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Duvel

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Posts posted by Duvel

  1. 2 hours ago, LinoJo3 said:

    Basically this, if we’d gone out and bought a 20 year old LW who’d had a couple of seasons under his belt and started to show his talent last season maybe for Bristol, got a few goals and assists etc then nobody would have a problem.
     

    The ‘issue’ most people including myself have are we have signed players who have done essentially nothing at this level. The only one is Rogers who’s played 20 games for Blackpool or whatever.

    Not saying any of this makes them bad players, imo for a team apparently going for auto promotion it’s a huge risk to fill the squad with unproven players.

    That said I do think this 9 man bench has a big part to play in these signings and there will most likely be more established players also coming in.

    A few of us posted the same thing the other day when these players were being linked. At the moment we seem to be signing project players who we can develop over the course of next season and beyond. I'll be very surprised if many of them are in the team when the season starts. 

    I think if you asked Scott and he was being honest he'd admit that a certain percentage of these signings don't usually work out. That isn't a problem though, if the outlay is small enough or at a manageable level then you can afford for a few of them to fail. The other side of that is if a couple of develop to become first team players then it'll have been a successful window. 

    The problem with this approach is when these inexperienced gambles are your only business and you want an instant impact. We saw when Southgate was our manager that we sold experienced players and replaced them with the likes of Emnes, Digard and Aliadiere then we had a problem. 

    The best teams generally have a good blend of both and I'm sure we'll try to do the same. I think we'll still sign a couple of Premier league youngsters on loan with a good pedigree, but then if you can pick up someone like Lenihan when he's available you have a nice blend. 

    • Like 2
  2. Just now, Snowblind said:

    Dieng - reports it's back on. £2m

    Morgan Rodgers - reported to be signing on a permanent from Man City by Romano.

    Glover - undergone a medical, expected to be completed.

    VDB - Undergone a medical, expected to be completed. 

    Silvera - Same.

    Thanks, busy morning then! 

  3. 5 minutes ago, Neverbefore said:

    Tbf, ramsey, Giles and Archer all came in as prospects who had various different levels of success on loan at clubs in and around our position. Hardly tried and tested I would say, at least not over a long period of time. 

    Just because we don't know these players doesn't mean they're not good enough for an auto promotion attempt. The scouting will have been extensive for all of these young players and if Carrick, Scott and the team are aiming for automatic promotion, I'm going to assume that they think these players will have similar impacts to the aforementioned 3. 

    I can't wait for this season now.

    Giles and Archer had played at this level before and both had been pretty successful at this level before we had loaned them. They were more tried and tested at this level a year ago that the lad from Brentford and the Dutch defender and would be far more tried and tested now if we brought them back. They were different signings a year ago to what we've just brought in and are linked to at the moment. 

    I think apart from Dieng our current links and business are players who'll be on the fringes of the first team. The hope will be for some of them to break into the team but with the expectation that a few might not be up to standard, they are low risk/high potential signings. Basically these players are the Forss and Hoppe signings of a year ago.

    I still expect the Giles/Archer type loans to happen later in the window but I think we are looking at the development players at the current stage of recruitment. 

    • Like 2
  4. 5 minutes ago, Rob said:

    we just trying to be smart with the money and I think we will not be putting all our eggs in one basket. FFP is never going to let us spend like that, and alot of the league are in the same position, this is why a lot of teams don't spend much on fee's no more if they haven't recently been relegated

    we will be pushing for top 2 with hard work not big money short cuts, and think that's the only way we ever going to get promoted when all these small pieces click together and be a small team, we saw some good signs of that happening last season. i'm sure we will get a few more experienced players on the books that will look more the finished article, still in early stages of this window, you may find these to be more of the cheaper/free end of the market with the odd BPL loan too

    As I said in my previous post I like the direction we are going in and I agree with you, I think there'll be a mix of young development signings and Premier league loans. I just don't think the current business/links show evidence of anything other than a recruitment team with a longer term plan. 

  5. 4 minutes ago, Humpty said:

    I didn't say you did. I said i don't see evidence that our recruitment is aligned to an auto's push just yet.

    The only evidence at the moment is we are signing young players with a plan to develop them, it seems more of a long term goal rather than a one season promotion push. If we then sign more tried and tested players as well then I'd say that is ideal. But I agree with you the current signing/links are not evidence of an autos push at all, they are the exact opposite. 

    • Like 1
  6. 1 minute ago, Rob said:

    jones confirmed carricks said we are aiming for the automatics this year after we failed vs coventry, I can't see why we wouldn't.

    https://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/sport/football/middlesbrough-fc/middlesbrough-winger-reveals-2023-24-season-target-after-play-off-disappointment-against-coventry-city-4198755

    regardless of who we sign we will be aiming for that, our business is very much restricted by our revenue and ffp and there isnt the money there or the ffp budget there to go out and buy multiple top players, we probs have a 13m FFP budget based on the ffp estimates I was given, and that has to be backed up by finances available to spend that money

    Yeah I know all that but I don't think our current signings/links are evidence of a team who are clearly pushing for a top 2 place as suggested by another poster. Every club could say the same couldn't they? 

    • Like 1
  7. Just now, Rob said:

    I think they probs loan ramsay out for sure, and for archer and ramsay there is no doubt we are high up in the conversation, I am just saying its not normally typical form to get these sort of players back if they are not for sale.

    I dont think their intentions for archer have any certainty for sale or loan or keeping him there, think its totally there to be decided on once he comes back, I think the 20m figure touted was 100% speculation by a journo

    Is it better for Ramsey and Archers development to play half a dozen European games against Eastern European minnows or play 40 games in the Championship? If Villa think the pair can challenge for a first team place then I think they'll stay there, if they don't then I'd expect them to be out on loan again. 

  8. 27 minutes ago, Jonny Ingbar said:

    Our target is obviously set before any players are bought or sold, but equally that target is reliant upon our ability to achieve the ins and outs we want.

    I actually feel like our recruitment is coherent and effective for the first time in many a season, maybe ever. Occasionally that plan needs a little bit of luck too, to secure our top targets in key positions.

    We know Carrick is aiming for the top two places, our recruitment seems aligned to that, so there's lots to be optimistic about I'd say.

    I wouldn't expect us to be aiming below the top 2 but I don't think the current recruitment is necessarily an example of that. The majority of our signings/links seem to be young players with very little experience at this level. To be honest I don't expect all of these types of signing to hit the ground running, they seem to be players we'll develop over time so I don't think the signings/ links suggest  a top 2 push at all. 

    If a rival club were signing these players I don't think we'd be quaking in our boots. I like the direction we're going in but I don't think any of these players are a massive statement of intent. If we'd got Archer, Giles and Steffan back on loan then that would be a statement of intent, buying young players with potential looks more of a move from a club who are being patient rather than attacking the top 2. Obviously all our business isn't done yet though. 

  9. 7 minutes ago, JTG said:

    Biggest thing for me is trying to negotiate buy options where possible on our loans and then it keeps the ball in our court. Even if it would be contingent on promotion it means you don’t end up being held over a barrel by the parent club in the event that we do go up.

    Just been looking through the list of prem players with their contracts up this summer as well and reckon there might be some decent value to be had. Jack Stacey at Bournemouth is set to be released and if I recall correctly he’s one we’ve been linked with in the past. Another one that caught my eye was Kebano at Fulham. Think he done his achilles back end of last year but he’s back to full fitness now.

    Sergi Canos and Jan Paul van Hecke both have options of an extra year but can’t see either getting a longer term extension so reckon their clubs will be looking to cash in this summer.

    Van Hecke was starting for Brighton towards the end of the season wasn't he? If he does leave I'd imagine there'll be better options for him than us. 

  10. 1 hour ago, boro-unger said:

    I have thought for a while now a fairer system would be:

    6th play 5th at 5ths ground

    Winner of that plays 4th at 4ths ground

    Winner ot that plays 3rd at Wembley

    Winner of that game gets promoted. 

     

    That way 3rd team only has to win 1 game to get promoted, giving them a big advantage, but 6th still gets a chance.

    So in that situation its likely we'd have had the same final this year and obviously Luton won it anyway. I agree with your idea by the way but with the 3rd place team going up there shouldn't be many complaints anyway. 

    Our form in February/March would have been enough to beat any of the playoff teams over 2 legs and at Wembley and its a shame we couldn't reproduce that. 

    Pointless going back over that now though 😭

  11. There's not a prayer of getting Traore back here for god sake, let's be realistic 😂

    As an absolute worst case scenario for him I'm sure the 3 promoted teams plus the likes of Bournemouth, Forest and whoever else stays up today would love to have him. Those types of clubs could offer him Premier league football and more money. 

    Then you'll have La Liga interest because he's Spanish and has played for their national team so he'll be fairly well regarded over there. 

    • Like 1
  12. 41 minutes ago, wilsoncgp said:

    The kiosks/bars were covered in the last published minutes. Search for '4. Kiosks & Bars' and you'll see the discussion we had around it. It's a big issue for people and we managed to get Peter Hall, the MFC Bar and Concourses Services Manager, in to talk about them. Got the feeling he's doing about the best he can with the budget he has.

    https://boro.support/middlesbrough-supporters-forumminutes-50/

    Thanks

    Reading through that is pretty much what I expected. I think the problem would likely be improved with more staff, the club would have to do a proper analysis to see if the extra staff could be paid for with increased sales I suppose. 

  13. Bottling it is where you don't hold your nerve and can't handle the pressure of a big game. Lack of effort is something completely different. 

    Unfortunately nowadays every team that loses on the biggest stage is said to have bottled it and its just daft, only one team can win and sometimes you're just second best on the day. 

    We didn't lack effort and we didn't bottle anything. In my opinion we just ran out of steam as a group, with injuries and fatigue. 

    The playoffs are decided by the best team at that moment in time, its not always the best team who wins it but the form team. I still think we would beat Coventry more often than not if both teams were fit, fresh and no injuries. But it wasn't to be so good luck to them. 

    • Like 2
  14. 1 hour ago, Changing Times said:

    Fry is a better defender than Lenihan.  Why would we want someone to come in and compete with Fry to play alongside him?

    Because he's injured a lot, it feels like we can rely on Lenihan being on the pitch a lot more. 

    I think Lenihan has got better as the season has gone as well so I wouldn't say there's much between them in terms of ability. 

    Also I think our record at scoring goals from set pieces is really poor, in this division it would be good having another centre back who can defend but also has a bit more of a physical presence on set pieces. 

    I'm happy with Fry as a player but  with his injury record I don't think it would hurt to have cover/competition for him. He might also be a player who we might have interest in from other clubs so its a position I'd definitely be looking at in the summer. 

    • Like 3
  15. I know this has probably been covered a million times but the queues at the kiosks in the ground are just ridiculous. I got there early last night hoping to get a pint but there's no chance unless I was prepared to miss the kick off. 

    If you want food or drink at half time you have to be prepared to miss 10 minutes of the game, so we have a situation where the stands start emptying from about 35 minutes and don't fill up again until after the 2nd half has kicked which can't help the team. 

    Many people like me just don't bother so the club are missing out on loads of revenue. 

    I don't get how they can't solve this. 

    • Like 1
  16. I saw this interview recently from one of the best basketball players in the World talking about defeat in a playoff game. And its absolutely how we should be looking at things. 

    I've heard people talking about embarrassment a few times on here and (another site) and there's nothing to be embarrassed about, you lose more than you win in sport. We've just got to dust ourselves down as a club and go again  

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 2
  17. 6 minutes ago, smogsterking the Inspirati said:

    Aye well played last night. No complaints about the result and you fully deserved it. Your big players were on song whereas ours just couldn't get into the game. I was really hoping Ramsey and Howson might have been fit for last night as it highlighted how important they were to us and how we have greatly missed their influence over the last few weeks. That said it doesn't detract from how you outplayed us last night. All the best for the final hopefully see you in the Premier league next season.

    Yeah Ramsey and Howson would have certainly added a lot to us over the two legs. Looking back Howson has been a huge loss actually. 

  18. 4 minutes ago, Whoppy said:

    I really admire the optimism from so many on here about last nights game but I feel the same way as the above.

    we might well ‘do a Brighton’, but with big teams coming down, plenty of parachute payments about and losing players like Giles and Ramsay, I just don’t see it.

    we had a golden chance to win two very winnable games and we blew it. I get that that’s football, but I’m very down in the dumps today. 

    I just don't see how you can really get a strong feeling about next season at the moment when we don't know what our team and squad is gonna look like. 

     

  19. 7 minutes ago, Redcar Rioja said:

    Ramsey has now had two significant injuries this season with us and Norwich, Fry seems to have developed the Ayala bug which are the reasons I think we need to ensure we go and get equal to or better in the Summer whether as back up/starters. No room for sentiment I'm afraid as good as those two when fit undeniably are and that's assuming Ramsey will be back (which I think he will). 

    Yeah good point, I think we'll have Ramsey back on loan if Villa will let us because despite the injury history he played so well.

    Fry I'm not so sure, if there's a Premier league offer for Fry I'd consider it and even if he stays I'd like someone else to come in who can compete with him for a place alongside Lenihan.  

    • Like 1
  20. This sounds like sour grapes but looking back do you think we are as good as we thought or was the division just really weak this season? I know Carrick has had us playing in a really attractive style but the fact that Sheff United have got promoted and will be followed by Luton or Coventry it just makes me think the league is so poor. None of them look remotely close to Premier league quality. 

    When you look at some of the teams who've been promoted over the last few seasons many of them looked a lot better than the top 6 from this season. Even ourselves, when you think about it very few look capable of making the step up to the Premier league. 

  21. 5 hours ago, JTG said:

    Archer I could see being given a chance at Villa or loaned/sold to one of the promoted teams. Cracking poacher especially at this level but I think we also saw his limitations over the two legs against Cov. He lives and dies by the service he gets and if he’s not getting fed then he doesn’t create much for himself.

    He's not ready for Villa yet, can you see him replacing Ollie Watkins? Not a chance. The best version of Archer will end up on loan at a top 6 Championship club on loan or maybe competing for a place at a new promoted club on loan. There's a huge difference between Championship and Premier both technically and physically and I don't think he's ready for that yet. 

    Even if we keep him and Chuba id like another option off the bench for us. 

    • Like 1
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