briansol

Was just thinking that myself. Might be poached before even making the seniors.

I think Nixon is right on this one.

Very certain we are not paying 6 million for him. My guess based on all noises and reports is: Soton is paying 15 mill + Obafemi (reported valued at 6 mill). If Obafemi doesn't come, Soton will have to pay extra (would guess that is more likely to be 2-3 mill) Regarding wages, I think a sign-on fee can be used to offsett Obafemi's current wages. I'll also add that of Obafemi has scored 4 goals in 9 starts. He has played 32 games, but 23 have been as a sub.

Regarding FFP, is that an option? If a sale helps towards the next FFP cycle, that will help in the future and probably mean more freedom for another manager. For the long-term of the club, and a world without Venky's, my head says that we can't have a 20 mill decifit each year needed to be covered by owners.

Nope, only has 30 min of pre-season. Got cramp and wise to take him off before pulling a hamstring.

Think he has been ill for a couple of weeks. Might be back in training now, but probably not fully fit.

I'm also in the camp of wanting the Armstrong case to be resolved. If that money plus the skeleton squad we have can survive this season, might give the next manager a chance to rebuild without the FFP looming each season. Don't think it's a bad thing that Mowbray will be forced to use the U23 players. They will be a lot better for the experience even if we barely survive. I for one find it easier to cheer on "our own babies" rather than a bloated squad of seniors. The largest obstacle is that the squad lacks leaders regardless of age. Lenihan and Travis are probably the only ones, and I can easily see us fold when getting behind.

I'd love us to loan Cole Palmer from City. Fast, direct Winger who scores and creates. Been unplayable when I've seen him.

Yes, Sheron was in charge. Probably an obvious choice for the U23 job after Barr. The opposition was too poor to really judge the performance. The most positive was the the two U18 players. Phillips might event be U16 since he turned 16 in June. The big powerful centre-half played for the U18 last season at 15, so will be interesting to see if gets U23 football this season. Thought Butterworth was dissapointing, lost possession multiple times by taking on players and overdoing it. Greedy and seems to have a bit of attitude. Not fond of tracking back either, which you can get away with on this level, but not on senior. Obviously talented, but could probably do with a reality-check of a loan. The trio of McBride, Burns and Vale on the other hand will put in a shift. Always liked Vale who is a decent allround striker. Has outgrown U23 and needs to kick-on. McBride is the best finisher, clinical striking technique and composed. Good work-rate, decent footwork and decent pace. Another who could benefit from a loan. Love to watch Sam Burns as a fan. Stocky little bugger with a big heart. Some similarities with Dickov. Not the most composed finisher, but good pace and good positioning means he gets at the end of a lot of chances. Only got a 1-year extension so will probably stay at U23 to earn another contract.

Youngsters won the Lancashire cup tonight against a poor Wigan side. Very one sided. A couple of new faces on display. A massive centre back named Ash Phillips. Handle himself well, very suprise to learn that he turned 16 this year as he was a big filled Out unit. Charlie weston, midfielder, Just turned 17. Was on the bench for the first team in preseason. Really like the look on him. Accomplished two way midfielder with good passing. Probably going to be fast tracked to U23 like Garrett Last year.

0-0 HT. Formation works well. Buckley been very good. Garrett impressive for a first start, some good tackles and solid passing.

I think he suggest someone will be missing on Wednesday's match against Leeds

You are correct. Dahlin and Per Pedersen was brought in as replacements. Dahlin was a very decent striker in his prime, but came with a back injury and was forced to retire.

Watched the whole game, and Ben played as left forward/winger in the same position that he's played this season. Spent the second half mostly tracking back and helping the full-back. Looked a real handful in the first half, and could've several goals if the team mates had not been so selfish.

Fair point. I would probably estimate it to be more in the 5-6 mill region given Joe Nolan, Nsiala, Kayden Jackson fetched quite decent fees at the time. Not arguing that the 12 mill was poor use of funds. Still a 10 player tombola is a large gamble on the wage budget. You would also pay sign-on fees, as well as riddance money for those who doesn't work out. Still it's just nitpicking, we all agree that the 12 mill should've been better spend on strengthening the squad with more than two players and in more positions.

Seems to have serve Brentford well. I don't mind a data-driven approach to scouting and finding targets. The world and technology has changed massively over the last 10 years. The information available now in the form of stats and video from games is totally different from previous decades. If you are not using data you are going to be left behind, as more and more clubs uses it to get a larger reach. The good old approach with feet on the ground and relying on "trusted agents" to find players is limiting in today's market. However the scouting and compiling lists only take you so far. The mayhem with agents is still the biggest obstacle in any signing. You also need a good vetting process on player regarding their personality, motivation etc. You only have to look a club like United who has accumulated bad apples for large sums over the years.

Ipswich tried that approach in 18/19 and finished dead last. They hired the Shrewsbury manager who ran us close when we were promoted. He went on a spending spree in League One bringing in the likes of Joe Nolan, Gwion Edwards, Kayden Jackson, Elliis Harrison etc. Breo was not worth the money, but scattergun approach is dangerous thing as well.

Do you think he's good enough? His stats is pretty underwhelming and has had a few injuries as well. For me he has some good attributes, but I can't really see him any upgrade on Gallagher/Breo. Well done to him for getting a move to Watford. Seemed like a decent bloke in the Sunderland documentary

I wonder how far Rovers scouting reach. Here in Norway, there haven't been many over the last decade I would suggested for Rovers, but here is one if anybody from Rovers are reading: Sivert Mannsverk of Sogndal (Second tier). Made captain last season at only 18 and won player of the year for the whole league. Powerhouse midfielder who dominates the midfield physically with excellent passing range. Destined for greater things and within our budget. Likely career path is being picked up by one of the bigger clubs in Norway (Molde, Rosenborg) and sold on in couple of year for millions of pounds.

Mowatt would be an excellent signing. I didn't realise he was just 26. Excellent on the ball and put in a shift. Also in the Championship team of the year. Why would he extend the contract when he can double his wages and get a sign-on fee elsewhere? Probably not going to be us, but I can't see him staying at Barnsley. I can't see Barnsley performing on the same level next season. They didn't take up the option of Dike because of cost, who was one of the main reason they performed so well from January.

I think most agree with the preference of permanent players. Think loans has been a stop-gap in some cases after failing to acquire players permanently. The last two seasons we have seen very little money spent or recieved on player trading. In interviews it has been pointed out that has been difficult to match wage demands even when we have had a bid accepted. Realisticly I think we have to look at either lower league or foreign players (from less expensive leagues). That demands good scouting and is risky. The Brentford model looks good, but even they buy a lot of duds. However that has been offset buy very high quality players they have sold on which has kept financing their trading. Still they haven't reached PL yet. Ipswich made huge bet on League One players the year after we went up. Spent a lot of money buying players like Joe Nolan and failed massively ending in relegation are still in League One. This summer is interesting because the large clear-out could open space for more academy players. Nyambe, Travis, Lenihan, Wharton, Rankin-Costello and Buckley makes a good core already. Carter should be able to included in the squad after his successful loan as well. For the next batch, I unfortunatly think it's a season too soon for most of them. They would benefit from a loan in League One/Two first. Learning on the job in the Championship is a tough task, and could destroy their confidence. The gap from U23 to Championship is massive and I don't think many of them are ready. Naturally since most them came from U18, and had their first year in U23. Pike is the obvious one which I'm confident could do a job, however he is not better than Nyambe or Rankin-Costello. Butterworth and Vale is the more senior ones, who already has been involved and could kick-on. McBride has something about him, but is a behind those two and should have a loan first.

Thanks Stuart, very interesting topic. I went to soccerbase.com and checked the last 5 seasons to see any pattern in the teams promoted, and this is what I found: Of the 14 teams promoted (auto + play-off): - Only one team had a +=25 and +=15 goalscorer. (Norwich this year) - Only 3 teams had two += 15 goalscorers in the same season. - 4 teams went up without even having a += 15 player. Of those WBA and Cardiff both automaticly went up without even having > 10 goals scorer. Based on those stats, you might argue that having multiple scorers with 5-10+ gives you a higher chance of success. Also, it's clear that the promoted teams concedes less than 1 goal on average for a season. So where does that leave us? - We have been good when hitting teams on the break which has ended in some high scoring matches. - We are awful when teams sit back, because we don't have any plan B. - Losing far too many even matches, soft underbelly and no winning mentality. - Defence and midfield score far too little. The squad is decent but needs an overhaul which it seems we are getting. Armstrong needs replacing, and we also problably need a pacy direct winger/forward who can cause trouble. A lot of promoted teams have had wingers on 10+ goals. Gallagher as a central striker makes sense if you're going to put in crosses. In addition we need a central midfielder who will get into the box and finish chances. Can't remember last time we had a midfielder who scored 5+ goals in a season. Biggest issue however is assembling a team that is coherent and works as unit defensively. We've been overrun in midfield on too many occasions with gaps appearing all over the place with some naive position and lack of tracking back. The defence has not been that great either, playing itself into trouble and not doing the basics right. Can Mowbray fix this? Evidence suggest not.

Yes Pike should've played right-back that one game where Douglas was moved from left-back to right-back. In fairness Douglas did ok, but Pike deserved his chance. You are claiming HB and JB should not been loaned and instead betting on Carter and Magloire. That decision was taken in January when we were still chasing play-offs. Magloire had just returned from a loan spell in Non-league. Carter had a few games for the U23. Not sure many thought they would make a better options than bringing in two top prospects from PL highly rated by Pep and Ancelotti and with more experience. You can always argue now that after the fact, but it seems a bit pointless. Carter and Magloire have probably gained more experience on loan and are returning better players than they would've staying around.

How did you get there? Obviously not. The discussion was whether is was right to loan HB and JB in January, when you could've used Carter and Magloire instead.

I don't think many thought Carter nor Magloire were the answer in January. Bringing in the probably two biggest prospect from PL at the time made sense. Think it was a very good move for Carter to get regular playing time and will return a much better player, similar to Wharton. I have no problem with that decision. If you want to criticize, it would be playing Douglas on right back instead of Pike who has been the standout player in the U23 and deserves his chance.