Summer Transfer Window 2025/26

[pimpin4rizeal]

6 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

Is it not pretty obvious why goalkeepers and strikers are a bit different in that regard?

Well we have signed shit loads of players who barely get a game look at last season the likes of bbd, Taylor etc .. so does it really matter if we take the gamble of getting a goalkeeper in early .. also it’s not like whoever we sign is gonna also be on ramsdale type wages 

Main point I’m making is it would be nice if we could a johannson or someone secured rather then scratching about in the last couple of days in the windows or ending up relying on bazunu  when it’s super likely ramsdale won’t be here 

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Well we have signed shit loads of players who barely get a game look at last season the likes of bbd, Taylor etc .. so does it really matter if we take the gamble of getting a goalkeeper in early .. also it’s not like whoever we sign is gonna also be on ramsdale type wages 

Main point I’m making is it would be nice if we could a johannson or someone secured rather then scratching about in the last couple of days in the windows or ending up relying on bazunu  when it’s super likely ramsdale won’t be here 

What happens if Ramsdale does not leave and you've already signed a replacement?

Edited Friday at 21:47 by Matthew Le God

[SouSaint]

Isnt Ramsdale rumoured to have a release clause? Imagine if someone activates it on deadline day. 🫣

[Matthew Le God]

2 minutes ago, SouSaint said:

Isnt Ramsdale rumoured to have a release clause? Imagine if someone activates it on deadline day. 🫣

Such clauses often come with conditions as to the latest in the window they can be activated in order to avoid being left  without time to get a replacement. 

[revolution saint]

58 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Such clauses often come with conditions as to the latest in the window they can be activated in order to avoid being left  without time to get a replacement. 

Do you know if Ramsdales does?

[Kenilworthy59]

8 hours ago, SouSaint said:

Isnt Ramsdale rumoured to have a release clause? Imagine if someone activates it on deadline day. 🫣

It would be even worse if someone triggered it

[Charlie Wayman]

Pretty depressing prospect. We'll struggle with this lot, Still or no Still.

 

[Reply to Willo of Whiteley] 12 hrs ago

Edited Saturday at 07:28 by Charlie Wayman

[Kenilworthy59]

27 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Pretty depressing prospect. We'll struggle with this lot, Still or no Still.

 

[Reply to Willo of Whiteley] 12 hrs ago

Bristol City made the play-offs last season. Even though we might think we are poor, our players are still better than what is a really low standard

[Willo of Whiteley]

As a squad, it is a strong Championship squad, you can’t deny that.

My concern at the moment is a competent and clinical striker, we don’t know enough about Downs to work out whether he’s been brought in as a striker or a prospect. Maybe out wide too, Ryan Fraser was excellent a couple of years ago, I doubt he’s the same player, we need a bit of pace out wide.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the likes of JWP, Tella and Lavia were all in the squad for the first game or two of the Championship two seasons ago. 

[Chez]

6 minutes ago, Kenilworthy59 said:

Bristol City made the play-offs last season. Even though we might think we are poor, our players are still better than what is a really low standard

no matter the quality of players in the squad, they need to become a functional hard working unit again that is tight at the back, dominant in midfield and creates and takes chances. Like or loathe Martin, he handled considerable unrest and turnover of player and then turned a bunch of losers into a side that won a lot of games. The side had a pattern of play that by and large worked. Hopefully Still can do that, he's got his work cut out if you ask me, but let's see.

[Chez]

15 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Ryan Fraser was excellent a couple of years ago, I doubt he’s the same player, we need a bit of pace out wide.

 

he played 39 games but only started 13. He was a very good impact sub.  The late goal at Millwall sticks in my mind. He's only 31, so no reason why he can't be just as sharp, but having not played last season, his motivation will have taken a hit. Still could turn that around...that's his job after all. 

[Farmer Saint]

2 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Pretty depressing prospect. We'll struggle with this lot, Still or no Still.

 

[Reply to Willo of Whiteley] 12 hrs ago

We're no worse now (in fact I would say we're far better) than the team we had under Martin, and he managed to get us promoted.

[Farmer Saint]

1 hour ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

As a squad, it is a strong Championship squad, you can’t deny that.

My concern at the moment is a competent and clinical striker, we don’t know enough about Downs to work out whether he’s been brought in as a striker or a prospect. Maybe out wide too, Ryan Fraser was excellent a couple of years ago, I doubt he’s the same player, we need a bit of pace out wide.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the likes of JWP, Tella and Lavia were all in the squad for the first game or two of the Championship two seasons ago. 

I think Archer is the embodiment of a clinical striker ie. a great finisher.

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

My concern at the moment is a competent and clinical striker, we don’t know enough about Downs to work out whether he’s been brought in as a striker or a prospect. 

Archer has a very good record of 18 goals in only 40 Championship games.

Stewart was prolific in a small sample of Championship games with 10 goals in only 13 games.

Brereton Diaz has had a 22 goal Championship season.

Armstrong had a 24 goal Championship season in his last full one.

Downs was top scorer for the best team in 2.Bundesliga last season, he isn't merely for the future. 

[lambtiss]

12 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Archer has a very good record of 18 goals in only 40 Championship games.

Stewart was prolific in a small sample of Championship games with 10 goals in only 13 games.

Brereton Diaz has had a 22 goal Championship season.

Armstrong had a 24 goal Championship season in his last full one.

Downs was top scorer for the best team in 2.Bundesliga last season, he isn't merely for the future. 

All true but that doesn’t matter if you aren’t creating chances 

[Dusic]

2 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

As a squad, it is a strong Championship squad, you can’t deny that.

My concern at the moment is a competent and clinical striker, we don’t know enough about Downs to work out whether he’s been brought in as a striker or a prospect. Maybe out wide too, Ryan Fraser was excellent a couple of years ago, I doubt he’s the same player, we need a bit of pace out wide.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the likes of JWP, Tella and Lavia were all in the squad for the first game or two of the Championship two seasons ago. 

Striker isnt the issue. Creativity is.

[Teamsaint1]

1 hour ago, Farmer Saint said:

We're no worse now (in fact I would say we're far better) than the team we had under Martin, and he managed to get us promoted.

 Che Adams would improve this side immediately, and significantly. 
we looked disjointed and badly lacking in confidence up front today. 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

The loan market for us is going to be absolutely crucial. 

[hypochondriac]

23 minutes ago, Teamsaint1 said:

 Che Adams would improve this side immediately, and significantly. 
we looked disjointed and badly lacking in confidence up front today. 

Isn't that what Downs is for? 

[Teamsaint1]

27 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Isn't that what Downs is for? 

Yes, but the difference is that Downs is less of a known quantity at this stage. Hopefully Downs will be great , and better than Adams. but either way, Adams would significantly improve the attack right now. 

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, Teamsaint1 said:

Yes, but the difference is that Downs is less of a known quantity at this stage. Hopefully Downs will be great , and better than Adams. but either way, Adams would significantly improve the attack right now. 

If Downs is already better than Adams, then Adams doesn't improve starting XI.

[sockeye]

Based on that showing today the midfield needs serious work. Middlesbrough’s Azaz - worth looking into?

[Matthew Le God]

3 minutes ago, sockeye said:

Based on that showing today the midfield needs serious work. Middlesbrough’s Azaz - worth looking into?

A midfield of Downes, Charles and Fernandes is superb for the Championship. Aribo and Smallbone as backup is fine in the second tier, not the Premier League. 

Edited Saturday at 11:55 by Matthew Le God

[sockeye]

1 minute ago, Matthew Le God said:

A midfield of Downes, Charles and Fernandes is superb for the Championship. 

I more meant in an attacking sense.

[Matthew Le God]

Just now, sockeye said:

I more meant in an attacking sense.

So not the midfield then?

Lots of very good attacking players at Championship level in our squad.

[SWLondon Saint]

5 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

So not the midfield then?

Lots of very good attacking players at Championship level in our squad.

Not on today's showing. AA, BBD, Fraser all looked totally toothless. Archer offered nothing as the focal point either. We looked a lot better when Robinson came on and Downs had no service but scored a good goal with what felt like his only touch!

[Matthew Le God]

7 minutes ago, SWLondon Saint said:

Not on today's showing. AA, BBD, Fraser all looked totally toothless. Archer offered nothing as the focal point either. We looked a lot better when Robinson came on and Downs had no service but scored a good goal with what felt like his only touch!

Don't judge them on a pre-season friendly, then. Look at how they've done when they've had full Championship seasons.

Edited Saturday at 12:11 by Matthew Le God

[ErwinK1961]

3 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Don't judge them on a pre-season friendly, then. Look at how they've done when they've had full Championship seasons.

I think it’s better to start judging them on the here and now, playing for the manager who is here now and the way he wants to play now. 

Archer scoring 18 in 40 several years ago has no relevance to whether he suits Still’s tactics. BBD’s one good season several years ago has no bearing on his confidence and belief now. Armstrong scoring as many as he did two years ago has no relevance to his desire to be here and want to play for the club now.

It seems clear Still wants to attack from the wings and get balls into the box. This relies on having players who have pace, can beat a man and deliver a final box into the box. BBD, AA, Archer are not those players. Fraser maybe, but he was better as an impact sub two years ago, so god knows what he’ll be like now. Edozie is all fart and no shit and has been his whole career.

Saying “we’ve got a great squad on paper” means nothing if they don’t fit into what we’re trying to do.

[CSA96]

 

[Badger]

26 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

So not the midfield then?

Lots of very good attacking players at Championship level in our squad.

Remind us all again how many goals Archer scored in 40 games in case anyone has missed it. BBD too.

Unfortunately very few people seem to share your optimism.

[CSA96]

Couple of interesting quotes from Will Still on the club website post-Espanyol on the note of transfers...

"My reflections are that it showed exactly where we still need to improve. It shows why we still need to strengthen, as well.
...
"We know he's got quality [Damion Downs], that's why he's here. We want to surround him with a bit more quality and a bit more personality. I think that's what showed today."

Edited Saturday at 12:56 by CSA96

[CSA96]

Will Still post-Espanyol to the Daily Echo:

There are players that need to go, there are players that want to go, there are players that need to come in, and players that need to come in quickly. But the good thing is that everyone's aligned on that, everyone knows that that's the case, and I think that's just shown today.

I think when I got here, we spoke in the early days of when I was here, that the squad is going to change. It's too big and there are too many players and there are certain players that want to and probably need to move on, and that's fine.

But I think now with two weeks to go, we've seen everyone, we've established who is who and who's going where and who's doing what.

Now we need to make a decision and make a cut of who's going to be here and who's not going to be here, and keep pushing towards that.

Not just because it's needed and because that's what is best for every individual, but for us as a collective as well.

Edited Saturday at 12:56 by CSA96

[trousers]

30 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

"We know he's got quality [Damion Downs], that's why he's here. We want to surround him with a bit more quality and a bit more personality"

That's the word that stands out to me from all of Still's post-match comments. Good to see that he's seemingly recognised the mental weakness and lack of character of a lot of our squad in highlighting the lack of "personality" out on the field. (And, you obviously want both in a player... Good technically AND a good attitude)

Edited Saturday at 13:08 by trousers

[Matthew Le God]

Everton were linked with Tyler Dibling in The Times...

https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/james-trafford-manchester-city-burnley-transfer-news-jktnch69h

Now they appear to be going for a different attacking midfielder wonderkid... 

 

Edited Saturday at 13:11 by Matthew Le God

[Matthew Le God]

Another potential club for Ramsdale might be ruled out soon...

 

 

[Farmer Saint]

3 hours ago, Teamsaint1 said:

 Che Adams would improve this side immediately, and significantly. 
we looked disjointed and badly lacking in confidence up front today. 

Who'd have thought, with all the shit that we gave him when he was here, that the answer to any question about us being a better team would be Che fucking Adams.

[saintant]

2 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

A midfield of Downes, Charles and Fernandes is superb for the Championship. Aribo and Smallbone as backup is fine in the second tier, not the Premier League. 

None of those are creative or able to dribble forward to open up space I'm afraid. We need an Eyal Berkovic type who can unlock defences and cause some panic ( and I get we can't afford anyone of his level which is why I said 'type'). Fernandes is a very good young player but I don't see him as being creative enough.

[Farmer Saint]

8 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Another potential club for Ramsdale might be ruled out soon...

 

 

As I've been told, unless one of these teams is utterly desperate, no PL team is interested in Ramsdale. PL clubs do not seem to rate him. I think he will have to go abroad on loan, which means we'll have to pony up a lot of his wages as well. Not an ideal situation.

[Farmer Saint]

Just now, saintant said:

None of those are creative or able to dribble forward to open up space I'm afraid. We need an Eyal Berkovic type who can unlock defences and cause some panic ( and I get we can't afford anyone of his level which is why I said 'type'). Fernandes is a very good young player but I don't see him as being creative enough.

Dibling can.

[Matthew Le God]

9 minutes ago, saintant said:

None of those are creative or able to dribble forward to open up space I'm afraid. We need an Eyal Berkovic type who can unlock defences and cause some panic ( and I get we can't afford anyone of his level which is why I said 'type'). Fernandes is a very good young player but I don't see him as being creative enough.

Fernandes absolutely can and does do that. So can the others (bar Smallbone) to a lesser extent. We also have Dibling who could do so from the number 10 role.

Edited Saturday at 14:59 by Matthew Le God

[saintant]

4 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Dibling can.

Can he do it consistently though? He strikes me as a young kid who still has much to learn. In patches he looks unplayable but we need to see it more regularly and maybe he's not ready yet. I hope he stays and has a stand-out season but will those two things happen?

[saintant]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

Fernandes absolutely can and does do that. So can the others to a lesser extent. We also have Dibling who could do so from the number 10 role.

We are just not a creative side at the moment and that's why I still think we need to bring in at least one more midfielder who can knit everything together and unlock defences - often one player can make a massive difference to a side and I think the right one could transform us.

[Matthew Le God]

Just now, saintant said:

We are just not a creative side at the moment and that's why I still think we need to bring in at least one more midfielder who can knit everything together and unlock defences - often one player can make a massive difference to a side and I think the right one could transform us.

When you say midfielder, what role are you talking about? Because if Fernandes ends up staying, then in a 4231 we are sorted for starting central players with Downes and Charles in the two, and Fernandes in front. Even if Fernandes leaves and if Dibling stays, he would be a creative option in the 10 role. Plus none of use really know if Matsuki is a viable option this season or not.

[saintant]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

When you say midfielder, what role are you talking about? Because if Fernandes ends up staying, then in a 4231 we are sorted for starting central players with Downes and Charles in the two, and Fernandes in front. Even if Fernandes leaves and if Dibling stays, he would be a creative option in the 10 role. Plus none of use really know if Matsuki is a viable option this season or not.

It's not for me to pick the side, the formation or to decide who fits where but lack of creativity has been a major issue for a while now and needs to be resolved.

[Matthew Le God]

54 minutes ago, saintant said:

It's not for me to pick the side, the formation or to decide who fits where but lack of creativity has been a major issue for a while now and needs to be resolved.

We had a lack of creativity in the 2024/25 Premier League... because most of the players were not good enough at that level. 

In 2023/24 in the Championship we did not lack creativity... we scored 87 goals! We are playing at that level again and still have lots of those players. Plus some other new players who will excel at that level.

Edited Saturday at 16:04 by Matthew Le God

[Yorkshire Saint]

3 hours ago, CSA96 said:

 

I have been trying to find the interview in BBC sounds but no luck at all..

[Gloucester Saint]

1 hour ago, Farmer Saint said:

As I've been told, unless one of these teams is utterly desperate, no PL team is interested in Ramsdale. PL clubs do not seem to rate him. I think he will have to go abroad on loan, which means we'll have to pony up a lot of his wages as well. Not an ideal situation.

Unless he throws his toys, no point whatsoever in loaning him overseas especially paying half of the wages. The club has messed up massively in the last three years and some remedial work is going to cost money. Better to offload Bednarek and Aribo on nominals if they’re worried about PSR…and they shouldn’t be as Rasmus’s January 2023 binge has passed.

[Gloucester Saint]

24 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

We had a lack of creativity in the 2024/25 Premier League... because most of the players were not good enough at that level. 

In 2023/24 in the Championship we did not lack creativity... we scored 87 goals! We are playing at that level again and still have lots of those players. Plus some others currently who will excel at that level.

I get the logic but judging by Will Still’s post-match comments he doesn’t agree and wants to freshen up those areas plus moving on far more of the squad bloat.

I would think that means the likes of Bednarek and ABK might be going on much lower fees than Spors would like - better than them training with the u21s and paying them some of bigger wages.

[Patches O Houlihan]

56 minutes ago, saintant said:

It's not for me to pick the side, the formation or to decide who fits where but lack of creativity has been a major issue for a while now and needs to be resolved.

 

25 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

We had a lack of creativity in the 2024/25 Premier League... because most of the players were not good enough at that level. 

In 2023/24 in the Championship we did not lack creativity... we scored 87 goals! We are playing at that level again and still have lots of those players. Plus some others currently will excel at that level.

What we need is a new Stu Armstrong at his peak

In world class sides usually the number 10 is their 'best' / 'most creative' player. 

The reason so many of us are suggesting Fernandes plays there is because he is our best player. He can do everything pretty well. He is not super creative but he is more consistent than Dibling, more experienced than Robinson and more creative than everyone else (in that he can see a pass, and picks up great positions with good body shapes)

[trousers]

30 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

We had a lack of creativity in the 2024/25 Premier League... because most of the players were not good enough at that level. 

In 2023/24 in the Championship we did not lack creativity... we scored 87 goals! We are playing at that level again and still have lots of those players. Plus some other new players who will excel at that level.

There's more to playing football than being at a certain "level"... Players need to be mentally strong as well as being technically good. I'm not convinced we have a squad full of players whose mind is in the right place. 

Edited Saturday at 16:12 by trousers