TRANSFER HISTORY:
View attachment 183090
It was a long, arduous and tiring transfer window but we managed to tick all boxes that we needed to tick as a massive inflow and outflow was seen at the Kassam Stadium. I know it is not healthy but I didn’t know we would progress so quickly and had to get the talent required and that meant letting go of certain players whom I liked but weren’t just good enough. We signed 15ish players and let a similar amount go although a few of them were on loan!
We also had many firsts this window as we went on a signing rampage. Let me list them out for you:
1)First time we have paid for so many players
2)Broke the record signing twice in one window
3)Loan player is legend at the club!
4)Highest Fee spent in a window
I signed valentin from Fulham breaking the club record before breaking it again by signing OBI! Leo Chambers is a legend at the club! If it isn’t surprising, I AM NOT A LEGEND YET! Well **** happens doesn’t it?
So anyway let me give a squad overview before we move on to pre-season. Life when the club was in League 2 was hard; in Championship it is even harder. Maybe I don’t want to manage in Premier League!
SQUAD OVERVIEW:
Goalkeepers:
Lee Nicholls: The ex-Wigan stopper usurped Slocombe as Number One with his fabulous shot stopping skills and ability to pull off stunners. Still prone to making the odd error, his long term future will depend on his performance this season.
Axel Kacou: 23 year old Ivorian who has been signed as back up after Slocombe was allowed to leave. He has potential but unlikely to fulfill it here. He will only get games if Nicholls is injured.
Position Rating : 3.5/5
Depth : 3/5
Full-Backs
Leo Chambers: The Oxford United LEGEND returns for another stint at the club and I will be looking to sign him when his contract ends at the end of the season. He will always be a brilliant championship player and can be a decent premier league backup.
Marnick Vermijil: I know what you lot are whispering about him being another Manchester United Academy Graduate but I can’t help it if they produce good players who can make career somewhere. An able deputy to Chambers, He can play at number of positions.
Cameron-Borthwick Jackson: Young Jackson has been progressing well and has the potential to be a brilliant Premier League defender. He will serve as a deputy for Aspas
.
Aitor Aspas: The ex-Celta and Valencia player can play anywhere on the left side and will be used as an attacking full back. He has very good pace and crossing skills but defensively he is slightly light and will have to improve there.
Position Rating : 4.5/5
Depth : 3.5/5
Central Defenders:
Alex Tuanzebe: Alex joins for another season as well and will be our best defender again. I hope to sign him if we get promoted. His understanding with Jackson is very decisive and his pace makes him a sure stay in my side.
Jack Wright: The aging captain continues to marshall the troop albeit a bit more from the bench. He will continue in the team as a backup unless he requests to leave.
Christopher Jullien: The French defender has improved enough to take over Wright and plays the perfect partner in crime to Tuanzebe with his reading of the game.
Nick Kuipers: Signed for 30K from Holland, he will serve as backup at Central Defense as well as left back.
Position Rating : 2.5/5
Depth : 3/5
Wingers:
Kemar Roofe: I don’t think much needs to be said. When I first joined, he had the ability to be a decent League 2 winger and now it reads good Championship winger!
Callum O’Dowda: Another player who has improved as well as Roofe but has been behind the scenes, scintillating speed and good crossing skill makes him a very dangerous speed.
Joel Obi: Unarguably our best and most high profile player. The ex-Inter and Torino player has loads of experience and is good enough for the Premier League. He is also our Highest Paid and most expensive player.
Marcus Agyei-Tabi: Signed after he was released from Arsenal, he can play anywhere in midfield and has good potential. He will be primarily serving as a backup but with some good performance you never know what he
can do.
Demetrio Steffe: A player signed purely for backup from Inter.
Position Rating : 4/5
Depth : 3.5/5
Central Midfielders:
John Lundstram: He is the best at the club after Obi and will prove to be a brilliant ball distributor in the Championship. He would be a good player for any side in this division but the premier league is a huge question mark.
Sean Goss: Signed on a second loan spell, Goss will be playing as rotation player to Lundstram. He might be signed by us at the end of his contract if he performs well this season.
Florent Cuvelier: The Belgian like Lundstram will get tested in Championship as this is the level he is actually capable of playing. After dictating play in League 2 and League 1, it will be interesting to see how he fares here.
Dave Williams: A player signed purely for backup from Aberdeen.
Position Rating : 4/5
Depth : 3/5
Forwards:
Liam Long: A gift of Parent Team Crystal Palace, he is a perfect False 9. Still very young, he adds to our huge pool of young and talented forwards.
Valentin: Our club record signing for a while, He was signed after a brilliant last season and I hope he replicates it again this season. The pressure this year will be much higher though.
Pierre Slidja: Signed on free as a rotation player, the young French forward has all the ingredients to be a successful false 9 with his pace, vision and flair. I hope he forms a good partnership with Valentin as I count of this 2 to lead the line for long term in the Championship.
Liam Cullen: A loan signing from Swansea who can play both centrally and on the right. He is slightly ahead of Slidja in terms of growth and development but both of them possess similar skill sets. I wanted a competitive forward line and I have got it!
Position Rating : 4.5/5
Depth : 4/5
KEY PLAYERS:
Leo Chambers
View attachment 183095
Alex Tuanzebe
View attachment 183094
Joel Obi
View attachment 183093
Kemar Roofe
View attachment 183092
P.S: Sorry for the long post
. I hope to upload pre-season and august today!
View attachment 183090
It was a long, arduous and tiring transfer window but we managed to tick all boxes that we needed to tick as a massive inflow and outflow was seen at the Kassam Stadium. I know it is not healthy but I didn’t know we would progress so quickly and had to get the talent required and that meant letting go of certain players whom I liked but weren’t just good enough. We signed 15ish players and let a similar amount go although a few of them were on loan!
We also had many firsts this window as we went on a signing rampage. Let me list them out for you:
1)First time we have paid for so many players
2)Broke the record signing twice in one window
3)Loan player is legend at the club!
4)Highest Fee spent in a window
I signed valentin from Fulham breaking the club record before breaking it again by signing OBI! Leo Chambers is a legend at the club! If it isn’t surprising, I AM NOT A LEGEND YET! Well **** happens doesn’t it?
So anyway let me give a squad overview before we move on to pre-season. Life when the club was in League 2 was hard; in Championship it is even harder. Maybe I don’t want to manage in Premier League!
SQUAD OVERVIEW:
Goalkeepers:
Lee Nicholls: The ex-Wigan stopper usurped Slocombe as Number One with his fabulous shot stopping skills and ability to pull off stunners. Still prone to making the odd error, his long term future will depend on his performance this season.
Axel Kacou: 23 year old Ivorian who has been signed as back up after Slocombe was allowed to leave. He has potential but unlikely to fulfill it here. He will only get games if Nicholls is injured.
Position Rating : 3.5/5
Depth : 3/5
Full-Backs
Leo Chambers: The Oxford United LEGEND returns for another stint at the club and I will be looking to sign him when his contract ends at the end of the season. He will always be a brilliant championship player and can be a decent premier league backup.
Marnick Vermijil: I know what you lot are whispering about him being another Manchester United Academy Graduate but I can’t help it if they produce good players who can make career somewhere. An able deputy to Chambers, He can play at number of positions.
Cameron-Borthwick Jackson: Young Jackson has been progressing well and has the potential to be a brilliant Premier League defender. He will serve as a deputy for Aspas
.
Aitor Aspas: The ex-Celta and Valencia player can play anywhere on the left side and will be used as an attacking full back. He has very good pace and crossing skills but defensively he is slightly light and will have to improve there.
Position Rating : 4.5/5
Depth : 3.5/5
Central Defenders:
Alex Tuanzebe: Alex joins for another season as well and will be our best defender again. I hope to sign him if we get promoted. His understanding with Jackson is very decisive and his pace makes him a sure stay in my side.
Jack Wright: The aging captain continues to marshall the troop albeit a bit more from the bench. He will continue in the team as a backup unless he requests to leave.
Christopher Jullien: The French defender has improved enough to take over Wright and plays the perfect partner in crime to Tuanzebe with his reading of the game.
Nick Kuipers: Signed for 30K from Holland, he will serve as backup at Central Defense as well as left back.
Position Rating : 2.5/5
Depth : 3/5
Wingers:
Kemar Roofe: I don’t think much needs to be said. When I first joined, he had the ability to be a decent League 2 winger and now it reads good Championship winger!
Callum O’Dowda: Another player who has improved as well as Roofe but has been behind the scenes, scintillating speed and good crossing skill makes him a very dangerous speed.
Joel Obi: Unarguably our best and most high profile player. The ex-Inter and Torino player has loads of experience and is good enough for the Premier League. He is also our Highest Paid and most expensive player.
Marcus Agyei-Tabi: Signed after he was released from Arsenal, he can play anywhere in midfield and has good potential. He will be primarily serving as a backup but with some good performance you never know what he
can do.
Demetrio Steffe: A player signed purely for backup from Inter.
Position Rating : 4/5
Depth : 3.5/5
Central Midfielders:
John Lundstram: He is the best at the club after Obi and will prove to be a brilliant ball distributor in the Championship. He would be a good player for any side in this division but the premier league is a huge question mark.
Sean Goss: Signed on a second loan spell, Goss will be playing as rotation player to Lundstram. He might be signed by us at the end of his contract if he performs well this season.
Florent Cuvelier: The Belgian like Lundstram will get tested in Championship as this is the level he is actually capable of playing. After dictating play in League 2 and League 1, it will be interesting to see how he fares here.
Dave Williams: A player signed purely for backup from Aberdeen.
Position Rating : 4/5
Depth : 3/5
Forwards:
Liam Long: A gift of Parent Team Crystal Palace, he is a perfect False 9. Still very young, he adds to our huge pool of young and talented forwards.
Valentin: Our club record signing for a while, He was signed after a brilliant last season and I hope he replicates it again this season. The pressure this year will be much higher though.
Pierre Slidja: Signed on free as a rotation player, the young French forward has all the ingredients to be a successful false 9 with his pace, vision and flair. I hope he forms a good partnership with Valentin as I count of this 2 to lead the line for long term in the Championship.
Liam Cullen: A loan signing from Swansea who can play both centrally and on the right. He is slightly ahead of Slidja in terms of growth and development but both of them possess similar skill sets. I wanted a competitive forward line and I have got it!
Position Rating : 4.5/5
Depth : 4/5
KEY PLAYERS:
Leo Chambers
View attachment 183095
Alex Tuanzebe
View attachment 183094
Joel Obi
View attachment 183093
Kemar Roofe
View attachment 183092
P.S: Sorry for the long post
. I hope to upload pre-season and august today!
