting value for money on all transfers. A gamble on a high end loan isn't value for money if you don't go up. And I'm not sure there was a big enough hole in our starting 11 to justify it financially Without blocking the development of our own players and so their value.

skybluegod · Feb 2, 2024

edgy said:
Two things have happen which has soured the window.

1) Sheaf's injury means we are now light in a critical position. It feels like we've lost a player to that effect.
2) EMC was supposed to signed for this season. The loan back was a late change which left us with no options but to agree. Had it had gone through as planned, I'd have been happy with the dealings.

If Torp can fill Sheafs boots quickly, then we are as we were pre window. Light on the wing department. If Torp can't, then we are weaker than pre-window.

Sheafs injury has nothing to do with the window. If it had happened next week, we wouldn't be saying it's a bad window because of that? Either we were short or not.

Samo · Feb 2, 2024

skybluegod said:
Sheafs injury has nothing to do with the window. If it had happened next week, we wouldn't be saying it's a bad window because of that? Either we were short or not.

And we are

edgy · Feb 2, 2024

skybluegod said:
Sheafs injury has nothing to do with the window. If it had happened next week, we wouldn't be saying it's a bad window because of that? Either we were short or not.

Like I said, it feels like we've lost a player. The OP is asking for our reflections on the window.

Regardless, my statement stands. If Torp cant fill Sheaf's boots quickly, then we are weaker than pre-window. I personally don't count EMC as a new signing. He's absolutely no use to us yet.

covcity4life · Feb 2, 2024

Clubs stronger than it was before it started

We will do proper business in summer I think

Gonna be hard if we get injuries but we ain't moneybags and we may have to use tavares on right. Let's see what he's got once and for all of that's the case.

mrtrench · Feb 2, 2024

I'm fine with it. Unless I misunderstand we are happy to spend but only on the players that fit our model. That model seems to be:
1. Early 20s
2. Already very good but we can improve them
3. Will play in the Premiership if we are promoted
4 Will have a sell on value, so we can do the same again: sell one player and buy four or more next generation talent.
5 value for money.

I think the aim is to get to the Premiership and stay there. But not to get promotion the fast and easy way by buying outside the model.

fatso · Feb 2, 2024

Not selling O'hare makes it a good window.

Bringing Torp in was a timely addition what with Sheaf getting an injury, but I can't help thinking that not bringing a striker in, and signing a winger who's no use till next season is leaving us too short to sustain a playoff challenge.

We'll have to wrap the boys up in cotton wool between games, and keep our fingers crossed we don't pick up anymore knocks.

Gibbo · Feb 2, 2024

Samo said:
I have clearly misread the zeitgeist; we are more easily pleased than I thought.
MR doesn't look particularly pleased though.

Robins never looks please in interviews

stupot07 · Feb 2, 2024

Robins said he is disappointed and nervy as we lack numbers and depth of quality. Whilst we have made 2 good signings.

We lack any cover on the wings. Our cover if Wright or Sakamoto get injured are currently is based in players who have played minutes there this season are:

Left side: Palmer (no. 10), Allen (box to box central midfielder), Simms (CF), Dasilva (Left back)

Right side: Simms (CF), MVE (Right back), Tavares (CF)

Square pegs.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

skybluegod · Feb 2, 2024

edgy said:
Like I said, it feels like we've lost a player. The OP is asking for our reflections on the window.

Regardless, my statement stands. If Torp cant fill Sheaf's boots quickly, then we are weaker than pre-window. I personally don't count EMC as a new signing. He's absolutely no use to us yet.

But it's still not a reflection on the window is it...

If Torp plays badly we are exactly same a pre window the comment makes no sense. If he was out for the season it might but he's literally going to be back in a few weeks most likely.

skybluegod · Feb 2, 2024

stupot07 said:
Robins said he is disappointed and nervy as we lack numbers and depth of quality. Whilst we have made 2 good signings.

We lack any cover on the wings. Our cover if Wright or Sakamoto get injured are currently is based in players who have played minutes there this season are:

Left side: Palmer (no. 10), Allen (box to box central midfielder), Simms (CF), Dasilva (Left back)

Right side: Simms (CF), MVE (Right back), Tavares (CF)

Square pegs.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

Tbf he also clarified the comments of disappointment about wanting to move the club on as a fast as possible but that isn't possible. And he gets that.

Also he's always always complained about quality in depth. Every year! I don't think that is every changing!

Cov kid 55 · Feb 2, 2024

I think that looking at the squad as it is now, we will do really well to achieve a play off place. Primarily because two of the four places look to have gone already, and there are a lot of teams who have strengthened in the window, chasing the last two places. Having said that, I didn’t think we’d make the play-offs last year! I’m not disheartened though, we’re building strong foundations which we will build on in the less frenetic summer transfer window. We will may well have to move forward without O’Hare, which will be a blow, particularly as he’ll go on a free if he does go. To me, MR always looks a bit glum, but he always makes the best of what he’s got, and King appears to be running the club in the right way.

Finally, I don’t think next year’s Championship will be as strong, there’s unlikely to be another Ipswich, and the quality of teams coming down may well not be as strong as this season. So, progress is being made, perhaps not always at the pace we would like.

Gint11 · Feb 2, 2024

Samo said:
My initial/emotional reaction is one of disappointment. I think we have missed a huge opportunity to bolster the squad and capitalize on the momentum the team has built. It will be crying shame if we go out of the cup earlier than necessary, or even lose in the play offs for want of some January investment.
We have fewer players now than when the window opened. Yes, we bagged one for the summer but he can't help us now or towards the end of a long season when the injuries are starting to mount up. And if we could't get him now, why not plug the gap with a loan for the time being. This window has to be seen as a failure.

Having said that... Doug has made no secret of his desire to reach the premier league, and with hindsight, the summer window has turned out to be a good one. I think the difficulty lies in trying to find players who can make the transition to the prem when we get there. That means aiming for really good players who are obviously in demand. We don't want to get lumbered with too many players who are on long contracts but will never step up. I get that it's difficult. However, fortune favors the brave and it seems that many of our competitors have been a bit braver than we have. That might cost us dearly come the end of the season.

Then there is MR's latest interview. He sounds very disappointed; what are we to make of that? He talks about keeping running costs down and uses the phrase 'reality check' a number of times, but we are led to believe that the club bid 6.5m (rising to 9m) for the lad who went to Portugal. Who are we to believe? Is 9m on one player doable for us or is 2-3m on Torp and Mason-Clarke stretching the budget as MR seems to suggest. MR's reaction suggests to me that he has not been provided with what he had expected.

Any thoughts?

PUSB

I hear you and you may be proven right but you see clubs go nuts on every man and his dog and often becomes dross signings. The club has a bigger picture long term recruitment plan - on long term admirers and targets, not whims.

If we’re worried about legs and fatigue, he can dip into the loan market.

Calista · Feb 2, 2024

stupot07 said:
We lack any cover on the wings.

Yes. Annoyingly I fear that the plan formerly known as Plan A (wingbacks) may get brought out of mothballs quite a lot.

SkyblueDad · Feb 2, 2024

Calista said:
Yes. Annoyingly I fear that the plan formerly known as Plan A (wingbacks) may get brought out of mothballs quite a lot.

We have a stronger squad than before the January window, just buying Torp makes it stronger, just get Sheaf up and running by March I’ll be happy be like a new signing.

mmttww · Feb 2, 2024

We probably need about 30 points from the last 17 games to finish where we are. I'd back us to win 6 of the 8 home games we've got. We need 2 or 3 away wins. Will be tough if we lost Wright or Sakamoto for more than a handful of games. Doable if we don't. Is what it is. I'm sure we tried, and I'm glad we didn't gamble. Hard to take if we just miss out. Think we'd have gambled if the autos were in reach.

sneferu · Feb 2, 2024

17 games left. We might be lucky with injuries. I am expecting a strong finish to this season. Playoffs here we come....again.

Astute · Feb 2, 2024

A good window.

Two good players signed. No 1st team players left. No loans but there again no loans taking money away from our squad rebuilding mission that wouldn't have the time to bed in.

This squad just keeps getting better. Gone are the days of bringing in any old tat just to fill a position. If we don't go up this season next season is going to be fun.

Chris1987 · Feb 2, 2024

mrtrench said:
I'm fine with it. Unless I misunderstand we are happy to spend but only on the players that fit our model. That model seems to be:
1. Early 20s
2. Already very good but we can improve them
3. Will play in the Premiership if we are promoted
4 Will have a sell on value, so we can do the same again: sell one player and buy four or more next generation talent.
5 value for money.

I think the aim is to get to the Premiership and stay there. But not to get promotion the fast and easy way by buying outside the model.

Bang on

Astute · Feb 2, 2024

Cov kid 55 said:
I think that looking at the squad as it is now, we will do really well to achieve a play off place. Primarily because two of the four places look to have gone already, and there are a lot of teams who have strengthened in the window, chasing the last two places.

After we had our run of 2 draws and 4 defeats the top 4 places were more or less already spoken for. Many on here expected a relegation battle or mid table at best.

We're on a great run. We've had injuries and a red card to a main player. But injuries are not something that happens just to us. We've just gone past all the teams below us and have started making a gap between us. We've been averaging over 2 points a game since our bad run. Just over 1.5 points a game for the rest of the season should see us in the playoffs.

I keep hearing Hull are a big danger. But 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats so far this year means a massive turnaround would be needed. Seems like they've spunked a lot of money on some loans. Who would be happy if we hadn’t brought in the two players....which are ours....and brought in 4 loans until the end of the season just to say goodbye to them whatever happens?

Would you prefer to be in our position or the position of Hull?

Name another side below us....that we have just gone past after being points below them just a few weeks ago....that you see as a danger.

ovduk78 · Feb 2, 2024

Last season after the January window we had a few posters bemoaning the fact that teams like Stoke & WBA had strengthened their squads with a lot more signings than we had. Their season's then sizzled out & they ended up nowhere near the play offs. We don't know what issues teams like Hull are going to have with all their new signings. I would liked us to have more squad depth but if we are lucky with injuries & player fatigue we can certainly make the play offs again.

oakey · Feb 2, 2024

We fell short last season as we "ran out of squad" at Wembley.
I will be surprised if we are not in for the same.
Still, there's always next season, which I've heard from so many City fans since, mmmmm, about 1974.

Reflections on the January Window (2 Viewers)

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