Summer Transfer Window 2026

[superpull]

Anybody we sign outside of a RB is going to be a blocker for minutes for Barry, Dibling, George, Hackney, Armstrong, Aznou etc though and then everybody will complain about that.

True, so why aren't we improving on Myko. Why is an injury prone Branthwaite and Tarkowski as good as it gets for us with Michael Keane lurking in the shadows ready to make everybody's weekend worse? How is that the depth of our defensive strength?

Why is Barry and Beto as good as we can have it up front?

The "we don't need much more" crowd are just so unbelievably at odds to what I want it's untrue.
A right back, a left back, a centre half and a striker (helped by sales of Myko, Keane and Beto) and we're absolutely in for a shout of Europe.
As it stands though, it's just another season of treading water.

[Lazarou II]

Nihil nisi mediocritas satis erit.

[Bumble]

True, so why aren't we improving on Myko. Why is an injury prone Branthwaite and Tarkowski as good as it gets for us with Michael Keane lurking in the shadows ready to make everybody's weekend worse? How is that the depth of our defensive strength?

Why is Barry and Beto as good as we can have it up front?

The "we don't need much more" crowd are just so unbelievably at odds to what I want it's untrue.
A right back, a left back, a centre half and a striker (helped by sales of Myko, Keane and Beto) and we're absolutely in for a shout of Europe.
As it stands though, it's just another season of treading water.

100% agree but we're not in that ballpark. Yet.

We aren't run like Brentford or Brighton or even Bournemouth. They all recruit into a well drilled system and they have a head coach that slots in while all the pieces get assembled around him.

We have a legacy issue with an old school manager who can't/won't work in that system so until we get everyone aligned we are just that, treading water, whilst attempting to build a squad for the next guy who will be hopefully be a head coach and then we can move forwards.

[AllyBlue14]

True, so why aren't we improving on Myko. Why is an injury prone Branthwaite and Tarkowski as good as it gets for us with Michael Keane lurking in the shadows ready to make everybody's weekend worse? How is that the depth of our defensive strength?

Why is Barry and Beto as good as we can have it up front?

The "we don't need much more" crowd are just so unbelievably at odds to what I want it's untrue.
A right back, a left back, a centre half and a striker (helped by sales of Myko, Keane and Beto) and we're absolutely in for a shout of Europe.
As it stands though, it's just another season of treading water.

Everyone wants this, though! I just think there's a scale of how realistic/pessimistic some people are about how many new players we might be able to afford, and how happy they may be to allow the younger players an extended run in the team.

Personally don't think we need a CB (unless JOB goes) but I'd say we're all pretty universal in our preference for a new RB, LB and ST, probably in that order.

[Toddacelli]

Why is Barry and Beto as good as we can have it up front?

Because Johnson and and George have both played across the front three before. George has good numbers for England U21s as a striker, according to Cai Jones.

[superpull]

Because Johnson and and George have both played across the front three before. George has good numbers for England U21s as a striker, according to Cai Jones.

Wanna do a sweep on how many minutes he gets up top?

[StirlingBlue]

True, so why aren't we improving on Myko. Why is an injury prone Branthwaite and Tarkowski as good as it gets for us with Michael Keane lurking in the shadows ready to make everybody's weekend worse? How is that the depth of our defensive strength?

Why is Barry and Beto as good as we can have it up front?

The "we don't need much more" crowd are just so unbelievably at odds to what I want it's untrue.
A right back, a left back, a centre half and a striker (helped by sales of Myko, Keane and Beto) and we're absolutely in for a shout of Europe.
As it stands though, it's just another season of treading water.

We literally just handed Myko a new contract, there’s no world where he’s sold this window.

We’ll sign a striker if somebody signs Beto, reality is that we can’t justify him as third choice ST.

CB we’ll sign if O’Brien goes - otherwise we have as good as most European challengers do and Micheal Keane is solidly 4th choice.

Real life isn’t football manager, you can’t just keep signing players when you’ve already got two in every position without selling what you have

[Trowel]

[superpull]

We literally just handed Myko a new contract, there’s no world where he’s sold this window.

We’ll sign a striker if somebody signs Beto, reality is that we can’t justify him as third choice ST.

CB we’ll sign if O’Brien goes - otherwise we have as good as most European challengers do and Micheal Keane is solidly 4th choice.

Real life isn’t football manager, you can’t just keep signing players when you’ve already got two in every position without selling what you have

The point is we're not happy with a lot of those "second players" (and more than the odd "first" player as well.

If we can't get shut of Beto, lower the price
Don't give contracts out to players like Myko (fair play, 2 decent games on the trot) or Keane.

The anger isn't as myopic as "we should just sign 5 players tomorrow" and it's disingenuous, at best, to suggest that's what people are asking for. Those of us berating the club are doing so because very few lessons seem to have been learned - the people with telling us everything is fine and this squad is as good as it has any right to be were likely the same justifying the money for Bolasie, or Sigurdsson. An odd outlook where the club can do no wrong seemingly.

[Bumble]

The point is we're not happy with a lot of those "second players" (and more than the odd "first" player as well.

If we can't get shut of Beto, lower the price
Don't give contracts out to players like Myko (fair play, 2 decent games on the trot) or Keane.

The anger isn't as myopic as "we should just sign 5 players tomorrow" and it's disingenuous, at best, to suggest that's what people are asking for. Those of us berating the club are doing so because very few lessons seem to have been learned - the people with telling us everything is fine and this squad is as good as it has any right to be were likely the same justifying the money for Bolasie, or Sigurdsson. An odd outlook where the club can do no wrong seemingly.

I think you’re going a bit overboard with tearing the squad to shreds. It’s not as bad as you are making out.

Granted we lack quality at full backs but considering where we were at the start of last summer we haven’t done bad to turn it around.

We still have a week left too.

[superpull]

I think you’re going a bit overboard with tearing the squad to shreds. It’s not as bad as you are making out.

Granted we lack quality at full backs but considering where we were at the start of last summer we haven’t done bad to turn it around.

We still have a week left too.

I'm happy with the middle of the park, great young, English core there. Sort of happy with the wings, though a bit lopsided.
Keepers great.

Barry is serviceable, probably. But there is no depth other than Beto who will have 6 good games on the trot. (@Toddacelli has pointed out George can play there).

That defence though. It's just not acceptable. At all.
Norgaard also needs to be amazing and made of concrete.

[MmmBlueBranthwaite]

WHAT?!?!? Everyone is over 6 foot!

[Blues Mahoney]

WHAT?!?!? Everyone is over 6 foot!

[Grand Master C]

the people with telling us everything is fine and this squad is as good as it has any right to be were likely the same justifying the money for Bolasie, or Sigurdsson. An odd outlook where the club can do no wrong seemingly.

The exact opposite for me. People desperate to sign anyone, are the ones who were probably saying "Just pay them the money and get it fucking done! Everton that !!" about Bolasie and Sigurdsson as the negotiations kept dragging on.

We have allowed ourselves to be absolutely taken to the cleaners for players that were, at a charitable best, slight improvements on the players we had in those positions. Bolasie cost £22 million when we had Deulofeu and Mirrallas and has just released Pienaar.

We gave Swansea nearly £50 million for Sigurdsson and Ashley Williams over two years, paid the players top wages to come here and then wondered how we got done for FFP.

So the squad is "fine", as in its "okay-ish" as a long term base to grow from (with the very obvious exception of RB), but the money we spent/wasted on Bolasie, Sigurdsson and the like are the exact reason I am willing to except "fine" for now.

Am I completely happy with the squad?? Fuck no. Am I a shit load happier with where it is and where the club is than two years ago ?? Fuck yes. We have actual options from the bench !! We brought a sub on tonight and he actually made a fucking impact. Its been a long time since I can remember being positive about our options on the bench.

So it's not that everything is fine, the squad is not as good as it should be, but we have at least 10 years of serious mismanagement to try and fix. I was genuinely worried that if we were relegated we would be wound up and gone as a club. Maybe that is over dramatic, but I really thought that we could be looking at being the next Rangers

So I am willing to accept a bit of sensible spending, lower risk transfers and some mid table seasons as we put the finances and foundations back in place. And that includes backoom foundations like changes in scouting. Everything isn't fine yet, but I think most of us would agree its moving in the right direction. We are just arguing about how quickly we should risk moving.