The Akpom saga is a curious one. Some things don’t add up. Let’s take the finances first, which clearly didn’t! We’ve been shopping around in the B&M bargain basement all summer, then suddenly we launch into a wild trip to John Lewis to pay £7m (plus huge wages) for a 30 year old whose form at Ajax had not been wonderful. How were we even supposed to be in a position to compete with Birmingham’s budget? What would spending that kind of money on Akpom have meant in terms of filling the other glaring gaps we have in the squad?
Our beloved recruitment team must have told Edwards (surely?) that Chuba got many of his goals for us through having Giles and Archer alongside him loading his bullets, but who have we in the current squad who could offer him that kind of service?
If we were serious about re-signing him, why weren’t we in at the start of the process, as Len says. Why come in for him at the last minute? Wouldn’t that have told Ajax that a bidding war was underway and they should set more demands on his transfer? Wouldn’t Chuba have been just a little tempted to tell us to get lost. This late move must surely have been an afterthought, and suggests there had been no coherent strategy behind it. How would Chuba have fitted in with Edwards’ new style of play, for instance?
And then there’s the interesting issue of the EG versus The Echo: one said we were trying to hijack Birmingham’s bid, the other that we were in advanced negotiations to sign Chuba. It sounds like two different versions had been shared with the press, almost as if those doing the briefing hadn’t synchronised their stories.
All of this is just too implausible for me. I’m absolutely convinced that Boro’s move for Akpom was nothing more than a smokescreen, designed to convince our understandably sceptical and discontented fanbase that we really are working very hard behind the scenes to recruit quality. Now we’ve failed we can say, ‘Look. We tried to get Chuba, but he preferred to go elsewhere / Birmingham’s offer was more acceptable.’ In reality, I feel, there was never anything in this. It was just a cynical attempt to silence criticism, I suggest.
And now, having whetted fans’ appetites with the prospect of a returning hero, the story dies a death less than 24 hours after it arose. Fans are left even more seething at yet another failure of recruitment. You couldn’t make it up. What a PR disaster.
OMG, the Akpom saga (short as it was) certainly fed fuel to those with a negative outlook on Boro, I expect a mid table finish this season and I am quite happy to go along with that, providing I can see Edwards developing the team with the limited resources the club have, it may take 2/3 seasons to be challenging for a top 6 finish. I will still have my season ticket (god willing) at the end of the 3 years, no matter what UTB.
Come on BORO.
Interesting that the Gazette article by Craig Johns made a point of saying it was Steve Gibson’s intervention to sign Akpom - Johns is often a media voice of Kieran Scott and it appears he’s distancing himself from the failed deal with wage demands being to blame.
The question for me is why does Steve Gibson feel the need to intervene in the recruitment process and is this a sign of concern that the Boro owner thinks time is running out to improve the team?
@clive-hurren. “All of this is just too implausible for me. I’m absolutely convinced that Boro’s move for Akpom was nothing more than a smokescreen, designed to convince our understandably sceptical and discontented fanbase that we really are working very hard behind the scenes to recruit quality.”
Spot on Clive and I agree entirely. I will reserve judgment on the recruitment team until the window is closed but so far it doesn’t look live a cohesive plan to me. 😎
It now öooks Chuna is heading to the money bags at Ipswich.
Believe what you want. Up the Boro!
Callum Britain has signed for Boro in a deal which could be worth £3.5m with add ons, in a 4 year contract.
Come on BORO.
I know we should take everything we read online with a pinch of salt and a dose of cynicism but if akpom wanted 50k a week we are better of out of it, there is no way our team is playing in that park any more even more so if the chairman wants the club to be run on a more business footing.
Like @exmil I expect a midtable finish, what I would really like is for somebody to get on top of why we suffer so many injuries and the season hasn't kicked off yet.
I think I owe the recruitment team a little credit, nonetheless, despite my criticism. I feel they got the Chuba thing wrong, and we’re clearly well behind on signing a striker, but the strategy for improving the defensive side of things looks sound. Getting Jones and now Brittain in looks positive and those two should make a difference quickly. Kante may well prove to be a strong defensive link, too, once he settles.
Now to get the main business at the top end of the pitch sorted. As soon as possible.
I’m not sure if even Baldrick would see the merits of a cunning plan in pretending to try and sign a player by making out you have £7m to spend - since if you then fail to sign anyone at all in the remaining 3 weeks it would then look like incompetence.
If that was the wage demands then that was the only case I can recall where the hijackers were held hostage…
@clive-hurren As I posted previously
That just does not make sense to me when we need so many other players. Never mind the permanently crocked ones on decent wages that are paid, with no return. (Apart from what insurance we are entitled to)
I believe this has been all smoke and mirrors. Maybe desperation creeping in. Or trying to convince the fans of trying to”our best” In reality, due to the wages, a non starter.
Interestingly, given the submissions to date for the COTS predictions, I now wonder why Mr Gibson chose to get rid of Carrick and replace him with Edwards.
The members here appear to believe that the Boro will be no better off this coming season than last. So why go through all the cost and upheaval for no gain. Mr Gibson would have been better giving Werder a call first, and asking him what the Diasboro membership thought. It would have saved all this anguish that’s for certain.
You have missed out on a piece of the argument. It is quite likely that those who have sent in their guesses would have been much more negative about a Carrick continuation without Hackney who was the glue that held his side together.
Personally, I understand the signings to date - two super-solid Championship professionals who fill clear gaps in our squad along with a tantalising prospect who could be a real winner - and I will reserve judgement on the whole window when we see what happens with the Hackney/VDB sales and the other additions.
Like Jarkko, I do find it depressing that so many of the commentators on here seem to approach everything that happens from a negative viewpoint. For example, the Akpom deal seems to have been originally structured as a loan with an option-to-buy at Pds7 million if we get promoted. That doesn't seem ridiculous provided always that wage demands were reasonable. It now looks as if a) wage demands were not reasonable and b) Ed Sheeran United seem to have a great deal of money that they are going to spend in the attempt to spend only 1 season back in the Championship and have offered Ajax a straight purchase. Frankly, I already have them as favourites to end up on top and more deals such as this one will only reinforce that.
UTB
That’s an interesting point on the Akpom deal ad the original reports linking Boro to Akpom suggested we had offered to buy him instead of a loan with speculation that Boro would try to offer less than £7m for a quick sale.
However, later reports claimed Boro would have to pay all of Akpom’s wages but that would suggest a loan - though the Gazette article only mention the wage demands were too high - which could suggest a permanent move. So it will be interesting to see what the Ipswich deal is - loan or sale?
Although, what it does highlight is that Boro won’t be able to outbid quite a few clubs in the Championship.
So Gibson stepped in, I've always said he's behind many of the useless signings , Hiring and firing, why did Bevington leave, Scott will quit, back to the one man around
Bevington left in December 2019 why raise the question nearly 6 years later 🤔, unless you can’t find anything current to moan about 😂.So Gibson stepped in, I've always said he's behind many of the useless signings , Hiring and firing, why did Bevington leave, Scott will quit, back to the one man around
Come on BORO.