Manager/Coach Robbo to Brizzle City

Yep. The mistake was in not having prepared any contingency when we knew Cadden was leaving, and we knew we needed additional firepower up front. A last minute punt on Grigg and an uninterested O'Donnell was not really cutting the mustard.

Except, that but for COVID, this Oxford United squad would've had a bloody good shot at second place and automatic promotion.

Agree there should've been a plan when the departure of Cadden was a known (but am sure there are stats floating about that say our average points per match with Long were equivalent or even better than with Cadden).

So complaining about our transfer activity / inactivity in January is somewhat of a paper tiger.
 
Yep. The mistake was in not having prepared any contingency when we knew Cadden was leaving, and we knew we needed additional firepower up front. A last minute punt on Grigg and an uninterested O'Donnell was not really cutting the mustard.
However it worked out fine. We were one kick away from the Championship even with the reduced squad.
 
in answer to @Gary Baldi it was generally known that clubs were interested in Baptiste and a bid likely forthcoming, it was not therefore too difficult to either turn down the bid given the timing and our promotion opportunity or certainly have replacements in place rather than let 2 go with a few hours of the window closing leaving our manager with no time to act. My point being that cash flow would have been better reinvested to aid a promotion push and certainly more so in light of the odd pre season statement.
The problem with Baptiste is 2 fold. Firstly, if we tell young players that will give them games and we won't stand in their way if they want to move (with the right price agreed), then if we want to continue to sign young players on that model, it's hard to say no, especially if the contract language doesn't prevent it. My preference was for him to move on in the summer after getting promotion, but football is such that it's become hard to retain players who don't want to be there. It's easy for us fans to say I wouldn't let him go, but it sounded like his mind was made up.

Secondly, other clubs don't need to sell or loan us the players we want, without overpaying. Holland's injury scuppered us, esp in the play offs., It's a shame that Kelly arrived so unfit as he could have really impacted games before and after lockdown.
 
The problem with Baptiste is 2 fold. Firstly, if we tell young players that will give them games and we won't stand in their way if they want to move (with the right price agreed), then if we want to continue to sign young players on that model, it's hard to say no, especially if the contract language doesn't prevent it. My preference was for him to move on in the summer after getting promotion, but football is such that it's become hard to retain players who don't want to be there.

Simple. Just tell them we won't stand in their way, but don't expect to be let go mid season, no matter what the offer. End of season, then fine.
 
Simple. Just tell them we won't stand in their way, but don't expect to be let go mid season, no matter what the offer. End of season, then fine.
Unfortunately, and I will emphasise that, football doesn't work like that any more. Unless there is a contract with a specific clause saying no, we can't do a whole lot about it.
 
I think in the current financial climate, out of contract players should be looking to sign any contract. If as mentioned there are 30-40 clubs teetering on the brink of collapse, there could be a whole lot of players looking for employment, so clubs will have the upper hand. It’s a buyers market.
 
Unfortunately, and I will emphasise that, football doesn't work like that any more. Unless there is a contract with a specific clause saying no, we can't do a whole lot about it.

We don't have to sell.

If we are just saying off the cuff to them we won't stand in their way (nothing in contracts is there? ), then its pretty simple to say instead we won't stand in their way, but only at seasons end. If they join the club with that understanding, then they will know they cant expect to leave in a January window. If they don't like that, then don't sign them.
 
We don't have to sell.

If we are just saying off the cuff to them we won't stand in their way (nothing in contracts is there? ), then its pretty simple to say instead we won't stand in their way, but only at seasons end. If they join the club with that understanding, then they will know they cant expect to leave in a January window. If they don't like that, then don't sign them.
Yep I get this. It might mean we miss out on one or two, but they will possibly be at the more mercenary end of the spectrum anyway. And on the plus side we get to have stability at a crucial time if the season.
 
Simple. Just tell them we won't stand in their way, but don't expect to be let go mid season, no matter what the offer. End of season, then fine.

TBF, Baptiste is the only player we have sold during the last few Januarys that this could apply to. Everyone else has been the end of the season.
 
We don't have to sell.

If we are just saying off the cuff to them we won't stand in their way (nothing in contracts is there? ), then its pretty simple to say instead we won't stand in their way, but only at seasons end. If they join the club with that understanding, then they will know they cant expect to leave in a January window. If they don't like that, then don't sign them.
We don't have to sell, but it's not as easy as saying, nope, we won't sell anyone in January.

The footballing reality is all players have prices, all players have agents putting them about and Baptiste in particular was on Brentford's radar for a long while and privately made it known he wanted to go there.

Could we have kept him? Yes. But how motivated would he have been if he was waiting for a move in the summer? Look at Lyle Taylor and Ryan Fraser. Both stepped back from finishing the season as they had moves lined up. Unfortunately, there are occasions as clubs where you need to suck it up, and this was one of those.
 
TBF, Baptiste is the only player we have sold during the last few Januarys that this could apply to. Everyone else has been the end of the season.
You could say that Fosu did this. It was obvious with the terms of his contract that he only saw us as a stepping stone to get back to the championship. He didn't hesitate to move once the clause was triggered.
 
We don't have to sell, but it's not as easy as saying, nope, we won't sell anyone in January.

The footballing reality is all players have prices, all players have agents putting them about and Baptiste in particular was on Brentford's radar for a long while and privately made it known he wanted to go there.

Could we have kept him? Yes. But how motivated would he have been if he was waiting for a move in the summer? Look at Lyle Taylor and Ryan Fraser. Both stepped back from finishing the season as they had moves lined up. Unfortunately, there are occasions as clubs where you need to suck it up, and this was one of those.

Also if rumours are to be believed then a move to Brentford broke down the previous season because of injury. So considering his injury record, Baptiste may have thought best get it done asap.
 
You could say that Fosu did this. It was obvious with the terms of his contract that he only saw us as a stepping stone to get back to the championship. He didn't hesitate to move once the clause was triggered.
I don’t really mind this to be fair. He had no prior connection to the club, played out of his skin for us for 6 months, helped us get near the top of the table, played a part in helping us pocket big cash and exposure from cup runs (which then facilitated further signings in Jan) and ultimately netted us 750k for about 5 months work. There was no emotional attachment in either direction, just a mutual appreciation of the other’s material benefit. Everyone wins.

With Baptiste there was that emotional connection - he’s one of our own, stuck by him through big injuries etc. That one’s always going to sting at least a bit.
 
I don’t really mind this to be fair. He had no prior connection to the club, played out of his skin for us for 6 months, helped us get near the top of the table, played a part in helping us pocket big cash and exposure from cup runs (which then facilitated further signings in Jan) and ultimately netted us 750k for about 5 months work. There was no emotional attachment in either direction, just a mutual appreciation of the other’s material benefit. Everyone wins.

With Baptiste there was that emotional connection - he’s one of our own, stuck by him through big injuries etc. That one’s always going to sting at least a bit.
I agree with that - almost.

Fosu was only ever here as a temporary measure. I thought he was 'OK' most of the time, better than that sometimes. I don't really care how he does in the rest of his career, for good or ill.

Baptiste though was 'one of us'. However, we sold him for decent money, he gave his all when playing for us and after a couple of nasty injuries he got back. While I'd have rather we hadn't sold him in January (for footballing reasons), it turns out it was probably a good thing we did (for financial reasons). I'll certainly be applauding him before the next cup game in which we play and beat Brentford.
 
You could say that Fosu did this. It was obvious with the terms of his contract that he only saw us as a stepping stone to get back to the championship. He didn't hesitate to move once the clause was triggered.

I would say this is not the same as it was not the OUFC's choice to sell. With the exception of Baptiste, we have choosen to sell in the summer.
 
I thought Houghton had the Bristol job, then it was Cook … what is Ashton up to?
 
MAsh is becoming an unpopular figure at Ashton Gate, just like what happened with him at Watford. You do wonder if his time here was cut short because of disagreements with Sales, as he left when everyone thought he was doing a good job. Perhaps he was only doing a good job because Eales was stopping him making the kind of wrong decisions he's making now?
 
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