January 2024 transfer window thread.

[hollo]

Brereton - Diaz looks lively. Could Hobbs have not looked into loaning him in for us from Villareal ? We had the bargaining chips of mosquera and guedes.

 

[Northampton_wolf]

What’s the back line look like then?

Toti and Mosq?

Toti, Mosq and Santi?

Mosquera toti kilman

Mosquera toti santi

 

[Hawkguy]

You'd start him over Neto, Cunha and Hwang?

No. But wasn't there a penalty put into their the loan that he has to play so much, if fit, or Chelsea gets paid a penalty?

 

[wwbug]

Summer we will be much more active

Why ?

 

[WW1963]

Why ?

I think we'll be active, too. I'd imagine that Neto and possibly RAN will be off, plus a few lesser lights. Surely £100m would give us some FFP room to sign some players for the kind of sums we paid to West Ham for Dawson and will pay City for Doyle.

I much prefer signings like that than the £100m we spaffed on Guedes, Silva and Sasa

 

[thommo1984]

No. But wasn't there a penalty put into their the loan that he has to play so much, if fit, or Chelsea gets paid a penalty?

No, the maximum they'll pay is £4m. The more he plays the less they'll pay.

 

[theweave]

No. But wasn't there a penalty put into their the loan that he has to play so much, if fit, or Chelsea gets paid a penalty?

Yeah, that's why it didn't suit us. When Hwang is back he'd be on the bench

 

[wolvesjoe]

Many of the comments seem to be a surreal attempt to justify an absurd failure by Fosun to strengthen the team, when the
whole month of the transfer window has been devoted to the need to strengthen the team.

The club let strikers go out on loan, Fabio, Sasa and Guedes, while failing to recruit a striker.

Oneil has been cut off at the knees in public as he called for a striker repeatedly.

Its a public humiliation for the club, and shows the club as lacking ambition and strategy.

At worst, it presents the board adn Matt Hobbs as duplicitous, and even Oneil has come out in public and said
that he doesnt know why, whether it is just no money or something to do with FFP/PSR.

We dont yet know how much damage has been done . Can Oneil rally the troops, and can the near miraculous
run without injuries continue? Of is it more likely that a domino effect of this fiasco will now ripple through the club:

Run of defeats and being knocked out of the cup.

Loss of star players in summer.

Oneil begins to look at his options.

Matt Hobbs begins to look at his options.

Relegation struggle next season.

Disenchantment in the fan base.

All possible, even likely. The Premier league has little mercy on clubs which make mistakes.

 

[wolfgar]

Many of the comments seem to be a surreal attempt to justify an absurd failure by Fosun to strengthen the team, when the
whole month of the transfer window has been devoted to the need to strengthen the team.

The club let strikers go out on loan, Fabio, Sasa and Guedes, while failing to recruit a striker.

Oneil has been cut off at the knees in public as he called for a striker repeatedly.

Its a public humiliation for the club, and shows the club as lacking ambition and strategy.

At worst, it presents the board adn Matt Hobbs as duplicitous, and even Oneil has come out in public and said
that he doesnt know why, whether it is just no money or something to do with FFP/PSR.

We dont yet know how much damage has been done . Can Oneil rally the troops, and can the near miraculous
run without injuries continue? Of is it more likely that a domino effect of this fiasco will now ripple through the club:

Run of defeats and being knocked out of the cup.

Loss of star players in summer.

Oneil begins to look at his options.

Matt Hobbs begins to look at his options.

Relegation struggle next season.

Disenchantment in the fan base.

All possible, even likely. The Premier league has little mercy on clubs which make mistakes.

It could just as easily be that we avoid an injury crisis, continue to do ok for the rest of the season and sign some decent players and improve the squad in the summer though couldn’t it? Perhaps even more likely? You are presenting a doomsday scenario here rather? Not saying everything will be peachy, but I think we are far less likely to struggle in the summer than several other clubs will personally? Despite a bit if frustration in Jan, GON and Hobbs have both got pretty decent jobs here?

 

[sillytuna]

Many of the comments seem to be a surreal attempt to justify an absurd failure by Fosun to strengthen the team, when the
whole month of the transfer window has been devoted to the need to strengthen the team.

The club let strikers go out on loan, Fabio, Sasa and Guedes, while failing to recruit a striker.

Oneil has been cut off at the knees in public as he called for a striker repeatedly.

Its a public humiliation for the club, and shows the club as lacking ambition and strategy.

At worst, it presents the board adn Matt Hobbs as duplicitous, and even Oneil has come out in public and said
that he doesnt know why, whether it is just no money or something to do with FFP/PSR.

We dont yet know how much damage has been done . Can Oneil rally the troops, and can the near miraculous
run without injuries continue? Of is it more likely that a domino effect of this fiasco will now ripple through the club:

Run of defeats and being knocked out of the cup.

Loss of star players in summer.

Oneil begins to look at his options.

Matt Hobbs begins to look at his options.

Relegation struggle next season.

Disenchantment in the fan base.

All possible, even likely. The Premier league has little mercy on clubs which make mistakes.

I mean, it takes quite some twisting to read it like this joe. Have you not seen what's happening elsewhere and our own performances?

Also, you, like others, read far (far) too much into completely normal pre match interviews designed to ellicit responses such as wanting another striker or whatever. Happens literally everywhere.

We'd all have preferred another body but very little came up in the market, and we are not desperate this time. Not even close! We've survived both neto and hwang being missing.

We're midtable with (sorry) little chance of europe because frankly we're not good enough, and you don't buy players for cup games. That's insanity.

No wonder when rich fans take over clubs the end up a disaster.

 

[wolvesjoe]

Just thinking about this some more after a post in another thread.

For the clubs with huge turnovers, who are also limited by the 70% cap on wages/transfers, you're right, their profits will be huge.

Where will those profits go? Some will go on costs of running the clubs, some will go on infrastructure. But I'd imagine, like with any other business, excess profits will no doubt be paid out as dividends to shareholders.

There's been a huge influx of wealthy owners to the PL in the past few years. In particular American private equity or venture capitalist investors (Villa, Bournemouth, Palace), as well as Man United's recent sale to Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Based on the new rules that were coming in, do you think these investors may have sniffed out an opportunity that there might actually be some money to be made in football over the next few years? That potential dividends on profits that can't be spent might actually make it a decent long-term, money-making enterprise?

Absolutely, I believe that to be the case.

These new rules represent an earthquake in the Premier League era, and the move to a more American logic is critical to that process.

The benefactor model had to be eliminated for the commercial logic to be introduced.

Important to underline the extent of the change, however, as many, including myself, have underestimated what is happening.

It is not just a salary cap. It was posited for a long time that clubs should aim at a 65-70% wages limit of turnover. But this was
before turnover increased hugely, allowing for the % to be raised.

But the key, transformative difference is that the 70% limit now includes transfer fees, (on an amortised basis). This means quite simply that all clubs will operate profitably, and the bigger the turnover the higher the profits.

So no surprise that the vultures have realised that there is money to be made, alongside the usual status reasons to own a football club.

Now there will be, and it has already started, some pushback. See Martin Samuel at TheTimes who has written about this.

But it seems to remain the case that very few people are looking down the line at what this will mean for football as a whole.

 

[wolvesjoe]

I mean, it takes quite some twisting to read it like this joe. Have you not seen what's happening elsewhere and our own performances?

Also, you, like others, read far (far) too much into completely normal pre match interviews designed to ellicit responses such as wanting another striker or whatever. Happens literally everywhere.

We'd all have preferred another body but very little came up in the market, and we are not desperate this time. Not even close! We've survived both neto and hwang being missing.

We're midtable with (sorry) little chance of europe because frankly we're not good enough, and you don't buy players for cup games. That's insanity.

No wonder when rich fans take over clubs the end up a disaster.

Defeatist nonsense, unable to look reality in the eye.

 

[wolvesjoe]

It could just as easily be that we avoid an injury crisis, continue to do ok for the rest of the season and sign some decent players and improve the squad in the summer though couldn’t it? Perhaps even more likely? You are presenting a doomsday scenario here rather? Not saying everything will be peachy, but I think we are far less likely to struggle in the summer than several other clubs will personally? Despite a bit if frustration in Jan, GON and Hobbs have both got pretty decent jobs here?

Yes, they do have good jobs, but are also in the prime position and age to make the switch to another club, based on their good performances.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

Many of the comments seem to be a surreal attempt to justify an absurd failure by Fosun to strengthen the team, when the
whole month of the transfer window has been devoted to the need to strengthen the team.

The club let strikers go out on loan, Fabio, Sasa and Guedes, while failing to recruit a striker.

Oneil has been cut off at the knees in public as he called for a striker repeatedly.

Its a public humiliation for the club, and shows the club as lacking ambition and strategy.

At worst, it presents the board adn Matt Hobbs as duplicitous, and even Oneil has come out in public and said
that he doesnt know why, whether it is just no money or something to do with FFP/PSR.

We dont yet know how much damage has been done . Can Oneil rally the troops, and can the near miraculous
run without injuries continue? Of is it more likely that a domino effect of this fiasco will now ripple through the club:

Run of defeats and being knocked out of the cup.

Loss of star players in summer.

Oneil begins to look at his options.

Matt Hobbs begins to look at his options.

Relegation struggle next season.

Disenchantment in the fan base.

All possible, even likely. The Premier league has little mercy on clubs which make mistakes.

Wow. Have you been reading too many dystopian novels? Can I suggest you hide the razor blades and keep away from open windows.

We are mid table, playing exciting football, scoring more goals than, we'll, since I can remember. Not buying a striker creates a space for someone else to come through.

Just look on the bright side of life. Da-dum, da-dum, dadum, dadum.

 

[wolfgar]

Yes, they do have good jobs, but are also in the prime position and age to make the switch to another club, based on their good performances.

Thats why there can be no excuses for fannying about this summer. Hobbs needs resources to work with and GON needs backing. A failure to continue doing that would probably see us lose both before long, but I can’t imagine that this will be the case? No guarantees though of course.

 

[Aylesbury Wolf]

Many of the comments seem to be a surreal attempt to justify an absurd failure by Fosun to strengthen the team, when the
whole month of the transfer window has been devoted to the need to strengthen the team.

The club let strikers go out on loan, Fabio, Sasa and Guedes, while failing to recruit a striker.

Oneil has been cut off at the knees in public as he called for a striker repeatedly.

Its a public humiliation for the club, and shows the club as lacking ambition and strategy.

At worst, it presents the board adn Matt Hobbs as duplicitous, and even Oneil has come out in public and said
that he doesnt know why, whether it is just no money or something to do with FFP/PSR.

We dont yet know how much damage has been done . Can Oneil rally the troops, and can the near miraculous
run without injuries continue? Of is it more likely that a domino effect of this fiasco will now ripple through the club:

Run of defeats and being knocked out of the cup.

Loss of star players in summer.

Oneil begins to look at his options.

Matt Hobbs begins to look at his options.

Relegation struggle next season.

Disenchantment in the fan base.

All possible, even likely. The Premier league has little mercy on clubs which make mistakes.

Drama Queens are out in force again this morning.........

 

[sillytuna]

Absolutely, I believe that to be the case.

These new rules represent an earthquake in the Premier League era, and the move to a more American logic is critical to that process.

The benefactor model had to be eliminated for the commercial logic to be introduced.

Important to underline the extent of the change, however, as many, including myself, have underestimated what is happening.

It is not just a salary cap. It was posited for a long time that clubs should aim at a 65-70% wages limit of turnover. But this was
before turnover increased hugely, allowing for the % to be raised.

But the key, transformative difference is that the 70% limit now includes transfer fees, (on an amortised basis). This means quite simply that all clubs will operate profitably, and the bigger the turnover the higher the profits.

So no surprise that the vultures have realised that there is money to be made, alongside the usual status reasons to own a football club.

Now there will be, and it has already started, some pushback. See Martin Samuel at TheTimes who has written about this.

But it seems to remain the case that very few people are looking down the line at what this will mean for football as a whole.

Good post. I mentioned before that this could affect the prem like it did F1. Teams could actually be profitable and that's a good thing.

The issue I have is the payment structures in the prem already favour the more successful teams, who typically have the better income. We need a better balanced system to create a fairer league which is better for the sport as a whole.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

Good post. I mentioned before that this could affect the prem like it did F1. Teams could actually be profitable and that's a good thing.

The issue I have is the payment structures in the prem already favour the more successful teams, who typically have the better income. We need a better balanced system to create a fairer league which is better for the sport as a whole.

Yes, exactly. Give them £1m limit each on transfers pa and see who is the best.

 

[Hawkguy]

Many of the comments seem to be a surreal attempt to justify an absurd failure by Fosun to strengthen the team, when the
whole month of the transfer window has been devoted to the need to strengthen the team.

The club let strikers go out on loan, Fabio, Sasa and Guedes, while failing to recruit a striker.

Oneil has been cut off at the knees in public as he called for a striker repeatedly.

Its a public humiliation for the club, and shows the club as lacking ambition and strategy.

At worst, it presents the board adn Matt Hobbs as duplicitous, and even Oneil has come out in public and said
that he doesnt know why, whether it is just no money or something to do with FFP/PSR.

We dont yet know how much damage has been done . Can Oneil rally the troops, and can the near miraculous
run without injuries continue? Of is it more likely that a domino effect of this fiasco will now ripple through the club:

Run of defeats and being knocked out of the cup.

Loss of star players in summer.

Oneil begins to look at his options.

Matt Hobbs begins to look at his options.

Relegation struggle next season.

Disenchantment in the fan base.

All possible, even likely. The Premier league has little mercy on clubs which make mistakes.

I honestly wonder how you walk out the door in the morning without thinking you're going to be struck by a falling helicopter that is crashing from hitting a unicorn.

 

[sillytuna]

Defeatist nonsense, unable to look reality in the eye.

I admire your excitement but only one of us is ignoring reality Joe.

If you're talking about euro places - sure, we could make it but that'd be a huge shock given where we were in August. We aren't one substitute from being a top six team and nor do we have money for much anyway. In addition, there were barely any sales across the league.

Maybe we could have spent £5m and taken the financial risk that entails but it would have been for a reserve for 3 months and may ( I don't know ) have incurred financial penalty risk. It would definitely have meant less money for the future and we clearly didn't want to get stuck with a player longer term unless they were a long term target that made sense. And even then you need to actually agree the deal with clubs and player, which is so much harder than people realise.

I'm finding the hand wringing over January's movements absolutely crazy. We go from relegation candidates to european candidates depending on the last game or think that the difference is one unknown substitute number 9. It's madness because neither is true. The lines are just not that fine.

So is this rubbish I keep reading about how GON is some superstar who has been let down and how he may leave. He was a cheap, inexperienced manager who was rubbish at first and blamed everyone but himself, then earned a huge amount of credit for a turnaround where we even play exciting football at times. He's neither as bad as many of us thought or as good (yet) as some are making out - none of us know the future for him but he damn sure isn't facing a situation he didn't know about when he joined.

Should the club have left both strikers leave? I'd have preferred one to stay for sure but I do understand why they let them leave. We would have had to cover wages, neither player was getting game time, and both were seemingly unhappy. GON really didn't want to play either of them and does understandably want a player who fits us better. Has he been let down? Hell no. The club are just dealing with the realities of the market.

Other managers have been let down. GON may be let down in future. January wasn't it.

 

[wolvesjoe]

I admire your excitement but only one of us is ignoring reality Joe.

If you're talking about euro places - sure, we could make it but that'd be a huge shock given where we were in August. We aren't one substitute from being a top six team and nor do we have money for much anyway. In addition, there were barely any sales across the league.

Maybe we could have spent £5m and taken the financial risk that entails but it would have been for a reserve for 3 months and may ( I don't know ) have incurred financial penalty risk. It would definitely have meant less money for the future and we clearly didn't want to get stuck with a player longer term unless they were a long term target that made sense. And even then you need to actually agree the deal with clubs and player, which is so much harder than people realise.

I'm finding the hand wringing over January's movements absolutely crazy. We go from relegation candidates to european candidates depending on the last game or think that the difference is one unknown substitute number 9. It's madness because neither is true. The lines are just not that fine.

So is this rubbish I keep reading about how GON is some superstar who has been let down and how he may leave. He was a cheap, inexperienced manager who was rubbish at first and blamed everyone but himself, then earned a huge amount of credit for a turnaround where we even play exciting football at times. He's neither as bad as many of us thought or as good (yet) as some are making out - none of us know the future for him but he damn sure isn't facing a situation he didn't know about when he joined.

Should the club have left both strikers leave? I'd have preferred one to stay for sure but I do understand why they let them leave. We would have had to cover wages, neither player was getting game time, and both were seemingly unhappy. GON really didn't want to play either of them and does understandably want a player who fits us better. Has he been let down? Hell no. The club are just dealing with the realities of the market.

Other managers have been let down. GON may be let down in future. January wasn't it.

Look at Wolves form since the opening 6 games.

Its consistent top half of the table form, nothing to do with reacting to one game.

Comparison with current club in 6th place, West Ham:

Last 15 games, Wolves have 28 points, West Ham only 26 points. If the results stay the same today, then it becomes 31 v 26, even clearer.

Wolves have sustained 6th place form, and a couple of very difficult FA cup ties successfully negotiated.

Its weird in many ways that fans have such low expectations, and accept Fosun's see-saw, negligent and unambitious policy as
somehow legitimate.

Fosun's failure to invest this January has nothing to do with any football reasons or indeed spending limits. Huge reductions in the wage bill, and
major profits on player trading left the club with clear scope to back Oneil. Its Fosun's own problems that are hampering the club.

 

[sillytuna]

Fosun's failure to invest this January has nothing to do with any football reasons or indeed spending limits. Huge reductions in the wage bill, and
major profits on player trading left the club with clear scope to back Oneil. Its Fosun's own problems that are hampering the club.

Sorry Joe but you've got the blinkers on here. It's got nothing to do with Fosun and everything to do with premier league wide finances.

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

Look at Wolves form since the opening 6 games.

That is because after 6 games we knew that the authorities would do anything to cheat us out of points so we had to be even better to overcome this.

 

[Skrilla]

Look at Wolves form since the opening 6 games.

Its consistent top half of the table form, nothing to do with reacting to one game.

Comparison with current club in 6th place, West Ham:

Last 15 games, Wolves have 28 points, West Ham only 26 points. If the results stay the same today, then it becomes 31 v 26, even clearer.

Wolves have sustained 6th place form, and a couple of very difficult FA cup ties successfully negotiated.

Its weird in many ways that fans have such low expectations, and accept Fosun's see-saw, negligent and unambitious policy as
somehow legitimate.

Fosun's failure to invest this January has nothing to do with any football reasons or indeed spending limits. Huge reductions in the wage bill, and
major profits on player trading left the club with clear scope to back Oneil. Its Fosun's own problems that are hampering the club.

As I said to WATW (and I received no reply ironically), prove it. The black and white tells us we lost £46m in 21/22 and roughly £70m in 22/23 according to John Percy. That puts us at £115m~ in losses over those two seasons, meaning we had to make a substantial profit this season to stay under £105m permitted losses over three seasons. Your conspiracy is based on pure conjecture.

 

[Darvo]

Look at Wolves form since the opening 6 games.

Its consistent top half of the table form, nothing to do with reacting to one game.

Comparison with current club in 6th place, West Ham:

Last 15 games, Wolves have 28 points, West Ham only 26 points. If the results stay the same today, then it becomes 31 v 26, even clearer.

Wolves have sustained 6th place form, and a couple of very difficult FA cup ties successfully negotiated.

Its weird in many ways that fans have such low expectations, and accept Fosun's see-saw, negligent and unambitious policy as
somehow legitimate.

Fosun's failure to invest this January has nothing to do with any football reasons or indeed spending limits. Huge reductions in the wage bill, and
major profits on player trading left the club with clear scope to back Oneil. Its Fosun's own problems that are hampering the club.

A lot of Wolves fans still haven’t woke up to just how good our form has been over a fairly long stretch of games. Keep the main men fit and aim for the ceiling.

 

[sillytuna]

A lot of Wolves fans still haven’t woke up to just how good our form has been over a fairly long stretch of games. Keep the main men fit and aim for the ceiling.

No one is saying we shouldn't do that but also a little dose of reality - we lost 4-3 in a cracking game with Utd and the verdict thread was full of the sky falling in and our defence are shot to pieces.

Joe's belief is that we can spend millions and are being lied to. The facts say completely differently - this window at least. Come July-August, we'll see.

 

[Hawkguy]

No one is saying we shouldn't do that but also a little dose of reality - we lost 4-3 in a cracking game with Utd and the verdict thread was full of the sky falling in and our defence are shot to pieces.

Joe's belief is that we can spend millions and are being lied to. The facts say completely differently - this window at least. Come July-August, we'll see.

To be fair, our back 3 isn't great. Toti isn't anything special. Kilman is anyone's guess. Somedays he's the best player on the pitch, other days it's like there's no one knocking inside. Dawson is a very solid vet, but aging.

It's not as bad as some people make it seem, but we could definitely use an upgrade there. In fact, I think CB is by far our weakest position.

 

[Bostin]

Hwang and Cunha have 19 goals between them. Neto is back on form

Midfield is quality, wing backs are quality.

The only place we need to improve is centre back, the goalkeeper and competition for places IMO.

 

[Evthewolf]

Even if the club could have spent plenty of cash, they have probably changed policy and won’t spend a large amount on a player just because someone with a vested interest says we should. Lessons learned there, hopefully.

I am actually hoping that part of the reason is because we, (like was touted in the Nuno era), look for players with a certain profile and maintain a no Richardhead policy.

The same as when you buy something for yourself. It’s false economy buying something because it’s cheap or available but you don’t really want. Long term, it’ll need replacing. Also, there’s no point in trying to force the pieces from a different jigsaw into the spaces that need filling.

 

[Wolf316]

Hwang and Cunha have 19 goals between them. Neto is back on form

Midfield is quality, wing backs are quality.

The only place we need to improve is centre back, the goalkeeper and competition for places IMO.

Mosquera will be here next season and Santi looks pretty decent too.

 

[Woolywolf]

Hobbs and GON are proving that as a pair they can find shrewd investments and develop their value. When the finances are more comfortable let’s hope it encourages Fosun to trust this and invest proactively. Will see us having to get used to selling our top players, but will also see us have a constant flow of top talent. Think this is a more positive angle on the self sustaining model

 

[sillytuna]

To be fair, our back 3 isn't great. Toti isn't anything special. Kilman is anyone's guess. Somedays he's the best player on the pitch, other days it's like there's no one knocking inside. Dawson is a very solid vet, but aging.

It's not as bad as some people make it seem, but we could definitely use an upgrade there. In fact, I think CB is by far our weakest position.

Agreed. We have players who can do a job there but are quite loose at times.

 

[Madmalc]

The January transfer window closed on Thursday the 1st of February.

Everyone whose has got a beef about it or is beating themselves up can't change it now.

By the way we won 4-2 away at Chelsea today.

We must be really missing all those players we didn't buy in January.

 

[arctic rime]

The January transfer window closed on Thursday the 1st of February.

Everyone whose has got a beef about it or is beating themselves up can't change it now.

By the way we won 4-2 away at Chelsea today.

We must be really missing all those players we didn't buy in January.

Especially a second rate striker ?

 

[Plovdiv Wolf]

Jordao makes his Wolves departure

Jordao gone

 

[wolfgar]

Jordao makes his Wolves departure

Jordao gone

I remember when we brought him in with Neto, and I think it was suggested that he was the more highly thought of? Shame it never worked out for him.

 

[Hawkguy]

I

I remember when we brought him in with Neto, and I think it was suggested that he was the more highly thought of? Shame it never worked out for him.

Injuries absolutely killed him.

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

I remember when we brought him in with Neto, and I think it was suggested that he was the more highly thought of? Shame it never worked out for him.

What I remember was that it was thought that he was further ahead in his development but Neto was still thought to be the one who would be superior. However along with Shabani the injuries they took in that fateful match impacted badly on both of them. How good they might have been otherwise we will never know.

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

The January transfer window closed on Thursday the 1st of February.

Everyone whose has got a beef about it or is beating themselves up can't change it now.

By the way we won 4-2 away at Chelsea today.

We must be really missing all those players we didn't buy in January.

It will be when we have injuries, suspension, etc that it will tell. The way that fhe refs love to dish out yellows to us it may not be long before we find out.

 

[VancouverWolf]

Agreed. We have players who can do a job there but are quite loose at times.

Compared to the way I feel, your post saying that our defence is “quite loose a times” is very restrained.