KdyArab wrote:

So unless something is up our sleeve we will come out of a 2 week international break where we have been crying out for additions and we won’t have any new signings. Very disappointing.

 
We’re obviously biding our time to see what will pop up down south towards the end of their window. If the window finished normally would definitely have two or three more bodies in imo

The lack of imminent transfers is worrying. I'm not so cynical right now to claims it's deliberate BS though. I do think the club is trying, just things are not falling well for us.

Agree with JerryDungle, if circa 500k is what Sepsi want then that is crazy money when he can be picked up in Jan on a pre-contract. I like him, but not that much.

As long as we have the right players in by nearer the end of the month, I can tolerate it.

I don't like being a Yes man for the club but ultimately we wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for Hearts /Partick Thistle. It would've been easier to pick up a player or two when clubs weren't sure when the next cash windfall was coming in. Clubs now have a certain idea of how things are going to run this season, therefore there's no panic to offload players in a hurry.

Last edited by Morphman (06/9/2020 9:30 pm)

Tek wrote:

JerryDungle wrote:

Tek wrote:

I wonder what bullshit rumour will be fed to Scott Burns this week to keep the support at arms length for another week?


 

 
Don’t know if it’s fair to call it bullshit, United have clearly been trying to make deals happen for Pav and Norwood. Pav admitted as much on his Instagram.

As good as he was for us, would you honestly pay the 600k that his club are wanting for him?

Fwiw, I reckon Ipswich will soften their stance on Norwood towards the end of the transfer window, it seems like the boy doesn’t want to be there, and if no serious offers come in for him, they might end up in a position where they just need to take what they can get for him.

No, not worth paying 600k for.

Or even 100k loan fee imo

Since the rumour broke i was of the opinion that.

1) He wasn't the type of Centre Forward we needed
2) It was a non-starter due to his wages and fee Sepsi wanted for his services longterm or short term.

Though it goes without saying that if he still signs, i sincerely hope he does well and proves my doubts wrong.

It is worrying to me that in September we are scrambling about trying to get Safranko in on loan etc. A player who MM will know nothing of incidentally.

With all the time off Asghar and Co had off during lockdown i expected an extensive dossier of available players and signing targers to have been compiled. All within our wage bracket and all available for little or no fee.

It feels to me like we are 'winging it' here. Not good enough and is gonna cost us valuable points week on week.

I feel that regardless of who we sign upfront they will struggle to score without service and this needs rectified just as quickly as the signing of a Striker.
 

This for me also.

KdyArab wrote:

Record now saying we are no longer interested in Norwood. This is fast becoming a shambles.

I get what you are saying, but for me I don't really care about at this "shambles".  What really matters is that we have a squad capable of getting the results we need.  It may be that we have prematurely leaked some names to the press, or it may be coming from agents or whatever.  

What is starting to concern me is that based on who we are being linked with we seem to have the funds available to make some key signings, and yet the clock is ticking and there are obvious holes in the squad that have not been plugged.

All will be forgiven if by the end of the window we have done some good business, and more importantly if we end up in a decent league position.

Agree with most of what has been said above it like we are asleep at the wheel. The last two games we have not laid a glove on our opponents albeit they were two difficult games it was as clear to all that we lacked creativity last season and without new blood what do we really expect!

Safranko would have been a great signing in my opinion technically good with the ball and works his socks off when he not however the priority still is a creative centre midfielder who can pick a pass.

Fuck knows what our scouting policy is but we need to add and quickly.

I'm sure the club is working on getting some movement in the squad before 5th October (when the window slams shut) and think it's quite a stretch to think that they used Scott Burns to distract the supporters following the Killie defeat. That would have required Safranko to play along with the charade, which is highly unlikely.

There are four more matches before the window closes, and anything from Saturday is a bonus, so probably three winnable games which the present squad could be capable of, if Shankland is back and fit. I'd leave him out on Saturday unless he's 100% ok.

As others have said on here, the upheaval caused by Hearts on two fronts has affected United's planning over and above the Covid crisis which hit football generally, but I'll endorse criticism of the scouting set up and Tony Asghar and Micky Mellon if we don't have a more balanced looking squad on the morning of 6th October, 4 weeks tomorrow.

The type of Centre Forward we need imo is a Lyndon Dykes type.

Who was right under our nose for 3 years at QotS.

JerryDungle wrote:

Are the funds really there though?

From what I’m told, they aren’t. That’s not to say we’re in dire straits financially, but anyone expecting a late flurry of signings in this window is gonna be disappointed.

Nobody knows how hard Mark Ogren’s businesses have been hit Stateside, and if he’s having to pare back his investment for the time being, nobody can really grumble tbh. The man’s bankrolled us to get to the position we’re in now, so deserves a bit of patience from the fans during the pandemic.

We all want new signings, and we can all see what’s needed, but we have to be realistic and temper our expectations for the time being, nobody expected what’s happened to happen. And between the Court case, the uncertainty for months of what league we were gonna be in, losing our manager and everything else that’s gone on, the club’s still managed to stave off job losses, keeping food on the table for players and coaches with young families, something that needs to be remembered and applauded. Plenty other teams have basically went to a skeleton operation, asking people to work for free, Dens for example is closed until May aside from match days.

We’ll be fine this season, it might not be pretty, but one bad result won’t define our season, we’ve got enough grit and organisation about us to be better than a handful of clubs over the piece.

Safranko’s a decent player, but with good coaching and hours on the training field, Appere could perform a similar role to Pav, he’s big, strong, quick, unselfish and hard working, all similar attributes to those that Safranko brought to us, and all attributes that are required in a good target man, with a run of games in that position, he might be closest thing we’ll get this season.

Same with the creative centre mid we need, Glass or Mochrie might need to step up to take that role. Left wing’s probably the most concerning area for me, Chalmers for me, hasn’t shown much to suggest he’ll be a top player for us, strikes me as Ryan Dow mk II

Great post 

PatReilly wrote:

Lyndon Dykes has perhaps matured over the last year or so, but it could be that clubs looked into his character and thought he may be disruptive to the dressing room and general set up. He also wasn't an out-and-out number 9 at QoS, often playing wide or off the main striker.

He's hardly been prolific at Livingston, but QPR have decided to gamble and pay over the odds for him. Hope he does well and continues to improve, but I can't remember any clamour to sign him when he was available and within our budget, so it's water under the bridge now.

He showed enough for me.

I always liked him at Qots. A lot of Dobbie's goals came about from his strong hold up play. He chipped in with good goals too. Including this one where he nutmegged Siegrest.


Anyway, by the by now.


 

PatReilly wrote:

Louis Appere could do a good job supporting a striker when he comes to terms with this league.
 

IF he comes to terms with this league. He hasn't looked up to much at all so far.

Butcher played well against Celtic.

Appere's not been at the races so far. Hopefully it will come though.

A bit of hysteria going around the boards at the minute. EF talking about getting Sow back ffs!

Think people just need to calm down, couple of weeks ago we looked great and now after a bad defeat ( which we had a plenty last season) and it's panic stations.

Remember that we aim to stay up before anything else and there will be plenty of winnable games ahead after this weekend.

Yes we need bodies, but we have to get the right ones, there won't be an air of forgiveness around if we sign any old shite will there?

Stay calm and watch United 😋

Arab93 wrote:

Apparently the boy Hoti signing, any truth? Anyone know anything about him?

Supposedly a 2 year deal.

And in line for a call-up to Kosova's International set-up.

Turned down a new deal at Rochdale in the Summer.

Kinda like that there is a bit of a mystique about him and there's little to no info to be had about him available. Feels like an old school foreign signing pre-internet.