Summer Transfer Rumours | Page 5 | Vital Football

Summer Transfer Rumours

Yon Mon said:
It would be interesting where Callum Lang would fit in. He's currently playing as part of a front two at Oldham but Cook doesn't play that way. He's also played on the left of 3 behind the striker so could fit in Cooks plans.
Wherever he's played though he's scored goals.

If Latics are looking for a bargain then Sam Cosgrove could be brought back.
He's playing the lone striker role at Aberdeen and would suit Cooks style.
He's only 22 and could do well at Championship level.
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Cosgrove getting goals in Scotland doesn't necessarily mean much as Windass got something like 17 goals for Rangers last season and he's been less than impressive in the Championship overall. Cosgrove hasn't ever done much in even the English lower leagues and i think that is telling than what he does in Scotland.
 
I don't think many of our players have been impressive this season kdz.
An over cautious approach hasn't suited our more attack minded players.

Hopefully staying up this season will give the management team and players more confidence to express themselves next season.
 
king_dezeeuw06 said:
Jones had him at Luton so makes sense but tbh i wouldn't have him back if we stay up. Think he makes too many mistakes.
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I promise you we’ll get no one better than Walton within our budget. There’s a reason bigger and better clubs are after him. 22 years old (which is the equivalent of an outfield player being about 18) with tons of clean sheets to his name including against Man City and only going to get better and better.

One of those players folk will only realise how good he was once he’s gone and we’re stuck with Jamie Jones and another Adam Bogdan like flop next season.

As said before it’s a huge pre season for Lang, he’s either a prominent member of the first team squad next season or he should be sold while his stock is high. He won’t get a game upfront so his best chance is probably out on the wing.
 
C_Latic said:
I promise you we’ll get no one better than Walton within our budget. There’s a reason bigger and better clubs are after him. 22 years old (which is the equivalent of an outfield player being about 18) with tons of clean sheets to his name including against Man City and only going to get better and better.

One of those players folk will only realise how good he was once he’s gone and we’re stuck with Jamie Jones and another Adam Bogdan like flop next season.

As said before it’s a huge pre season for Lang, he’s either a prominent member of the first team squad next season or he should be sold while his stock is high. He won’t get a game upfront so his best chance is probably out on the wing.
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Remember most of Walton Street clean sheets came last season when he was protected by a very good defence for L1 standard he even went something like 6 games with 6 clean sheets without making a single save at one point.

Every time he is put under real pressure to command his box he has struggled. He's a good shot stopper and at his age plenty of time to improve but at the moment he is quite accident prone. Maybe in a different coaching set up he'd improve like Kirkland did massivly under Bruce but we havent seen much progress in 2 years - his weaknesses have not really diminished. He might go on to be a top keeper in 4 or 5 years for Brighton but we need a permanent keeper and we've had 2 years to find a suitable one so fingers crossed we've got a good shortlist ready made.
 
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Yon Mon said:
I don't think many of our players have been impressive this season kdz.
An over cautious approach hasn't suited our more attack minded players.

Hopefully staying up this season will give the management team and players more confidence to express themselves next season.
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Unfortunately I've not seen anything to think we'd be any better next season without Powell, James and the promotion momentum firing us to a good start. If we got ourselves into such a good position this season and then went too cautious and played against our strengths then next season I think we're more likely to be even more cautious unless there are changes. And that is if we even manage to stay up this year which is far from guaranteed. Looking at the remaining fixtures and the teams around us I do think we are in huge trouble as I don't think we've got the stomach for the fight like Rotherham, Reading and Millwall do. We might have more quality but we are far inferior in our inability to grind out wins once taking a lead and deal with the pressure and those are the traits that keep you up.
 
king_dezeeuw06 said:
............ I don't think we've got the stomach for the fight like Rotherham, Reading and Millwall do. We might have more quality but we are far inferior in our inability to grind out wins once taking a lead and deal with the pressure and those are the traits that keep you up.
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But you must surely admit that coming back to score an equaliser in injury time - against a top 6 side - is at the very least, a step in the right direction, and hopefully, a sign of things to come.
 
moonay said:
But you must surely admit that coming back to score an equaliser in injury time - against a top 6 side - is at the very least, a step in the right direction, and hopefully, a sign of things to come.
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I guess a pessimist's counter to that statement would be that if we had the ability to grind out wins and manage games effectively through taking our chances and holding onto leads, we wouldn't have needed to score that late equaliser in the first place. Just an alternative view.
 
Everytime I look at the remaining fixtures for the relegation threatened teams I come up with different results. Personally I think it's too tight to call and the margins very small.

Qpr will likely come up with a home win against Blackburn and be safe despite being in free fall. Likewise Millwall will get the job done at home and be safe before they play us - which is good news. It's between us Rotherham and Reading. Last game we're all at home - all with winnable fixtures. Rotherham have boro who have blown the play offs, Reading brum who will have nothing to play for and us Millwall who should be relaxed having achieved their aim. 3 home wins there. I think we'll all reach 46 points so it'll come down to goal difference.
 
Will_Shahane said:
I guess a pessimist's counter to that statement would be that if we had the ability to grind out wins and manage games effectively through taking our chances and holding onto leads, we wouldn't have needed to score that late equaliser in the first place.......
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But that's a different point Will..........and one I don't disagree with.

I was specifically responding to KDZ's point re resilience, and having "the stomach for a fight".

Going back to your point re holding on and grinding out a win, many on here have previously castigated the Manager for trying to do exactly that, instead, berating him for not going for the jugular.

As always, the result drives the opinion.
 
moonay said:
But you must surely admit that coming back to score an equaliser in injury time - against a top 6 side - is at the very least, a step in the right direction, and hopefully, a sign of things to come.
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1 late equaliser in a whole season after we were again comfortable yet self destructed again against a very average Bristol side on the day. We weren't ever hammering at the door for the equaliser we looked dead and buried and just seemed to come out of nowhere.

I'm glad we got it but don't think we can read much into it.
 
moonay said:
But that's a different point Will..........and one I don't disagree with.

I was specifically responding to KDZ's point re resilience, and having "the stomach for a fight".

Going back to your point re holding on and grinding out a win, many on here have previously castigated the Manager for trying to do exactly that, instead, berating him for not going for the jugular.

As always, the result drives the opinion.
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The point isn't anyone asking us to start shutting up shop after taking a lead and contradicting the calls to be more positive the the point is we are unable to shut up shop while others are more capable. We just don't have the ability to manage a lead the other sides in the relegation side are not world beaters at holding a lead either but i don't think anyone is as bad as us at grinding out a result after taking a lead.
 
In terms of transfers i would think some of these players are realistic targets

Goalkeeper - Bartosz Bialkowski -I know Ipswich have struggled this season but in last 2/3 seasons Bialkowski has been excellent for them. Experienced keeper who will probably request a transfer and wont want to play in League One next season. Reckon we could get him cheap too. Alternatives could include David Marshall who is out of contract at Hull, Kieren Westwood who is out of contract at Sheff Wed and Marek Rodak who has been a regular at Rotherham but is on loan from Fulham.

Just seen both Marcus and Martin Olsson are both out of contract at Swansea and Derby, might be worth looking if we could pick either of them up on a free for LB.

For centre midfield Marcus Henriksen is off contract, could be worth enquiring about on a free f he doesnt sign a new deal at Hull

I would try for Maddison at Peterborough if they dont get promoted as a Powell replacement. Powell going will free up a load of wage room.

Striker - I know Gregory is out of contract at Millwall, originally from up north so worth seeingif he wants to return up here from London
 
moonay said:
But that's a different point Will..........and one I don't disagree with.

I was specifically responding to KDZ's point re resilience, and having "the stomach for a fight".
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Tbf though like KDZ said, after so many games where we've shown little to no fight/resilience, one late equaliser in the midst of several capitulations can be more easily seen as an anomaly rather than a sign of things to come.

moonay said:
Going back to your point re holding on and grinding out a win, many on here have previously castigated the Manager for trying to do exactly that, instead, berating him for not going for the jugular.
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Yes, people have done that. However, I never criticised the manager in my original post, or suggested that he was to blame. I merely stated that the players don't have the capability/mental fortitude to see out games away from home. To what extent this is the manager's fault is up for debate. Some would say that he has been culpable of making questionable substitutions that have arguably led to our failing to see games out (e.g. Reading when Naismith and Clarke came on for Powell and Massey and we subsequently (consequently?) capitulated). Some would also argue that the psychology and mental toughness of the players is proportional to the motivation provided by the manager, so the lack of psychological strength is indirectly due to his incompetence in this area. I think the issue is more complex than just continuing to attack, or sitting back. There are a range of factors involved in our inability to close out games, and some of these could are potentially attributable to the manager's failings.

moonay said:
As always, the result drives the opinion.
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It is a results-driven business though, and the recurring theme of our away games this season has been that when we do take a lead, we collapse and let the opposition back into the match e.g. Swansea, Reading, Bristol City, Millwall to name but a few. When such a consistent pattern emerges one has to wonder if it is not simply a case of misfortune, but a fundamental problem with game management of the manager/psychology of the players.
 
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ManchesterLatic89 said:
Here is the full list of out of contract Championship players out of contract this summer https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/championship/endendevertraege/wettbewerb/GB2
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If we stay up, heres some off that list I would look at bringing in....

Timm Klose Norwich. CB. Experienced.
Josh Vela Bolton. Still only 25.
David McGoldrick Sheff U. Experienced.
George Boyd Sheff W. Experienced.
James Meridith Millwall. Solid left back.
Paul Coutts Sheff U. Experienced MF.

Notice the key word is 'Experienced'? I mean at Championship level. For me, its where we have struggled this season. Klose, McGoldrick and Coutts will also bring in that 'winning mentality' from being at promotion chasing clubs.
Vela was a hot prospect a couple of seasons ago and its only the problems of Bolton thats held him back. Boyd is a player I've always liked...a good player, and Meridith is a good, solid left back.
If Sheff Utd go up, its almost a given that suchlikes as Billy Sharp will probably exit. I'd be inclined to snap him up straight away without question. (We've seen what he can do)
Depending on wage demands, I'd consider Charlie Adam too. An experienced head with a fair bit of shithousery would be more than welcome. Could be to us for a season, what Gregan used to be at Preston. Experienced quality.
All who I've mentioned have bags of Championship experience in them.
 
96Tav said:
If we stay up, heres some off that list I would look at bringing in....

Timm Klose Norwich. CB. Experienced.
Josh Vela Bolton. Still only 25.
David McGoldrick Sheff U. Experienced.
George Boyd Sheff W. Experienced.
James Meridith Millwall. Solid left back.
Paul Coutts Sheff U. Experienced MF.

Notice the key word is 'Experienced'? I mean at Championship level. For me, its where we have struggled this season. Klose, McGoldrick and Coutts will also bring in that 'winning mentality' from being at promotion chasing clubs.
Vela was a hot prospect a couple of seasons ago and its only the problems of Bolton thats held him back. Boyd is a player I've always liked...a good player, and Meridith is a good, solid left back.
If Sheff Utd go up, its almost a given that suchlikes as Billy Sharp will probably exit. I'd be inclined to snap him up straight away without question. (We've seen what he can do)
Depending on wage demands, I'd consider Charlie Adam too. An experienced head with a fair bit of shithousery would be more than welcome. Could be to us for a season, what Gregan used to be at Preston. Experienced quality.
All who I've mentioned have bags of Championship experience in them.
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I think that the chances of getting Klose and McGoldrick are zero as they will almost certainly stay at their current clubs after having good seasons. Think you've a chance with the others though. We could've had McGoldrick early last summer and i would've definetely had him - always been a good player but still suprised how well he's done at Sheff U this season.

I think if Sheff U went up Sharpe would initially stay for a stab at the Prem.
Adam will likely be after huge wages but depending on who else is in he may have to drop them - but is he even any good at this point - i haven't seen him play in years.

I certainly agree that we could do with some Championship experience if we stay up. A few who popped out that i don't think anyone mentioned so far would be Bidwell (QPR), Browne (Preston), Morrison (Birmingham), McLeod (Brentford), Henderson (Forest), Cantwell (Norwich), Ferguson (Millwall), Romeo (Millwall), Craine (Sheff U), Sears (Ipswich), Elphick (Villa), Kelly (Reading), Iorfa (Sheff Wed on loan) - i'm pretty certain a number of those will be offered new contracts to stay and their clubs wont want to lose them but if IEC want to invest then making good offers to some of them might be a good shout.

But up or down i want us to go and finally get Maddison - it's like Bradley Dack all over again all the Latics fans can see he's a top player going to be worth an absolute fortune and currently cheap but no one at the club seems to notice. I'd also take Tom Eaves on a free - absoute monster target man and Curtis Tilt from Blackpool - all 3 on frees from L1.

From the Prem Danny Williams from Huddersfield is free - i'd get him snapped up before everyone remembers what a good player he is at this level.
 
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