On aleksic no doubt they being promoted has thrown a positive spanner in the works when it comes to recruitment, as had we stayed down he likely hand around and he maybe simply be a victim of our new premier league status however on the flip side it is concerning that another signing, for a considerable fee considering our level at the time had not worked out in the slightest and as others have said, a loan to Belgrade is not gonna cut the mustard is it. Wasn’t it a couple of not 3m, this on the back of the rusyn transfer a year before, our biggest signing fee wise of the window and he went the same way. whilst there’s a lot to be positive about, we haven’t been great when we’ve pulled the trigger
tbf I think he deserves his payday stuck around Wednesday through thick and thin, granted I didn’t watch much sheff wed but always seemed important for them and they’re in a mess so why not move
I was thinking along similar lines with players like Aleksic, Ba, Rusyn and Bennette. It is a shame and I’m sure we’ve learned from the signings. The successes of other players like Isidor, Jobe, Mayenda, Clarke, Ballard, Hume, Cirkin and Mundle have vastly outweighed them though. That’s almost the spine of the team and they cost a total of less than £10 million if my quick sums are right.
It looks like a foreign player settling in issue to me like. Some will some won’t but Mayenda and Isidor are examples of the positives and one of them didn’t settle season one. If it was a year later Mayenda may be getting a loan now.
How does that make you feel about the fact that we’ll be pulling the trigger with tens of millions of pounds this summer? Less than confident?
Think Rusyn was brought into an absolute car crash situation with basically no manager and an unbalanced squad for the majority of the season + the club not investing in settling him in. Aleksic was a victim of getting promoted he would be a key member of the squad along with browne and triantis. The club have shown an ability to bring in replacements before they are needed giving them a season around the squad to bed in. Mayenda couldn’t get a game for hibs now he’s about to get serious minutes in the the prem
Settling in is undoubtedly an issue but a big part of it is simply game time imo. For one reason or another (and not always merely because of their ability/performance) the ‘failed’ transfers have never been given an extended run in the team. The most they got was a few games and a very short leash. The lads who took their chances were often either given a bit of game time or were forced to be relied upon by circumstance. The one that sticks in my mind is when Mowbray was forced to stick with Ba because of an injury to Roberts and he produced comfortably his best football. However once PR got back, AB was binned and largely never seen again other than in cameos. Similarly Aouchiche was just starting to get a bit of time this last season - and acclimatising pretty well and actually having a bit of an impact - when we brought in ELF and Regis was given the opportunity to get rid. I know that there’s effort, attitude and the ability to take a chance if it arrives (even a very small one) but it must be tough to get going if your shot equates to training and 20 mins as a sub every 2 months at most. Defo makes me reflect on many fans’ desire to have a big squad too. If there isn’t a pathway to the pitch we may well see more of these ‘flops’. And this time they’ll be priced at premier league levels too - which makes it a much bigger problem.
it was vital no matter what the fixtures were but tend to agree, some of our more winnable games are early
you’re buying more quality on paper at that price point where I think rusyn and aleksic while tfees considerable for the level we’re really diamond in the rough type buys that didn’t work out
I don’t see a massive problem tbh. We are loaning young players out to get them experience. They might come to life and stay, they might go elsewhere. Don’t see a massive problem at all it happens everywhere.
While generally I agree, I think it's super important that the money we spend has a positive effect on the pitch next season. I think the 'failures' get the advantage of being viewed through a different lens now we've been promoted. And if we can get to the Brighton level, these sorts of longer term plays on players become more acceptable once again. For next season though (and maybe the one after) any big transfer misses really have an oversized effect on our viability as a prem team due to PSR. We've only got 42000 mins to share around the squad next season, Its critical that the players we bring in get a good amount of that time - or else we risk ending up with the same result at a much higher price point
After seeing those first 6 games it's crucial we get our business done early to take this chance, Burnley and Leeds have it much worse than us
It's also on them to keep their head down and work hard and get their chance, Mayenda did that and impressed RLB in pre-season and was made the main guy
What puzzles me is that when we signed him last season he ( Aleksic ) was on the fringes of the full Serbian national squad. If that’s the case then surely he is worth persevering with. The odd 20 minutes as a sub or playing in a weakened cup team isn’t going to bring the best out of him. I also felt Aouchiche was never given a fair crack.
Oh yeah of course. Included that in the post. However, it's certainly not solely about that. In truth Mayenda got an extended chance due to a lack of alternatives at a critical time. He definitely took that chance. I'm just not sure any of the others ever got a similar opportunity (beyond the Ba one I mentioned). Without actually being on the training ground its tough to know how much was on the players and how much on the managers at the time. For instance I do think that the second season batch suffered for coming into a club where the head coach was consumed with a need to make a point to the higher ups. But equally there are whispers that there are sulkers in that group. It'll no doubt be a bit from column a and a bit from column b. What will be true, though, is that we won't be able to afford too many misses this summer. And for me that means being more considered about where we place our bets.