Very Barnsley

If that’s the scenario then happy days. From my point of view it is what it is. I’m well past getting phased (or even caring) to be honest. We set off the season woefully understaffed upfront and need 2 quality additions who are up to speed and ready. Watters looks good to me. Adds something we need and if he is fit and ready to play that’s all good.

 

But there has to be an acceptance that anyone we sign, particularly in the January window, will have some circumstance attached to it that constitutes a risk. They'll either not have been playing regularly, or they'll have been playing at a much lower level.

We've signed a player, early in the window, that plays a position we need, has had a good spell at this level previously, yet there's criticism of the club because Duff has said that he needs minutes to get up to speed. Seems an overreaction to me. Similarly, Plymouth announce that they've signed a forward that has scored 4 goals in League 2 so far this season, and Barnsley fans react to on Twitter it to slag off Khaled El-Ahmad. There's plenty to criticise our CEO for, but to slag him off for the Watters signing, or for any Plymouth signings, seems a bit too far.

 

Stormy watters in this thread.

 

Khaled is is dog toffee and deserves all he gets, shouldn't even still be at the club.

 

Fixed that for you .

 

I don't necessarily disagree. There's plenty that he's screwed up, West Stand, quotes on playing style, failed to get a midfielder last January, failed to get a striker in August, failed to sell Styles in August to fund a striker, and I dare say many many more things as well.

I'm far from a fan of his, but at the same time, I don't think it is valid to use the Watters signing and the quotes from Duff as a stick to beat him with. Judge the signing over the 5 months he'll be here for, not before he's even played a game.

 

He could be Khaled's Dike.

 

Can remember some of the grief he got on here after the Chelsea game. It's almost as if the suggestion that all new signings have to 'hit the ground running' isn;t actually true.

 

Wish I had a £ for every time I’ve seen that sentence (or a version of) on here during a window transfer.

 

Why? It’s that the level of brow beaten we are that we just accept any old *****. I’m not too distant past we have signed Daryl Dike Keiffer Moore and Oli McBurnie and Carlton Morris All were up to speed.

Yes January is difficult. Yes there may be obstacles. That probably says that you shouldn’t completely **** up the summer transfer window. And leave yourself with Coke and Norwood as your only 2 viable forwards and the blame for that lies squarely with The CEO.

If you do **** up you need to make sure you react to that and get things well planned in advance to un **** it up.

What worries me is that we are seemingly developing a reputation for poor governance amongst other teams and players.

I agree no need to attack the CEO on Twitter or indeed any personal attacks on any media. At the same time given his level of incompetence he should be long gone.

 

He gave us flatbreads and a belief that as long as things are going right with his family everything else will fall into place.

 

Sure Carlton and Dyke didn’t start from first game available and hit ground running?
Moore I think did and not clue about Mcburnie

 

Moore didn't really get his rhythm until League 1. Couldn't hit a camels arse with a banjo in the Championship.

 

He was immediately available for selection and scored 4 goals in the run in.

 

Don’t recall much of a run up for Dike. He scored 9 goals in 13 starts. With Morris getting 7. But yes if we can sign 2 forwards who contribute 20 goals between them between now and the end of the season. That’s the standard we have to look at and if achieved no one can whinge.

 

Dike didn’t score his first goal for us until the end of February. He’d barely played a first team game beyond college leagues when he signed for us, and manny thought it might’ve been too big a jump in level.

McBurnie hardly had any first team experience when he signed for us. Moore was playing at a lower level than us in the window that he signed, on loan to a league 1 side, as was Morris, who also needed time to get his fitness up.

 

I'm lovin' this mass debate between two erudite posters.

 

Again Dike got 9 goals in 13 games. McBurnie got 9 in 16 scoring in his 2nd game and winning player of the season. If the 2 forwards we need are signed and contribute to that level no one will complain. But it’s daft to say we can’t make effective signings in January. If they can make the impact as a sub that Morris did with 7 goals again a success. If they are a permanent signing and do as well as Moore then again no one will complain.