January Transfer Window

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Myles Francis
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Myles Francis »

Kairdiff Exile wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:45 pm The failure (so far) of our manager to sign one during his last chance this season to do so is negligent.
I guess the question must then be raised of whether the negligence is on the part of the manager, the owner, or both!
Kairdiff Exile
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

The negligence of our owner to pay the tax bills has been well-documented. It may extend into other areas too, including the transfer kitty.

But - and I’m going to keep saying it until I’m blue in the face - KR used his sizeable wage budget to sign bucketloads of creative midfielders this summer even though we had a good number here already (Henry, Napa, Branagan, Lopes, Baptiste). What we needed was a ruddy striker, and not some kid on his first loan either but a proper proven goalscorer. However, Gobbo spunked all the money away on wages for Carruthers, Holmes, Browne, Whyte et al.

I’m not saying that all his signings have been rubbish (Whyte is consistently excellent), but they were too concentrated in one area, and one where we already had some depth. Relying on Smith and Obika was a massive gamble, and the fact that it has failed is something for which KR must carry the can. With a bit of firepower and a half-decent manager, this squad would be comfortably mid-table.

I’ll shut up now, I’m repeating myself. But this was all so utterly fucking predictable, and it breaks my heart to see how far back we’ve fallen in 18 months, primarily because of Karl Robinson, his unprofessionalism and his rank incompetence.
Kernow Yellow
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Kernow Yellow »

I think most of those criticisms of KR are fair enough. He has undoubtedly had a decent budget to work with, and didn't spend it particularly wisely. We have been unlucky with injuries, but we did take on at least two loanees with known injury problems (Holmes and Browne). We are definitely underperforming our budget, no question.

In relation to this transfer window, though, my impression is that KR's hands are tied more than he's letting on. At the start of January he talked of getting 2 strikers in 'within 48 hours'. Now he's talking about 'the one he's always wanted', or taking a punt on one and 'missing out on the next two':

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfo ... ef=mr&lp=4

I reckon we were banking on more Checkatrade prize money from last week, and that the available kitty is reduced without it. And in a way that's fair enough - why should Tiger throw good money after bad? But if the funds are available and KR is not trusted to spend them, then you'd think a change of manager would have been in order. Which leads to the conclusion that the money isn't there to spend, and that's the main issue with this transfer window rather than failures on KR's part...
Dr Bob
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Dr Bob »

I sort of agree with most that has been said above, but trying to stay calm and objective it is also often the case that, from divergent starting positions, negotiations converge rapidly as deadlines loom into view. Why else do we see so many transfers being confirmed in the last 24 hours of the transfer window? Why do we see so many deals being done literally in the last few minutes? We would all like deals sorted early on, but that very rarely happens - especially, I would suggest, in the January window.

One problem, as we saw with Tiger promising a manager with the Wow! factor, is that it is better not to promise then fail to deliver (2 strikers in 48 hours early in January...unlikely) than to keep quiet then go for the ta-daa later.

Bottom line - I do not think we should criticise KR for failing to have brought in one or two strikers by now. Judgement comes after 11pm on Thursday. Then, to quote Jules Winnfield, failure mans that "I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger".
slappy
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by slappy »

I've no idea how accurate this is, but when quizzed by a fan directly after the Brentford FA Cup game, Robinson apparently said only a couple of players were "his" signings.

He strikes me as a bit like Wilder who loved his loan signings of experienced players or decent players with a bit of an injury history. So almost nobody Wilder ever signed was going to be worth much in the transfer market, and he never really trusted young players to make the step up to the first team. Perhaps that can be explained by the leagues we were playing in, the desperation for promotion at the expense of investing for the futures etc.

So I don't really think Robinson believes this is "his" team, rather it's a squad put together by a mixture of the recruitment team whoever they are now, however we got the two Irish lads, a couple of loans too, and some step-ups from the U-23s. Also with his hands tied presumably by a lack of funds to actually pay a decent fee for a striker.
Geoff
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Geoff »

"Tick tock. Tempus fugit."

I don't care if they have silly names as long as they score a few!
OtmoorYellow
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by OtmoorYellow »

slappy wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:08 am I've no idea how accurate this is, but when quizzed by a fan directly after the Brentford FA Cup game, Robinson apparently said only a couple of players were "his" signings.

He strikes me as a bit like Wilder who loved his loan signings of experienced players or decent players with a bit of an injury history. So almost nobody Wilder ever signed was going to be worth much in the transfer market, and he never really trusted young players to make the step up to the first team. Perhaps that can be explained by the leagues we were playing in, the desperation for promotion at the expense of investing for the futures etc.

So I don't really think Robinson believes this is "his" team, rather it's a squad put together by a mixture of the recruitment team whoever they are now, however we got the two Irish lads, a couple of loans too, and some step-ups from the U-23s. Also with his hands tied presumably by a lack of funds to actually pay a decent fee for a striker.
Not so sure about this. It has recently been said that we will return to the previous system of using a recruitment team to find potential and then develop it for a profit. That suggests the recruitment team might have been sidelined or side stepped by Gobbo.

I suspect KR demanded the final say and blew the budget on inadequate crocks.

I also suspect that the budget reigns are now being kept very tight by Tiger, both because of KRs failures in the transfer market and because of the additional costs incurred by the club this season.

I see Gobbo has reverted to type and got yellow carded again last night.

I've slipped back to having very serious concerns about our long term prospects with him in charge.
Dr Bob
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Dr Bob »

Fears allayed? Jerome Sinclair has joined on loan:

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfo ... d-on-loan/
Dr Bob
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Dr Bob »

And maybe a second striker on his way?

http://www.royalgazette.com/soccer/arti ... e-day-move
Kernow Yellow
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Kernow Yellow »

Sinclair has scored 1 (one) senior goal ever. Smith has never scored a league goal.

So I wouldn’t say fears entirely allayed! Lots of potential obviously, but is that what we need at the moment? Pretty sure these weren’t Robbo’s first choices, and that’s not meant as a criticism - it’s notoriously hard to get a decent player in the January window, particularly when your club isn’t the most attractive proposition...
OtmoorYellow
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by OtmoorYellow »

Gobbo said that the player he was going for would be the highest paid player ever at Oxford. That Tiger has gone all out with the money to bring in a striker.

If that is Jerome Sinclair on loan from Watford, OUFC recruitment department all need firing.

After moving from Liverpool to Watford nearly 3 years ago, our new striking option has done precisely nothing. No my mistake, he scored a goal, but just the one.

We would have been far better signing a free scoring striker from a division or two further down the pyramid.

And if that were not enough, Pekalski has come back demanding money to leave, when his contract ends in the summer. That is the Pekalski who has never even played for us. Let him rot.

Has OUFC become a soft touch for wasters and crocks?

I really hope Sinclair makes me eat my words, but this signing gives me little or no additional hope for the season.
Dr Bob
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Dr Bob »

OtmoorYellow wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 2:22 am We would have been far better signing a free scoring striker from a division or two further down the pyramid.
Things are still not clear, but this is just in, so maybe your wish has come true:
https://www.lewesfc.com/article/jonte-j ... ord-united
ty cobb
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by ty cobb »

Anyone who heard Robbos 5 minute chat on Radio Oxford last night will have realised that despite attempts to hide it, he is very disappointed with how things turned out yesterday. He was clearly targeting a proven goal scorer at this level, saying Vaughan was top of his list throughout. The fact we have replaced a unproven youngster up top with another one shows how much support he has been given. He can see as much as anyone that not having a good striker has really cost us this season. So if Tiger really does have ambitions for us why not match these ambitions with action. All we keep hearing are warm words and WOW signings. Well I think this transfer window has just confirmed what many of us have feared for a while - there are no significant funds behind the talk.

If anything happens to Mackie I think we are down this season.
Kairdiff Exile
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

Kairdiff Exile wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:45 pm We were all saying back in July that we needed a proven goalscorer, if not two. It's become even more obvious during the last five months that without one, we will almost certainly be relegated.
Well, I will stand by this and say that I can’t see us staying up on the basis of the two players signed. A promising youngster with a poor scoring rate in the league and a decent but inexperienced non-league striker would both be good signings if they were coming in to support a dedicated striker with a track record of scoring in Div 3. But they’re not; we’re pinning a lot of hope on them, and a lot will depend on how they handle the pressure.

But having said that, these are probably better signings than I had expected us to make if I’d been asked 24hrs ago. They might come good, and they’ll deserve a chance to prove themselves. The worry is that we are still stuck with a manager who promises big but delivers small.
OtmoorYellow
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Re: January Transfer Window

Post by OtmoorYellow »

That's a very big step up from Jonte Smith, who at 24 should probably have made it by now with his scoring record. I wonder why he hasn't previously been snapped up at least by a Conference club. Good luck to the lad, and he clearly knows where the goal is, but it remains to be seen if he'll have the strength and guile to cope with League 1 defenders. Slightly odd that he has only been signed until the end of the season though. If I were him, I think I would have wanted more security than that.

It was a poor transfer window and KR has made a huge mistake by pinning his hopes on a single star player like Vaughan, who realistically was always going to choose a promotion fight over a relegation battle. Equally Tiger has made a huge mistake by underestimating the cost of buying a striker to compete properly in League 1. Not that I think it would have made much difference if he had made more money available as a potential relegation club is never going to be a positive option for a striker dropping down a division.
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