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Fred to Luton

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  • Do we see Obita as a natural replacement at wing back? I must say I was not massively convinced by him this season, but then he did not have a really long run.

  • I suspect he was told in Jan that if he stayed and helped with the fight to stay up, we wouldn't stand in his way if we got relegated and he wanted to move on in the summer.

    I also suspect the fee was less than offered in Jan when a) he had six months more left on his contract b) Luton were buying from a Championship club c) prices are always inflated in January windows.

    Looking forward to Obita getting a run in the side, we've not seen him play wing back yet but that is his natural position, I seem to remember. But Fred will be a big loss for the team.

    Wonder whether Luton see him as a wing back, winger, wide forward or somewhere more central.

  • courtesy of @bluntphil "Rob Couhig after the window closed: “We turned down significant offers of cash for one of our players. While we will never hold back a player from personal advancement, we could not support what was at best a lateral move for the player. He is vital to our success this season”.

    So when it was no longer a "lateral" move, I guess it follows that we yielded. A great shame, but good luck to him. I hope that he responds well to the nurturing environment that the notoriously patient and realistic Hatters fans provide. If not, he'll be very welcome back.

  • Pointless conjecture I know but if, as seems likely, we lost one of our most exciting players because we were relegated, then Derby's financial cheating seems even more reprehensible and a lack of suitable, immediate punishment even more frustrating.

    Why try being financially prudent when cheats so obviously prosper.

  • Anyone else think the club statement seems unfairly blunt?

  • @Shev said:
    Do we see Obita as a natural replacement at wing back? I must say I was not massively convinced by him this season, but then he did not have a really long run.

    Me neither. Maybe with a run of games. But I think we'll struggle to find someone who can go 90 minutes up and down that wing with as much effect as Fred did. Very unconvinced by the idea of Randal Williams stepping into that role too.

    I'm also doubting that this was Fred's wish. He could have been in the Championship all along if he hadn't asked Millwall to sell him to Wycombe. Can only imagine that left wingback is not where he sees his future.

  • @ReturnToSenda said:
    Anyone else think the club statement seems unfairly blunt?

    I just went looking for the club statement, but all I could find was this...

    Fred Onyedinma has left the club to join Championship side Luton Town for an undisclosed fee.

    The club thanks Fred for his efforts during his time at the club.

    That's not it, surely?

  • @drcongo said:

    Can only imagine that left wingback is not where he sees his future.

    Which is a shame, because he really grew into that role.

  • Individual players come and go It’s the playing budget I’m concerned about if that’s competitive with an experienced manager the rest will fall in to place

  • Obviously sad he has gone, but the only way a club the size of Wycombe can progress is by buying and selling players shrewdly.

    This is basically what Brentford have done to get to the verge of the Premiership. They sold Watkins and Benrhama for a combined £50m last season and Maupay and Konsa for a combined £30m the previous season. It hasn't done them a lot of harm selling their best players each year!

  • It's a pity to see him go, he was one of our outstanding players in the last 10 games of the season and could have had a season to remember if he'd stayed. He's coming into mid twenties and can be forgiven for thinking that he's bided his time enough.
    The transfer fee may have been 'undisclosed' (@eric_plant has articulated my thoughts precisely on how much of an insult that is to supporters), though assuming it was a fair wedge it should help us attract a replacement and/or strengthen in other areas.

  • Good luck to him. Hope it was a nice payday for us. It was always going to be hard to keep players when Championship clubs come in. I assume his experience at Millwall will ensure that he does not leave expecting the sort of patience from fans and management he got at AP!

  • I don't see how not disclosing the fee is insulting to fans, for the reason @Username points out - plus the fact that football clubs, like it or not, are businesses.

  • Do you think it was a good deal we got for him then?

  • Frustrating one that, a player who hadn’t totally won me over until the second half of the season when he was consistently good - who then excelled even further with the move to left wing-back. Next season looked very exciting at Wycombe from Fred but not to be.

    An undoubted loss - not least because I’m sure he could also play right wing back if needed given he’s right footed.

    However, I’m not going to carp if there’s a few departures this summer. We need to get the salary level back to League One levels and that may mean moving one or two on while the values there.

    Obita’s the logical replacement given he can play left back and left wing, it’s right in the slot for him. Although he has a bit to prove. Would imagine we may look for another player to offer competition - it’s a physically demanding position so hard to imagine a single player being able to play 46 matches, particularly one with Obita’s injury record.

    Also now means we may need back up for McCarthy on the side too.

  • edited May 2021

    @eric_plant said:
    Do you think it was a good deal we got for him then?

    I have no reason to assume it wouldn't have been, but I don't have a divine right to know the financials of transfer deals. We're just like any other club at our level in that respect. Fees only really get revealed at the top level because the weight of expectation is absolutely astronomical - plus things leak out easier at that level as there's so much more media scrutiny on it.

  • Sorry to see Fred go but probably the right move for him financially and, hopefully, us as well.

    To be fair if Luton were interested in him in January, when he’d had a fairly low-key season (in my opinion) at that time they clearly value him highly, which his end of season renaissance will have reinforced.

    I’ve no problem with undisclosed fees. Yes, it’s nice as a fan to know how much we paid/got for players x, y and z but from a players perspective it is probably a lot easier. For example, (and ignore the fantasy figures) say we paid £1,000,000 for Uche and £10,000 for Horgan last summer, all the expectation and pressure would be on Uche to deliver (albeit those figures are probably proportionate to their value last season).

    It feels like our current ownership structure would have not been taken to the cleaners so I’m not too worried about the financial side.

    On the playing side however Fred is a great loss but one thing I’ve not seen much debate about is the likely effect of wages arising from reduced and capped squad sizes.

    Presumably there are now lots more good quality footballers competing for fewer spaces in squads, which could make it a buyers market this summer. There might be some quite decent footballers about going relatively cheap.

    I also think @Shev’s point about us ‘doing the right thing by players’ is important. We will be attractive to players if they know they can come here and we will look after them, develop them and not stand in their way.

    We should also relish clubs looking at our players and wanting them. Although I’m with whoever it was said that we really can’t afford to lose Uche

  • Disclosing fees for a club our size is dangling a piece of meat over the pit full of players agents

  • @ReturnToSenda said:
    @drcongo That is it

    I agree on the statement - it seems terse at best. Maybe it is the bullet point headline, to be followed later by a longer tribute article?

  • @ReturnToSenda said:

    @eric_plant said:
    Do you think it was a good deal we got for him then?

    I have no reason to assume it wouldn't have been, but I don't have a divine right to know the financials of transfer deals. We're just like any other club at our level in that respect. Fees only really get revealed at the top level because the weight of expectation is absolutely astronomical - plus things leak out easier at that level as there's so much more media scrutiny on it.

    What is this 'good deal' ? Surely different for each person with many more elements that just a fee.

    I thought more top flight transfer fees were released due to increased reporting needed around Plc companies but you live and learn.

  • On the topic of undisclosed fees, it also may have been at the request of Luton? Although more likely us, as we never disclose fees these days.

  • @ReturnToSenda said:

    @eric_plant said:
    Do you think it was a good deal we got for him then?

    I have no reason to assume it wouldn't have been, but I don't have a divine right to know the financials of transfer deals. We're just like any other club at our level in that respect. Fees only really get revealed at the top level because the weight of expectation is absolutely astronomical - plus things leak out easier at that level as there's so much more media scrutiny on it.

    My point is you, or I, have no idea how to feel about Fred leaving and whether it was a good deal, an OK deal or a terrible deal.

    I don't think that's right

  • The Obita deal never really made sense to me with JJ out on a short term injury and us having cover in left midfield with Fred etc

    I wonder if Fred's deal was done late January for May and we then brought in Obita knowing he would be cover for JJ and could play further up on the left when Fred left?

  • The BBC website says it was a free, although that may be their way of dealing with 'undisclosed".
    Am I the only one to think he was not that good at wing back? He did a lot of work, did some impressive tackling back and defensive stuff, but I thought he did not produce a lot going forward apart from a couple of goals - admittedly crucial ones. A bit like Horgan in that respect.
    I like the idea of Williams but we also have a number of players for that role, and if we get Muskwe and Adeniron back that would be good.

  • Fred obviously liked it at Wycombe...but he was still a bit of an up and down player which is fine with the crowd at AP but not so much at places like Millwall and - perhaps - Luton...where the fans seem to take a dislike to or get on the backs of players quite easily. I would have thought he would have been looking at a great season in League One so I hope he has a good one at Luton as he needs to start making his mark.

  • I'll miss seeing Fred at Wycombe, no doubt about it. May well be a good deal for all involved though. Unlike others, I thought Obita looked a really good player and may well prove to be very decent in that position. It'll certainly give us a bit of financial clout in the transfer market though to strengthen our squad, assuming we got a good fee, which I'm confident we will have done.

    He had a strange season did Fred. Was really off his game in the 1st half of the season and was struggling to make the starting XI. 2nd half of the season he just got better and better (as did the whole team to be fair). Sad to see him go, but I wish him all the best at Luton.

  • @ReturnToSenda said:
    @drcongo That is it

    In which case I take back what I said earlier. Club clearly wanted shot of him.

  • Not quite sure why some seem to be seeing Williams as the panacea. An option true but not sure he'd be first choice. The club statement is oddly short and gives the impression something more may have happened here, not suggesting what but it is brief.

  • I just realized we have lost both halves of the Allsop-Fred penalty winning combo in the playoff final. I am now terrified Oxford will release the player who gave up on the hospital pass to make it all possible!

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