Wilder - 'January can't come soon enough'

[3Cheers4Ramirez]

Anthony Patterson
Mark Travers

Hamza Choudhury
Nathaniel Clyne
Sam Byram
Connor Roberts
Adam Smith
Ki Jana Hoever
Matt Doherty
Matthew Pollock

Harry Souttar
Jamaal Lascelles
Joe Worrall
Willy Boly

Lewis Cook
Dan Neil
Tim Iroegbunam
Harrison Reed
Ilia Gruev
Josh Laurent
James Ward Prowse
Sam Morsy
Sam Field
Imran Louza

Omari Hutchinson
Josh Murphy
Largie Ramazani
Amario Cozier-Duberry
Davis Keillor-Dunn
Giorgi Chakvetadze

Evan Ferguson
Ashley Barnes
Yousef Salech

A list there to work through where most of them should be available/attainable and our inept scouts wont have to do too much work as all domestic based (Morsy aside).

Optimistic list. I think on average we're going to have to look at players a lot crapper than that

 

[SouthportBlade]

We can't just "shift out" loan players that are here on a season long loan unless there is a break clause in the agreement that gives us specific powers to do so.

Never ceases to puzzle me people think that we can just send loans back if we don't like them, and that's all there is to it.

We can sign as many loan players as we want, but how many can be in a match day squad is limited so signing more will raise the question "how many can we afford to pay knowing full well they'll never kick a first team ball?"

Granted I don’t know the details of the arrangements, and obviously that isn’t all there is to it.

I made an assumption that there are break clauses in contracts, which is something of a norm. Protects player if he isn’t playing, protects parent club if they get injuries etc. Or we can probably pay some sort of break clause to send them back.

We saw an example of this with Shea Charles recently.

I’ll wager, at least, Barry and Bindon are not here at the end of January. I also believe Bettis’s latest interview referred to loans in January, and there’s no chance we sign load more without some exiting.

 

[Thrice]

Won't be as easy getting good players in January when all we're playing for is not to get relegated. Usually the good players will have better options.

 

[skegblade]

Wilders history in the transfer / loan market is rather underwhelming

 

[Kevincarterversion2.0]

I’m sure January will make all the difference when we are cut adrift and our owners not wanting to spend because they want out. Wilder knows this. He’s just defecting any criticism from himself.

 

[54yrblade]

I’m sure January will make all the difference when we are cut adrift and our owners not wanting to spend because they want out. Wilder knows this. He’s just defecting any criticism from himself.

It's what he does
Sadly

 

[SLB]

Need to sign as many experienced match ready championship players as possible

We do but it'll probably be players who've played about 12 games in three years with more injuries than Evil Kineaval.

 

[Snowflake]

A lot getting there knickers in a twist about this. The statement clearly is correct.

Our squad is bloated, full of shite and imbalanced. Unfortunately we likely need significant changes in January, and it may well ‘save the season’, as a few more points could be the difference between 21st and 22nd come May next year

I’m sure the players he wants to shift out already know they are on the way out (Barry, Bindon, Godfrey etc) regardless of a comment in the interview. Hardly throwing them under a bus.

I agree. It is quite possible that he has spoken individually to the players he wants to keep so that they remain motivated.
I think just 2/3 PL loans of quality and fitness are all that is needed to save us.

 

[Snowflake]

Won't be as easy getting good players in January when all we're playing for is not to get relegated. Usually the good players will have better options.

…not if they are just outside a PL squad and want to advertise themselves for transfer in the Summer.

 

[Ray]

Sounds like he's engineering his exit already to me. He can use the excuse that I didn't get the players I wanted in January so its not my fault then start saying it in interviews after the games and they will sack him again and he gets millions again. I'd let him have final say on signings in JAN then he has no excuses. I can see why they wouldnt let have final say though as his transfers havent been great when he has money to spend. Maybe a modest budget and let him sign players would be better as he has signed some gems for little cash but struggles when he has a decent budget.

 

[SandyMcBlade]

And of course this sort of stuff is helping a lot.

 

[Slug]

Optimistic list. I think on average we're going to have to look at players a lot crapper than that

Probably. I tried not to list any too unrealistic ones either.
We will no doubt just end up with Sam Byram and Ashley Barnes from the list.

 

[TJ blade]

I agree. It is quite possible that he has spoken individually to the players he wants to keep so that they remain motivated.
I think just 2/3 PL loans of quality and fitness are all that is needed to save us.

That & a miracle..

 

[Snowflake]

That & a miracle..

Do we sell fish and loaves at the ground ?

 

[Barry Butlin]

Is there anybody on this forum that thinks we’d now have less points if Wilder hadn’t been sacked after the play off defeat?

 

[Frank the tank]

With the way we do business surely he should be saying ' February can't come quick enough '

 

[Pedro Verde]

TBF to Wilder Ive said the same thing as Im sure have many others, A chance to refresh the squad hopefully get rid of those players that are not good enough and replace them with some quality especially at the top end of the pitch. We cant do much else apart from hopefully getting Arblaster and Hamer back ASAP

 

[Valleyblade]

Wilder said this again after the match and it is a view that is being echoed by many Unitedites on this forum and on social media. This viewpoint conveys a confidence we just need to get to the January transfer window, then everything will be rosey again. There are a number of obvious issues with this narrative:

In saying 'January can't come soon enough' Wilder is effectively saying to the current squad that he has very little faith in them. If he honestly has so little faith in them, fair enough, but the reality is he has to continue working with this current group for at least another 10-16 games. These sorts of statements are unlikely to do much to lift the morale and confidence of a beleaguered group of players.

Secondly, the January window is a notoriously difficult one to do business in. Quite a significant overhaul of the squad is required (and being hinted at) but is it realistic that we can expect to do anywhere near this about of business in terms of the number of outgoings and incomings? We can assume the January transfer budget will be relatively modest, so it's hard to see how that can cover the sort of overhaul that is being alluded to/is required.

Another elephant in the room is the fact that, unless there are some major changes behind the scenes in between now and January, the same recruitment department that oversaw the disastrous summer transfer window and the signing of Cannon in January will be orchestrating January's recruitment drive. This doesn't instil or inspire much confidence.

In all likelihood by the time 1st January comes around we will still be mired in a relegation battle. You would assume this will make it even harder to attract the calibre of players needed to get us out of this mess.

Assuming Wilder gets his wish and there are a good deal of comings and goings in January, how long is it going to take him to get his new team/squad to 'gel'? Once 1st February comes around we'll only have 16 games left to save our season.

In summary, despite what Wilder and some of the fans say and think, it's highly unlikely January will be a golden bullet. In reality, it's not a case of 'January not coming soon enough', but the end of the season not coming soon enough.

I read your post whilst "watching" the adam curtis documentary, Shifty.

We've no hope of understanding the complexity of the situation we've found ourselves in.

We have to conceed to our American money men overlords and hope for the best

We need support this weekend. They're on their arse.

 

[ATL Recs]

The narrative from some around Wilder genuinely baffles me. Seems like people just don't like him and don't want him here but I'd rather they say that rather than not accepting that he is ultimately a very good championship manager and has overachieved in every season he's been here bar COVID.

Nobody looks at this squad and thinks it's good enough so why complain when Wilder states the obvious?

Order of events:

• Wilder returns
• Lots of contracts expire leaving a threadbare squad
• Wilder builds a young top 3 championship squad with minimal investment while owners are looking to sell
• Wilder and new owners have disagreements on transfer strategy for the following season
• Wilder leaves
• New owners implement their transfer strategy which is shown to be woefully inadequate
• New owners panic and get some experienced heads in at the end of the window which means the squad is a bloated mess and those players are generally unfit which is why they're available
• New owners go back to Wilder to fix the mess they've made
• Wilder makes us more competitive in every game but realises there's major holes in the squad and we're on the losing end in tight games

Now we're hoping that we can be solid, pick up some points and then do good business in Jan.
But as the OP said the winter window is more limited. As with last year it will likely be a case of looking at out of favour players rather than number one targets

You missed out Wilders incredible out of this world January 25 window
What legends are made of

 

[Stanthemanfan]

This began in our first PL visit, after the away loss at Leicester, when he threw the players under the bus. Our implosion, his leaving (whatever the truths behind that), the team stinking the PL out, the then owners 'we're not football people' (well, no sh*t Sherlock!) standing back, the apparent lack of long term planning, dancing with Wilder repeatedly, long term fitness issues that haven't been addressed (why? How long, exactly, do we give that to fester while we wait for the next aspirational JTW!) and how much wasted money from our PL visits are all nothing to do with Selles and nothing new.

I hate what we've become as a club and what we've shown ourselves to be in recent years. The discussion around Wilder is just a recurring symptom of a much bigger problem. That we cannot manage sustainability and success, or even get anywhere near some clubs of our size and smaller in making the best of the rare opportunities that come along, to be able to make a difference and change our long term underachievement.

We are serial underachievers, and too many appear happy with that.

Sadly, until we find the right people to run the club, someone grips it properly and they pay close attention to what's gone on since 2016, both the good and the bad, nothing changes. That period is an excellent evidence base to work from. What went well, what went wrong, why and who was involved? Like many successful organisations would do. Cold decision making, based on facts, timelines and nothing to do with who everyone is comfortable with or feels sorry for.

We can't just focus on the highs when the lows now so outnumber them, and somewhere in there are the answers to how we've got where we are now

We're a twice recent PL club from THE home of football.
The real concern for me is, why no one with any real financial credibility or football business acumen want to take it on. That would be worth knowing the background to.

That being said, UTB and I'll be there on Saturday, while we tick down to the end of January, when I'm sure this will all turn out alright.

Won't it ......?

Bang on the money mate

 

[ancientblade]

i understand his comments but for me hes trying to deflect our problems on to the players which in one way is fair enough as weve too many new players not good enough for the championship but hes also got to take some of the blame by playing players out of position playing his favourites week in week out and poor tactics

 

[Zeblades34]

Bring back the overlapping CB's and fucking get at em

 

[Striker]

Wilders history in the Baldock, Duffy, Henderson, Egan, Souttar,

i understand his comments but for me hes trying to deflect our problems on to the players which in one way is fair enough as weve too many new players not good enough for the championship but hes also got to take some of the blame by playing players out of position playing his favourites week in week out and poor tactics

Who are "his favorites" and who would you play in their place?

I think you'll find he's not over burdened with credible options to replace "his favorites"

 

[Bell4]

If my boss said that I'd be tossing it off until January.

They already were and mostly still are

 

[TJ blade]

TBF to Wilder Ive said the same thing as Im sure have many others, A chance to refresh the squad hopefully get rid of those players that are not good enough and replace them with some quality especially at the top end of the pitch. We cant do much else apart from hopefully getting Arblaster and Hamer back ASAP

Just have to hope he doesn't sign another Cannon

 

[GrunkyPeep]

They already were and mostly still are

Definitely in our "diet starts in the new year" era.

 

[Pollingtonblade]

Honestly anyone who thinks Big Ben will strike midnight on 31st December and we will have bids in is in cloud cuckoo land, we have for years in January fucked about- take last year Wilder blatantly lied when he said after WBA"we have players lined up ready" and we didnt.

It was "hard" to get players in then going for promotion what kind of players will want to join a team going down?

 

[Sean Thornton]

Just have to hope he doesn't sign another Cannon

The last ones blown up in his face.

 

[Youngand70]

Thank you

We are just playing at it. The evidence is all laid out in front of us, IF we want to see it.

Too true but the evidence has been there for a long time. During Abdullah's tenure there was no plan, strategy, management structure or communication to take the club forward. Yet the usual excuse from him was I haven't got the funds. He always had the funds for his "vanity" project United World though. I believe he managed to con the Yanks into thinking we were a well run, "Premier League" ready club which of course was helped by us being in a top 3 position when they took over. The bottom line is it's the same shit just different owners.

 

[skegblade]

Bring back the overlapping CB's and fucking get at em

21 milluion on brewster ?