January transfer window- great for Sadler, s*it for us supporters

bfcpete said:
It has been a better transfer window than I expected, and certainly not a shit one. Even moreso when it was the January one, when most players don't move or there are some overinflated deals.

Let's look first at those players that have exited:
Rhodes - never been the same since the injury middle of last season. Legs appear to have gone and no league goals in the last year. Great character but never going to make a big contribution again here. Other than wages he cost us nothing. Right to let him go, both for him and us.
Embleton - unfortunately, another who has been badly hampered by injuries and fitness issues. Sunderland fans said as much in their pre-season, before we signed him. We all hoped he would recapture the form from his previous loan with us. Unfortunately, it has not worked out. Right to let him go, and Carlisle fans are already moaning about him.
Thompson - can't fault his attitude and effort, but just about every fan recognised his shortcomings and that he was prone to error in just about every game. He had been tried by every manager and also had loan experience elsewhere, but not come through and was not helped by the fact we had a number of better left sided players. Right to let him go.
Norburn - clearly, wants game time and when he got it as sub, he was beginning to show a bit of form. I would have liked to see him playing with Evans, to give us a more solid midfield, to allow the more attacking players even more freedom going forward, and to provide more cover for the defence. I am a bit surprised he has been allowed out on loan without getting a replacement. Don't think Onomah is that replacement.
Joseph - improved greatly this season and worked his socks off. He had scored a few goals, but was hardly prolific and not a natural finisher. I would have liked him to stay until the summer, but I think we have got a decent fee for him.

In terms of the signings:
Bloxham - on what we have seen so far he looks a very good signing, with height, pace and power and will make and contribute some goals. Can play as winger or striker.
Silvera - too early to tell, but looks like he has some skill and provides additional winger option, and probably a few goals.
Ennis - too early to tell but brought in to provide that striker who can provide pace but also score. His control and finish for his goal on his debut was excellent.
All of the above look decent, but 2 of them are loans.
This team is in transition and the January window is not the best to rebuild a side. In an ideal world I would have liked to see another midfielder and striker. And the goalkeeping department really needs strengthening. Overall, an OK transfer window. Could have been better, but certainly not shit.

The summer is going to be the real acid test and challenge. Will Sadler and Bruce still be here? Will there be adequate investment? Quality loans will go back and we may lose players like Carey and Gabriel. The roller coaster never stops at BFC!
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It gets annoying when every summer we have a glut of new signings, most average or recovering from an injury, unfortunately we are league 1 and it’s the way it is unfortunately
 
Chunkylad said:
Is it always a bad thing that “Sadler has saved shit loads of money”?

Our budget is our budget. If we’d have been more aggressive in January and still missed the playoffs or lost in the playoffs then our summer spend budget would have been less.

I don’t know. Maybe we should have blown all the Joseph money in Jan and took a bigger risk? I can see why Wycombe have, I’m just not sure I would have done as Sadler when we are in 13th place. I think I’d have been tempted to wait until the summer too?
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Better doing business in the summer.
 
BpoolFred34 said:
If you think of the players that we have let go Embleton, Rhodes, Thompson, Norburn then Sadler has saved a shit load of money in terms of not having to pay out wages. Additionally, we sold KJ for 2.5 million. Really disappointed to see Cosgrove and Moxon move to Stockport. I'm really happy with the signings we have made but the bigger picture shows that this window has been more productive for Sadler rather than us fans
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Embleton, Rhodes, Thomson and Norburn are all shite though.

Joseph had a good start to the season with us but is now on the bench as is Norburn, 5 appearances, 2 on the bench and twice subbed. Embleton, 5 appearances, 4 losses and a one win, him on the bench. Thomson in 2 was on the bench and subbed in the other. Of course Sadler will be happy, so should we be. Who do we really miss out of them, Joseph? Bloxham is better! Silvera and Ennis made instant impacts.
 
hertfordseasider said:
We have done okay, Bloxham was the steal of the window and 2 players in we needed, be they loans.

He is selling the club, he has done what was needed, but he is in trouble and needs to offload it. The signings were fine the players going out were fine and needed just as much as those coming in. If we don't have new owners by the summer then we need to see SB given the financial support he needs and we need players who are better than what we have, maybe we can turn some of the loans into permamnents and we still have 17 games to go this season. It's so mucbetter since that boring little weasel Critchley has gone, miles better.
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Herts: We keep reading on AVFTT that SS is selling the club etc - but is he? If he is, it's taking an awful long time to find a buyer. To the best of my recollection (my memory makes me a much better former player with each day that passes LOL) all SS has ever said (sinc) is IF a buyer comes along that can take the club forward etc.
I would have liked 2 further permanent signings, to help our push to the top 6. However, if SB thinks he can achieve this with what he's got, then who am I to disagree?
 
BigHandsOliverKahn said:
Are some of our fans just pig ignorant or manically depressed individuals?

The plain facts are:

1. We have managed to shift a lot of expensive dead wood.
2. We've signed some great attacking players (our expected goals is sky high this season but we weren't converting)
3. The style of play has improved
4. Our last 12 games have yielded 21 points - promotion form - with only a single defeat.
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We have let a few players go who had bog all impact on the season, rarely played and were probably on good money. I liked Norburn but he has hardly set the world alight and never seemed 100% happy here.

And then Hull seem to go insane and spend £2.8m on a striker who was ok but come on Joseph was mildly promising at best.

Are we now quicker and stronger up front? Yes

Do we have more wide players to give us options? Yes

Is our bench now capable of making an impact, which hasn't been the case all ** season? Yes

Jesus wept. I don't give a crap if a few are loans, we've always operated like that. This season they happen to be really good ones.
 
Adams Kebab said:
I’m thinking that Bruce is holding Downes hand and giving him a bit of guidance after the summer shambles and potting NC.

I know we’ve changed Manager but letting 3 of your 6 permanent signings leave in the next window and another one not making matchday squads takes some doing.

It will be a joke if we don’t make some decent permanent signings in the summer with the Joseph money. Don’t need to spend it all, nowhere near, but we have to start reinvesting properly in the most important thing at the football club, which is football players.
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Footballers are important, yes, but are they as important premium ticket entry continental lager lounges?
 
td53 said:
Footballers are important, yes, but are they as important premium ticket entry continental lager lounges?
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Well they’ve even managed to half-empty them this season 😂

The footballing equivalent of making 6 permanent signings in the summer and letting 3 of them go in the next window…
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
Is that not the idea , to buy young players and sell them at a profit ?
Or do we buy established players and spend all the clubs money ?
You don't remember when Alan Ball was our manager and he brought in his established ex England mates . We were pants and I think we got relegated and skint.
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I don’t know if you are a parody account or serious but no I don’t remember Alan Ball.

Buy young players and sell them at a profit to then buy more and more young players should be the model, not frees and loans.

Tom Bloxham is the model 💯

We just need players to play well against us so we can talent spot.
 
BpoolFred34 said:
If you think of the players that we have let go Embleton, Rhodes, Thompson, Norburn then Sadler has saved a shit load of money in terms of not having to pay out wages. Additionally, we sold KJ for 2.5 million. Really disappointed to see Cosgrove and Moxon move to Stockport. I'm really happy with the signings we have made but the bigger picture shows that this window has been more productive for Sadler rather than us fans
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Don't you just love people who want to spend other people's money when they don't know what the fuck is going on.
 
CAGU said:
It’s been spent on players wages so there won’t be a huge pot of money to spend in the summer. The club have to balance the books and keep our heads above the water.
Unfortunately the income from season tickets and tickets purchased on the day, sponsorship and tv money does not stretch that far.
These days unless you are a Wrexham, Wycombe with a rich benefactor, then it’s unlikely that a club will break even, let alone make a profit.
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Sadler is a rich benefactor. All football club owners are rich benefactors just spending at varying levels.

None of them are in it to make a profit. Owning a football club is very much an ego driven plaything. Like owning a Superyacht. It costs an eyewatering amount but it's a show of wealth and status.

This is why I find it hard to feel sorry for the "he put's in 5 million ever year" argument. He must have known it was gonna cost him eyewatering amounts when he bought the club. As it does other owners.
 
Macseasider said:
Sadler is a rich benefactor. All football club owners are rich benefactors just spending at varying levels.

None of them are in it to make a profit. Owning a football club is very much an ego driven plaything. Like owning a Superyacht. It costs an eyewatering amount but it's a show of wealth and status.

This is why I find it hard to feel sorry for the "he put's in 5 million ever year" argument. He must have known it was gonna cost him eyewatering amounts when he bought the club. As it does other owners.
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Yep you’re right, watched QPR v Blackburn last night and I looked up the wealth of the Blackburn owners. £1.6 billion apparently. No wonder they stay in the Championship.
 
Macseasider said:
Sadler is a rich benefactor. All football club owners are rich benefactors just spending at varying levels.

None of them are in it to make a profit. Owning a football club is very much an ego driven plaything. Like owning a Superyacht. It costs an eyewatering amount but it's a show of wealth and status.

This is why I find it hard to feel sorry for the "he put's in 5 million ever year" argument. He must have known it was gonna cost him eyewatering amounts when he bought the club. As it does other owners.
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Can’t argue with that in as much as he knows it’s going to be a money pit.

Where it gets murky is if he has set a budget over a period of time (we don’t know how much although he once intimated £5m per season) and we get frustrated when income comes in and we want it ring fenced and spent at that point of time.

As a fan I’m all for him spending every penny he has and then eats gruel. However I suspect he’s living inside a budget he’s set and player wages being so high now that even sales like Joseph do little to keep him within that budget.

I gave a very simple income v spend illustration (none of the many other costs included or other income streams but it kind of highlights how wages feck up budgets.
More players sat around not contributing the quicker the budget goes.
 
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