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It seems like virtually everyone linked is not on Town’s radar, and equally I’m sure the radar is a top secret article. Do you have any feel for how many might be on it and a view to how many signings might materialise?
It seems like virtually everyone linked is not on Town’s radar, and equally I’m sure the radar is a top secret article. Do you have any feel for how many might be on it and a view to how many signings might materialise?
Think clubs and agents know we've got money, so they use us when trying to drum up interest or create the illusion of a battle for a signature.
Not sure how many on the list but I think it will be evolution rather than revolution. The squad has been developed with an eye on the Championship rather than simply on getting up, as it could be argued was the case at Sheffield Wednesday, for example.
Are your sources within the club? I've always found it curious why clubs want to quash transfer talk if there's nothing in it. Surely leaving the speculation on the table can only strengthen our negotiating position for players we do actually want. Unless of course we don't want to play our part in inflating the price of a certain player with the assumption that the selling club might then compete for the ones we do want.
Think clubs and agents know we've got money, so they use us when trying to drum up interest or create the illusion of a battle for a signature.
Not sure how many on the list but I think it will be evolution rather than revolution. The squad has been developed with an eye on the Championship rather than simply on getting up, as it could be argued was the case at Sheffield Wednesday, for example.
Are your sources within the club? I've always found it curious why clubs want to quash transfer talk if there's nothing in it. Surely leaving the speculation on the table can only strengthen our negotiating position for players we do actually want. Unless of course we don't want to play our part in inflating the price of a certain player with the assumption that the selling club might then compete for the ones we do want.
But from the other angle, clubs don't want fans getting excited that they're apparently signing Player X when they're actually might be after other perhaps not so exciting targets.
Think clubs and agents know we've got money, so they use us when trying to drum up interest or create the illusion of a battle for a signature.
Not sure how many on the list but I think it will be evolution rather than revolution. The squad has been developed with an eye on the Championship rather than simply on getting up, as it could be argued was the case at Sheffield Wednesday, for example.
Ive been thinking exactly that. The extension of aluko suggests new players in will be limited.
And thats no bad thing. I feel our first 11 are top half quality already. Though i havent watched much championship in the last couple of years.
I think 2 or 3 significant signings will be ideal.
Think clubs and agents know we've got money, so they use us when trying to drum up interest or create the illusion of a battle for a signature.
Not sure how many on the list but I think it will be evolution rather than revolution. The squad has been developed with an eye on the Championship rather than simply on getting up, as it could be argued was the case at Sheffield Wednesday, for example.
Thanks Phil. Quality over quantity…pretty much every window since Ashton has been here we seem to have signed a few more than I would have expected but maybe this will be a quieter one!
Thanks Phil. Quality over quantity…pretty much every window since Ashton has been here we seem to have signed a few more than I would have expected but maybe this will be a quieter one!
I think it probably will be, in part because of the business in January. Would need a few to move on for there to be a significant number of signings.
Ive been thinking exactly that. The extension of aluko suggests new players in will be limited.
And thats no bad thing. I feel our first 11 are top half quality already. Though i havent watched much championship in the last couple of years.
I think 2 or 3 significant signings will be ideal.
I think you’ll be in for a shock. It’s incredibly competitive, even more so with yourselves and the other two promoted clubs (Wigan, Reading and Blackpool git worse as the season went on). There are few, if any easy games, and the Saturday / Tuesday schedule means “our best eleven is good enough” type thinking is naive. You need a squad. You do have some Championship proven players, and players like Davis and Clark who you hope seamlessly step-up. What do you do if Chaplin (who I’ve always liked) only scores at the level he’s previously attained at this level? And even in Barnsley’s playoff season, he became “bit-part” as the season wore on.
Some games in the Championship look a poor game to watch, and therefore there becomes a view that it is poor quality. The playoff final for example. But it’s just two ultra competitive teams cancelling each other out both tactically and technically, denying space, etc. it’s games like those where you find out it’s a darn sight harder at this level than you think.
I’d be waiting to see your recruitment before getting a bit OTT about the ability of your squad.
I think you’ll be in for a shock. It’s incredibly competitive, even more so with yourselves and the other two promoted clubs (Wigan, Reading and Blackpool git worse as the season went on). There are few, if any easy games, and the Saturday / Tuesday schedule means “our best eleven is good enough” type thinking is naive. You need a squad. You do have some Championship proven players, and players like Davis and Clark who you hope seamlessly step-up. What do you do if Chaplin (who I’ve always liked) only scores at the level he’s previously attained at this level? And even in Barnsley’s playoff season, he became “bit-part” as the season wore on.
Some games in the Championship look a poor game to watch, and therefore there becomes a view that it is poor quality. The playoff final for example. But it’s just two ultra competitive teams cancelling each other out both tactically and technically, denying space, etc. it’s games like those where you find out it’s a darn sight harder at this level than you think.
I’d be waiting to see your recruitment before getting a bit OTT about the ability of your squad.
Given Kompany said we were the toughest team they faced (Bar City) I think we have good reason to be cautiously optimistic.
I think you’ll be in for a shock. It’s incredibly competitive, even more so with yourselves and the other two promoted clubs (Wigan, Reading and Blackpool git worse as the season went on). There are few, if any easy games, and the Saturday / Tuesday schedule means “our best eleven is good enough” type thinking is naive. You need a squad. You do have some Championship proven players, and players like Davis and Clark who you hope seamlessly step-up. What do you do if Chaplin (who I’ve always liked) only scores at the level he’s previously attained at this level? And even in Barnsley’s playoff season, he became “bit-part” as the season wore on.
Some games in the Championship look a poor game to watch, and therefore there becomes a view that it is poor quality. The playoff final for example. But it’s just two ultra competitive teams cancelling each other out both tactically and technically, denying space, etc. it’s games like those where you find out it’s a darn sight harder at this level than you think.
I’d be waiting to see your recruitment before getting a bit OTT about the ability of your squad.
How condescending is that last line ffs ?
I think we have the right to be bullish about our squad and our intended recruitment
We've not been let down yet so why should we be any other ?
We're as optimistic as the next set of fans whilst not being OTT
Given Kompany said we were the toughest team they faced (Bar City) I think we have good reason to be cautiously optimistic.
And that was our reserves! Agree, we were far from just a first XI and in terms of Saturday-Tuesday, League One is probably more demanding than the Championship with the Papa Johns adding games. On top of that we had a cup run!
I think you’ll be in for a shock. It’s incredibly competitive, even more so with yourselves and the other two promoted clubs (Wigan, Reading and Blackpool git worse as the season went on). There are few, if any easy games, and the Saturday / Tuesday schedule means “our best eleven is good enough” type thinking is naive. You need a squad. You do have some Championship proven players, and players like Davis and Clark who you hope seamlessly step-up. What do you do if Chaplin (who I’ve always liked) only scores at the level he’s previously attained at this level? And even in Barnsley’s playoff season, he became “bit-part” as the season wore on.
Some games in the Championship look a poor game to watch, and therefore there becomes a view that it is poor quality. The playoff final for example. But it’s just two ultra competitive teams cancelling each other out both tactically and technically, denying space, etc. it’s games like those where you find out it’s a darn sight harder at this level than you think.
I’d be waiting to see your recruitment before getting a bit OTT about the ability of your squad.
Can’t be that competitive or else you lot would have gone back down by now.
My hobbies include being quiet during trips, clapping with songs, and diabetes.
I think you’ll be in for a shock. It’s incredibly competitive, even more so with yourselves and the other two promoted clubs (Wigan, Reading and Blackpool git worse as the season went on). There are few, if any easy games, and the Saturday / Tuesday schedule means “our best eleven is good enough” type thinking is naive. You need a squad. You do have some Championship proven players, and players like Davis and Clark who you hope seamlessly step-up. What do you do if Chaplin (who I’ve always liked) only scores at the level he’s previously attained at this level? And even in Barnsley’s playoff season, he became “bit-part” as the season wore on.
Some games in the Championship look a poor game to watch, and therefore there becomes a view that it is poor quality. The playoff final for example. But it’s just two ultra competitive teams cancelling each other out both tactically and technically, denying space, etc. it’s games like those where you find out it’s a darn sight harder at this level than you think.
I’d be waiting to see your recruitment before getting a bit OTT about the ability of your squad.
It’s interesting you say that.
I can say in all honesty I haven’t watched so much of the Championship for pretty obvious reasons, similarly I’d guess you’ve not seen so many Ipswich games. I’d say by the end of last season we were playing a long way above league one levels when granted a lot of stuff slotted together nicely in terms of being able to settle on a very effective first 11 and I know our luck won’t always run that way…but we were a good level above every league one team during that run. I think it’s fair to take a great deal of confidence from that plus we’ll no doubt add some more quality.
Guess we’ll see. I’m pretty confident we’ll do fine though.
I think you’ll be in for a shock. It’s incredibly competitive, even more so with yourselves and the other two promoted clubs (Wigan, Reading and Blackpool git worse as the season went on). There are few, if any easy games, and the Saturday / Tuesday schedule means “our best eleven is good enough” type thinking is naive. You need a squad. You do have some Championship proven players, and players like Davis and Clark who you hope seamlessly step-up. What do you do if Chaplin (who I’ve always liked) only scores at the level he’s previously attained at this level? And even in Barnsley’s playoff season, he became “bit-part” as the season wore on.
Some games in the Championship look a poor game to watch, and therefore there becomes a view that it is poor quality. The playoff final for example. But it’s just two ultra competitive teams cancelling each other out both tactically and technically, denying space, etc. it’s games like those where you find out it’s a darn sight harder at this level than you think.
I’d be waiting to see your recruitment before getting a bit OTT about the ability of your squad.
One thing KMc has talked about over the 18 months he's been here is having a squad and last summer the squad was setup with 2 players for every position. In January he tweaked that and strengthened to enhance the squad. I have every confidence that even our "reserve" side would at least have a good stab at survival in the Championship.
Why? Because KMc is tactically astute and his natural coaching ethos is to be defensively sound. (Daft I know when we scored over 100 goals). He's also pretty much improved every player in the squad over the season. He's not perfect but he's done a damn good job at trying to be. I would even wage that we could put our U23 out and he would make sure that we were competitive. Ask Burnley fans what they think of our "reserve" side. Or even Rotherham(who played their first 11).
So combined with or so called first 11 which finished the season so strongly and add in 2-3 signings to further strengthen and I think I can safely say we will have a competent squad. Believe me I know what the Championship is about and so do most Town fans, we saw enough of it over the years and for me this is the best Town team since we were relegated from the EPL. Not necessarily the best players but the best team. To be honest I think you and a few other fans will be in for a shock when you see how good we are. We're not like any Town team you would have seen in the last 20 years. One thing for sure is we will also be one of the fittest team's in the Championship, thats a given for any KMc team.
Yes it is is another step up, and I'm sure we will come out on the wrong side of a few fine lines and draw a few games as well. But I've no doubt that every game this season we will have a right go at winning and will end up winning more than we lose. How much more we will see....
I think you’ll be in for a shock. It’s incredibly competitive, even more so with yourselves and the other two promoted clubs (Wigan, Reading and Blackpool git worse as the season went on). There are few, if any easy games, and the Saturday / Tuesday schedule means “our best eleven is good enough” type thinking is naive. You need a squad. You do have some Championship proven players, and players like Davis and Clark who you hope seamlessly step-up. What do you do if Chaplin (who I’ve always liked) only scores at the level he’s previously attained at this level? And even in Barnsley’s playoff season, he became “bit-part” as the season wore on.
Some games in the Championship look a poor game to watch, and therefore there becomes a view that it is poor quality. The playoff final for example. But it’s just two ultra competitive teams cancelling each other out both tactically and technically, denying space, etc. it’s games like those where you find out it’s a darn sight harder at this level than you think.
I’d be waiting to see your recruitment before getting a bit OTT about the ability of your squad.
League 1 is a doddle. You only have to look at how all 3 promoted sides have gone straight back down without a fight and each relegated side has bounced straight back to see how massive the gulf is between the two leagues.
How much have Luton and Sunderland strengthened since their promotions?
With the Championship being so tough, how do you see your team doing next season? An improvement on 14th? Finish above nodge? Clearly you are confident you will be well ahead of us. Especially as we are burdened with Mark Ashton.
League 1 is a doddle. You only have to look at how all 3 promoted sides have gone straight back down without a fight and each relegated side has bounced straight back to see how massive the gulf is between the two leagues.
How much have Luton and Sunderland strengthened since their promotions?
With the Championship being so tough, how do you see your team doing next season? An improvement on 14th? Finish above nodge? Clearly you are confident you will be well ahead of us. Especially as we are burdened with Mark Ashton.
Our aspiration is to try to be in the PO mix, but that’s a big ask…at least without knowing how Leeds, Leicester and Southampton build their squads this summer. They would have to have complete car crashes recruitment-wise to not be in the mix. Even Norwich who eventually finished 13th were in the mix til near end. They’ve started recruitment with Stacey and Barnes.
Luton have the best recruitment in the EFL, they’ve strengthened hugely each season. Sunderland brought in the likes of Diallo, Simms (then Gelhardt), Michut, Ballard, plus signed Clarke permanently. The best individual performances last season were Simms at our place, Clarke at theirs, and Benson (Burnley).
We are increasing depth of key players with our two signings so far. We haven’t lost any key players from last season. Dasilva to Coventry was the only one who played significant minutes…but he was second choice to Cam Pring.
I’m hoping top ten…but I still think POs might be another year away.
Re the original post, I was trying to say that just looking at best eleven and comparing it in the Champ isn’t a good way of looking at it. If you wanna do that then compare to everyone else’s best eleven too.
Our aspiration is to try to be in the PO mix, but that’s a big ask…at least without knowing how Leeds, Leicester and Southampton build their squads this summer. They would have to have complete car crashes recruitment-wise to not be in the mix. Even Norwich who eventually finished 13th were in the mix til near end. They’ve started recruitment with Stacey and Barnes.
Luton have the best recruitment in the EFL, they’ve strengthened hugely each season. Sunderland brought in the likes of Diallo, Simms (then Gelhardt), Michut, Ballard, plus signed Clarke permanently. The best individual performances last season were Simms at our place, Clarke at theirs, and Benson (Burnley).
We are increasing depth of key players with our two signings so far. We haven’t lost any key players from last season. Dasilva to Coventry was the only one who played significant minutes…but he was second choice to Cam Pring.
I’m hoping top ten…but I still think POs might be another year away.
Re the original post, I was trying to say that just looking at best eleven and comparing it in the Champ isn’t a good way of looking at it. If you wanna do that then compare to everyone else’s best eleven too.
I agreed with your OP, the Champ is a step up from L1 and a different kind of challenge. Less agricultural sh*thousing at Sunday League grounds, but a much higher intensity and physicality than in L1.
I would not be surprised to see us struggle in early games as it will takes us a little while to get used to Championship football and there are a lot of decent sides in the League. I take the Kompany comments with a pinch of salt as it was two largely second choice football sides both trying to play football in a match without any real jeopardy, which is not a representative example of what is coming next.
I think we will be fine and will be backed to upgrade players this summer and in Jan. A top half finish and signs of onward progression of the team will be a good season. Anything else, a bonus.
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