Drameh is subject to offers, but Kamara and Pandur certainly aren't for sale. Links of those two going is all just pure speculation? Hang on, you're saying in one minute LR was forming a young squad, then name a host of loan players rather than perms, whilst also criticising loans! I think we're in the place you want us to be now, with a core of young players with high potential, whilst looking to add to those alongside championship experience. However, you're in the anti-Acun camp because of the whole Rosenior thing, so will never accept he's learned his lesson and things are now working as they should recruitment wise.
Am I anti-Acun? Guess that's good to know as I wasn't aware. I criticise when it's due and I praise when it's due. I've rubbished the people saying Acun is broke and wanting to sell up and losing interest just as I've criticised Acun for being too quick to sack managers. I don't think that makes me anti him. This discussion started because I pointed out we don't have a patient owner to allow us to go down the Sunderland route, which is why our squad now has more experienced players than it did previously.
If we absolutely need a baldy midfielder who’s been around a bit, I’d rather have Josip Mišić over that lazy **** Shelvey.
Just listened to the latest 1904 podcast. I'm afraid it did nothing to raise hopes for this coming season. Just reality reminder of where we are currently at. As they mentioned, and mentioned earlier on here, the bookies have us as favorites for relegation. AS THINGS STAND, that is bang on. There's a lot of work to do, and, worryingly, it's far from straightforward fine tuning. And the players are back on Monday, so every day becomes a day less / wasted day in terms of a full pre-season with the squad all together. We really do need to start seeing more players coming in asap otherwise it risks shades of recent seasons. On a bit of a related tangent, I was reminded earlier today about Furlong. Just one of three LB's that the owner has supported his managers and recruitment team over. Giles, a big money signing, no need to say more. Furlong, not big money but a fee and a 3 year deal; now at 23 apparently deemed not good enough. Jacobs, from the academy but given a 3 year deal only back in March 24 and, now at 24, apparently deemed not good enough. Our owner has made his own mistakes, but it's stuff like this, where he's supported with 3 players and still we spent the season without a proper LB and still don't have one, where I feel for him. Could arguably add Drameh as FB to the list. It's crazy. Hopefully with Hodges now supporting Dublin, those days are finally behind us.
I feel the same GFAW. As it stands right now, ive no idea what our team is going to look like when we kick off the first game of the new season... thats an odd feeling to have but one we have every season it seems. We should be saying players like Pandur, Hughes, Puerta, Alzate etc are all staying and we'll be building the team around them. Then realistically we only need a striker or 2 and a decent left back, maybe cover on the left wing and we're looking like a decent championship team again.
Any thoughts on who this left back might be? Initially thought Owen Beck but the secretive approach to it makes me think it’s someone with a bit more pedigree. Harry Amass at United or Bashir Humphreys at Chelsea would fit the bill.
Sounds like it might happen. If he can stay fit and if he's up for it then it could be a very good signing. I know, 2 big ifs. But he would bring quality, experience, nous, bite. Looks to me like they might at last be trying to build a proper spine to the team (Pandur, Semi / Hughes, Shelvey, McBurnie); add flair around them then we might be on to something. Lot of work to be done though.
There were **** all mate. A while ago I looked into it, and other than Philogene and Pandur (who he didn't play) we didn't have any players that Rosenior signed permanently that made a decent impact for more than half a season
As the entire point of the discussion was that young players are generally inconsistent and need a few years playing together, perhaps you're coming to the same conclusion...?
Yeah, I'm sure a settled squad helps assuming they have the quality in the first place, but our team is way behind Sunderland's on paper. Under Rosenior, we had an average squad that we supplemented with PL loans we couldn't afford to buy, in an effort to push to the PL, and in failing we ended up losing out better assets. Many of the players we did buy in his tenure barely had more than a handful of games before we bounced them on. Could we have given them more chance? Maybe. Would a team including the likes of Sayyadmanesh and Lokilo have been challenging for the playoffs though? I doubt it
Since joining Westerlo, Sayyadmanesh has been really good. He would’ve walked into our team last season either at left-wing or up front. We sold him at a loss too.
