CONFIRMED Djibril Soumaré signs on Season Long Loan (obligation to buy)

[IOM Blade]

Market value £208k?!

I wouldn't worry about that. Arblaster is valued at £1.6M.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

There is a weird bit of groupthink from a handful where the skepticism on new signings’ quality gets shouted down yet any talk of promotion as an expectation gets the same treatment.

“…they will be our saviours, COH”

The skepticism is questioned because it’s based on nothing but opinion presented as fact and wrapped in an unwavering sense of doom. I must have seen pretty much every post in favour of at least trying this approach, 100% accepting it’s a risk. Groupthink is nothing to do with it, i just don’t see how £10m on Tom Cannon is less of a risk than casting a wider net for 10% of the price and seeing if we can catch a gem.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

The point is its abuse back at me while sending totally irrelevant stuff like Braga's history. If you're gonna slag someone at least look at the basics of the argument

Who’s abused you? I certainly haven’t

 

[Nick Jansky]

Who’s abused you? I certainly haven’t

Someone called him a Wednesdayite. Which I’m pretty sure he isn’t.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

Someone called him a Wednesdayite. Which I’m pretty sure he isn’t.

Christ, I take it back then. No need for that

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Twice. Once in the Champions League, once in the cup. Spent last season on loan at Nacional in the Portuguese top flight making 23 apps (21 starts). Started pretty much every game from Jan onwards.

His fotmob rating is decent in an arguably tougher league. Looking at his stats he's pretty much a younger Souza.



View attachment 216538View attachment 216539View attachment 216540

Granted YouTube/highlight clips aren't ever the best showcase but imo he looks closer to a non shire horse style berge than Souza

 

[Rodley]

I think we’re probably all guilty of a bit of confirmation bias, aren’t we? Those of us who thought Wilder’s sacking was a bad idea are seeing signs of disaster and those who thought it was the right decision are seeing the green shoots of an exciting new direction.

Not sure about groupthink but I can speak for myself: on an emotional level, during the summer I like to feel positive and excited about the coming season and possibly could be more patient with those who see it differently. It’s hard when the exact same people say the exact same things every year. Working on it.

For me it’s an unusual summer given the parachute payment circumstances in that the requirement for promotion is acute. If it goes south, we’re likely to lose a bunch of what is one of the most promising crop of youngsters we’re had in a while. In that context, I don’t think a heightened amount of scrutiny is particularly surprising.

 

[Nick Jansky]

TBF Cooper and Burrows were decent additions and value.

Let’s see if it gets us over the top and into the top two

They were. Others less so. But it doesn’t mean that a sensible club should limit itself to that market.

 

[Rodley]

The skepticism is questioned because it’s based on nothing but opinion presented as fact and wrapped in an unwavering sense of doom. I must have seen pretty much every post in favour of at least trying this approach, 100% accepting it’s a risk. Groupthink is nothing to do with it, i just don’t see how £10m on Tom Cannon is less of a risk than casting a wider net for 10% of the price and seeing if we can catch a gem.

See my post above. Casting a wider net to catch a couple of gems (longer term) is something I struggle to acquiesce with a looming financial heart attack of parachute payments expiring (short term).

Maybe we’ll chop it up and bring in some (more proven) quality before the end of the window and I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, welcome (hopefully) Soumane.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

Granted YouTube/highlight clips aren't ever the best showcase but imo he looks closer to a non shire horse style berge than Souza

Aye. There’s an art to assessing a YouTube reel. I once read an article from an international scout whose name escapes me. He was viewing hundreds of videos a week to curate lists of players to watch in the flesh. He said that the first thing he would assess is their technique, how comfortable on the ball they were, did they pass with their head up or down etc. Then, gauging their attributes, how well they operated in the role based on a number of metrics. From there, it was as much about the calibre of the opposition as it was the player.

Whenever I watch a sizzle reel I try to follow similar principles. Where is his technique on a scale of Monty to Zidane? Is he operating well in his role? And how good are the opposition?

 

[Carlton Blade]

For me it’s an unusual summer given the parachute payment circumstances in that the requirement for promotion is acute. If it goes south, we’re likely to lose a bunch of what is one of the most promising crop of youngsters we’re had in a while. In that context, I don’t think a heightened amount of scrutiny is particularly surprising.

But the question has to be, what summer do you want to see? Because every penny available appeared to be thrown at experience when these owners came in and the team got worse. Sunderland just sold their best young player even with promotion. That's where we are in the supply chain.

I have no idea if any of this will work, could be a disaster. But there seems to be a definite plan to get more athletic in order to play in a style that will hopefully not be so reliant on 1 player to create chances. I don't think any Championship club can afford to sign top level athletes who are proven to be at a minimum top end Championship players because they all go to PL clubs.

 

[Wards]

"We should shop overseas, much better value! "Our scouts never leave the Midlands!"

Also

"No, not that overseas, never heard of him!"
"Send the bugger back"

 

[A Storm of Blades]

See my post above. Casting a wider net to catch a couple of gems (longer term) is something I struggle to acquiesce with a looming financial heart attack of parachute payments expiring (short term).

Maybe we’ll chop it up and bring in some (more proven) quality before the end of the window and I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, welcome (hopefully) Soumane.

I take the point, things look much harder next year if we don’t go up. It’s a balancing act of finding players ready to step up now and having higher potential to increase in value. No doubt Wilder would have taken the steady Eddie approach in the market. I’m less and less convinced that is the right, lower risk strategy though. ‘Proven’ Championship players are often more expensive, older and have a lower resale value because in many cases they aren’t quite good enough for the Premier League, therefore are only of interest to other (skint) Championship clubs or less glamorous (also skint) European clubs.

I will say, I don’t think the squad is too far off. A few holes perhaps, but I still expect us to be favourites in 90% of games next year.

 

[Bladesman]

"We should shop overseas, much better value! "Our scouts never leave the Midlands!"

Also

"No, not that overseas, never heard of him!"
"Send the bugger back"

 

[Bergen Blade]

Granted YouTube/highlight clips aren't ever the best showcase but imo he looks closer to a non shire horse style berge than Souza

He seems different to a lot of the other midfield options we have. I hope he's been extensively scouted to back up his stats, and that he manages to adapt pretty quickly. It is now at the start of the season he's maybe needed the most, before Davies and Arblaster return.

 

[Rochdaleblade]

So just to be clear you're all agreeing hes better than Souza. And you're basing that on a YouTube video and blind positivity towards the new owners. Hard to hide from reality over a 46 game championship season so

Oh no its not subjective at all fella. There is a league table we can use to compare.

You've used one example of me "moaning" and it's this example.

Love to know if many of you responding here actually go and watch football. If someone said this in pub would you be accusing them of being a Wednesday fan? So weird. Of course its a punt.

It's definitely a punt, but if we wanted a direct, proven replacement for Souza, we would need to shell out £15 million. i hope we sign this guy personally, but obviously he could turn out to be the next Coulibaly.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

But the question has to be, what summer do you want to see? Because every penny available appeared to be thrown at experience when these owners came in and the team got worse. Sunderland just sold their best young player even with promotion. That's where we are in the supply chain.

I have no idea if any of this will work, could be a disaster. But there seems to be a definite plan to get more athletic in order to play in a style that will hopefully not be so reliant on 1 player to create chances. I don't think any Championship club can afford to sign top level athletes who are proven to be at a minimum top end Championship players because they all go to PL clubs.

There’s certainty some cohesion to the approach. The types of players we are being linked with look like exactly what you expect for a high intensity side. I’ve said it before, I’m eternally grateful to Wilder and Hecky for getting us promoted, particularly staving off financial disaster. But the football, dear fucking Christ, the last 3 years of football has been a tough watch,

 

[CaptainMorgans]

I like signings like this, but if we're gunning for promotion a blended approach will be needed.

We can't rely on a load of young foreign players all acclimatising quickly enough to maintain the level we'll need.

Intrigued to see where we go next.
I think we need:

Backup GK (A Davies not good enough)
Starting RB (Seriki fitness can't be relied on)
CB (we need to move Anel on)
CM (Arblaster / T Davies fitness can't be relied on given circumstances)
2 x wide players
1 x CF (Campbell fitness can't be relied upon, Moore probably not suited to the style).

I don't know lots about Selles ball, so maybe some of the assumptions are out.

 

[EddieColquhoun]

He's never played for Braga but I dont imagine anyone posting here has done research to that level

Are you sure about that, George?

 

[robbiez666]

See my post above. Casting a wider net to catch a couple of gems (longer term) is something I struggle to acquiesce with a looming financial heart attack of parachute payments expiring (short term).

Maybe we’ll chop it up and bring in some (more proven) quality before the end of the window and I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, welcome (hopefully) Soumane.

So, a better bet is to sign two more Tom Cannon's for £20 million? We've tried the overpaying for British players approach, which put us in this mess in the first place. We narrowly avoided financial collapse thanks to Hecky taking us up. The approach again in January was to do the same and then do the same again in summer.

Best case scenario? We go up and then overspend again and then come down and then have to go up straight away but don't so sell players and then have to go up the next year. It's a ticking timebomb

It's very hard to get out of this league. We've been fortunate to do it twice recently. Spending money guarantees nothing.

And our best signings have been Ndiaye, Berge, Souza, Burrows, Anel, Cooper and the Academy.

Will this new approach work? Who knows, but I know the other approach won't and no one is going to fund the other approach now anyway.

 

[GeorgeDonis1889]

Are you sure about that, George?

Ok he's been brought on for 10 minutes and played odd cup game. I think my point still stands.

 

[brownblade]

The very brief YouTube clip looks good.

 

[robbiez666]

I like signings like this, but if we're gunning for promotion a blended approach will be needed.

We can't rely on a load of young foreign players all acclimatising quickly enough to maintain the level we'll need.

Intrigued to see where we go next.
I think we need:

Backup GK (A Davies not good enough)
Starting RB (Seriki fitness can't be relied on)
CB (we need to move Anel on)
CM (Arblaster / T Davies fitness can't be relied on given circumstances)
2 x wide players
1 x CF (Campbell fitness can't be relied upon, Moore probably not suited to the style).

I don't know lots about Selles ball, so maybe some of the assumptions are out.

I very much doubt we'll sign that many.

We have 3 senior keepers, so that would be madness unless 2 are going out on loan.
RB
CB (depends on Baptiste, but assuming Anel goes then we'll need one or two (he might start Robbo so then one)
1 CM and then a 6 month loan to cover Arblaster
1 x wide player. We've got Brooks and we have players who can play wide
I can't see us signing another striker unless one leaves. One my go on loan so potentially one place up for grabs.

I really don't think we'll spend very much tbh, but all these signings cost moeny one way or another.

 

[Bladeinleeds]

Might not work out. As people have said we will need a blend of youth and experience and tbh domestic experience and foreign signings. And to be fair It doesn’t look like manager or owners are going for only one or the other at the moment either.

It’s the most intriguing preseason for a while though - I’m certainly more interested to see what could happen with these signings than rocking out the Jimmy dunne’s, Darlings and mephams who I’m sure would have been the type wilder targeted. Who, if signed, would have almost certainly set the higher floor but not ceiling. May as well gamble on upside

 

[Carlton Blade]

Who are the 'proven' players who've joined Championship clubs this summer?

 

[billyblademan]

I like signings like this, but if we're gunning for promotion a blended approach will be needed.

We can't rely on a load of young foreign players all acclimatising quickly enough to maintain the level we'll need.

Intrigued to see where we go next.
I think we need:

Backup GK (A Davies not good enough)
Starting RB (Seriki fitness can't be relied on)
CB (we need to move Anel on)
CM (Arblaster / T Davies fitness can't be relied on given circumstances)
2 x wide players
1 x CF (Campbell fitness can't be relied upon, Moore probably not suited to the style).

I don't know lots about Selles ball, so maybe some of the assumptions are out.

I’m with you CaptainMorgans other than the GK. One of the wide players is Barry so that leaves 3-5.

 

[Blade45]

And our best signings have been Ndiaye, Berge, Souza, Burrows, Anel, Cooper and the Academy.

This is very true. We’ve been very fortunate to have great homegrown players come out of our academy recently. It’s probably been our best asset since we went back down, because our young players have filled in and impressed when called upon. Hopefully we see some of them kick on and truly establish themselves.

In my mind, our academy has been one of the best in the North recently, maybe one of the best in England. Long may it continue.

 

[Rodley]

So, a better bet is to sign two more Tom Cannon's for £20 million? We've tried the overpaying for British players approach, which put us in this mess in the first place. We narrowly avoided financial collapse thanks to Hecky taking us up. The approach again in January was to do the same and then do the same again in summer.

Best case scenario? We go up and then overspend again and then come down and then have to go up straight away but don't so sell players and then have to go up the next year. It's a ticking timebomb

It's very hard to get out of this league. We've been fortunate to do it twice recently. Spending money guarantees nothing.

And our best signings have been Ndiaye, Berge, Souza, Burrows, Anel, Cooper and the Academy.

Will this new approach work? Who knows, but I know the other approach won't and no one is going to fund the other approach now anyway.

Spending money on lower risk players who have a bit more experience at a better standard doesn’t automatically mean you will only sign Tom Cannons, that’s a nonsense. However it might mean you sign another Cooper or Burrows.

The reality is we probably have to do both together to get anywhere as a club.

 

[Rodley]

I like signings like this, but if we're gunning for promotion a blended approach will be needed.

We can't rely on a load of young foreign players all acclimatising quickly enough to maintain the level we'll need.

Intrigued to see where we go next.
I think we need:

Backup GK (A Davies not good enough)
Starting RB (Seriki fitness can't be relied on)
CB (we need to move Anel on)
CM (Arblaster / T Davies fitness can't be relied on given circumstances)
2 x wide players
1 x CF (Campbell fitness can't be relied upon, Moore probably not suited to the style).

I don't know lots about Selles ball, so maybe some of the assumptions are out.

Good post, I’d agree with all of that.

 

[Nick Jansky]

Spending money on lower risk players who have a bit more experience at a better standard doesn’t automatically mean you will only sign Tom Cannons, that’s a nonsense. However it might mean you sign another Cooper or Burrows.

The reality is we probably have to do both together to get anywhere as a club.

It might also mean signing another Shackleton. Less of a risk but still risky and with less potential upside. There aren’t really any hidden gems left in the EFL. As others have said, we need a mixture of both.