Cheers Lansdown

[simon uk]

Clearly there was always a chance that not bringing a striker in was going to cost us, its ths last week of January and we are absolutely flying, that was the time to get a deal done!

we have drip fed players in for 1-2 million who just arent good enough, and still its only diedhou who is a realistic option for us as a striker! 

[Lrrr]

1 hour ago, BessexRED said:

I posted it in January at the end of the window mate. I love Steve Lansdown he’s done wonders for this football club but I think him instructing Johnson to recall a player and use him rather than going out and signing one isn’t his finest piece of work.

You keep saying instead or rather than about Semenyo coming back, whereas its more a case of after missing out on everyone we tried bringing in we recalled one of our own to try and improve them (and have around should they be needed) rather than just bringing in any striker at the end of the window.

[Robbored]

11 minutes ago, red panda said:

Perhaps you were in the bogs when Diedhiou left two Brum defenders on the floor to create that chance?

You beat me to it!   

Really smart move from Famara to get in that position. He rushed at it and I don’t think he realised that had time to slot the ball home.

[Rudolf Hucker]

17 minutes ago, wood_red said:

No I wasn't in the bogs or getting food or drink - very odd response.....

Did you see Agueros miss a couple of weeks ago from 2 yards? It happens, and that is football for you. Is Assombalonga a better goalscorer than Fammy - yes he is. That still doesn't mean he would work here in the system we play, and as has been stated he was out of our price range so it is a pointless argument from the off. May as well say we should get Aguero as it was just as likely to happen in January.

Why didn't we get Aguero? 'kin Lansdown.

[InCyder]

Because it went just great the last time we chucked a wedge of money at a striker in January, didn't it? 

[Spoons]

38 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

How to you know Hogan’s salary at The Blades?

Widely reported his wages are that and that whoever took him on loan would have to pay 100% of his wages plus a fee. 

Crazy money. 

[TonyTonyTony]

14 minutes ago, MC26 said:

Because it went just great the last time we chucked a wedge of money at a striker in January, didn't it? 

This is the part of it all that people don’t get. There is an assumption that spending 5/10 million will buy you a player guaranteed to play well and score goals. There is no such guarantee. Players may not like their surroundings, they may not settle in the area, they may not like their new teams system etc. There are many variables. Look at Sanchez at Man Utd. 

All of this chest thumping is done with the benefit of hindsight anyway.

[Whale Eye Beef Hooked]

40 minutes ago, simon uk said:

Clearly there was always a chance that not bringing a striker in was going to cost us, its ths last week of January and we are absolutely flying, that was the time to get a deal done!

we have drip fed players in for 1-2 million who just arent good enough, and still its only diedhou who is a realistic option for us as a striker! 

Who would you get in that’s better than what we have got and is within our pay structure.  

January is so difficult to get someone in , a club isn’t going to let go anyone decent especially to a rival, so we have to gamble on a player who isn’t wanted by his club but can also hit the ground running 

how did that go last year with diony ??

[InCyder]

15 minutes ago, TonyTonyTony said:

This is the part of it all that people don’t get. There is an assumption that spending 5/10 million will buy you a player guaranteed to play well and score goals. There is no such guarantee. Players may not like their surroundings, they may not settle in the area, they may not like their new teams system etc. There are many variables. Look at Sanchez at Man Utd. 

All of this chest thumping is done with the benefit of hindsight anyway.

Exactly. 

It's frustrating as you say, there's no way to tell quite how it would work out but basing it on the most recent comparison, I wasn't too upset when we didn't spend a fortune to get someone in. 

I also think that the way we play takes some getting used to. Just looking at the way Johnson slowly integrates players, I highly doubt someone would've come in, started the majority of games and scored the goals to fire us up. 

[Spike]

1 hour ago, TonyTonyTony said:

This is the part of it all that people don’t get. There is an assumption that spending 5/10 million will buy you a player guaranteed to play well and score goals. There is no such guarantee. Players may not like their surroundings, they may not settle in the area, they may not like their new teams system etc. There are many variables. Look at Sanchez at Man Utd. 

All of this chest thumping is done with the benefit of hindsight anyway.

It's a fair point but I'm equal measures there have been plenty of promotion chasing teams who have made that signing and it's been that little push needed for them to go on and be successful. 

Last year we pushed but the signings were awful, this year it looks like we've taken the cautious route because of last year and we've ended up short of what we need and a player who seems to have tons of ability but doesn't suit our system. 

All in all our January transfer business in the past two years is a total failure. 

Kent - Great talent, didn't suit our system at all, didn't contribute anything to us but Rangers fans are crying out to make him permanent up there. 

Diony - Worst striker we've had in years, was an utter waste of money and had warning signs all over him prior to the loan

Walsh - Not a bad signing but still hasn't broken into the starting 11 fully. A bit player at best right now which is a year on, obviously not bought for immediate impact. 

Palmer - Our only January player this year and much like Kent you can see he has talent and ability but is raw and not suited to our tactics or play style. 

It doesn't make for a great January transfer read. The most frustrating part for myself is that in the 17/18 season we lost £9.12m in our transfer dealings but this season we've made £16.8m, leaving us with a £7.68m profit across two seasons. In struggling to see why we couldn't have invested in a striker if we had targets that we wanted to make permanent? I guess the right player for Johnson wasn't there but come the end of the season we're going to need to rebuild some of the squad again making this January a missed opportunity should we fall short of the top 6 and the second consecutive season where a poor January window has cost us. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

8 minutes ago, Spike said:

It's a fair point but I'm equal measures there have been plenty of promotion chasing teams who have made that signing and it's been that little push needed for them to go on and be successful. 

Last year we pushed but the signings were awful, this year it looks like we've taken the cautious route because of last year and we've ended up short of what we need and a player who seems to have tons of ability but doesn't suit our system. 

All in all our January transfer business in the past two years is a total failure. 

Kent - Great talent, didn't suit our system at all, didn't contribute anything to us but Rangers fans are crying out to make him permanent up there. 

Diony - Worst striker we've had in years, was an utter waste of money and had warning signs all over him prior to the loan

Walsh - Not a bad signing but still hasn't broken into the starting 11 fully. A bit player at best right now which is a year on, obviously not bought for immediate impact. 

Palmer - Our only January player this year and much like Kent you can see he has talent and ability but is raw and not suited to our tactics or play style. 

It doesn't make for a great January transfer read. The most frustrating part for myself is that in the 17/18 season we lost £9.12m in our transfer dealings but this season we've made £16.8m, leaving us with a £7.68m profit across two seasons. In struggling to see why we couldn't have invested in a striker if we had targets that we wanted to make permanent? I guess the right player for Johnson wasn't there but come the end of the season we're going to need to rebuild some of the squad again making this January a missed opportunity should we fall short of the top 6 and the second consecutive season where a poor January window has cost us. 

Agree with your player assessments broadly but not necessarily Diony, think it was wrong club, wrong player wrong time- doesn't make him shit. Doing alright at St Etienne now, but when he joined us he had done nothing for them. Not a first choice but could in different circs have been a useful rotation option. Walsh hasn't broken in no, but was I think under-utilised when fit. He has ability that we have not yet seen but now he has been injured for months.

Transfer dealings- you have to measure it in the context of amortisation and FFP. Who is to say we will have to rebuild much this summer in any case? Our relative caution in January, combined with the restructuring last summer give the opportunity to hold onto people but it is a tough balancing act- say we had loaned Assombalonga for the figures quoted and it not paid off...then there would have been more risk of needing to rebuild with the 3 year losses meaning cash down the drain (though I believe he would have been a hit). Whereas if we stay down we have saved money for this year of FFP- either to absorb operating losses in holding onto players, a bit of player trading or modest strengthening. Last January we were up to our limit, though had we not signed Diony and Kent on loan, I wonder if the difference might have freed up sufficient cash for say a Grabban or Afobe on loan (think Mitrovic may have been too costly.

[Spike]

15 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Who is to say we will have to rebuild much this summer in any case? Our relative caution in January, combined with the restructuring last summer give the opportunity to hold onto people but it is a tough balancing act- say we had loaned Assombalonga for the figures quoted and it not paid off...then there would have been more risk of needing to rebuild with the 3 year losses meaning cash down the drain (though I believe he would have been a hit). Whereas if we stay down we have saved money for this year of FFP- either to absorb operating losses in holding onto players, a bit of player trading or modest strengthening. Last January we were up to our limit, though had we not signed Diony and Kent on loan, I wonder if the difference might have freed up sufficient cash for say a Grabban or Afobe on loan (think Mitrovic may have been too costly.

Well the rebuilding is likely based on this season and current situation. 

Kalas - Highly unlikely to become a permanent signing based on his performances both for Fulham and us. He's far more likely to go to a Premier League club or a highly likely to be promoted Championship team. Wages and transfer fee both could be out of our price range should be choose to push for the best deal he can get. He arguably can go to a club that can financially match their ambition, something we can't necessarily do. 

Dasilva - Fee agreed but we don't know if that fee reduces what we can invest in Kalas' replacement meaning we may not make the deal permanent or Dasilva himself may want to go somewhere he feels that promotion is a more realistic goal. 

O'Dowda - Still no contract signed, looking more and more likely to leave. Arguably not a huge issue for us due to Eliasson but certainly a blue to depth and options should be leave. Eliasson and O'Dowda are our only natural wingers. 

Brownhill - Not an immediate concern but he's certainly going to have got spotted this season. As much as I love Brownhill I also think he's ambitious and could certainly have his head turned by the right offer and we all know in football these days that's often enough when partnered with a decent fee to see a player leave. 

Kelly - Raw but attracting the bigger clubs attentions. We may actually be lucky in that his form has dipped as it's apparently cooled attention on him but he's still a player clubs are looking at. 

The point I'm making is that this season we've made a lot of signings and sold /released a lot of players due to our rebuild but the numbers are similar to last season when you look at the squad last season. Ultimately it would make sense it'll be similar for next season because we're a selling club who is using as many loans as we can. The loan game is such a gamble, this season it's been a successful gamble as we've had 2/3 work out very well with the third a questionable one but with so many changes going on and a need for a good striker our next transfer window could be the busiest yet meaning more rebuilding yet again. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

33 minutes ago, Spike said:

Well the rebuilding is likely based on this season and current situation. 

Kalas - Highly unlikely to become a permanent signing based on his performances both for Fulham and us. He's far more likely to go to a Premier League club or a highly likely to be promoted Championship team. Wages and transfer fee both could be out of our price range should be choose to push for the best deal he can get. He arguably can go to a club that can financially match their ambition, something we can't necessarily do. 

Dasilva - Fee agreed but we don't know if that fee reduces what we can invest in Kalas' replacement meaning we may not make the deal permanent or Dasilva himself may want to go somewhere he feels that promotion is a more realistic goal. 

O'Dowda - Still no contract signed, looking more and more likely to leave. Arguably not a huge issue for us due to Eliasson but certainly a blue to depth and options should be leave. Eliasson and O'Dowda are our only natural wingers. 

Brownhill - Not an immediate concern but he's certainly going to have got spotted this season. As much as I love Brownhill I also think he's ambitious and could certainly have his head turned by the right offer and we all know in football these days that's often enough when partnered with a decent fee to see a player leave. 

Kelly - Raw but attracting the bigger clubs attentions. We may actually be lucky in that his form has dipped as it's apparently cooled attention on him but he's still a player clubs are looking at. 

The point I'm making is that this season we've made a lot of signings and sold /released a lot of players due to our rebuild but the numbers are similar to last season when you look at the squad last season. Ultimately it would make sense it'll be similar for next season because we're a selling club who is using as many loans as we can. The loan game is such a gamble, this season it's been a successful gamble as we've had 2/3 work out very well with the third a questionable one but with so many changes going on and a need for a good striker our next transfer window could be the busiest yet meaning more rebuilding yet again. 

We don't have to sell any of the last 3 that's my point because of the business done this season- Kalas and Da Silva are less in our control, but hopefully Da Silva will like what he has seen here and the one I prize above all in terms of the incoming signings would be Kalas, but he maybe the hardest to obtain. O'Dowda maybe one we take a good bid for, but the year option taken up will give us a bit of time.

[reddoc]

5 hours ago, Bar BS3 said:

“Not one for overreactions” are you having a laugh..? 

Most of your posts make you sound like a woman on her period, when you mention that her clothes look like they are getting tighter..! 

Did you realize people used to laugh at this sort of comment many years ago? Hard to believe eh?

[Bar BS3]

4 hours ago, BessexRED said:

I posted it in January at the end of the window mate. I love Steve Lansdown he’s done wonders for this football club but I think him instructing Johnson to recall a player and use him rather than going out and signing one isn’t his finest piece of work.

So this year Blades signed someone released by Ipswich, someone released by QPR, a loan from Fulham and a CB from Brentford. We took one of Ipswich’s two prize assets, took a player from Wednesday they sold as they wanted his wages off the bill, an ex PL player from Derby etc... if anything the gap will be wider.

It’s speculation as to whether either would have done well yes, but you’re again just bringing it back to Assombalonga and Hogan to put it on me as if I was suggesting they were the only two we should’ve been trying for.

The words of someone who doesn’t have a counter argument.

Who then, genuinely interested. 

Brit & Hogan we’re indeed the 2 being touted, who were/could have been available. We’d all have liked either of them, of course. 

The problem is, once they sign for someone (or we can’t afford them) it doesn’t mean there are automatically other similar players available. 

Of Nirwich did brilliantly finding Pukki. But once he’s gone, he’s not there to be found again. 

I don’t think we can be accused of not trying to unearth hidden gems in recent years. Some work, most don’t. 

In January, who else was possibly available that signed for a rival..? Even before you take availability into account..? Leon Clarke..? I wouldn’t have jumped at the chance of signing him. 

Could just another option have been better than nobody..? Possibly. But I’m not going to cry about SL not sanctioning pot signings, just to make up numbers and bulk the squad out. 

I also don’t think you can underestimate the “DNA” aspect. We’ve been stung before by signing the “wrong type” 

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, Bar BS3 said:

Who then, genuinely interested. 

Brit & Hogan we’re indeed the 2 being touted, who were/could have been available. We’d all have liked either of them, of course. 

The problem is, once they sign for someone (or we can’t afford them) it doesn’t mean there are automatically other similar players available. 

Of Nirwich did brilliantly finding Pukki. But once he’s gone, he’s not there to be found again. 

I don’t think we can be accused of not trying to unearth hidden gems in recent years. Some work, most don’t. 

In January, who else was possibly available that signed for a rival..? Even before you take availability into account..? Leon Clarke..? I wouldn’t have jumped at the chance of signing him. 

Could just another option have been better than nobody..? Possibly. But I’m not going to cry about SL not sanctioning pot signings, just to make up numbers and bulk the squad out. 

I also don’t think you can underestimate the “DNA” aspect. We’ve been stung before by signing the “wrong type” 

The trouble is BS3 this is not a new issue. I totally agree and acknowledge strikers are hot property and good ones are like 4-leaf clovers. However, one year ago we were looking at Diony, 2 years ago it was Matty Taylor, this summer it was Eisa. 3 windows we have been looking for that elusive striker. Before that we had Tammy as a stopgap. We make a lot of use of scouts, of analysts etc, it probably is getting to the point that it's not (quite) good enough to say 'strikers are hard to find'. We've been looking long enough, hard enough and wide enough and we knew this season we had to try to replace Reid's goals. We should have found one that ticks the boxes by now who we were willing to punt on and who was willing to come. 

I can't come up with a name for January, but I reckon if I had been looking for several seasons I probably would have had a dossier on quite a few I could have pointed to and said that's the one. 

One other thing to bear in mind also is that the more time we dither and dather, the higher the cost will ultimately be. Wage and transfer fee inflation show no signs of slowing down. What a 20 goal a season striker costs in 2019 will probably be a lot less than the cost in 2021. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, Bar BS3 said:

Who then, genuinely interested. 

Brit & Hogan we’re indeed the 2 being touted, who were/could have been available. We’d all have liked either of them, of course. 

The problem is, once they sign for someone (or we can’t afford them) it doesn’t mean there are automatically other similar players available. 

Of Nirwich did brilliantly finding Pukki. But once he’s gone, he’s not there to be found again. 

I don’t think we can be accused of not trying to unearth hidden gems in recent years. Some work, most don’t. 

In January, who else was possibly available that signed for a rival..? Even before you take availability into account..? Leon Clarke..? I wouldn’t have jumped at the chance of signing him. 

Could just another option have been better than nobody..? Possibly. But I’m not going to cry about SL not sanctioning pot signings, just to make up numbers and bulk the squad out. 

I also don’t think you can underestimate the “DNA” aspect. We’ve been stung before by signing the “wrong type” 

Not necessarily directed at you, but this again.

Played for Schalke, played for Celtic okay disregard SPL but take into account European competitions, international- not quite the unknown that some people have lauded him as. Nonetheless, a fantastic signing on a free.

[Shtanley]

Lansdown brought back Semenyo and surprisingly rejected a £2m bid from Chelsea.

Be nice to see him at least on the bench. 

[Lrrr]

4 minutes ago, Shtanley said:

Lansdown brought back Semenyo and surprisingly rejected a £2m bid from Chelsea.

Be nice to see him at least on the bench. 

What does rejecting a bid have to do with him getting a place on the bench? Recalling him could simply be a case that we think our coaches can better develop him then Newport's

[EnderMB]

If we're realistically looking towards promotion, player cost shouldn't be a concern.

The fact that it clearly is, as shown by how worried people on here are of our budgets, shows we're not ready for promotion. Even if we were lucky enough to win the playoffs, I could see a Derby-style spanking in the Premier League should we try to either survive on the cheap, or rip our entire team apart in search for a team to stay in the league.

Either way, LJ brought up some key points in the Twitter Q&A about buying players in January, and that's getting them settled in. Forwards need more settling in than other players, and without a winter break to bed players into an established team, there is a huge danger that we'd buy a top-class forward and end up with poor performances until the summer anyway.

Personally, I would've liked to see us boost the squad a bit, but I think it's an overreaction. Our squad is big enough that we can drop underperforming players and give others a chance, and when we reach a point where the entire team is failing to perform we've got problems.

[Shtanley]

8 minutes ago, hodge said:

What does rejecting a bid have to do with him getting a place on the bench? Recalling him could simply be a case that we think our coaches can better develop him then Newport's

Developing him for next summer when his contract runs out? We’ve brought back a young exciting striker and we’ve given him zero chances whilst everyone bemoans the lack of forward options. Take last night, three defenders on bench. We need an alternative physical presence in the 18 alongside diedhiou. 

[Lrrr]

3 minutes ago, Shtanley said:

Developing him for next summer when his contract runs out? We’ve brought back a young exciting striker and we’ve given him zero chances whilst everyone bemoans the lack of forward options. Take last night, three defenders on bench. We need an alternative physical presence in the 18 alongside diedhiou. 

Well with 18 months on his contract we have some time to develop him and he could feature next season, comes down to him then whether he wants to extend his contract, playing at Newport won't overly be increasing his value. As for the bench who can say, its probably the same reason Eisa isn't featuring on the bench.

[simon uk]

4 hours ago, Whale Eye Beef Hooked said:

Who would you get in that’s better than what we have got and is within our pay structure.  

January is so difficult to get someone in , a club isn’t going to let go anyone decent especially to a rival, so we have to gamble on a player who isn’t wanted by his club but can also hit the ground running 

how did that go last year with diony ??

Pretty much any championship striker would be better than watkins taylor weimann eisa and adelakun.

That was about 5 million quid this summer, 

Marriott in the summer, that senegalise player komano, morelos at rangers? Josh maja? Edouard at celtic? Jukiewicz? Mcburnie?

i dont know, i dont have a team of scouts shortlisting, but is there someone anywhere in the world with more goal threat than matt taylor who would sign for us?!

 

[Lrrr]

22 minutes ago, simon uk said:

Pretty much any championship striker would be better than watkins taylor weimann eisa and adelakun.

That was about 5 million quid this summer, 

Marriott in the summer, that senegalise player komano, morelos at rangers? Josh maja? Edouard at celtic? Jukiewicz? Mcburnie?

i dont know, i dont have a team of scouts shortlisting, but is there someone anywhere in the world with more goal threat than matt taylor who would sign for us?!

 

Marriott - Only had eyes for Derby when Lampard wanted him

Kamano - Transfermarkt which normally undervalues players had him rated at £7m in the summer.

Morelos - Rangers would want a big fee for him

Maja - Would have been a punt in the summer, January not much chance with the foreign interest

Edouard - Cost £8m or so in the summer, a record for Celtic... yeah no chance

McBurnie - Swansea short on strikers and would want a massive fee for him regardless (£10m plus)

Only one there really its Jutkiewicz but could argue his style of play is too similar to Diedhiou and should be looking for something different.

[Banjo Island]

The most frustrating part for me was getting so close last season at one point seriously looking at top 2 then droping out altogether because of poor reruitment january and its begining to have the same feel this seson that would be 2 seasons coming so close  an incredible aheivement can we realisticaly expect to be challaging for a third season in a row sadly i think not two seasons to get so close but not get the signing we needed is so dissapointing

[Lrrr]

4 minutes ago, Banjo Island said:

The most frustrating part for me was getting so close last season at one point seriously looking at top 2 then droping out altogether because of poor reruitment january and its begining to have the same feel this seson that would be 2 seasons coming so close  an incredible aheivement can we realisticaly expect to be challaging for a third season in a row sadly i think not two seasons to get so close but not get the signing we needed is so dissapointing

I'd say there's a difference, last season we seemingly got the players we wanted, this season we didn't, it wasn't for a lack of trying the recruitment (potentially) wasn't right.

[jj77]

4 minutes ago, Banjo Island said:

The most frustrating part for me was getting so close last season at one point seriously looking at top 2 then droping out altogether because of poor reruitment january and its begining to have the same feel this seson that would be 2 seasons coming so close  an incredible aheivement can we realisticaly expect to be challaging for a third season in a row sadly i think not two seasons to get so close but not get the signing we needed is so dissapointing

It's not disappointing, it's incompetent.

[Mr Popodopolous]

38 minutes ago, jj77 said:

It's not disappointing, it's incompetent.

It's financial limitations- or it was in January 2018.

This January- harder to say.

[Banjo Island]

It was down to fiancial limatation you say so if we were bottom six instead of top six we wouldnt of signed the players to maintain are championship status do you really beleive that genuine question

[Mr Popodopolous]

We lost £25m last season so maybe...

When I say financial limitations, I mean FFP because In a way we did push the boat out last season- in a way. Sign Diedhiou, Baker and Eliasson. Loan Leko (half-season as it turned out), Diony and Kent (half-season), Woodrow full season. Walsh in January on a permanent, Steele was a free but unsure his wages will have been cheap- plus no big sales. Crucially, we kept Flint when Birmingham and Middlesbrough were keen Summer 2017 and we sold nobody in January when there would have been opportunity with our stock so high as it was at that time.

Put another way imagine we had overrode and ignored FFP in January...and then been docked points at the backend of the season dropping out of the playoffs, how devastated we would all have been. Now if we could have magiced away the loans for Kent, Diony, Leko e.g. and have saved that cash and loaned say Mitrovic- or perhaps more realistically Grabban or Afobe to help give us that extra push then that would have been an idea and is certainly worth pondering, but sadly it happened as it did.

If we were down the bottom? It's hard to say what would have happened, maybe we would have risked a points deduction, also though the sort of players you need to sign at the bottom to help you stay up short term often less expensive than those to help maintain and push on from the position we've been in the last 2 seasons so we may have been able to strengthen a bit without risking punishment yeah.

Take Reading for example. Down the bottom, new manager too. Yet this January? Net spend? A £5.27m profit (no idea how it shakes down in terms of amortisation etc) plus Aluko to China so whatever that fee was. Brought in loans but clearly trying to sort out financial position despite struggling.