August 2026 - December 2026
The season starts with yet another takeover rumour in the offing…
Actually, one of the first things I do is move another body into central midfield for a 4-3-1-2 formation, rather than the diamond, along with a couple of tactical tweaks and role changes, in an effort to stem the sheer number of shots we faced last season.
The last couple of weeks of the transfer window are busy:
20 year old defensive midfielder Flanagan comes in as a prospect, but in the first team and looking to usurp either Batty or Davenport from that central defensive midfielder role. He could be a key player going forward.
Moroccan right back El Fakiri comes in on a free, found in the Moroccan U21 national squad. We haven’t managed to get him out on loan, which means work permits are a problem, but we can keep going with this.
And finally, Aaron Wilson is brought in from Northern Ireland for, what I think will be a bargain, £600k. He will be straight in the first team as a direct replacement for Torraj who, after showing early promise, never really kicked on. £1m is a great price for Torraj.
We’ve moved up the league in terms of wage expenditure which is good - still pretty low compared to the rest of the league though.
- 18 year old attacking midfielder Henrique finally gets his work permit. I reckon he’ll be in the first team next season.
Championship -
Once again, the first half of the season has gone outstandingly well, as we’re keeping well clear of relegation and on our way to being a consistent mid-table team, even pushing the playoffs, but there’s no way we’ve got the team to stay there at the moment.
Carabao Cup -
A comfortable first leg win followed up by a penalty loss which was disappointing, but Norwich are one of the top teams in the league so a draw in normal time was a pretty good result. Kone missed the decisive spot-kick.
FA Cup -
we have been drawn away to Premier League Everton. Short run then!
Vickers is Mr Reliable between the posts with Talbot being a solid back-up. There is some thought to a longterm replacement being needed here and some prospect goalkeepers are being scouted.
This position has been pretty much up for grabs in the first half of the season. Brooking is probably the slightly better defender of the two but I’m reasonably happy with either until a much better option comes along.
Another position freely rotated. Borthwick-Jackson thinks he should be first choice left back, but Fage is the player more likely to provide assists.
No surprises here - Williams & Quansah are the first choice rocks at the back and quality options. Zoundi, on loan from FUlham, has been better than his rating suggests and McDonald is very much the experienced head.
New signing Flanagan is making his fee of £400k look like very good business. Cain has been moved further up the pitch to prevent him putting us at risk when giving the ball away with his Hollywood passes as often whilst Davenport and Goddard are doing most of the legwork in midfield. It’s usually been a middle three of Goddard Flanagan and Davenport.
The AMC positions have been rotated quite a lot with new signing Wilson having quite an impact and Helm having a very good season as well.
After a blistering start at Oldham, with 12 goals in 15 games last season, Soonsup-Bell has forgotten how to score. Unfortunately, this has coincided with a poor spell from Stewart as well which means we sometimes struggle at the top end. I’m desperate for Ross to perform and do well, but I just don’t think he has it in him at this level...a good offer and he’s reluctantly sold.
We started the season with 442 diamond, then moved to a 4312, then after a poor spell late October, November changed again...so we’re currently utilising a 4321 formation, which has given us a bit more balance across the middle.
The team stats are interesting for this part of the season. We’ve still conceded a lot of shots against - the second highest, but only 7th highest on target. We lead the league for shots blocked (probably unsurprisingly given the shots faced). From an attacking perspective, we’ve lost possession on the fewest occasions in the league and have the joint highest shot conversion rate.
With the transfer window opening, we’ve got a few players coming in - signed on a free.
In terms of outgoings, lots of players are wanted and some may be allowed to leave if the price is right. I’m definitely not going to be given any money to spend otherwise.
Some promising performances from Henrique means he’ll probably be in and around the first team next season. Oduor is still only 17, so he probably needs a couple more seasons on loan and the others are a bit of a mixed bag.
Elsewhere, Liverpool have been having a shocker in the Premier League sacking two managers since May. They are currently struggling in 6th place, below West Ham and Watford.