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GA: signing quality over quantity

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/sport/football/14439704.Ainsworth_looking_for_quality_over_quantity_in_summer_transfer_window/

right approach, and bolster with loanees as we can, but I guess there's little else we can do. Certainly don't want a return to the Waddock days of signing tons of dog-average squad players, many of whom never even got pitch time.

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Comments

  • I'm concerned that the changes to the loan system mean it won't be viable to run with such a small squad, and that we will have to end up signing lower quality players in higher numbers.

    http://m.theargus.co.uk/sport/14096770.Talking_Point__Why_no_noise_about_scrapping_the_emergency_loan_windows_/

  • edited April 2016

    At least three goalkeepers required, with cover for every outfield position - so a default starting squad of 23.

    You can start reducing it by having utility players that cover multiple positions, but you still need to ensure that there will be cover if, say, both the first choice left back and left winger were unavailable. And it also impacts on recruitment policy, forcing us to be driven by whether players can play in multiple positions rather than whether they are the best we can get in their number one position.

    Who have we brought in outside of the transfer windows this season? Siegrist, Allsop, Sellars, Liburd, Udamaga, Ferry, McCarthy. Ok, so some of those might not have had an impact, and some might have signed in the window. But would McCarthy who has had such a great season? And if we had needed to bring in someone else, we could have done. It's going to have big impact on flexibility which is key to having a small squad.

    In addition to all that, the fact that clubs have to carry more players could drive up the wages of players; and make the signing of players without clubs (like Ugwu in September) less likely.

  • This new loan rules looks bad on first inspection, but perhaps it could be beneficial to the lower leagues in the long-run?

    Let's say I'm managing Chelsea's youth team. At the moment, I can sign up as many players as I want, and loan them out willy-nilly to lower league clubs.

    However, from next season I need to be more careful about who I sign, otherwise I'll have a massive squad all stuck playing non-competitive youth fixtures. This means I will sign less young, talented players, leaving more prospects for the lower leagues.

    This means there will be more Jordan Ibes, Kadeem Harrises, Aaron Pierres etc available for teams like us.

  • edited April 2016

    They'll still sign them, they'll just rot even more

  • As Chris says one of the key factors next season will be to have a good number of utility players in the squad. We already have Rowe, Harriman, Bean (absolutely essential we extend his contract) and Jombati.

    It is imperative that we sign a proven striker and one that will not shortly be drawing his pension.

    Whilst I would love to see Paris come back permanently, it would be a huge risk in terms of the playing budget in light of his terrible injury record.

  • @bill_stickers That's one way of looking at it. Alternatively if the premier teams have such a glut of young players not getting real game time would the prospect of Chelsea 'B' being admitted to league 2/1 be raised again, especially if the existing lower league teams can't get players of sufficient standard?

    To me a frightening prospect, but not one that is impossible.

  • I imagine we will have to take a few more teenagers on relatively low cost contracts to provide some filler cover next season.

  • A few teenagers on relatively low cost contracts is some way towards the cost of one senior player I'd have thought. Or maybe the difference between a couple of good senior players and a couple of great ones.

  • As Gareth Ainsworth says, we don't get "great" players as we can't compete on salary expectation. I also think the club's reputation this season will harm our chances of signing quality players - certainly the gaffer will have to work hard to persuade them he won't either let them rot or force them into playing cynical, ugly football. I'm afraid the only way I can imagine he'll be successful is if he points to Ingram, Pierre and potentially O'Nien leaving to go to better things, having not suffered from playing for us recently.

    However the most interesting thing for me in this interview is the suggestion that the development squad idea, trumpeted with such fanfare, has already been dropped. I wonder if this is the club's way of getting the news out there while burying the news line (would the BFP miss such an obvious scoop?!). Implicit in the interview is a suggestion that all four of the out-of-contract oldies - Hayes, Wood, Bean and Bloomfield - might be getting contract extensions and PCH becomes the marquee signing as Gareth looks to keep this squad together. I expect we'll get a season long loan of Siegrist too.

  • We do get great players. We have Pierre for one.

  • Your reference to Jermaine Udumaga, @Chris, reminds me of the very good impression he made when he came on late in the game against Leyton Orient. One swallow doesn't make a summer but he made one superb defence-splitting pass in a manner rarely seen since the departure of Sam Saunders. I think he's still only 20 or 21 and I'd like to think he is on Gareth's short-list when he makes the important decisions re loan signings.

  • Had to check on Wood's age. He's only 29, not sure that counts as an oldie just yet!

    I'd probably keep all of the out of contract players bar Sellers. With only Lynch being a 50-50
    Keep Pierre, bring Paris in (hoping for a 2014/15 first 6months lack of injuries), and do our best to bring a quality striker in, and I don't think we should be too down about next season.

  • I think we'd still need a creative central midfielder.

  • Please see my comment just now on the Bloomfield thread. More appropriate to this one but slightly led astray by newbie @Aok84. That's my excuse, any way.

  • I am getting very tired of the poor and bottom of the pile chat from Ainsworth. If he is really truthful about that then it's a great boost for the players who have signed for us.

    One other thought though

    What ever happened to the Youth Development programme announced a little while back. Have I missed the information promised about possible investment options and indeed is this scheme going ahead with or without the money?
    This scheme would give me hope of us keeping some sort of production line of good young players going but it would also fill some of the need caused by the loan changes.

  • One other thing strikes me, on reflection.

    Ainsworth says: “I think the fans would rather see a proven goalscorer, who is in form and has experience of playing in League Two come in.”

    May be reading between the lines but it looks like he's got someone in mind for this. It could be someone new - but this description also fits PCH. If not him, I wonder if he's lining up another Thompson-esque striker verging upon the twilight of their career.

  • I have had a thought for a while that Adi Akinfenwa will be a Wycombe player at some point soon.

    I do though take very little stock in Ainsworth's press utterings. His April Fools Day promise of taking the shackles off really went well.

  • Please Please not Diving Danny !!

  • Akinfenwa!! He'd make Matt Harrold look like he had a low foul count!
    Must be on big wages too, with his past goalscoring. Would be awful scenes.

  • Akinfewa won't last 90minutes in a bakery now. The last thing we need is him, it will only encourage more hoofball plus he has the turning circle of an oil tanker. If I thought we could get two wingers skinning full backs and putting decent crosses into the danger zone, then maybe. As Malone has already stated, his wages would also be prohibitive.

  • Are we attacking the signing of a player GA hasn't signed - or even mentioned - now?

  • To quote a Dons friend, Akinfenwa now has to do a 3-point turn whenever he loses the ball and he is normally on the bench these days, I think.
    I'd rather see Leroy Lita on the strength of his performance on Saturday. (That's purely for purposes of comparison - certainly not on my wish list!)

  • ched Evans anyone? Innocent man.......

    Often who gets a contract depends as much on who already has a contract for next year as performances of those contracts expiring.

    In cm we have McGinn and Rowe if he is seen primarily as midfield. If onion resigns and if we target a creative midfielder, that makes four. In a small squad hard to see more than one more senior centre midfielder - so at most only one contract between bean and bloomers?

    Wood looks a shoo-in to me covering lb.

    Hayes probable. Small chance Thomson might retire.

    Lynch or a loaner plus a kid in goal

    Ugwu, mand probably max and sellers gone

  • Ched Evans is due to go on trial for rape. I'm actualy suprised he hasn't surfaced somewhere in the football world but can't see it happening any time soon with a new trial to go through

  • Ched Evans is facing a retrial Dev, so it would be absolutely ridiculous to give him a contract until that is dealt with.

  • I saw Akinfenwa before the game signing autographs for our younger supporters and he went down a storm probably due to the FIFA video game I think so there may be off field benefits to having him as a player

  • Innocent man? That's poor even for you Dev, but I suspect you're very aware that being declared "not guilty" is very different to being "Innocent".
    Let the actual retrial happen first.

    I for one wouldn't want someone involved in what at best is clearly a very sleazy incident, and I'm quite put off by a whole thread on the FB site of some of our "Yoof" saying they'd love to sign him up.

  • just to get back on lighter subjects, in keeping the actual thread on course, has a manager ever come out and said "I'm aiming for quantity over quality"?

    Seems standard to say what Ainsworth is saying.

  • Sign Akinfenwa and you get quality and quantity

  • We will need to buy a bigger ice bath!

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