So to sum up …

I'm one of the regular commentators on the financial side of things, but I'm struggling to justify that transfer window.

If the situation was that dire, then the logical step would have been to cash in on Phillips and/or Connell to provide a bit of wiggle room for filling the glaring needs in the squad. Their value isn't going to increase from here, particularly playing within a playing squad which is arguably weaker than before the transfer window.

I honestly don't know what Sormaz brings to the club as Sporting Director, based on what I've seen. We've had two sub-par transfer windows and a farcical recruitment campaign for a Head Coach since he's been in post.

 

Spectemur Agendo

* Abjectly failed to rectify the issues in the squad that the world and his wife have known about all season
* Abjectly failed the fans
*Failed themselves
*Thrown Darrell Clarke and his staff under the bus
* Somehow managed to come out of the window with a squad worse than the one we had at the start

Thoroughly disappointed disheartened and frankly p155ed off.

Yours sincerely

A fan for 64 years

 

Get rid of Benson in the summer and our wage bill must be significantly lower than when we were relegated from the championship.

 

Spot on

 

It wouldn't be so bad if he/they would come out and just explain the decisions mate. Fair enough skint, but why loan out Cozzy and Marsh when we already need strikers, especially with Watters and Jalo injuries. Why has Killip left and been replaced with a loan goalkeeper after killip has probably been our best player recently during our dire performances. Loaning out wing backs to bring wingback in on loan etc

 

If the last minute scramble had actually produced a signing that balanced the squad I’d take it.

But the hours of work have clearly gone in to finding somewhere to send our players out on loan to rather than finding players to sign.

I’m absolutely furious this morning. I’ve defended the board quite a lot. They put quite a lot of money in.

At this point it is clear that they do that due to their own complete incompetence.

It’ll be a few away games and pick and choose a couple of homes for me next season. If that.

There’s only so much anyone will put up with. I haven’t enjoyed more than half a dozen home games in nearly two years. That might be generous too. Could be two or three.

 

Equity is infinite as long as the owners wish to commit funds. The bigger issue whether they wish to keep throwing money down a big hole.

I Think Mladen is up there with Rachel Reeves for embellishing his CV. He’s so far out of his depth and the results show that.

 

I think this January's transfer activity has answered that question for you

 

With regard to the last-minute scramble...

We focus on our primary targets, but can't secure those, then our secondary targets, who turn us down, then our tertiary targets and on and on it goes.

We don't sign a back up 2nd division French striker in the first week of the transfer window because no one at the club really wants him. We concentrate on the players we do want. But when they've all turned us down and time is desperately running out, we eventually get to page 6 on the list of players, and someone says yes. Might be a 2nd division French striker, might have been a reserve player from the national league, doesn't make any difference, no one actually wanted him. They just had to get someone as no one they wanted would come.

I'd be surprised if anyone at the club had even heard of the French lad a few days ago. He was just a name on a list of players that displays their data.

 

This

 

We don't have the calibre of DoF or Head Coach that a big club will pick up the phone to

 

Some people questioned my comments previously when we got Clarke that it signaled more then ever we are in managed decline mode - a totally unambitious management appointment, no offence to the bloke, but he's never managed outside of L1/L2, and it shows. But he's obviously willing to put up with the job as fall guy, there's no way the board would have appointed him if they were seriously going to "go for it" with the squad signings, and this window has been really the confirmation that they don't want to spend any money. But, as others have said, confusingly if this was the case why is Connell, Philips and Benson still here then? Probably they couldn't get anyone to buy them at a guess.

 

I don't understand it either.

We've had much worse transfer windows in the past in terms of our prospects going forward. There have been times when all our best players have been taken from us. It's been very depressing but that's the nature of the business. Bigger more wealthy clubs take the assets of smaller clubs and there's very little the smaller clubs can do about it.

That hasn't happened this time. The team going forward will look almost identical to what we've seen so far.

But this is the first time I've thought it's us that are incompetent. We haven't been done over by a bigger club, we've failed. We're a football club seemingly incapable of signing football players we desperately need.

 

That’s exactly the point isn’t it?

For me we could have sold Phillips, Connell, both even - and even used some of the funds to bridge the gap funding the club generally - but used some of it to bring in a couple of centre forwards; maybe the lad from Notts county I heard mentioned, and a young one on loan from the premier league maybe.

With Nwakali we can afford to lose Connell arguably, phillips less so maybe but if you didn’t have to play DKD and Humphrys up front there’s cover there as well.

Presumably they haven’t sold them as they were frightened of what the reaction would be (both would have had suitors had the feelers been put out, and at decent fees too).

One or both will likely have to go in summer. Benson is out of contract so will also go - Pines and Humphrys we have options on but have either proven themselves? Would we get any better than them though?

McCarthy seems likely to go.

We will need a keeper obviously.

It’s a busy summer no matter what and you’d think funds will need to be generated. If they could get interest and a fee for Jalo it might be an idea; otherwise it will have to be Phillips and Connell.

As I’ve said, we will tread water in and around midtable now. We might scrape playoffs with a lot of luck - but we aren’t likely to win them even if we did. Realistically next season is another in league one - and the team come August I predict will not look much like this one and I also predict it will not be one that is well equipped for a promotion push.

 

Cosgrove got dogs abuse every game,all of a sudden we’re gonna miss him.