2026/27 Ins & Outs Discussion

[Yabba's Turd]

A couple of chats over the week regarding Welshy.
MFC were never in the picture, Aberdeen, Hibs and 1 other were, wanted to escape the west of Scotland gold fish bowl
JBA wanted him in France, Toulouse signing policy preventing it.

 

[real dosser]

Rumour tonight that Watt away to Portugal tomorrow for his medical for Turkish lot.

[David]

Certainly not the time to be getting worried, as the real business hasn't even started, but comparing where we are today to last season, this time last year we'd signed Fadinger, McGhee, Watt, Sule, Just, Longelo, and Said. I felt like we had done a decent chunk of our business earlier last summer, and it appears to have been the case. 

We had lost Shane Blaney, Steve Seddon, Dan Casey, Dom Thompson, Davor Zdravkovski, Harry Paton and Moses Ebiye by this point, mind you, while this season we've lost Halliday, Nicholson, Slattery, Liam Gordon, Ward, and Oxborough. 

So, weighing up the incomings and outgoings against this time last season is interesting.

Again, absolutely not a time for losing the plot, but I don't think anyone can deny that we need to start getting some business done. Europe is right around the corner, and that's a big deal.

[Kmcalpin]

8 hours ago, David said:

Certainly not the time to be getting worried, as the real business hasn't even started, but comparing where we are today to last season, this time last year we'd signed Fadinger, McGhee, Watt, Sule, Just, Longelo, and Said. I felt like we had done a decent chunk of our business earlier last summer, and it appears to have been the case. 

We had lost Shane Blaney, Steve Seddon, Dan Casey, Dom Thompson, Davor Zdravkovski, Harry Paton and Moses Ebiye by this point, mind you, while this season we've lost Halliday, Nicholson, Slattery, Liam Gordon, Ward, and Oxborough. 

So, weighing up the incomings and outgoings against this time last season is interesting.

Again, absolutely not a time for losing the plot, but I don't think anyone can deny that we need to start getting some business done. Europe is right around the corner, and that's a big deal.

Agree 100%. Our chaotic pre season preparation is down to several factors not just slow recruitment. However that is a significant concern, especially given that our first European game is next Thursday. I believe that we're allowed 2 emergency signings before then. Even if we do manage to complete deals in time, how fit will the new arrivals be?  Its unlikely that they'll hit the ground running. 

Despite public assurances from the board, JBA's very predictable departure has completely disrupted our preparations.  I'll be gobsmacked if Nick Daws hadn't drawn up a hit list over 6 months ago and has been beavering away on it. It seems that JA's arrival has put a spanner in the works. I'm also sceptical of the directors' claim that our best assets won't all be sold at once. By next Thursday the squad may be even more threadbare if Elliot Watt departs, as expected. TJ also? 

If we win through against HB and secure a league win against Falkirk (I'll write off the first league game in Embra) then all will be well. If we don't though, serious questions will need to be asked about our failure to recruit timeously and our injury record. I can't ever recall such a long injury list before a season started in earnest.  Tonight's final dress rehearsal against against Genk was anything but.  

[weeyin]

The good thing is that the window is open until 1st September.

The bad thing is that most leagues start before then, although ours is earlier than many.

So you don't really get a chance to assess the squad for the season until a few games in.  

Just another reason to dislike the window idea, or at least its timing.

 

[Jonesy]

This time last year we had already drawn with Clyde and were just about to scrape by Stenhousemuir with a scuffed SODs effort from a corner.

Had everyone collectively decided that the patience offered to JBA and the team last season was a one off?

Rushing out to sign a player every time someone else picked up a knock is what led us to Kettlewell's disaster if a final January window and a squad of about 200.

We'll be fine.

[MJC]

I miss us being in the League Cup group stages. They’re the perfect preparation for the season whilst being serious games themselves in a competition that we actually have a chance of making a scratch in. 
 

Unlike this ‘European’ nonsense which is essentially a couple of glorified friendlies which we always make a complete arse of and get embarrassed in.

[Ya Bezzer!]

7 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

(I'll write off the first league game in Embra) 

We've won more matches at Easter Road this decade than any other current Premiership ground.

The only places we have a better record is Livingston and Ross County.

[Kmcalpin]

1 hour ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

We've won more matches at Easter Road this decade than any other current Premiership ground.

The only places we have a better record is Livingston and Ross County.

That might well be true, but given the current chaotic state of the squad with long/medium term injuries and new players, not unsurprisingly, being unfit/not ready we have to be realistic.  

[thewelllfan]

8 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

Agree 100%. Our chaotic pre season preparation is down to several factors not just slow recruitment. However that is a significant concern, especially given that our first European game is next Thursday. I believe that we're allowed 2 emergency signings before then. Even if we do manage to complete deals in time, how fit will the new arrivals be?  Its unlikely that they'll hit the ground rerunning. 

Despite public assurances from the board, JBA's very predictable departure has completely disrupted our preparations.  I'll be gobsmacked if Nick Daws hadn't drawn up a hit list over 6 months ago and has been beavering away on it. It seems that JA's arrival has put a spanner in the works. I'm also sceptical of the directors' claim that our best assets won't all be sold at once. By next Thursday the squad may be even more threadbare if Elliot Watt departs, as expected. TJ also? 

If we win through against HB and secure a league win against Falkirk (I'll write off the first league game in Embra) then all will be well. If we don't though, serious questions will need to be asked about our failure to recruit timeously and our injury record. I can't ever recall such a long injury list before a season started in earnest.  Tonight's final dress rehearsal against against Genk was anything but.  

I think it was pretty inevitable that team from last season was going to be ripped apart if we make the best part of £10M from it given where we were at the start of last season that sets the club up for years to come. We've allegedly made around £1.3M from JBA and Ward leaving and look to have accepted a bid around £1.75M for Watt so that's us made £3M from 3 guys we picked up for free last year. I think £7M in fees between Just and Maswanhise is very much achievable which would basically mean we're £10M better off and in the same place we're in most seasons needing to make 8-10 signings. Hopefully Just sticks around for the 2 Euro ties and we get through HB and have a bit more time to make additions to the squad before Hibs and the next round in Europe. By 

[Jonesy]

1 hour ago, MJC said:

Unlike this ‘European’ nonsense which is essentially a couple of glorified friendlies which we always make a complete arse of and get embarrassed in.

We don't always though do we? Aside from Sligo last time and Stjarnan we pretty much always do as well as we should be expected and gone out against the much higher ranked seeded team. Other than those too instances you need to go all the way back to Mypa to fill your misery quota.

It's frustrating we've not yet taken that extra step and gone beyond that extra step - Odense was the one that got away there and would have put us into the group phase.

I'll have missed some but going out to Nancy, Panathinaikos, Levante, Steuea Bucharest, Odense, Krasnador or the Israeli mob isn't exactly a rid neck.

There are some games in there we possibly could have done better in (namely Odense and possibly he Israelis if Gallagher hadn't made a cunt of himself) but it's not an embarrassment by a long stretch. All of these teams had much bigger budgets than us and/or are regulars in European competition.

[Kmcalpin]

32 minutes ago, thewelllfan said:

I think it was pretty inevitable that team from last season was going to be ripped apart if we make the best part of £10M from it given where we were at the start of last season that sets the club up for years to come. We've allegedly made around £1.3M from JBA and Ward leaving and look to have accepted a bid around £1.75M for Watt so that's us made £3M from 3 guys we picked up for free last year. I think £7M in fees between Just and Maswanhise is very much achievable which would basically mean we're £10M better off and in the same place we're in most seasons needing to make 8-10 signings. Hopefully Just sticks around for the 2 Euro ties and we get through HB and have a bit more time to make additions to the squad before Hibs and the next round in Europe. By 

Financially we are doing very well, no argument from me on that score. You can also add on a modest 5/6 figure fee for the Ox. We also have the relocation of the stadium / replacement of the POD stand to factor in.  However, healthy balance sheets don't increase attendances. 

On the playing side, I was not surprised that JBA left at the end of the season. Despite his positive words I never thought he'd stay with us very long. I'm sure the directors would also have been well aware of his intention to move months ago. Kyrk Macmillan is doing a good job as far as I can tell, but it was a mistake to tell the fans that everything was ticking over nicely during the search for a new manager when it clearly wasn't. It was also naive of the directors to tell the fans that all our best assets wouldn't be sold at the same time. That raised unrealistic expectations.