Players need time to gel.... Exactly why they should have been bought in early.

[David I]

Wasted pre season...
And who was it said pre season doesn't matter. Nor does getting the players in early... ?

Rico not selected due to not fully understanding English.. Isn't that exactly what happened with Jozabed?

Glimpses of class, but you can see there's an awful lot of cohesion missing!!

[Lyle from Hangeland]

Griping, griping... this is not a video game. Players get moved when they get moved. It's a complicated business. Please try and understand that a little button can't be pushed to make life so easy. It's a process, like everything else.

[Russianrob]

Even though we have lost our first two games from what I've seen there is nothing to worry about.No we won't win the title but will easily survive and for our first season back in the top flight that will more than suffice!!

[Lighthouse]

Again I really don't see the lack of cohesion. I do question a couple of players. Chambers disappointed me last week and again this week. Far more than the much criticised Fabri. But it is far too early and had we signed players early we wouldn't have maybe got the quality that we did get.

We must also remember we have injury problems at the back.

[David I]

Griping, griping... this is not a video game. Players get moved when they get moved. It's a complicated business. Please try and understand that a little button can't be pushed to make life so easy. It's a process, like everything else.

Pointless response....

[HV71]

Griping, griping... this is not a video game. Players get moved when they get moved. It's a complicated business. Please try and understand that a little button can't be pushed to make life so easy. It's a process, like everything else.

Pointless response....

No not pointless - but a mature response

[BedsFFC]

And who was it said pre season doesn't matter.

Nobody ever

[Southcoastffc]

Griping, griping... this is not a video game. Players get moved when they get moved. It's a complicated business. Please try and understand that a little button can't be pushed to make life so easy. It's a process, like everything else.

Pointless response....

No not pointless - but a mature response

:plus one:  Transfers are increasingly complex.

[David I]

And who was it said pre season doesn't matter.

Just go back through the silly season transfer thread and you'll find many!!

Nobody ever

[David I]

Griping, griping... this is not a video game. Players get moved when they get moved. It's a complicated business. Please try and understand that a little button can't be pushed to make life so easy. It's a process, like everything else.

Pointless response....

No not pointless - but a mature response

Great response... Some good points, .... Oh wait!  Talks of buttons and a post with no content or solution.. 🙈🙈 WUMs - at least respond with comments of substance.

[The Old Count]

It'a accepted that the play off winners have less time than automaticaly promoted teams. That along with the World Cup made things extra difficult.

[HV71]

It is widely accepted that we had a good transfer window. For many on here , including myself, it was way above my expectations. Yes some of the signings were rather late on - but it is what it is - there were reasons as stated above. So we have lost two games ( one against a side that eventually finished eleventh and another against a potential top 4 side . We are work in progress- it will take time and that is the one thing we have been short of - but better that than a lack of investment or players lacking quality

[Woolly Mammoth]

It's still August, and there is another 36 League matches to go.
Burnley up next in the League, and they are a tough nut to crack. No easy matches, today was an education. 

[David I]

It's still August, and there is another 36 League matches to go. D
Burnley up next in the League, and they are a tough nut to crack. No easy matches, today was an education. 

I know that... Hence my comment glimpses of class...
The team needs to gel. We were unlucky against Palace and outclassed against Spuds. The lack of training time is an issue and in time player understanding will improve.

The point which most have missed is that a very large number on here claimed that pre season did not matter. IMO it does, and shows.

[BedsFFC]

And who was it said pre season doesn't matter.

Just go back through the silly season transfer thread and you'll find many!!

Nobody ever

I think you'll find the annual argument is regarding pre-season results. There's been some crazy posts on here but I seriously doubt anyone has said that having a pre-season doesnt matter.

I think your post is just a classic knee jerk reaction after a loss.

[BedsFFC]

It's still August, and there is another 36 League matches to go. D
Burnley up next in the League, and they are a tough nut to crack. No easy matches, today was an education. 

The point which most have missed is that a very large number on here claimed that pre season did not matter. IMO it does, and shows.

What do you mean, pre-season does not matter?

what. At all? Fitness, matches. WHat are you talking about?

[Classic94]

This is a team in transition without it's two best defenders. It will take time but we competed with one of the leagues best for 75 minutes. If we're sitting bottom of the pile in 15 games time, then is the time to ask questions.

[Southcoastffc]

David, would you prefer to have the same squad as last season , and a marvellous pre-season, or the squad we have now?  Ideal squad situations are rare for newly promoted teams. Our recruitment team have done well.

[Bokonon]

The problem with this line of thought is that in the main there is no incentive to get deals done early, by any of the parties (buying team, selling team, player/agent). It's game theory...

1) Buying teams at a minimum are saving a few weeks of substantial wages and agent fees. They may get to see additional pre-season/tournament play of their potential targets. They also run the risk of making inquiries to targets, but then settling on their 3rd/4th choice, when if they had waited longer, their first choice could have been theirs. The domino effect. This matters less at teams where money is essentially no object, but 99% of teams do not have that luxury.

2) Selling teams also get the advantage of saving players through pre-season to give them more info on whether players' prior form was illusory, as well as provide buffer for pre-season injuries, and being left desperate late. On the flip side, they get better fee terms if they are contacted by desperate teams late.

Most selling teams are also buying games teams, to replace the outgoing players, so 1) above also somewhat applies.

3) Players/agents want to wait to the last minute if possible, to allow for desperate teams to pay higher wages as part of the deals, as well as wait for more choice teams to come knocking. As a concrete example of this, our starting LB says hello. And in any event, if the club does poorly, the players can generally move on to another club, so there isn't a lot of impetus to leave money on the table in the name of squad cohesion.

Yes, some business can happen early. But that is at the edges. It is irrational for all parties to, as a rule, get things done early, despite what the supporters would prefer (and I would include myself in this; how I wish we'd have gotten everyone in by early July!).

I do agree that while pre-season _results_ are meaningless as a predictor for success, having as much of a pre-season together as possible is obviously beneficial. That all being said, I 100% believe that if we had got our business done early, we'd not have the class of player we have now. We'd look more cohesive, but also be in more inherent danger of getting relegated.

[RaySmith]

Pre-season was  short for us, and there was the WC too.
Some of  our top players were loanees, who went back to their clubs.

I don't see how the players we brought in - top quality signings and loans, could have been brought in much quicker - we just managed to get some over the line before the deadline, as it was.

I said that friendlies don't matter much, and I stick by that.

I think we have played well, considering all the new players, in both games  chances have been missed, and decisions gone against us, that might have gone our way with a bit more luck -but time will tell.

One game at a time.