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Thread | Szmodics is a massive upgrade on Chaplin
at 22:53 12 Jul 2024
Someone who can play on the left or the right or as the lone striker.
But ultimately knitting things together behind the front man he’s a huge upgrade on Chaplin.
I love Conor. One of my favourite players in these two seasons. But as I have said before he offered almost nothing but goals in the first half of the season, which is fine, but they dried up after Christmas and he was completely missing in so many games.
Szmodics is just everywhere. Can pick a pass, scores goals, really astute addition and it won’t remotely be instead of Philogene. It’ll be something we’ve been looking at no doubt. |
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Thread | For those concerned at the fees we are paying
at 13:43 9 Jul 2024
Appreciate it's unprecedented and a lot of stories of clubs spending recklessly.
But this is Ashton, McKenna and Gamechanger.
Hutchison, Greaves, Philogene and Delap could have crap seasons for us in a side that goes down comfortably and not one of them will lose any real value and be moving next summer for what we paid for them.
Any kind of decent season and their value rockets by two or three times. Incredibly smart business and exactly how the likes of Brighton and Brentford have done things, albeit we are paying the English premium that other clubs will also be willing to pay us if it goes sour.
I've said before we made any signings I think we'll be 12th to 14th and comfortable under McKenna. But if the worst comes to it, we've simply spent the money we generated through promotion that we recoup in full or largely in fees for players that will be just as in demand because they won't have become bad players overnight. |
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Thread | Town XI of transfer sagas that social media would have loved down the years
at 11:33 9 Jul 2024
Let's get Ian Crook into a midfield with Hassan Kachloul and Claus Jensen to kick us off.
I guess Kevin Phillips would have been a tasty social media if it had been around in the day.
Ross McCormack as his strike partner? Or is Charlie Austin making the team?
Who else have we signed or failed to sign where we'd have been tearing our hair out had social media been around to keep us up to date with it all? |
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Thread | Kits
at 21:08 4 Jul 2024
Hardly earth shattering levels of surprise but been told Home and Away being unveiled Saturday (which everyone can guess) and there will be a third kit which is being held back until later in the season.
Had thought we might keep the orange as a third kit but there is a new one coming. |
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Thread | One day into July
at 10:52 1 Jul 2024
And that's two players in the door already I'd say were comfortably good enough for a Premier League team with ambitions of finishing 8th - 12th.
Stunning start to the summer business and you have to think it's makes the luring other new signings a very tiny bit easier also. |
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Thread | Hladky is such a difficult one really.
at 09:31 1 Jul 2024
33 years old and likely to not be anywhere near as financially secure as lots of other players having played in Scotland and League Two for most of his career.
He's never played even in the Championship until last season where he only comes in due to an injury. Otherwise, he probably leaves for a League One or Scottish side this summer for nothing.
Instead he wins promotion playing superbly and being vital to what we do. But we have every reason to be worried he won't make the step up next season and perhaps our style will evolve slightly to being slightly less about the keeper being good with his feet and more needing someone good enough in the Premier League to turn draws into wins with a save or two Hladky isn't capable of.
How many of us were worried when Walton got injured? I certainly was. Nobody had Vaz down as a top Championship keeper but he was. How many seriously expect him to be one of the better Premier League keepers? That's the position we are in now. Forest got Navas. Sheffield United loaned Henderson and Ramsdale when they were deemed to be the next big thing. It's within our reach to sign a keeper that ends up being one of the best 8-10 in the league. Just don't see Hladky being that guy.
We will be offering him a fair amount, but probably as backup and therefore maybe only a year and someone else, in the Championship (maybe even Celtic as suggested), may very likely offer him 2-3 years to make him their #1. This is a guy, surrounded by multi-millionaires, who for the first 80% of his career probably earned £60k a year.
So sad to see the guy go. As I have mentioned before I sit in front of the players families. Being in front of Vaz's dad when he made those two stops against Boro in a matter of minutes was quite the experience emotionally!
A great guy, a key component of our promotion but you can certainly see why the club might be looking for a much younger, long term #1 who is streets above Hladky in terms of overall ability and why whatever we'd offer him is not as attractive as one big last pay day he can get elsewhere off the back of a season that is outrageously above any other he's ever had in his career.
We've been good for him. He's been good for us. Who knows he may even decide to accept whatever was / is on the table but I'd imagine he'll end up at a decent Championship club on a good contract with everyone's best wishes. [Post edited 1 Jul 9:47]
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Thread | What do we reckon we are paying Omari?
at 13:02 29 Jun 2024
£30k? £35k? £40k a week?
Surely somewhere between that and unlikely above it. But without any doubt he’s surely currently out highest paid player ever as well as a record transfer? |
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Thread | Unlikely songs for next seasons new heroes
at 22:35 28 Jun 2024
Can you imagine telling someone by the end of the season we’d be going for the title at Hull belting out a Whitney Houston number!
Got me thinking. Whatever next?
MC Hammer’s ‘Der der der der der der, Ioannidis.
Quo’s ‘Downes, Downes, we’ve got Flynn Downes’.
Or following on from ‘feeling the heat’ with Omari how about MJ’s ‘Philogene is not my lover’.
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Thread | Something slightly amusing (to me anyway) I just thought of
at 18:45 28 Jun 2024
We have literally only just been officially inducted into the Premier League and we've shown more ambition by late June that 'that lot up the road' have in all those seasons they kept reminding us they got promoted in.
As they love completely pointless comparisons when they go in their favour, we are signing Hutchison for TWICE what they have ever paid for a player (Naismith - £9.1m) in 2016. He was almost 30 as well! Chortle. He played only 44 times in 3 seasons too. Ouch.
WOTB will be a good laugh later when they get wind of that.
[Post edited 28 Jun 18:46]
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Thread | Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
at 18:25 28 Jun 2024
Warning. Don't try and recreate the Omari backflip!
I was tempted.
Then remembered I don't know how to. And I'm in my 40's.
I know it's utterly pointless come the end of the summer as it may be broken, but something is just very lovely about Omari being the record signing, no matter how long it lasts. [Post edited 28 Jun 18:26]
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Thread | I was today years old when I found out the EFL fixtures computer is a Saints fan
at 10:55 26 Jun 2024
Portsmouth must have the hardest start any team has ever had on paper at the point of the fixtures being released.
First 7 games, as a newly promoted side, are the three relegated clubs (Burnley, Luton, Sheffield United), the two highest placed playoff losers (Leeds and West Brom) and Sunderland and Middlesboro, two clubs that could well be up there.
Of course you could argue that having Norwich or Coventry etc could be tougher than those last two, but that is an absolutely brutal schedule.
The odds of having to play what would be deemed the 5 strongest teams in your opening 7 games is very slim indeed.
Never seen a (on paper) harder start for any club than that! |
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Thread | Even paying big money
at 08:57 20 Jun 2024
It's mad to think of the gulf that exists just between being promoted and being a team towards the bottom of the league.
Let's say we got
Ioannidis - £20m
Hutchison - £15m
Sheaf - £12m
Rodon - £12m
Greaves - £10m
Those are the sorts of prices you'd imagine deals might be possible at.
That's £70m right there. For what is the team we got promoted with, and four potential upgrades, with no certainly that Greaves or Sheaf would be upgrades in terms of immediate quality, although I do think that's likely.
If we got those 5 I'd be over the moon, but that potentially leaves £20m or so for another two possible upgrades or one certain one. These are also marginal gains in some areas.
Of course if it took £25m to get Ioannidis done and £20m for Omari, that's £10m of that gone already.
Just goes to show that even with a couple of modest upgrades and a couple of sizable ones we could only be a little better overall in terms of quality, with all of the budget gone, even if we are spending at a good level, which is of course mind-blowing money for what we are used to.
Our club record could easily now go initially on someone seen as 'squad filler'.
I do think we'll be comfortable. But doesn't half show the value of the overseas scouting system as whilst I rate Rodon, Sheaf and Greaves and would love them all, there are no doubt players of similar or better quality available for a fraction of that price, but the very hard bit then is knowing the characters and how they fit into the squad in terms of culture, attitude and all the things the club demands.
Certainly going to be a fascinating and exciting window. |
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Thread | All this world class talent on show
at 21:53 18 Jun 2024
And we somehow end up having to suffer Danny Murphy, Lee Dixon, Eni Aluko and Rio Ferdinand.
Is it really that hard to fly Ally McCoist all over Germany for every game? |
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Thread | I honestly think we'll be comfortable.
at 11:37 18 Jun 2024
And finish 13th or 14th.
But if we are down there, that's a very favorable last 4 games potentially to try and stay up, assuming Everton are still a similar sort of side.
Everton (A), Brentford (H), Leicester (A), West Ham (H). |
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Thread | Some of these articles lol
at 07:08 12 Jun 2024
I liked the Tom Lawrence one. A player I'd have been a bit disappointed in us targeting in January as a 30 year old now playing in Scotland who, even at his best, was a top end Championship player and nothing more.
But this one is good.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/football/ipswich-eyeing-special-sheaf-alternativ
Now not saying O'Brien isn't a fantastic player and one I'd be able to see McKenna turning into a decent Premier League midfielder. But it doesn't seem to occur at all that he might be coming in to play with Morsy, our captain and inspirational leader, but he's coming to play alongside Luongo instead and to replace Morsy.
Going to be a very long summer of silly articles. This one was so close to being decent.
Sheaf would be the perfect signing for us however in terms of age, ability, wages and transfer fee, but Coventry are definitely a club that gets good value for their players of late so would be a tricky one. |
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Thread | So now we know that Leif is an avid virtual pilot
at 18:11 3 Jun 2024
And flies fully simulated routes as well as flying down the left side, got to be time for an Aviation Town XI.
Kicking off with Mig Stockwell. [Post edited 3 Jun 18:47]
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Thread | If you had to guess now how many of last seasons squad will make this seasons?
at 08:28 29 May 2024
On the basis of a 25 man squad I can see 17 of those here last season continuing and 8 players coming in (not including anyone returning from last season).
None of us want to see the club be reckless and no chance that Ashton, McKenna or Gamechanger are going out to spend £200m and put us at risk, but can see the ambition levels being the absolute maximum of what is achievable within that strategy. That was my feeling before McKenna agreed to stay, but if there was any wriggle room there I'd imagine that's now been enhanced due to the talks that have gone on.
Realistically of that 25 last time around I'd see it being something like:
Walton (transferred out)
Slicker
Hladky
Clarke
Davis
Edmundson
Woolfenden
Burgess
Williams (loan ended)
Tuanzebe
Donacien (released)
Morsy
Ball (released)
Taylor
Hutchison (hopefully signed)
Sarmiento (loan ends)
Luongo
Travis (loan ends)
Humphreys (loaned out)
Burns
Chaplin
Harness (transferred out)
Al Hamadi
Jackson
Aluko (retired)
Moore (loan ends)
Hirst
Broadhead
Would imagine they'll be a new GK either to start or be deemed a direct rival to Hladky for the starting line up.
At least one PL ready CB (Rodon would be the one I'd love to see as a ball playing defender for a reasonable fee).
A proper RB to compete with Clarke and potentially allow Axel to compete centrally.
A younger Luongo (Sheaf would be the one player that jumps out here). Probably two players here in reality, with Luongo and Taylor coming on as and when needed.
Can see Sarmiento coming back on loan. Likewise wouldn't be a shock to see Moore signed for a nominal PL fee of a few million. Think there are better options in the PL and it would be someone seen as a step up from Hirst to allow Hirst to be that 60-65 minute replacement.
With Hirst, Moore and Al Hamadi I think we'd get a few goals because of the system but would be concerned with how many they'd get.
Would be gutted to see Janoi go but it's inevitable now really. Harness is one McKenna likes but given his limited involvement in the back end of the season I'd say it's fairly obvious he will move on.
Jackson deserves a chance. He's a great squad option, has an attribute that will terrify even PL players, in games where we may have less of the ball he becomes even more of an asset. Not everyone's favourite, but what a story that would be for someone who went through all the dark days this club had and has just refused to be left out of the picture by putting in a real shift every time he's called upon.
Can imagine 2-4 purchases in the £7m - £12m bracket and maybe a couple of big £15m - £25m purchases, likely Omari is one of those - although a loan with an obligation to buy if we stay up would be very smart business too balancing the books wise.
As much as Chaplin and Broadhead did last season, topping the scoring charts, both of them were very quiet for large parts of matches and the hot take here would be neither of them being seen as starting options come the opening day as upgrades had been brought in, this is where I could see us going for a proper proven Premier League player or two.
If we got a PL quality CB, RB, CM, AM, LF and ST I'd be very very happy with the squads chances of doing a hell of a lot more than just staying up. [Post edited 29 May 8:31]
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