Transfer Window January 2024 Transfer Window Thread

[uptheus]

We spent an almost club record fee, we were massively over performing under Manning by any analytic under the sun, and while we have regressed since his departure, that is undeniable, we have had injury woes, plus clearly the players were hurt by the previous managers departure, but who wouldnt be. Just because we will be fighting for the playoffs instead of the automatics, DOES NOT make this season a failure. Other than DM we have brought player in, in every position previously asked for, those thinking we would be seeing 6/7 new starters of the caliber of a Goodwin were ALWAYS setting themselves up for disappointment.

We get into these opportunities e.g. in and around the top of the league, but we never seem to capitalise upon that opportunity in January. We did it a few season back when we limped to January with Matty Taylor basically doing the business up top, we needed another striker in (a fit one who’d played games etc), but we pissed around waiting from Browne who wasn’t fit/had enough game time, and hey presto got injured at Pompey and that was the end of our opportunity.

These chances don’t come around that often, so it pisses me off when we get fans spouting out about last season and how lucky we should be, need to learn these lessons (which we never f*****g do), and we’ll be great next season.

For f**k sake, grab the opportunity when it’s there if you truly want it otherwise it sends conflicting messages!!

 

[uptheus]

Beadle > Cumming
Mills > Burey
Edwards > Edwards (Out until Easter and mid-April by the time he is match fit)
Perkins > Goodwin

Bennet was already in the building and is the LB cover that we didn't manage to recruit for in the summer.

On the face of it, the business to date does not strike me as being particularly ambitious from the football club. Should we secure 3 players (winger, forward and a proper CM) in the last few days, it will help to improve my personal opinion of this January's business by us.

It has been widely regarded that the squad has clear holes and deficiencies in it, yet we have yet to actually increase the playing numbers of the squad. It seems odd for a club that is supposedly looking to get promoted.

Nail/head

Plus we knew we were a striker short at the start of the season!!

 

[windmill]

Is it me or are people deliberately discounting the £400k transfer of a centre forward? I assume that they choose to do this because being out for a couple of weeks means it didn’t happen.

,.............'But is it for a couple of weeks? A couple of weeks could equate to four fixtures. Is he "on the grass" as KR would say?

 

[ThatSlopesATwelfthMan]

I don't think signing players early in January always results in better performances, no. What % of new sigings are actually deemed a success? Charlton have brought Ladapo in, who most on here would have celebrated had we done the same, but by all accounts he has been poor and they've picked up 1 point in the 3 games he's played.

I'd much rather we brought in the right players late in the window than just get bodies in early.

100%. I strongly believe we could have played smarter with what we have during this injury crisis but would be madness to prioritise signing players two or three weeks earlier over getting the quality we need or not making a long term signing because the player has a minor quad strain. Especially when our current #9 has scored four goals in the four league games so far this window. Judge January business at midnight on Thursday. Judge how we're now managing January by whether Des puts out a logical team with current resources.

 

[LeftSideLarry]

,.............'But is it for a couple of weeks? A couple of weeks could equate to four fixtures. Is he "on the grass" as KR would say?

I don’t know.

But I do know that the transfer happened and that we paid a princely sum for him.

Still, I guess I can pretend it didn’t, and by doing so I can make myself feel miserable and show how much I care.

 

[n1]

My prediction is that we will sign Marriott, plus a winger on loan. Looking forward to seeing what transpires.

Also expect to see at least two player go out on loan to League 2, or National League.

 

[bazzer9461]

Lang to Pompey. Shows what players are out there if you’ve got the B*****s to go for it.

Chuckle brothers ain’t

 

[Oufccraig45]

Agreed, Goodwin is a good signing and will add something different.

Yeah to the treatment table will be a completely new face in the sickness ward

 

[ThatSlopesATwelfthMan]

I agree with all of this, but not sure MM playing deeper should be ideal world. If we could find 2021 Alex Gorrin, then rotate the other 3 that’d be a very nice set up. Wingers will obviously help, a couple of those plus a CDM and we might still make the playoffs.

On writing this season off, I’d 1000% prefer us to sign one or two players who absolutely fit the right profile to kick us on over the next couple of years like Goodwin, than try and find quick fixes to maybe make the playoffs.

Same. Maybe I'm missing something but McGuane seems to me an especially bad choice to play in the deep role. His positioning is wayward, he doesn't particularly like a tackle and key strengths are turning in tight spaces and driving forward not housekeeping. Am a stuck record on this but wish we'd had a chance to see Smyth in that CDM role against the Gas. He's the one player we have who seems he might fit the bill.

 

[MustardYellow]

My prediction is that we will sign Marriott, plus a winger on loan. Looking forward to seeing what transpires.

Also expect to see at least two player go out on loan to League 2, or National League.

Lots of reports that Marriott is off to Wrexham.

 

[Shosho]

Didn’t Des mention bringing in players that are fit, have been playing games and ready to contribute immediately at the weekend?

Doesn’t sound very loan-y.

Has however said possible loan players have been to the training ground with ‘dominos to fall’.

So who knows. Depending how the next few days go, it doesn’t at this point, look like we have strengthened

 

[tatabanya]

Because their job is to play football. 180 minutes should be more than do-able.

180 mins most weeks without fatugue and their performance level dipping? Why should that be do-able?

 

[Scrongo]

Oh well only 2 day's of January left..
Cheer up it'll soon be May..

 

[MustardYellow]

180 mins most weeks without fatugue and their performance level dipping? Why should that be do-able?

If the result of all the fitness training, meal prep, fancy performance enhancing equipment is players who can't play 3 hours worth of competitive football a week then there's something wrong.

 

[bazzer9461]

January is totally different to the summer though?

It is but it’s there to add to achieve something whether it be to get to the play offs or to stop the rot and prevent relegation

 

[Scrongo]

Weren't Browne ,Long , Edwards , Murphy, Leigh's just knocks?? Ended up being out for weeks month's. Let's hope Goodwin's knock is only a knock.

 

[uptheus]

Is it me or are people deliberately discounting the £400k transfer of a centre forward? I assume that they choose to do this because being out for a couple of weeks means it didn’t happen.

Still an unknown quantity! And a position we tried to fill in the summer, and hasn’t yet been able to contribute, so based upon current status it’s a poor window in terms of enhancements to the squad.

You could argue that paying the likes of Murphy, Browne, Henry, Bodin etc (and they’re probably our higher earners) contributes to the squad, but not if they’re say in the SSU most of the season it doesn’t.

I’d rather have less technically gifted players that are grafters, physical, athletic, passionate and available, then the four mentioned above.

We’re carrying too many weak/unavailable/legs gone players which is poor player recruitment/overall club management, meaning we’re more likely to fade away as the season goes on/pitches/conditions are more testing/get to the business end of the season.

This is why we invariably lose to teams that are deemed lesser down the food chain e.g. Wycombe, Northampton, Cheltenham, Rovers (to a certain extent), because they sort of live within their means and purchase work horses. We have had the luxury of being financially backed over the last few years to go for these more flamboyant players, but the issue is, we go for too many of them meaning it has an impact on the overall squad.

 

[MustardYellow]

Weren't Browne ,Long , Edwards , Murphy, Leigh's just knocks?? Ended up being out for weeks month's. Let's hope Goodwin's knock is only a knock.

There seems to be a pattern with our injured players which is take whatever amount of time the club say there'll be out for, double it, and that's probably somewhere closure to the truth.

 

[Chippy]

180 mins most weeks without fatugue and their performance level dipping? Why should that be do-able?

So you are saying 180 mins a week isn’t sustainable?

Which is exactly why we needed to get fit and ready to go players through the door early in Jan, other clubs have managed it. If we’d only had 2 or 3 it would been a huge help and made a difference. There still could have been further signings later in the window.

 

[Oxford84]

If the result of all the fitness training, meal prep, fancy performance enhancing equipment is players who can't play 3 hours worth of competitive football a week then there's something wrong.

Week after week, it isnt going to happen so stop saying the same 11 players should play every minute of every game.