28-08-2025, 23:56
I'm happy with the Chris Mepham deal. £1.5m seems like a good deal for a player who cost Bournemouth £12m and has almost 50 international caps at 27.
As far as the outgoings go, I think £4m for Darnell Furlong is excellent business. I think he improved tremendously under Carlos Corberan and became a "steady" performer, but that's as far as it goes really. I'll never knock him for his effort or commitment to the club as he's always tried and has a great injury record, However, the reality is, the lad has never really been able to play. At 29, it seems like good business.
But he will need replacing and pronto. Yes, Williams looked good against a second string Derby side in the cup, but we need a senior option. I'm not sure who will play at Stoke.
I assume Caleb Taylor will go for more money than we're paying for Mepham. Only time will tell if this is a good decision, but for the here and now, it seems to make sense.
As for Fellows, I think we missed our chance to get more money for him in January. We took a gamble and it didn't pay off. Unfortunately, since then, his performances have tailed off and so has any Premier League interest by the looks of things. I'll probably get slated for this, but I can't say I'm surprised. Personally, I don't really see a Premier League player there. He's very good one-on-one with the full back, but he lacks variation and creativity. Also never really looks much of a goal threat, even at this level.
Nonetheless, I would've liked to have kept him. But I don't think he'll be as big of a miss as we might think, especially as we have others who can play there.
If we use some of that money to buy a creator who can pick a pass, it could have more overall impact on the team / style of play IMO.
Ultimately we're having to do lot of wheeling and dealing to balance the books, but we seem to be doing okay. Paying a million here and there for experience like Bielik and Mepham seems like decent business. Being honest, I don't see the squad that we started the season with being good enough to mount a playoff push, so I'm happy to see some lads go and us return to a financially stable base to push in the future.
Would be nice to see a goalkeeper, Furlong replacement, left back and creator come in before the window closes. Who knows, if we get a couple of gems in, we could even be a stronger side than what started the season.
As far as the outgoings go, I think £4m for Darnell Furlong is excellent business. I think he improved tremendously under Carlos Corberan and became a "steady" performer, but that's as far as it goes really. I'll never knock him for his effort or commitment to the club as he's always tried and has a great injury record, However, the reality is, the lad has never really been able to play. At 29, it seems like good business.
But he will need replacing and pronto. Yes, Williams looked good against a second string Derby side in the cup, but we need a senior option. I'm not sure who will play at Stoke.
I assume Caleb Taylor will go for more money than we're paying for Mepham. Only time will tell if this is a good decision, but for the here and now, it seems to make sense.
As for Fellows, I think we missed our chance to get more money for him in January. We took a gamble and it didn't pay off. Unfortunately, since then, his performances have tailed off and so has any Premier League interest by the looks of things. I'll probably get slated for this, but I can't say I'm surprised. Personally, I don't really see a Premier League player there. He's very good one-on-one with the full back, but he lacks variation and creativity. Also never really looks much of a goal threat, even at this level.
Nonetheless, I would've liked to have kept him. But I don't think he'll be as big of a miss as we might think, especially as we have others who can play there.
If we use some of that money to buy a creator who can pick a pass, it could have more overall impact on the team / style of play IMO.
Ultimately we're having to do lot of wheeling and dealing to balance the books, but we seem to be doing okay. Paying a million here and there for experience like Bielik and Mepham seems like decent business. Being honest, I don't see the squad that we started the season with being good enough to mount a playoff push, so I'm happy to see some lads go and us return to a financially stable base to push in the future.
Would be nice to see a goalkeeper, Furlong replacement, left back and creator come in before the window closes. Who knows, if we get a couple of gems in, we could even be a stronger side than what started the season.