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Post by harr on Jul 25, 2023 15:23:22 GMT
At this rate the squad will be well equipped in that League 1 Surely some of our own youth would be as good as players getting released from League One Clubs….. I think we will end up on paper with one of the weakest squads in the Championship or for sure the bottom five. Well we beat a league 1 team today so at least we'll be competitive. To be fair Surrey, the Reading team was kids so we should have beaten them in all honesty |
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Post by harr on Jul 25, 2023 15:25:50 GMT
At this rate the squad will be well equipped in that League 1 Surely some of our own youth would be as good as players getting released from League One Clubs….. I think we will end up on paper with one of the weakest squads in the Championship or for sure the bottom five. Trent Rendall from is also playing at CB I would rather see our youngsters getting game time, so that’s a good thing for me. |
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Post by harr on Jul 26, 2023 9:18:52 GMT
Dominic Gape is playing for us as a trialist in the Reading friendly Apparently Gape was trialling with Stockport County the other day and even they didn’t want him. Mind blowing |
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salts
Ian Holloway
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Post by salts on Jul 26, 2023 9:34:30 GMT
But if we don't sign him, it will leave a gaping hole in our midfield...
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Post by harr on Jul 26, 2023 9:47:21 GMT
But if we don't sign him, it will leave a gaping hole in our midfield... Hahaha, very good. But do we really need him is he any better than some of our youngsters we have. We are almost back to the level of getting players like Gladwin and Gobern …. |
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Post by robindubois on Jul 26, 2023 10:36:30 GMT
Difficult to work out who played where but it seems we must have played everyone on the books apart from Field Fox Smyth and Willock and probably Clarke-Salter. After signing Fox and a keeper I was starting to think we were on the right track but playing a fourth tier trialist so close to the start of the season? What was all that about. I cannot believe we would be interested in signing a level 4 reject so why waste the playing time.? Lost for words on that one really and that alone drives me to despair even though it's still a long way before the window closes. Ainsworth says he is pleased with where we are and played a lot of younger players at Reading so he could see who will make the grade as some will be needed this season. Also says he is pleased we can "mix it up" and not be predictable. I'll drink to that as long as my glass stays more than half full. Looking at photos from the game it seems our lot were just having a good laugh about it all - great photo of Dykes surrounded by 6 or so Reading defenders and he has the ball at his feet looking like he was dancing through them all with a giant smile on his face. Hope it is still there after Watford. Meanwhile on the DOF front .........maybe saving the money to get one instead of signing a couple of much needed players.  |
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Post by robindubois on Jul 26, 2023 10:38:15 GMT
But if we don't sign him, it will leave a gaping hole in our midfield... and if we do sign him and play him in the Championship we will have a gaping hole anyway. |
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Post by harr on Jul 26, 2023 19:10:35 GMT
This guy we have been linked with, just terminated his Wigan contract. |
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Post by surreychad on Jul 27, 2023 7:28:07 GMT
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Post by robindubois on Jul 27, 2023 7:53:41 GMT
He would be a good signing but reading the article carefully it says we are interested but unlikely to get him as Villa may keep him or if not there are other clubs(who will probably pay more) interested. Also says we are still "interested" in Forino but cannot agree a fee Plus Martin is keeping in contact and may come back - keeping his options open presumably if he cannot get more money or longer contract elsewhere. My natural instinct is to tell Martin and Wycombe to sign now or we move on ......but in our situation they probably think they can hold out and we will come up with some cash and really do we have any better options? Lots of gambling going on here - probably with agents expecting we will sell Chair or Willock and then pay out the cash they want for lesser players Similar pattern elsewhere apart from the clubs who had some windfall cash such as Brum. |
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Post by rickyqpr on Jul 30, 2023 15:38:56 GMT
Daniel Ayala - apparently the 32-year-old that Ainsworth is 'excited' about signing this week.
Better than no one I guess - and we currently have no-one!
Seems Martin is also likely to re-join again.
Our developing youth strategy on hold as we are ask Dad's army to bail us out.
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Post by blatantfowl on Jul 31, 2023 12:13:52 GMT
Now linked with 33 year old Jack Colback on a free from Forest although it’s come from his agent so could be bull
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Post by robindubois on Jul 31, 2023 14:19:17 GMT
Given our position with injuries and after Saturday expect that we will be linked with a string of older out of contract players - mostly generated by agent chatter, however
Colback - has the experience in the higher leagues - only negative is age but if his legs still work, in our situation not a bad one to get in for a season.
Ayala - not quite the same pedigree, seems to be a bit part player where ever he has been but compared to our 2 young CB's last Saturday (with less than a games experience between them) he would be a step up. An aging CB duo of Fox and Ayala may not fit the develop the younger players plan but at the moment as we saw on Saturday we do not have younger players to fit in now at CB. Everyone complained about Hill and Nielsen at the start but both showed what experience can add to those positions.
Of course it would be good to know how badly Dunne is injured. I would expect by now the club must have scan and X-ray results to show if he broken his shoulder or collar bone (which would probably rule him out until the new year), or just damaged some soft tissue which will heal quicker. The longer nothing is said the more I expect it to be long term. Good chance for the new Offie to do some actual communication for a change.
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Post by blatantfowl on Jul 31, 2023 14:34:27 GMT
And now Steve Cook being mooted who we unsuccessfully chased a couple of seasons ago
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Post by Macmoish on Jul 31, 2023 19:20:39 GMT
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Post by Lonegunmen on Jul 31, 2023 20:03:12 GMT
It's not hard to pass our fitness tests. can he walk?? Good, that'll do.
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Post by Macmoish on Jul 31, 2023 22:40:05 GMT
A slew more coming says David McIntyre
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Post by harr on Aug 1, 2023 7:07:39 GMT
Colback signs, 2 year deal, option for third. Decent signing, can we have him start over Dozell who I think is a weak link for us. Made me a bit happier, if we can get a CB, RB and forward in now, will feel a bit more confident that we could stay up. PS don’t waste money on Gape |
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Post by robindubois on Aug 1, 2023 8:04:09 GMT
Colback signs, 2 year deal, option for third. Decent signing, can we have him start over Dozell who I think is a weak link for us. Made me a bit happier, if we can get a CB, RB and forward in now, will feel a bit more confident that we could stay up. PS don’t waste money on Gape I'll take him as a start to replace Dozell. Cook or Ayala at CB - Cook has the pedigree but maybe a season too far but we need the CB and a RB - no names linked for the latter yet. I wonder if the sudden uptick in transfer talk is down to clickbait, although Colback was not, or a reaction to Saturday and injuries or maybe someone has come in with a bid for Chair and we are lining up to spend the cash. As long as we do not sell Field. Martin re-joining is a 50/50 decision imo but we do need another striker and we know what it costs to get any sort of decent striker. Gape can only be a benchwarmer imo but Ainsworth says he knows what he will be getting so he may have some ability - but why do we go for another player who has such a bad injury record over the last 2 years? - oh yes money...... At least seeing a signing in a needed position creates a better mood. Would have been better if we had not played Oxford and the whole situation would feel better apart from Dunnes injury. |
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Post by harr on Aug 1, 2023 9:25:22 GMT
Colback signs, 2 year deal, option for third. Decent signing, can we have him start over Dozell who I think is a weak link for us. Made me a bit happier, if we can get a CB, RB and forward in now, will feel a bit more confident that we could stay up. PS don’t waste money on Gape I'll take him as a start to replace Dozell. Cook or Ayala at CB - Cook has the pedigree but maybe a season too far but we need the CB and a RB - no names linked for the latter yet. I wonder if the sudden uptick in transfer talk is down to clickbait, although Colback was not, or a reaction to Saturday and injuries or maybe someone has come in with a bid for Chair and we are lining up to spend the cash. As long as we do not sell Field. Martin re-joining is a 50/50 decision imo but we do need another striker and we know what it costs to get any sort of decent striker. Gape can only be a benchwarmer imo but Ainsworth says he knows what he will be getting so he may have some ability - but why do we go for another player who has such a bad injury record over the last 2 years? - oh yes money...... At least seeing a signing in a needed position creates a better mood. Would have been better if we had not played Oxford and the whole situation would feel better apart from Dunnes injury. I would rather we don’t waste money on Gape, injury prone and barely League One standard. Colback, well you only have to read the messages from Forest fans. They all say gives 100%, ultimate professional. That’s all I ask for in any of our signings and agree will be upgrade on Dozell for sure. We desperately need those two defenders though. |
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Post by robindubois on Aug 1, 2023 10:56:31 GMT
I'll take him as a start to replace Dozell. Cook or Ayala at CB - Cook has the pedigree but maybe a season too far but we need the CB and a RB - no names linked for the latter yet. I wonder if the sudden uptick in transfer talk is down to clickbait, although Colback was not, or a reaction to Saturday and injuries or maybe someone has come in with a bid for Chair and we are lining up to spend the cash. As long as we do not sell Field. Martin re-joining is a 50/50 decision imo but we do need another striker and we know what it costs to get any sort of decent striker. Gape can only be a benchwarmer imo but Ainsworth says he knows what he will be getting so he may have some ability - but why do we go for another player who has such a bad injury record over the last 2 years? - oh yes money...... At least seeing a signing in a needed position creates a better mood. Would have been better if we had not played Oxford and the whole situation would feel better apart from Dunnes injury. I would rather we don’t waste money on Gape, injury prone and barely League One standard. Colback, well you only have to read the messages from Forest fans. They all say gives 100%, ultimate professional. That’s all I ask for in any of our signings and agree will be upgrade on Dozell for sure. We desperately need those two defenders though. Agree with all that with one small unknown re right back. We have some younger midfielders on the fringe who will be wondering why we would want Gape who could block their development - he is not exactly young. The only reason I can think of is that he maybe more a defensive midfielder and would be used as cover as the others we have are more attacking. I do not know enough about him but still think we can and should avoid wasting money on third rate cover such as he when we can always play someone out of position if needed. Re Colback agree completely - competitive experienced leader who gives everything - not only the Forest fans say that so I think a good signing and with Fox and hopefully a Cook or Ayala we can have a solid CB pairing. Forget about giving youth a chance for this season and use these guys to keep us solid add some grit and commitment and pass on knowledge to the younger inexperienced players. The last 2 seasons have shown it is the younger inexperienced players who are light weight and give up easily when something goes against us. Definitely agree re needing the defenders and probably a striker although we may hang out to January to see if any of Armstrong/Kelman/Smyth breakthrough, then of course will Martin rejoin. One question I have is re our new left back signed from Fulham. Seems a decent defender so I wonder whether he or Paal can switch sides to play right back - seems odd to have two decent left backs and leave one on the bench. Kakay is just not up to it - maybe we get one good game out of 6 or 8 from him while Drewe needs to get some experience - probably a good one to loan out if we can sign a regular. Expect a flow of young outgoing loans as the window progresses if we sign a couple of more experienced players just to balance the wage bill. |
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Post by blatantfowl on Aug 1, 2023 12:09:49 GMT
One of my best friends is a Forest fan and says we have a gem in Colback and don’t worry about his age he is fit as a fiddle. He also stays off social media nonsense, interviews sensibly and is A model pro.
Cook also is excellent if we can get him but Forest just lost 2 CBs to injury so they might retain him.
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Post by harr on Aug 1, 2023 21:06:21 GMT
Crikey, no Clarke Salter or Dunne to start Saturday, we need some defenders. Hopefully Cook joins |
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Post by surreychad on Aug 2, 2023 7:10:51 GMT
Crikey, no Clarke Salter or Dunne to start Saturday, we need some defenders. Why are they not putting put any news on Dunne? Its awfully quiet on his injury, I am wondering if its because they dont want other teams knowing he is out for the season so putting prices up? |
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Post by robindubois on Aug 2, 2023 8:10:01 GMT
If you have to be carried off on a stretcher for a shoulder injury it is normally very bad sign - normally that something is broken in which case it will be after Christmas before we see him again. Why the club is not saying anything is irritating. They launch a "wonderful" new website and do not use it.
We should really looking in the free signing market and everyone already knows that we are short defensively. So the only potential impact of announcing anything about JCS or Dunne I think would be agents trying to get larger signing on fees or wages knowing they have us over a barrel. On a positive side it might encourage someone to sign knowing they would be a regular starter rather than bench warming half the season.
Of course there is also the issue that maybe we were trying to rely on what we had and were only looking for cover at most after we signed Fox. Now we should be looking for players going straight into the team as regulars which is a different prospect. We are still to get into the PL loan market - something we may not have wanted to use but now may be forced into.
It would be good to know exactly why JCS is out so long. Initially it was described as a slight knock on his calf and taking him off as a pre-caution but since then silence apart from one slip that we hope to know how long he will be out "soon".
My fear now is that we have picked up Fox and Colback and maybe a couple more before Watford and they are being described as not fully match fit due to lack of a pre-season and that we would prefer not to play them at Watford. However we may be forced to play them when not match fit and that's when they too can pick up a muscle injury and we lose them for a couple of months. Apparently Colback is super fit so maybe not an issue
The alternative is to write off the first couple of games and go with the youth players and hope for the best but after Oxford I hate to think what Watford would do to our 2 development CB's. Not only bad for goal difference but a great way to destroy any confidence they have.
EDIT: WLS now reporting that Colback is not fit and will not feature at Watford.
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Post by harr on Aug 2, 2023 9:05:56 GMT
Crikey, no Clarke Salter or Dunne to start Saturday, we need some defenders. Why are they not putting put any news on Dunne? Its awfully quiet on his injury, I am wondering if its because they dont want other teams knowing he is out for the season so putting prices up? I agree, I think that’s why. Dunne did go on social media and say will be back soon but we don’t know if he dislocated it or sprained it. |
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Post by harr on Aug 2, 2023 9:08:07 GMT
Crikey, no Clarke Salter or Dunne to start Saturday, we need some defenders. Why are they not putting put any news on Dunne? Its awfully quiet on his injury, I am wondering if its because they dont want other teams knowing he is out for the season so putting prices up? He says it’s minor, to me that’s a week or two surely? |
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salts
Ian Holloway
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Post by salts on Aug 2, 2023 10:01:28 GMT
Field could fill in at CB in an emergency, esp. if Colback is fit to play.
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Post by surreychad on Aug 2, 2023 10:02:14 GMT
Field could fill in at CB in an emergency, esp. if Colback is fit to play. very good point |
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Post by harr on Aug 2, 2023 10:04:27 GMT
Field could fill in at CB in an emergency, esp. if Colback is fit to play. very good point Colback is not going to play the Watford game, not match fit. |
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