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Sometime before Christmas, I was told/advised that MB planned an eventful January window but I didn't envisage that.

Of the outs, I completely get the loans out and hope that those whose names have been released go and secure their futures. I get the sale of Omar, however we might miss his goals, he was clearly on his way in his mind and I don't think we would have ever seen him at his best again - his individual performance against Stevenage was one of the best I've ever seen.

The ins really excite me, from the loan extensions of Henderson and Comley to Everton loanee Calum Dyson. Gunning adds to our defence, more attack minded midfielders and the pace of Yussuf and Asante.

We now need to be patient - things are not going to gel overnight but you can now look at the squad and look forward to who is going to be with us next season and already see a plan.

Oh, and I think we handled the Macca situation really well too!

Has he ever been better than at home against Stevenage? I think that was the best single performance I've seen from a Town player in 20+ years.

Agree with the rest. It was inevitable and clearly he wanted/needed to go. Under the cloud of Omar going I've lost sight of the fact that we have signed some very promising players - all of whom were targets. There's no Straker in this lot.

Quoted from 97

Has he ever been better than at home against Stevenage? I think that was the best single performance I've seen from a Town player in 20+ years.

Agree with the rest. It was inevitable and clearly he wanted/needed to go. Under the cloud of Omar going I've lost sight of the fact that we have signed some very promising players - all of whom were targets. There's no Straker in this lot.

His early season form was fantastic and well above this league. He had definitely outgrown us and hopefully he makes a real success of it. It shows that speculating on talent from lower leagues and developing them can pay off.
Bignot has certainly spent, we have a huge squad now and hopefully he can get them playing. I'm excited to see what is pretty much a new team since the start of January.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Sometime before Christmas, I was told/advised that MB planned an eventful January window but I didn't envisage that.

Of the outs, I completely get the loans out and hope that those whose names have been released go and secure their futures. I get the sale of Omar, however we might miss his goals, he was clearly on his way in his mind and I don't think we would have ever seen him at his best again - his individual performance against Stevenage was one of the best I've ever seen.

The ins really excite me, from the loan extensions of Henderson and Comley to Everton loanee Calum Dyson. Gunning adds to our defence, more attack minded midfielders and the pace of Yussuf and Asante.

We now need to be patient - things are not going to gel overnight but you can now look at the squad and look forward to who is going to be with us next season and already see a plan.

Oh, and I think we handled the Macca situation really well too!

How long would you say would be reasonable to expect us to start looking .o.k.?

Quoted from HertsGTFC

How long would you say would be reasonable to expect us to start looking .o.k.?

Haven't thought about it too much. We haven't made too many defensive changes so I don't expect us to start conceding loads and the midfielders we've signed look to be more attack-minded - it's a time of transition, let's enjoy the ride.

Yes indeed a wow month! I'm still in shock, to be honest. However, perhaps the signals from MB were clear: the squad was in obvious need of 'upgrading', and particularly in relation to a less-than-dominant midfield. In that respect, it will be very interesting to see how the spine of the team is re-shaped and who, and how many, of the newcomers will be given the immediate task of forming a cohesive unit. Doubtless it will take some time for the dust to settle and a new style/method of play to emerge but the money generated from the Bogle transfer seems to me to be being invested wisely-I hope! As MB seems to indicate, the present process of renewal is all about building a club to compete at a higher level and it also seems to me that his instincts, learned from his accumulated experience of club building, are correct for the longer term. Whilst perhaps we are all rather caught up in the whirlwind of present activity, I think the club is being 'shaped' for a brighter future. These are certainly interesting, even exciting, times at GTFC!

MB obviously had targets in mind plus a Plan B to cover the Bogle sale which has made it a very impressive month. I can't remember many close seasons with as much excitement let alone a January window. ;D

What I hope is that MB has as clear an idea in his mind about how he wants the side to play and who he wants in it as he did with the transfers.

Even with a clear out he will still have a big squad to keep happy.

But what impresses me is the way he enthuses about players, especially those new midfielders with a talent to entertain. I think we will see the goals shared out more evenly now as the side can't look to Bogle for salvation. A lot to look forward to.

I think now the dust has settled we will be able to judge how good this window was or wasn't when the players have been together for a month or two.

This window has certainly seen plenty of activity but very few people who are Town fans and contribute to this board can really chart the quality of the incoming players as we have not seen them play that often.

One thing I have never seen is so many players come into a side (and possibly be starters) from a division below in an attempt to take us to the division above. Not saying this is wrong in fact getting some lads who are hungry and ambitious in versus some journeymen FL pros could pay off in the end.

With all the comings and not many goings,

With the extra training sessions,

The players will be having staggered lunch breaks,

The kit cleaning person will need some overtime,

AND

We will need a bigger bus. ;)

Has anyone got the franchise to provide food to the Waltham facilities ;)

Whilst we would all hope that the new signings make an immediate impact, particularly on the quality & style of football played at home, it would be over optimistic to expect this in the next couple of months.

I seem to recall in Buckleys first spell you could see what the team was trying to achieve but we did not quite have the players with Diddy's arrival at Easter adding a bit of quality. Personally, by easter I would hope to be seeing clearly the pattern of play we are to adopt going forward, with the required plan B, and that the players brought in are comfortable and capable of delivering what the Manager requires.

Ideally a strong finish to the season rsults wise to ensure that we enter next season with the same optimism and season ticket sales as we enjoyed this year.

I am also sure with all these players on the books without some departures to Conference clubs that we will be hearing some more rumours of discontent and unhappiness with the Manager's approac & style. Goes with the territory and most people dislike change, particularly if it means you may be out of work, but hopefully this will all be for the greater good and put us in a position where the play offs will be expectation rather than hope.

Roll on saturday where we should have a good away following & several new players to watch, I would love a fluent victory but a scrappy 1-0 with glimpses of what we can hope to see in the future will do me and help me repel the Chimps new found "red army" down the local pub afterwards.

I don't think we will see the pattern of play properly until we get in some wingers, which won't happen now this season. MB has said the right ones are not available at this time, so he is clearly looking for some. They will obviously impact on the way we set up in the long term.

I think an important bit of info from Bignob s signings is that he keeps stating that several of his signings are/ were with a view to next season and developing them further. I will be happy with mid table and hope he is given the time to try and show what they can do next season. It is also encouraging to hear that he appears to have quite a lot of coverage in place re scouting across the country whereas not long ago there didn't sound like we had any.

Quoted from Magsinrio

I think an important bit of info from Bignob s signings is that he keeps stating that several of his signings are/ were with a view to next season and developing them further. I will be happy with mid table and hope he is given the time to try and show what they can do next season. It is also encouraging to hear that he appears to have quite a lot of coverage in place re scouting across the country whereas not long ago there didn't sound like we had any.

You have to have a bit of both though dont you - longer term planning but also instant results, or at least improved performances for the rest of this season which still has a fair way to run.

He has obviously got assurances from the board that they are looking longer term with him in charge, but that can change very quickly so if I was him I would now concentrate on getting these players playing in a system they understand and can get results from. Some decent sustained attacking play towards the Pontoon would be good as it seems months since we have had the opposition really on the back foot.

Quoted from ginnywings

I don't think we will see the pattern of play properly until we get in some wingers, which won't happen now this season. MB has said the right ones are not available at this time, so he is clearly looking for some. They will obviously impact on the way we set up in the long term.

If that's the case, then we've got a difficult time ahead of us. The 3-5-2 which we've settled on in recent weeks obviously can work if we're on song (and away from home!), but is very limited otherwise and I'd like to see us push on, possibly to try and mount a push towards the play-offs rather than just marking time until next season. The sheer number of signings we've made, including a number for fees, mean that anything else is just a waste of time and money. You can't expect to play almost half a season without proper organisation and a clear plan.

I'd like to see a bit more of an obvious pattern to our play - are we going to attempt to pass it through midfield, or get it up front more quickly? Are we going to press the opposition in possession, or are we going to absorb pressure? If Bignot ultimately wants to play with wingers, we'll be back at square one come the end of the season because all we have done so far is build a squad, not a team.

I would hope that, now Bogle has departed, Bignot will begin to experiment a bit more with the formation to see if we can get the new players into some sort of a shape which can offer more of a threat at home because we've had very little entertainment at BP in recent months. The easy thing to do would be just to drop Asante in up front (and I think he'll do this to keep 3-5-2 this weekend), but I wonder if we'll see perhaps Yussuf and Jones deployed as wingers at times? Bignot mentioned Jones is very versatile and I believe Yussuf has played wide in the past as well.

Otherwise, another attempt at 4-3-3, perhaps, or 4-3-1-2 with Jones 'in the hole'?

Quoted from ginnywings

I don't think we will see the pattern of play properly until we get in some wingers, which won't happen now this season. MB has said the right ones are not available at this time, so he is clearly looking for some. They will obviously impact on the way we set up in the long term.

I agree he has mentioned wingers, or lack of them, a few times but I kinda get the impression he is more Alf Ramsey then Alan Buckley when it comes to wing play. Might be wrong but with the plethora of central midfield & central strikers recruited in January IMO wingers arn't his priority but may be part of his fall back position or plan B. Time will tell.

Quoted from Magsinrio

I think an important bit of info from Bignob s signings is that he keeps stating that several of his signings are/ were with a view to next season and developing them further. I will be happy with mid table and hope he is given the time to try and show what they can do next season. It is also encouraging to hear that he appears to have quite a lot of coverage in place re scouting across the country whereas not long ago there didn't sound like we had any.

I think we had 2 or 3 scouts previously.

Unfortunately they were all based around the York area 😉

Quoted from Maringer

If that's the case, then we've got a difficult time ahead of us. The 3-5-2 which we've settled on in recent weeks obviously can work if we're on song (and away from home!), but is very limited otherwise and I'd like to see us push on, possibly to try and mount a push towards the play-offs rather than just marking time until next season. The sheer number of signings we've made, including a number for fees, mean that anything else is just a waste of time and money. You can't expect to play almost half a season without proper organisation and a clear plan.

I'd like to see a bit more of an obvious pattern to our play - are we going to attempt to pass it through midfield, or get it up front more quickly? Are we going to press the opposition in possession, or are we going to absorb pressure? If Bignot ultimately wants to play with wingers, we'll be back at square one come the end of the season because all we have done so far is build a squad, not a team.

I would hope that, now Bogle has departed, Bignot will begin to experiment a bit more with the formation to see if we can get the new players into some sort of a shape which can offer more of a threat at home because we've had very little entertainment at BP in recent months. The easy thing to do would be just to drop Asante in up front (and I think he'll do this to keep 3-5-2 this weekend), but I wonder if we'll see perhaps Yussuf and Jones deployed as wingers at times? Bignot mentioned Jones is very versatile and I believe Yussuf has played wide in the past as well.

Otherwise, another attempt at 4-3-3, perhaps, or 4-3-1-2 with Jones 'in the hole'?

I think we do have a plan B/wide option If needed, could we not push Mills up on the right ahead of Ben Davis? Mills is not slow, can go past people and take the ball to the bye line and cross it. Then it's Tombola on the left where he started the season versus Morecombe and 2 in the middle, it's possible rather than probable.

From what I have seen so far is that 3 - 5 - 2 has worked at times but for me there are couple of floors, one for too often recently the CBs have been left with the ball at their feet and due to our lack of movement in midfield, inability to receive and make a pass or the opposition pressing the space the CBs have had to look to punt it long, similar to our time in non league. Our opponents in general have found this easy to defend.

All being well the addition of some midfield talent will ease this as long as it's coupled with better work rate and the pressing game that has been talked about but we have not seen so far. I also suspect that Marcus has applied 3 - 5 - 2 as a bit of an insurance policy as especially in games like Carlisle at BP and Crawley away we where getting over run in mid field, packing it out Exeter apart has left us tighter.

I think also that when a side works hard to press back Mills and Andrew we have had real problems getting any supply up to the front players or attacking mids, this I think was an issue at Stevenage on Saturday where the 3 - 5 -2 was effectively snubbed out. What I have seen of L2 so far is that is you can get in behind sides either by passing through them or on the break you can cause them problems.

Not sure what it means in reality but I would like to see what the Opta stats say, are we creating more chances on goal since adopting 3 - 5 = 2?
I don't expect free flowing football this season but never did and I think the rest of it will be as "stop start" as it has been to date and I am not that bothered about promotions for a while either. What I would like to see though is if the current shape is not working with regard to creating shots on goal MB changes it, I don't think that's an unrealistic expectation.