| Have we learned from transfer windows? 15:33 - Jun 6 with 9058 views | itfcjoe |
I think it has been a little bit lost in the wash after the success of the last season, that last summers transfer window was pretty poor......the January window was absolutely superb. What lessons are learned?
Summer
Ladapo (8/10) - good striker, did well for us, but felt was always signed to be a back up
Ball (2/10) - 4 league starts, couldn't get in team ahead of Evans, then when we needed him was injured
Leigh (5/10) - was a very good back up, but ultimately started 3 league games in the season
Harness (6/10) - started the season very well, didn't seem to recover well from injury and then was replaced by end of seasonwhich after spending a decent sized fee surely wasn't the plan
Davis (9/10) - fantastic signing. Nuff said.
Keogh (3/10) - paid a fee for him, started 4 league games. Released at end of season.
Ahadme (1/10) - paid a fee, looked terrible, ended up outside team at Burton
Camara (1/10) - paid a decent fee, 1 league minute
John-Jules (4/10) - looked good at times, but missed over half the season
Some of these ratings may look harsh, I don't think they are, and obviously the players who missed time through injuries may come good in the future so this isn't a writing off of their Ipswich career.
But ultimately out of the 9 players we signed, 6 of them started less than 10 games for us so that is a pretty terrible hit rate. Out of the 3 who did make 10 starts, one of them ended up out of the team despite paying a relatively big fee for him. A pretty poor hit rate and the success of the January window covered at how poor a window we'd had.
January window
Luongo (8/10) - a superb addition who improved us as soon as he was fit. One point deduction for taking a couple of weeks to get fit.
Broadhead (9/10) - The difference maker
Clarke (7/10) - Ended up as big upgrade with room a lot of room to grow into
Hirst (8/10) - Gave us a new dimension up front, and also allowed Ladapo to play less minutes as we were so reliant on him
So for me transfer business this season
9/10 - Davis, Broadhead
8/10 - Ladapo, Luongo, Hirst
7/10 - Clarke
6/10 - Harness
5/10 - Leigh
4/10 - TJJ
3/10 - Keogh
2/10 - Ball
1/10 - Camara, Ahadme
What did we get right in January that we didn't in summer? What are the mitigating factors?
Business done quicker in Jan - targets identified earlier? Recruitment team more in place and with more time to prepare?
January traditionally harder to do business in - why did we buck that trend?
Less risks on signings - Camara was injured, Ahadme was a panic buy
Luck? TJJ and Ball suffering injuries
More aggressive? SIgnings of Clarke and Broadhead shouldn't have been possible for a L1 club.
Interested to know what people think - and what they think we need to do to ensure we have a repeat of January 2023, opposed to Summer 2022. |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:38 - Jun 6 with 5057 views | Keno |
I agree with most of that apart from Keogh
I suspect he was very influential behind the scenes and had more presence off than on the pitch |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:40 - Jun 6 with 5055 views | ITFC_Forever |
Certainly improving our recruitment team was a bigg help for January.
There were some signings that were defnitely filler last summer - good character around the place though Keogh was, I was concerned his best days were behind him and so it proved.
Ahadme was a strange signing, and seemed to be made when we finally gave up on Hirst and he had a good start to the season in a very different type of side.
Leigh did what we needed him to do, and helped Davis settle in to becoming a permanent first team member, something he hadn't done before.
TJJ never looked any more than another academy kid who wasn't really ready for men's football.
Camara was signed with an injury and remained that way. |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:43 - Jun 6 with 5027 views | blueasfook |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:38 - Jun 6 by Keno |
I agree with most of that apart from Keogh
I suspect he was very influential behind the scenes and had more presence off than on the pitch |
I too think he was more important in the dressing room than on the pitch. Well you would hope so, given the few games he played! |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:48 - Jun 6 with 4978 views | SaleAway |
I agree with most of that... 5/10 for Leigh seems harsh though. Came in on a free, as a backup, never gave us anything less than probably a 7/10 performance.... I think the only way he could have done better is if Davis had been worse. |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:51 - Jun 6 with 4937 views | textbackup |
I can’t remember the order they were signed, but if we’d not signed Davis I could see Leigh would have featured heavily and his rating would have been much higher, really like him.
On the ‘what did we do better in Jan’ I think it’s simply the management team assessed what we had and identified areas that needed to be upgraded on, and they went out and got them.
And we have that going into next season with the summer window, KM etc will know where we need to improve, and put all focus on those areas. I think |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:56 - Jun 6 with 4864 views | Luggworm |
9/10 - Davis, Broadhead
8/10 - Ladapo, Luongo, Hirst
7/10 - Clarke
6/10 - Harness
5/10 - Leigh
4/10 - TJJ
3/10 - Keogh
2/10 - Ball
1/10 - Camara, Ahadme
I'd say your harsh on Ball and TJJ and generous on Harness.
Without the injuries that the recruitment team cannot predict I dare say Ball would have played a lot more games and Luongo may not have been signed as deemed not necessary. Similar with TJJ, he was starting to look really good when he picked up his injury.
The Harness signing was a a bit weird, he's a winger that doesn't really fit into McK's style and has struggled at No10. |  | | |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:58 - Jun 6 with 4857 views | BiGDonnie |
One thing I've thought of is how quiet it's been since the end of the season. I'm imagining KMac, Ashton and the team working round the clock and soon we'll be unveiling a mega triple signing to really get us going. [Post edited 6 Jun 2023 15:58]
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:58 - Jun 6 with 4846 views | SheffordBlue |
Did we take less risk?
Luongo and Broadhead both had injury histories that suggested one or both might not play consistently for the remainder of the season when they signed.
Unless we changed the medical screening process between windows I think it's just that the footballing gods favoured us more in that time frame. | |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:58 - Jun 6 with 4845 views | homer_123 |
It's always somewhat of a lottery isn't it.
Injuries to JJ and Camara/ Ball/ Evans opened the door to the likes of Broadhead, Luongo et al.
By the time the Jan transfer window came around, it was 'very' clear what we needed and ergo easier(?) to go out and get those - it happened that all of the Jan transfers have done well, that, in itself bucks the trend. You'd be happy wit 2 out of that 4 doing that well.
I still maintain that our 'best' transfer is Luongo. A ridiculous signing on a free. |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:01 - Jun 6 with 4816 views | NthQldITFC |
Agree with most of your ratings, but I'd bump Luongo up to a 9 (he changed the way the whole team played), and I'd bump Broadhead up to a 10 (you simply couldn't get a better, more crowd<->team inspiring player at third division level.)
But the nitty-gritty of the ratings wasn't the point I know. Was the difference that we were already overall a pretty damned good League 1 team (third, and dominant in games), so the additional players were always going to be cherry picks at high cost, and never squad fillers? You could argue that five of the eight summer signings were always second choice in their position, and their ratings reflect that.
Of the eight, four were also blighted by injury, and John Jules and possibly Camara might well have had much higher ratings otherwise. Probably KMc and the recruitment team have fine-tuned their workings, but I don't see a huge difference in the quality of decision making, just a change of focus. |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:05 - Jun 6 with 4784 views | FrimleyBlue |
Basically those who cost a bit were worth it
Those on frees or minimal fees weren't.
Lesson is. If you want quality. You've got to pay for it. |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:06 - Jun 6 with 4798 views | le2blue |
As well as having a recruitment team in place and probably a clearer view of what was needed to upgrade the positions targeted, I also think we were a more attractive proposition in January than last summer. We tried for Hirst and he choose Rovers, Luongo choose a Championship side as did Broadhead...so I'd argue the caliber we were after was harder to convince (Davis being the exception) last summer vs Jan.
KM has also become someone players want to play for now, which will be a key asset for this summer's recruitment, he/we are going places with a clear plan and style which will make the sales process easier.
I agree with your assessments, aside from Davis, I can see us offloading the majority of those players recruited last summer. Time to trade and upgrade. |  | | |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:10 - Jun 6 with 4725 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:58 - Jun 6 by BiGDonnie |
One thing I've thought of is how quiet it's been since the end of the season. I'm imagining KMac, Ashton and the team working round the clock and soon we'll be unveiling a mega triple signing to really get us going. [Post edited 6 Jun 2023 15:58]
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Think the itfc admin was expecting a bit more.
Had started the monthly snapshots which always lead upto a signing or a contract renewal. We got to April and it's been stuck there ever since.
It's rather quiet overall tho
No tour news
No town tv news
No player news
No ground improvement news
Quite oddly quiet. | |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:11 - Jun 6 with 4719 views | homer_123 |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:05 - Jun 6 by FrimleyBlue |
Basically those who cost a bit were worth it
Those on frees or minimal fees weren't.
Lesson is. If you want quality. You've got to pay for it. |
Luongo...... | |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:12 - Jun 6 with 4714 views | itfcjoe |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:05 - Jun 6 by FrimleyBlue |
Basically those who cost a bit were worth it
Those on frees or minimal fees weren't.
Lesson is. If you want quality. You've got to pay for it. |
Probably a pretty fair assessment as well | |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:13 - Jun 6 with 4714 views | Steve_M |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 15:48 - Jun 6 by SaleAway |
I agree with most of that... 5/10 for Leigh seems harsh though. Came in on a free, as a backup, never gave us anything less than probably a 7/10 performance.... I think the only way he could have done better is if Davis had been worse. |
Yes, that's the one I would disagree with Joe on as well. We got the low cost backup in first whilst we went after our main target. We obviously tried to do similarly (albeit at higher cost) with the main striker and then got a bit desperate late on.
We might be in a slightly better position to needing to wait until nearer the end of the window - Davis had only just signed when the season started - now we're a division higher and with the track record of last season behind McK but if we are being ambitious then we might have to wait again - and, as per Joe's underlying point, we would want to do that a bit better this year. |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:13 - Jun 6 with 4710 views | itfcjoe |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:06 - Jun 6 by le2blue |
As well as having a recruitment team in place and probably a clearer view of what was needed to upgrade the positions targeted, I also think we were a more attractive proposition in January than last summer. We tried for Hirst and he choose Rovers, Luongo choose a Championship side as did Broadhead...so I'd argue the caliber we were after was harder to convince (Davis being the exception) last summer vs Jan.
KM has also become someone players want to play for now, which will be a key asset for this summer's recruitment, he/we are going places with a clear plan and style which will make the sales process easier.
I agree with your assessments, aside from Davis, I can see us offloading the majority of those players recruited last summer. Time to trade and upgrade. |
Thanks for that, seem to have hit the nail on head for me (in far fewer words) | |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:14 - Jun 6 with 4691 views | J2BLUE |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:10 - Jun 6 by FrimleyBlue |
Think the itfc admin was expecting a bit more.
Had started the monthly snapshots which always lead upto a signing or a contract renewal. We got to April and it's been stuck there ever since.
It's rather quiet overall tho
No tour news
No town tv news
No player news
No ground improvement news
Quite oddly quiet. |
They have literally just tweeted May |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:16 - Jun 6 with 4669 views | Swansea_Blue |
Summer wasn’t poor. We held on to our key players, strengthened in areas we needed to strengthen and got some good quality backup too. Players getting injured doesn’t make for a poor window, that’s just down to normal unpredictability around the team. |  |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:17 - Jun 6 with 4661 views | itfcjoe |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:13 - Jun 6 by Steve_M |
Yes, that's the one I would disagree with Joe on as well. We got the low cost backup in first whilst we went after our main target. We obviously tried to do similarly (albeit at higher cost) with the main striker and then got a bit desperate late on.
We might be in a slightly better position to needing to wait until nearer the end of the window - Davis had only just signed when the season started - now we're a division higher and with the track record of last season behind McK but if we are being ambitious then we might have to wait again - and, as per Joe's underlying point, we would want to do that a bit better this year. |
I guess it's whether the score is for how much he effected our team for the promotion we achieved, or how much he did the role that was asked of him as a back up.
Ultimately he did all that was asked of him, but it's a an equivalent of a C grade for me in old school language - pass. Met expectations | |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:20 - Jun 6 with 4606 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:11 - Jun 6 by homer_123 |
Luongo...... |
Good shout. Potential high in wages. But we don't know that for sure. | |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:21 - Jun 6 with 4596 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:14 - Jun 6 by J2BLUE |
They have literally just tweeted May |
Frimley. Football genius strikes again. | |
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:28 - Jun 6 with 4537 views | le2blue |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:13 - Jun 6 by itfcjoe |
Thanks for that, seem to have hit the nail on head for me (in far fewer words) |
Ha! I like reading your longer-form analysis. Looking forward to the one on who you'd be targeting.
As we know this summer is going to be massive for Ashton and his team, I'd argue bigger than last summer (we're not going to be the biggest spenders/payers). We need to recruit smartly and also make a statement on our intentions. Get it right and I believe we will be challenging right at the top, fail to execute and deliver on targets and we risk slowing momentum, losing players, and even KM. We really do need to go for it (which I think we will). | | | |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:30 - Jun 6 with 4514 views | Metal_Hacker |
Personally I don't think we did anything wrong in the Summer apart from miss out on or not identify a striker early enough ( or at least if identified , we didn't get him)
Quite clearly the major breach if there were any lessons to be learnt
Apart from that the purchases in Jan were born from having a fixed style of play , a loss of key midfield players and that missing cutting edge up front at times - that person with the mobility to shift defenders around that we wanted in the Summer (Hirst-type)
In came Luongo to plug that midfield gap and better than imagined I would've thought replacing a good but lightweight Cam , an injured Evans,Ball and Camara
In came Broadhead who was an upgrade on Harness and very much needed adding to that cutting edge along with Hirst
Also in Jan we got Clarke to freshen up the right side which also coincided with the better more consistent form from Burns
If anything was learnt it was whoever we have / had in the building there was always going to be an extra element required depending where we were in the League and the most apparent was that cutting edge missing from the start of the Summer , presumably missing out on Hirst
Maybe there was a lesson to be learnt , that being don't put all your eggs in one basket chasing one player (Hirst) if that was the case
Apart from the striker position I don't think ( finances to be considered) we could have wished for a much better Summer and definitely not a better Jan
So to conclude I guess for me it's have varying options is critical [Post edited 6 Jun 2023 16:32]
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| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:45 - Jun 6 with 4375 views | BigCommon |
| Have we learned from transfer windows? on 16:01 - Jun 6 by NthQldITFC |
Agree with most of your ratings, but I'd bump Luongo up to a 9 (he changed the way the whole team played), and I'd bump Broadhead up to a 10 (you simply couldn't get a better, more crowd<->team inspiring player at third division level.)
But the nitty-gritty of the ratings wasn't the point I know. Was the difference that we were already overall a pretty damned good League 1 team (third, and dominant in games), so the additional players were always going to be cherry picks at high cost, and never squad fillers? You could argue that five of the eight summer signings were always second choice in their position, and their ratings reflect that.
Of the eight, four were also blighted by injury, and John Jules and possibly Camara might well have had much higher ratings otherwise. Probably KMc and the recruitment team have fine-tuned their workings, but I don't see a huge difference in the quality of decision making, just a change of focus. |
Beat me to it, re Luongo... His presence and added control in MF, allowed Broadhead and Chaplin to excel , further up the pitch. And also gave more license for Davis and Burns to support...
I don't think we would have gotten automatics without Luongo. |  | | |
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