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2024/25 Ins & Outs Discussion


David
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7 minutes ago, Cameron_Mcd said:

The season finished 11 days ago FFS, it's still May... 

There is absolutely no need to get worked up about it, our first signing last season came in late June and that was a guy we had at the club the season prior

I get that, but we've got the manager, assistant manager and CEO on record saying we want (some?) new players in for the pre-season tour, which starts in a fortnight. I understand that not everyone we're planning to bring in will be with us by then but if they're on the record saying that and we bring in a couple of players, or worst case no-one, people will understandably start to get a bit tetchy.

I'm by no means worked up/concerned about it personally, but can totally understand why some people might get that way in the next 1 or 2 weeks given what we've already heard.

6 minutes ago, weeyin said:

There will plenty of rumours and based on prior seasons, about 90% of the new players we bring in will not have been mentioned in any of them.

Also, the window doesn't close for another 3 months.

Exactly this; had anyone heard of Davor before we signed him?

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1 hour ago, StAndrew7 said:

I get that, but we've got the manager, assistant manager and CEO on record saying we want (some?) new players in for the pre-season tour, which starts in a fortnight. I understand that not everyone we're planning to bring in will be with us by then but if they're on the record saying that and we bring in a couple of players, or worst case no-one, people will understandably start to get a bit tetchy.

Absolutely. The window isn't even open yet,  but we do need some additions fairly quickly, given our lack of numbers. Hopefully too the future of of our ooc players will be settled soon. We don't want that dragging on ad nauseum. Set a reasonable deadline and stick to it.

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2 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Absolutely. The window isn't even open yet,  but we do need some additions fairly quickly,given our lack of numbers. Hopefully too the future of of our ooc players will be settled soon. We don't want that dragging on ad nauseum. Set a reasonable deadline and stick to it.

Aye, exactly. The way it was explained to me by someone who's fairly in the know, was that some of the ooc players have been offered terms based on our first/primary targets maybe not coming to us etc. and rather than going back cap in hand after they've said no, we've basically offered terms to them with the proviso that we'll be looking to bring in others for those positions as well as having them renew (which fits well with the narrative of offering reduced terms to Butcher and others).

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The challenge all clubs our size have these days (and the larger ones too) is the players and their agents are playing the waiting game more and more.

It's easy to say we should just put a deadline in place, but we'll always wait for the better players if there's a chance.

And if we're looking for loans from England, they don't transpire until very late in the game.

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Just now, robsterwood said:

Maybe if our investment comes through we will be able to afford better quality too. So best not rushing in. 

I very much doubt any of the leadership/management at the club will be delaying anything relating to next season's plans and signings based on potential investment. If they are, I would seriously question why they're in the roles they are.

I agree we might be able to afford a bit more quality and if/when it comes through there might be a bit of an increase in our budgets but it won't be as transformational as that. It might mean a few extra loans/deadline day signings but I'm not expecting it to have a huge impact.

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Big factor is our player pool is getting smaller and smaller every transfer window we are no longer competing with Killie,St Mirren's and Dundee's of this world.

This is why investment is so important more than anything it could be a matter of a few hundred quid a week that's stopping us from getting these players in who knows.

So until then it is what is.

 

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13 hours ago, David said:

Not that every Championship-level striker will do as badly as Shields, of course. But the gulf in quality is there for us to see when the playoffs happen each year usually.

Some fans complain when we sign a no-name player from the lower reaches of the English league, but I'd hazard a guess that the leagues we're signing from down south are likely better quality overall than the Championship up here.

in recent times you have

Alan Forrest (Hearts)

Luke McCowan (Dundee)

Robbie Deas & Lewis Mayo (Kilmarnock)

Simon Murray (Ross County)

James Penrice (Livingston, has signed for Hearts I think)

All good players that have come straight from Championship clubs..

And there are loads of players who have played at Championship level without coming directly from a Championship club - Nicky Deviln, Marley Watkins etc, etc.

You don't sign a league so I'm not sure about your analogy.  It's about identifying individual players that fit into our system and style of play.  We should be looking at all available markets - Ireland, England, Scotland, Scandanavia and elsewhere. 

There are players in Championship that could do us a turn.

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I doubt any potential investment has been baked into this summer's recruitment plans because that would be wishful thinking, so I expect the club to operate and compete next season on a similar budget and level to this season. Anyone who thinks the club can or will outbid any of our Premiership peers for a player this summer hasn't been paying attention.

Under these circumstances, which I recognise could significantly change anytime between now and the end of the summer transfer window, I don't see how we'll improve on this season's outcome unless we gain access to a significant war chest in January. Otherwise, and only if the investment talk becomes a reality, I don't see the club markedly improving on the park until at least season 2025/26.

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41 minutes ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

in recent times you have

Alan Forrest (Hearts)

Luke McCowan (Dundee)

Robbie Deas & Lewis Mayo (Kilmarnock)

Simon Murray (Ross County)

James Penrice (Livingston, has signed for Hearts I think)

All good players that have come straight from Championship clubs..

And there are loads of players who have played at Championship level without coming directly from a Championship club - Nicky Deviln, Marley Watkins etc, etc.

You don't sign a league so I'm not sure about your analogy.  It's about identifying individual players that fit into our system and style of play.  We should be looking at all available markets - Ireland, England, Scotland, Scandanavia and elsewhere. 

There are players in Championship that could do us a turn.

That's a fair point about the quality that is out there.

But, in reality, how many of those players you list could we have afforded? Wonder what their current wages are compared to what is on offer at Fir Park.  Killie, Aberdeen, Hearts and even Dundee appear to be operating with a budget we cannot compete with. County have a sugar daddy, although that is coming to an end. The Brentford goalkeeper knocking us back for St Mirren is a classic example as is the rumour that our supposed Raith Rovers target is favouring a move to Dundee Utd. or even staying put.

As always it comes down to finance. 

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43 minutes ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

in recent times you have

Alan Forrest (Hearts)

Luke McCowan (Dundee)

Robbie Deas & Lewis Mayo (Kilmarnock)

Simon Murray (Ross County)

James Penrice (Livingston, has signed for Hearts I think)

All good players that have come straight from Championship clubs..

And there are loads of players who have played at Championship level without coming directly from a Championship club - Nicky Deviln, Marley Watkins etc, etc.

You don't sign a league so I'm not sure about your analogy.  It's about identifying individual players that fit into our system and style of play.  We should be looking at all available markets - Ireland, England, Scotland, Scandanavia and elsewhere. 

There are players in Championship that could do us a turn.

100 percent correct however you do need to have a fair few bits of quality around the squad and it's not over filled with utter dross.

I mean folk still like to have a go at Shields the guy was played out of position probably about 95 percent of the time he was with us wasn't used properly at all in my book.

Tons of players in the Championship that could probably do a reasonable job for us not being funny I see players like Brian Graham(yes I know he is 36) still doing a job for Patrick you would get better value for money out of him than say a broken before he even came to us Obika.

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30 minutes ago, dennyc said:

That's a fair point about the quality that is out there.

But, in reality, how many of those players you list could we have afforded? Wonder what their current wages are compared to what is on offer at Fir Park.  Killie, Aberdeen, Hearts and even Dundee appear to be operating with a budget we cannot compete with. County have a sugar daddy, although that is coming to an end. The Brentford goalkeeper knocking us back for St Mirren is a classic example as is the rumour that our supposed Raith Rovers target is favouring a move to Dundee Utd. or even staying put.

As always it comes down to finance. 

I'm not sure the Brentford keeper was ever on our radar tbh, other than a Twitter account naming us alongside St Mirren and Killie. They are both in far stronger positions than us to sign players; the prospect of some European football and the associated income means the tables have flipped compared to when we were enjoying that time in the early/mid 2010s (although you would argue that Dempster didn't run things quite as well as she should have with changes to budgets etc.)

As for the Easton rumour, it's just a rumour and always has been - Scott Burns (quoted a few pages back and on P&B) has said he's not heard much of it at all. That could easily be someone seeing he plays a similar position to Spittal, is ooc and would be a replacement along the lines of our typical signings, or someone else mentioning we had a PCA with a Raith player agreed and putting them together.

I agree that it all comes down to our wage hierarchy and the context of where any player would fit in our squad; at the time those players (Murray etc.) were signed by others, I imagine we'd have had the likes of KVV, Kelly and others earning a significant chunk of our available wages and we'd never have been in the market for them, anyway.

Competing with other clubs wise, I agree it's a bit grim, but Dundee spunking money on players is all well and good, but when you look at the state of their stadium and pitch; the ownership are gambling big on getting the new stadium and if they don't I think they'll be in trouble.

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The vast majority of professional footballers aren't first team regulars.

We need to find the ones that prioritise starting most weeks for a couple of seasons over being a better paid reserve team player.

It's not easy, but it's certainly possible.

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11 minutes ago, StAndrew7 said:

As for the Easton rumour, it's just a rumour and always has been - Scott Burns (quoted a few pages back and on P&B) has said he's not heard much of it at all. That could easily be someone seeing he plays a similar position to Spittal, is ooc and would be a replacement along the lines of our typical signings, or someone else mentioning we had a PCA with a Raith player agreed and putting them together.

It will be very interesting and telling when we discover where he ends up. He might just have a very "proactive" agent. Raith's playing budget has been hiked and some in Fife say they are copying the Falkirk of all those years ago. Time will tell.

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No doubt some behind the scenes negotiaions took place about the option. Having said that, we've been short on the coaching side for a while now so there would have been a vacancy. He seems a decent sort, so good luck to him. 

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26 minutes ago, Ped_MFC said:

Is the picture of Obika on the story on X and the 'fishel site a hint of the colours on the new away kit or just an old fotie?

I’ve not seen that too before so looks like it’s a new one. Hopefully just a training top though. 

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2 hours ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

You don't sign a league so I'm not sure about your analogy.  It's about identifying individual players that fit into our system and style of play.  We should be looking at all available markets - Ireland, England, Scotland, Scandanavia and elsewhere.

I never said that we "sign a league." I said that when we sign players from the lower reaches of the English game our fans tend to complain a bit, despite the quality being comparable with the Championship, if not better.

Of course, it always depends on the player. But scoring goals in the Championship isn't an indicator of their ability to do it at our level, as evidenced by Shields's time here.

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