bluebruce

Slight correction - Ohashi was our top scorer. We've let our two joint 2nd top scorers leave. It really is stark when you spell it out like that though, yeesh

Far as I see it, we are now woefully short in: Goal - Pears is here but seemingly won't play any time soon, so if anything happens to Toth (injury, loss of form) we are probably relying on Michalski, who is enormously inexperienced and in his one showing so far, quite frankly looked shocking. CB - McLoughlin (banned next game), Wharton (just recently back off a huge injury layoff, and has had injury problems before), Carter (also injury prone) and after that we are relying on players who aren't CBs (Miller possibly an exception but I believe hasn't played there tons) to fill in. Wings - Hedges (shit despite a great game lately, seen enough), Kargbo (fast and can cause problems, still having end product issues), Morishita (could be a good one), De Neve (really a wingback and works hard but doesn't create much). After that you're wedging in players who don't really play there. Arguably wing isn't too horrendous if Kargbo and De Neve can come good, but there's a lot of scepticism about that. Striker - nobody proven to be able to score even 10+ goals at this level. I mean you could even argue CM is lacking enough quality, unless Tavares steps it up and Baradji comes back from injury and is a beast. Possibly I'm feeling too down about things after the disgraceful sale of our main CB on deadline day with no replacement, and some of these players could come good and assuage these concerns, but there is a lot to be anxious of.

Until today, I viewed it as a 'jury is out' window. Too many unknowns from entirely different leagues. A very risky dismantling of experience within the squad, and a lot of turnover which would inevitably harm cohesion, but if the players were good enough and we didn't suffer too many losses until January, it could have been a reasonable transition to maybe theoretically kick on for next season (lets face it, who realistically expected us to challenge for playoffs again anyway?). But today has made it a shocker of a window. We were arguably already short at CB given the injury proneness of Carter and Wharton, and now we are a gnat's pube away from disaster at CB. Insane own goal for the sake of probably about 2 million (I bet the 0.7 is add ons, maybe even more of it than that). Could cost our league status.

We were allegedly only offering him a one year extension ourselves, so also to 2027, so there can't be any 'well Wrexham were offering him a longer contract than we were willing to' etc. TBH that's quite a short contract for a 29 year old they're supposedly paying 2.7 million for. If they're sensible they'll have added a one year extension option, but I suspect they're seeing themselves as being in the Prem by then.

Hyam confirmed: 11:00pm Dom Hyam has joined Wrexham, concluding the incomings and outgoings at Rovers in the summer transfer window.

Just been looking at Taylor Gardner-Hickman's career and spotted a strange trend. Bristol City loaned him, with an option to buy (which they took up). Then Birmingham loaned him, with an option to buy (which they took up). Now we've loaned him, with an option to buy. That's every single move he has made in his career, a loan with an option to buy. Of course we love to not exercise an option to buy, so that'll probably be the end of that part of his streak! We also have Baradji on a loan with an option to buy, and with them both being primarily CMs I can't imagine both are getting taken up. With our track record one would be a surprise.

You might just be the only one taking it seriously. I think he was kidding, or being a windup.

I think the notion is that it frees Miller up to play CB (where Hibs fans seemed to think he was at his best) as there is more RB cover. And no, I'm not happy about it. Hope we can find a decent free agent CB promptly but I doubt we will.

And they had a very unmarketable club in a very unmarketable league. But they found the angle and leaned on it really well, leveraging their own fame of course. If Venkys had the skill to follow up on their vision properly, maybe they'd now have a successful chicken shop chain in the UK, and a growing Rovers fanbase in India. But they had to Venkys things up instead.

Indeed, although in the middle of deadline day probably isn't the time.

Only one and a half seasons ago. January 2024. Drubbed them 4-1 even though we went 1-0 down early. Difference is they're properly ran. Their owners also came over knowing fuck all about football, but there were 2 key, massive differences, evident from the documentary: 1) They appointed good football people to run the club for them (whereas ours immediately ostracised possibly the best operator in English football at the time) 2) They gave a shit. This meant they paid attention, they learned, they had ambition. End result? Blackburn Rovers - relegated promptly, stagnated and declined. Not even reached the playoffs to take us back to where they found us, not once in 15 years of ownership despite having the basis of a proper stadium, history, training centre etc. Wrexham - 5 years of ownership, started 4 whole leagues below where we started in Venkys' reign, or 3 leagues below us when the Americans took over. Have caught us up and are now snatching our best CB on deadline day, leaving us fucked. Probably finish above us this season. Despite run-down tiny stadium, fuck all history and just being (relative to us) a tinpot outfit when they took over. Proper ownership is EVERYTHING.

Elliott Jackson in LT live feed: 9:26pm Reliably informed there's no hiccups in the Dom Hyam deal but might be a little wait for official confirmation. But all going through.

?? The squad isn't full.

Thought a three game ban was only for violent conduct.

I think that final 2 hour rush will be why some clubs go silent in that period after the 'deadline' of 7pm ends, as they're too busy thrashing out the details of deals and making sure they've actually gone through before announcing (assuming our lot have learnt that lesson!).

Well I guess we'd better start looking at our youth team backup CB options as they may be needed before January. O'Riordan - oh we already loaned him out. Currently being dominant in League One apparently. Atcheson - played 3 PL2 games so far this season, seems to be fit. Has impressed a bit in cup games when played briefly in the past. Litherland - only one PL2 game so far this season, presumably injured? Or has fallen down the pecking order quite badly. There are others of course, but these seem to be the ones who have been anywhere near the first team setup. Sound like they have a bit of promise, but obviously it's too early to have to rely on them. Before we see any of them, we are likely to see Miller and Pickering used as CBs. Miller likely the first 'non-CB' to be put there, as allegedly he was better in Scotland at CB than RB. Worrying that Wharton and Carter are two of our three remaining seen as proper CBs, with their injury records and form issues. McLoughlin of course is suspended for just the next game I assume? So we will have to field Wharton and I would guess Miller, since Carter is only just returned from injury and it's probably unwise to risk him for 90 given we are now threadbare there.

Aye, I think it's just the nature of having a deadline. Whenever you have it, this will happen. Because clubs try to play brinkmanship games with each other, or they completely run out of their main targets so make a desperation bid at the last minute (or even a day or so before), which starts other dominoes moving. It's wild, of course, but if you really think about it, it's pretty much inevitable. Only a club with infinite pockets wouldn't have to worry about it and could do their business ahead of time, and thanks to FFP and P&S, even they do now. Or a club that gets lucky and just manages to land all its targets at fair prices punctually, and isn't subject to late vulture bids itself.

I'm sure you know this, being how much you tend to check into the rules, but in recent windows at least, you have a deadline to get initial paperwork in principle in to show the deal is highly progressed, then you get another couple of hours to dot the i's and cross the t's.

I'd phrase it more as 'completely fucking unacceptable', but it's good to see you're not trying to justify this one.

And how did our last 'work experience' work out?

Erm...I'd take him as a striker coach tbh, given what his strengths were I think he could pass a lot on. But I don't see what he can bring to transfer dealings. And an odd time to hire him if true, on the day the window closes.

Hmmm...you name 4 wingers for 2 positions, then wedge in a RB and a CAM, and say that's enough. Then name 5 CMs for 2 positions and say that's a frightening thought. I don't imagine the discrepancy is quality in depth, as a lot of those wingers don't seem up to it either.

What do you mean? I don't think age comes into it at all. I suspect what you're thinking of is youth players making loan moves after our window closes, but that's because they're moving to non-league teams who have a different window system for loans.

Ahh from two different sources, got you. For a second there I was thinking what does he mean, he played Rotherham twice in one weekend? 😂

Is O'Riordan the 7 or the 8 there?