Most liked posts in thread: January 2021 Transfer Window

Oldham fan here. I’m actually fuming at this. Rowe is a quality player. We shouldn’t be looking to offload him.

He’s not got blistering pace, he relies on his size and good technical ability. He’s brilliant at bringing the ball down, controlling it and finding a pass. He’s got a great eye for goal as well and brilliant technique. The reason he hasn’t scored more for us is because he’d been playing deeper than he did at Fylde. We have Dearnley and McAleny who’ve been running off Rowe and playing more advanced, so Rowe has essentially been deployed as a playmaker, helping to link up the midfield to attack. And he’s done it to good affect.

It’s depressing to think we’re swapping him for Donaldson. He’s a player we came close to signing in 2011 but he went to Brentford instead. It’s such an Oldham thing that we end up getting him 10 years later when he’s old and shít. I fecking hate this ownership. Rowe, Dearnley and McAleny are a strike force good enough to get out of the division with if we could simply tighten up at the back, but nope, we’re probably gonna end up losing all 3 by the summer. I fecking hate this ownership.

Ah, well. I wish Rowe well at Bradford, he’s a very good player at this level.

 

I won't reveal the source or player either but I can reveal the bid was made including Guthrie and DMH thrown in for free. That bid was rejected so we took Guthrie and DMH out of the equation and its now being seriously considered.

 

10 starts,
4 assists,
3 MOTM,

All at RWB for a struggling side without a clue. Pants seems harsh for a 21 year old all things considered.

 

Oh please let us sign him, if only for the let's be offended brigade to lose their shit.

 

I wouldn't be too sure on that. Trueman has said in the presser this afternoon that the window isn't over until the deadline shuts and if the right player/s become available, they will look to make the right decision. I think we are in a very strong position going into the final few days of the window - we've done a lot of good business already and the pressure is off. There could well be clubs that were hoping to get certain players off the wage bill and have been holding out for the right price but the offer hasn't come. The closer we get to the close of the window, the more desperate they might become and the chance of us getting a good last minute deal goes up. A dangerous approach if you are banking on doing all your business in the last few days, but as things stand, I'd say we are firmly in the driving seat to possibly nab a last minute bargain. (Just to add if we don't, it will still have been a brilliant window).

 

Ulysses, you're someone who works in business. Does it p*** you off, as much as it does me, when posters on here utterly slag off and denigrate young players, knowing they're probably reading this for themselves on social media? OK, they may not be the best. They're generally young kids trying to find a career in football, trying to find their level. Can you imagine turning up for work every morning, and people who don't even know you and your situation telling you again and again you're shit at your job? This kind of online abuse does nothing but destroy the fragile confidence of young players just trying to find their way - as it would anyone in a job generally. I've got four kids in their early twenties and teens. If people slagged them off in the way they have DMH and Tyler French, I would be bloody heartbroken. Let's cut it some slack.

 

Seriously, this window has been a very, very good one. No transfer is risk free, but the manner in which we've systematically and aggressively moved on a large number of players who were clearly adding no value, and the targeted manner in which we've brought players in, for specific roles and to a specific order of priority - paying fees to secure players who seem to have been in genuine demand, is a massive shift in the right direction.

Hopefully, this is a signal that from the very top of the club, the finances, planning and means of execution are now geared towards moving forward.

The actions speak for themselves and I have to withdraw my earlier post which lambasted the selection of Sparks to the CEO role.

Excellent work from all at the club. 6 weeks ago I was done with this club and we looked nailed on for relegation. Now, I can't wait to get back to VP for games and I think we have at least an outside shot at the play-offs. That's a hell of a turnaround.

 

But he is allowed to comment - he's the CEO for FFS. That's like saying the CEO of Morrisons can't comment on the cheeses they sell because he/she doesn't work behind the cheese counter!

He can comment because if he's a half decent CEO he'll know what the hell is going on with recruitment as he's the one who has to manage the club's cashflow and one of the biggest outgoings is player fees and wages.

He may not directly say yes or no to a particular player but he may lay down the ground rules about the sort of player we want at the club in respect to attitude and what we can afford to pay. It's then up to Turnbull and T&S to find the player that meets the clubs requirements.

Reading between the lines of the interview it certainly looks like he's trying to bring about redefining a 'brand' for BCFC. And for the uninitiated that isn't just about the marketing side of things, it's about the whole culture of the club from the boardroom to the boot room.

That culture also affects the recruitment side of things. So, for instance, we may not want to just get in loanees who either sink or swim but ultimately leave. Ryan may want us to recruit loanees who we can look at signing if they perform well and ultimately become an asset to the club either by what they do on the pitch or if we sell them on. He may not be involved in specific signings but that basic ground rule will be one he's either come up with or signed off on.

 

Stuart's stubborn philosophy when it comes to free agents is made even more puzzling when you look at the examples of other clubs in L2 using that market to bolster their squads for the better since the window closed. I can't claim to know if the following players have performed well for their clubs but from a distant view:

Scunthorpe. One win in the league up until the start of November. Signed goalkeeper Mark Howard (ex-Bolton & Blackpool) and defender Junior Brown (ex-Coventry) in October. Their November league form has been 3 wins, 1, draw and 1 loss keeping their 2nd and 3rd clean sheets of the season in the process. Howard has started 7 games since joining and Brown has started 5.

There are other smaller cases as well. Michael Folivi joined Colchester at the start of November - has featured six times scoring twice. Tom Pett joined Stevenage at the start of November - has featured six times scoring once, Stevenage have lost only once since he joined (albeit only won once as well - a lot of draws). Danny Lloyd joined Tranmere mid-November, Tranmere have won every game he's featured in (albeit mostly from the bench). Defender Rhys Bennett joined Carlisle mid-November, he's featured six times scoring twice.

Like I say, I'm sure there are many caveats and other circumstances to these examples but I think they prove Stuart incorrect in two ways. Firstly, that free agents need 4 weeks to get up to speed. All of the above players went straight into playing (and free agents can't be any more unfit than our current squad but that's another point). Secondly, there is quality in the market that can provide a timely boost if you are willing and able to hunt for it.

 

Jim O'Brien & Paul Caddis were both free agents when we signed them and not keeping both was a massive mistake.

 

He’s no longer in the running.

 

Some people just don't understand ambition, unsurprisingly when it's City fans. He gave his all and honoured his contract there's nothing more you can ask of a player that isn't a lifetime fan too.

 

Until his signature is on the dotted line we shouldn't count our chickens but this would be a very good signing.

 

McCall is coming across as far too blase for my liking, believing all will be well come January and the end of season. He said that he doesn't look at the league table, well I suggest he urgently takes a look and sees the mess he has put us in

From 8th to 21st since he came back, and rewarded with a new contract, utter bonkers

 

Sparks did the right thing. It would appear that not one of the out of work managers he interviewed impressed enough to appoint, so fair play for not appointing someone for the sake of it, obviously the run under Trueman & Sellars made that decision easier for now.

I still think they have targeted one or two managers currently employed by other clubs, perhaps he has not given up on that yet.

Missed out on Hurst?, no we didnt

 

Leeds have called for a replay against Crawley Town in the FA Cup because one of the plumbers in midfield isn’t Corgi registered.

 

Would love it to be McAleny

 

Im loving this window.
This is what its about.
Names flying everywhere.
Rumour, gossip.
Its about time we had excitement at bcafc