January Transfer Window

[Wiggytop]

38 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

Said the same thing in another thread. I’m a bit worried. 

We need to get rid of players before bringing in anyone new.

Would any player If he got the call from Carlo refuse the offer to come?

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

29 minutes ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

I'm trying to stay positive and play the long game when it comes to our January business, Leicester won the league using only around 23-25 players so it's not as though a large squad is essential - personally I'd rather have quality over quantity and am just pleased to see the decks clearing with players that aren't good enough, but can certainly see why people are worried. 

If we can get rid of the likes of Bolasie*, Lossl, Tosun, Bernard, Pennington, Besic, Delph, Kean etc then it puts us in a really good position to use the money that we have saved in January into summer recruits. As much as it's uninspiring now it makes busines sense and I would genuinely prefer to play the likes of Onyango over Delph and push more game time Gordon's way over the likes of Bernard/Tosun.

Nkounkou and Small are available as back-up on the left-side too. The only place we look desperately thin is up front, but hopefully some progress will be made on that before the window slams shut (even if that means a Dzeko coming in on the short term). 

I see our depth is something like this - I've not included anyone that I think will be leaving/is deadwood:

Goalkeeper: Pickford, Olsen, Virginia

Defence: Coleman, Holgate, Mina, Godfrey, Keane, Digne, Nkounkou, Small

Midfield: Allan, Sigurdsson, Doucoure, James, André Gomes, Gbamin*, Davies, Onyango

Wingers/Forwards: Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin, Iwobi, Gordon,

Squad Size: 23 players (providing Gbamin gets fit again!)

Departures (this window): Kenny, Delph, Tosun, Bernard, Olsen, Besic

That squad has gaping holes all over the place!

If DCL gets injured the only option we have is to move an out of sorts Richarlison to CF which in turn means Gordon taking his place on the wing, apart from the fact he isnt ready yet straight away we have zero attacking options on the bench

 

[Zoo 2.0]

8 minutes ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

That squad has gaping holes all over the place!

If DCL gets injured the only option we have is to move an out of sorts Richarlison to CF which in turn means Gordon taking his place on the wing, apart from the fact he isnt ready yet straight away we have zero attacking options on the bench

 

I did mention that the one place I'm concerned about is up top . I think we can get by elsewhere, but would be much more comfortable if we brought in a second striker to cover DCL.

[Romey 1878]

56 minutes ago, Wiggytop said:

We need to get rid of players before bringing in anyone new.

Would any player If he got the call from Carlo refuse the offer to come?

We're getting rid of these and not bringing in anyone new.

[markjazzbassist]

Good post zoo.  I think it’s long term strategy too.  Could do Gylfi in the false 9 or Gordon as well.  It’s not sexy or exciting but we have some financial issues with FFP and possibly Europe.  We need to shift wages and get transfer fees.  Addiontally wouldn’t it be great to bring in some real quality in the summer instead of a stop gap now?  Carlo is gonna be here 4-5 years, let’s be patient and stick to the plan. 

[Romey 1878]

Zero chance of European football next season if this is the squad we're going with until the end of the season. Put that in the bank right now.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

With Europe still mathematically in reach it would be a shame if we didn’t try and get some new players in now, we are only eleven players away from being a decent side

[markjazzbassist]

Plenty of matches to play no need to start writing off Europe yet.  We had that 7 in a row bad streak this year and and bounced back from that, no need to doom and gloom it.

[pete0]

Can we recall Walcott?

[Romey 1878]

Just now, markjazzbassist said:

Plenty of matches to play no need to start writing off Europe yet.  We had that 7 in a row bad streak this year and and bounced back from that, no need to doom and gloom it.

We didn't look like we were about to let a raft of squad players leave without bringing anyone in to replace them then.

If we do that we won't be anywhere near come the end of the season.

[Bailey]

2 hours ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

I'm trying to stay positive and play the long game when it comes to our January business, Leicester won the league using only around 23-25 players so it's not as though a large squad is essential - personally I'd rather have quality over quantity and am just pleased to see the decks clearing with players that aren't good enough, but can certainly see why people are worried. 

If we can get rid of the likes of Bolasie*, Lossl, Tosun, Bernard, Pennington, Besic, Delph, Kean etc then it puts us in a really good position to use the money that we have saved in January into summer recruits. As much as it's uninspiring now it makes busines sense and I would genuinely prefer to play the likes of Onyango over Delph and push more game time Gordon's way over the likes of Bernard/Tosun.

Nkounkou and Small are available as back-up on the left-side too. The only place we look desperately thin is up front, but hopefully some progress will be made on that before the window slams shut (even if that means a Dzeko coming in on the short term). 

I see our depth is something like this - I've not included anyone that I think will be leaving/is deadwood:

Goalkeeper: Pickford, Olsen, Virginia

Defence: Coleman, Holgate, Mina, Godfrey, Keane, Digne, Nkounkou, Small

Midfield: Allan, Sigurdsson, Doucoure, James, André Gomes, Gbamin*, Davies, Onyango

Wingers/Forwards: Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin, Iwobi, Gordon,

Squad Size: 23 players (providing Gbamin gets fit again!)

Departures (this window): Kenny, Delph, Tosun, Bernard, Olsen, Besic

I agree about a smaller squad, but it's even more important with fewer players to make sure they are good enough. 

The casing point on this is the left and right back issues we have. You can say we have Nkounkou, Small etc but they didn't play when we had no left or right back. When subs were limited they didn't make the bench so they arent really first team options, at least not in Carlo's eyes. 

I think we look very thin in all attacking positions. My view on Dom is that he still has very raw moments, Richarlison and Iwobi are massively inconsistent and you can file Gordon in the Niels/Small category of not being fancied. That leaves James, who will miss games between now and the end of the season, to do the heavy lifting and if that is the case, half decent sides will try their best to shut him down or kick him out of the game like they did today. 

Finally I still only think we have two midfielders in that bunch that are worthy of the shirt week in week out. The others can come in and fill in a game here or there but we will struggle if they play every game. 

There is certainly a core of players to build from but we need a lot more quality in the side IMO. 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

Today showed how crap our squad is, we were atrocious but we had nothing on the bench to change it and there was only really Allan out injured. We couldn’t name a full subs bench even with 2 keepers on there!

Apart from the back four and keeper there is absolutely zero competition for places. They were all bollocks today but will all likely be starting again on Wednesday 

We may have numerous midfield options in terms of numbers but only two of them are fit to be starting games (Allan & Doucoure) the rest of them have all came in at some point and proven they just aren’t good enough 

Once Tosun goes we only have one recognised CF at the club in DCL and out wide it’s two from Iwobi, Richarlison or James . Gordon has had his chances and has failed to make an impression

 

 

 

[Romey 1878]

 

 

[Btay]

2 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

 

 

He must not have watched us against Newcastle 

[RuffRob]

I think we are paying the price a bit for some of the previouse shit transfers and spending that has been done. Maybe we just HAVE to have a lean squad for the next 6 months if we want to up our spend and get quality in the summer.

I am hugely impressed at what Ancelotti has done at the club, it is such a shame the purse strings might have to be a little tighter than they where when both Koeman and Silva where appointed.  

Maybe our chairman had to learn this lesson the hard way, that simply giving promising but fairly inexperienced managers massive transfer budgets is a very risky approach to gaining success at a club.

I think steadily building over a couple of seasons in experienced (and capable) is going to prove a much more fruitful and stable for the club in the long term. 

To me Ancelloti only really started his rebuild job proper with Everton this summer, so we are only really half a season in to his reign proper.  I think as this is looking to be a more stready and thourogh rebuild we are not going to be reaping the rewards proper for at least another 12 months.

So personnally, i don't want to see any make shift dross come in this January as it is likley to be a waste of time, money and efforr. I would rather see the players we have be impowered to get the job done, by hook or by crook. 

[Romey 1878]

18 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

I think we are paying the price a bit for some of the previouse shit transfers and spending that has been done. Maybe we just HAVE to have a lean squad for the next 6 months if we want to up our spend and get quality in the summer.

We absolutely are going to have to do that and I hope we somehow manage to get a European place, because without that I don't think we'll get the quality players we need in the summer. I know we managed it this summer in James, Allan etc but it very much sounds like it was sold to them that we'd be without it this season but next season we'd be there and grow from that - hence Ancelotti stating many times that qualifying for European football is the aim for this season.

Totally agree about previous transfers etc are messing things up for us now, and I really do fear it's going to cost us even more this season, just in a different way.

[Palfy]

3 hours ago, RuffRob said:

So personnally, i don't want to see any make shift dross come in this January as it is likley to be a waste of time, money and efforr. I would rather see the players we have be impowered to get the job done, by hook or by crook. 

Perfectly put, if we don’t get European football at the end of the season so what, the team has improved immensely a lot of poor players on big wages have been moved on with one or two to go, which is hopefully going to give Ancelotti the budget for next season to push the club forward with a greater opportunity to cement ourselves as a genuine top six club for many years to come, we’ve waited over twenty plus years for this time to come around another eighteen months won’t hurt. 

[Hafnia]

The game yesterday will have pissed off James.  Other clubs will be looking at him and knowing that he is a gem of a player who has not dropped in quality and he would be a great addition to any top side.

As much as he is a clear Ancellotti fan, he will not tolerate his last 3 years of prime football playing with dross.

There is a huge opportunity for the club to attract players to play under Ancellotti and to play alongside James.  That opportunity window needs to be seized upon asap. The fact that other clubs may need to sell due to finances means we really need to do what we can.

I know this is a change from what I said last week when looking at the kid from Bayern and loans etc.  But.... We really do need to make some movement.  The likes of Gylfi, Gomes and Davies are not good enough as the 3rd choice midfielder, the distance between them and Allan/Doucoure and James is too far. 

We need a striker, another wide player, a right back and a keeper.  Not all now but definitely moves need making. 

[Bailey]

1 hour ago, Hafnia said:

The game yesterday will have pissed off James.  Other clubs will be looking at him and knowing that he is a gem of a player who has not dropped in quality and he would be a great addition to any top side.

As much as he is a clear Ancellotti fan, he will not tolerate his last 3 years of prime football playing with dross.

There is a huge opportunity for the club to attract players to play under Ancellotti and to play alongside James.  That opportunity window needs to be seized upon asap. The fact that other clubs may need to sell due to finances means we really need to do what we can.

I know this is a change from what I said last week when looking at the kid from Bayern and loans etc.  But.... We really do need to make some movement.  The likes of Gylfi, Gomes and Davies are not good enough as the 3rd choice midfielder, the distance between them and Allan/Doucoure and James is too far. 

We need a striker, another wide player, a right back and a keeper.  Not all now but definitely moves need making. 

This is it for me. The decent players we have won't necessarily stick around forever. 

[Palfy]

4 hours ago, Hafnia said:

The game yesterday will have pissed off James.  Other clubs will be looking at him and knowing that he is a gem of a player who has not dropped in quality and he would be a great addition to any top side.

As much as he is a clear Ancellotti fan, he will not tolerate his last 3 years of prime football playing with dross.

There is a huge opportunity for the club to attract players to play under Ancellotti and to play alongside James.  That opportunity window needs to be seized upon asap. The fact that other clubs may need to sell due to finances means we really need to do what we can.

I know this is a change from what I said last week when looking at the kid from Bayern and loans etc.  But.... We really do need to make some movement.  The likes of Gylfi, Gomes and Davies are not good enough as the 3rd choice midfielder, the distance between them and Allan/Doucoure and James is too far. 

We need a striker, another wide player, a right back and a keeper.  Not all now but definitely moves need making. 

We do need better additions to the team that’s a given, but first of all we need to make room for them which is happening at the moment, we spend the biggest % of our turnover on wages than any other club in the league, you can’t just keep going out and spending without selling. 
Unfortunately for Ancelotti his hands have been tied by the free spending times of Koeman and Silva, hopefully we get another 2 or 3 brought in in the summer and the imminent return of Gbamin would be like a new signing, the player who I believe could be looking to get out is Richarlison more because he thinks he’s bigger and better than he actually is, but like any player before or after him if they want out then they can fuck off. 

[Hafnia]

10 minutes ago, Palfy said:

We do need better additions to the team that’s a given, but first of all we need to make room for them which is happening at the moment, we spend the biggest % of our turnover on wages than any other club in the league, you can’t just keep going out and spending without selling. 
Unfortunately for Ancelotti his hands have been tied by the free spending times of Koeman and Silva, hopefully we get another 2 or 3 brought in in the summer and the imminent return of Gbamin would be like a new signing, the player who I believe could be looking to get out is Richarlison more because he thinks he’s bigger and better than he actually is, but like any player before or after him if they want out then they can fuck off. 

Richarlison has disappointed me.  Looks to be sulking. 

[Palfy]

2 minutes ago, Hafnia said:

Richarlison has disappointed me.  Looks to be sulking. 

Agreed, I’m beginning to see a player who isn’t a team player it’s all about him and fuck everyone else, I watched Leeds today and Bambford epitomised playing for the team and not self glory. 
I’m not there yet but Richarlison is starting to become my new Gona. 

[dunlopp9987]

If we clear out all these players via loans/permanents, and don't bring anyone in tomorrow, I will be so confused/irate

[Romey 1878]

56 minutes ago, dunlopp9987 said:

If we clear out all these players via loans/permanents, and don't bring anyone in tomorrow, I will be so confused/irate

You won’t be alone. 

[London Blue]

We are clearing the house for something. 

[Hafnia]

I'd have Barkley and Gana back... No problem.

[Btay]

5 hours ago, Hafnia said:

I'd have Barkley and Gana back... No problem.

Barkley in the gylfi/Gomes role would be a joy to watch.

inexcusable to leave the squad this short on our first real chance at Europe in years.

 

 

[Palfy]

6 hours ago, Hafnia said:

I'd have Barkley and Gana back... No problem.

Barkley 100% Gona

[c1982]

9 hours ago, dunlopp9987 said:

If we clear out all these players via loans/permanents, and don't bring anyone in tomorrow, I will be so confused/irate

It’d be good prep for next season (trusting Kenny and Tosun make enough of an impression to secure permanent transfers) but seem like a big missed opportunity for this season. I saw a stat yesterday that said we haven’t made a goal scoring substitution all season. This is why I want a proven striker - ideally Dzeko - I’d prefer younger players but short-term we’ve got a real chance of at least top 6 this season and that will only help recruitment in the summer.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

Anyone know what Joao Virginia is like at CF/ winger ?