Rate the 2023 Summer Transfer Window

[Dark Munster]

6 hours ago, Langley saint said:

The best we could have hoped for , CB's sorted with Holgate & THB , Downes in CM , CF with Stewart the spine of the team is sorted. Add the attacking pace of Edozie , Fraser ,SAA , Sulemana its going to be a competitive season !

That aged well!

[Holmes_and_Watson]

This is the second summer window in a row, my timing has been off. Last time out, I had written the post a few days before the end of the window, rated it expecting a striker coming in (those SR assurances) and Romeu to still be here. Oh, and like a total lemming I had upped my rating by one off the back of everyone’s 8/9 out of 10 ratings. My 6 became a low 7.

This time, I had some of it typed, but then had to watch an abject performance, and hope it doesn’t come across as sour grapes/ panic stations. 😊

GK – Missed opportunity?
This position highlights the flaws of SR’s approach more than any other. The desire to produce the next best thing, regardless of position/ experience required there. Also, to lower the wage bill, even if it’s a false economy, as panic buys are made, with players being frozen out.

Bazunu had a torrid time of it last season, in a position always in the spotlight. Eventually, and well past the point of sanity, McCarthy came in for him. On the plus side, a lower division should give him some space to develop some of his game. On the minus side, there are fundamentals that, if not improved on, will lead to loads of the same errors. None of this is helped by lots of experienced, capable goalkeepers being available, but falling outside SR’s model.

While Bazunu may develop, but we’re in the same position if he doesn’t, and that’s a worry. Lumley in for Cabalerro hasn’t made much difference.  

Fullbacks – Weaker, talent wise, but with more balance.
While Tino’s talent is a loss, he was injured for such a long time and, like all young players, was looking like he should have been rested before he got injured. I liked the style and on field attitude of Perraud. It doesn’t seem like his style fits the new tactic and he wanted away anyway. Manning is a better fit for Martin, so has to be seen as a plus for the season. But then Bree was a plus under Jones’ tactic, so it doesn’t count for much sometimes. Keeping KWP is a big plus for our season. Perraud and Livramento out/ Manning in.

Centre Back – Lost talent, but hopefully all the attitude with it.
I thought at first that we had a lot of talent there last season. As the season went on, we saw the character/ flaws of a number of them, resulting in a lot of chopping and changing.
None of Salisu, DCC, ABK or Lyanco could consistently perform near their best for a variety of reasons. Stephens returns, when he was well down that pecking order. Bednarek, who couldn’t wait to join Villa and put his international career ahead of the people who pay his wages also stayed. Annoying prone to wave hands around and shout after making errors. I thought he’d be one to go. We bring in a very promising youngster and Holgate, who I last heard of not doing that well at ,admittedly a basket case club, following a good spell. Stephens’ injury means that it’s going to take a bit longer for partnerships to build. With the way Martin plays his full-backs, this is really key.

The leakiest defence to get automatic promotion in the last 19 years was 58, back in 2010/11. The average across the automatic places for that period is 42. We’ve already conceded 12 in 5 games. it won;t be our defeinsive record that takes us up, at this rate. Martin is going to have to be rapidly improving that Plan A, or our players ability to work within it.

Midfield – Clearout, and Martin has to be able to pick the best 3 out of the new group that needs to gel.  
We missed Romeu a lot last season. With the departure of our best player, in JWP, Lavia and Diallo, this was pretty much a complete clear out. Martin seems to be a bit more fluid with a 3 here. Charles is already looking like an important replacement, with Downes another starter. It would seem to be a pick between Alcaraz/ Stu/ Aribo for a more attacking option here. Even AA has dropped back, where his hard work benefits both our defence and attack. Smallbone looked good alongside JWP. But he will have to adapt to play with the others, as JWP did a lot of things across a number of roles. It could be either him or Downes, but not both, after the Sunderland performance. I thought Stu or Aribo would also leave here. Thee’s plenty of competition for places. But I think we could have lost one of the attacking ones to give more cover for Charles.

Attack- Clearer options, lots of depth, just need to find the balance.
Lots of options. But it could be a bit lop-sided, depending on who really will be Tella’s replacement. We had a nice balance with the dribbling Edozie on the left and the more direct, second forward Tella on the right. Despite only returning from loan, Tella’s feels a bit of a loss. Fraser coming in is a plus though.

While Walcott offered bright moments last season, there was no way he’d be staying and SR will be glad he, Orsic and Mo have left the wage bill.

Mara didn’t do enough there against Sunderland, and should be more central anyway. SAA isn’t going to be playing there all season, at his age. We’ll have to see how much commitment Sulemana shows, but he could be really important. Fraser is the most accomplished person we’ve got for the wider attacking positions.  Although AA and Stu would also provide lots of options for balance.

Up front, we desperately needed to get someone in. If Che had gone, we would really have needed 2. Sadly, Ounachu didn’t find a new home. But we did still manage to bring in Stewart. Outside of youtube, I’ve not seen much of him. So, I can only hope he’s a championship striker who can do as well as Che and AA at this level, and hopefully more as we go on. Che and AA have already found some form. Both stayed in the end and seem professional. Bringing in an injured player may not be much of an immediate strengthen, but it was a really low bar.  

The average goals for over the last 19 years, in the top 2 spots, has been just over 78, with 6 teams getting 90 or above. With Martin’s defensive track record, and formation, we have to be looking at high numbers here.

Manager – Promising start, but with expectations and clear gaps to close.
Hopefully, Martin will be a massive success for us. While the interviews are always interesting, it’s the results that count. And the aim has to be promotion. Martin’s mid table Swansea finishes, under different circumstances, have to develop into a promotion clinching finish. There’s always a worry around managers with a focused football philosophy, that once it’s adapted to, it becomes too inflexible and fails. Martin will have seen plenty of warnings of this already, even as he improves his players into fitting it.

Overall – SR have done a lot well. They’ve stood their ground on valuations. They’ve been conscious of the squad size, while still trying to replace key departures. After the terrible January window, and relegation, they’ve not gone overboard, combining highly rated talent, with some experience and better use of loans.

We’re weaker on talent, which is no surprise after relegation. But it’s no loss to lose players who weren’t up for the fight, regardless of their skill level.

After all that, I’m in the same position as last season. 😊

Nearly a 7, but I’m going with a high 6. Which, considering the turmoil is not half bad. Goalkeeper a worry, still look a little light in defensive midfield, could probably have done with a tella replacement and a new manager philosophy to embed. We’ll see how the squad gel under Martin’s tactics. SR would get higher, if it was just dealing with departures.