AshtonRobin21

They are chasing a keeper. They were linked with Iversen from Leicester. But they are not keen to let him out. Bentley would make sense.

The skuse one didn’t make much sense, from a playing point of view. Considering we already had Marlon Pack. Unless he was wanted as cover? A number of former players have kept their properties in the area, in the hope of returning later in their careers / after retirement. It shows the lack of progression we have made as a club, that we are considered an attractive place to live, but they have to leave in order to progress their careers.

Adomah’s comments might alert some fans to the interference. You have a player practically begging to return to the club on a permanent deal, saying that he wants to help the club succeed, and SL refuses to re-sign them on the basis that they have left us in the past. The worrying part is, that at the time, Adomah would have been a huge improvement on what we had at the time and still wouldn’t complete the deal.

Skuse was lined up to be one of LJ’s early signings. SL put a block on the deal. Same occurred with Adomah and 1 or 2 others.

I got slated for saying this a few months ago. He wasn’t the only one. SL blocked a number of former players from returning under LJ.

Stefan Marinovic, just felt like we didn’t get a proper goodbye. In all seriousness, I remember being devastated as a kid when Leroy Lita was sold. The Bolasie deal was extremely frustrating because you knew he didn’t get a proper opportunity, and then immediately looked brilliant for Palace. Luke Ayling was another, as he could have solved a problem position of ours for years and years.

Bournemouth certainly have players that would interest us, and them having to free up squad space could fall favourably to us. However the chances of Scott returning on loan are non-existent. If Scott were to join a top 6 club, then a loan-back becomes a possibility. However for a club like Bournemouth, he becomes a valuable asset.

IF the rumour is true, I would really hope we would try and get Jamal Lowe included in the deal for Semenyo. If we were to lose both Semenyo and Martin this window, we could be very short of attacking options.

I think Semenyo will sign for Bournemouth (and possibly quite quickly). Alan Nixon hints that a deal could be fairly advanced. I imagine Alex Scott has come up in talks, as would be expected from most prem clubs. I really cannot see Scott going to Bournemouth however. Alex seems to sensible to take the risk of signing for a club that could be relegated.

A big factor in all of this is that this squad is not winning enough games, and we need new players. We have a lot of high earners in the squad, who simply aren’t doing enough to get results. That’s the brutal truth. We need to bring in players with the bit between their teeth, to help us progress forward, but cannot do that if we choose to extend the contracts of certain players. There is a big opportunity this summer, to free up wages, whilst also freshening up the squad. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I feel their is better value available this summer. I would release.

I think the main question is could you get better in the market? Ryan Manning (Swansea) is approaching the end of his deal, and is a more physical option. Loves a challenge. I have two main concerns with Dasilva. 1. He doesn’t offer the attacking threat that we get with Pring. He gets forward and then cuts back onto his right foot, which he never uses and we then lose momentum of the attack. 2. Physical teams target his side of the pitch with target men. We then have to push a centre back across to cover. He’s a good championship player, but for me Pring is a better fit for the team in our current set-up. I thought Dasilva was brilliant during his loan season, but hasn’t hit the heights (pardon the pun) since.

You’re hilarious.

Why have we only made one sub?! Some of the lads look knackered. Game management has to improve.

If that’s our thought process from the other end of the pitch, with 5 seconds of the half remaining, then we have a serious serious problem.

Enjoyed that half. We are look settled, and calm in possession. One grumble - Why the short corner with the last kick of the half?

Very good points. Also worth noting as well that the one main method of being able to escape a contract early (buying club paying a fee), has (almost) completely come to a standstill. This is due to the market being hit hard by covid. Reduction of income etc. This means that players have actually been stuck/forced to see out contracts. If no bid is forthcoming (Massengo?), then a player has no option but to honour their contract until end. Previously, the length of a contract has been more in the interest of the club and protecting the value of a player should other teams become interested. So what we are experiencing throughout the division, and also the rest of the EFL is a significantly larger amount of players seemingly ‘running down’ their contracts. The truth of course, is that the finances aren’t there to renew on similar terms. Therefore a huge amount of players will be looking elsewhere to see if any clubs can/are stupid enough to pay close to pre-COVID wages. We find ourselves in a situation where a large number of first team regulars are set to be out of contract at the end of the season. And as you rightly state, personal circumstances may have changed since they signed their original deals, this may lead to the first bit of genuine interest they have received from other clubs since COVID began. We may lose a few players purely down to circumstances such as location. An example of this would be Charlie Austin recently ripping up his contract in Australia, due to family circumstances. Apparently he was desperate for a move to a club down south. He trained with The blue few (R*vers), and today signed with Swindon. So not all deals conducted this January and throughout the summer may be directed by money. However not all football fans will see it this way.

It’s a very good point, and in previous years I would have been in full agreement. However, this year just feels much different due to the level of change coming this summer. The focus has to be on the players committed to being here medium/long-term. We cannot renew contracts on the same terms (wages + clauses). Therefore it’s unlikely we retain all of the players that we hope to. Nige stated recently that we had offered deals to 7/8 players. I would expect 3/4 to renew, whilst the remaining few mull over offers from other clubs before making a decision. Its a difficult position to be in, as we will likely be in the bottom third of the league throughout the remainder of the season, and will need a squad of players committed to avoiding relegation. FWIW, I believe that Nige will bring a couple back into the squad after January if no move occurs. HNM would be one in that bracket, as the club could likely obtain a fee (not much) in January should he depart. If not, I think he will be back in the squad until the end of the season.

I remember the summer deadline day, to say we were scrambling would be an understatement. One second we were linked to Charlie Austin, the next Bobby Reid, then Afobe out of nowhere. All on ridiculous wages. Nagy signs, then we suddenly sell Pack to Cardiff. It was a mess.

We didn’t have the scope to do this though, as we had just come off the back of a season with one of our highest spends under LJ. Admittedly with the sale of Webster funding this. That season we had signed Kalas, Palmer and Dasilva permanently, in addition we signed: Wells, Bentley, Massengo, Nagy, plus loans of Afobe, Perreira and Benkovic. And I’m probably forgetting more. For what Hughton was asking for (allegedly), I’m glad the board didn’t take the risk.

Exactly this. In years gone by, we’ve been somewhat of a soft touch in regards to players running down their contracts, and us continue to play them. Almost parading them in the shop window, for no financial gain. The last time I remember a high-profile player being taken out of the squad/starting 11 for refusing to sign a new contract, was Bradley Orr under GJ. If my memory is correct, eventually Orr caved in and signed a new deal. Nige is fully focused on who will be here next season, and has presented them with opportunities. Personally, I’m all for it. Our squad will be very, very different next season, and Nige is giving players under contract the chance to prove themselves.

Those are the tricky encounters we often struggle with. Not an easy opposition at all, but we did well. Really committed performance tonight, we looked a team willing to battle for each other. Lets hope that’s something to build on!

A positive selection, and the correct changes made. Need a performance to match.

I would have put good money on Glenn Murray starting up front for us, had he got the job. The scary thought, is that our financial situation could have been so much worse if we bowed to Hughton’s demands.

I believe Hughtons knowledge of the squad (at that time), was appalling. Which concerned the board. He wanted a complete re-shuffle. Something the board weren’t willing to risk (and rightly so).

I’m in middle ground, losing faith due to the nature of performances, but also struggle to see a better option out there. A couple of weeks ago, I would have liked Neil Critchley, but that ship has sailed. Overall, Nige has been dealt a bad hand. However, his recent comments in the press haven’t helped his cause at all. We have an awful home record, and quite frankly our overall form hasn’t been good either for quite some time. But yet, I can’t help but feel that Nige has given everything he has to the job, and I want to see him do well. Unfortunately, Our problems lay much deeper than just the manager. My hope is that somehow, we can scramble together to get some business done in January. If that means selling Semenyo (don’t expect the fees suggested on here) then so be it. We need reinforcements now more than ever.