2024 Released Players & City transfer rumours

If the loanee is Adams, didn't they say that we had been tracking this loanee for a while, but he had been impressing in pre-season? So the parent club wanted to keep an eye on him a bit longer hence why it didn't happen a few weeks back after the "green light" interview, but then he got injured at a similar time? Adams played 45 minutes in Wigans first friendly against Accrington on July 13th, and didn't feature again after that.

So if it is him, he has more than "a slight knock" as said a few weeks back, if he didn't feature at all again in pre-season for the last month of it. They probably have had behind closed doors friendlies, but this lad wont be match sharp at all, if it is him.

 

Was he even on the list? We know that the Cowleys were first choice but turned us down. After that there was an embarrassingly long gap when no one was interested until Alexander put his hand up.
So, when signing Wilson, we would have had no idea that we’d shortly be forced to accept a manager that doesn’t play wingers. To suggest, as you did, that they deliberately appointed a manager who doesn’t play wingers, despite having Wilson on a three year contract, credits the club with more agency than they actually had. In reality, they signed the only manager who was remotely interested, regardless of his tactical preferences, and then blatantly lied afterwards that he was their first choice all along. That’s what the Rupp/Sparks era has reduced us to - prospective managers effectively interviewing us rather than the other way round.

The jury is still out on Alexander for me. He seems like a decent bloke and, at times, he’s had us playing effective winning football. But some of his formation and selection decisions baffle me. Pointon and Walker ahead of Smallwood and behind two strikers, with Kav as as a chaser/harrier alongside Cook, worked really well at the end of last season. So why rip it all up by starting Pattison and Sarcevic with Cook alone up front and Kav (who is clearly not a natural 10) in between? And why keep bypassing the best crop of AMs we’ve had for years with long bombs over their heads? Perverse.

 

It seems if they have played for Wigan or Mansfield or he tried to sign them when he was at Mansfield or Wigan, then that player will be on his radar. This Joe Adams is seriously underwhelming.

I havent seen us sign any player that Sparks and Gent wouldnt have identified or been able to entice.

 

I agree. Pattison is a box to box CM, not a deep holding CM. The only rational I can give is that Alexander thinks the money spent on another DM would be better spent elsewhere. Seems like he’s gambling on Smallwood not getting injured (and to be fair he does seem pretty robust) so it would only be the occasional missed game through suspension that he’d have to cobble together some DM cover. He did this last season when Stubbs played there for one game when Smallwood was suspended.

 

Yeah that's my thinking too. Also, even if he is in his final year of his deal, bringing in competition for your captain might not go down well. But Smallwood does turn 34 this year, time catches up to all eventually.

 

God help us if Sparks has any involvement at all in identifying players. That would be like asking Boris Johnson to back Liz Truss as his successor and that went well !

The man is a social media jockey, being CEO is a step too far for him without having him down as head scout as well. Leave that to people who could fill more than a postage stamp with their knowledge of football.

 

I'm sure Walker could cover better at DM, but will he even be here ?

 

With Alexanders career, there almost seems to be a 'use by date' where his owners seem to want a change. Lets face it, his football is naff to watch. There's nothing to entice fans in the way we play, it's not get you off your feet or enjoyable football, even when we are winning. Look around at 3:10/3:15 ish on Saturday, I bet a lot will have their phones out and one eye on the field.

He plays football that gets results, and if it gets us out the league then fantastic. But if it does, I don't see him given time in L1 with the way his play is. Even L1 now is a very passing, on the deck, possession based league for 80% of the teams. I mean, look at MK last year, he started his way and they had wins. But the ownership wanted "a certain style of play" and when he tried adapting, he was sacked within a month. Salford, Gary Neville says Graham Alexander is the one manager he wishes he didn't sack, but it wasn't because of GA himself, it was because they wanted to progress and felt like they couldn't do it playing his way and needed a change but looking back, they weren't ready. GA is a steady hand at this level, but you have a limit with him.

 

We outsource them to 'Blunkett's limb checkers.inc' ...

 

I agree the club probably had limited agency over the managerial situation - but what I've left unsaid is they could have just appointed a coach.

If none of the experienced lower league managers that play with wingers and use a similar formation as we've just invested 18 months in want the job, go for a coach that does.

It's not like Sparks is good at appointing managers with reputations, so it's not like he has to stick to that MO lol

 

I think Robinson turned us down before the Cowleys, and I believe there was another who dropped out

 

Speaks volumes if Robinson turned us down to go to Salford.

 

Totally agree with you. I wonder what would have happened if GA hadn’t put his hand up? In my view the combination of Rupp and Sparks leadership or lack thereof has reduced this club considerably. We are no longer a big club in league 2. We now have a reputation for sacking managers and the instability that came with it.


Our squad is like a cobbled together hybrid of players, that can play well in their chosen positions but asked to play elsewhere like young Kav. Then because he has not done well he is cast aside. Why play him in Walkers position? As far as we know he isn’t injured.

Like you I am baffled by his team selection.

 

Well thank god he did

 

I thought including the end of last season we have e just gone eleven unbeaten.Let’s get properly into the new season to see how it develops before pronouncing judgement

 

It'll have been for similar reasons to the Cowleys. Less pressure, more time to build a real project, bigger financial backing.
The fans wouldn't have taken to Robinson in my opinion.

 

It baffles me too. And the more I think about it I'm beginning to think that Sarcevic is the dilemma. He's clearly a skillful footballer but he's so, so slow. With him and Smallwood in midfield we've two carthorses and the result is that the opposition have all the time in the world to organise their defence before we get in a position to attack. I'm wondering if Alexander has seen this too and hence the sudden appearance of Kavanagh in midfield, which is ridiculous. Smallwood had a great game as a defensive midfielder on Saturday but that was it. He played like a defender and every time he won the ball it went sideways or backwards. He daren't get too far forward either as then he's easily bypassed by speedier opponents as happened multiple times against Grimsby and also at MK Dons. The slowness in the midfield takes Pattison out of the game too. He was criticised on Saturday but he was playing right in front of me in the first half and time and again he was making runs and the ball never came. I think we might have made a big mistake signing Sarcevic and I can't see how we can become an effective attacking force with both him and Smallwood in the team together.

I like Alexander a lot but he seems very slow to appreciate what's going on on the pitch. And having seen what happened on Saturday will he be brave enough to make the necessary changes.? Would he ever drop one of Sarcevic or Smallwood? Would we be better with Sarcevic or Pattison playing as the defensive midfielder? Everyone saw how much better we were when the subs came on on Saturday but we have to start like that, on the front foot. We've got some excellent creative midfielders in Walker, Pointon, Pattison and Oduor, to some extent, but we've got to play them. And why doesnt he know that Cook isn't a target man? The long ball tactics on Saturday were dreadful to watch. To me he's a fantastic goal scorer and you have to have him in the side, but he's not that good a footballer and he needs chances making for him.

Elsewhere, Halliday really does look a shadow of himself compared to last season and Wright just doesn't look right at LWB. Maybe another mistaken signing there.

Anyway, I hope that Alexander can see what many of us can and has the courage to make some difficult decisions. We finished last season so well it's criminal, almost Hughesesque, that we've gone a different way this year. Saturday was such a mind-numbing experience, like so many home games in recent times. People around me were staring at their phones and having little chats amongst themselves while the game was going on, and at the end there was a combination of moans and quiet resignation. The club need to realise that things have to change quickly or those moans will get ever louder.

 

Bigger financial backing I'll give you, but more time to build and less pressure - not at Salford City.

 

Great assessment

 

Cowley was more to do with wanting to stay down south so his daughter could continue her Chelsea career. He listened to what was on offer and then made an informed decision so I get that...

Robinson was a point blank no. Not interested.