New Manager - Critchley confirmed

[LarrysRightFoot]

13 minutes ago, Walter Bishop said:

Anyone heard he’s offered to resign and the board refused to accept? 

If true they are utterly incompetent if they have not accepted as.offering to resign is an acceptance that he isn’t turning it round. 
 

Cathro offered to resign and they rejected it and look how that turned out. 

[Jamhammer]

18 minutes ago, Walter Bishop said:

Anyone heard he’s offered to resign and the board refused to accept? 

That can’t be true

[BillyMurphy]

1 hour ago, Jambotommy said:

Get Alex Neill in, with Naisy as his number 2...punt the Mitchell brothers... 

Naismiths ego would never allow that.  No danger. 

[Tennant's 6's]

12 minutes ago, LarrysRightFoot said:

If true they are utterly incompetent if they have not accepted as.offering to resign is an acceptance that he isn’t turning it round. 
 

Cathro offered to resign and they rejected it and look how that turned out. 

I don't recall that but that is mental & fair play to him if he realised what most thought/ knew, that he didn't have it to be head coach.

 

I wouldn't rule out further incompetence though, success on the field just doesn't seem to matter as much, at least that's the perception you get

[A_A wehatethehibs]

16 minutes ago, Hashimoto said:

Absolutely no chance. His reputation is blown to hell. Leaving voluntarily just now would just mean spending Months sitting on his ar*e in the house getting under the wife's feet.

He may have learned this summer that football management and being a #1 is not for him. It’s the first time he’s faced this cliff edge drop in form, it happens to every manager, good ones keep their heads up and keep going. It is possible to turn it round you always have to believe that. And it does happen, managers get into a bit of bother, sticky spell, but they find ways out, ways back to wins, their players dig in and fight. But that’s just not happening here, he just looks depressed, like he doesn’t want to do it anymore and the players couldn’t fight their way out a paper bag 

[vegas-voss]

Clubs never seem to give a **** until it's too late.We are beat the next game so that's 7 straight defeats then it's St Mirren and who honestly thinks we will take anything off their big bruisers so that will be 8. By then we are going to be rooted to the bottom on one fecking point.So what do they give him another few games cause one of the defeats was to Celtic.

[LarrysRightFoot]

11 minutes ago, Tennant's 6's said:

I don't recall that but that is mental & fair play to him if he realised what most thought/ knew, that he didn't have it to be head coach.

 

I wouldn't rule out further incompetence though, success on the field just doesn't seem to matter as much, at least that's the perception you get

I don’t think it was reported but i was told from someone who sometimes has dealings with players, staff etc. 

[Gordon_1874]

So if we lose at Celtic and St Mirren that's 8 defeats in a row, by that stage there is no coming back. So we'd potentially be without a manager a week or so before the European stuff kicks off. Great

[gregzy2k7]

Next 2 are guaranteed defeats under Neilson sorry Naismith.

 

Then we have a crunch relegation battle game at home to Ross county, how exciting, sign me up for that.

 

I geniunely am intrigued at how deaf, blind and or just plain incompetent the people running the club actually are?

 

What goes on in their heads ? Do they actually sit there and think everything's fine? And it will get better ? Whilst we slowly sleep walk into relegation territory.

 

Seen this movie before.

[chrystaf]

52 minutes ago, S Form said:

There are no quotes from the board but you can be certain he's spoken to one or two of its members and he's relaying what he's been told.  

Some statement from the board is surely warranted, even if it's just to assure us that they are aware of the issue, rather than via BAnderson.

[steve89]

1 hour ago, Walter Bishop said:

Anyone heard he’s offered to resign and the board refused to accept? 

I heard similar and we have now introduced drug testing for board members 

[steve89]

1 hour ago, The_razors_edge said:

You have to assume he’s been given the inside track. He’s unlikely to publish that article if there was any chance SN was likely to be sacked or resign any time soon. He’s going to look a bit silly otherwise 

Barry slavers pish. Just read the article he states the obvious as to why they wouldn't be sacked and states the obvious as to why they would. I don't think he has any really credible sources at Tynecastle 

[AC Mallin_51]

If the board want to stick with Naismith just now then I can almost deal with that but at least have the decency to communicate something to the fans directly. I can just tell the middle of next week they’ll release details about a package for the 3 European home games on social media and continue to go on as if nothing has happened. At the end of the day didn’t they come out with a ludicrous claim that they appointed Naismith because he was the fans choice on forums like this one? If that’s the case then surely they understand that vast majority of fans now expect action 

[Bill Sikes]

I'd take that article as a leak that nothing is changing anytime soon.

 

That's fair enough, its the boards decision and they know more about Football than anyone on here.

 

Imo, Naismith hasn't got the chops for this fight and its only a matter of time before the plug is pulled.

 

Hope I'm wrong but I've seen nothing to suggest he's got the knowhow or experience.

 

Or could the board be playing it cute and sounding out a replacement while Naismith's still in situ  😳

 

 

 

 

 

[The_razors_edge]

2 minutes ago, steve89 said:

Barry slavers pish. Just read the article he states the obvious as to why they wouldn't be sacked and states the obvious as to why they would. I don't think he has any really credible sources at Tynecastle 

Time will tell I guess 👍🏻

[bobskeldon]

1 minute ago, Bull's-eye said:

I'd take that article as a leak that nothing is changing anytime soon.

 

That's fair enough, its the boards decision and they know more about Football than anyone on here.

 

Imo, Naismith hasn't got the chops for this fight and its only a matter of time before the plug is pulled.

 

Hope I'm wrong but I've seen nothing to suggest he's got the knowhow or experience.

 

Or could the board be playing it cute and sounding out a replacement while Naismith's still in situ  😳

 

 

 

 

 

You are definitely ‘at it’! Please do not feed!

[Bill Sikes]

1 minute ago, bobskeldon said:

You are definitely ‘at it’! Please do not feed!

 

Such rage, doesn't look like you're going to get your own way, life can be tough sometimes.

 

I'll just pop you on the old ignore list as your obviously a bit precious.

[theshed]

Well looks like he will be in charge till after the St Mirren game then will be gone 

 

Waste of 3 more weeks 

[kingantti1874]

1 hour ago, heyjude1 said:

Going by this article is does not look like change will happen anytime soon - https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com//sport/football/hearts/inside-tynecastle-as-hearts-ponder-what-comes-next-4765331

Definitely a placed article and to be expected. The reality is he will get some additional time and they will prey for Beni to come back in and fix it. 
 

we will lose to Celtic and Stmirren, there will be a vote of confidence. We will probably beat Ross county and then lose to Minsk and Aberdeen and that will be it imo. 5th of October 

 

I was one of his biggest advocates. Why becuase we did the basis things well, kept a consistent side, improved defensively, got the best from shanks, were rarely out of a game. 
 

but he has entirely lost the plot. We’ve had a poor window, we have added quantity but zero quality. We’ve improved in precisely no areas of the pitch are are weaker.  Despite the Naismith has felt the need to rotate and change systems, confusing nearly every player it seems.  He’s always accusing the player of a lack of quality but it’s his quality that’s the problem.  And whoever sanctioned those signings. 

[Diego10]

5 hours ago, The_razors_edge said:

If clubs are competent in the slightest they should be constantly keeping tabs on head coaches/managers doing well, even guys in obscure places - further up the thread I highlighted FC Noah (knocked AEK athens out the conference league) manager Rui Mota. A virtual minnow from a backwater league knocking out a reputable team from a much larger league. These are the types of guys we should be monitoring. 
 

Brighton being one example of monitoring the job Hurzeler did at St Pauli and then appointing him fairly quickly after De Zerbi left. Obviously, he’s still unproven and nobody knows how that will turn out but Brightons managerial appointments have been pretty sound for a number of years now. What’s clear is they monitor the market for young, fresh, proven managerial talent. Granted at a different level from us. What we need to try and do is the same but at a lower level. Not give the job to the next, unproven guy along the corridor. 
 

The biggest issue we’re going to have with a new manager is he’s still got to work with the pile of shite SN will leave behind. 

Agree and that's that I'm talking about.  The difficulty at our level is you're having to try and spot that far further down the line and there's a massive risk factor.   Would our fans be delighted with appointing a 30yo they'd likely never heard of?

[Diego10]

6 hours ago, Nerja Jambo said:

Seems to work all over the world, but here in Scotland, no chance. Scottish football is so good that who needs foreign influences. Let's just stick within the Scottish football merry go round as it works so well.

What I'm saying is there's plenty good and bad managers all over the world.   Getting a foreign coach won't magically make us better unless it's the right person.

 

If you read that as my saying I'm against a foreign coach,  I'm not.  But saying you want a foreign coach as a prerequisite is daft. 

[Jambo in Japan]

The two main priorities for a new manager are 1. Already established. Can't be having rookies learning on the job anymore 2. A good developer who backs young players.

 

I'm convinced we have a good squad of raw individuals but we're really not blessed with experience. We're going to need a strong leader in the dugout. With the exception of Vargas, I don't think any of our young players really improved last season and the current set up seem convinced we've nothing coming through the academy/ B team, which is a huge worry. Macaulay Tait looked to me as if he should be in and amongst the first team.

 

It's worth spending a good bit of our European money investing in a solid manager, but I feel like I'm screaming into the void at this point. Naismith's going nowhere.

[suds66]

24 minutes ago, AC Mallin_51 said:

If the board want to stick with Naismith just now then I can almost deal with that but at least have the decency to communicate something to the fans directly. I can just tell the middle of next week they’ll release details about a package for the 3 European home games on social media and continue to go on as if nothing has happened. At the end of the day didn’t they come out with a ludicrous claim that they appointed Naismith because he was the fans choice on forums like this one? If that’s the case then surely they understand that vast majority of fans now expect action 

The board treat the Hearts support with utter contempt, decency, don't make me laugh. The only time the club's incompetent custodian's communicate with the lifeblood of the club is when they want more Money from us.

[scottg71]

Banderson’s tweet reads like a prepared statement from the board.

This isn’t going to end well. 

[bobskeldon]

23 minutes ago, Bull's-eye said:

 

Such rage, doesn't look like you're going to get your own way, life can be tough sometimes.

 

I'll just pop you on the old ignore list as your obviously a bit precious.

Thanks👍

[swavkav]

We need a manager who has absolutely no connection to Scotland in any way shape or form,  if his great ( x10) Grannie was Scottish, then it’s a no!! 

[RudiSkacelsLeftPeg]

2 hours ago, Walter Bishop said:

Anyone heard he’s offered to resign and the board refused to accept? 

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

If they have any sense they give him September whilst researching vigorously the successor 

[Nerja Jambo]

2 hours ago, scottg71 said:

Banderson’s tweet reads like a prepared statement from the board.

This isn’t going to end well. 

The Board are not going to survive this. They have treated the fans with contempt for years and finally it is all coming home to roost. 

[MoncurMacdonaldMercer]

21 hours ago, gregzy2k7 said:

 

However if we fail to attract someone like that, then I think we would probably be silly not to consider Mcinnes or Robinson as back up options.

 

My list would be something like this,

 

1. No1 Target 

2. No2 Target

3. Mcinnes 

4. Robinson

 

I was less impressed than many by the job mcinnes did at Aberdeen (basically when it seemed all their rivals were in disarray and Celtic were managed by Ronnie delia for much of it) but agree both him and Robinson should be options if we don’t get our preferred choices even if viewed as a two season appointment or something

 

assuming naisy doesn’t turn it around at parkhead and simplifies the whole thing going forward

 

 

[Nelly Terraces]

5 hours ago, NannyMaroon said:

I think we need a new manager. 

I don't have any ready made suggestions. 

I think player wages has a much bigger impact on league performance than manager but it obviously matters.

Naisy was not ready, he never did anything with b team and needed at least 2 more seasons to gain experience.

 

I do get why the board gambled on a young manager though. But he wasn't the one.

 

The difficulty is getting a manager with experience and an approach - fast, attacking, pressing football to join our club. They cost a lot and are snapped up by bigger clubs for more money.

 

So whilst we need a new manager, we also need to look at our whole footballing set up.

The foundations need to be right. 

They are not there now.

 

I think we need to partner with a coaching or stats organisation. They have the experience, knowledge and data that we do not.

 

We need to build that in house as our footballing development. I think a majority FOH presence on the board would help that. I think one director should just be focused on this. 

They should build up a core of knowledge, a list of potential candidates for all of our footballing development. 

So youth, coaching, manager and DOF. We should use outside agencies too.

 

We have an opportunity to begin this project. Establishing third in Scotland and drawing away from the rest and regular European football is an achievable aim and will help us to a position where we may be able to challenge for 2nd.

 

We have necessarily concentrated on the financial up to now.

 

We shouldn't abandon that but it needs to be supplemented with a focus on football.

 

We are punching below our weight.

 

Short term we need a new manager though.

 

I think partnering with a coaching organisation with that expertise can produce a list of good candidates.

 

But long term we need to develop a footballing foundation that is mostly absent and costs us.

 

I also think an affiliate of some sort may help to develop players and staff make the jump and be able to work for the first team. A halfway house between youth and main teams. Both for players and for staff.

 

 

5 hours ago, NannyMaroon said:

Yes, they used a consultancy. Not a bad one but there are far better ones available with a wider and deeper knowledge base.

We just don't have anything like that knowledge at the club. I think we should develop it but meantime it's the best option. 

 

I think we should probably partner with one long-term.

Great posts & ideas, I totally agree, partnering up with a consultancy is the way forward for us & the fact that we need to put the ongoing success of the Mens 1st team at HMFC front & centre of every decision made. 

[Gorgiewave]

We've had three managers (Levein, Neilson and Naismith) who've played a distinctive style of football consisting of backwards and sideways passes, many of them unnecessary; a criminal reluctance to shoot; sitting on narrow leads, which has resulted in us getting our arses bitten several times; and players who are attack-minded on their debuts and maybe in their second match but are thereafter over-cautious and lacking in any initiative (Lembikisa and Taylor being notorious recent examples). This situation has been maintained for several years and in spite of a fair turnover of players. A new manager should be asking the board why this system has been allowed to emerge and persist and the board should be asking a new manager what he intends to do about it.

 

Candidates should also be asked point-blank whether it's acceptable to play only three pre-season friendlies.

[MoncurMacdonaldMercer]

3 hours ago, kingantti1874 said:

 

I was one of his biggest advocates. Why becuase we did the basis things well, kept a consistent side, improved defensively, got the best from shanks, were rarely out of a game. 
 

but he has entirely lost the plot. We’ve had a poor window, we have added quantity but zero quality. We’ve improved in precisely no areas of the pitch are are weaker.  Despite the Naismith has felt the need to rotate and change systems, confusing nearly every player it seems.  He’s always accusing the player of a lack of quality but it’s his quality that’s the problem.  And whoever sanctioned those signings. 

I was hoping we would find a stand out candidate but failing that was happy with naisy - as you say he appeared to simplify things shore up the defence and get results  / build mentality despite often not playing that great

 

there was a reasonable expectation we could build on all those positives and improve performances and start to win more convincingly this season but he appears to have got caught up in his own success (similar to neilson) and trying to show everyone how clever he is and such an astute coach with his tactical input being crucial to every success

 

its been obvious for years all the technical stuff from the epl / champions  league doesn’t work at tin pot clubs in our league - Neil McCain used to have Dundee making 10 passes “to break the press” and on the few times it actually worked the 11th pass invariably bobbled over someone’s foot and went out for a shy

 

the obvious exception being Celtic who showed how it’s done (with their £100m squad) with their disallowed goal yesterday - players taking the ball under pressure a couple of lightening quick runs and passes and the balls in the net

 

the rest of us donkey teams need a bit of technical stuff overlayed onto fitness athleticism and attitude

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MoncurMacdonaldMercer]

7 minutes ago, Gorgiewave said:

 

 

Candidates should also be asked point-blank whether it's acceptable to play only three pre-season friendlies.

pre-season matters very little mate it’s actually laughable to think otherwise (apparently)

 

although I did hear that elite manager st Brendan talking yesterday about how well their pre-season had gone which they had then carried into the competitive games

 

ive always thought he was budget-laden over-rated but he was really showing his lack of knowledge with those comments 🙈

 

 

 

 

[David McCaig]

3 minutes ago, MoncurMacdonaldMercer said:

pre-season matters very little mate it’s actually laughable to think otherwise (apparently)

 

although I did hear that elite manager st Brendan talking yesterday about how well their pre-season had gone which they had then carried into the competitive games

 

ive always thought he was budget-laden over-rated but he was really showing his lack of knowledge with those comments 🙈

 

 

 

 

The results of pre season don't matter a jot, however the fact we only played 3 despite starting our season a month later than most other clubs is utterly farcical.

 

Halkett has been "fit" for almost 6 months now, what he is not, even 5 weeks into the season is match fit, we should have played at least double the number of pre season games we played if not more, anyone on the fringes of our starting line up is nowhere near match sharp.

 

Naismith is currently under performing in every possible way, poor recruitment, messed up pre-season, eye bleeding football, even worse results and zero opportunities for youth.

 

If you are an Aberdeen or Hibs supporter you'd be elated at the Hearts board deciding to extend Naismith's death spiral.

[merrymac]

It’s defo mad season now.

apparently on facebook(which I don’t subscribe to) 

Wait for it - Craig levein is coming back to save the day 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[MoncurMacdonaldMercer]

6 minutes ago, David McCaig said:

The results of pre season don't matter a jot, however the fact we only played 3 despite starting our season a month later than most other clubs is utterly farcical.

 

Halkett has been "fit" for almost 6 months now, what he is not, even 5 weeks into the season is match fit, we should have played at least double the number of pre season games we played if not more, anyone on the fringes of our starting line up is nowhere near match sharp.

 

Naismith is currently under performing in every possible way, poor recruitment, messed up pre-season, eye bleeding football, even worse results and zero opportunities for youth.

 

If you are an Aberdeen or Hibs supporter you'd be elated at the Hearts board deciding to extend Naismith's death spiral.

I agree that independently the results don’t matter but the likelihood is that at least some of the results will be connected to how well the players are playing / how fit they are / how match fit they are so just writing results off completely (in all contexts) I don’t agree with - there’s also some belief that winning at any level is often a good thing and better than losing

 

and my new mate Brendan appears to agree

I like halkett but he doesn’t look fit to me - he looks less fit than some amateur fitness people you see walking about the street / running around the local park

 

maybe there’s a reason why that is and I don’t think he’s done particularly badly when he’s played but if he’s not fit without good reason (rather than match fit) then it’s a bit of a disgrace and a very bad example to the younger players

 

 

 

 

 

[Aussie Jambo]

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/alex-mcleish/profil/trainer/645
 

[Rudi5kaceldream1ng]

6 hours ago, AC Mallin_51 said:

If the board want to stick with Naismith just now then I can almost deal with that but at least have the decency to communicate something to the fans directly. I can just tell the middle of next week they’ll release details about a package for the 3 European home games on social media and continue to go on as if nothing has happened. At the end of the day didn’t they come out with a ludicrous claim that they appointed Naismith because he was the fans choice on forums like this one? If that’s the case then surely they understand that vast majority of fans now expect action 

They're a suspicious silent board this bunch so don't expect any recognition or even polite acknowledgement to ticket/foh subscribing fans whatsoever. 

 

Utterly unacceptable and disgraceful to be honest. 

 

Vladimir Romanov showed the fans more respect than this bunch of clowns. 

 

And he was a lunatic fit for a mental asylum. 

[WageThief]

6 hours ago, Rudi5kaceldream1ng said:

They're a suspicious silent board this bunch so don't expect any recognition or even polite acknowledgement to ticket/foh subscribing fans whatsoever. 

 

Utterly unacceptable and disgraceful to be honest. 

 

Vladimir Romanov showed the fans more respect than this bunch of clowns. 

 

And he was a lunatic fit for a mental asylum. 

 

What an absolute state to get yourself into before bed.

[GorgieFifeLife]

53 minutes ago, WageThief said:

 

What an absolute state to get yourself into before bed.

He has a point though.  The communication has dropped off a cliff.  Mrs Budge used to give quite regular updates on activity around the club and her thoughts on how things are going.  Andrew McKinlay seems to have decided we are not worthy of such communication and that we should just put up our money and shut up.  He is in for a rude awakening in the future I feel.

[Aussie Jambo]

[Jamboscanbevicius]

The Banderson article is clearly planted as others have said. That’s ok. PR is important for a board. So he’s going to get a little time.

 

Normally I am in favour of not panicking. But it worries me a lot that Naismith really doesn’t know how to fix it anymore… he sounds depressed, his body language is all wrong, he keeps repeating the same stuff - both in terms of decisions and his explanations. He just feels out of his depth and unfortunately I can’t see him changing anything in time.

[HEARTS FOREVER]

8 hours ago, Rudi5kaceldream1ng said:

They're a suspicious silent board this bunch so don't expect any recognition or even polite acknowledgement to ticket/foh subscribing fans whatsoever. 

 

Utterly unacceptable and disgraceful to be honest. 

 

Vladimir Romanov showed the fans more respect than this bunch of clowns. 

 

And he was a lunatic fit for a mental asylum. 

Wow what an idiot you are 🤣

[ford donald]

8 hours ago, Rudi5kaceldream1ng said:

They're a suspicious silent board this bunch so don't expect any recognition or even polite acknowledgement to ticket/foh subscribing fans whatsoever. 

 

Utterly unacceptable and disgraceful to be honest. 

 

Vladimir Romanov showed the fans more respect than this bunch of clowns. 

 

And he was a lunatic fit for a mental asylum. 

 

The football side was great for awhile,till he lost the plot.

[Jamboscanbevicius]

I actually don’t care about public explanations from a board or CEO. They are scripted and rarely tell you what they are actually thinking.

 

What I do want though is some due diligence. Even if they are giving SN time, they need to be drawing up a shortlist and having informal agent conversations in case it doesn’t turn around.

 

We should be rightly furious if they don’t use the next 2-3 weeks to plan for the potential that we need to appoint.

[Taffin]

3 minutes ago, Jamboscanbevicius said:

I actually don’t care about public explanations from a board or CEO. They are scripted and rarely tell you what they are actually thinking.

 

What I do want though is some due diligence. Even if they are giving SN time, they need to be drawing up a shortlist and having informal agent conversations in case it doesn’t turn around.

 

We should be rightly furious if they don’t use the next 2-3 weeks to plan for the potential that we need to appoint.

 

This is key for me. The worst outcome is we wait, then remove him, then reveal our hand that there was no plan whilst we scramble around looking for a replacement.

 

[Jim Panzee]

15 hours ago, kingantti1874 said:

but he has entirely lost the plot. We’ve had a poor window, we have added quantity but zero quality. We’ve improved in precisely no areas of the pitch are are weaker.  Despite the Naismith has felt the need to rotate and change systems, confusing nearly every player it seems.  He’s always accusing the player of a lack of quality but it’s his quality that’s the problem.  And whoever sanctioned those signings. 

Is this typed with hindsight though - after our terrible start to the season?

 

we brought in:

Dhanda - I can't recall a single dissenting voice on this one

Spittal - see above

Penrice - see above

Boateng - see above

Oyegoke - see above
Salazar - see above

Taylor - see above + post Spurs and rangers game reaction

 

the last two being international standard players. We also brought in Musa - signed as a project - nothing more.

 

we sold Cochrane with little choice, but for good money, and offloaded what some felt were deadwood players in the squad.

 

my main concern with the window was not replacing Tagawa - but how many games did he play last season?. Also not easy to persuade a quality striker to play second fiddle to Shankland. And anyway - I'm not seeing a glut of chances being created for ANY of our forward players that Shanks or anyone is fluffing.

 

I don't think we've had a bad window at all. More a case of too many changes in match day personnel (to keep them all happy and give game time?) - playing Taylor as a wing back and Kingsley at right back. And boy do we miss Beni and the Hoff.

[Jim Panzee]

9 hours ago, Rudi5kaceldream1ng said:

They're a suspicious silent board this bunch so don't expect any recognition or even polite acknowledgement to ticket/foh subscribing fans whatsoever. 

 

Utterly unacceptable and disgraceful to be honest. 

 

Vladimir Romanov showed the fans more respect than this bunch of clowns, by almost destroying the very club we're still able to support / dream / watch play in Europe / moan about.

 

And he was a lunatic fit for a mental asylum. 

 

brilliant! one of my favourite posts for the week so far - a little addition to your post above....

 

 

[Diego10]

1 hour ago, Jim Panzee said:

Is this typed with hindsight though - after our terrible start to the season?

 

we brought in:

Dhanda - I can't recall a single dissenting voice on this one

Spittal - see above

Penrice - see above

Boateng - see above

Oyegoke - see above
Salazar - see above

Taylor - see above + post Spurs and rangers game reaction

 

the last two being international standard players. We also brought in Musa - signed as a project - nothing more.

 

we sold Cochrane with little choice, but for good money, and offloaded what some felt were deadwood players in the squad.

 

my main concern with the window was not replacing Tagawa - but how many games did he play last season?. Also not easy to persuade a quality striker to play second fiddle to Shankland. And anyway - I'm not seeing a glut of chances being created for ANY of our forward players that Shanks or anyone is fluffing.

 

I don't think we've had a bad window at all. More a case of too many changes in match day personnel (to keep them all happy and give game time?) - playing Taylor as a wing back and Kingsley at right back. And boy do we miss Beni and the Hoff.

The failure to sign another forward looks like a massive failing.   The rest I largely agree