Saint Fan CaM

Tick tock. Reckon there needs to be more outgoings before we see further players in. Risky strategy although with over a week to go, not critical. Yet. Get the feeling there’s a high probability that we’ll be left (again) with no decent striker when Che goes at the 11th hour on a last minute £15m bid from a desperate Everton. 🫣

To answer your question, yes we have started mixing up our passes more which let’s be honest is a big positive, although the offset to this is more tendency to pass out from the back, which sometimes provides a high pressing team with an opportunity to overrun our position and score (usually against the run of play).

I think it’s been plain to see we’ve been susceptible to being caught in possession. Did you not watch the 4-4 game and there are other examples?! Having said that, there may well be signs that it’s being put right and Downes may well be at least part of the answer to improving this part of our game.

No. That is all that needs to be said.

Not sure why a season in the Championship, albeit a good one, would make Tella think he’s proven himself a Prem Player? Far from it in fact if he were to look at the experiences of Che and Arma…hardly one-off examples. There’s no guarantees that the system he’s playing at Saints is going to bring him the same success, although the signs are looking good admittedly. He’s young enough to put in a good shift at his parent club this year….prove he’s consistently too good for the Championship and get to the promised land with Saints.

Of course there would be caveats that mean he would need to demonstrate performance levels higher than current starters. I suspect Bednarek’s international status places him high in the pecking order of a pretty mundane group of CB’s, despite the fact that a younger incumbent might actually be better.

Yep fair point, but if Swansea accept our offer and we approach the player we’ll have to tell him what playing time he might expect…will he be a starter or a bench player? As both Bednarek and Stephens must be considered senior players, you would think he would be told he’ll have a support role, but will that be enough to lure him? Unless of course JB wants out.

Yes that’s what I meant. The problem of course, as mentioned above, is that skills videos don’t show the howlers made once a game like the ones we’ve been used to from Bednarek and Stephens. I’ve always believed that a given CB pairing is stronger than the individuals alone if that makes sense. Bednarek and Stephens have had a chance to mould a good partnership, but I like many others have yet to be convinced by them when 3 of 4 goals can be shipped so easily in one game. I wonder if Martin would include Bednarek in the group of players who thought themselves better than they were, but currently he has very few options to chose from?

Looks like a baller - right on for RM’s system. At 6’ 2” he’s got some height and going on the video he’s not scared to jump either. Reckon he could be a good foil for Stephens, but would he play second fiddle to Bednarek as I can’t see Bednarek sitting on the bench in the Championship….he’ll be off which means we’ll not be any stronger overall at CB. Hope we get this guy…at £10m it looks like good business.

Read the article…Che features prominently.

Think the latest is that £15m has changed SFC’s mind and he’s off. Personally I’ve previously been one of those critical of Che but that’s when we were in the Prem under clueless Managers. He has shown over the last 3 matches that the Championship is the level where he can shine and for that reason his value to us off-sets his 1 year contract. That leaves a dilemma - is he a Championship striker at circa £15m value or a fledgling Prem striker at say £25m+? Probably somewhere in between, so to my mind we’ll have our pants pulled down if we sell him to Everton (who are desperate) for £15m up front or less. We should be setting his value at £20m…take it or leave it.

Mmm, if Che goes that’s going to mean less goal threat and we need to keep the momentum going…big plus when it comes to repairing the losing mentality of the last 3 seasons. If Tella goes then overall quality is diminished further - Edozie is not really ready to step into his shoes, although SAA could become the man if he gets the starts. A new striker ready to hit the ground running (sic) is going to be so important. Get Downes in for a start (unlikely) and the chances of a win go up. Overall not hugely confident the side is settled enough to produce consistent wins and losing our main goal threats is key. Think it’s 0-1 or 1-1 at best.

#tumbleweed

It really depends on who you bring in to replace him doesn’t it? Pointless selling a player who is still under a contract with more than a year left and then not improving the 1st team as a result. For me the ‘ideal World’ transfer policy is to first bring in a player who improves the position concerned and only then sell a player on, preferably a player from the same position to ensure the squad does not become bloated. The incoming player could of course come from the B team or Academy, but the key thing is that this player becomes the first choice starter rather than the current incumbent. We are currently a long way from this ideal, hence the re-boot.

Something stinks about this move. 🤢💩🤣

Should be starting ahead of Edozie as he’s a better player in that role, both in terms of attack and tracking back.

Get. It. Done.

Thank the fuck we’ve not sold Tella or Che yet. If we do and it goes tits up, then Wilcox and Co deserve all the shit that’ll come their way.

Get in Che! Will be an absolute travesty if he’s sold now.

It’s ok Joe Aribo is on for AA… we’re saved!!!

Give it to JWP…oh.

Edozie is just not good enough - unbalances the team.

Mmm, no Alcarez…sold on Monday?

Agreed. I guess the only thing to add is that we’ve also added Charles and SAA into the first team choices - both seemingly as promising as Tino and Lavia. However, this league needs experienced, hardened players too - ones that are committed to the project, particularly in the backbone of the side. And clinical finishers.

In review at the end of last season there was a need to completely revamp the squad - a bloated squad of mediocre players not suited to the Prem and by inference also not suited to mount a serious challenge for the Championship title in the following season. To bring in new players we had to sell a number of players and this might mean selling the ‘better’ players…i.e. the ones that occupied first team slots in the Prem. So where are we with two weeks of window left? We’ve got a completely new coaching team. We’ve sold or released a good number of first team players, bringing in an unprecedented amount of money. We’ve brought back loanees in Tella and Stephens - both of whom were thought not to be good enough by previous Managers, but did better in other teams. We’ve signed for free a LB in Manning who immediately gets a start because he’s RM’s ears and eyes in the dressing room. RM has indicated that we’ll be getting Downes as a loan, but that’s yet to materialise and he’s delaying with a sick note story. Is this a good window so far? Well part of the objective of ridding the club of underperforming players has worked, but the problem is we’re still left with players that contributed to the last 2-3 shit seasons…e.g. Bednarek, Bree, ABK, Perraud, Armstrong, Djenepo, Lyanco etc etc. And we’re still left with the players that we’re not deemed good enough to even feature as first team starters…e.g. Tall Paul, Mara etc. We’re still at a point where there’s talk of our more effective players (KWP, Che, Alcarez and even Tella) being sold. Have we really moved on with plans to get quality replacements? Emphatically NO not yet, however there’s still time to get business done. Based on previous windows I think there’s every reason for fans to feel nervous and to a certain extent let down by the club…after all relegation has an aftermath which we’re now experiencing. Cannot underestimate the importance of the next two weeks for the club, especially in terms of keeping supporters onside and maintaining 29k through the turnstiles.