January Transfer Window

[saintant]

12 minutes ago, egg said:

Wnat physical centre forward are you suggesting we could/should have got in the January window? Please don't talk about what we could/should have done on previous windows - right here, right now, who's the alternative? 

Oh, the old 'there's nobody else available' argument.

[SNSUN]

22 minutes ago, Starksj1995 said:

I honestly think if we get rid of Armstrong and archer we need two strikers through the door and then we’re going to play one up top  for the rest of the season 

I think we need 3 but only because we don't know what the fitness of Stewart is like. Stewart and Larin (who will want to play a lot due to fighting for his Canadian spot) will most likely be the main two fighting for one spot, but relying on the youngsters as a "3rd choice" is risky to me when the fitness of the other two can be questioned.

One solution would be to bring in another winger/AM type player that could potentially also play up top, but with 21 hours left of the window I don't see that happening now unless we really are aiming for some late deadline day deals.

[Wade Garrett]

13 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Bet they’re involved in all the deals. All a bit convenient that we sign these players based on data, don’t actually watch them play and his brother owns a transfer site.  Sounds very suspect 

Dragan being mugged off.  What a prat.

[sadoldgit]

Anyone know what happened to the famous black box? Did we sell that off too?

[Dr. Kucho]

20 minutes ago, egg said:

Wnat physical centre forward are you suggesting we could/should have got in the January window? Please don't talk about what we could/should have done on previous windows - right here, right now, who's the alternative? 

Like Dr Who said, we don’t have a scouting network or videos of players.

But the profile of the striker should be one that can hold the ball to bring Scienza, Fellows and Azaz in to play. Someone physical to bully defenders and who can head a ball.

Personally I would go for a player who’s playing in England or Scotland. Bringing someone in from abroad often means they need a little time to settle and we need someone who can get going immediately. 

[Rebel]

1 hour ago, Farmer Saint said:

We're haemorrhaging money and want to recoup, hence why no perm signing. Aribo and Armstrong are two of our highest earners, and Archer has been shit, and we have a bloated squad that is unlikely to get promoted.

If I owned the club I'd be doing the same, as most sane people would. Don't know anything about Larin, but not sure who I'd get on loan instead.

I think you are right about the club trying to reduce the wage bill - the sale of Edwards and Armstrong and the loaning out of Aribo and Archer and exit of Fraser all point to it, along with the likely exits of Larios, Edozie and Kayi Sanda.

With McCarthy, Long, Stewart, Aribo, Taylor, Smallbone and Bree out of contract and ABK either sold or the same and the likely exits of THB, Ramsdale, Downs, Sugawara and Brereton-Diaz the wage bill is going to go down quite a bit in the summer.

It suggests they have given up on promotion this season and are trying to raise money to spend in the summer for a promotion challenge next season - or they are just cutting costs and preparing for what will be a long stay in the championship.

Or possibly cutting costs in preparation for selling the club.   To be honest I hope that is the case.

Edited 2 hours ago by Rebel

[hypochondriac]

2 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

Guys please understand WE ARE CRAP AND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP, then it might get easier to adjust to some of these signings etc.

 

We really should be able to show a little ambition. There's quite a few striker signings from other championship clubs this season that I would have preferred us to have signed. Not unrealistic signings. Someone already mentioned kieffer Moore but there was quite a few more than that.

[Dr. Kucho]

54 minutes ago, James G said:

Two alternative takes.

In EA FC 26, Archer is rated 72, Armstrong 73 and Larin 77

From ai

Cyle Larin is a 6'2" Canadian striker known for his physical strength, ability to hold up the ball with his back to goal, and sharp finishing inside the penalty area. His main strengths include, but are not limited to, aerial ability, positioning, and an "instinct" for finding the back of the net. 

This is probably the data Rasmus uses. He’ll see Larin as an upgrade based on these stats. 

[obelisk]

As expected Saints are now morphing into a mid table Championship player trading club. SR's work is almost complete. I don't expect to see them at the top level again so basically back to where they were when I started going to the Dell 60 years ago.

[Yozzman]

25 minutes ago, saintant said:

Oh, the old 'there's nobody else available' argument.

Come on then smart arse, who should we sign with your extensive knowledge? 

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, Yozzman said:

Come on then smart arse, who should we sign with your extensive knowledge? 

How many times? It's not the job of random fans on a Web forum to have an extensive knowledge of the transfer market and suggest people to sign. We employ people and pay them good money to do just that. The idea that the only signing available to us is this bloke is clearly absolute nonsense. If he did his acl in tonight we'd probably go for someone else so there's obviously other options available.

[hypochondriac]

6 minutes ago, obelisk said:

As expected Saints are now morphing into a mid table Championship player trading club. SR's work is almost complete. I don't expect to see them at the top level again so basically back to where they were when I started going to the Dell 60 years ago.

Ah well. The championship and league one were better when hardly anyone attended games and you could get to all the aways.

[Patrick Bateman]

Just catching up ... who the fk is this Larins div? That can't be true, 1 goal in 10 or some horrendous stats, FFS

[sadoldgit]

16 minutes ago, Rebel said:

I think you are right about the club trying to reduce the wage bill - the sale of Edwards and Armstrong and the loaning out of Aribo and Archer and exit of Fraser all point to it, along with the likely exits of Larios, Edozie and Kayi Sanda.

With McCarthy, Long, Stewart, Aribo, Taylor, Smallbone and Bree out of contract and ABK either sold or the same and the likely exits of THB, Ramsdale, Downs, Sugawara and Brereton-Diaz the wage bill is going to go down quite a bit in the summer.

It suggests they have given up on promotion this season and are trying to raise money to spend in the summer for a promotion challenge next season - or they are just cutting costs and preparing for what will be a long stay in the championship.

Or possibly cutting costs in preparation for selling the club.   To be honest I hope that is the case.

As someone said previously, if they want to sell the club they get a better price if they sell it as proper going concern - a club that could get into the EPL without a huge investment. Sell off the family jewels and it becomes less attractive.

[Willo of Whiteley]

2 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Just catching up ... who the fk is this Larins div? That can't be true, 1 goal in 10 or some horrendous stats, FFS

It’s the Sport Republic model.

As long as we’re trading players it doesn’t matter what league we’re in, the model works!!
We have utter clowns running the show.

Sell yours and the leagues top scorer mid season when you’re “aiming for promotion”. Make it make sense. 

[Paul_B]

And here was me thinking we couldn't sign anything worse than Downs..... 

What a club.

[sadoldgit]

10 minutes ago, Paul_B said:

And here was me thinking we couldn't sign anything worse than Downs..... 

What a club.

I we do sign this guy can we at least see him on the pitch for us until we decide that he is rubbish?

[Saint86]

15 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

As someone said previously, if they want to sell the club they get a better price if they sell it as proper going concern - a club that could get into the EPL without a huge investment. Sell off the family jewels and it becomes less attractive.

In fairness to them. The likes of AA, Aribo, Bazunu, Macca, Edozie, Edwards, BBD, Archer are not "the family jewles".

Scienza, Fellows, THB, Charles, Jander, and Azaz are - and we seem to be keeping them at least. So with the departures, it does allow a better restructuring in the summer and a chance to more efficiently allocate money where its most needed. Unfortunately we'll also be on our last year of parachute payments and facing a far harder championship next season.

Edited 1 hour ago by Saint86

[hypochondriac]

Obviously things might not work out like this and we may have another player lined up but if the remainder of the window ends up being Aribo, Armstrong, Archer and possibly Edozie out and this bloke in then I expect fans to be pretty upset and if we have any further performances like Hull or if Stewart gets injured again for a period then it's just further along the road to mediocrity.

[Edmonton Saint]

I’m probably one of Adam Armstrong biggest critics, but as someone who has lived in Canada for 14 years and watched a few Canadian national team matches over the years, got to say I’d hands down keep AA over bringing in Larin. Another preposterous signing.

Edited 1 hour ago by Edmonton Saint

[hypochondriac]

5 minutes ago, Edmonton Saint said:

I’m probably one of Adam Armstrong biggest critics, but as someone who has lived in Canada for 14 years and watched a few Canadian national team matches over the years, got to say I’d hands down keep AA over bringing in Larin. Another preposterous signing.

Who is better this bloke or downs?

[Patrick Bateman]

8 minutes ago, Edmonton Saint said:

I’m probably one of Adam Armstrong biggest critics, but as someone who has lived in Canada for 14 years and watched a few Canadian national team matches over the years, got to say I’d hands down keep AA over bringing in Larin. Another preposterous signing.

Problem is, you've watched him with eyes. We're told not to watch with eyes and look at data.

Both eyes and data say this guy is shit, so wtf are they playing at??

[sadoldgit]

9 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

In fairness to them. The likes of AA, Aribo, Bazunu, Macca, Edozie, Edwards, BBD, Archer are not "the family jewles".

Scienza, Fellows, THB, Charles, Jander, and Azaz are - and we seem to be keeping them at least. So with the departures, it does allow a better restructuring in the summer and a chance to more efficiently allocate money where its most needed. Unfortunately we'll also be on our last year of parachute payments and facing a far harder championship next season.

Maybe not in term of Prem quality, but many of them are solid players in our league. Armstrong is obviously seen as being worth a punt on if Middlesbrough and Wrexham want him. Edwards is considered quality by many and I don’t think we used him properly, but then you could say the same for many of the players on that list. 
My point is that if you let the likes of Armstrong and Archer go and either replace them with inferior players or no one at all, surely the club becomes less attractive to potential buyers. We were seen as a decent shout for promotion before the season started with these players. Are they rubbish or have we been playing a rubbish system and not got the best out of them?

[Ex Lion Tamer]

1 hour ago, Dr Who? said:

Slightly unfair, we are not working at a ‘professional’ football club as a scout, coach, manager or owner, we just support them, it really is not our job. 

And yet you assume that such a player exists, that they would want to come, we could afford them, etc. Maybe running a football club is harder than you think?

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

5 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

Maybe not in term of Prem quality, but many of them are solid players in our league. Armstrong is obviously seen as being worth a punt on if Middlesbrough and Wrexham want him. Edwards is considered quality by many and I don’t think we used him properly, but then you could say the same for many of the players on that list. 
My point is that if you let the likes of Armstrong and Archer go and either replace them with inferior players or no one at all, surely the club becomes less attractive to potential buyers. We were seen as a decent shout for promotion before the season started with these players. Are they rubbish or have we been playing a rubbish system and not got the best out of them?

Yes.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

42 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

How many times? It's not the job of random fans on a Web forum to have an extensive knowledge of the transfer market and suggest people to sign. We employ people and pay them good money to do just that. The idea that the only signing available to us is this bloke is clearly absolute nonsense. If he did his acl in tonight we'd probably go for someone else so there's obviously other options available.

You can't have it both ways of saying you can't be expected to know what players are on the market, and then say there definitely must be better players on the market.

[Willo of Whiteley]

Are we all hoping this is the biggest smokescreen ever? 😂

[hypochondriac]

4 minutes ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

You can't have it both ways of saying you can't be expected to know what players are on the market, and then say there definitely must be better players on the market.

I'm saying there will definitely be alternative players available to replace our top scorer than one who hasn't scored this year, has a deeply unimpressive scoring record and whose prospective signing is met with laughter from the fans of clubs who have first hand experience of the player. The idea that a professional football club with an extensive scouting network can only find one player to sign is obviously bollocks. We know this because of players we got turned down by in the summer where we then went and signed alternatives. We also know this because we know how transfers work. Such an odd thing to say.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

1 minute ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Are we all hoping this is the biggest smokescreen ever? 😂

If he's been told he's getting lots of game time, the forward position will be shared between him and Stewart.

The SR smokescreen has the same player behind it, as there is in front of it. 🙂

[egg]

18 minutes ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

You can't have it both ways of saying you can't be expected to know what players are on the market, and then say there definitely must be better players on the market.

Quite. It's easy to say "we can do better than him", but not so easy to say who. The January window is not a great time to be in the window for a CF when you're mid table, and have been through more managers than we care to remember. Clubs will want to offload shite to shift wages - that's the pond we're fishing in. 

[HarvSFC]

Now that I've had a bit longer to think about it, selling our top scorer midway through the season is a pretty big risk/gamble. As with all gambles it can go one way or the other. But, given SR have lost a lot of the support after the shitshow of last season and this one you'd think they'd be playing a few less risks and taking a more sensible approach to managing us. If this one also goes wrong and our season squanders into nothingness as we sit 7 points off the play-offs right now then there isn't a chance season tickets sell out next season and St. Mary's will start looking like Stoke's did at the weekend.

Only leaves McCarthy and Stephens as the pre-SR players in the squad now, not including Romeu after his return and surely McCarthy goes this summer.

Lascelles is a good get for Leicester. Leadership and physicality. Stephens and THB have been playing well since moving back to a back four, but I don't want to see Wood in the team for a long while.

[SambaMaverick]

Give this Larin bloke a chance... might be underwhelming but it looks like he's the man. Hopefully we see sense and at least keep Archer around (for the rest of the season anyway). Can definitely see the sense in parting with AA, even if I would've done it in the summer.

Downs was obviously shit but having the fanbase on his back from day dot won't have helped any. Hopefully we won't do that again with Larin.

[hypochondriac]

10 minutes ago, SambaMaverick said:

Give this Larin bloke a chance... might be underwhelming but it looks like he's the man. Hopefully we see sense and at least keep Archer around (for the rest of the season anyway). Can definitely see the sense in parting with AA, even if I would've done it in the summer.

Downs was obviously shit but having the fanbase on his back from day dot won't have helped any. Hopefully we won't do that again with Larin.

People said exactly the same thing about Downs. Of course people will give this striker a chance and if he is successful and scores goals everyone will be very pleased. It's totally fine to look at his stats and what other supporters are saying and conclude that he looks shit though. Nothing wrong with that initial response at all. No fans were on Downs' back from day dot that's made up.

Edited 29 minutes ago by hypochondriac