Thoughts on the window

[Eaglecoops]

The issue for me is the players that have come into the team play in positions where we didn’t necessarily need a player with the exception perhaps of Sarr.

Such is Glasner’s desire to get them into the side, the selections have become confused and the tactics muddled. We have gone from a team with a clear attacking plan to a muddled mess that appears to have little understanding between defence and midfield, or between midfield and attack.

Losing two starting players should not have made this difference yet here we are.

 

[Lanzo-Ad]

It’s been suggested that we didn’t go for a left footed right winger because there is a view that JRS will fill that void in due course and maybe even come January given we have the option to recall him. I guess that notion has some credibility if, as has also been suggested, we didn’t expect any champions league club to trigger Olise’s release clause this summer. If so it perhaps goes some way to explain why we find ourselves without the balance we had last season. It’ll be interesting to see what we do in the January window.

Yes, we all hope that long term replacement, but a left footed attacking player is crucial to the system, surely we could have loaned one.

 

[Lanzo-Ad]

Yeah of course. Not questioning the price, we did what we had to do to keep him for another year.

Only questioning this odd notion that we didn't expect any one to come and pay the price.

I think you know the players that when one, will go on to perform at a higher level.

For me Olise was certain, and IMO Wharton will do too

Always felt like Wilf would struggle elsewhere, and think Eze will do to.

Yes, you know i am Eze's greatest fan but unless he goes abroad, he should do a LeTissier

 

[MrRobbo]

Yes, you know i am Eze's greatest fan but unless he goes abroad, he should do a LeTissier

I reckon he might.

He doesn't have that Olise arrogance, so cant imagine him wanting to move abroad.

Dont think the top top teams will be interested, unless he can start performing at his best consistently.

We'll value him too highly for the lower top half teams to afford

 

[Lanzo-Ad]

Umeh-Chibueze and Asher Agbinone are on the bench regularly, is Agbinone left footed?​

 

[BromleyMonkey]

I reckon he might.

He doesn't have that Olise arrogance, so cant imagine him wanting to move abroad.

Dont think the top top teams will be interested, unless he can start performing at his best consistently.

We'll value him too highly for the lower top half teams to afford

This is why Wilf never got his big move, we all loved him and he could be brilliant, but he went missing for long periods

 

[PJEagle]

So although signing plenty of players we’ve actually made money this window, we’ve kept hold of Guehi and we’ve got the striker we’ve all craved who’s natural finishing ability has been likened to Ian Wright, Edouard is now someone else’s problem

Can’t be bad 😎

Edouard did quite well for us before being injured set him back. It's a great pity that Decoure is injured again. We could do with him against Pool on Saturday. On the other hand Hughes is much underestimated. I really hope that he plays and that Kamada is on the subs bench. His form doesnt merit starting and he still looks out of his depth

 

[BromleyMonkey]

Edouard did quite well for us before being injured set him back. It's a great pity that Decoure is injured again. We could do with him against Pool on Saturday. On the other hand Hughes is much underestimated. I really hope that he plays and that Kamada is on the subs bench. His form doesnt merit starting and he still looks out of his depth

I’ve not seen many who disagrees with you, we can’t all be wrong about Kamada, he gives us nothing. But sadly as he’s an ex-Eintract Frankfurt player playing under Glasner it was a signing he probably recommended and pushed for so I get the feeling he’s un-droppable at the moment

 

[ASCPFC]

Umeh-Chibueze and Asher Agbinone are on the bench regularly, is Agbinone left footed?​

Umeh is left footed but plays on the right wing - although I believe he can also play wing back, full back on the left too. I think he started doing pretty well there for the U21s - although really haven't watched them much this season so others would know better.
I believe Aginone can play across the line but I think he favours coming in from the left. I presume then that he can use both feet but is predominantly right footed. I think they could both be described as Inside forwards, who can play a few of those type of wing/attacking midfield roles.
I wondered if Umeh might come in for Mitchell at some stage. He's probably more attacking. But I don't even really know why I thought it. Something I heard or read. Could be completely wrong.

 

[PJEagle]

So although signing plenty of players we’ve actually made money this window, we’ve kept hold of Guehi and we’ve got the striker we’ve all craved who’s natural finishing ability has been likened to Ian Wright, Edouard is now someone else’s problem

Can’t be bad 😎

I dont think Glasner has found out yet the best way to use him, but a long way to go in the season

 

[PJEagle]

This is why Wilf never got his big move, we all loved him and he could be brilliant, but he went missing for long periods

Wilf never got the big move he craved because in my opinion, his moaning and negative attitude? He rarely had an off day for Palace in my opinion

 

[samprior]

When Olise left Nusa and Bellingham were said to be our main targets, one went to Leipzig the other stayed at Sunderland.

Then we were rumoured to have bid for Philogene and Smith-Rowe (went to Villa and Fulham respectively). I was scared of us paying big money for ESR at the time with his injury record but at present it's looking like good business for Fulham and exactly the type of player we're missing.

We already had Kamada and then added Sarr. Both I think will be useful at points in the season but I wouldn't say offer us much more than what Ayew did. Nketiah was the late addition which seemed to be a bit of an after thought once other targets were gone and his move to Forest was stalling. I do think he'll be a decent signing for us but his arrival has created problems with a Mateta partnership.

Previous targets that were strongly linked with the club were Illiman Ndiaye, Jonathan Rowe and Jack Clarke who all went elsewhere for reasonable fees. Maybe we were never fully interested in them but in my opinion they'd all be providing us with better options in attack than Kamada or Sarr as they fit the system better and at a younger age offer a greater chance of potential development.

This is obviously all with the power of hindsight and at the end of the window I was relatively happy but thought we'd add more in terms of young creative players.

For the late business I do feel sorry for Glasner and it feels we've still not come to terms with fitness issues brought on by a long summer for 7 key players. This has been reflected in our lineups where we've not had the same back 3 for consecutive Premier League games and have only once started with the same CM pairing for consecutive games. When you combine this with the problems in attack it's no wonder we've looked disjointed and the next couple of weeks on the training ground will be key, the obvious negative being we're now under huge pressure to perform and have passed up some good opportunities against bottom half teams.

A win tomorrow would be nice 😉

 

[Palacesince64]

When Olise left Nusa and Bellingham were said to be our main targets, one went to Leipzig the other stayed at Sunderland.

Then we were rumoured to have bid for Philogene and Smith-Rowe (went to Villa and Fulham respectively). I was scared of us paying big money for ESR at the time with his injury record but at present it's looking like good business for Fulham and exactly the type of player we're missing.

We already had Kamada and then added Sarr. Both I think will be useful at points in the season but I wouldn't say offer us much more than what Ayew did. Nketiah was the late addition which seemed to be a bit of an after thought once other targets were gone and his move to Forest was stalling. I do think he'll be a decent signing for us but his arrival has created problems with a Mateta partnership.

Previous targets that were strongly linked with the club were Illiman Ndiaye, Jonathan Rowe and Jack Clarke who all went elsewhere for reasonable fees. Maybe we were never fully interested in them but in my opinion they'd all be providing us with better options in attack than Kamada or Sarr as they fit the system better and at a younger age offer a greater chance of potential development.

This is obviously all with the power of hindsight and at the end of the window I was relatively happy but thought we'd add more in terms of young creative players.

For the late business I do feel sorry for Glasner and it feels we've still not come to terms with fitness issues brought on by a long summer for 7 key players. This has been reflected in our lineups where we've not had the same back 3 for consecutive Premier League games and have only once started with the same CM pairing for consecutive games. When you combine this with the problems in attack it's no wonder we've looked disjointed and the next couple of weeks on the training ground will be key, the obvious negative being we're now under huge pressure to perform and have passed up some good opportunities against bottom half teams.

A win tomorrow would be nice 😉

It would be a blooming miracle too!

 

[RubinsCube]

My thoughts on the window at the point it closed were very positive. "Upgrades" in key areas like CB, CF, and we kept hold of Guehi. We signed two talented players in Sarr and Kamada who could take over in the Olise role. In the back of my mind I was factoring in that Doucoure and Franca might be like new signings. I also felt there might be a face or two from the age groups knocking on the door (Umeh, Derry), and hoped one of those might be competition for Mitchell.

I still think similarly, but no new signing from the last window has made a dazzling impact for us yet. None of the age group players have broken through either.

I thought at the time and still think we sold the wrong goalkeeper (debatable, I know, and DH has made some amazing stops this year for us so credit where credit is due). I also worried at the time and still think we sold some key dressing room personalities: Ayew and Andersen. Olise is obviously a huge loss as last year it felt we were never out of games with him, Eze and Mateta firing. That top three also blew teams away in the first 30 mins, but there is no point crying over spilt milk and we move on. In any event, we had no control over the Olise deal.

What I think this window does highlight are some things we have not really had to worry about much since we came up in 2013: the need to move players on at the right times and bed players in quickly. Previously, we've had close to the same nucleus of players growing as a unit and getting us over the line season after season. But the model has now changed and we cannot take as long as we are to bed in players. We also need to look at contract lengths and terms much more strategically. Much as it pains me to say it, the scum on the coast seem to get players from all over the world and the players seem to produce their best form quickly. I think we need to work out how teams like this manage it and get some changes in at the club, whether that is contract terms, coaching, player recruitment itself, or whatever.

 

[PJEagle]

I think we’ve strengthened defensively at CB and La Croix is developing well. Kamada is a work in progress and should be dropped to the bench. Hughes should start. Eddie scored a great goal from an Eze through ball. But since then has looked a bit lost. Eddie and Mateta have the potential to be a potent partnership. But we have a small squad and badly miss Richards and Decoure. Wharton is hampered by injury. Eze has lost form and confidence but if he gets injured the heart of the team has gone. 😢 Our own very promising junior players still need two or three years of development. Poor Mitchell is soldiering on and we need urgent attacking LWB addition in the January window. A precarious situation

 

[Palacesince64]

I think we’ve strengthened defensively at CB and La Croix is developing well. Kamada is a work in progress and should be dropped to the bench. Hughes should start. Eddie scored a great goal from an Eze through ball. But since then has looked a bit lost. Eddie and Mateta have the potential to be a potent partnership. But we have a small squad and badly miss Richards and Decoure. Wharton is hampered by injury. Eze has lost form and confidence but if he gets injured the heart of the team has gone. 😢 Our own very promising junior players still need two or three years of development. Poor Mitchell is soldiering on and we need urgent attacking LWB addition in the January window. A precarious situation

Can’t argue with any of that

 

[PatrickA]

There appears to be a disconnect in the summer transfer strategy between the manager and the club.

This summer the club brought in long term Freedman targets Sarr and Nketiah and also Glasner's choices in Kamada and Lacroix.
It's questionable whether Kamada and Lacroix were on Freedman's radar, or whether Sarr and Nketiah were on Glasner's radar.
This disjointed approach has been reflected in the team's performances this season.
We don't look like the slick machine of the end of last season, instead resembling a bunch of strangers.
It's probably not a question of the new players being bad players.
It's more a question of whether they are what the club needs for the preferred 343 system.
Can time and patience fix this?
I would say it's questionable when there are square pegs in round holes.

During the window both Parish and Glasner said we were looking for a LWB and yet this is the position we didn't get.

We now are spoilt for choice at centre back, almost pushing us to play 3 at the back when the rest of the squad seems ill equipped to play the system.

We have some good players, but that alone doesn't mean a struggle will be avoided if we can't find the formula to get the best out of those players.

 

[DANGERCLOSE]

There appears to be a disconnect in the summer transfer strategy between the manager and the club.

This summer the club brought in long term Freedman targets Sarr and Nketiah and also Glasner's choices in Kamada and Lacroix.
It's questionable whether Kamada and Lacroix were on Freedman's radar, or whether Sarr and Nketiah were on Glasner's radar.
This disjointed approach has been reflected in the team's performances this season.
We don't look like the slick machine of the end of last season, instead resembling a bunch of strangers.
It's probably not a question of the new players being bad players.
It's more a question of whether they are what the club needs for the preferred 343 system.
Can time and patience fix this?
I would say it's questionable when there are square pegs in round holes.

During the window both Parish and Glasner said we were looking for a LWB and yet this is the position we didn't get.

We now are spoilt for choice at centre back, almost pushing us to play 3 at the back when the rest of the squad seems ill equipped to play the system.

We have some good players, but that alone doesn't mean a struggle will be avoided if we can't find the formula to get the best out of those players.

Agreed

 

[Palacesince64]

When the window closed I was pleased with the signings and even more so with the fact we retained Guehi and Eze. So far the new signings haven’t quite settled but I’m more concerned about the two we kept and the players we might have signed had we sold MG to the Saudis and Eze to Spuds. They’ve both been poor so far this season.

 

[PJEagle]

When the window closed I was pleased with the signings and even more so with the fact we retained Guehi and Eze. So far the new signings haven’t quite settled but I’m more concerned about the two we kept and the players we might have signed had we sold MG to the Saudis and Eze to Spuds. They’ve both been poor so far this season.

I think it was an excellent showing especially in the second half. I think Glasner is proving to be a good manager, who takes tough decisions. He dropped Mateta and Kamada to the bench . We lost narrowly to the best team atm in the PL. With two weeks off the recover and train we will be a better team, and Decoure will be a lot nearer fitness. But every match in the PL is a cup final