Summer Transfer Window 2025/26

[Smirking_Saint]

1 hour ago, Toussaint said:

the premier league isn’t much fun anymore, but it is where you need to be to avoid becoming progressively weaker. You just can’t afford to get stuck in the championship for too long. 

Pretty much… basically the trend will be strengthening as much as you can in the prem years so you can bounce back in the relegation years and ‘hopefully’ rebound, then wait for a prem club implosion, this year could be Brentfords

Something does have to change though, there is basically now being created a huge divide in the Champ, despite everyone pissing their knickers, us, Leicester and Ipswich… even Sheff Utd are streets ahead of the chasing pack and it’ll be the same next year when Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland drop

Im realy not sure where football goes from here tbh… Liverpool able to spend effectively a promoted clubs allowable PSR budget on 1 player, and likely twice is laughable 

[Saint NL]

33 minutes ago, Oh no Mick Mills said:

 

Virtually every YouTube podcast predicting the Championship table this coming season have us finishing 2nd. 

 

We are the arsenal of the shit teams 😢

[benjii]

I found a bet at 9/2 on Saints, Ipswich and Leicester to finish top 6. Seems like a great price to me.

Edited 19 hours ago by benjii

[benjii]

Incidentally, Saints are second favorite to win the league, behind Ipswich.

[whelk]

4 minutes ago, benjii said:

I found a bit at 9/2 on Saints, Ipswich and Leicester to finish top 6. Seems like a great price to me.

Leicester would be the risk there if points deductions

[2Morrow]

McCarthy

Bree - Stephens (Edwards/THB) - Quarshie - Manning

Charles - Downes

Armstrong - Smallbone - Robinson

Archer

With Stewart, Downs, BBD as options off the bench

is stronger than 20 of the teams in the league already (so not Ipswich, Leicester, Birmingham, Sheffield Utd)

If we use the dibling and fernandes money for a new CAM (Solak said we would), cheap experienced keeper, (im hopeful of Mat Ryan), winger(s) (links to rak sakhi (rangers got Mikey moore) and the alaves guy) I am sure we will be challenging for the autos again. 

If the same scouts who spotted fernandes can replicate that once, or all their picks are at least decent (downs ,quashie) then I think we will have a very good year

New GK

Bree - Edwards- Quashie - Manning

Charles - Downes

New winger - New CAM - New Winger

Downs

Bench - Armstrong, Robinson,  Archer, Stewart, Smallbone

Edited 19 hours ago by 2Morrow

[Oh no Mick Mills]

4 minutes ago, coalman said:

Yes, but after 2 of the last 3 seasons it's easy to understand why we don't believe we can have nice things.

Exactly,  I feel the same way. 

The decision making by Sports Republic has been mainly disastrous since they took over and it's easy to believe they'll continue to keep getting things wrong. 

Personally I reckon we'll be in one of the playoff spots. 

We've still got the bulk of the previous Championship squad from last time round and during that season we looked a cut above most teams. 

Ipswich are the runaway class act in this division and Brum have the positive momentum to go back to back promotions in my opinion.  

I'll keep looking on here hoping to see we're going to make that couple of top class signings that could make all the difference.  

 

[benjii]

1 minute ago, whelk said:

Leicester would be the risk there if points deductions

Yeah, but you'd still fancy them to make 6th, right?

[east-stand-nic]

Not quite sure why everyone seems to think Ipswich are the class above. They have lost their two best players. I don't think they will be top 2 this time around. 

[AlexLaw76]

1 minute ago, east-stand-nic said:

Not quite sure why everyone seems to think Ipswich are the class above. They have lost their two best players. I don't think they will be top 2 this time around. 

They have a brilliant squad, despite those who have already left.

philogene, Clarke, szmodics, Hutchinson et al.

Edited 19 hours ago by AlexLaw76

[benjii]

 

Relax guys!

Let's break it down...

GK - yeah, this is a worry if we don't replace Rambo. Bazunu is crap and Macca is ancient.

Full backs - Bree, Suga, Welly, Manning (Taylor, Stephens). At Champ level that is strength and depth.

Centre back - Nigel, THB, Edwards, Stephens, Wood... again, that's strong at this level, no doubt.

Centre mid - Charles and Downes are two of the best at this level. Plus Billy Bone and Aribo. We could maybe do with another tackler for cover, but it's still strong.

Wings / attacking mid - we definitely need to strengthen. Looks like we're losing Edozie, Dibling and Fernandes. Noone wants to watch BBD or Archer on the wing and Fraser is a sub. Only really have Robinson and Armstrong. Need two signings. 

Striker - most Championship fans would think you're mental if you're complaining that Armstrong, Archer, BBD, Stewart and Downes isn't a strong set of options. We can lose BBD and Armstrong and we'll still be strong.

So, the way I see it, if we make good signings in GK and AM/wing, then we really should be around auto promotion. Loan a CM too.

Edited 19 hours ago by benjii

[coalman]

Just now, benjii said:

 

Relax guys!.

 

[AlexLaw76]

4 minutes ago, benjii said:

 

Relax guys!

Let's break it down...

GK - yeah, this is a worry if we don't replace Rambo. Bazunu is crap and Macca is ancient.

Full backs - Bree, Suga, Welly, Manning (Taylor, Stephens). At Champ level that is strength and depth.

Centre back - Nigel, THB, Edwards, Stephens, Wood... again, that's strong at this level, no doubt.

Centre mid - Charles and Downes are two of the best at this level. Plus Billy Bone and Aribo. We could maybe do with another tackler for cover, but it's still strong.

Wings / attacking mid - we definitely need to strengthen. Looks like we're losing Edozie, Dibling and Fernandes. Noone wants to watch BBD or Archer on the wing and Fraser is a sub. Only really have Robinson and Armstrong. Need two signings. 

Striker - most Championship fans would think you're mental if you're complaining that Armstrong, Archer, BBD, Stewart and Downes isn't a strong set of options. We can lose BBD and Armstrong and we'll still be strong.

So, the way I see it, if we make good signings in GK and AM/wing, then we really should be around auto promotion.

We sure have some firepower, just lacking a bit of magic in the middle 

[S-Clarke]

10 minutes ago, east-stand-nic said:

Not quite sure why everyone seems to think Ipswich are the class above. They have lost their two best players. I don't think they will be top 2 this time around. 

Jack Clarke, Philogene, Szmodics, Huntchison, Chaplin - kind of a who's who of top Champ attacking talent. They do lack a truly proven out and out striker though, unless hirst steps up this year.

Hackney, Matuiswsta (he's quality btw), and an impending re-sign of Cajuste. Best options in the league.

Davis, Johnson, Greaves, O'Shea - again, a who's who of top Champ defenders. 

They'll still add more as well I'm sure, maybe they'll lose some - but in the current guise, if they don't finish Top then something has gone drastically wrong.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Jack Clarke, Philogene, Szmodics, Huntchison, Chaplin - kind of a who's who of top Champ attacking talent. They do lack a truly proven out and out striker though, unless hirst steps up this year.

Hackney, Matuiswsta (he's quality btw), and an impending re-sign of Cajuste. Best options in the league.

Davis, Johnson, Greaves, O'Shea - again, a who's who of top Champ defenders. 

They'll still add more as well I'm sure, maybe they'll lose some - but in the current guise, if they don't finish Top then something has gone drastically wrong.

Not to mention the consistency of keeping a proven top manager. 

[egg]

6 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Jack Clarke, Philogene, Szmodics, Huntchison, Chaplin - kind of a who's who of top Champ attacking talent. They do lack a truly proven out and out striker though, unless hirst steps up this year.

Hackney, Matuiswsta (he's quality btw), and an impending re-sign of Cajuste. Best options in the league.

Davis, Johnson, Greaves, O'Shea - again, a who's who of top Champ defenders. 

They'll still add more as well I'm sure, maybe they'll lose some - but in the current guise, if they don't finish Top then something has gone drastically wrong.

Yep. They're the team to beat imo. Cracking squad. 

[Harry_SFC]

6 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Jack Clarke, Philogene, Szmodics, Huntchison, Chaplin - kind of a who's who of top Champ attacking talent. They do lack a truly proven out and out striker though, unless hirst steps up this year.

Hackney, Matuiswsta (he's quality btw), and an impending re-sign of Cajuste. Best options in the league.

Davis, Johnson, Greaves, O'Shea - again, a who's who of top Champ defenders. 

They'll still add more as well I'm sure, maybe they'll lose some - but in the current guise, if they don't finish Top then something has gone drastically wrong.

Yep I'd be shocked if they didn't win the league. As things stand they easily have the best squad. 

[Convict Colony]

57 minutes ago, benjii said:

I found a bet at 9/2 on Saints, Ipswich and Leicester to finish top 6. Seems like a great price to me.

I would say leicester could be the most likely to make you lose that bet.

[benjii]

6 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

I would say leicester could be the most likely to make you lose that bet.

Yes, definitely, but if they only get a 9-er, I could still see them making playoffs

[sockeye]

1 hour ago, Saint NL said:

We are the arsenal of the shit teams 😢

We are always the bridesmaid

[lambtiss]

30 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

We sure have some firepower, just lacking a bit of magic in the middle 

And on the wing

[SaintBobby]

Anyone else think we may as well start with Robinson on the left wing? Am a bit underwhelmed by our transfer activity with one week to go....but it always seems like this....

[Matty's Caddy]

35 minutes ago, SaintBobby said:

Anyone else think we may as well start with Robinson on the left wing? Am a bit underwhelmed by our transfer activity with one week to go....but it always seems like this....

All I’ve seen of Robinson was when he fed downs a lovely weighted pass from the right????? 

[SaintBobby]

3 minutes ago, Matty's Caddy said:

All I’ve seen of Robinson was when he fed downs a lovely weighted pass from the right????? 

He has generally played down the left in the friendlies, I believe.

[Farmer Saint]

40 minutes ago, SaintBobby said:

Anyone else think we may as well start with Robinson on the left wing? Am a bit underwhelmed by our transfer activity with one week to go....but it always seems like this....

I think everyone always seems to be underwhelmed because they don't understand that most business, especially at smaller clubs, happens towards the end of the transfer window. Fans still don't understand that these 2 dates don't correlate as fans want them to.

Edited 17 hours ago by Farmer Saint

[Dusic]

Derby have gone for Max Johnston, the RB at Sturm Graz that we have been linked with, not that we need a RB at the moment!

[SaintBobby]

39 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

I think everyone always seems to be underwhelmed because they don't understand that most business, especially at smaller clubs, happens towards the end of the transfer window. Fans still don't understand that these 2 dates don't correlate as fans want them to.

Basically agree - it's a domino effect. Still, even within those constraints we sometimes seem on the slowish side.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

18 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Derby have gone for Max Johnston, the RB at Sturm Graz that we have been linked with, not that we need a RB at the moment!

Not sure about that. Bree at right back is horrific. Offers very little going forward. 

[lambtiss]

37 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

I think everyone always seems to be underwhelmed because they don't understand that most business, especially at smaller clubs, happens towards the end of the transfer window. Fans still don't understand that these 2 dates don't correlate as fans want them

Fans are more knowledgeable than you make out.

The frustration is that in this window we are leaving it very late to fix some glaring deficiencies ( goalkeeper, winger, creative midfielder). 

If we just needed one player then most fans would be more relaxed.

The other frustration is that by bringing players in earlier they can be integrated before the season gets underway.

 

 

[OldNick]

2 hours ago, east-stand-nic said:

Not quite sure why everyone seems to think Ipswich are the class above. They have lost their two best players. I don't think they will be top 2 this time around. 

Yep, Delap was a major part of their goals it seemed to me. Htchinson is useful but one of those who seem more interested in themselves than the team. I watched him in the England euros and he really frustrated me

[OldNick]

16 hours ago, CB Fry said:

Yet another player given away for an absolute pittance. 

It wasnt what we got for him, it was what we did with the money after that !!!

[OldNick]

5 hours ago, Toussaint said:

the premier league isn’t much fun anymore, but it is where you need to be to avoid becoming progressively weaker. You just can’t afford to get stuck in the championship for too long. 

yep, but it seems we are so far behind in quality if we go up we would need 8-9 PL quality players to have any sort of chance. The frst season of SR has doomed us to be an also ran for generations. Had we stayed up that first season under them we would still be there as after that the gap between the leagues all of a sudden widened. Bournemouth will just get stronger as time goes on as they seem to be cementing their place for good. Gao wasnt so bad afterall as at least he left the club to run ok,, with Semmens doing a great job......until he fell for SR's bid

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, OldNick said:

yep, but it seems we are so far behind in quality if we go up we would need 8-9 PL quality players to have any sort of chance. The frst season of SR has doomed us to be an also ran for generations. Had we stayed up that first season under them we would still be there as after that the gap between the leagues all of a sudden widened. Bournemouth will just get stronger as time goes on as they seem to be cementing their place for good. Gao wasnt so bad afterall as at least he left the club to run ok,, with Semmens doing a great job......until he fell for SR's bid

That's the case for Burnley, Leeds, Sunderland, Sheffield United, Ipswich and Leicester. 

[OldNick]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

That's the case for Burnley, Leeds, Sunderland, Sheffield United, Ipswich and Leicester. 

thats the point though

[Danwulfe]

There will be a lot of deals on the last day of the window that's for sure.
Also I don't mind us not getting promoted this season since finicially we're stable at the moment, but next season we'll need to get back in the prem.

I just hope we recruit well and that it's players that want to play for the badge, not just for a paycheck and a move to a bigger club - the latter I don't mind too much if we get paid well for it and replace them with decent players to...

Edited 16 hours ago by Danwulfe

[OldNick]

1 minute ago, Danwulfe said:

 that it's players that want to play for the badge, not just for a paycheck and a move to a bigger club.

Havent all of them played for the paycheck? Only a few have been playing for the badge and probably the ones who did stay were not good enough to be tempted to go elsewhere

[Badger]

11 minutes ago, OldNick said:

Bournemouth will just get stronger as time goes on as they seem to be cementing their place for good. Gao wasnt so bad afterall as at least he left the club to run ok,, with Semmens doing a great job......until he fell for SR's bid

Possibly a selective memory or interpretation of things there about Gao. He didn’t put any £ into the club or wasn’t able due to restrictions in China.

Semmens was in charge of things during our ill fated Summer 2022 window  when we signed some crap and spent weeks it seems chasing Gakpo’s shadow. We didn’t of course provide Ralph with the striker he needed. 

Although Semmems was praised for his handling of - and talking about - Covid impact, it seems he was at his best during a period we weren’t playing.

Wasn’t it Semmens who  said the league position doesn’t matter ? His poor handling was magnified after the cretin Rasmus arrived, but Semmens has contributed a lot to our fall. 

[OldNick]

11 minutes ago, Badger said:

Possibly a selective memory or interpretation of things there about Gao. He didn’t put any £ into the club or wasn’t able due to restrictions in China.

Semmens was in charge of things during our ill fated Summer 2022 window  when we signed some crap and spent weeks it seems chasing Gakpo’s shadow. We didn’t of course provide Ralph with the striker he needed. 

Although Semmems was praised for his handling of - and talking about - Covid impact, it seems he was at his best during a period we weren’t playing.

Wasn’t it Semmens who  said the league position doesn’t matter ? His poor handling was magnified after the cretin Rasmus arrived, but Semmens has contributed a lot to our fall. 

Think the club was established and we were doing ok. IMO it was his misjudgement re pushing for SR bid was his big error.

As for buying rubbish players that is down to recruitment and Ralph

[LuckyNumber7]

6 minutes ago, OldNick said:

Think the club was established and we were doing ok. IMO it was his misjudgement re pushing for SR bid was his big error.

As for buying rubbish players that is down to recruitment and Ralph

We were in terminal decline under Gao, it's only thanks to Ralph that we didn't get relegated sooner than we did. But it was coming even without the takeover as we had no money to spend. SR have made a mess of things but we'd have been relegated under Gao too before long.

[Harry_SFC]

Fernandes is "ill" apparently and not in squad today. Probably means he's in talks to leave.

[sadoldgit]

23 hours ago, Farmer Saint said:

Fucking hell, this forum is wetter than a mermaids minge.

You're all adults FFS, grow a pair.

Technical question. Does a mermaid actually have a “minge”?

Asking for a friend.

[Badger]

17 minutes ago, OldNick said:

Think the club was established and we were doing ok. IMO it was his misjudgement re pushing for SR bid was his big error.

As for buying rubbish players that is down to recruitment and Ralph

Totally agree about the recruitment side of things, although not sure how culpable Ralph is as these things seem to be by Recruitment Dept rather than manager.

We’ll have to agree to disagree about the Semmens/Gao regime then. I think they set the tone for what was to come, although worse with SR once in the driving seat.

The Semmens comment of ‘ league position doesn’t matter’ stands out to me as an epitaph to his work at the club, undoing any achievement of what had gone before it. 

[Badger]

1 minute ago, Harry_SFC said:

Fernandes is "ill" apparently and not in squad today. Probably means he's in talks to leave.

Why do they come out with such bollocks ? 

[beatlesaint]

8 minutes ago, Badger said:

Why do they come out with such bollocks ? 

Cos they think fans are stupid mate

[trousers]

Just now, beatlesaint said:

Cos they think fans are stupid mate

Lack of self awareness given how stupid it actually makes the club look when they trot out these lies.  

[OldNick]

1 minute ago, trousers said:

Lack of self awareness given how stupid it actually makes the club look when they trot out these lies.  

Isnt it to defend the player in case that any deal falls through? The club knows how fans will trn on a player. Although we turn on players if they are not leaving lol

[SambaMaverick]

Sunderland apparently going after Openda from Leipzig, doubt they can pull that off.

(No, I don't wish we were Sunderland)

[Smirking_Saint]

42 minutes ago, OldNick said:

Think the club was established and we were doing ok. IMO it was his misjudgement re pushing for SR bid was his big error.

As for buying rubbish players that is down to recruitment and Ralph

He pushed the SR bid because it was the best bid, its been outlined on here and online that other bids were nowhere near as rounded as the SR bid

Semmens managed to talk himself in and out of a position on the SR board by being pretty useless in the first window, convincing us to keep Ralph, costing us targets and subsequently arguing with SR about strategy 

But yes, the club was in decline under Gao, we were lucky we weren’t relegated under that ownership as I don’t think we’d even be as competitive as we are now

[miserableoldgit]

3 minutes ago, SambaMaverick said:

Sunderland apparently going after Openda from Leipzig, doubt they can pull that off.

(No, I don't wish we were Sunderland)

No.....apparently, Ipswich is the team to wish we were this year......

[tdmickey3]

20 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

Cos they think fans are stupid mate

No mate, they don’t give a shit about what we think…

Keeping a brittle wristed and a poor shot stopping keeper and giving a new 3 year contract to an ill disciplined, positionaly poor, ball watching centre back is proof

Edited 15 hours ago by tdmickey3