The Official Silly Transfer Thread for January 2017

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

If you want to make a point along the lines of, "most" business happens toward the end of a window, fine, I don't dispute that. Just as "most" clubs don't get promoted; "most" clubs will lose or draw "most" of their games rather than winning them. But things like getting promoted, winning, and signing players early in the window still happen very often nonetheless. Signing players late isn't inevitable, nor is playing a quarter of the season with Matt smith up front, as we likely will. The "reality" is that to achieve anything positive this club needs to perform exceptionally well in the transfer market, just as it does on the pitch, but Currently, as the selling activity I just mentioned and indeed your own statistics show, we are exceptionally bad at this, in terms of timing at least. 

I think you are spot on with this Statto.  During our rise under MAF we were a buying Club with ambition and although FFP has changed some of the nature of the dealings I do believe that Fulham's higher management echelons (above SJ that is) could polish up their strategy when it comes to retaining quality players who have demonstrated a commitment to Fulham but have been sold on - Steve Sidwell and David Stockdale in the Brighton side to name but two examples.   As a Club we have need to have a focus on the business we are in, which is, I assume, to rise to the best football level we can in the professional game because otherwise why not just sell the Craven Cottage site and let the whole thing collapse?  SJ has shown a lot of ability to get players performing at a better level than we may have anticipated on their arrival.    SJ needs to be properly supported within the Club and anticipation of a Martin (or even McCormack) style problem is a reason for having strength in depth.

I think that you have answered your own points.

You cannot compare the rise under MAF with now because of FFP.

The loss of players like Sidwell and Stockdale that many fans would have wanted to keep is not directly down to the senior management but down to the manager. Yes, the senior management choose the wrong manager and the losses were a consequence. Quite a few did not want to lose Burn but that was a consequence of having Jokanovic as manager.

The club thought they had an ambitious deal for an striker in the summer but the selling club pulled out on the last day.

Strangely players are not queuing up to join Fulham.

Strangely Fulham can't force a club to sell or a player to sign or to accept an offer on the day we make one.

And with FFP our budget is severely limited so the club cannot throw money at the problem as in the early days under MAF.

I don't disagree with you but the point I was trying to make is the one called strategy for success rather than fear of failure.  Yes, the buying in the summer was largely successful in spite of many comments in these forums to the contrary.  I am one of those who backed SJ from the start because I understood what he wanted to do, and I don't believe the Club did all it could do for SJ during the last window.  Sure some players will not want to come here but you can suss that pretty darned quickly with the right questions and plan your acquisitions much more carefully.  That is a strategy that has a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C.  I want the Club to back SJ one hundred percent with the only limit being the need to keep within FFP.       

I agree.

I am sure that various structures involving Directors of Football, statistical analysts and coaches can work but my suspicion is that they are going to fail more often than not.

If you need a DoF and analyst to be given as much the same weight as the manager in choosing players to moderate his choices then you have the wrong manager, either a mad one like Magath or an inexperienced one like Symons.

I am much more confident with a good manager in charge Jokanovic that our transfer policy will be more focussed and our selections more successful (but I still expect, like most other transfers to other clubs, the deals to be completed late in the window).

Jozabad is excatly that really, a managers choice. So from my pov and knowledge the one player we backed our manager with has not worked.

I, for one, haven't seen enough of Jozabed to make a judgement that 'he is a wrong one' or 'a mistake' but I do see SJ trying to arrive at a settled first team i.e. one that selects itself.  Jozabed would have to fight for his place as has Matt Smith and many others.    The real problem is Martin and how we arrived, as a Club, at the point where we have an unsettled player for reasons that seem to be down to an impression given to Martin in August which the Club is now reneging on.  I am assuming at this point that SJ wanted him signed permanently in August too, and hasn't changed his mind.   If that is at all true then the Club really needs to understand the nature of its business one hell of a lot better than it is doing. 

This view takes no account of the change of manager at Derby, what Steve McClaren has said about Martin and that Derby are prepared to or have offered Martin a new contract. Plus isn't there something about Martin's family still being in Derby.

I suggest that these factors have had a significant influence on the situation rather than anything Fulham might have done.

[toshes mate]

Two thirds of our spending in the summer window went on 3 players who now can't get in the team. And our best 11 now features players at CB (currently both of them), RB, attacking midfield and up front (and if some had their way, GK) who we had last season when we finished 20th. So whilst I do agree that the summer ins/outs were an "overall success" and an improvement, let's not get carried away. Our improvement is clearly more attributable to the manager than the players at his disposal

I'm also still not accepting as gospel like some seem to that jozabed was jokanovic's choice. But that's another debate for another day.

As to the speed of our business generally versus our rivals', show me which of the clubs from reading down to Birmingham sold their best two strikers in the summer and still hasn't got a replacement. Then maybe we can have a worthwhile comparison of our respective progress in that department this month

let's be frank,  Jozabed being a SJ player doesn't fit the stance on stat man being the center of all our ills.
I've been told he was his man based on how SJ thought he would set up. We have changed now and that along with his issues adapting to being in England is why he's not playing.
Now you will say why spend the money and not play him, well that happens enough times where signings just don't work out.

And so Jozabed is not so much a bad player or a bad signing as a person who is failing to acclimatise in England which is a tricky problem to overcome, just as Martin's injury may be the result of feeling badly let down by the Club.   You really couldn't make all this up.   Who is the captain of this ship and do we have one because if we don't perhaps SJ should be given total charge?   

[FulhamStu]

All good comments re Martin above, I am just debating really.  I have no idea of all the facts.  Just goes to show how difficult football transfers have become.

At the end of the day, get 2 really good strikers in, tell Martin he can sod off back to Derby and get some money back and move on, oh and stuff Derby and Martin when we play them up there.

[fulhamfan]

Get Berba Back

[ToodlesMcToot]

For me, it remains to be seen whether Martin was a bad signing or not. We still have the option to unilaterally sign him on a permanent. If SJ can get his mind right, we may still have something yet. We do not know the whole story. We have a lot of speculation based upon comments from McClaren and troubles (about which we know little) with Martin's, ahem, health. I know that's a hopeful outlook but, stranger things have happened.

That said, we need other option(s) still.

[f321ffc]

Fulham Football Club‏ @FulhamFC
CONFIRMED: @CamBurgess95 has joined Bury on loan, following the expiry of his deal at Oldham. All the best Cam! >

[snarks]

Enjoying this thread as I am, I was wondering where the rumours part had gone

[Lighthouse]

Enjoying this thread as I am, I was wondering where the rumours part had gone

I agree. There a couple of rumours but I have no idea if they have been already mentioned among the long repeated discussions on Martin etc.  Whatever happens we will hear about it eventually.

[keithh]

The Official Silly Transfer Thread used to be just that & I enjoyed clicking in every couple of days to see the thoughts & views of folk. It used to be fun but lately it's beginning to get hard work. Can we lighten it up please?

[f321ffc]

The Official Silly Transfer Thread used to be just that & I enjoyed clicking in every couple of days to see the thoughts & views of folk. It used to be fun but lately it's beginning to get hard work. Can we lighten it up please?

:plus one:

[Delboy]

Up to page 30 on this thread now, no signings, What page will we see our first new face? Predictions here please ......   049:gif

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

Two thirds of our spending in the summer window went on 3 players who now can't get in the team. And our best 11 now features players at CB (currently both of them), RB, attacking midfield and up front (and if some had their way, GK) who we had last season when we finished 20th. So whilst I do agree that the summer ins/outs were an "overall success" and an improvement, let's not get carried away. Our improvement is clearly more attributable to the manager than the players at his disposal

I'm also still not accepting as gospel like some seem to that jozabed was jokanovic's choice. But that's another debate for another day.

As to the speed of our business generally versus our rivals', show me which of the clubs from reading down to Birmingham sold their best two strikers in the summer and still hasn't got a replacement. Then maybe we can have a worthwhile comparison of our respective progress in that department this month

let's be frank,  Jozabed being a SJ player doesn't fit the stance on stat man being the center of all our ills.
I've been told he was his man based on how SJ thought he would set up. We have changed now and that along with his issues adapting to being in England is why he's not playing.
Now you will say why spend the money and not play him, well that happens enough times where signings just don't work out.

And so Jozabed is not so much a bad player or a bad signing as a person who is failing to acclimatise in England which is a tricky problem to overcome, just as Martin's injury may be the result of feeling badly let down by the Club.   You really couldn't make all this up.  Who is the captain of this ship and do we have one because if we don't perhaps SJ should be given total charge?   

Sorry, but you seem to be making things up or at least siding with Martin on rather dodgy evidence and choosing to disbelieve Jokanovic, the medical staff and the club.

Listen to Jokanovic speaking after the Brighton match saying that the medical staff cannot find an injury and that Martin and Derby seem to be angling to take Martin back despite both having signed a contract that says he is here to the end of the year and beyond that if we want him it has been reported.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2017/january/03/brighton-press-conference

[Riversider]

Huddersfield Town signing Izzy Brown on loan is a great piece of business for them, I would have been delighted if we had got him,
He was causing us all kinds of problems when we played Rotherham , his injury was the turning point of the match,
Would have been a decent signing for us .

[spikey norman]

One of the other Fulham forums saying Ashkan Dejagah available on a free.
Is he worth a punt?

[@jolslover]

One of the other Fulham forums saying Ashkan Dejagah available on a free.
Is he worth a punt?

If we could get him on affordable wages I would say yes but dont think thats realistic so no.

[fulhamben]

One of the other Fulham forums saying Ashkan Dejagah available on a free.
Is he worth a punt?

If we could get him on affordable wages I would say yes but dont think thats realistic so no.

better than most of our players so a yes from me

[westcliff white]

Up to page 30 on this thread now, no signings, What page will we see our first new face? Predictions here please ......   049:gif

Personally don't think what page it gets to before a signing matters as long as we sign the right players to enhance the squad.

Can we also please keep the thread on track, plenty of other threads about t Martin on what ch to discuss his situation

Thanks all

[filham]

The Official Silly Transfer Thread used to be just that & I enjoyed clicking in every couple of days to see the thoughts & views of folk. It used to be fun but lately it's beginning to get hard work. Can we lighten it up please?

Difficult with Martingate hovering in the background, beginning to think that the priority at the moment is to get Martin off our hands so that we can then concentrate on the real need for a new striker.

[Fulham Tup North]

Up to page 30 on this thread now, no signings, What page will we see our first new face? Predictions here please ......   049:gif

Page 42!! I will keep adding rubbish just to get it moving along!
COYW

[Mince n Tatties]

Fulham have asked Standard L about Ibrihama Cisse,according to talknonsense.