"Morning Terrell. Look, I know you know I wanted rid of you, but I couldn't because we don't have any other fit or mentally stable centre halves. Fancy 45 mins on Saturday?".........
Replies 'I could do 4/5 minutes but 45 would be pushing it'.
We spent the first half of the season complaining that we were too light up front with only 2 fit strikers and a sicknote. Although I think swapping stockley for bonne is a slight upgrade, we're still one short by my reckoning
AMB Ness Egbo Morgan CBT Leaburn Fraser Dobbo Kanu
Good enough to try to compete with Bolton But we'd still lose... probably
We need 10 players as good, but probably better than the above to get promoted next year.
As ever, the hardest to replace is the forwards, especially Saki with his goal return. Leaburn and Kanu will be there or there abouts, two forwards of some quality needed. Back four, can't see Innis doing another season and may be the area that see's most change depending on the full backs we have now, a fit Egbo is good enough and Penney might turn out to be the left back, so once again another two players needed. Midfield I think the position here is the one Morgan has filled, get some quality in there and it would be hard to see how we could get a better midfield three.
On December 31st we needed 10 new players in the summer.
On February 1st we need 10 new players in the summer.
On December 31st we were almost certain to be in league 1 next season (despite the knee jerking, myself included, after every positive or negative result)
On February 1st we are almost certain to be in league 1 next season.
We didn't sell any of the "assets".
In terms of a rebuild its big fat F.
In terms of a reshuffle it's a B. Keeping EOC and losing Thomas instead would have pushed it to a B+.
It all comes down to the summer now. Who is funding it and who is executing it. If it is Thomas and Hotshot Hammish we could be well in the brown stuff. If it's someone else, only time will tell.
Yes it's frustrating/depressing to be accepting midtable league 1 football and no it's not acceptable but nothing will change, for the better, without a good take over. No amount of ranting changes that.
So what we have is a mark time scenario and a plan, looking forwards, to rebuild in the summer. I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve heard this over the last decade or so…….time and time again. Nothing much changes does it……I despair. 🫤🫤🫤
And whilst we all think the club has saved a shedload and received significant monies yesterday, the real amount as we will be paying salaries to Hector, Bonne, Penney, Kane and Kilkenny will be less than 20% of TS' yearly losses.
He'll still lose £5m not £6m and left us threadbare in central defence, central attacking and wide options.
On December 31st we needed 10 new players in the summer.
On February 1st we need 10 new players in the summer.
On December 31st we were almost certain to be in league 1 next season (despite the knee jerking, myself included, after every positive or negative result)
On February 1st we are almost certain to be in league 1 next season.
We didn't sell any of the "assets".
In terms of a rebuild its big fat F.
In terms of a reshuffle it's a B. Keeping EOC and losing Thomas instead would have pushed it to a B+.
It all comes down to the summer now. Who is funding it and who is executing it. If it is Thomas and Hotshot Hammish we could be well in the brown stuff. If it's someone else, only time will tell.
Yes it's frustrating/depressing to be accepting midtable league 1 football and no it's not acceptable but nothing will change, for the better, without a good take over. No amount of ranting changes that.
It's a wheel spinning/cost cutting exercise and everyone knows it. Nothing happens until someone (either the Methven crew or otherwise) gives Sandgaard what he wants or Tommy finally cracks.
It's pretty hard for fans to watch but I am genuinely not sure if we can actually do anything right now.
I am not as pessimistic as a lot of the posters on here.
This season has been effectively over once the closure of the August transfer window. With the exception of 3 or 4 players, we were left with a disjointed squad, and a squad of players that were injury prone or simply not good enough.
Add into this a manager playing a style of football (Garnerball) that our players were not comfortable with, has meant that season 2022/2023 has been a complete write off.
Firstly, I don’t think that we will get relegated.
Secondly, none of the starting 11 from the Bolton match have left.
So I would hope that getting rid of so much dead wood has cleared the way for a proper summer rebuild, and a far better 2023/2024 season.
When you actually weigh up the standard of those players we’ve needed to move on, it makes you ask yourself questions about our scouting and recruitment. Slightly unfair re O’Connell and Stockley but the amount of players we sign that are not good enough even for league One is quite high.
Everybody realises that the team that played Bolton wasn't good enough? That we are 14th for a reason and that even with our best 11, we're a mid table division 3 side? Great. Just checking.
AMB Ness Egbo Morgan CBT Leaburn Fraser Dobbo Kanu
Good enough to try to compete with Bolton But we'd still lose... probably
We need 10 players as good, but probably better than the above to get promoted next year.
I think we'd need about 6 top quality players and 3/4 decent ones to mount a promotion push. We get to have a look at the likes of Penney, Kane and Bonne who could all sign for longer in the summer.
When you actually weigh up the standard of those players we’ve needed to move on, it makes you ask yourself questions about our scouting and recruitment. Slightly unfair re O’Connell and Stockley but the amount of players we sign that are not good enough even for league One is quite high.
True to a point, but Mac, Lavelle, McGrandles, Kirk and Stockley all went to League 1 sides, albeit to teams in the relegation scrap. O'Connell went to a side who pay like a top League 1 side. It's only JFC and DJ who dropped down a level.
Everybody realises that the team that played Bolton wasn't good enough? That we are 14th for a reason and that even with our best 11, we're a mid table division 3 side? Great. Just checking.
Deadline day is always interesting as it really doesn't take much to go from optimism and surprise to devastation. I'd say yesterday we had one outgoing that was uncomfortable and missed out on one incoming that we should have completed. Other than that, objectives pretty much met for the window, definitely in terms of positions, remains to be seen in terms of the players themselves.
We needed a full back on each side to cover for injury and a gap and we got both, though Kane's injury complicates things. We needed quality above Morgan in the middle and hopefully Kilkenny is that. We needed a first team striker to compete with Leaburn, Bonne came in. We also clearly needed to have better options at CB and we brought in Hector. We should have brought in another winger after letting two go and should have had back up options to Edwards
In terms of outgoings, we had three first team keepers and one wasn't very good; we resolved that. We had a highly paid striker who didn't score or contribute; he's gone. We had a winger who has made 7 L1 appearances this season, dropped to 5th choice and has mostly been injured; gone. We had a centre back who was truly the most lost player we've had in years; Burtoned. Two central midfielders with two league starts between them, an under-delivering winger the manager clearly didn't rate, all gone. These were all moves that needed to happen. The curve ball was O'Connell. There was a point yesterday where we had 6 first team centre halves and we got that back down to 4 by the end. It's clear that it would have been Thomas and Lavelle if not for EOC going, but it's uncomfortable that the player we just signed who would have been worth keeping in the squad is the one who went. He wasn't playing under Holden but there's something off about it for sure, and I wonder if it says a lot that Wrexham knew they could come calling at the 11th hour and get what they wanted off Charlton. Beyond that though, Wrexham are weird, they'll get the players they go for.
Bottom line is now everything depends on a takeover. If we get bought by an ownership that can spend some money then the deck clearing is good. We can see if Hector and Bonne are worthy of longer contracts, we've put the players we don't want in the shop window for the summer, we can rebuild. If there's no takeover or it's a penniless farce then we're screwed, but we're screwed anyway right now, so no massive change there.
The outs were good, the ins were in the right places so hopefully they're also the right players. It's not that good, it's not all bad. The real time breakdowns some posters had on here in the hours following the deadline though? A+, thank you for your service. A genuine delight to read through
I’ve liked this but have a(n unofficial) lol for the last sentences too
Sandgaard has held on to the few potential assets, Leaburn, Ness, AMB, maybe Dobson and Fraser. He has saved some money by junking the previous transfer failures, all to clubs lower down the league ladder. He has brought in players from higher up the league ladder without paying any fees.
From Sandgaard's pov that must be a successful window.
From our point of view it leaves Holden with the task of moulding very quickly a disparate group of players into a team that can get us enough points to stay out of trouble, while keeping enough fit to avoid an injury crisis.
The next three games are so important to get points, because after that next free or Derby, Wednesday, Peterborough, getting fuck all out in three games
I am very sad to see EOC leave and it seems a high risk move, leaving us vulnerable in defence - he was in my must keep list. However, the biggest plus for me was keeping Dobson, Fraser, Leaburn and AMB - the core of a decent team.
I am concerned about our lack of cover in some positions. We are quite dependent on players staying fit and are vulnerable if there are injuries in key positions, particularly in defence. I think AMB will be a busy man between now and the end of the season!
I was originally quite optimistic about the second half of the season, but after this cost saving clear-out, I just hope we can consolidate mid-table and avoid getting close to the relegation dog fight.
It looks like another huge re-build will be needed in the Summer. Who knows how that will go (but based on past experience, not very well)?
However if we escape relegation early enough the progressive strategy from then until the end of the season is to (carefully) introduce some from our promising players from the development system.
But for now the focus is to win at Exeter and every single game after that one.
The issue is that O'Connell was vice captain, has looked good (played on weaker side remember) and could have been the Innis replacement in a phased approach come end of season.
What good is it for us fans to say 350k is good? You're not going to see it reploughed into the team...as illustrated by a last minute failed loan (for a player who has hardly played), with no replacement lined up.
The January window is to fill the weak spots in your team. We too often bring in players from a very weak position, who end up a waste of money, are unfit and therefore likely to get injured.
Cold light of day. Holden hinted at the triming of the squad at least once so this should not have been a surprise. Also previous talk of the attitude/application/atmosphere in the squad being a bit negative . Perhaps some of the characters who have moved on are part of this problem that Holden and Garner saw.
Won't know how good the incoming players are until at least a few games so holding judgement.
It does show how low we now are as a club though. I am now just hoping to stay in League one, what a day to be alive.
Negatives: 1. I’ve been calling for more athleticism in midfield, and our new key signing is only 5‘7“. Fraser, Dobson and Kilkenny are arguably vulnerable against some of L1’s more physical sides.
2. O’Connell was one of our best centre backs, - although if a player really wants to leave, there’s arguably not a lot you can do about it. An injury to Ness or Inniss (and it’s just a matter of time) will leave us exposed at the back. Hector may be a decent replacement, but he’s not fit apparently.
3. Jayesimi is a decent option at wingback, and hasn’t been replaced.
4. We are definitely light up top with only Leaburn, Bonne, and Aneke. An injury to Bonne or Leaburn leaves us exposed, as Kanu may not be ready for men’s football. This is less of a problem if we stick to 433.
Positives: 1. We’ve had a clear out. Although as fans we’d rather have a large squad than a small one it’s undeniable that ours was bloated and full of (sometimes expensive) dead wood. It isn’t now. 2. Kilkenny is supposed to be pretty decent, comfortable playing at a higher level. If he’s a step up from Morgan, that can only benefit the team.
Hmm, I thought the positives list would be longer.
Treble Chance: 1. Hector is a complete unknown to many of us. It’s just possible he’s got a couple of good years left in him? ‘He has played 177 Championship matches in a nomadic career which has taken him from the Hellenic League right the way up to England’s top tier… He had previously been a huge hit for the Owls, winning their Player of the Season award in 2018-19.’ So I’m not writing him off yet. 2. Kane and Penney are total unknowns to most of us. Will wait and see how they get on. 3. I personally quite like Bonne who’s a bit more street-wise than many of our players. Has plenty of energy. Not putting him in the positives column because he needs to prove himself at this stage.
4. There are probably going to be opportunities for younger players to show what they can do, although this can be beneficial to some players, confidence sapping for others. Henry, Kanu, Mitchell and perhaps others could get minutes, maybe others too, if we stay clear of the relegation zone. Hopefully that prove to be a good thing.
Overall it’s not really the window we were dreaming of. Too many unknowns, too little cover in key positions. It certainly wouldn’t be any good if we were in with a shout of the playoffs.
Much hinges on whether there is or isn’t a billionaire behind the takeover bid. It seems unlikely, although I’m not sure it’s impacted on the window, as Sandgaard is still paying the bills.
DJ as been replaced by Campbell .. how many times as DJ even been on the bench compared to Campbell
Comments
On February 1st we need 10 new players in the summer.
On December 31st we were almost certain to be in league 1 next season (despite the knee jerking, myself included, after every positive or negative result)
On February 1st we are almost certain to be in league 1 next season.
We didn't sell any of the "assets".
In terms of a rebuild its big fat F.
In terms of a reshuffle it's a B. Keeping EOC and losing Thomas instead would have pushed it to a B+.
It all comes down to the summer now. Who is funding it and who is executing it. If it is Thomas and Hotshot Hammish we could be well in the brown stuff. If it's someone else, only time will tell.
Yes it's frustrating/depressing to be accepting midtable league 1 football and no it's not acceptable but nothing will change, for the better, without a good take over. No amount of ranting changes that.
I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve heard this over the last decade or so…….time and time again.
Nothing much changes does it……I despair. 🫤🫤🫤
He'll still lose £5m not £6m and left us threadbare in central defence, central attacking and wide options.
It's pretty hard for fans to watch but I am genuinely not sure if we can actually do anything right now.
This season has been effectively over once the closure of the August transfer window.
With the exception of 3 or 4 players, we were left with a disjointed squad, and a squad of players that were injury prone or simply not good enough.
Add into this a manager playing a style of football (Garnerball) that our players were not comfortable with, has meant that season 2022/2023 has been a complete write off.
Firstly, I don’t think that we will get relegated.
Secondly, none of the starting 11 from the Bolton match have left.
So I would hope that getting rid of so much dead wood has cleared the way for a proper summer rebuild, and a far better 2023/2024 season.
That we are 14th for a reason and that even with our best 11, we're a mid table division 3 side?
Great. Just checking.
From Sandgaard's pov that must be a successful window.
From our point of view it leaves Holden with the task of moulding very quickly a disparate group of players into a team that can get us enough points to stay out of trouble, while keeping enough fit to avoid an injury crisis.
After that, all bets are off.
Now that is a fact:
Though I'm sure some on CL will disagree.
I am concerned about our lack of cover in some positions. We are quite dependent on players staying fit and are vulnerable if there are injuries in key positions, particularly in defence. I think AMB will be a busy man between now and the end of the season!
I was originally quite optimistic about the second half of the season, but after this cost saving clear-out, I just hope we can consolidate mid-table and avoid getting close to the relegation dog fight.
It looks like another huge re-build will be needed in the Summer. Who knows how that will go (but based on past experience, not very well)?
However if we escape relegation early enough the progressive strategy from then until the end of the season is to (carefully) introduce some from our promising players from the development system.
But for now the focus is to win at Exeter and every single game after that one.
The January window is to fill the weak spots in your team. We too often bring in players from a very weak position, who end up a waste of money, are unfit and therefore likely to get injured.