Too many signings?

[Hazzman]

Might seem reactionary, 3 games in and said in retrospective but I'd like to make the following points.

A team is never built in two months, a team takes at least a year to build. I look the recent promoted teams - their squad were at least a year in the making. Southampton this season have came up with no massive overhaul and continued their lesson where they left off last year. O'Neill at City was the same, Pearson was the same too. Norwich are another example of building something bit by bit. Swansea, that took three years of building and finally got the final piece of the jigsaw in Borini.

I have never known a successful side to sign ten players plus in the Summer. Chelsea and Manchester City took a season before they finally started to achieve something. The last time we sign a massive number of permanent signings like this, it led to relegation. It's no surprise to see Ipswich in a similar situation to us.

This isn't me with a hunch, this is largely fact. I know it's retrospective (and got carried away with stockpiling players) but surely a manager of Sven could identify a team takes time? We'd have been a lot more wiser dealing with the immediate issues of a striker, a keeper, a right-back (if we were to shell out £5m on Mills, why not £4m on Naughton? - though I'd argue Peltier is more than competent) and a centre-back.

You can see Sven's tactic, sign immediate quality that we get us out of here. The problem is what I've seen of these signings is that whilst they have some sort of 'better' ability (hard to believe), not a single one is either a communicator or a intelligent footballer (someone who can identify something and pick on it) or even a freak of skill in the mould of Taarabt.

Might seem a bold prediction but we'll firmly be lodged in mid-table, regardless of whether we add another a striker. I'd like to eat my words come May.

 

[Matt_B]

Spurs wouldn't sell Naughton. The defence was shit last season and Vitor went back.

He did sign a striker, a keeper and a right back.

 

[Matt_B]

Add to that, if you are accepting a team takes time o build, why are the fans not prepared to give it?

 

[Yorkshire Vixen]

Add to that, if you are accepting a team takes time o build, why are the fans not prepared to give it?

Because fans expectations rise and even more so when you have your manager 'putting pressure' on the team that nothing less than promotion will do

 

[LeeCovFox]

Swansea, that took three years of building and finally got the final piece of the jigsaw in Borini.

Swansea are the model to follow for me. There is a good footballing philosophy instilled in the club, and managers are seemingly appointed based on their ability to implement it. Their promotion to the top flight is the culmination of a long term building process, started when they were almost relegated from the Football League. Similar long term thinking would do us no harm at all, even if it may delay any success a little.

 

[fitz]

Perhaps we have had too many changes to cope with, but then the prospect of having to cope with so many new players is a great deal easier than coping with the remains of a squad we had in June.

Many in the media have been critical over how many signings we have made and at the cost. Fact is we had no goalkeeper, 1 defender, a fairly decent midfield and possibly 1 forward (Vassell if he's not acting the twat and getting sent off).

 

[Hazzman]

Add to that, if you are accepting a team takes time o build, why are the fans not prepared to give it?

I was. We had a manager who was building up but twatface Mandaric **** that one up.

As for the signing keeper etc., you've missed my point. You sign five players, it's easy to bond them into a unit. You sign ten, you're looking seven debuts on opening day...it's virtually a new side. It just doesn't work.

 

[fitz]

I was. We had a manager who was building up but twatface Mandaric **** that one up.

As for the signing keeper etc., you've missed my point. You sign five players, it's easy to bond them into a unit. You sign ten, you're looking seven debuts on opening day...it's virtually a new side. It just doesn't work.

Sven hasn't had the benefit of being able to sign only 5 players. If he had only signed 5 players our squad wouldn't last a season and we'd probably have some of the shite signed before his tenure getting time they really shouldn't.

 

[Matt_B]

Because fans expectations rise and even more so when you have your manager 'putting pressure' on the team that nothing less than promotion will do

IMO the fans are the only ones with the expectation that we should be hammering teams like Bristol. I have no doubt that Sven and the players know that the reality isn't like that.

The fans won't give it because they don't know what they want. We have people on here moaning that the team against Reading was too negative and needed changing. Then others moaned that we made changes and how can a team expect to gel. Add to that, we have some fans want to see us take our time and build a team slowly, others not prepared to wait until October, let alone the end of this season. The majority of the fans want an idyllic club where we have the same manager for years who slowly and patiently builds a brilliant team of players who love to play for the club. But they want it in one season and if it isn't looking that way by October then we sack the manager and start again.

When we got taken over it was apparent that there would be money available, you know as well as I do how the fans would have reacted had we not spent big this summer, if we had only bought one or two players to strengthen key areas. It would have been worse than the Arsenal fans.

I have no idea if it is just Leicester fans or a wider problem, but the average football IQ of our fans appears to be less than the average squad number. I can take the performances at the minute as I fully expect them to change and I have seen a lot worse in our recent history, but I can't stomach the ****ing cauldron of negativity that is the people around me at the ground and on here.

Brighton have had a similar buzz around them this summer, aided by their promotion, and their fans are in very good spirits. Our fans were moaning before the season had even started. We whinged about the Real Madrid friendly, we moaned about the new ticketing arrangements, we moaned that we have stupid fan villages that offend our vision of football from the good 'ole days, we moaned that we were being linked to too many strikers. Oh and we moan there is no singing, but when we do sing, it's the same shite or the fecking Poznan. Last night I was treated to a rendition of "1-0 down, who gives a ****" followed 2 minutes later by the same people booing at half time. Do they even know what they are signing?

This isn't a rant at you YV, I'm just so fed up with it all. I get no enjoyment out of going to the matches at the minute mainly due to the fans.

 

[Matt_B]

I was. We had a manager who was building up but twatface Mandaric **** that one up.

As for the signing keeper etc., you've missed my point. You sign five players, it's easy to bond them into a unit. You sign ten, you're looking seven debuts on opening day...it's virtually a new side. It just doesn't work.

You'd have sooner gone into the season with Berner at left back? Oakley in midfield? Waghorn up front?

 

[M17TT C]

Would that be the same shite that got us in the play offs 2 seasons ago??

We've got talented individuals but we are a hopeless team. Pre season didn't help either going here there and everywhere to play the more glamorous teams when really we should have stayed here and played teams that would have represented the challenge we'll face this season a bit better.

 

[Matt_B]

Would that be the same shite that got us in the play offs 2 seasons ago??

We've got talented individuals but we are a hopeless team. Pre season didn't help either going here there and everywhere to play the more glamorous teams when really we should have stayed here and played teams that would have represented the challenge we'll face this season a bit better.

Who are you replying to?

 

[Hazzman]

You'd have sooner gone into the season with Berner at left back? Oakley in midfield? Waghorn up front?

Of the positions I listed they'd have only been Berner at left-back and also we have a fella in back-up at that position who was City career was 3 games under Sousa but excelled at Peterborough for three months.

What your describing in post 9 is pretty much football all around, failure to recognise it is naive. When I go these neutrals games, you can sense a level of expectation at every club...just 10 clubs have successful league seasons in the lower three divisions, 62 are going to be disappointed bar teams/clubs which pull of miracles like Bournemouth last season (even when I went to see them last year, a fan performed an outburst in front of me after throwing two points down the pan). I haven't visited many places without expectation.

 

[fitz]

Who are you replying to?

I'm assuming it was a well thought out reply to my comment of Sven being left with some shite from previous managers, could have easily been in response to you though. M17 would much prefer us to have started the season with Weale, Oakley, Neilson, Howard, Waghorn and Berner in the starting 11 as they did a decent job 2 years back.

 

[Matt_B]

Of the positions I listed they'd have only been Berner at left-back and also we have a fella in back-up at that position who was City career was 3 games under Sousa but excelled at Peterborough for three months.

What your describing in post 9 is pretty much football all around, failure to recognise it is naive. When I go these neutrals games, you can sense a level of expectation at every club...just 10 clubs have successful league seasons in the lower three divisions, 62 are going to be disappointed bar teams/clubs which pull of miracles like Bournemouth last season (even when I went to see them last year, a fan performed an outburst in front of me after throwing two points down the pan). I haven't visited many places without expectation.

My main concern would have been Oakley in midfield as our only backup.

I'm not surprised about other clubs having expectations, I can't believe many have fans as negative as us though, especially considering the hype that the media have generated.

 

[Hazzman]

I can't believe many have fans as negative as us though, especially considering the hype that the media have generated.

Out of interest, do you read any other football forums? Trust me, this is par for the course.

 

[RHYDAL]

Out of interest, do you read any other football forums? Trust me, this is par for the course.

A quick visit to the Cardiff forum will confirm this. 'Mackay out' thread already started.

 

[bocadillo]

Last night I was treated to a rendition of "1-0 down, who gives a ****" followed 2 minutes later by the same people booing at half time. Do they even know what they are signing?

Do they bring their own pens?

 

[gregs_y2k]

Might seem reactionary, 3 games in and said in retrospective but I'd like to make the following points.

A team is never built in two months, a team takes at least a year to build. I look the recent promoted teams - their squad were at least a year in the making. Southampton this season have came up with no massive overhaul and continued their lesson where they left off last year. O'Neill at City was the same, Pearson was the same too. Norwich are another example of building something bit by bit. Swansea, that took three years of building and finally got the final piece of the jigsaw in Borini.

I have never known a successful side to sign ten players plus in the Summer. Chelsea and Manchester City took a season before they finally started to achieve something. The last time we sign a massive number of permanent signings like this, it led to relegation. It's no surprise to see Ipswich in a similar situation to us.

This isn't me with a hunch, this is largely fact. I know it's retrospective (and got carried away with stockpiling players) but surely a manager of Sven could identify a team takes time? We'd have been a lot more wiser dealing with the immediate issues of a striker, a keeper, a right-back (if we were to shell out £5m on Mills, why not £4m on Naughton? - though I'd argue Peltier is more than competent) and a centre-back.

You can see Sven's tactic, sign immediate quality that we get us out of here. The problem is what I've seen of these signings is that whilst they have some sort of 'better' ability (hard to believe), not a single one is either a communicator or a intelligent footballer (someone who can identify something and pick on it) or even a freak of skill in the mould of Taarabt.

Might seem a bold prediction but we'll firmly be lodged in mid-table, regardless of whether we add another a striker. I'd like to eat my words come May.

I agree in part with you. Yes, ideally a team needs time to gel in order to become a successful outfit. That said, Sven had little he could do about this as a significant element of the team which pushed on and competed for a play off spot last season were loan players that would require replacing if we could not sign them permanently, which we ultimately have not or could not do.

There is an element of defensive weakness at the moment caused by a lack of knowledge and game time between defensive partnerships, this will certainly come in the next few weeks and our defence will shore up. We can maintain possession well enough in midfield but the real problem is a lack of goal scoring opportunities and this is because Sven so far has been unsuccessful in obtaining any of the strikers he has his eyes set upon. I believe we will get a striker within the next 7 to 10 days and hopefully this should put pay to that problem also and we will start creating more chances and then scoring more goals. the results will then follow. I genuinely believe once we get on a run of good form, we will prove very difficult to beat. This is just a blip.

 

[The Old Fox]

I agree in part with you. Yes, ideally a team needs time to gel in order to become a successful outfit. That said, Sven had little he could do about this as a significant element of the team which pushed on and competed for a play off spot last season were loan players that would require replacing if we could not sign them permanently, which we ultimately have not or could not do.

There is an element of defensive weakness at the moment caused by a lack of knowledge and game time between defensive partnerships, this will certainly come in the next few weeks and our defence will shore up. We can maintain possession well enough in midfield but the real problem is a lack of goal scoring opportunities and this is because Sven so far has been unsuccessful in obtaining any of the strikers he has his eyes set upon. I believe we will get a striker within the next 7 to 10 days and hopefully this should put pay to that problem also and we will start creating more chances and then scoring more goals. the results will then follow. I genuinely believe once we get on a run of good form, we will prove very difficult to beat. This is just a blip.

Good post, Sir!

Were we not to have purchased a new defence, who would we be playing? Surely, this over-reaction is not helping the team to bed down: once it has so done, there can be little doubt that we will be the equal of any team in this league.