I remember acun saying he wouldn’t take “a risk” when it came to strikers. Tetteh came and went, didn’t do anything Oscar came and went We’ve got Delap on loan but I don’t think we’ve gone all out like the no10’s and bought a proven striker at this level
I made the comment the other day that there's a pretty clear reason for that. If you think PL quality or promotion chasing quality players will just happily sign for City on the whim of a new, charismatic owner, then I'm sorry to say that a lot of players need a lot of convincing. The fact Rosenior has dragged us up the table means we're now in a position to begin targeting promotion challenging quality players, which is why I think someone like Pandur coming in is better than Carvalho, BUT that Carvalho gives us an increased pedigree and reputation that hopefully convinces others to join permanently.
Plymouth have been gutted this window which I think means Whittaker is going to be hard to get from them, but agree he should be someone being targeted.
To the Allams, who refuse to pay staff and we lose all the players, whilst breaking FFP signing Ehab as our new centre backforward for £10m from SS Alam Marine, the circle is made into an oval and the pitch is no longer playable as we find rare drunk as crested Newts in the centre circle, whilst a class action lawsuit is taken out by lack of mirrors in the ladies loos, biscuit man runs off with the last of the money and steals the recipe for chip spice... Or wait a couple of weeks and see what happens?
I suppose the thinking is that if Philogene, for instance, gets picked off by the PL before we go up, then at least we should be getting a big fee for him which will allow us to bring in multiple quality players in his place - if we got 20-25m for him that's at minimum 2-3 new players fees + wages. So the idea is you have 2-3 quality players on your books, sell one, turn it into 4-5 quality players on your books, and so on.
We were going to spend the majority of our transfer budget on strikers/forwards. This was before Oscar and Tetteh came in on frees, and then Delap on loan and Connolly on a free, and now Sharp on a free. It's bizarre.
Oh absolutely, but that's not building a side for the future, that's operating shrewdly in the transfer market. I'm all for that, but I think we need to abandon ideas of having a 'settled' squad. I think mostly those days have gone, especially with the short spells most managers get.
Oh yeah don't think we'll be able to have players with us for 2-3 years developing as a side going up together, you almost have to look at it in two year blocks. Hypothetically we get Delap in permanently, I think we'd have next season with a relatively 'settled' side - where it's really just the fullbacks + Morton (and I suppose GK) being changed in the XI, but beyond next season I'd expect Philogene and maybe one of the CBs to go and then you're replacing them, so you only really get 18-24 months to develop players and try to make the most of them.
Which is why this worry about loan players is a little confusing. Bring realistic, what's the difference between Philogene and Morton? Profit, probably. I can't see Jaden being here that much longer than Morton. Both approaches are worthy and both have their pros and cons. I agree with you that we need to be looking at blocks of time, rather than worrying too much about a settled side that'll challenge in 2 years time.
I was recently discussing this with a Boro fan..He claimed that their star loanees last season were injured towards the end, which cost them in the play offs?
It shows that there's a reason it's so difficult to get promoted. Throwing money at it doesn't always work, and being canny and going for young talent on the cheap doesn't always work.
See my post 3289 in which I acknowledge his performance at Middlesboro. Other than this game and a couple of decent saves vs Leeds, he's been less than bang average.
Which is why you shouldn't skimp on it, do it properly. We know we have a striker at the club that works in our system, so we should spend the money to keep him here.
Fair comment, but most keepers can claim credit for creating goals at some stage in their career. I'm loathed to bang on about him, but when compared to some in this league he's poor. And that is without doubt the last comment I'm going to make on the topic....Thank feck.
