Rate the Transfer Window

[Edmonton Saint]

So with 5 days to go until the window slams shut, how are we feeling ?

 

For me so far, it’s a D, D-. Completely underwhelmed so far and have failed to address any of the glaring deficiencies the team has had for the last few seasons. 
 

Tick Tock, Tick Tock the clock is ticking and time is running down. 

[AlexLaw76]

Another 9/10

banging

[LGTL]

As it stands right now, 1/10. And that’s only because we’ve so far kept Fernandes. Lose him and it’ll currently be a 0. 

[skintsaint]

5/10

[OldNick]

I think you can on;y rate it after the window closes,at present I wonder if it has been opened. 

[Miltonaggro]

Will wait until after Watford, hopefully Mads and Morg will cook! 

[chivvy]

Getting rid of players 6

Signing players 5

Edited Thursday at 07:50 by chivvy

[Saint Fan CaM]

Well with the departures of Dibling and Fernandes and no movement on the dross, it looks like a 2/10 window. However, we’re starting to see a pattern in the type of player Still wants in his first team. It signals to me that there is a clear understanding by Spors that the squad that went down is badly flawed and major surgery required. It’s no good having a top player if said top player can’t do the job you want him to do and/or you have other capable players in that same position.

The signing of Mads and Quarshie, the promised signings of Azaz and others does look promising. It will be very interesting to see if Still can shape the new look team to do the business. On that point, I think we can be moderately positive until they prove otherwise.

[StrangelyBrown]

Still a bit early to judge, but so far a mixed bag...

Got rid of some deadwood for good money - Sulemana and Onuachu

Got rid of ABK for a season

Bednarek gone for a decent fee

I wasn't expecting Ramsdale or Dibling to be here this year and we got good deals for both 

Mads looks like a decent signing.

Azaz is a good signing if we can get it over the line.

Otherwise, the new keeper isn't what we need - we need someone to push Baz not help put cones out in training.

Quarshie isn't at the level we need him to be

Downs just looks lost, not the new striker we needed

Potential new wingers are a bit unknown so who knows

BBD, Aribo, Smallbone, Edozie all need to go this window

I fully expect Fernandes to go, but if he doesn't then we've done well

[Colinjb]

Ask me in 5 days.

[TheSoundman]

If you'd have told me on the last day of last season that before 1 September we'd only have sold 2 players I'd want to keep, moved on 10+ players and brought in £120m I'd have bitten your hand off.

Add then spending over £10m each on 3 new players (if they complete) plus Mads and I'd have called you crazy.

Maybe if the club just looked at that Striker position and GK......  pllllleeeeeeaaaasssssseeeee.

As you say, a few days to go, but it's not looking bad to me.

[sockeye]

Just need a couple more out, Aribo, Smallbone, …

[Patrick Bateman]

Sign these other couple of players (Fellows and the German guy) and I'll say that was a decent window in the end.

Get £40m+ for Fernandes, I'm okay with that.

Move on some more deadwood that have 'contributed' to a couple of awful seasons (Aribo, Smallbone, Bereton for example) and I'll be delighted. 

At the moment 6/10. Above completed, 9/10.

[TheSoundman]

Does a new striker too get it to 10/10?

[sockeye]

6/10.

In my eyes it's only really possible to have a 9-10 window if we had incomings that are genuinely too good for the Championship and kept our best players.

[Nolan]

Isn't this like rating Christmas at 5am on the 25th December?

[skintsaint]

7 minutes ago, sockeye said:

6/10.

In my eyes it's only really possible to have a 9-10 window if we had incomings that are genuinely too good for the Championship and kept our best players.

Financially we wouldn't have been able to do that.

[sockeye]

10 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

Financially we wouldn't have been able to do that.

I agree. I don't really consider that when trying to evaluate the window though. I personally don't think you can have a '10/10' or 'perfect' window if you've been weakened in any way. 6/10 isn't bad, it's just not a miraculous window which it would have been if we were able to keep some of our best players and gotten Spertsyan etc.

[whelk]

Like asking how well did you do in your A levels before you have sat the exam. All looking positive so far

[spyinthesky]

1 hour ago, sockeye said:

I agree. I don't really consider that when trying to evaluate the window though. I personally don't think you can have a '10/10' or 'perfect' window if you've been weakened in any way. 6/10 isn't bad, it's just not a miraculous window which it would have been if we were able to keep some of our best players and gotten Spertsyan etc.

'Gotten'    Really?????
A horrible Americanisation of our language but I will forgive you as I am a bit of a good mood after the recent transfer news😁

[sockeye]

31 minutes ago, spyinthesky said:

'Gotten'    Really?????
A horrible Americanisation of our language but I will forgive you as I am a bit of a good mood after the recent transfer news😁

I'm sorry. I've disgraced my family.

[Andrew Watson]

8.5 out of 10. Signing Sargent and Johannson would have made it a 10.

[Nordic Saint]

The 3 positions we most needed to strengthen were centre forward, centre half and goalkeeper.  Will Still would have possibly told Sport Republic something similar. In response, they have signed Downs, Quarshie and Long. So far, they don't appear to be strengthening the team much in those positions, if at all. Sport Republic like signing a lot of midfielders. They did the same last summer, but Jay Robinson already appears to be a better attacking midfielder than any we could buy, and the defensive midfielders we had already and the new ones all appear to be much of a muchness. We've got so many midfielders now that we'll probably have to get rid of a few of them next summer, including 1 or 2 we're signing now.

I'll reserve judgement until after the Pompey game. That will tell us a lot about how good or bad this transfer window has been.

Edited Friday at 10:34 by Nordic Saint

[Tommy Mulgrew]

Oi darn’t longer wish we be Stoke.  Now we do be Stoke.  But more butterly.  Luvverly jubberly.

😀👏👏👏👍

(I’m Gio in disguise!)

 

[Saint Fan CaM]

8/10 - 10/10 if a really great no.9 comes straight into the starting line up and 2-3 worse players leave.

[coalman]

Last season I was really excited about Ramsdale who didn't live up to his billing albeit in a self inflicted shooting gallery. Fernandes was a gem and nobody else improved the first team. Downes and THB were already here and went backwards.

This season we've bought in Azaz, Fellows, Jander and Roerslav who, on the face of it, are better than what we've got. Plus Downs and Quarshie who will hopefully grow into it.

It's a players ready now and some with potential versus speculation and squad filler. It's going to take us a while to rid ourselves of the filler but it's a really positive step forwards.

Would love to see a really good striker but we say that every window.

[Harry_SFC]

If we can shift those 5 or so that we want to and get another 2-3 in then it would've been a great window considering what it was looking like a few days ago. 

[sfc4prem]

In terms of adjectives, I'd give it 'good'.

To get 'superb', 'great', 'excellent' or words of that ilk, we'd need to have got in a 1st-choice keeper upgrade as an improvement on Bazunu. We'd have also needed to have rid ourselves of BBD, Aribo and Smallbone. 

I don't know if I'm worried about our strike force. I think I have hope that Stewart and Archer can be prolific together.

[badgerx16]

GK and CF are still weak in terms of quality, though in terms of the strikers maybe we will find that Stalin was right in saying "Quantity has it's own quality".

[sfc4prem]

11 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

GK and CF are still weak in terms of quality, though in terms of the strikers maybe we will find that Stalin was right in saying "Quantity has it's own quality".

I mean, he was proven correct at the battle of Prokhorovka, or indeed Stalingrad!

[spyinthesky]

Reminds me of the 'desperate' signing of Stuart Williams (RB), Dave Burnside (IL) and George Kirby (CF) in Sept 1962 when Saints were struggling under Ted Bates in Division 2.
All three had significant impacts on the Saints side and the team had a great cup run in the FA Cup and were only narrowly beat 1-0 in the Semi Final v Man Utd.

[AlexLaw76]

I have given every Sports Republic transfer window 9/10 so far...nothing changes this time

Guaranteed to rain goals goals goal

[Nordic Saint]

4 hours ago, sfc4prem said:

In terms of adjectives, I'd give it 'good'.

To get 'superb', 'great', 'excellent' or words of that ilk, we'd need to have got in a 1st-choice keeper upgrade as an improvement on Bazunu. We'd have also needed to have rid ourselves of BBD, Aribo and Smallbone. 

I don't know if I'm worried about our strike force. I think I have hope that Stewart and Archer can be prolific together.

I've got to admire your optimism. Ross Stewart has scored 1 goal in the last 2½ years.

[S-Clarke]

I will hold my views until late Monday evening, pointless judging it yet as there's still a fair bit to do (squad trimming)

[sfc4prem]

16 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

I've got to admire your optimism. Ross Stewart has scored 1 goal in the last 2½ years.

Little point in being pessimistic or worrying. What's the use?

[Charlie Wayman]

Answer to Header - Poor.

I'm sick of the managerial bullshit about building for the future by growing our own stars from the Academy or bringing in raw yoiung talent and improving it.

As soon as we have a few decent young players emerging from this process we go and sell them at the first sight of a newly minted fiver. I am sick of being lied to time after time.

[saint michael]

I hope these new signings can score a lot. I think with this defence we will need to …

 as seen at Watford today

Edited Saturday at 16:45 by saint michael

[egg]

4 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Answer to Header - Poor.

I'm sick of the managerial bullshit about building for the future by growing our own stars from the Academy or bringing in raw yoiung talent and improving it.

As soon as we have a few decent young players emerging from this process we go and sell them at the first sight of a newly minted fiver. I am sick of being lied to time after time.

But that's our whole policy - buy or develop talent on the promise we'll play and develop them, then cash in when a bigger club knocks on the door. It's a win win situation - we get a year or two out of these lads, then they get their move. 

Yesterday's 3 x brilliant signings cost less than we got for Dibling. On any assessment, that's brilliant business, and not standing in the way of these lads moving on means that more young lads will put faith in us. 

We're a short term stopover for potential stars. You've got to accept the reality mate. 

Edited Saturday at 11:29 by egg

[23rdSaint]

3 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Answer to Header - Poor.

I'm sick of the managerial bullshit about building for the future by growing our own stars from the Academy or bringing in raw yoiung talent and improving it.

As soon as we have a few decent young players emerging from this process we go and sell them at the first sight of a newly minted fiver. I am sick of being lied to time after time.

Yeah, I agree. Why aren't we trying to sign players like Garnacho?! He's for sale and fits the profile. Can't believe we've signed unproven Championship talent like Roerslev, Azaz, and Fellows. FFS

[adrian lord]

Prudence tells me to wait until the end of Feb before rating this window...

[Galway saint]

Need to wait until the window closes and you see how the team shapes up in the coming months 

We have been here before and it’s pointless speculating 

Id say a team that still has Baz, Stephen’s as captain and no stand out CF still requires work 

[St Louis]

18 minutes ago, egg said:

We're a short term stopover for potential stars. You've got to accept the reality mate. 

Sad but 100% true. There won’t be one player in our entire squad who wants to be playing for Saints (I’m not saying they aren’t enjoying it while here, but it’s not the destination they dreamt of)

The Premier League is now completely broken too, where a player like Isak isn’t even happy to be at a huge club, with great support and in the Champions League! The modern day player (like most modern day muppet fans and media too) just want Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal, etc.

So boring! Give me the Championship any day.

[Whitey Grandad]

15 minutes ago, adrian lord said:

Prudence tells me to wait until the end of Feb before rating this window...

She says the same thing to me.

[Simo is back]

Seven

[adrian lord]

1 hour ago, Whitey Grandad said:

She says the same thing to me.

Hands off my missus. 

[Whitey Grandad]

16 minutes ago, adrian lord said:

Hands off my missus. 

Her words exactly! Uncanny. 

[Nordic Saint]

5 hours ago, sfc4prem said:

Little point in being pessimistic or worrying. What's the use?

You're right. Looking on the bright side, there''s always the next 2½ years for him to score another one. 

[sfc4prem]

13 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

You're right. Looking on the bright side, there''s always the next 2½ years for him to score another one. 

Haha, good one! Agreed, he hasn't performed in front of goal for us. I hope he does, and sharpish.

[LGTL]

Need a new fucking GK that’s for sure, but forget that. A new LB would be lovely too

[Osvaldorama]

4/10.
 

We’ve added some creativity, which we were badly missing. 
 

I still think we are very weak at GK and striker. Not good to be weak at both business ends. An actual DM is a problem too. We get outmuscled in the centre of the park at the moment.

But I want to try and be positive - this window feels like a step in the right direction. Credit to the club for signing some sensible players instead of gambling on young mercenaries. 

The real problem is, the squad was in such horrific shape, we needed a 10/10 window really.