Transfer News 2022/23 Season Incoming Transfers and a few other things

[OUFCGav]

Same height as Messi, didn't mess up his career though.

He only got to that after Barcelona paid for growth hormone treatment for him (he has a GHD).

 

[OUFCGav]

The club gave him a contract? I thought the narrative was that Karl did everything

oh come on now, don't expect consistency on this thread...

 

[OX14]

The club gave him a contract? I thought the narrative was that Karl did everything

Karl doesn't draw up the contracts and he didn't give Brannagan his payrise either. Remember Karl wanted to sign Defoe in January and agreed terms with him only for someone within the club to pull the plug on the deal.

 

[Oufcrealist]

He wants Championship not a team doing even worse than his current team

Yes I know more in hope than anything because he's what we need. But had we started decently it could have been different. We have pushed the boat out a few times this summer and for some money talks!!

 

[Marked Ox]

Karl doesn't draw up the contracts and he didn't give Brannagan his payrise either. Remember Karl wanted to sign Defoe in January and agreed terms with him only for someone within the club to pull the plug on the deal.

Ah, so reruitment and retention isn't down to KR, so who is this person who is doing our recruitment?

 

[oufc1991]

Ah, so reruitment and retention isn't down to KR, so who is this person who is doing our recruitment?

Father Christmas

 

[SteMerritt]

Father Christmas

Fantastic, he's never let me down in the past. That crossfire game he sourced for me back in the 1970s where you had guns that fired ball bearings at a 'ball' was epic. He'll have us a sparkly new fullback in next to no time.

 

[Swaby39]

Karl doesn't draw up the contracts and he didn't give Brannagan his payrise either. Remember Karl wanted to sign Defoe in January and agreed terms with him only for someone within the club to pull the plug on the deal.

OK so Karl has been the tail that wags the dog all this time but even when he isn't, as per your example above, he's still regarded the same way? And when good things happen (of which there have been plenty), he can't possibly be anything to do with it? This is why people stick up for him because of flawed crap like that.

 

[unification]

I agree with what you're saying overall, but I am happy to have Bodin, Baldock and Henry here.

They are all classy, composed and intelligent players who thrive when they have a little space to pick a pass or get a shot off. They'll be at their best surrounded by robust, faster and more energetic players who create the space they need. We shouldn't be setting the expectation that any of these 3 are going to be playing 40 games this season (especially Baldock) but can be safe in the knowledge they have the experience and quality to get up to speed quickly when they do feature.

It's the squad around them that's the issue (which I know you acknowledge). Give Baldock a ball across the 6 yard box from a winger who's done his man on the byline and he'll finish it. Give Henry a few runners in front of him and he'll normally always pick the right pass. Fire the ball into Bodin when he's within 30 yards of goal and he can get a little flick to a winger cutting inside.

Problem is, all the other players that are supposed to be doing those bits are injured or so prone to injury that they need their time on the pitch managing. And we haven't even sorted the defence yet. I don't want to be a misery guts either but it's so unbelievably frustrating when the problem is so obvious.

Oh, I like all of them. None of them are bad players at all and if any of them left now, they'd have credit in the bank. All have contributed.

My issue is that signing them - with Taylor in house already and Henry signing a two-year contract at the age of 33 - has created a frontline of golden oldies. I just don't think we needed to sign all of them. Personally, I would have been more ruthless and released Bodin and Baldock as both are the most injury-prone of the three and aimed to bring in two younger players who could offer 30-40 games in a season. You'd be doing well if you got 20 each from those two. I don't doubt Baldock can put it in the net and what we saw was great from him. But he's never been robust enough to offer you the minutes and games on a consistent basis and now we've got an entire frontline who could qualify as that - Bodin, Baldock, Jones, Murphy, Browne are all friends with the treatment table and Taylor and Henry are no spring chickens. It's a horrendous squad balance.

You're right on the nippy wingers front too. We have signed such flaky, injury prone players who no one knows whether they still have it. They could offer something. They could be hopeless. Quality but injury prone winger sets up quality injury prone striker sounds good only if you remove the 'injury prone' from both parts, yet that's what our squad is.

It's a recruitment catastrophe.

 

[OX14]

Ah, so reruitment and retention isn't down to KR, so who is this person who is doing our recruitment?

Retention / offering new contracts isn't down to KR, that's between Player , Agents and Niall McWilliams. Obviously Karl does say if he wants to keep or not but ultimately if it makes buisness sense to offer a contract and sell for a fee the board will do it.

Recruitment is Karl identifies players he wants, he does all the running and speaking with players, agents. He then goes to Niall McWilliams to draw up the contracts. Obviously someone higher up didn't think signing Defoe on a 2 year contract for 8k a week was good buisness and stopped the deal.

 

[Coffin dodger]

Fantastic, he's never let me down in the past. That crossfire game he sourced for me back in the 1970s where you had guns that fired ball bearings at a 'ball' was epic. He'll have us a sparkly new fullback in next to no time.

But it's 4 months until we unwrap him.

 

[DavidB]

But it's 4 months until we unwrap him.

Ready for the January window then. Got a feeling he’s busy in Decembe.

 

[WokinghamYellow]

Karl doesn't draw up the contracts and he didn't give Brannagan his payrise either. Remember Karl wanted to sign Defoe in January and agreed terms with him only for someone within the club to pull the plug on the deal.

And whoever that was was certainly proved right too!

 

[OX14]

OK so Karl has been the tail that wags the dog all this time but even when he isn't, as per your example above, he's still regarded the same way? And when good things happen (of which there have been plenty), he can't possibly be anything to do with it? This is why people stick up for him because of flawed crap like that.

Just because we've made one play off final, one play off semi final and sold 5 players for decent fees in 5 years doesn't mean the main man in charge of the team can't be scrutinised when things go wrong (which they currently are).

 

[werthersoriginal]

oh come on now, don't expect consistency on this thread...

Really that's fair enough, it's a collection of individuals. It's less interesting when everyone jumps on the same bandwagon

 

[ChamonixOx]

No, come on now. There's a pattern forming here and it's getting on my nerves a tad. There is enough to reasonably criticise without desperately searching for more. The goalkeeper situation was attracting a lot of negative attention after last year and whilst I thought Stevens would come good, last season they were statistically poor and even to the naked eye, neither were reliable shot stoppers or distributors of the ball. McGinty is obviously seen as the long-term solution and I think he will be 1st choice before long, but Stevens is rightfully not in goal for us this year and will hopefully come back a more confident version of himself. The loan suited everybody.

I didn't say he was playing great or ideally good enough League 1 standard (yet), but if McGinty is not yet ready, he was the best of the two left in my opinion as we could at least build from the back with him in goal (Eastwood is a liability in this regard). So, what's your view, three keepers and not one of them is up to the standard and/or ready (I have not seen McGinty, but based on Eastwood getting the nod), from a recruitment strategy perspective?

P.s. If I had mentioned Forde, I'd agree with the frustration because he is now at his level and his leaving made no real difference to the squad, but if you note carefully, I didn't.

 

[Swaby39]

Just because we've made one play off final, one play off semi final and sold 5 players for decent fees in 5 years doesn't mean the main man in charge of the team can't be scrutinised when things go wrong (which they currently are).

That's not the point though. Managers are in the firing line whether they like it or not - I'm fine with that. What I don't agree with is the consensus that KR is central to everything bad, and on the periphery of anything good.

 

[Swaby39]

I didn't say he was playing great or ideally good enough League 1 standard (yet), but if McGinty is not yet ready, he was the best of the two left in my opinion as we could at least build from the back with him in goal (Eastwood is a liability in this regard). So, what's your view, three keepers and not one of them is up to the standard and/or ready (I have not seen McGinty, but based on Eastwood getting the nod), from a recruitment strategy perspective?

P.s. If I had mentioned Forde, I'd agree with the frustration because he is now at his level and his leaving made no real difference to the squad, but if you note carefully, I didn't.

I wouldn't have kept all 3, no. I don't see the value in any of them being at home on a match day. But Stevens and Eastwood are much of the same - both pretty poor, but one is a better shot stopper, the other a slightly better distributor of a ball over short distances but neither can kick long or command a box! It's a tough call, but neither had any divine right to the number 1 shirt and with Stevens having age on his side and the potential to come back to us as either a capable number one or a saleable asset, I see the logic in sending him out.

I don't think it's fair to think McGinty was going to come straight in at Derby and show us what we'd been missing. And Eastwood has done OK with the gloves, just desperately poor with the ball at times. Saturday would've been a good game for McGinty but the pressure is on to win so that's a big call.

 

[Royalstandard74]

Make no mistake, we are in for long hard season, bad recruitment and stubbornness from KR has made this season a disaster in the making, very little positives to look forward to. In KR we trust.

 

[Patch1262]

Probably worth giving Bate time. KR loves a techy midfielder - Bate is that. He presses well and bring energy to the midfield, from the games I’ve watched he’s also progressive on the ball. A big physical presence he is not, but he can put himself about. Ultimately, as Leeds said, this is a development loan - I think writing him off now is premature.

That said, we need something more in midfield. Would allow us to get the best out of McGuane and Brannagan. As predicted, Gorrin, at best, will be a squad player this season. Good, destroyer types are tough to find and in high demand.

Camara Plymouth on transfer list!