The Ska Face Summer rumour/transfer thread

Quoted from Brummie Codfather

I’m not particularly surprised we didn’t bring anyone in & not particularly disappointed either.  I think the squad has far more quality than last season & for those saying we’ve not brought in a striker again, we brought in 3 - Rose, Pyke and Wilson.
I don’t get the histrionics, it’s like the guy in front on me at Walsall, calling for Hurst’s head after 3 minutes.  Give them a chance to show what they can do!  There was a kid near me who said we needed to play better football like we did under Michael Jolley …… LOL 😂

Quoted from mariner91

This and the fact we’re already struggling to put a decent bench out is so frustrating. If one of the wingers (if we play that way today) has a poor game or gets injured we have no like for like replacement. And so far we’ve had one fit striker, I’ve never known Hurst only have three strikers in a squad before and it’s exacerbated by two being injured.

Nobody is doubting that we’ve signed some individually good players. Rodgers is probably the best centre back we’ve had for a decade and Conteh the best midfielder for the same length of time, plus he’s so young. Rose, Eisa, Mullarkey and Eastwood are also good players and are upgrades.

However, the squad as a whole still has some massive glaring gaps in it:
- Strength in depth. We’re already showing that a couple of injuries or suspensions puts us down to the bare bones.
- Pace. The squad is incredibly one paced. Hopefully Wilson might change that but even then it’s really not brilliant to be totally reliant on one player for having any pace. I really thought we might have got someone else in, even on loan, particularly with Vernam being long term injured now.
- Left back. We all know that neither Glennon or Amos are consistently good enough for a team looking to get promoted out of this league. I appreciate it sounds like we were trying to get something in but it’s still frustrating.
- Height. None of our attacking players are even approaching being tall. Rose is very good in the air for his size but considering our difficulty in creating chances, just having someone with a bit of presence that would allow a change in tactics is surely worth having? As it stands we can’t go long or get in behind them.
- Central midfield quality on the ball. This was a problem last season and although Conteh is a very good player I still think it’s below most teams. None of Holohan, Hunt, Green or Clifton are good enough with the ball to control a game against good opposition. When we don’t have the physical attributes to stretch these sides behind either, you can see why our expected goals has been so low. We can’t go over it, we can’t get behind it and we can’t get through it. Leaves us reliant on Eisa rockets from 25 yards which is very worrying.

I’m pleased we got in some good players early and have at least one, in Conteh, who we might well sell for s good profit. But if the squad we’ve built with all the positives going for us (record season tickets, huge unexpected FA cup money, sales of various players in the last couple of years, increased commercial income) still has this many pretty basic flaws then what does that say about our long term hopes? L2 mid table battlers for the rest of time? That would be extremely sad.

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

Very, very surprised we haven’t moved quickly to strengthen after the CV injury. It’s pretty clear he was a main part of our game plan for the season - tried to sign him in Jan, given him a long contract - and probably with an expectations of 10 - 12 goals from him and a good few assists. I try not to get over excited or over the top with gloom, but my outlook for the season has undoubtedly dipped. I don’t really get the Pyke and Gnahoua signings, Hopper would have made a lot more sense to play up top with Rose. A pacy wide player that with decent delivery is lacking. We look very reliant on Rose staying injury free and Wilson and Khan returning seamlessly to the squad without injury setback and we know football life isnt like that…

Quoted from denni266

Well that was expected . Did anyone realy believe Hurst would push the boat out for a striker and winger ,

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

I`m not sure if it was noted elsewhere but Andy Dallas was loaned to Kilmarnock yesterday after signing for Barnsley this summer.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Obviously we don't know the ins and outs of the recruitment system but what I do know is that no player will come if he has a better financial or career enhancing move elsewhere.

It is extremely unlikely our recruiters and manager will unearth gems that the rest of the football world aren't aware of so one way or another we have to increase our purchasing power.

Money rules at the end if the day, whether we want to become more sustainable or not.

Quoted from LH

Footballs gone to flipping excrement if a fourth tier club making the QFs of the FA Cup can’t afford a striker for the following season. Either that or we live in an unfortunately named craphole. It’s always one or the other and it’s boring.