January Transfer Window

[Snowflake Royal]

Obligatory never should have let him go post.

[Hound]

Can’t remember- was he ooc or did we let him move to them whilst still under contract?

Probably make a big difference to whether we have a sell on or not

[sandman]

Can't keep them all obviously but interesting to see so many that moved on during the Stam era who have gone on to "better" themselves.

[WestYorksRoyal]

It does feel like a missing class of academy graduates. We had an intake of Pearce, HRK, Karacan etc. At the moment we have Rino, Olise, Richards, McIntyre etc.

But the generation of Cooper, Stacey, Fosu etc. got lost. I think it reflects the general chaos and lack of planning at the club from 2013 - 2018 or so. Obita an exception.

In terms of this year, I feel comfortable with the decisions on Barrett and Howe. We seem to give the best youngsters a proper chance at the moment.

[Hound]

It does feel like a missing class of academy graduates. We had an intake of Pearce, HRK, Karacan etc. At the moment we have Rino, Olise, Richards, McIntyre etc.

But the generation of Cooper, Stacey, Fosu etc. got lost. I think it reflects the general chaos and lack of planning at the club from 2013 - 2018 or so. Obita an exception.

In terms of this year, I feel comfortable with the decisions on Barrett and Howe. We seem to give the best youngsters a proper chance at the moment.

I do remember a fair bit of noise at the time when we let Fosu and co go. Its interesting looking back and still a little strange that we did, considering we had such a meagre budget at the start of Stam's reign - and we went for quite a few cheap punts rather than go with those lads.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Certainly you need to have a look at what you're doing if you spending money on the likes of Pelle Clement instead of giving your own talented youngsters a chance.

[From Despair To Where?]

There's been a massive improvement in the quality and focus of our recruitment over the past 3 windows with only Virginia being a complete failure and we rectified that pretty quickly. Boye's been poor and Joao and Puscas have been inconsistent but everyone else has come in and pretty much matched or exceeded expectations.

It's too early to judge Araruna and Timbe but there's an obvious purpose to both signings.

And yet on top of that, leaving Obita aside as he's been in the first team for 7 years, we've still got Richards, Rinomhota, McIntyre and now Olise as regulars in the first team squad.

[Hound]

I do genuinely feel now that if there is an outstanding youngster, they will get a chance. Loader and Olise have both had decent exposure at 18/19, whilst Rino, McIntyre and Richards are very much first team squad now. Also that solid decisions are being made on players like Nolan, Howe and Frost where they are moved on rather than just left hanging around until their contract runs out.

Guessing Nevers and Dorsett might be the next two lined up

[From Despair To Where?]

Which is exactly how it should work. There should he a clear pathway for the best academy players to progress to the first team squad if they're good enough.

[WestYorksRoyal]

The performances of Richards and Olise between now and the end of the season will probably have a direct impact upon our transfer plans. If Olise does well, I can see Swift playing deeper in the Adam / Baker role next season. If he's not quite ready for such a big role, we'll dip into the market. Similarly if Richards is consistently for the remainder of the season, do we need a new LB?

[Hendo]

The performances of Richards and Olise between now and the end of the season will probably have a direct impact upon our transfer plans. If Olise does well, I can see Swift playing deeper in the Adam / Baker role next season. If he's not quite ready for such a big role, we'll dip into the market. Similarly if Richards is consistently for the remainder of the season, do we need a new LB?

If Blackett and Obita both go then I would say yes, wouldn't want to go into the season with just one left back.

[WestYorksRoyal]

The performances of Richards and Olise between now and the end of the season will probably have a direct impact upon our transfer plans. If Olise does well, I can see Swift playing deeper in the Adam / Baker role next season. If he's not quite ready for such a big role, we'll dip into the market. Similarly if Richards is consistently for the remainder of the season, do we need a new LB?

If Blackett and Obita both go then I would say yes, wouldn't want to go into the season with just one left back.

Even then, the question arises whether we'd be looking for cover/competition or a 1st choice starter, which would presumably change how much we're willing to pay in transfer fees and wages.

[Hendo]

The performances of Richards and Olise between now and the end of the season will probably have a direct impact upon our transfer plans. If Olise does well, I can see Swift playing deeper in the Adam / Baker role next season. If he's not quite ready for such a big role, we'll dip into the market. Similarly if Richards is consistently for the remainder of the season, do we need a new LB?

If Blackett and Obita both go then I would say yes, wouldn't want to go into the season with just one left back.

Even then, the question arises whether we'd be looking for cover/competition or a 1st choice starter, which would presumably change how much we're willing to pay in transfer fees and wages.

With Richards being the age he is, I think we would be looking to get a starting challenger, maybe a bit of an older one. This would help push Richards to up his game to make sure he had the starting berth but might also give hime someone good to learn the trade. Ideally, you'd be looking at an Ian Harte type player.

[Sutekh]

I do genuinely feel now that if there is an outstanding youngster, they will get a chance. Loader and Olise have both had decent exposure at 18/19, whilst Rino, McIntyre and Richards are very much first team squad now. Also that solid decisions are being made on players like Nolan, Howe and Frost where they are moved on rather than just left hanging around until their contract runs out.

Guessing Nevers and Dorsett might be the next two lined up

Watson, Osho and Holsgrove are probably the next ones - when are their current deals up ?

[Hound]

I do genuinely feel now that if there is an outstanding youngster, they will get a chance. Loader and Olise have both had decent exposure at 18/19, whilst Rino, McIntyre and Richards are very much first team squad now. Also that solid decisions are being made on players like Nolan, Howe and Frost where they are moved on rather than just left hanging around until their contract runs out.

Guessing Nevers and Dorsett might be the next two lined up

Watson, Osho and Holsgrove are probably the next ones - when are their current deals up ?

Think Watson and Osho have been put in the not quite good enough bracket. Osho will go end of season, and Watson quite possibly likewise

Holsgrove is an interesting one. Could well see him involved next year - if not I expect a Div1 club will pick him up

[Snowflake Royal]

Which is exactly how it should work. There should he a clear pathway for the best academy players to progress to the first team squad if they're good enough.

Yeah, I'd like us to go a bit further and use the not top tier but still promising players where they fit a gap we have.

A number of times we've brought in clear mediocrity on a punt rather than choose a solid academy player, though it is of course improving.

Still would have liked to see a bit more from Barrett and Howe, and hoping to see a goodly amount of Olise and McIntyre as the season rounds out.

Stam really screwed the pooch short term and long term with the likes of Dickie, Stacey, Cooper, Kelly etc. Still expecting to see Hyam forge a decent career and hopefully Tanner can get back into it. Never convinced by Fosu but certainly had acres of potential.

[SCIAG]

Think Osho probably is “good enough” but he has to compete with McIntyre. If a League One club are prepared to take a gamble on him then he could make it back to this level. My understanding is that he has quite an attractive standing job offer from outside of football that he might take up instead if he can’t get first team minutes.

Watson, maybe similarly could have made it if circumstances were different, but I don’t think he’s “next in line” at all. He’s the oldest of the “young players” left at the club and he’s even older than Ejaria.

Holsgrove is absolutely mint but it looks like Olise has leapfrogged him. Played 20 matches in the equivalent of League One this season so we should probably be considering him but it’s hard to see how he fits in.

Reckon Southwood is the next off the rank.

[From Despair To Where?]

I wonder if Watson yes missed the boat with us. His injury really set him back and I struggle to see him making the breakthrough here. At his age he really needs to be playing.

[Hound]

Which is exactly how it should work. There should he a clear pathway for the best academy players to progress to the first team squad if they're good enough.

Yeah, I'd like us to go a bit further and use the not top tier but still promising players where they fit a gap we have.

A number of times we've brought in clear mediocrity on a punt rather than choose a solid academy player, though it is of course improving.

Still would have liked to see a bit more from Barrett and Howe, and hoping to see a goodly amount of Olise and McIntyre as the season rounds out.

Stam really screwed the pooch short term and long term with the likes of Dickie, Stacey, Cooper, Kelly etc. Still expecting to see Hyam forge a decent career and hopefully Tanner can get back into it. Never convinced by Fosu but certainly had acres of potential.

I do feel Stam did a fair bit of damage to the club medium term - saddling is with expensive rubbish like Aluko whilst shipping out U23s who he clearly misjudged the potential of

Odd that someone who on the surface did such a good job originally has in retrospect proven to be a bit of a disaster- esp financially

[Snowflake Royal]

Which is exactly how it should work. There should he a clear pathway for the best academy players to progress to the first team squad if they're good enough.

Yeah, I'd like us to go a bit further and use the not top tier but still promising players where they fit a gap we have.

A number of times we've brought in clear mediocrity on a punt rather than choose a solid academy player, though it is of course improving.

Still would have liked to see a bit more from Barrett and Howe, and hoping to see a goodly amount of Olise and McIntyre as the season rounds out.

Stam really screwed the pooch short term and long term with the likes of Dickie, Stacey, Cooper, Kelly etc. Still expecting to see Hyam forge a decent career and hopefully Tanner can get back into it. Never convinced by Fosu but certainly had acres of potential.

I do feel Stam did a fair bit of damage to the club medium term - saddling is with expensive rubbish like Aluko whilst shipping out U23s who he clearly misjudged the potential of

Odd that someone who on the surface did such a good job originally has in retrospect proven to be a bit of a disaster- esp financially

I think it's often that these recent ex-pros just have no grasp of the financial state of football and are so used to such ridiculously inflated wages and fees as players.

They simply can't understand the idea of working to a budget and a club being financially viable. Plus everything is so short term there's no benefit to them developing anyone. Just punt on a ready made player by reputation.

And they just aren't adaptable or experienced. A lot of these guys don't really earn their spurs as coaches for long and start at clubs too high up the pyramid, as if being a big name player makes you a good coach / manager.