CSA96

Transfer update from Alfie House on the Echo site just now: - Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb looking at a move for Gavin Bazunu - Damion Downs has two clubs in MLS who want him, most likely he moves to the USA - Yuki Sugawara wanted by Werder Bremen and two other Bundesliga clubs - No active interest or offers for Harwood-Bellis since the rejected Benfica bid, but club expects further interest - Central midfielder is top priority for Spors and Eckert but nothing is imminent - Unlikely that they make another expensive attacking signing but they are open to using the loan market

Red Star's club record transfer was approx. £4.7m a couple of years ago

They signed him in January for £11m from Salzburg, so I suspect this would be a loan with an obligation on promotion or a straight loan if they just intend to protect his value and not commit strongly either way on him yet

Sky Italia seem pretty adamant there's still life in this story. 6ft4in Serbian striker who did well for Red Bull Salzburg but hasn't really got a look in at Lazio

Blimey

I assumed it was a sort of hint at Harrison Armstrong, who is somebody I've thought we might take a run at this summer. Did really well at this level last time out and Moyes called him back to play for Everton in the second half of the season

I remember back when they used to disclose it, there used to be a graphic that came out alongside the pricing graphics to show the rates and who was categorised as what. Sort of thing the FAB should be raising with the club really as there's no need for there to be a lack of transparency on the categories

Do they actually disclose anywhere which teams/games fall into each of the categories? Tried looking the other day but couldn't find it...

Yeah true, I think at the time I was saying how maddening it was that we were attempting another season just flip-flopping between Bazunu and McCarthy and people felt that would be just fine. A new GK should've been a priority last summer. That said, we tried for Peretz then and he went to Hamburg, only to end up with us in January, so it kind of worked out... The striker position was a bit more of a muddled mess. We actually did spend a decent fee for the level (£7m) we just unfortunately spent it on Damion Downs. Then Still kept playing Armstrong as a lone striker, stumbled onto a solution with Stewart as the lone striker and overplayed him to the point he was back in the treatment room

Totally agree with you. Still wish there was a way to get the federations to unify around an early cut-off for transfers, but with all the calendars sitting slightly differently, it won't happen. Either that or find a way of capping the ins/outs once the games start

To be fair there were some similar grumbles about the recruitment not really being addressed in some key areas around the same time last year, then Fernandes moved right near the end of August and we signed Jander, Azaz and Fellows all in the same day - with Scienza following on deadline day - and it seemed to go away I presume it's going to be the same sort of thing with Spors where we will make some more decent signings that he has had on the back burner for a while, just towards the end of the month using the money from Charles (and maybe THB/Jander/Scienza, if one or more of them suddenly move on) Just annoying that the transfer window works in this way (especially when you're not at the top of the pecking order) and you then have to wait until after the September international break before your squad/team really starts to settle down and gel properly

Didn't realise O'Brien-Whitmarsh turns 22 years old this season!

Why's he not? His best position is Azaz's best position and he chipped in with a good amount of goals and assists from that position last season...

I think we're going to have to agree to disagree Stephens has runs of being fine and totally without issue, then he has a brainfart that gets punished and then goes back to being fine again. He's not amazing, he shouldn't be your best CB in a defensive partnership but he is perfectly capable for the job we need here of being an experienced defensive partner to THB (or whoever replaces him). As proven by the fact he's been part of a 20+ game unbeaten run in both his previous Championship seasons with us. Our defence looked pretty solid with the current back four and Peretz last season and I'd sooner let them sharpen up and settle back in than start the chopping and changing in game two because somebody made a couple of mistakes in the first 45 minutes of the season In an ideal world, yeah I would upgrade on him (and many others) but the suggestion that he's not good enough to start for a playoff side in the Championship is nonsense for me. This should be his last season as a regular and then next summer he becomes a squad player I would expect

Do you think Nathan Wood isn't going to make mistakes if he starts routinely? He absolutely will. The bloke's brain is on dial-up, you can see the hamster running on the wheel in his head every time he does an interview. Wood is a handy Championship player who has his uses at this level but I always feel like he needs to be matched to the specifics of an opponent. Ultimately, Stephens, Wood, whoever else are second division players doing second division things. If they didn't have those sort of brainfarts then they wouldn't be playing at this level Chucking people in and out of the team after one bad/good game is the sort of crap that Will Still was doing and was (partly) why he lost the plot behind the scenes. Watford was bad but it is also one game out of 46, we don't have backup CBs who are better than Stephens so he should continue for now. If he has a honking run to start the season then yes, give somebody else a go. Overreacting and throwing someone onto the bench because they had a bad 45 minutes in the first game of the season is not good man management and I'd hope Eckert is better than that. I'd be more concerned if he started chopping and changing and using the most players in the division like Still was

I'm just being realistic and pragmatic. If you want to lose the dressing room then a sure-fire way to do it is over-punishing popular members of the dressing room for a mistake in the very first game of the season when the team as a whole was rusty and not firing Football management isn't just FIFA or FM where you select the team and press play, it's managing the group dynamics of a dressing room 24/7 and getting into it quickly with the long-term club captain after a summer where you're lucky to still have your job and your players prepared to publicly back you is probably not the smartest idea

I don't think you need to start performatively punishing people - let alone the popular captain and leader in the dressing room that has got behind you when you could've been sacked - because of one bad performance. Stephens will start and he should start. If he has a bad run of form then yes, sit him out then

Yeah. They said he was at his best when he gets on the ball in central areas behind a focal point who can hold it up / lay it off

Peretz; Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Stephens, Manning; Downes, Jander (if we can get a half out of him); Fellows, Azaz, Scienza; Larin Dobbin for Azaz after an hour to get close to Larin as he tires to make the most of the fresh legs

Charles is back, Oyekunle isn't on loan and Mubama is nowhere to be seen Graphic designer obviously knocked that one together a week or two ago then

Could always be worse...

Signed on a 4yr deal for a fee of £20m, so his balance is £10m as of the start of this season. If we got offered £30m (which seemingly is the sort of number we're looking for) then it's +£20m in the accounts (although you'd have a cut going to MCFC)

Club shop?