Dusic

https://targetscouting.com/2025/01/31/damion-downs-1-fc-koln-scout-report/#:~:text=Downs stands at an impressive,constant physical presence in duels. https://www.bundesliga.com/en/2bundesliga/news/damion-downs-who-is-cologne-s-american-youth-international-forward-23960 Definitely seems to have some decent attributes - one to monitor, especially with a seemingly affordable fee.

He wouldn't have taken the job without being comfortable with the composition of his staff. Having someone with extensive experience of the EFL and prior managerial experience too is a nice balance. Zero benefit for Saints to be forcing anyone on him so I'm sure he is fully behind it and any future appointments. Also interesting in that he was working with Rob Edwards at Luton until he was sacked and Edwards is being heavily linked with Middlesbrough and Bristol City.

And Smallbone? Guy scored the the 2nd most important goal of the season and assisted the most important. Sure he might struggle at PL level but he was good in the Championship. If you would base a judgement of Spors on Smallbone starting a football match in the Championship then I think thats more than a little OTT.

The point is to have a bigger pool of players who are able to generate value/profit. If Juan turns into a player who can be sold for £5m its £5m extra on the books, which in the PSR world is massive. If Matsuki ends up playing for us next season its saved on paying a fee for someone. If neither happens we have barely lost a penny as they were cheap to acquire. We see these days mid table sides buying young talents for £20m+ and loaning them out to develop. The idea is to find these players for less, sign them earlier and have somewhere to put them whilst their value increases or they meet WP criteria. At this stage there has only really been one year of the model - since Goztepe got promoted. Once Valenciennes make it back to Ligue 2 it will give another useful option - it all takes time to realise a benefit. Nowadays its is so hard to make profits on academy players because the ones good enough to make a PL career tend to be poached before they make a debut (Gomes, Miles, Alleyne etc) and instead the poachers like City and Chelsea are the ones that profit. This is our way of trying to compete. Whether it works or not who knows, but its too early to judge after basically one season of it in operation. @S-Clarke its good Goztepe did well as means they stay playing at a decent level which clearly benefits the above. The fact we got relegated has zero to do with anything related to Goztepe.

No different than...getting promoted again?

Whats he been like when you have seen him, can you see why clubs might be keen or is he just poor allround? Must admit I have never heard of him but it seems Monaco paid €20m for him as a teenager (probably funded by Carrilo...) so he must have something?

I'm sure @dazstevnson1953 is right across the multi million pound dealings in the world of football. Of course he is.

Dont see us having 4 CBs under 22!

Big Jhon has a while to think about this.

On Armstrong. Certainly wouldn't be getting rid to anyone in our league and not sure who else could afford fee and wages who might actually want him?

Aribo is a quality player at our level so not someone I would mind staying but equally can see why he may want to move on. Certainly wouldn't be getting rid for nothing or extremely low value though - he has good availability and seems like a good character too. The whole benefit we have as a relegated side is in theory some players who are better than the level, or at least top end quality at the level and I think Aribo is probably one of those. We will need to keep some of our better players.

Nice show of faith from Charlton in a manager who selflessly dropped two divisions to bring them back towards where they belong. From the Rhonda Valley to the Addicks Valley - good things happen to good believers.

@Fabrice29

If they finish 4th in the Championship this season there will be a major inquest!

If there is a financial upside then that will help the team be competitive. We can find players both for now and for development via Goztepe, it doesn't need to be a choice between one or the other and the two are probably being led by different components of the team Spors has compiled. Done well its a no brainer as a way for a smaller team to increase potential funds its can generate. We have been awful at selling players for a while now.

If we sign Juan on a free, loan him to Goztepe, he develops and then we sell him in future for say €3m then is that not a benefit? It relies on good recruitment of unheralded players but fairly clear to see how it can be of use. If Valenciennes can get back to Ligue 2 that would further help. As Nolan points out we have only really been able to 'use' Goztepe this year since they got promoted. I see it as something that is extremely low risk and potentially has a high upside but is reliant on good recruitment, much like success of our first team. Really don't see why it irks people, the cost of the likes of Juan, Matsuki etc is miniscule in the scheme of things. All it takes is one success story and it pays back.

Significant amount of Championship coaching experience, primarily as assistant to Chris Hughton at Birmingham, Norwich and Brighton and Rob Edwards at Luton. Briefly manager of Cardiff and had a long spell in charge of Bristol Rovers after retiring as a player.

Good move for him but doubt Rangers could afford too many of our players, fees or wages.

If Sunderland get over £30m for Jobe Bellingham then Dibling is easily worth £50m.

I think the key point is that success in U21 football doesn't necessarily prove much/anything when considering which players are capable of making the step up to first team level. What you are looking for is players who can play the same way in a first team setup as they can in their age group. I would imagine first team training is a strong indicator of this and then for example with Dlibling it was clear in his first minutes that he had the swagger, confidence and physical ability that he showed in the academy setup. For Ballard it is harder - he is obviously a good finisher but that isnt enough. Its different playing against 30yo big, physical, experienced CBs than it is playing against an 18yo who is probably being asked to take risks on the ball to develop his in possession game, knowing if he makes a mistake and his team loses there is little consequence. His loan spells havent shown much to suggest he deserves a squad place in the Championship but he clearly has something so wouldn't be writing him off just yet.

League positions without context are such a bad way of judging a manager. As proven also by the Will Still thread.

Not really because not everything they post has come from a social media post. They always state the source so not sure why there is an issue with it and usually the initial source is easy to find. Their whole point - which is clear - is to aggregate Saints news so fans who follow them don't have to follow Swedish newspapers or every French football journalist. If you don't want it then don't follow but IMO they do a good job of it.

Yeah but lets hope we give him Will Smallbone - who scored in both league wins vs Leeds and the crucial goal in the playoff semi final and assisted our Wembley winnner in the final. Would be great if he took him with him too because he wasn't very good in the PL and missed half of it injured which means even though he was good in the Championship before and we are now there again we should get shot of him because lego head.

Pretty sure RM didnt have a great time at Rangers, so not sure its the obvious move some suggest. Leicester far more likely IMO.