[NOT HAPPENING] Rate our January Transfer Window

Discussion in 'The Transfer List' started by nornironhorn, Jan 31, 2018.

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Rate our January Transfer window

  1. 5 stars

    7 vote(s)
    5.6%
  2. 4 stars

    5 vote(s)
    4.0%
  3. 3 stars

    64 vote(s)
    50.8%
  4. 2 stars

    38 vote(s)
    30.2%
  5. 1 star

    12 vote(s)
    9.5%
  1. nornironhorn

    nornironhorn Administrator Staff Member

    As our dealings seem to be completed, what are your ratings for this transfer window? 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest score.
     
  2. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    Genuinely think that it is too early to say however Deulofeu was an extremely positive signing for us.
     
  3. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    Delouefu might improve our attack. Ndong might improve our depth in midfield, but overall we've not really upgraded our 1st 11 much if at all. 1 star.
     
    NorwegianOrn and TwoBob like this.
  4. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Lacking a striker I feel !
     
  5. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    Too soon to comment but Depardieu sounded promising and I'll back them all when they play.
    Good luck to them all and us!
     
  6. nornironhorn

    nornironhorn Administrator Staff Member

    I'll go for a 2 star rating.

    Strikers:

    IN: None
    OUT: None
    We are going into a relegation battle with 4 fairly poor strikers, two of which were heavily linked with moves away from the club. Deeney is completely ineffective, Gray is pretty poor, Okaka is sometimes good, sometimes poor and more often than not absent and Sinclair is pretty awful. I'd have liked us to replace Deeney or Okaka with someone different.

    Wingers:

    IN: Deulofeu, Lukebakio
    OUT: Success
    We did pretty well in this aspect. The signing of Deulofeu was a great one and he had a solid debut tonight. Lukebakio was a strange one as the reports about him do not seem to be glowing but he doesn't take up a spot in the 25 man squad so he is a bit of a free hit. Success loaned out, looks like his Watford career is coming to an end soon but this gives him a chance to maybe find some form.

    Centre mids:

    IN:Ndong
    OUT: Watson
    Ndong seemed to be third choice from our shortlist of Anguissa, Dendoncker and Ndong. Most likely only here as a back up option but with Chalobah out for the next while and Cleverley injured again tonight it seems he will be called upon soon. Seems to be a replacement for Watson which is fair enough but no replacement found for the ineffectual Capoue.

    Full backs:

    IN: None
    OUT: None

    Probably our weakest area of the pitch and we did nothing. Janmaat, Holebas and Zeegelaar are all pretty poor and Femenia is only back in light training. Can't believe we didn't upgrade our options at full back.

    Centre backs:

    IN: None
    OUT: None
    Again, we have been weak here all season. Cathcart is always injured and Prodl has been awful since returning from injury. Britos is also injured and was never very good prior to being injured and the average at best Kaboul has also been injured since August but is at least close to a return. He does have a history of being injury prone though. No idea what is happening with Hoban but I can't imagine he will ever play for us again and Wague also wasn't great prior to his injury. Kabasele is our only actual decent centre back so no idea why we didn't replace Prodl or someone with a half decent defender.

    GK

    IN: Dahlberg
    OUT: None
    Looks to be a promising keeper for the future but obviously won't help us in our relegation battle.
     
    Sahorn, Klein Lust, Meh! and 8 others like this.
  7. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    2/5 for me. A positive net gain in midfield with a better holding player replacing a terrible one, and an attacking midfielder better than any we could hope to sign normally. However I’d say midfield was the lowest priority yet it’s the only are we've strengthened, so considering most of the teams around have also strengthened we’ve kind of stayed still. We have to hope Javis defensive organisation will be the equivalent of actually signing some better defenders.
     
  8. Bubble

    Bubble Wise Oracle

    3 star.

    Deulofeu will give us real quality out on the wing and will get a fair few assists on tonights evidence.

    No idea about Lukebakio, but he looks to have raw talent - could be a good addition to the squad especially coming off the bench against tiring defenders.

    Ndong I think is an underrated piece of business - adds depth to the midfield and some steal.

    Dahlberg - pointless really mentioning as he's not here yet.

    Would have absolutely loved a striker like Slimani, good business by Newcastle, but if we can get Richarlison firing again and play Deeney up top WITH Gray then you'd expect this to be enough with Okaka as another option.
     
  9. Moose

    Moose First Team Captain

    Very entertaining, thank you.
     
  10. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    I'm extremely disappointed. I went for 2, because we brought in Deulofeu to give us a viable wing option, and of decent quality too, probably better than anything we have at the moment. But we completely neglected our 3 most pressing concerns: full back, centre back, and striker. Once again, on the evidence of tonight, where the hell are our goals going to come from. The whole team is playing with such low confidence, they barely choose to pass or hold possession at the moment, and our attacking play is far from flowing.

    I hope my judgement is wrong, and we will soon 'click', but there's not much empirically to suggest that we will. We are now relying on the same 3 busted flush strikers, with what, 5 goals between them(?) to score enough to keep us up. Meanwhile our defence is precisely as suspect as it has been all season. If I was the Pozzos, I would not be feeling hugely confident about who we have available keeping us up, and if they do it will be a desperate scramble.

    As I said on Reddit earlier, I feel a little disillusioned. Not really, actually disillusioned, just as much as you could possibly be said to be given our relationshp with the Pozzi and what they have done for us. I do not think they have pulled it out of the bag for us, like they have each time previously. I can't quite understand their logic; it's so ******* risky.

    I'm bored of this repetitive collapsing season narrative now. Couldn't we just have a moderate but enjoyable season for once?
     
    TwoBob, RMT79 and NorwegianOrn like this.
  11. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    2 stars at a push. We've put ourselves at genuine risk of relegation.
     
  12. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    I think the players we have signed are an improvement on what we had.

    Deulofeu is an upgrade, and will probably turn out to be a vital player in the run in.

    Ndong is an upgrade on Watson.

    Lukebakio is a different option to what we had previously.

    Dahlberg could prove to be a fantastic signing

    So the players we actually signed have improved us, however, we’ve not done enough.

    Left and right wing backs were needed, a striker that can actually put the ball in the net and a central defender of quality was a high priority for me.

    So we have improved, but I’m not sure we’ve improved enough to pick up the necessary points required in the last 13 games.
     
  13. simpleMASH

    simpleMASH Reservist

    I also gave 2 stars.

    Ins:

    Deulofeu looks like a good signing on paper, but I’m not as enthused as some people on here (he never stood out as anything special at Everton but then tbf I hear he was good at Milan).

    Ndong is just another body. One would expect him to be better than Capoue or Watson in the DM role but he’s not an upgrade on our firstbXI and the sooner we can get Chalobah back the better.

    No idea who Lukebakio is so I can’t say much. Is he even going to play? I hope he turns out to be a success story and not a Success story.

    Dahlberg will hopefully prove to be a good investment but he’s not going to be helping us survive this year!

    Outs:

    Top work to recall Pantilimon from Deportivo and send him to Forest. May save our season.

    Same goes for Zarate moving to Varsfield.

    Success will probably never play for us again and I can’t say that upsets me. He has the physical attributes but didn’t show he had any great skill very often. If he can show some professionalism and get a good run of games at Malaga then maybe he can have a future here, but I suspect that would only serve to increase his value when we sell/loan him.

    Ben Watson will be missed more as a presence than a player. His calm and experience could have been important in a relegation battle and he’s one of few leaders we had. He can’t be begrudged wanting more playing time however and I hope the next stage of his career goes well for him.

    Complaints:

    Still weak at full back (especially the left side), too many centre backs on the books (most of them injury-prone and none of them that good) and seriously lacking quality upfront.
    A few big signings will be needed in the summer even if we stay up.
     
  14. miked2006

    miked2006 Premiership Prediction League Proprietor

    Newcastle got ****ing Slimani on loan?! And we're stuck with Deeney and Grey.

    The three players we needed, in order of importance: a striker, a left back and a winger. We got one of them - our third priority.

    So overall, I'd say it's been a pretty poor window.
     
    Heidar and TwoBob like this.
  15. Carpster

    Carpster Squad Player

    5 STARS.
     
  16. zztop

    zztop Eurovision Winner 2015

    The signings have improved us a little overall but we needed a goalscorer and will still havn't got one.

    A very disappointed 2 stars from me.
     
  17. tonycotonstache

    tonycotonstache Squad Player



    Always prefered Mel and Kim myself
     
  18. tonycotonstache

    tonycotonstache Squad Player

    It does seem like the club are confident that the injured players will be back soon. Confident enough to not even try and plug the gaps in the positions we are short. Not signing a striker probably came down to not getting rid of Okaka. Now we are stuck with a player that is not match fit and doesn't want to be here. Well actually we are stuck with a few of those aren't we!
     
  19. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    Yeah I’m totally bemused by that, I can fully understand the owners not wanting to sign him permanently at the prices that had been flying about, but if a loan was an option then why the hell did we not snap him up?

    Even if he’d been totally **** it would’ve pissed Silva off no end. Crazy.
     
    miked2006 likes this.
  20. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    1 star. Complacent and lazy.
     
    TwoBob and wfcmoog like this.
  21. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    3 stars (assuming we have some key players on the verge of returning from injury)

    Satisfactory.

    If Gracia can organise the defense that will be more important than any signings.
     
    I Blame Pozzo and Bubble like this.
  22. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    I don't know how hard they worked to achieve the little they did, or whether they did so because they thought it would be enough. The end product, however, is not good enough and we've now left it up to chance, or a remarkable job of galvanisation by Gracia to avoid the drop.

    We're far too poor all over the park at present to win any games at this level, barring a freak upset here and there
     
    NathWFC likes this.
  23. USAHornet

    USAHornet Academy Graduate

    Two stars at best.

    Biggest areas of need: Can't score and can't stop other teams from scoring. Don't see how we've fixed those issues. Club will be counting on our defenders to get healthy quickly and for our strikers to start doing their job. Glad they are so optimistic!
     
  24. barker

    barker Academy Graduate

    I don't know what people expect, with the inflated prices being bandied about. Apart from the top clubs, I don't see any other team having a particularly wonderful window. And, we don't look the most attractive proposition at the moment. The players we have are capable, and know what's expected and showed some of it last night.
     
    I Blame Pozzo likes this.
  25. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    I think this is key. Zeegelaar, Janmaat and Holebas are utter dogshit, full stop. Holebas in particular frustrated me so much last night, the guy thinks he’s a skillfull winger, he needs to learn he’s a limited defender. The rest of our defence aren’t actually as bad as Silva made them look. Gracia has clearly already made progress and we looked much better last night, so we’ve probably made the equivalent of some defensives signings by sacking a coach who didn’t worry about it and employing one who is known for being good at it.
     
  26. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Replacing our utterly dreadful fullbacks shouldn’t be beyond our means. Any average import would be an upgrade. I have more sympathy for being able to upgrade our inpotent strikeforce, but in this regard Brighton, Swansea, Southampton all invested heavily and Newcastle and WBA brought in expensive loans. We have comparatively stepped backwards.
     
    NathWFC likes this.
  27. wingco

    wingco Reservist

    Not a great window. I do feel the club wanted a new striker, but shifting Okaka seems next to impossible. Two transfer windows now where his moves have broken down.

    What I can't wrap my head around, Is why the Ndong deal was done yesterday, rather than a month ago. There were no other clubs in for him, the club obviously had plans to release Watson when Cathcart returned. The delay has meant he's picked up a suspension at Sunderland, and we've endured 4/5 matches with a midfielder unable to cope with the pace. We had a lad on the bench yesterday who will likely end up at Wealdstone in a years time, and he's now our 3rd choice centre mid

    Deulofeu looks a very good signing, and I feel he'll have the same impact that Niang did.

    Lukebakio struggled to get a game in Belgium, so I haven't got high hopes he'll even make an appearance this season (or ever). He's taken the place of the vastly more experienced Success, which baffles me.

    4/10 for me. Though I do sympathize with the recruitment team, given the squad was already full, and decisions had to be made about those out injured and whether it was worth replacing them
     
  28. wingco

    wingco Reservist

    As i mentioned yesterday, you've got to shift those players on before you replace them. Can you imagine there would be many takers for Zeegelaar, Janmaat or Holebas?
     
  29. tonycotonstache

    tonycotonstache Squad Player

    The only scrap of defence of our shoddy full backs is that maybe they weren't told to track back by Slither the Snake. We had the benefit of a Cleverely, Doucoure or Chalobah filling in earlier in the season. Maybe this is why its gone so badly wrong formation wise? I mean Mariappa in Slithers formation was woeful but last night in a more defensive position and he was ok. A bit more defensive balance and players knowing not to go charging up the pitch may well be the short term answer to get us out of this mess of a season.
     
  30. tonycotonstache

    tonycotonstache Squad Player

    We took 'em!
     
  31. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    If more than 1 out of those 5 strikers scores more than a couple of goals between now and the end of the season I'll be surprised. A lot of it was money for old rope.

    Our biggest issue is shifting what we've already got. Without doing that it's difficult to bring in new blood.
     
  32. Relegation Certs

    Relegation Certs Squad Player

    1/10.

    Strengthened the low priority areas and completely ignored our weakest points. We now have the worst strikers in the league. Newcastle have eclipsed us.
     
    easthertshornet likes this.
  33. Clive_ofthe_Kremlin

    Clive_ofthe_Kremlin Squad Player

    4 stars from me. Ever the optimist.

    I think Deulofeu looks great - love a player like that who takes on defenders and glides past them effortlessly. A much needed upgrade on the questionably-motivated Carrillo. With Gerry down one side and Richie/Pererya down the other, we'll be quite potent I reckon.

    I'm very hopeful too for Ndong. Decent squad addition hopefully. We'll soon find out. Strong, energetic and pacy.

    Chewbakkio is very much an unknown, but roll the dice, who knows. Might be an undiscovered gem.

    I would have given 5 stars if we'd replaced Janmaat, whom everyone seems to have acknowledged now is a complete liability at right back and Holebas who I maintain is not good enough.

    As for strikers, I believe Deeney still has something to offer, Gray has sufficient ability to come good and Okaka (if he's up for it) is a decent striker whom I'm glad we've held on to. I'd certainly rather have Okaka than Afobe and quite possibly rather have him than Slimani.
     
  34. PotGuy

    PotGuy Forum Fetishist

    We don't have a bottomless pot of money, and I think some demands are a bit unrealistic.

    We clearly spent very heavily in the summer with excellent signings and faith in what seemed an excellent squad and manager.

    That we would end up in this position with a backstabbing manager leading a squad with 11 first team injuries would have impossible to predict for anybody at the club.

    We can't just make our crocks disappear off the wage bill, ignore long term contracts, force bids for declining players or make quality affordable signings appear from nowhere.

    The club didn't have a choice but wait for injured players to return, or else we would have a 40 man first team squad.

    The priority was a winger, because we only have two! We got one proven winger and a younger one, can't expect more in january.

    Given our injuries in midfield i think it was also necessary to bring in a dm above all else. Even if they aren't great, we physically have enough cbs and fbs. We really need six cms, and at Chelsea we will only have two! As for strikers, again, we physically have enough.

    Imo, we did as well as can be expected given how heavily we spent in the summer and how unexpectedly disastrous the last few months have been. A solid 3.
     
  35. Meh!

    Meh! Pre-Dictator

    3 stars for me.

    No we didn't upgrade the defence but we kept a clean sheet last night.

    No striker is a slight concern but if Gracia thinks his style and formation can suit our current attackers then there was no need.

    Think we need to see how this plays out over the next few games to see if Gracia has got the players to suit how he wants us to set up.

    Duelofeu looked pretty dynamic and pacey last night.

    Gave 3 stars.

    Sad to see Watson go.

    Kenedy looked solid for Newcastle. Why was he misused with us?!!!
     

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