What Posters Were Saying About Our Summer Signings

[optimistic_red]

The fact that we signed a lot of players in the summer, does that mean we should not be adding to a large squad in January?

[ThePromisedLand]

You see, there is something there I don't agree with Alf.

The players we let go. I presume you are talking about Cash and Watson right?

Well in my opinion we didn't 'let' any of them go. Once Cash reached PL standard and PL teams came sniffing there was absolutely no way that we could keep him, it was impossible. Watson, we offered him a deal but he wanted to go back to London to be with his family, he was out of contract and wouldn't sign another so how could we have kept him? We couldn't.

I think we had a chance of keeping both, far less so with Cash obv, but my point was really that with all those players not available this year, we were a significantly weaker squad. So even if we'd made some great additions, we weren't gonna be particularly much strong.

My original assessment of this window was that it was more of a side-step than a step forward, but with undoubted MUCH needed progress & depth in the frontline.

The real crime for me was not capitalizing on the momentum we had last year, by signing well in Jan.

Having Worrall, Grabban and Dawson out injured isn't helping either at the moment is it?

Definitely not mate. Again, 3 key players last year.

Exactly Alf, you see everybody wants to blame our summer recruitment for our poor form but the truth is that players who were already here like Worrall, Grabban and Dawson are out injured and other players who were already here like Samba, Ribeiro, Figs, Sow, Lolley and Ameobi are not performing anywhere near the levels that they were last season.

Can we please exclude Daws from any ‘excuses’. He started just 7 of the last 27 games last season & was on the winning side just twice. Hardly a contributory factor to our poor start.

[Tricky]

I think we had a chance of keeping both, far less so with Cash obv, but my point was really that with all those players not available this year, we were a significantly weaker squad. So even if we'd made some great additions, we weren't gonna be particularly much strong.

My original assessment of this window was that it was more of a side-step than a step forward, but with undoubted MUCH needed progress & depth in the frontline.

The real crime for me was not capitalizing on the momentum we had last year, by signing well in Jan.

Having Worrall, Grabban and Dawson out injured isn't helping either at the moment is it?

Definitely not mate. Again, 3 key players last year.

Exactly Alf, you see everybody wants to blame our summer recruitment for our poor form but the truth is that players who were already here like Worrall, Grabban and Dawson are out injured and other players who were already here like Samba, Ribeiro, Figs, Sow, Lolley and Ameobi are not performing anywhere near the levels that they were last season.

Can we please exclude Daws from any ‘excuses’. He started just 7 of the last 27 games last season & was on the winning side just twice. Hardly a contributory factor to our poor start.

I feel its a bit harsh criticising Samba TBH, i don't think any of the goals he has let in have particularly been his fault (please let me know if I am wrong here, as I dont recall any off of the top of my head!).

I think his handling has improved on last season and he is using his hands more than he did last year too! If he has to parry a shot now, he is doing it away from the goal and is not punching everything anywhere!

[Mcforest]

I don't have time to play catch up on all the comments on this today but i thought i would just say on my part when the signings came in i was really please and thought we had good the right players to have a lower premierleague squad. The players were a step up in my view and the fact we got them all on good prices then even better and weldone to the management team for getting them.

Now for one reason or another they are just not clicking or being played in a away that does not suit them. Also some of the body language of the players who were here before as well as new are showing signs of not really putting the effort in or they are are actually doing what the manager wants. I.e he likes his wingers to be further back and closer to the fullbacks which drives me crazy as we can't then break and with two DCM surely we have enough to cover them to allow them to come if needed.

Now what are the reasons for this season not working like last season for which there will be many i'm sure we know it can't be sorted overnight and i don't thing you can pin the blame on any said person. This is shared failings at the moment and the only way we can see this out is reviewing what happened were mistakes are made and learning. Fail to learn and then we are in trouble.

[wassy04]

I thought no-one wanted these players though?

Clearly was a majority of people even if Username and widdow didn't want some of them.

So applying confirmation bias to prove your point is a statement of fact?

In reality you are happy with what we’ve signed, everything’s rosey. I disagree and took the time to particularise my views. I am concerned as to what another season of failure will have on the owner. I think we should all be concerned about this personally.

I should note that I didn’t dig out any specific poster in setting out my opinion, however you seem happy to do this, fair play, each to their own. I’m sure come the end of this season when we have to sell another asset to fund a bloated squad having endured a season of mediocrity with the odd bright spark chucked in to give us optimism you’ll hold your hands up and accept that the strategy was wrong.

Whats the problem with calling people out? 

The point was you disagreed when I said the majority of people wanted these players and this evidence clearly proves I was right? I'm not sure what else you're getting at? 

For the record, I actually enjoy reading your opinions, I've just noticed you seem to have become worn down and more negative than you used to be. Easy to be done in current world I guess but I think that potentially loses some of the rationality and realism sometimes. Ie perhaps setting expectations too high in all aspects.

My opinion is a little more nuanced that you suggest. I believe that a lot of mistakes were made in the previous two years with recruitment strategy. Also, I personally would've chosen to go down a route of building with younger players, however clearly the owners are unwilling to follow that approach.

I believe in this window an effort was made to correct for previous mistakes, targeting players with championship experience and some younger players that will accumulate in value. We also added depth where previously this was lacking. 

Arter, Christie, the LBs, Freeman appear to be misses so far but if I saw other clubs signing them I would've said solid championship players with experience. I think the lack of preseason when turning over the squad has made it a challenge. However aside from perhaps Silva I'm not sure who has been replaced that wasn't unavoidable or required?

[Strawberry Avenger]

I think the signings are fine.

But the lack of pre season to get them gelled and fit and working to Chris's gameplan has been catastrophic.

They're not his players. The last two managers to come in this way took ages to sort things and met with the results you'd expect of picking up someone else's team. And agricultural football as an interim.

The immediate plan has to be to stabilise the ship to mid table.

SA.

[Woan]

I do like quoting myself! Here are my comments made back in the summer about our recruitment.

Its like the penny finally dropped we werent going to do it with Portuguese 19 Yr olds so everyone we sign now has to have bags of experience and be the wrong side of 30.

I worry about lack of pace too which was an issue last year and still to be addressed.

The only issue is collectively we are not investing in youth, the average age of the squad will be much higher and as has been said very little sell on opportunity so if we do need FFP help this time next year it will yet again be up to the academy to provide it.

just the 43 permanent and 18 loan signings for Nottingham Forest since June 2017.
I would say this is more of an issue than the manger. Changing manager in itself adds to this problem as they build their own teams and so this and the associated costs spiral. Yet still we think we need even more players.

I want to see some evidence of lessons being learned Sniffer. Granted we seem to have stopped getting kids from the Mendes stable and buying someone on the strength of knocking in a few goalsin Bulgaria. But in terms of the sheer turnover of playing staff it remains madness.

And when it doesnt work we will have a new manager inheriting a playing squad of 38, many over 30 Years old and past their best on big wages. New manager wants his own players, “Hey, Gary, who can we flog from academy to fund it all this year?”

Every one of these is spot on.