Transfers so far.

PH has done great business so far and would have expected to have McAtee and Orsi available at this point and had neither, despite this we have had a pretty good start. Bim did well today - he's made great progress in a short time because he looked lost v Crewe. But we need a forward, and I expect we'll get one before the deadline.

Quoted from denni266

Totaly agree with this  18 months or more without a main striker is a bit beyond belief realy..  Yes good strikers are not as plentyfull as other areas and cost money  but without one you will struggle as you go up the leagues . Hurst needs to start living in the real world and spend some cash because thats what it takes

Firstly, we got promoted last year and secondly, if we’d have played with this ‘main striker’ we apparently didn’t have then where would McAtee have played and would he have been as effective.

It’s 2022, football has moved on from having to have a traditional number 9 poacher in the starting line up.

Yes we need a striker .But to say our recruitment has been poor is astonishing .Maher and green both in national League team of the year .Wearne looks decent,another loan for Smith .Khan looked useful in the clee town game .Morris has been great .Pepple looks useful and orsi is a wait and see .5 games in the league and we've lost 1 .UTM

Quoted from Norseman

Yes we need a striker .But to say our recruitment has been poor is astonishing .Maher and green both in national League team of the year .Wearne looks decent,another loan for Smith .Khan looked useful in the clee town game .Morris has been great .Pepple looks useful and orsi is a wait and see .5 games in the league and we've lost 1 .UTM

The only folk saying it’s poor are either a sarnie short of a picnic or WUM…

This apparent need for a prolific number 9 to be successful is a fallacy. Yeah it would be nice but It's just one way to crack a nut. We literally just flipping proved there are other just as effective ways to crack a nut. As did Exeter City and Port Vale who got promoted with top scorers on 14 and 12 goals respectively.. Plus we don't know what Orsi and Khan can do. We don't have McAtee at the minute. Had the game finished against Carlisle and we snuck a 1-0 win, we'd be 7th after 6 games. Chill the intercourse out with the one track nonsense, it's boring. Have a tight defence and you're always in a game

Not a signing this year but what a signing Max Crocombe had turned out to be.  I’m sure no Town fan knew anything about him before he signed and many didn’t like him replacing Macca but he is turning into one of Town’s great keepers.  

If we can stay within touching distance of the play offs by November / December... By then the likes of Ordi should be fit and McAtee coming back!

Quoted from LondonMariner43

Not a signing this year but what a signing Max Crocombe had turned out to be.  I’m sure no Town fan knew anything about him before he signed and many didn’t like him replacing Macca but he is turning into one of Town’s great keepers.  

His improvement over the last 6-8 months has been dramatic. He’s way way better with the ball at his feet and when crosses come into the box than Macca was ever going to be. It’s got to the stage where I have faith and confidence in him when a ball goes in. His shot stopping has been spot on too. If he carries on like this, we’ll have a problem holding onto him next season.

Regards the overriding point of this thread, there is an unhealthy obsession with a No9. We got promoted last season without one, Man City have won the league the last 2 years without one, Exeter and Vale got promoted with their top scorers having low to mid teen goals. I think our poacher is Orsi anyway, he looked lively and clever when he came on yesterday. The striker we’re going to sign will likely be a younger, fitter, more mobile version of Taylor I’m imagining, given the way we play and it being far from ideal to make Ryan play 90 mins every game.

Our recruitment this close season, although a small sample size looks very good at first glance. Morris is an excellent player. Green will be good once he’s up to speed properly. Glennon has been excellent both in open play and from dead balls. We haven’t seen Maher or Khan yet. Bim looks a lively and useful addition and Andy Smith is a cut above at this level.

Quoted from LondonMariner43

Not a signing this year but what a signing Max Crocombe had turned out to be.  I’m sure no Town fan knew anything about him before he signed and many didn’t like him replacing Macca but he is turning into one of Town’s great keepers.  

What a gamble he took as well. He was going to Boston as their first choice keeper and at the eleventh hour we came in, doubling his money as second choice. Fast forward a year and he's our undisputed first choice. I hope he gets a call up to the New Zealand squad.

Matthew Gould (grandson of Bobby, son of Jonathan) is third choice but barely plays for Altrincham. They have another keeper Oliver Sail who plays for Wellington Phoenix over in New Zealand and then Stefan Marinovic who signed for Hapoel Tel Aviv earlier this year.

Surely he's worthy of a place in the New Zealand squad?

I'm not sure Crocombe is the most brilliant shot-stopper, but he still does a decent job in that regard and his kicking is pretty good as well.

His best attribute is his confidence coming out to collect crosses which is a massive bonus in this division where so many teams put it into the box over and over again. Having the confidence to try and catch the ball to retain possession rather than just 'being safe' and punching it out is very helpful, especially when you're under pressure. He hasn't made too many ricks that I can remember, either.

All-round very solid-looking keeper which is all you can really hope for.