The January 2025 Transfer Thread

[The Bear]

It was a long time ago, but back in my day I remember when the same ownership did manage to to hire a proper head coach and give him a team to finish 7th (twice) and not just prop up the league.

Nuno was a Mendes client and Shi took him on his recommendation as the best available manager in his stable. Nuno turned out to be brilliant but hadn't had any top level success anywhere until he came to us. It wasn't some masterstroke of our leadership. Shi had no clue back then as he still doesn't now.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Nuno was a Mendes client and Shi took him on his recommendation as the best available manager in his stable. Nuno turned out to be brilliant but hadn't had any top level success anywhere until he came to us. It wasn't some masterstroke of our leadership. Shi had no clue back then as he still doesn't now.

Exactly.

Shi has also employed Zenga, GON and Lage.

He also pissed off and lied to Lopetegui which is a huge reason why the likes of Potter and Moyes wouldn't want to go near us. (We all have opinions of their abilities I know, but Everton and West Ham snapped them up, who are similar status - or should be)

 

[Sniffer]

Nuno was a Mendes client and Shi took him on his recommendation as the best available manager in his stable. Nuno turned out to be brilliant but hadn't had any top level success anywhere until he came to us. It wasn't some masterstroke of our leadership. Shi had no clue back then as he still doesn't now.

He did well at Valencia for a season didn’t he?

Edit:
2 cup finals and a first ever European slot for Rio Ave.
4th place finish in a full season at Valencia.
2nd place and no silverware at Porto.

 

[Mel Evo]

2 cup finals and a first ever European slot for Rio Avenue.

I’m gonna rock down to…

 

[pr0sl0]

He did well at Valencia for a season didn’t he?

Edit:
2 cup finals and a first ever European slot for Rio Ave.
4th place finish in a full season at Valencia.
2nd place and no silverware at Porto.

Yeah Nuno was seen as a rising star based on how he did at Rio Ave, but then he was seen as an underperformer at both Valencia and Porto (the latter a case where obviously anything short of winning the league each season is "underperforming"). I remember reading a number of different fans and journalists talking about him as if he'd risen too quickly and been found out, like he wasn't really a top coach.

The shine had come off him by the time Mendes recommended him to Shi, and is probably partly why we were able to attract him even while we were in the second division.

 

[YoungWolf]

People like Squeak seem to think that what most are bothered by here is the fact we are losing. I don’t think there’s anyone on here who hasn’t experienced us being utter shite in various periods.

I’m not trying to speak on anyone’s behalf here but what I’m utterly sick of and hate is how embarrassingly run we are, how they take the fans for morons, repeatedly lying to us and how fucking smug they are at achieving the bare minimum we should.

Whether that’s in League 1 or the Premier League, I would feel the exact same way.

 

[Donegal Wolf]

Whats sickening is the fact that after 40 years & 2 previous visits where we never felt comfortable, we cracked it & had become an established Premier league club and we have essentially thrown that all away over the last 4 years by rank bad management and trying to do things on the cheap when there was no need to go down that road.

 

[pavlosmacwolf]

People like Squeak seem to think that what most are bothered by here is the fact we are losing. I don’t think there’s anyone on here who hasn’t experienced us being utter shite in various periods.

I’m not trying to speak on anyone’s behalf here but what I’m utterly sick of and hate is how embarrassingly run we are, how they take the fans for morons, repeatedly lying to us and how fucking smug they are at achieving the bare minimum we should.

Whether that’s in League 1 or the Premier League, I would feel the exact same way.

Post of the day

 

[Langers]

People like Squeak seem to think that what most are bothered by here is the fact we are losing. I don’t think there’s anyone on here who hasn’t experienced us being utter shite in various periods.

I’m not trying to speak on anyone’s behalf here but what I’m utterly sick of and hate is how embarrassingly run we are, how they take the fans for morons, repeatedly lying to us and how fucking smug they are at achieving the bare minimum we should.

Whether that’s in League 1 or the Premier League, I would feel the exact same way.

Spot on. I'll never forgive them for treating fans like customers and pricing people out of attending, especially seeing as we now have to pay a lot more to watch a vastly inferior 'product'.

 

[Tony Towner]

More agent work, particularly the bit towards the end about him being a winner. Also £60m shouldn't be enough

https://twitter.com/x/status/1882078736767402101

 

[AndyWolves]

More agent work, particularly the bit towards the end about him being a winner. Also £60m shouldn't be enough

https://twitter.com/x/status/1882078736767402101

i wish i had your confidence about this one.

as an aside, i find that bloke really annoying with how he talks

 

[Tony Towner]

i wish i had your confidence about this one.

as an aside, i find that bloke really annoying with how he talks

Oh I don't have any confidence. I'm saying £60m isn't enough, not that we wouldn't take it. I think his market value is £70-75m. This isn't paper talk now though, he wants out or at the very least his agent does.

 

[AndyWolves]

Oh I don't have any confidence. I'm saying £60m isn't enough, not that we wouldn't take it. I think his market value is £70-75m. This isn't paper talk now though, he wants out or at the very least his agent does.

i think he'll go to arsenal, and i think we'll see an arsenal player come this way as part of it

 

[Tony Towner]

i think he'll go to arsenal, and i think we'll see an arsenal player come this way as part of it

Obviously I don't want him to leave as I think it'd seal relegation. If he were though then Forest would be as big a kick in the bollocks as selling Afobe to Bournemouth was. I'd be surprised if that's the move he's looking for. They are overachieving this season and could well make Europe, but in the longer term that's unlikely as opposed to Arsenal.

 

[Deano]

There are no players that Arsenal own that could/would feasibly come here, that would make up for that loss to any sufficient degree. We shouldn't be entertaining a sale this late into the window. What these owners actually will do is anyone's guess.

 

[Lycan]

Matheus Cunha should be worth close to £100M in this market.

 

[Del Woppio]

You could probably tempt them into Nwaneri on loan which might be useful, but that's about it

 

[prawnking]

Matheus Cunha should be worth close to £100M in this market.

I agree, still wouldn't be worth it; 1. in the January window, 2. late in the January window, 3. with these clowns in charge of 'reinvesting' probably 40% of it

 

[prawnking]

Anyway, whatever happens, Arsenal will be well chuffed to see our best player so destabilised before they face us, good week for them

 

[Del Woppio]

You can make a case for £70m in Jan, if we're pretty safe and it'll much less in the Summer. Or if you've got a quality scouting network and a DoF who's got three £15-20m players to come in, hit the ground running, and make us better over all.

But we're basically in a place where we will either a: not spend the money, taking a chance with our survival. b; spend the money on absolute fucking shite, or flip projects. So if you sell, and all the forks from that position leave you worse off in both the short and the long term, then you don't fucking sell.