Winter Improvement Thread (aka Winter Squad Weakening Thread and TWF Suicide Watch)

[Boozad]

Exactly, you can't just plan to 'replace Afobe' months in advance, it's obviously not that simple. Clubs will always be looking to eek more out of us with a fat wedge burning a hole in our arse pocket, and that fucks up any well laid plans. January is a shit window to buy in anyway, especially when you're in the situation we're in.

 

[Johnny75]

Exactly, you can't just plan to 'replace Afobe' months in advance, it's obviously not that simple. Clubs will always be looking to eek more out of us with a fat wedge burning a hole in our arse pocket, and that $#@!s up any well laid plans. January is a $#@! window to buy in anyway, especially when you're in the situation we're in.

Of course you plan for it, you even strike an agreement with the club you want to buy from. You can buy and sell players at any point during the year, what you can't do is register or even pay for them until the next window.

If the club knew Afobe was going, and surely they would or the club wouldn't lie to us now would they, then I would expect any half decent recruitment dept to have this precise outlay covered..... just like they did with Sako.

Of course the board and Thelwell may not rate Javkett and have written this season off already therefore waiting for the manager to go and start afresh next year.

 

[Boozad]

And what if there was no guarantee Afobe would be sold? Yes, he may well have wanted to go but was an acceptable bid received and accepted prior to January? We can only guess but I daresay things haven't been as black and white as some like to make out.

 

[Johnny75]

And what if there was no guarantee Afobe would be sold? Yes, he may well have wanted to go but was an acceptable bid received and accepted prior to January? We can only guess but I daresay things haven't been as black and white as some like to make out.

Oh I agree that some things aren't that black and white.

The signing of Zyro by us is an example of buying before the window and I dare say the club knew that had to replace Afobe so I think not replacing Afobe proactively is either a deliberate decision or abysmal planning. I'm not sure which yet.

 

[Revenga]

Maybe you wouldn't have an exact plan, but surely the club thinks ahead for such things as suffering a major injury or selling a star player. I'm sorry but the club surely has targets in mind such as when we got Afobe in for last January, not having any kind of plan is really embarrassing. The way I feel now I don't think signing anyone in this window would be essential unless a real bargain such as Boilesen is around (despite us losing out for now it seems on that one). I'd rather wait until summer then try and build something for next season, getting a takeover would really be the main thing that excites me between now and next season, not holding me breath though.

 

[pavlosmacwolf]

The Guardian story i was on about is this one..

Nantes have turned down a €4m bid (£3m) from Wolves for Emiliano Sala, with the French club insisting they do not want to sell.

not the kebab bloke!

 

[thehistorymakers]

I'll ask again; what plans?

If you don't have plans, when you sell a player, you end up short of cover or having to play players out of position. Exactly what happens to us.

 

[pavlosmacwolf]

Maybe we did have some plans. We were very quickly after Clough, bagged Zyro pretty sharpish and Williamson was always on the cards for the defence.

I'm guessing we expected a bid from Norwich for Benik and Bournemouth came somewhat out of the blue, and if it's true, we seem to have moved pretty swiftly for the guy from Nantes with a decent offer too.

Who knows? I'm just totally confused by the club overall at the moment.

 

[Boozad]

That doesn't answer the question though does it? If only football were that simple.

 

[Penk Wolf]

Winter Improvement Thread (aka Winter Squad Weakening Thread and TWF Suicide...

The club should have had a list of players who they wanted to replace Afobe with and then as soon as the sale went through a bid should have gone in. Similar to what QPR did.

The planning, as usual, is shit.

 

[Penk Wolf]

Maybe we did have some plans. We were very quickly after Clough, bagged Zyro pretty sharpish and Williamson was always on the cards for the defence.

I'm guessing we expected a bid from Norwich for Benik and Bournemouth came somewhat out of the blue, and if it's true, we seem to have moved pretty swiftly for the guy from Nantes with a decent offer too.

Who knows? I'm just totally confused by the club overall at the moment.

We weren't in for Clough and who knows about the guy from Nantes.

Zyro would have been signed regardless of the Afobe sale.

KJ has already put his excuses in saying Zyro is now a striker.

 

[Kenny]

The club should have had a list of players who they wanted to replace Afobe with and then as soon as the sale went through a bid should have gone in. Similar to what QPR did.

The planning, as usual, is shit.

I think they have a list but we are not prepared to pay what is being asked. Like with Gary Ronaldo Washington. We were probably prepared to go to half what QPR paid.

 

[Penk Wolf]

I think they have a list but we are not prepared to pay what is being asked. Like with Gary Ronaldo Washington. We were probably prepared to go to half what QPR paid.

Great homework done with that list then. There is no excuse for how poor our recruitment have been. Surely, they should know exactly which players we can and can't afford.

Personally, I think there is a problem with set up and my guess is that KJ doesn't want the players that our budget sets.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

The club should have had a list of players who they wanted to replace Afobe with and then as soon as the sale went through a bid should have gone in. Similar to what QPR did.

The planning, as usual, is shit.

They shouldn't even need to wait that long really.

They could start negotiating with other clubs as soon as there is interest in Afobe, get things in place so as soon as you've got the cash you push the button.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

We shouldn't have been selling Afobe mid-season, full stop. Everyone knows it's an awful time to be buying players when you have a degree of desperation. Tough shit if he wanted to go, you can wait four months.

 

[wordsleywolf]

Surely the simple answer would have been to accept Bournemouth's bid but keep it quiet for a few days whilst we sign one of the numerous forwards we would have been actively lining up, knowing 6 months ago that Afobe wanted out.
Now this wouldn't always play out nicely but yet again we seem to have been taken completely by surprise. It's surely not beyond someone at the club to have contacted others with forwards we would consider and at least get some idea of fees etc. and have some idea on replacement and costs, after all QPR and others manage it.

 

[thehistorymakers]

We shouldn't have been selling Afobe mid-season, full stop. Everyone knows it's an awful time to be buying players when you have a degree of desperation. Tough $#@! if he wanted to go, you can wait four months.

I agree with this Deutsch, but they had known long enough he wanted out. My problem is, if we don't buy anyone till the summer and Morgan isn't bought out. Do you trust this rabble, to choose a decent new manager, or to buy any decent players?

 

[Lycan]

I don't think we're struggling to sign a striker because we've got money from Afobe and everyone has upped their asking price for us. I just think that we've massively underestimated how highly clubs are valuing their strikers at the moment. Look at how cheaply we sold Benik, apart from maybe Bolton there's not a club in our league who would've let a player of Afobe's calibre leave for £8-9M. We're incredibly naïve and painfully slow to react in the transfer market and always have been.

 

[Papper]

We shouldn't have been selling Afobe mid-season, full stop. Everyone knows it's an awful time to be buying players when you have a degree of desperation. Tough $#@! if he wanted to go, you can wait four months.

I'm tempted to agree but he was of no use anyway if asked to do what he was doing. I'm positive it was a 'business' decision aimed at relieving Morgan of his pocket demands. We failed to return during the time of the parachutes and are now entering a new reality. It's like Mick's early days when we had fodder like Potter and Johnson.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

Of course you plan for it, you even strike an agreement with the club you want to buy from. You can buy and sell players at any point during the year, what you can't do is register or even pay for them until the next window.

If the club knew Afobe was going, and surely they would or the club wouldn't lie to us now would they, then I would expect any half decent recruitment dept to have this precise outlay covered..... just like they did with Sako.

Of course the board and Thelwell may not rate Javkett and have written this season off already therefore waiting for the manager to go and start afresh next year.

I don't say this to you often. Spot on