Wolves winger Adama Traore has been called up to the Spain squad for September's Nations League fixtures against Germany and Ukraine. Well done, our old boy! Up the Boro!
@exmil. I didn't criticise NW or the recruitment team but made the comment that it would be interesting to hear what NW thought of their efforts; he may well have responded that they were doing all they could but finding it difficult to compete given the financial constraints under which they were having to work.
That being said, most club's will have constraints and difficulties under which they have to operate. Clearly some appear to be fairing better than others to date. 😎
I imagine that the recruitment team (i.e. Gary Gill, his team of scouts etc) are responsible for drawing up shortlists based on what the manager wants and who they think are affordable/signable. I would then think it comes down to Neil Bausor, with sign-off from Steve Gibson, as to the fees and personal terms.
If that's the case then it seems like the recruitment team are doing their job, but that we haven't got sign off for the fees and/or wages that the players and their agents are wanting. Or if we do, that other clubs can offer similar packages and the players are choosing to move elsewhere.
On balance, I would rather go with what (little) we've got than overpay. We're not talking abut signing players that would make a huge difference in my view.
@andy-r. I agree with your assessment of how the recruitment process works and that it is NB/SG who are responsible for agreeing and signing off on transfer fees/personal terms.
I am also of the view that all businesses need a financial structure to which they should adhere albeit at times needing to flex the structure if they are to ensure they acquire the right personnel to fill major gaps within the business.
The problem for MFC is that given the large number of players they need to recruit in one season there is less room, if any, to flex the structure when competing with other clubs for the same players.
I don't believe that we can stick with just what we have at present as NW has made it plain that he needs more experience and to strengthen the spine. A difficult job to achieve at the best of times but even more so in the current climate. 😎
@k-p-in-spain I think that's right on the problem we have, but only if we're trying to put together a squad capable of challenging at the top end.
As it stands, I think this is the worst Boro squad I can recall. However, I still think that it's good enough for midtable under the right management, though no better than that.
I fancy that if organised and motivated - probably the two key strengths of Warnock - the current squad can do quite a bit better than last season, despite being quite a bit worse on paper. I'm not in any way expecting a promotion or playoff push but I think we can comfortably keep out of trouble.
@andy-r. I think strengthening the defence is a must because I am not convinced that, presently, we are strong enough to stay out of trouble. We need a minimum of one centre back and a left and right back; if we don't then its another season of make and mend and eventually we will get caught out.
Please also bear in mind it is NW's stated objective of challenging for a top six spot and he is not going to do it with the squad as it stands at present. 😎
@k-p-in-spain I agree that the defence is particularly weak with only two experienced centre-halves, one of which isn't that experienced and the other having a serious history with injury. I also agree that we don't have a genuine left back in the squad.
If the transfer market stays as quiet as it currently is, then I can imagine there will be a lot of players available for loan. That might end up being the route we take.
I'm sure everyone's aim at the club is playoffs or better and NW could hardly say anything else but the reality is that a top six finish would be minor miracle for us next season.
@andy-r. I think what is becoming apparent is that the finances are probably even tighter than anyone believed (even after the departure of several highly paid players) and without any income from player sales then we are very restricted on incomings.
As you say, we will probably have to rely upon the loan market and are effectively dealing on a financial basis much like the clubs in League 1. I am just slightly concerned that by the time loan deals are finalised we will be well into the season and playing catch up but it is what it is and will have to be managed. 😎
@exmil There must be an age limit who are calculated as a first team player. I am sure Nathan Wood-Gordon won't be calculated to the 25 players allowed. Up the Boro!
jarkko that is a very good point, as of 2016, a player that was 21 or under on 1st of January of that year (2020 for this season) does not have to be named in the squad but can play every league match, other players not named in the 25 can play in cup matches.
Come on BORO.
@exmil. I didn't criticise NW or the recruitment team but made the comment that it would be interesting to hear what NW thought of their efforts; he may well have responded that they were doing all they could but finding it difficult to compete given the financial constraints under which they were having to work.
That being said, most club's will have constraints and difficulties under which they have to operate. Clearly some appear to be fairing better than others to date. 😎
KP in Spain, I did not accuse you personally of criticising the recruitment team but I apologise if that is the way it came across, it was meant generally on lots of message boards.
Come on BORO.
@exmil. Thanks Exmil, it's me being oversensitive. Take care and COB. 😎
I think that as the Championship is at present formed, you are either pushing for top six or frightened to death of relegation. There is no middle ground, a typical team that knows for a sure and certain fact that it is middle of the table but, owing to a bit of bad luck, is not quite in reach of the sixth spot, will be, for sure, in reach of the 22nd spot.
Well missing out on Williams was a surprise but as we know only too well that deals are not done until the ink dries and being usurped at the last minute is something that Boro have become very good at. Let's be honest until a few days ago I had vaguely heard of the lad but he was never at the forefront of any of my preferred targets but as the weeks progress its now getting very twitchy.
Maybe Stubbs has impressed in training and therefore the need for Goode seemed less important in Warnock's mind so we stuck rather than twisted when Brentford upped the ante.
It appears that Bristol launched a late bid to get the Williams deal over the line, money talks and Bristol's Steve has a lot more of it (£1.72 Billion)to offer players than our Steve.
@plato Fair point. There’s rarely many points between the middle 10 or so clubs in the Championship and it doesn’t take much to be 4 or 5 places up or down.
I can see us hovering around 10th to 12th thinking we’re only a couple of wins off the playoffs but never quite being a serious proposition.
@redcarred I think both Bristol City and Boro have to be follow the Fair play rules money wise 😊. And I hope you are correct about Stubbs.
Anyway, I think there should be some money left behind the sofa now that the five high earners have left rhe club. So hence I was surprised not to see more new players yet.
Seeing Ayala to train with a non-League club, I would be very nervous as a player without a contract now. Up the Boro!
With a number of Middlesbrough targets seemingly choosing other clubs, the local natives are getting restless and having a go at Neil Bausor. But it seems nobody really knows what is going on behind the scenes as any news coming out of the club is so secretive that it would make Vladimir Putin proud. We need another Bletchley Park to unlock the secret code.
With a number of Middlesbrough targets seemingly choosing other clubs, the local natives are getting restless and having a go at Neil Bausor. But it seems nobody really knows what is going on behind the scenes as any news coming out of the club is so secretive that it would make Vladimir Putin proud. We need another Bletchley Park to unlock the secret code.
Whilst Bausor is getting pelters it would be interesting to know if it is indeed his incompetence or if he is negotiating with one hand twisted up his back by the Ruler. We do need Players that is not open to debate but of all the ones that we have been linked with over the last few weeks none have really excited me a great deal although some did make sense. I think we can get as good if not better over the next few weeks, none were world beaters.
I just worry if the purse strings are being kept tight because of the potential return of the Chairman's nephew which it appears will be expensive if it comes off. If it doesn't then we may in the meantime have lost out on players in the hope of one single returnee (and we all know how they usually work out). Jobs are being made redundant (like everywhere else) at the Club at the moment so money is understandably tight and maybe financial survivability is paramount in thinking until the full extent of the Covid effect is known.
See Fixtures Published thread.😎
To be honest I think a lot of us would agree that last season we had a lot of underperforming players. I don’t think we need that many incoming.
If NW can find a way to galvanise the players we already have, its the makings of a half decent Championship team. The club are going the right way in trying to attract the right players at the right price. We don’t want to get burned like we did in the past.
Stojanovich
Bola Fry Hall Coulson
Tavernier Wing Saville Spence
Assombalonga Fletcher
Subs: McNair Pears Browne Johnson Dijksteel Wood plus a few youngsters, is not too bad for this league. NW can afford to wait for the right deals to come along.
Teamtalk are reporting that NW wants to bring Sol Bamba to the Boro from Cardiff for a nominal fee. He is age 35 and was out injured for a large part of last season. I hope that it is just media talk. 😎
@grovehillwallah Where is Howson? Up the Boro!
Exactly Jarkko, we’re better off than we think, I forgot about him.
To be honest I think a lot of us would agree that last season we had a lot of underperforming players. I don’t think we need that many incoming.
If NW can find a way to galvanise the players we already have, its the makings of a half decent Championship team. The club are going the right way in trying to attract the right players at the right price. We don’t want to get burned like we did in the past.
Stojanovich
Bola Fry Hall Coulson
Tavernier Wing Saville Spence
Assombalonga Fletcher
Subs: McNair Pears Browne Johnson Dijksteel Wood plus a few youngsters, is not too bad for this league. NW can afford to wait for the right deals to come along.
I wouldn't have Bola anywhere near the team let alone at RB, he may improve under Warnock but at this stage its a gamble that I wouldn't contemplate. I'd have Dijksteel at RB as thats what he was signed for supposedly plus he was improving when he came back after injury just as the season ended (I suspect thats what you meant but got the two players mixed up in the early hours).
The issue is that while we can put out a decent enough starting eleven there isn't much left in reserve to cover a full season or to tweak things mid game. Its the depth for injuries and suspensions rather than the initial eleven. Add to that the set up and tactics that Warnock likes to play isn't best served by what we have presently available.
He seems to want a battle hardened giant (or a colossus will do) CB, a steely leg breaker, sorry play breaker in the midfield, a big lump for an option up top and some pace down the flanks. I'd also surmise that he wants battle scarred veterans at LB and RB although Dijksteel because of his frame may tick the RB requirement to a degree. Thats five as a minimum and I'd also wager that there are one or two he wants to ship out. McNair and Fry seem to be rumoured the most likely to depart due to attracting some bids hopefully. Britt would be another but with his wage package isn't going anywhere any time soon.
Fry seems to be missing from the training pics coming out of Rockliffe which is maybe just a coincidence or perhaps he is carrying a knock of some sort. More likely perhaps, is that he is locked in the boot of Dyche's car as the makeweight in bringing home the Owner's nephew.
@redcarred Agree with that, RR. The XI I would select are different to GHW’s but either way there’s a half decent Championship side there. As you say though, there’s very little in reserve unless more graduates step up.
The past few transfer windows coupled with NW’s comments on anyone being for sale show that any decent offers for our players will be accepted. The bids will come eventually and the squad we have now will be a little lighter still until we can add one or two which I suspect will be late in the window and/or on loan.
The Junior Hoilett link seems to have gone quiet. Have I missed something?
The Junior Hoilett link seems to have gone quiet. Have I missed something?
I think it was just lazy journalism at the time and that Cardiff had no intention of selling him. A wide pacy player who can get crosses in ticks a lot of Warnock boxes.
No doubt we will soon be linked with a young lad from a League Two club and end up with it dragging on for so long that he eventually goes to QPR for £2M as £500K a week gets added to his Transfer "value". That's not to say that we should keep upping the ante and do what we traditionally do and pay two and a half times their true value but it looking like we are struggling to be attractive.
A struggling, skint, Championship Club narrowly avoiding relegation who change Managers more often than underpants with no clear strategy, continuity or identity up in the grim frozen North, whats not to like? Our rose tinted biased opinion of Boro is seemingly not shared by those in the game who now see Boro as rudderless and lacking direction.
If you were after a bumper pay day then Boro used to be fair game and at the top of middling players lists. If you are a talented, young, ambitious Player with the desire to play at the highest level for a team going places then I doubt many Agents would be looking North of the M62.
Let’s not forget that apart from the relegated PL clubs ( who may well fail to adapt to the Championship) most clubs will be in exactly the same position as us. Half decent first team but no strength in depth.
This is where a manager with the experience of NW comes in to play. Getting the most out of what you have. Looking around the league I don’t really see any outstanding candidates for promotion. The one thing that we have to do this season is something we haven’t been able to do for sometime now and that is to stop having so many draws, plus of course scoring a lot more goals than we usually do.
I’m not unduly worried yet, let’s see what the transfer window brings.
This was put on social media by a Boro supporter.
Players arriving at Rockcliffe for training
On the subject of Players coming in I was just reading about Sevilla. Its painful to think of the trajectories of both Clubs since 2006. A telling paragraph:
"Managers have come and gone, squads have chopped and changed, but one thing somehow still remains; Sevilla's ingrained ability to flourish on the Europa stage and find their way back to the gleaming silver trophy".