Transfer Kitty

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Coutts is not dross




You'll see

Just how long is it going to take, because he has been, for want of a better phrase, fucking toss so far. I struggle to see how a pre-season, or getting "match fit" will miraculously gift him the ability to weight a pass correctly, direct the ball somewhere in the vicinity of a player stood just ten yards away or carry the ball forwards rather than turning on the spot and only managing an inaccurate sideways or backwards pass. He might be able to jog a bit quicker after more training, but his distribution is embarrassing and is likely to remain so. We lose all momentum when the ball gets to him because he stops dead and won't carry it forwards. He sometimes tries a decent pass, because he has some vision, but he lacks the ability to execute his intentions.

Thus, on the evidence I have seen so far, and not relying on what he might have been once, or blind hope, he is dross. Not might be, he is. I'm sorry if this shatters any illusions that we have found someone even remotely up to replacing Kevin McDonald, let alone anyone better. Hopefully Adkins will see to it that we get a competent midfielder in in his place. One who can pass whilst running. In fact, one who can pass would be an improvement. Or, heaven forbid, James Wallace might be fit to play a few games. Now he does look like a capable, accomplished footballer.
 
Freeman - incredibly harsh.

Coutts - you'll see. He has a class with his feet that no one but Baxter has. Stick them two in the middle and we would walk this league (if indeed Baxter got fit).

We've tried Baxter in the middle and he either;
a) is anonymous
b) gets sent off
c) gets shoved off the ball and doesn't get a foul for it or
d) plays for 10 minutes of the 90

I think he's a really talented player, but utterly useless in league 1 and the league displays last year tend to bear that out, I believe.

Coutts however, I agree with you ..... I think that with somebody like Wallace ( fit of course ) next to him, would boss this division and the one above.
UTB & FTP
 
Just how long is it going to take, because he has been, for want of a better phrase, fucking toss so far. I struggle to see how a pre-season, or getting "match fit" will miraculously gift him the ability to weight a pass correctly, direct the ball somewhere in the vicinity of a player stood just ten yards away or carry the ball forwards rather than turning on the spot and only managing an inaccurate sideways or backwards pass. He might be able to jog a bit quicker after more training, but his distribution is embarrassing and is likely to remain so. We lose all momentum when the ball gets to him because he stops dead and won't carry it forwards. He sometimes tries a decent pass, because he has some vision, but he lacks the ability to execute his intentions.

Thus, on the evidence I have seen so far, and not relying on what he might have been once, or blind hope, he is dross. Not might be, he is. I'm sorry if this shatters any illusions that we have found someone even remotely up to replacing Kevin McDonald, let alone anyone better. Hopefully Adkins will see to it that we get a competent midfielder in in his place. One who can pass whilst running. In fact, one who can pass would be an improvement. Or, heaven forbid, James Wallace might be fit to play a few games. Now he does look like a capable, accomplished footballer.

Very inconsistent. But Foulkes Jr Sr raves about him.

Ran the game at Barnsley showing over 90' what he can do.

His play for the second at Swindon also showed in a cameo what he is capable of. And he was involved in 3 of the goals from memory.

Very highly rated by fans at previous clubs, and as Doyle might have said he's by far the best player in training.

It may well be all that's missing is fitness. If it is then we've got a top quality player.
 
Fact is the ambition of the Board has attracted the manager and his team. Adkins had been out of work for 6 months but has a good enough reputation to hold out for a Championship job in due course. He's chosen to come to us.

Personally I don't think the squad is that bad, it just lacks key players mainly throughout the "spine" and it also lacks physical strength and height. 5 signings should do it and let's use the loan system to import some quality and establish relationships with Prem clubs and their players they will inevitably not want in due course!
Excellent post.
The force is strong in this one.
 
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I would imagine the management team will arrange some earlier behind closed doors stuff to assess quicker and ensure we go in to pre-season with signings made ready to settle in. I imagine this will be supplemented with watching videos from last season/thorough training sessions.

However I do believe he will have players in mind for the positions that, as you rightly said, are obvious and these will be players he is confident will fit the way he wants to play.

He will almost certainly use pre season to add the final touches to the squad but I fully expect signings to be made way in advance of this.

This will have already been discussed at length when talking about the 'type' of player he would target. Whether he gets a number 1 or 2 target remains to be seen as does if he under/overwhelmed by what've sees when he arrives which at change his thinking.



Maybe the players will assemble in July?
 
Very inconsistent. But Foulkes Jr Sr raves about him.

Ran the game at Barnsley showing over 90' what he can do.

His play for the second at Swindon also showed in a cameo what he is capable of. And he was involved in 3 of the goals from memory.

Very highly rated by fans at previous clubs, and as Doyle might have said he's by far the best player in training.

It may well be all that's missing is fitness. If it is then we've got a top quality player.


That comment by Doyle speaks volumes, so the best is yet to come.
 
We can argue all day about players who did/didn't do well last season, or will/won't do well this season. The fact is is that NA I presume will start with a clean sheet so this season's team might be a totally different set up even tho the squad will be basically the same (save for a couple of new recruits) because who's to say NA won't see in a player something that NC didn't? Personally I don't think he'll Need anywhere near £3m to get this squad purring along like a pristine condition old Rolls Royce.
 
Interesting read this thread.

One thing is for sure there will be some good players avaiable out there that would give their high teeth to come and play under this new setup, manager, pitch, stadium, fans and promotion. And for those already here they must be desperate to stay and 'our Nige' has made it clear already 99% is not good enough. It's going to be an interesting pre season, friendly campaign and transfer window but all point to one thing, this is our season
 
Just how long is it going to take, because he has been, for want of a better phrase, fucking toss so far. I struggle to see how a pre-season, or getting "match fit" will miraculously gift him the ability to weight a pass correctly, direct the ball somewhere in the vicinity of a player stood just ten yards away or carry the ball forwards rather than turning on the spot and only managing an inaccurate sideways or backwards pass. He might be able to jog a bit quicker after more training, but his distribution is embarrassing and is likely to remain so. We lose all momentum when the ball gets to him because he stops dead and won't carry it forwards. He sometimes tries a decent pass, because he has some vision, but he lacks the ability to execute his intentions.

Thus, on the evidence I have seen so far, and not relying on what he might have been once, or blind hope, he is dross. Not might be, he is. I'm sorry if this shatters any illusions that we have found someone even remotely up to replacing Kevin McDonald, let alone anyone better. Hopefully Adkins will see to it that we get a competent midfielder in in his place. One who can pass whilst running. In fact, one who can pass would be an improvement. Or, heaven forbid, James Wallace might be fit to play a few games. Now he does look like a capable, accomplished footballer.
You're entitled to your opinion sir
 
I always think the line about taking time to see the current squad is generally horseshit that you spin to keep everyone on their toes.
All games are recorded in this day and age and I'm sure they will have spent excessive hours over the past few weeks viewing them. I'm wiling to bet they already have an excellent idea is who is going and who they're looking to bring in.
 
I always think the line about taking time to see the current squad is generally horseshit that you spin to keep everyone on their toes.
All games are recorded in this day and age and I'm sure they will have spent excessive hours over the past few weeks viewing them. I'm wiling to bet they already have an excellent idea is who is going and who they're looking to bring in.

Agree to an extent, but the videos don't tell you things about attitude & mentality that can only be gleaned by actually being with the players on a daily basis for a period of time.
 
Agree to an extent, but the videos don't tell you things about attitude & mentality that can only be gleaned by actually being with the players on a daily basis for a period of time.
Or talking to those who've been at the club. Opinions will already have been formed and they'll know where they need strengthening.
 



Reading between the lines this coming season we are going to struggle with limitations of the SCMP.
Last season we had robust season ticket and the cup runs revenues which lifted our financial headroom. Someone decided to twist in getting in loads of players in the vain hope of getting promotion. Once that bet was lost , we were in unsustainable territory in terms of the over inflated squad size, inconsistent individual performances, long term crocks and the resultant enormous amounts of wasted wages.
I really think NA is on a hiding to nothing thanks to the hideous mess he has inherited.

It is looking like he need to ship a lot of players out without really knowing or seeing them, to create some wiggle room to get the much needed replacements in? Or try make do and mend.
It is against this backdrop that he might need to try and bring in 5 to 8 players to foster anything like an automatic promotion run.

I don't envy him at all, especially with the ridiculous heights of expectations from some of our fans.
Best of luck Nigel, you are really going to need it.
 
Reading between the lines this coming season we are going to struggle with limitations of the SCMP.
Last season we had robust season ticket and the cup runs revenues which lifted our financial headroom. Someone decided to twist in getting in loads of players in the vain hope of getting promotion. Once that bet was lost , we were in unsustainable territory in terms of the over inflated squad size, inconsistent individual performances, long term crocks and the resultant enormous amounts of wasted wages.
I really think NA is on a hiding to nothing thanks to the hideous mess he has inherited.

It is looking like he need to ship a lot of players out without really knowing or seeing them, to create some wiggle room to get the much needed replacements in? Or try make do and mend.
It is against this backdrop that he might need to try and bring in 5 to 8 players to foster anything like an automatic promotion run.

I don't envy him at all, especially with the ridiculous heights of expectations from some of our fans.
Best of luck Nigel, you are really going to need it.
Now noe Davie Blade, you know some on here will never acknowledge the utter cluster fuck NN made of the job.
 
Now noe Davie Blade, you know some on here will never acknowledge the utter cluster fuck NN made of the job.

He would have faced the same challenges, albeit of his own making.

When you've bet next seasons income and then also borrowed from the bank of board to bet black; and it turns up red, you don't have many options left.

See the anger management lessons are working, you'll have to join me metal :)
 
Reading between the lines this coming season we are going to struggle with limitations of the SCMP.
Last season we had robust season ticket and the cup runs revenues which lifted our financial headroom. Someone decided to twist in getting in loads of players in the vain hope of getting promotion. Once that bet was lost , we were in unsustainable territory in terms of the over inflated squad size, inconsistent individual performances, long term crocks and the resultant enormous amounts of wasted wages.
I really think NA is on a hiding to nothing thanks to the hideous mess he has inherited.

It is looking like he need to ship a lot of players out without really knowing or seeing them, to create some wiggle room to get the much needed replacements in? Or try make do and mend.
It is against this backdrop that he might need to try and bring in 5 to 8 players to foster anything like an automatic promotion run.

I don't envy him at all, especially with the ridiculous heights of expectations from some of our fans.
Best of luck Nigel, you are really going to need it.
Yeah... Clearly we're skint and that's why we just hired our second most expensive manager in 126 years of Sheffield United
 
Yeah... Clearly we're skint and that's why we just hired our second most expensive manager in 126 years of Sheffield United

Good point but within the SMCP that'll be even less to spend on wages, given we've also got to pay off NC and 6 hangers-on. Also no Harry money.


We are really into the single benefactor model, big time, as we were when NC arrived.
For now, it isn't sustainable method of operating without promotion.
I read this from Brendan Guilfoyle a high profile Insolvency Practitioner and leading football finance expert.
Guilfoyle has previously been the administrator of a number of football clubs, including Crystal Palace, Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town, and he believes it is dangerous to rely on one major shareholder.

He said: "The majority of clubs - and the Championship is a particularly difficult place to operate - are run on what is known as the benefactor model so they are funded by a benefactor, be it a company or an individual.

"The benefactor model is OK if the person has got very deep pockets.

"But if someone comes in with a limited amount of money it does get eaten up very quickly.

"The best model I saw (as an administrator) was at Crystal Palace where I met two potential owners who were both worth about £130million, and they found another two, but this is a club in London where there is a lot of wealth.

"The four of them own the club and that to me makes sense because if one wants out the other three can hopefully shoulder the losses together until they find someone else to come in and fill that spot.

"I like that consortium model rather than a benefactor because it seems to me more sustainable. If the circumstances of your benefactor change - he runs out of money, he becomes ill, he gets divorced - then that undermines the viability of the club."

Scary stuff!
Easy to be complacent, and ignore where our money comes from!
 
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I don't think this squad is anywhere near capable of promotion at present, in fact it is absolutely light years away. I don't think 'a couple' of new signings will make up the 20 point gap that separated us and the top two last season. Very concerning to think that some are just presuming we're going to sail to victory with our feet up just because we have Adkins, Adkins isn't on the pitch, the players are & if the players don't perform, you lose.

If we are to have any chance of auto's, for me NA needs to remove all the dross that NC provided us with that still remains in this squad, and there's plenty of it. JCR, McGahey, Higdon, McEveley, Alcock, Coutts all need to go for me and all the youngsters ought to be loaned out for experience to free up some room for at least 5/6 new signings otherwise we shall have a 35-man squad on our hands similar to last season, that gets beaten by 20 points to a squad that has little over 20 men on its books.

Daily rant over for me.:)
 
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Good point but within the SMCP that'll be even less to spend on wages, given we've also got to pay off NC and 6 hangers-on. Also no Harry money.



We are really into the single benefactor model, big time, as we were when NC arrived.
For now, it isn't sustainable method of operating without promotion.
I read this from Brendan Guilfoyle a high profile Insolvency Practitioner and leading football finance expert.
Guilfoyle has previously been the administrator of a number of football clubs, including Crystal Palace, Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town, and he believes it is dangerous to rely on one major shareholder.

He said: "The majority of clubs - and the Championship is a particularly difficult place to operate - are run on what is known as the benefactor model so they are funded by a benefactor, be it a company or an individual.

"The benefactor model is OK if the person has got very deep pockets.

"But if someone comes in with a limited amount of money it does get eaten up very quickly.

"The best model I saw (as an administrator) was at Crystal Palace where I met two potential owners who were both worth about £130million, and they found another two, but this is a club in London where there is a lot of wealth.

"The four of them own the club and that to me makes sense because if one wants out the other three can hopefully shoulder the losses together until they find someone else to come in and fill that spot.

"I like that consortium model rather than a benefactor because it seems to me more sustainable. If the circumstances of your benefactor change - he runs out of money, he becomes ill, he gets divorced - then that undermines the viability of the club."

Scary stuff!
Easy to be complacent, and ignore where our money comes from!
Are you being deliberately obtuse?
 
There are plenty of clubs with numerous wealthy benefactors and consortiums who are in the shit mainly because of that plan ,think Qpr and Doncaster off the top of my head.
 
Personally I don't think the squad is that bad, it just lacks key players mainly throughout the "spine" and it also lacks physical strength and height. 5 signings should do it and let's use the loan system to import some quality and establish relationships with Prem clubs and their players they will inevitably not want in due course!

Just the five, then? :D I'd agree with the gist of that, but it's something any team in our division could say.
 
I don't envy him at all, especially with the ridiculous heights of expectations from some of our fans.
Best of luck Nigel, you are really going to need it.

Again we - the fans - are to blame for the latest debacle at BDTBL? Look, we all know that Clough bought average or below players like a drunken sailor on shore leave. This was to mask his obvious deficiencies as a manager - deficiencies that the board should have noted before employing the fool.

Once again, half a season (at least) will be wasted while the new bloke repairs the damage done by the previous incumbent.

This is not due to the 'expectations from some of our fans', our 'impatience' etc. but due to the fact that our board can't see a (historically) crap manager when one presents himself for interview. The law of averages - the one that keeps most football managers in a job - surely suggests that this time we've got a manager fit to grace our club and fans.
 
No.
If you've a more substantive point to make it.
OK

In the first part of your post you refer to the constraints of SCMP and then quote my link that explains how the owners of a club are allowed under SCMP to invest in the club.
So the real constraints governing our finances are not SCMP but what the Prince and KM are prepared to put into the club.

I'm not really sure what the quote from the adminstrator is about other than if the Prince stops putting money in and KM doesn't honour our financial commitments we're in trouble. But the point of the Prince's involvement is to provide investment, that's why KM sold him half the club for a quid.

You seem to be saying we have to cut back but I don't see any reason why we need to, or why Adkins would join us if that was the case.
 



Wonder if the injection of cash for the new pitch counts towards 'benefactor cash injection?' Circa £1m by all reports.

Is the turnover based on the past 12 months income? If so that would include last seasons cup money.
 

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