You could argue that signing "proven league 1 players" is a backwards step. Players who are happy at this level, not good /hungry enough to progress.
Jack Shepherd is a great find for me. If he can keep pushing on, and get 100% backing from the fans, he could be some player. There will be times he may get caught out, and that’s when we need to support him. Great to see a local lad make it pro - from a Kitchen Fitter to a Kitching replacer!
our aim I assume is promotion. You need to improve the team year on year of course. Picking a random day in the past when you think the team was weaker isn’t helpful. I mean why September last year why not 1st May 1997 You do not want to start a season significantly weaker than you ended the previous one do you? And we have. Your example works if like the club you don’t care about winning football matches. Not sure the jury is out on Cundy & McCarthy. I’d say it is on Cotter. Connell and Cadden are undoubtedly very good signings.
Well the clappers are out in force telling anybody who'll listen what a wonderful transfer window we've had. Well if you're only interested in the amount of money obtained for our players I suppose it looks good, sadly for the club you don't get points on the pitch for making money from transfers you get points and hopefully promotion by consistantly scoring more goals than the opposition do and I'm not sure that by allowing the dismantling of a solid defensive unit that enabled a play off push last season and replacing it with lower league punts with little or no professional football experience that the board have ensured we will consistantly score more goals than the opposition do and so promotion which is supposed to be the club's main aim looks further away today than it did at the end of last season. So for me to describe the window as a success when a major part of the team as been weakened considerably is deluded.
Over 10 million, not bad for a tin pot Club, Clubs like Barnsley, an some great signings to cap it off,. an the doubters are still not happy.
Mixed emotions really. I think we’ve recruited well in forward areas & have found a quality keeper in Roberts. Happy with the Anderson fee & delighted with the Kitching fee. However I can’t help but be disappointed with the centre backs we’ve recruited. For any 3 of Williams, Lopata, De Givigney, Cundy, McCarthy, Shepherd & McCart to gel as a top 6 defence in such a short space of time is very unlikely. If Collins manages it he’ll have done an outstanding job. All the new lads might well be good players in time but I would’ve hoped for someone a bit more ready made to come in. No qualms about midfield, I think we’ve 6 of the best central midfielders in the league, on paper anyway as Styles is yet to show it. No surprises at all that no one’s offering the kind of money we want for him. I can’t make an argument for him starting over any of Phillips, Connell or Kane when everyone’s fit which will only lead to his value falling further.
I’m soo sorry mate, I’ve realised the error of my ways and you are in fact correct, up yours happy clappers
He hasn't picked a random date from the past. He's looked at the squad we have today, 2nd September 2023, after the transfer window has closed and just a few weeks into the new season. He's then compared the squad we had at this time last season, under all the same conditions. Seems like a very reasonable time frame for a comparison to me. The squad we had at this time last season went on to make the play-offs. Will this one? We don't know yet, but I do agree with the comparison he made. We look stronger in most areas, but weaker in central defence. We'll have to see what difference that makes.
You willfully ignore the fact that the defence as been considerably weakened this window the defensive players sold took at least 12 months to start to perform consistantly. The stated aim of the board this season was to obtain promotion £10 million may look good on the balance sheet now if we are still in L1 or worse next season it wont look so good.
Kitching has been a calamity this season without Mads holding his hand and telling him exactly where to be and what to do. Reminds me of Angus McDonald, fans loved them both but neither were discernibly good defenders but bags of effort and got stuck in. Positionally both woeful. The young lads are a gamble, of course they are, but so were Roberts, Williams, et al and they turned out better than OK. Players that came yesteryear with big reputations like Tuttle, Tom Williams and Mike Flynn were an absolute disaster!!! We need to see what the score is with Cundy, McCart and McCarthy before we chuck even more money at defenders.
Is the team we will send out today better or worse than the one we sent out a little over 3 months ago?
How dare you be negative? The usual rhetoric for posts like this is “Barnsley isn’t the team for you” or similar bilge
Sorry for jumping in on this one The defence is weaker but the midfield, attack, bench, squad and club financially is way stronger than last season.
Agree with this, and agree about styles time for him to step up and show his worth, all been abit George monauresque so far this season flashes of what he can do, but time to show what he can do in a league he should look a class above.
I dunno. I think the centre of defence is weaker, I think we have better options in attack. I don't yet know how that will add up for the team as a whole.
Ahh Jimmy, you're such a Negative Nancy. The end of the transfer window last year isn't a random date in the past is it. It's where we were at the start of last season. Of course the goal is to improve every season, but this isn't always going to be possible is it, as every other team is trying to do the same. We have clearly improved up front, in midfield, in goal and marginally at wingback. We're weaker at centre back. That's the reality, if that makes us significantly weaker is a matter of opinion. I think the biggest void to fill is going to be management. But if Collins is good we should be able to push for promotion with this squad.
No it won't be today due to the changes in defence that is obvious but adding Styles Mcatee Cosgrove makes us overall stronger, it's a case of looking at the bigger picture.
