Our transfer window has officially sucked

[ffcitaly]

lol.

as always with these things judge at the end of the transfer window. until then there is literally no point about commenting on how successful we've been in the window. thus far we have a squad very capable of playing until the 31st, with some shrewed additions and little fatal outgoings.

after the 31st if the squad remains as it is i'd be concerned. but it isnt the 31st yet. so why lend your mental capacity to something which is irrelevant?

I'm sorry Lork but something isn't right this summer and alarm bells are starting to ring, well im my ears they are any way. I'm typically down to earth and always trust in Fulham to 'get it right on the night' but we are struggling to attract players big time and you can really sense this.

Why? I'm not sure, but we've seemed to have done nothing but cut the wage bill and then snoop around for above average cheap freebies as repalcements and then renew contracts of people like Stephen Kelly and Marcello Trotta. Brede, Dempsey and Moussa's contracts should have been sorted out bloody months ago.

I don't think things are as well oiled as we think they are behind the scenes and I also think we may have a little bit of an exudous going on between the club and players over contracts. I'm sorry but I don't want to be hearing the names of Rhodes, Wittingham, Zaha or even poxy Hooper of Peterborough being linked with Fulham, it's depressing and shows that we lack funds/ambition.

I thought we'd kick on this year, build quickly on what Jol had put in place by adding 2-3 quality players, not wait until after the first game of the season to 'see' if we get buy anyone, what's the point of that? You say don't panic but we are, with out fail, 2-3 good players short in different area's and if we fail to add these BY the 31st we won't be having a very productive season.

I'm fed up will it already and I've not even sat down yet to watch the first game of the season.

I'm panicking now!

[HatterDon]

Erik Nevland ‏@ErikNevland

Looking forward to the new PL season, think #fulhamfc will have a very good season. Solid team!! #COYW

If you could roll back the odometer on Erik the Viking and make him 25 again, I'd spend the entire transfer kitty on him. He's much MUCH better than any striker on our books now, never mind when he was a few years younger.

Oh, and thanks for everything, Mr. Nevland  065.gif

[btings]

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray for Jol, Dempsey to keep
And if Clint's sold before I wake
I pray it's not LFC money we take

[Matt_Keen]

Wow, calm down everybody.

It's like this every single season, without fail, excluding the contract situation with BH and MD and the ongoing CD saga.

We're notoriously quiet when it comes to buying and selling, so why get flustered that we haven't signed anyone we've been linked with? Every season we're linked with various players, by the press, who are trying to sell papers; and EVERY season, we fail to sign who we've been 'linked' with. Does that perhaps tell you something? Maybe, we haven't seriously been looking at acquiring Assaidi, Narsingh, Chadli... etc.

I can't remember the last time we signed a player we were really linked with, our signings tend to crop up, out of the blue and by carrying out our business in this way, we've prevented other clubs from stealing a march on some really decent players... And turned ourselves into a consistent top 10 side.

As I say, the only thing that is making me a little bit nervous is the uncertainty about the futures of Dempsey, Dembele and Hangeland... But, let's face it, we have the one thing we never have before, a wealth of decent younger players whp can step up and do a job if required.

[LRCN]

lol.

as always with these things judge at the end of the transfer window. until then there is literally no point about commenting on how successful we've been in the window. thus far we have a squad very capable of playing until the 31st, with some shrewed additions and little fatal outgoings.

after the 31st if the squad remains as it is i'd be concerned. but it isnt the 31st yet. so why lend your mental capacity to something which is irrelevant?

I'm sorry Lork but something isn't right this summer and alarm bells are starting to ring, well im my ears they are any way. I'm typically down to earth and always trust in Fulham to 'get it right on the night' but we are struggling to attract players big time and you can really sense this.

Why? I'm not sure, but we've seemed to have done nothing but cut the wage bill and then snoop around for above average cheap freebies as repalcements and then renew contracts of people like Stephen Kelly and Marcello Trotta. Brede, Dempsey and Moussa's contracts should have been sorted out bloody months ago.

I don't think things are as well oiled as we think they are behind the scenes and I also think we may have a little bit of an exudous going on between the club and players over contracts. I'm sorry but I don't want to be hearing the names of Rhodes, Wittingham, Zaha or even poxy Hooper of Peterborough being linked with Fulham, it's depressing and shows that we lack funds/ambition.

I thought we'd kick on this year, build quickly on what Jol had put in place by adding 2-3 quality players, not wait until after the first game of the season to 'see' if we get buy anyone, what's the point of that? You say don't panic but we are, with out fail, 2-3 good players short in different area's and if we fail to add these BY the 31st we won't be having a very productive season.

I'm fed up will it already and I've not even sat down yet to watch the first game of the season.

"Brede, Dempsey and Moussa's contracts should have been sorted out bloody months ago. "
that is a lot easier said than done. contracts involve three parties, first and formost. our admins are not so incompetant that they would wait 12 months before the current ones expire before offering. it is not as easy as offering a contract and its done, especially with players like dempsey and dembele who have both very clearly and very publicly stated they want to join larger clubs. what is their incentive to sign?

as for our transfer budget, it is fairly significant, i know this for a fact, but we aren't spending it for whatever reason.

i agree that our squad, right now, is too small. our starting 11 is very good and our back 5 has great strength but go much deeper than our attacking & midfield starters and all of a sudden we are relying on academy graduates. however a) we have not sold dempsey and/or dembele and b) we have two weeks left, which is a surreal length of time to sign people in.

fact is mate there are things out of fulhams control. the assaidi deal, for example. you appear to be blaiming fulham for not buying a player so cheap! i don't know for a fact but i dont doubt we made serious enquiries for him, but do you really think that we stumbled at the transfer fee? course not mate. liverpool are just much more attractive to a player.

one final thing is that you use rumours to justify your stance on our window. you can't do that - by definition they carry no weight in an argument at all. it's useless paying attention to rumours because almost every one is incorrect, and in fact the signings we have secure this season were not reported in the media at all (other than riether in bild the evening before)

all in all, and i appreciate this is because you have a deep emotional investment in the club, you are using conjecture to justify everything you are stating. there is literally no point in worrying right now. there is no point judging how successful a transfer window has been until it has finished - and yes, so far it has been relatively underwhelming and i am concerned about how thin the squad is, but the only significant loss in personel was a player who was ultimately going to be phased out this season anyway. in fact, even with the departures. we probably have bodies enough to do well in the league this season.

we have a swathe of young players coming through. an exceptionally competant board & staff. we finished 9th last season and losing our captain will, this season, initiate a further evolution of how we play. look forward to the season, and don't worry when you don't need to!

[FFC1987]

Most ridiculous thread I have read in this forum and I'm throughly dissappointed by it. People speculating about fulham affairs based on speculation from the media suggesting we are 'interested' in players and them going elsewhere. Automatically refer to the panic button...

People have correctly highlighted the failed bids for 'underwhelming' talent such as Wittingham and Rhodes, seemingly both of decent age for us to get maximum performances from. Why didn't we sign them and meet their demands? Because the same people would come on here and moan if we spent excess of 10 million on both. Theres your reason for not wanting that on two players unproven at the top level.

As for Assaidi, worth the money, undoubtedly, would be play infront of what we have? Maybe. But I'd rather see such prospects as Kaca, Frei and Mesca take to the field and hound opposition. I think we may have been 'interested' but doesn't mean we urgently needed. If Jol feels we were desperate for a winger (which we aren't) he would be busting a gut to get one. I think you will find Jol is as hes stated trying to reinforce the CM/DM and a striker.

Lork is spot on with the contract situation.

I think this whole worry wart situation is based on QPR spending, if so think logically, look at where we finished, and look at where they finished. Simple reasons for investment, do they want a relegation scrap, no, then invest. We haven't invested as much because we have pretty much kept the squad that got us this far and got rid of older players and money grabbers and don't need to.

Look to the youth for a few seasons and we won't be far off building something decent. Stop panicing, we are looking healthy. If by February we are bottom three, start to panic.

[Lighthouse]

When the players who have left the club for whatever reason are adequately replaced then the panic will stop. But the argument against panic seems to be 'trust in the club and relax'. As arguments go I have yet to be convinced. We start the season tomorrow.

A lacklustre performance in at least one half is expected. It is what tends to happen under Jol. I shall continue to panic until reasons to do so cease to appear.

Silly thread? No this an MB. We are in the transfer window. What the signing are we supposed to talk about. We will talk about the game tomorrow.

[supersub]

Absolutely right, Lork... can't understand why everyone's getting in such a state about this. In fact, I turned to this site from TIFF because I was getting fed-up with the daft panicking and general idiocy there. I thought this forum was a bit more grown up than this.
I'm looking forward to this season (was sorry to see last season come to an end just as everything was looking good), and whatever happens as far as buying and selling is concerned, I shall make my judgment based on our results in the next few weeks.
Just remember: there are no league points available for the number of players you sign.
Let's just get behind the team tomorrow and look forward to another season!

[FFC1987]

When the players who have left the club for whatever reason are adequately replaced then the panic will stop. But the argument against panic seems to be 'trust in the club and relax'. As arguments go I have yet to be convinced. We start the season tomorrow.

A lacklustre performance in at least one half is expected. It is what tends to happen under Jol. I shall continue to panic until reasons to do so cease to appear.

Silly thread? No this an MB. We are in the transfer window. What the signing are we supposed to talk about. We will talk about the game tomorrow.

Yes silly, as its mostly inciting fear mongering and not support.

[LRCN]

When the players who have left the club for whatever reason are adequately replaced then the panic will stop. But the argument against panic seems to be 'trust in the club and relax'. As arguments go I have yet to be convinced. We start the season tomorrow.

A lacklustre performance in at least one half is expected. It is what tends to happen under Jol. I shall continue to panic until reasons to do so cease to appear.

Silly thread? No this an MB. We are in the transfer window. What the signing are we supposed to talk about. We will talk about the game tomorrow.

"it is what tends to happen under jol"
he's only been in charge for a single season... there can be no trend that you can tend to follow.

out of the players that have left (that have had any relevance to the first team) we have replaced the pog and aj. you could make a tentative argument that riether can play that '5th choice central midfield' role gecov too. riise was behind the pecking order of youngsters anyway. sidwell is fit again, and he was missing all throughout that 2012 surge under jol. it is no where near as bad as the inappropriate hysteria is making it out to be. which is the argument against the panic

unless, of course, you are advocating signing people for signing's sake, but where's the sense in that?

[LRCN]

im looking forward to cottage talk this afternoon

[Lighthouse]

36 games plus European games plus cup games. No conclusion can be made from these games and no trend can be concluded. Well if a mathematician tells me so it must be true. Although how long can I wait to actually say something is a trend?

We were always short of forwards so replacing them isn't important. We have two in the squad so how many more should we have? We only use one after all. No trust in the club. All the other players that have left don't need players coming in to replace them. We have younger players to replace them. Everybody who wants more players in wants us to bankrupt ourselves.

That I think is the rough argument. But it looks a pretty flimsy argument to me.

[LRCN]

36 games plus European games plus cup games. No conclusion can be made from these games and no trend can be concluded. Well if a mathematician tells me so it must be true. Although how long can I wait to actually say something is a trend?

We were always short of forwards so replacing them isn't important. We have two in the squad so how many more should we have? We only use one after all. No trust in the club. All the other players that have left don't need players coming in to replace them. We have younger players to replace them. Everybody who wants more players in wants us to bankrupt ourselves.

That I think is the rough argument. But it looks a pretty flimsy argument to me.

oops, misinterpreted what you meant. thought you meant halves of seasons.

the rest of it though you are completely spinning my words. in fact you seem to be actively avoiding the part where i said
after the 31st if the squad remains as it is i'd be concerned

[supersub]

36 games plus European games plus cup games. No conclusion can be made from these games and no trend can be concluded. Well if a mathematician tells me so it must be true. Although how long can I wait to actually say something is a trend?

Wasn't the trend that we started steadily but unspectacularly, then got stronger as the season progressed?

[Mr Fulham]

Ladies and Gentlemen, we've got another team with a so-called 'project' - Southampton. Gaston Ramirez is possibly the signing of the summer so far.

[Lighthouse]

Our season starts tomorrow so I guess I think of the season start as important. But yes we have until Lighthouse Birthday. Oh dear me did I just throw that in by mistake.

Look forward to Cottage Talk.

It is frustration against the calm wait and see. I am just too old to wait and see. Panic now saves panic later.

Supersub - yes we did get stronger hence the fear we will take a step backwards.

A win tomorrow will calm the nerves. But suppose we only draw or ....no think happy thoughts.

[LRCN]

Our season starts tomorrow so I guess I think of the season start as important.

well, of course, but we will have our first 11 fit and so the depth of the squad is irrelevant. as sherlock holmes once said in reply to being asked why he doesn't worry 'does it help?'

ps happy birthday

[Swedish Terrier]

Even though this summer is starting to worry me (I know, I should wait until the 31st) we have signed many youngsters and made the first category in the new youth system. This we should not forget when assessing our summer so far. Looking at QPR, who many people of course compare us with, they have signed good players like Bosingwa, Park and Hoilett compared to Riether, Petric and Rodallega for us. Advantage to them on that front. We have however continued investing in our youth teams and signing players like Liam Donnelly, Moussa Dembele, George Williams and Jordan Evans who certainly strengthen our youth sides. I'm not sure about QPR's youths signings but I'm pretty sure it's advantage to us on that front. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I'm sure QPR's signings will be on ridiculous wages.

Oh, and let's not forget the Riverside development plans which have been approved. This is vital for the future of our club.
Personally I won't be gutted if we finish in the 11-14 region in the table, and the main goal for me is always to stay up. Maybe QPR will finish above us in the table this year or the next, but if rebuilding the Riverside means no signings then fine. I still think we're going in the right direction.

[HatterDon]

Well, we should all get used to the major suckage. A disproportionate number of our Jol signings in January and this summer have been on one-year contracts or one year loans. This means that after the season we're going to have more -- not fewer -- players whose possible exit we can obsess over.

I trust Jol's ability to evaluate talent, and I'm sure that even within the constraints of our limited budget, he can build us a solid and stable mid-table squad. But it's hard to be stable when your upgrades are 30+ and are not tied to the club past April.