There’s been lots of debates on how good or bad our permanent transfers have been. There has been lots of enthusiasm about some of our signings and lots of grumblings about how much we’ve spent this season. I think it’s always worth remembering when discussing it, that the club had a mammoth task to bring so many players to have a functioning squad.
I just want to give my thoughts on the individual signings this year, and I’m interested to hear other people’s opinions as well. So here it goes:
Galbraith 8/10:
Start with the best, I think it’s no surprise to anyone that I think he’s been the best bit of business this season. Came in like a whirlwind and made an instant impact to the team. Quickly became a fan favourite and had a great crowd chant to boot. His season lost momentum when he was forced to play RB, and I think he clearly looked jaded the longer that dragged on. I can’t really blame him if he is frustrated with the season and the club after that. There’s rumours about him pushing for an early exit true or not I hope there’s a chance to repair the situation because it will be a shame to lose him.
Burges 6/10:
I’ve been critical of him at times because he does have a mistake in him most games. But purely from looking at the fact he was brought in as a free transfer I think he’s done a solid enough job. I wish he could have scored more goals for us than against us, with his physical attributes he should have. My biggest worry now is that there he will be hard to shift if we want a better CB.
Widell 7/10:
My personal favourite new player for the energy and enthusiasm he’s shown both on the pitch and while sat on the bench. Definitely one that grew in to the season. And I think he was unlucky not to have more goals to his name, I think once he gets his first goal more will quickly follow. I think there has been some disappoint about him not being as attacking focused as people hoped. I think it’s fair to say he’s more of a Franco 2.0 and that is no bad thing, there have been plenty of games this season where the two of them have shut teams down with their combined pressing effort. I think He has plenty more to show next season.
Idah 6/10:
With hindsight you could argue that this transfer wasn’t needed, though neither the club or the fans knew it at the time. I think the transfer fee has been used as a rod to beat him with even though he’s had little opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. He’s obviously had to play second fiddle to Vipotnik this year. And it’s a shame he got injured or he would have easily been on 10+ goals and we might have had a few extra points. I still think he was a bit of a last minute panic buy, but it could turn out to be a very good bit of business. With the little time he’s had on the pitch he’s had 6 goals and two assists, just extrapolating from that he would be sitting around 20 goals with a full season. I think it’s very confidence inspiring that we already have a replacement that is bedded in to the team if Vipotnik leaves. Very excited to see what he can do if he has the chance to lead the line next season.
Inoussa 4/10:
A lot of questions marks remain around Inoussa for me. Didn’t exactly set the world alight when he came, though he showed on occasion he was capable of beating his marker. To be fair to him he came in adapting to a new league and played at a point where under Sheehan no player was playing brilliantly. And from the sounds of it he came in to the club carrying the same injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. So I’m going to reserve my judgment of him until he has the opportunity to play Under Matos. But he has a lot to prove next season.
Wales 5/10:
Struggled to score this one apart from him having a Cracking name I have no strong opinions on him. He’s obviously one for the future and didn’t cost very much. Hasn’t had much opportunity to play, and seemingly a not impressive loan spell. He is still very young so just got to be patient and wait and see.
Stamenic 7/10:
A player that has very much grown on me. He’s a bit like Fulton in that a lot of the things he does well goes unnoticed at times. He can be a bit heavy handed and clumsy with the amount of yellows he received. And I would like to see him next season have a bit more urgency to get the ball forward. But he’s scored a respectable amount of goals for his position and he is very composed on the ball. Again another player who I think can improve even more next season if we can keep him. There are rumours about other teams circling for him.
Ward 6/10:
Got brought in as temporary cover, and I think he performed admirably in that role. Did nothing particularly special but made no major mistakes. He’s obviously starting to struggle with the pace of the game. I suspect he made more of an impact off the pitch with his experience at top level football.
Walta 6/10: Has come to the club with a very exciting scoring record from his last club. Hasn’t really had the opportunity to show what he can do, he’s effectively been in pre season since he joined. And we had to wait till the very last day of the season to truly see what he is capable of. That free kick was so reminiscent of Gylfi, and having a free kick specialist is something the club has lacked since, well Gylfi. It’s a common theme, Very excited to see what he can do next season, should be able to hit the ground running with all the preparation he’s had.
Santos 2/10:
I don’t really know what happened with this one, we were obviously low on CBs at the time but he just doesn’t seem to be capable to play at this level and is riddled with injuries woes. The best thing I can say about the transfer was that it was free.
Farman 5/10:
Another one I don’t really know how to score. Every squad needs a 3rd choice keeper and he’s there to do that, don’t know what else to say.
All in all I think it’s been a good year for transfers, maybe not as great as people initially hoped, but nowhere near as bad as some people have made out. There have been criticisms of players not making an instant impact and the amount spent on some players. And in the context of this season those criticisms are fair, in the long term though I think these concerns will become largely irrelevant.
I see this season as very much a rebuild of the team and now we’ve got a great foundation of a squad. We’re in a much better position going in to next season than we were finishing last season. And the next lot of transfers will be an Evolution rather than a revolution. And I can’t remember feeling so positive and excited for the next season in a long time.
Will be interesting to here other people’s thoughts.
I just want to give my thoughts on the individual signings this year, and I’m interested to hear other people’s opinions as well. So here it goes:
Galbraith 8/10:
Start with the best, I think it’s no surprise to anyone that I think he’s been the best bit of business this season. Came in like a whirlwind and made an instant impact to the team. Quickly became a fan favourite and had a great crowd chant to boot. His season lost momentum when he was forced to play RB, and I think he clearly looked jaded the longer that dragged on. I can’t really blame him if he is frustrated with the season and the club after that. There’s rumours about him pushing for an early exit true or not I hope there’s a chance to repair the situation because it will be a shame to lose him.
Burges 6/10:
I’ve been critical of him at times because he does have a mistake in him most games. But purely from looking at the fact he was brought in as a free transfer I think he’s done a solid enough job. I wish he could have scored more goals for us than against us, with his physical attributes he should have. My biggest worry now is that there he will be hard to shift if we want a better CB.
Widell 7/10:
My personal favourite new player for the energy and enthusiasm he’s shown both on the pitch and while sat on the bench. Definitely one that grew in to the season. And I think he was unlucky not to have more goals to his name, I think once he gets his first goal more will quickly follow. I think there has been some disappoint about him not being as attacking focused as people hoped. I think it’s fair to say he’s more of a Franco 2.0 and that is no bad thing, there have been plenty of games this season where the two of them have shut teams down with their combined pressing effort. I think He has plenty more to show next season.
Idah 6/10:
With hindsight you could argue that this transfer wasn’t needed, though neither the club or the fans knew it at the time. I think the transfer fee has been used as a rod to beat him with even though he’s had little opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. He’s obviously had to play second fiddle to Vipotnik this year. And it’s a shame he got injured or he would have easily been on 10+ goals and we might have had a few extra points. I still think he was a bit of a last minute panic buy, but it could turn out to be a very good bit of business. With the little time he’s had on the pitch he’s had 6 goals and two assists, just extrapolating from that he would be sitting around 20 goals with a full season. I think it’s very confidence inspiring that we already have a replacement that is bedded in to the team if Vipotnik leaves. Very excited to see what he can do if he has the chance to lead the line next season.
Inoussa 4/10:
A lot of questions marks remain around Inoussa for me. Didn’t exactly set the world alight when he came, though he showed on occasion he was capable of beating his marker. To be fair to him he came in adapting to a new league and played at a point where under Sheehan no player was playing brilliantly. And from the sounds of it he came in to the club carrying the same injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. So I’m going to reserve my judgment of him until he has the opportunity to play Under Matos. But he has a lot to prove next season.
Wales 5/10:
Struggled to score this one apart from him having a Cracking name I have no strong opinions on him. He’s obviously one for the future and didn’t cost very much. Hasn’t had much opportunity to play, and seemingly a not impressive loan spell. He is still very young so just got to be patient and wait and see.
Stamenic 7/10:
A player that has very much grown on me. He’s a bit like Fulton in that a lot of the things he does well goes unnoticed at times. He can be a bit heavy handed and clumsy with the amount of yellows he received. And I would like to see him next season have a bit more urgency to get the ball forward. But he’s scored a respectable amount of goals for his position and he is very composed on the ball. Again another player who I think can improve even more next season if we can keep him. There are rumours about other teams circling for him.
Ward 6/10:
Got brought in as temporary cover, and I think he performed admirably in that role. Did nothing particularly special but made no major mistakes. He’s obviously starting to struggle with the pace of the game. I suspect he made more of an impact off the pitch with his experience at top level football.
Walta 6/10: Has come to the club with a very exciting scoring record from his last club. Hasn’t really had the opportunity to show what he can do, he’s effectively been in pre season since he joined. And we had to wait till the very last day of the season to truly see what he is capable of. That free kick was so reminiscent of Gylfi, and having a free kick specialist is something the club has lacked since, well Gylfi. It’s a common theme, Very excited to see what he can do next season, should be able to hit the ground running with all the preparation he’s had.
Santos 2/10:
I don’t really know what happened with this one, we were obviously low on CBs at the time but he just doesn’t seem to be capable to play at this level and is riddled with injuries woes. The best thing I can say about the transfer was that it was free.
Farman 5/10:
Another one I don’t really know how to score. Every squad needs a 3rd choice keeper and he’s there to do that, don’t know what else to say.
All in all I think it’s been a good year for transfers, maybe not as great as people initially hoped, but nowhere near as bad as some people have made out. There have been criticisms of players not making an instant impact and the amount spent on some players. And in the context of this season those criticisms are fair, in the long term though I think these concerns will become largely irrelevant.
I see this season as very much a rebuild of the team and now we’ve got a great foundation of a squad. We’re in a much better position going in to next season than we were finishing last season. And the next lot of transfers will be an Evolution rather than a revolution. And I can’t remember feeling so positive and excited for the next season in a long time.
Will be interesting to here other people’s thoughts.
Hoping for a better start to next season because thats what scuppered a higher finish this year. Plus players have certainly gelled now.
