Transfer News January 2021/22 Transfer Window

[ttg17]

I know the whole process is much more difficult than it can naively appear to the fan on the outside looking in. Transfer windows must be a nightmare, and I appreciate that.

The thing for me though is that it's pretty difficult to square the noises coming out of the club that we've been scouting players since November etc. with, again, seeming to end up having to scramble for anyone who can play LCB on loan from a side in the tier above. I wouldn't normally be too worried about a signing like this Brown guy - he might be great - but the Grayson signing last window has really given me the scaries. It was pretty clear within a few minutes of watching him that he was miles off League 1 quality. Looked completely out of his depth giving away a goal on debut to AFCW in the Papa John's, IIRC, and didn't get any better. You got the irresistible impression that we hadn't scouted him at all, and the comments from Cardiff fans on Twitter aren't doing anything to encourage me that this time is any different.

It's also a little weird that a loan signing of a player who wasn't getting games in the Championship would need a whole month to sort out. If he was really someone we had identified pre-Window as a target, why did it take until the last hour or so to get him in? Browne I can see there being a lot of moving parts and even Smyth, too, that can explain why a deal would take so long to sort, but it seems like, if we'd really wanted him, we could have got him in on day 1.

I dunno. Maybe I'm just naive and being taken in by jokers pretending to be ITK, but it also seems like we've had a weird amount of, the signing is all but done, it'll be announced by the weekend, moments this Window, the whole thing has smacked a bit of franticness and disorganisation. Not that the Browne signing and the Kane, CB, MS retentions aren't encouraging - they really are - but it just seems odd that we have had fairly obvious holes in the squad for months and it doesn't seem like we've had any kind of coherent plan as to how to fill them.

When really every other part of the club is being run so professionally and impressively these days, it's strikingly incongruous.

 

[Oxford1996]

Squad for rest of season.

Stevens
Long Moore McNally Seddon
Brannagan Kane McGuane
Sykes Taylor Browne

Eastwood, Brown, Williams, Henry, Bodin, Holland, Whyte

Forde, Winnall, Hanson, Mousinho, Smyth, Gorrin

 

[Wandering Yellow]

night then lads

 

[IsleofWightYellow]

I’m not as delighted with holding on to Sykes as some seem to be, I find it strange that on the one hand people keep saying we’re a selling club and have to live within our means, and then are happy when we turn down hundreds of thousands (potentially?) to keep a player who will be leaving in the summer anyway for free.

Keeping Brannigan is excellent though, Browne could well become our best player and at least we have another defender in the building. Could be worse. I think we should have kept Agyei but there we go.

Long shot I know but Brandon Barker or Sam Baldock as free agents could technically still happen…

 

[Bicester Yellow]

I’m not as delighted with holding on to Sykes as some seem to be, I find it strange that on the one hand people keep saying we’re a selling club and have to live within our means, and then are happy when we turn down hundreds of thousands (potentially?) to keep a player who will be leaving in the summer anyway for free.

Keeping Brannigan is excellent though, Browne could well become our best player and at least we have another defender in the building. Could be worse. I think we should have kept Agyei but there we go.

Long shot I know but Brandon Barker or Sam Baldock as free agents could technically still happen…

Have a feeling Sykes will sign a new contract, having spoken to him a few times when he’s come into my work, I get the impression he’s settled here, he just wants the best deal he can get for him and his family, he’s got a little girl let’s not forget and has not just his but her future to prioritise as well & I’ve not seen any drop off in performance from him during this window, nor do I expect it because he loves the club and the fans.

 

[n1]

I know the whole process is much more difficult than it can naively appear to the fan on the outside looking in. Transfer windows must be a nightmare, and I appreciate that.

The thing for me though is that it's pretty difficult to square the noises coming out of the club that we've been scouting players since November etc. with, again, seeming to end up having to scramble for anyone who can play LCB on loan from a side in the tier above. I wouldn't normally be too worried about a signing like this Brown guy - he might be great - but the Grayson signing last window has really given me the scaries. It was pretty clear within a few minutes of watching him that he was miles off League 1 quality. Looked completely out of his depth giving away a goal on debut to AFCW in the Papa John's, IIRC, and didn't get any better. You got the irresistible impression that we hadn't scouted him at all, and the comments from Cardiff fans on Twitter aren't doing anything to encourage me that this time is any different.

It's also a little weird that a loan signing of a player who wasn't getting games in the Championship would need a whole month to sort out. If he was really someone we had identified pre-Window as a target, why did it take until the last hour or so to get him in? Browne I can see there being a lot of moving parts and even Smyth, too, that can explain why a deal would take so long to sort, but it seems like, if we'd really wanted him, we could have got him in on day 1.

I dunno. Maybe I'm just naive and being taken in by jokers pretending to be ITK, but it also seems like we've had a weird amount of, the signing is all but done, it'll be announced by the weekend, moments this Window, the whole thing has smacked a bit of franticness and disorganisation. Not that the Browne signing and the Kane, CB, MS retentions aren't encouraging - they really are - but it just seems odd that we have had fairly obvious holes in the squad for months and it doesn't seem like we've had any kind of coherent plan as to how to fill them.

When really every other part of the club is being run so professionally and impressively these days, it's strikingly incongruous.

I hear you, but Smyth is a product of that approach. Browne was and is.

January is clearly much harder to get right than the summer.

This has been a very positive window all in.

 

[OxfordBoy]

I can’t see Sykes signing a contract here

 

[battman]

Ideally we needed a backup left back, a defensive midfielder and a striker, and we got neither. Perhaps this might be the time for those uber-positives to be a bit humbler when people are voicing concerns, as it's ridiculous that we're only bringing in players in the January window on the last day of January. Surely the recruitment team (if there even is one), has had months to prepare and identify targets.

Whilst there are some positives to take from this window, none of incomings in this window are going to make a huge impact from the off, which is what we needed to maintain our promotion push. I still think we'll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season, but I think any chance of automatic promotion is gone now.

 

[northstand52]

really

 

[northstand52]

always one

 

[Eaststanding]

Ideally we needed a backup left back, a defensive midfielder and a striker, and we got neither. Perhaps this might be the time for those uber-positives to be a bit humbler when people are voicing concerns, as it's ridiculous that we're only bringing in players in the January window on the last day of January. Surely the recruitment team (if there even is one), has had months to prepare and identify targets.

Whilst there are some positives to take from this window, none of incomings in this window are going to make a huge impact from the off, which is what we needed to maintain our promotion push. I still think we'll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season, but I think any chance of automatic promotion is gone now.

You win the award.
Questioning whether we have a recruitment team.
Call yourself a supporter?

 

[battman]

You win the award.
Questioning whether we have a recruitment team.
Call yourself a supporter?

Depends whether you class Karl and a mobile phone as a recruitment team.

Is there a cash prize for this award?

 

[bazzer9461]

Squad for rest of season.

Stevens
Long Moore McNally Seddon
Brannagan Kane McGuane
Sykes Taylor Browne

Eastwood, Brown, Williams, Henry, Bodin, Holland, Whyte

Forde, Winnall, Hanson, Mousinho, Smyth, Gorrin

Well you can discount Browne unti March at the earliest.

 

[Scotchegg]

Positives - keeping hold of Cam, Sykes and Kane were the big wins. Smyth looks like the next in a pretty successful production line of Irish talent and its great that we're getting a name out their for developing young talent. Also we all know what Browne is capable of and if he can repeat that then he can be a match winner from anywhere on the pitch.

Negatives - I thought that we'd do so much more. Sam Szmodics was definitely on our radar and could have been a real game changer. Also thought that we'd bring in a more experienced centre back and think we'll miss Thorniley. But we're right in the mix with a big game against Wigan and the current squad has proved its capabilities so far. Onwards and upwards.

 

[Kiewhite]

Positives - keeping hold of Cam, Sykes and Kane were the big wins. Smyth looks like the next in a pretty successful production line of Irish talent and its great that we're getting a name out their for developing young talent. Also we all know what Browne is capable of and if he can repeat that then he can be a match winner from anywhere on the pitch.

Negatives - I thought that we'd do so much more. Sam Szmodics was definitely on our radar and could have been a real game changer. Also thought that we'd bring in a more experienced centre back and think we'll miss Thorniley. But we're right in the mix with a big game against Wigan and the current squad has proved its capabilities so far. Onwards and upwards.

The million bid at the end of the window for cam was a massive plus for me as it does reinstate that we won’t be mugged of by clubs not looking to pay a fair fee. I have felt a little let down previous windows deadline days and i feel this new way has a lot to do with Barkie and thoir onwards we go

 

[Oxford1996]

Positives - keeping hold of Cam, Sykes and Kane were the big wins. Smyth looks like the next in a pretty successful production line of Irish talent and its great that we're getting a name out their for developing young talent. Also we all know what Browne is capable of and if he can repeat that then he can be a match winner from anywhere on the pitch.

Negatives - I thought that we'd do so much more. Sam Szmodics was definitely on our radar and could have been a real game changer. Also thought that we'd bring in a more experienced centre back and think we'll miss Thorniley. But we're right in the mix with a big game against Wigan and the current squad has proved its capabilities so far. Onwards and upwards.

Jerome Sinclair / Sam Baldock still free agents if we end up wanting a striker on a deal till end of season.

 

[Foley]

Just playing devil's advocate, he sent a good corner in vs SWFC and got a goal at Gillingham. I think he's lucky still to be here.

Anyways.......

??
He played well in both games.
I think that your comments are very understating Bodins contributions. As well as his general play you dont think that his free kick for Taylors goal v Gillingham was even worth mentioning?
Out of interest when did an Oxford player make 2 goals from dead ball situations ( plus score)?

 

[tonyw]

Jerome Sinclair / Sam Baldock still free agents if we end up wanting a striker on a deal till end of season.

Yeah, but would either of them really be an upgrade on Sam Winnall?
Sinclair has scored one goal (in Bulgaria) since he left us three years ago, and Baldock is older than Winnall and has a nigh-on identical track record (both scored 11 Championship goals in 2016-17, after a couple of good lower league seasons earlier in their careers, and haven't scored very much since).

One of the major things we needed to do this transfer window was upgrade the striking options behind Matty T, and we haven't done it.

Another major thing we needed to do was improve our defensive depth, and we haven't done that - at best we've broken even, and that's if Ciaron Brown turns out to be as good as Thornily. He may or may not be.

The final major thing we needed to do was find a replacement for Gorrin who could provide solidity and destructive capabilities when playing the top sides, and we haven't done that either.


I think the Browne and Smyth signings are absolutely excellent pieces of business for next year and the year after. And of course it's great that we held on to everyone.

But in terms of actually improving us this season? That was a really poor January.
And, look, I know it's difficult signing players at this time of year - I've said it on here often before - but ultimately it's still been a really disappointing window.
If everyone stays healthy for the next four months, then we've still got a shot at promotion. If the wrong player or two picks up a long term injury, then we don't. And maybe that's always the case but it's definitely exacerbated when you have as lopsided a squad as we do now.

 

[Yellowdownunder]

Yeah, but would either of them really be an upgrade on Sam Winnall?
Sinclair has scored one goal (in Bulgaria) since he left us three years ago, and Baldock is older than Winnall and has a nigh-on identical track record (both scored 11 Championship goals in 2016-17, after a couple of good lower league seasons earlier in their careers, and haven't scored very much since).

One of the major things we needed to do this transfer window was upgrade the striking options behind Matty T, and we haven't done it.

Another major thing we needed to do was improve our defensive depth, and we haven't done that - at best we've broken even, and that's if Ciaron Brown turns out to be as good as Thornily. He may or may not be.

The final major thing we needed to do was find a replacement for Gorrin who could provide solidity and destructive capabilities when playing the top sides, and we haven't done that either.


I think the Browne and Smyth signings are absolutely excellent pieces of business for next year and the year after. And of course it's great that we held on to everyone.

But in terms of actually improving us this season? That was a really poor January.
And, look, I know it's difficult signing players at this time of year - I've said it on here often before - but ultimately it's still been a really disappointing window.
If everyone stays healthy for the next four months, then we've still got a shot at promotion. If the wrong player or two picks up a long term injury, then we don't. And maybe that's always the case but it's definitely exacerbated when you have as lopsided a squad as we do now.

We just need Brannigan to score 4 penalties every match!

 

[Golden Dr Otto]

So long as a player is not registered to a club by the time the transfer window shuts,

Shuts?

Correction: SLAMS SHUT

Have you been living in a cave?