We brought in a lot of loans because we got rid of a heap of players after Marco left who were also on loan. The pick of them was probably Aina, Campbell and Larsson though Stewart at the beginning was injured but got better the next season I believe Hector started okay but soon became ****e, Mazuch was a flop, Tomori was okay, Kingsley, Dicko, and Toral were nothing special, Toral could be good when he was not injured. We didn't pay out a lot, Robertson and Maguire went, Stewart came in as part of the Robertson deal.
I think you're being extremely kind with that summary. It was a horrendous summer that played a huge part in our eventual relegation. We spent something like £12m and released every player we spent a fee on
I assume you mean the beginning of the summer when Phelan was in charge and then Marco took over. Yes, Mason was the big signing, but other than that, a lot of what Marco had to bring in were loans.
No again we're talking about the Championship summer. Irvine, Dicko, Kingsley, Stewart.. Again, point being if Silva had stayed in charge we spent enough that if he was calling the shots on recruitment we may well have been competitive.
You should have said the frog, then we would have known. That ball he played to Niasse when he scored against Liverpool was something of a joy to watch.
Generally, the recruitment was poor IMO, Irvine was a good signing, and Stewart did finally do okay, but many just didn't work out. It didn't seem, apart from the Chelsea loanees, Leonid didn't seem to have much say, as his knowledge of the English game was limited. Certainly, if Silva had stayed, then the recruitment would have been different and probably better.
Never really got value for Stewart though due to the number of games he played vs wages and the supposed 7m valuation as part of the Robertson deal. Irvine contributed, yes but being unable to get another championship gig on release tells its own story.
Jamie Maclaren will be leading the line for Australia at the World Cup and has scored 64 goals in 75 games for Melbourne City over the past three seasons.
