Oli Burke

[Weasel]

We had this mantra that we did research on players, personalities etc.

Makes you wonder how thorough that was when we ended up with Mousset who hadn’t completed 90 minutes in years, Robinson who isn’t even a striker, Burke who also isn’t one but is a headless chicken to name but a few.

If you thought about it enough, it would make you want to weep when you think about the large amount of money (by SUFCs standards anyway) that CWAK and co pissed away down the shitter on these types of players. And that's not taking into consideration the likes of Rodwell and Morrison....

The real winners off the back of the players hard work to get promotion to the PL (players like Didzy, O'Connell and Billy) were these total bags on monkey spunk drafted in by the management on big wages who were sub standard at best (when they were actually available and on the pitch anyway) with a lot of them just wanting a nice wage to contribute fuck all to the cause. I mean, fuckin Jack Rodwell.... CWAK were great with a small budget and trying to find lower league gems but give em a bigger budget and it was like giving a small child a suitcase full of money and telling him he can go into Hamleys toy shop. It just blew their fuckin minds, and we ended up with a load of Chinese cheap tat rather than owt worth having.

If we do go up again, hopefully Hecky is it more savvy and streetwuse in this respect and we aren't a charity for ageing injury prone players after a last wage or players blatantly not good enough. Let's hope we get to find out though

 

[Rudders]

We had this mantra that we did research on players, personalities etc.

Makes you wonder how thorough that was when we ended up with Mousset who hadn’t completed 90 minutes in years, Robinson who isn’t even a striker, Burke who also isn’t one but is a headless chicken to name but a few.

I am inclined to be a bit less harsh. That was the market in which we were shopping, 'strikers/forwards with issues but potential'. Its where a lot of promoted sides go as they can't afford the transfer fee, wages or attract good enough players. A lot of the newly promoted clubs pay even more on these type of players than we did. I can't be bothered to do the research but there are load bought by clubs like Huddersfield, Cardiff Bournemouth etc

I think we actually got decent bang for our buck out of most of those players. Mousset and Robinson had a decent month or so that bagged us lots of points. Even Burke got us premier league impact in terms of scoring goals to win points. They all probably had more Premier league impact than our Billy too.

There's a huge step up to scoring goals regularly in the premier league and we gently need to remind ourselves of that, whilst we (rightfully) enjoy being second in the championship.

Also on Burke, so what if he dresses like a twat is that not better than being an addict say, or gambling, or a player with financial or family problems. They must be far harder issues to manage. Looking like a Burke in the clothes you choose seems a very minor crime to me!

 

[Old Programme seller]

I read somewhere that the Man City supporters were singing ‘you’re just a sh1t Andy Carol’ to Liverpool’s Nunez and he cost £80 million and hasn’t hit the floor running scoring goals so it happens to all clubs.

 

[metalblade]

Try not to laugh View attachment 149868

If ever someone's name described them ...................

 

[AWetFlannel]

If you thought about it enough, it would make you want to weep when you think about the large amount of money (by SUFCs standards anyway) that CWAK and co pissed away down the shitter on these types of players. And that's not taking into consideration the likes of Rodwell and Morrison....

The real winners off the back of the players hard work to get promotion to the PL (players like Didzy, O'Connell and Billy) were these total bags on monkey spunk drafted in by the management on big wages who were sub standard at best (when they were actually available and on the pitch anyway) with a lot of them just wanting a nice wage to contribute fuck all to the cause. I mean, fuckin Jack Rodwell.... CWAK were great with a small budget and trying to find lower league gems but give em a bigger budget and it was like giving a small child a suitcase full of money and telling him he can go into Hamleys toy shop. It just blew their fuckin minds, and we ended up with a load of Chinese cheap tat rather than owt worth having.

If we do go up again, hopefully Hecky is it more savvy and streetwuse in this respect and we aren't a charity for ageing injury prone players after a last wage or players blatantly not good enough. Let's hope we get to find out though

Big wages? I bet they were the worst paid players in the division.

 

[Champagneblade]

I am inclined to be a bit less harsh. That was the market in which we were shopping, 'strikers/forwards with issues but potential'. Its where a lot of promoted sides go as they can't afford the transfer fee, wages or attract good enough players. A lot of the newly promoted clubs pay even more on these type of players than we did. I can't be bothered to do the research but there are load bought by clubs like Huddersfield, Cardiff Bournemouth etc

I think we actually got decent bang for our buck out of most of those players. Mousset and Robinson had a decent month or so that bagged us lots of points. Even Burke got us premier league impact in terms of scoring goals to win points. They all probably had more Premier league impact than our Billy too.

There's a huge step up to scoring goals regularly in the premier league and we gently need to remind ourselves of that, whilst we (rightfully) enjoy being second in the championship.

Also on Burke, so what if he dresses like a twat is that not better than being an addict say, or gambling, or a player with financial or family problems. They must be far harder issues to manage. Looking like a Burke in the clothes you choose seems a very minor crime to me!

I've done this to death on here so won't go over the same ground at length.

I just think Chris took too many gambles. 10m on Mousset, no record of completing 90 mins. 6m on Robinson, not playing as a central striker. Burke, effectively 4.5m I reckon and also not a central striker. Freeman 5m, hardly in the plan. That's a good 30m plus wages not fit for purpose positionally or through conditioning. All at the same time he seemed hell bent on benching the guy whose goals got the team promoted in the first place.

You could also add Ramsdale as an extravagant purchase for 18.5m when a left centre back was needed and a loan keeper would have done. Also Brewster had such a little sample size for 23.5m was a massive leap of faith. You can see why HRH preferred a loan with option to buy.

An additional 42m that could have been better spent.

Just frustrating too much money wasted and too many gambles.

 

[shorehamview]

Another example of a professional footballer who gets paid more pounds (or Euros I suppose now) in a week than he has brain cells.

I don't mind anyone being confident in themselves and a bit of individuality but this prick takes the piss. So glad he's gone. Another bizarre purchase and it isn't being wise after the event either. At the time we were after him I was thinking 'what the actual fuck'. Piss poor signing. Thanks Chris.

To be fair to him if he only got a fiver a week he’d still be getting more pounds than he’s got brain cells.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

Try not to laugh View attachment 149868

 

[Gavlar]

I've done this to death on here so won't go over the same ground at length.

I just think Chris took too many gambles. 10m on Mousset, no record of completing 90 mins. 6m on Robinson, not playing as a central striker. Burke, effectively 4.5m I reckon and also not a central striker. Freeman 5m, hardly in the plan. That's a good 30m plus wages not fit for purpose positionally or through conditioning. All at the same time he seemed hell bent on benching the guy whose goals got the team promoted in the first place.

You could also add Ramsdale as an extravagant purchase for 18.5m when a left centre back was needed and a loan keeper would have done. Also Brewster had such a little sample size for 23.5m was a massive leap of faith. You can see why HRH preferred a loan with option to buy.

An additional 42m that could have been better spent.

Just frustrating too much money wasted and too many gambles.

Yes but it’s easy to criticise with hindsight. Who else could we have realistically signed
Then?

 

[Weasel]

Yes but it’s easy to criticise with hindsight. Who else could we have realistically signed
Then?

I agree. They were fuckin brilliant and the best we could ever hope to get. We were blessed with them and only misfortune made most of them a failure. Wonderful players the lot of em. It was only bad luck to that most of em looked shit value for money. Circumstances you see. They were definitely the best we could get with our multi million pound budget and scouting network.

 

[AWetFlannel]

I agree. They were fuckin brilliant and the best we could ever hope to get. We were blessed with them and only misfortune made most of them a failure. Wonderful players the lot of em. It was only bad luck to that most of em looked shit value for money. Circumstances you see. They were definitely the best we could get with our multi million pound budget and scouting network.

Ignorant and bitter.

 

[Weasel]

Ignorant and bitter.

No. Just truthful. Mistakes were made.

And why the feck should I be bitter about anything you daft sod? I moved on from United getting relegated and/or CW moving on a long time ago. It's just something I'm bothered about. Relegation and people coming and going from a football club has been happening since football was invented. Couldn't give two hoots about either now. But what I won't do is not put my opinion forward when I think some are talking crap or trying to change the truth of the matter. You have your misguided opinion and that's fine. I'll have mine. Both of us can be content.

 

[Champagneblade]

Yes but it’s easy to criticise with hindsight. Who else could we have realistically signed
Then?

Is it hindsight though? I don't think it is. Burke's primary position, Robinson's primary position and Mousset's inability to string minutes together for fitness reasons were all known or they should have been well before we signed them.

I just don't subscribe that the only options available were 3 players who either we would have to play out of position or ones with fitness issues.

I obviously don't the data that should have been available to Chris at the time so you are asking me to show hindsight on this aspect.

I can give one example - Emmanuel Dennis. He was linked, didn't have fitness issues and did have a decent scoring record. He's since gone on to be a success relative to those we signed.

There are a number of foreign players no doubt who could have done well for us, but the decision was made to only fish in the domestic pond and was a short-sighted mistake by the management team in my opinion given the premium on British players. Something the Board were aware of but were torn and felt obliged to follow the Manager's decision.

That's an approach that would never have seen us sign Ahmedhodžić or Uremovic just as two recent examples.

It's gone now. But we also wasted a lot of money depriving Sharp of a more prominent role after he fired us to promotion. After scoring 24 goals, amazed the conclusion of pre-season was that he was the first who should be replaced.

Anyway no spoiling for a fight on Christmas Day. Just sharing my pov.

Merry Christmas one and all

 

[Weasel]

Is it hindsight though? I don't think it is. Burke's primary position, Robinson's primary position and Mousset's inability to string minutes together for fitness reasons were all known or they should have been well before we signed them.

I just don't subscribe that the only options available were 3 players who either we would have to play out of position or ones with fitness issues.

I obviously don't the data that should have been available to Chris at the time so you are asking me to show hindsight on this aspect.

I can give one example - Emmanuel Dennis. He was linked, didn't have fitness issues and did have a decent scoring record. He's since gone on to be a success relative to those we signed.

There are a number of foreign players no doubt who could have done well for us, but the decision was made to only fish in the domestic pond and was a short-sighted mistake by the management team in my opinion given the premium on British players. Something the Board were aware of but were torn and felt obliged to follow the Manager's decision.

That's an approach that would never have seen us sign Ahmedhodžić or Uremovic just as two recent examples.

It's gone now. But we also wasted a lot of money depriving Sharp of a more prominent role after he fired us to promotion. After scoring 24 goals, amazed the conclusion of pre-season was that he was the first who should be replaced.

Anyway no spoiling for a fight on Christmas Day. Just sharing my pov.

Merry Christmas one and all

All very valid points, bit I do think you and I are wasting our time trying to get our opinions across to some on here. They just don't want to admit major mistakes were made in the transfer market after promotion was secured. They don't like to admit that CWAK made rather a mess of things. They did, and that can't be helped now. I'm just pleased that our current management team seem more open to using the wider player market and have less tunnel vision on that score. Anyway, onwards and upwards with Hecky's Army.

 

[PaulHalfway]

We could have re built the kop if Wilder hadn’t made so many dire signings in the PL and wasted millions upon millions

 

[Gin&Juice]

Can't agree with the did ok mate.

He did OK on the same level that Laurent Ten Heauvel did ok.

He's making a good living out of the game, but has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus and dresses like the neighbour from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation......

Haha the neighbour comment tickled me.

 

[Trigger Blade]

Oh Mr Soft…

Coincidentally, saw Steve Harley on Thursday in Manchester, almost 50 years since I first saw him at the City Hall, he must be really old

 

[bertieblade]

It is even more annoying when Burke and Mousett had all the raw attributes to be outstanding footballers but lacked the basic nouse to be a professional footballer.
Wilder spent and wasted sizeable sums of money on players that never even made the team.

 

[Gavlar]

I agree. They were fuckin brilliant and the best we could ever hope to get. We were blessed with them and only misfortune made most of them a failure. Wonderful players the lot of em. It was only bad luck to that most of em looked shit value for money. Circumstances you see. They were definitely the best we could get with our multi million pound budget and scouting network.

Thanks for the truck of sarcasm. Any thoughts on who we could have bought then?

 

[Gavlar]

Is it hindsight though? I don't think it is. Burke's primary position, Robinson's primary position and Mousset's inability to string minutes together for fitness reasons were all known or they should have been well before we signed them.

I just don't subscribe that the only options available were 3 players who either we would have to play out of position or ones with fitness issues.

I obviously don't the data that should have been available to Chris at the time so you are asking me to show hindsight on this aspect.

I can give one example - Emmanuel Dennis. He was linked, didn't have fitness issues and did have a decent scoring record. He's since gone on to be a success relative to those we signed.

There are a number of foreign players no doubt who could have done well for us, but the decision was made to only fish in the domestic pond and was a short-sighted mistake by the management team in my opinion given the premium on British players. Something the Board were aware of but were torn and felt obliged to follow the Manager's decision.

That's an approach that would never have seen us sign Ahmedhodžić or Uremovic just as two recent examples.

It's gone now. But we also wasted a lot of money depriving Sharp of a more prominent role after he fired us to promotion. After scoring 24 goals, amazed the conclusion of pre-season was that he was the first who should be replaced.

Anyway no spoiling for a fight on Christmas Day. Just sharing my pov.

Merry Christmas one and all

I hear you on the overseas thing.
However We bought mcburnie Berge and Brewster and played them in their right positions and berge was an overseas signing of course.
I think it’s interesting now looking at forest who are poor after spending loads on foreign players. It doesn’t guarantee success.

 

[Champagneblade]

I hear you on the overseas thing.
However We bought mcburnie Berge and Brewster and played them in their right positions and berge was an overseas signing of course.
I think it’s interesting now looking at forest who are poor after spending loads on foreign players. It doesn’t guarantee success.

It's not an exact science is it?

The key for us that first season was continuity.

For all the summer signings it was basically 10 promoted players plus 1 striker from 4, two of which are still here.

Second season more tricky. I think we tried to kick on and perhaps underestimated what was needed just to tread water.

Chris fancied a striker and wanted to have a keeper to call his own. Me, I've always gone the other way with the thinking. I was fine to just borrow a keeper - if Man U were keeping Henderson then just borrow Romero if he was dropping down the order or something or that nature. Joe Hart was available for no fee more or less; he had 75 caps for England, he wasn't irredeemable. Point being there were cheaper options than 18.5m Rammers and I don't think it would have hurt getting experience in. We made a profit on Ramsdale but in hindsight it would have been interesting to know how Wes would had done.

But for me I would have prioritised O'Connell replacement. Someone who could perhaps rival Egan at the same time. Then given Lundstram wasn't intent on remaining, I'd have preferred to strengthen that part of the team. If you're not competing in games in the middle then it's very difficult for your strikers. McGoldrick plus McBurnie or Sharp or whoever else was on the books would have been enough for me if I could keep the competitiveness in the middle.

Who would I have gone for? I've no time machine but when we were in for Berge, we were linked with Grillitsch and Camara. Maybe one of those? The former is up for grabs again after joining Ajax for a year from Germany last summer and the latter made it to Roma, so both would have been decent levels.

Defensively there was a young defender playing in Zargreb, left footed centre back. You might have heard of him - Joško Gvardiol . We were linked with a lad called Omar Colley very late on. He's at Sampdoria still. Let's say we had a straight choice between the same money on Brewster/Ramsdale or Camara/Colley I'd have gone with the latter. I think fees would have been lower overall but wages higher.

It might have been a terrible decision. We'll never know. But it was probably the first time I disagreed with Chris on what the priority was. All thinking was about kicking on from 9th but I think we just got a bit ahead of ourselves.

 

[Gavlar]

It's not an exact science is it?

The key for us that first season was continuity.

For all the summer signings it was basically 10 promoted players plus 1 striker from 4, two of which are still here.

Second season more tricky. I think we tried to kick on and perhaps underestimated what was needed just to tread water.

Chris fancied a striker and wanted to have a keeper to call his own. Me, I've always gone the other way with the thinking. I was fine to just borrow a keeper - if Man U were keeping Henderson then just borrow Romero if he was dropping down the order or something or that nature. Joe Hart was available for no fee more or less; he had 75 caps for England, he wasn't irredeemable. Point being there were cheaper options than 18.5m Rammers and I don't think it would have hurt getting experience in. We made a profit on Ramsdale but in hindsight it would have been interesting to know how Wes would had done.

But for me I would have prioritised O'Connell replacement. Someone who could perhaps rival Egan at the same time. Then given Lundstram wasn't intent on remaining, I'd have preferred to strengthen that part of the team. If you're not competing in games in the middle then it's very difficult for your strikers. McGoldrick plus McBurnie or Sharp or whoever else was on the books would have been enough for me if I could keep the competitiveness in the middle.

Who would I have gone for? I've no time machine but when we were in for Berge, we were linked with Grillitsch and Camara. Maybe one of those? The former is up for grabs again after joining Ajax for a year from Germany last summer and the latter made it to Roma, so both would have been decent levels.

Defensively there was a young defender playing in Zargreb, left footed centre back. You might have heard of him - Joško Gvardiol . We were linked with a lad called Omar Colley very late on. He's at Sampdoria still. Let's say we had a straight choice between the same money on Brewster/Ramsdale or Camara/Colley I'd have gone with the latter. I think fees would have been lower overall but wages higher.

It might have been a terrible decision. We'll never know. But it was probably the first time I disagreed with Chris on what the priority was. All thinking was about kicking on from 9th but I think we just got a bit ahead of ourselves.

I think you make some good points. But as you rightly say, even buying the players you mention, it might not have worked. It's a very tough league and spending money doesn't guarantee anything.

We missed goals badly in our second season. We lost 1-0 so many times it was mad. Of course Lunny and O'Connell were problems too.
I think Rammers was actually a good signing in the end, but he started really badly. Our midfield was badly outclassed on a regular basis and we got into a rut of losing and confidence evaporated.

Was there an obvious JOC replacement out there? He made such a difference to our team as he could defend, attack and score goals. The lad you mention (that I've never heard of )), was he an attacking defender?

If we go up this season, we will need a big clear out to stay up, but that's tough to get right and if it doesn't work can cause more problems. That said, I can't think of any of our players bar Ndaiye that are premier league quality.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Loaned out to Millwall after bring mostly a sub since his moment v Dortmund

 

[BushBlade]

I’ll be the first to say “he’ll play like fucking Messi when he plays against us for Millwall”

 

[Tezza1889]

Try not to laugh View attachment 149868

Just refusing to put Central heating on cause its too expensive..

 

[originaltrueblade]

Don’t worry he’ll still be the headless chicken then the rabbit caught in the headlights

 

[biggiesablade]

Just refusing to put Central heating on cause its too expensive..

If I walked in my house and our lass was wearing that I wouldn't bat an eye lid apart from the mask hat thing

 

[Tezza1889]

If I walked in my house and our lass was wearing that I wouldn't bat an eye lid apart from the mask hat thing

Same here, so long as she keeps the bills down, wear what she likes..

 

[robbiez666]

HE'S BACK AND THIS TIME HE WONT STOP

 

[JackSUFC]

Still find it mad that he scored a Premier League winner for us at Old Trafford.