Last summer’s recruitment

[jim5000]

After bottling 4th for the second season in a row, Rodgers said the club were looking to add winners to the squad to kick onto the next level.

 

We signed Daka, Soumare, Vestergaard, Bertrand, and Lookman (loan).

 

Even with our injuries three of those can’t get near the subs bench, Daka is a bit part player out of his depth, and only Lookman has shown any real consistency when given a chance.

 

We then didn’t recruit in January.

 

Who was the last decent signing we made? Are we confident that Rodgers and the club will agree the right players this summer? We could be looking at very big Tielemans and Vardy shaped holes…

[Lambert09]

Daka will come good. Lookman was the right signing but on the wrong side , which is laughable really. The others aren’t good enough. I’m very happy to see the back of congerton 

[lcfcsnow]

5 minutes ago, jim5000 said:

Who was the last decent signing we made?

Fofana, then Justin and Castagne. Just defenders, no other position has been improved. Our midfield and attack is the same it’s been for years and has gone stale, I dread to think where we’d be if not for the emergence of KDH this season.

[adam]

We can't afford to buy players that don't improve the first team. But we keep doing it. We have been desperate for a decent winger for years but we never seem to get one. If you keep buying players that are not up to it at the moment but may come good in the future you end up with seasons like this. 

[foxfan92]

Does anyone else ever feel like they are stuck in an endless time-loop with the same threads popping up saying exactly the same thing again and again?

[Scotch]

15 minutes ago, foxfan92 said:

Does anyone else ever feel like they are stuck in an endless time-loop with the same threads popping up saying exactly the same thing again and again?

So what you're saying is the family stand should stay as is? 

[HybridFox]

KDH is our "signing" of the season tbh

[Jobyfox]

I'm always a bit disappointed when a window ends with no single player that improves the first choice starting eleven. I hope that Daka and Soumare eventually come good, but it's more hope than expectation currently. Lookman is a decent squad addition, but still a loan and his permanent signing might have to be weighed against what other realistic targets we've got. 

 

For me it was our worst transfer window since the summer of 2016 and in Bertrand and Vestergaard we've got two very poor signings. In fact in terms of money paid, expectation, performance and appropriateness of fitting into our style and team I would say that Vestergaard is up there as one of our most poorly recruited and worst ever signings. 

[jim5000]

1 hour ago, foxfan92 said:

Does anyone else ever feel like they are stuck in an endless time-loop with the same threads popping up saying exactly the same thing again and again?

I feel I’m in an endless time loop watching us throw away leads and concede 90th+ minute equalisers and winners on a regular basis

[foxfan92]

7 hours ago, jim5000 said:

I feel I’m in an endless time loop watching us throw away leads and concede 90th+ minute equalisers and winners on a regular basis

We have done that more often than  I'd like this season. 

 

This season I find that I get more nervous after 90 mins have gone than at any other time during a match. 

 

Certainly we have some issues to resolve before next season so we look more solid defensively and more clinical up front.

 

I'm hopeful Daka will improve next season, but I worried at the time when we signed Southampton defenders. I'm hoping those 2 will both make way for upgrades next season. 

[Sampson]

Too soon to judge Daka and Soumare for me as they're young lads playing in England for the first time, although they definitely haven't hit the ground running.

But I agree, I'm a big Rodgers fan and I definitely think he's improved players who were already here, but I'm not sure we've made a good non-defender signing under him - Fofana, Castagne and Justin have all been good signings, but bringing Tielemans in, which was one of the last things Puel did, was probably the last decent midfield/attacking signing we made.

Edited 21 April 2022 by Sampson

[murphy]

It still beggars belief that we signed half of the second worst defence from the previous season.  It's not even hindsight, plenty of us were horrified at the time, so what was the club thinking?  It's like buying an Austin Allegro and expecting it to perform like an Aston Martin.

 

Daka and Lookman I like, but Soumare is another that has flopped so far and I don't see what he brings to the team anyway.  A non-scoring, non-assisting miufielder who can't defend?   

[coolhandfox]

Hindsight a wonderful thing, 90% of fans were happy with our summer business.

[Chelmofox]

9 hours ago, jim5000 said:

After bottling 4th for the second season in a row, Rodgers said the club were looking to add winners to the squad to kick onto the next level.

 

We signed Daka, Soumare, Vestergaard, Bertrand, and Lookman (loan).

 

Even with our injuries three of those can’t get near the subs bench, Daka is a bit part player out of his depth, and only Lookman has shown any real consistency when given a chance.

 

We then didn’t recruit in January.

 

Who was the last decent signing we made? Are we confident that Rodgers and the club will agree the right players this summer? We could be looking at very big Tielemans and Vardy shaped holes…

Vestergaard was a stupid impulse buy because of Fonana's injury. It's not worked out. Lookman has been a good loan, and i can't see why anyone would moan about it.  Daka and Soumare need this year for development. I've thought Daka has been good in spells, but has been exposed by Vardy's injury. Ideally he would have had a supporting role rather than being depended on. Soumare I am concerned about. Was happy we signed him but his injury of late has kept him out of the team when we desperately needed him.

[Fox92]

It was a rubbish summer and as bad as the summer after we won the league.

 

Best addition this season is KDH coming into the team and progressing.

Edited 21 April 2022 by Fox92

[Muzzy_no7]

Daka just isn’t being used properly.

 

He thrives as a pressing forward and working in a 2 whereas we are trying to play him by himself against big centre halves. 
 

Bertrand will leave this summer along with Vestergaard.

 

Soumare is an intriguing one, he wasn’t really a star in the Lille side and Renato Sanches did most of the running. 

[moore_94]

29 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

Hindsight a wonderful thing, 90% of fans were happy with our summer business.

At the start of the season I thought Bertrand was a sensible signing, I was pretty happy with Soumare and Daka, underwhelmed by Lookman, wasn’t happy with Vestergaard

[LcFc_Smiv]

2 minutes ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Daka just isn’t being used properly.

 

He thrives as a pressing forward and working in a 2 whereas we are trying to play him by himself against big centre halves. 
 

Bertrand will leave this summer along with Vestergaard.

 

Soumare is an intriguing one, he wasn’t really a star in the Lille side and Renato Sanches did most of the running. 

Bang on about Daka, you can see his intent every time he steps on the pitch. Presses the centre backs, presses the keeper, issue is no one goes with him so opposition play around him and he's ineffective. He gets bullied by centre backs because he's isolated, he needs to play alongside someone up top who he can link up with or pull the opposition out of position to create space for him. I believe he has it in him to come good but only if we adapt to play to his strengths. I still think a 4-4-2 diamond is the way forward for the personnel in this team.

[Muzzy_no7]

2 minutes ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

Bang on about Daka, you can see his intent every time he steps on the pitch. Presses the centre backs, presses the keeper, issue is no one goes with him so opposition play around him and he's ineffective. He gets bullied by centre backs because he's isolated, he needs to play alongside someone up top who he can link up with or pull the opposition out of position to create space for him. I believe he has it in him to come good but only if we adapt to play to his strengths. I still think a 4-4-2 diamond is the way forward for the personnel in this team.

I agree with the diamond atm.

 

Perez or Maddison for the 10 role depending on A or B team and then Kel up top with Daka or Chuck Lookman or Barnes up top too. 

[Chrysalis]

22 minutes ago, LcFc_Smiv said:

Bang on about Daka, you can see his intent every time he steps on the pitch. Presses the centre backs, presses the keeper, issue is no one goes with him so opposition play around him and he's ineffective. He gets bullied by centre backs because he's isolated, he needs to play alongside someone up top who he can link up with or pull the opposition out of position to create space for him. I believe he has it in him to come good but only if we adapt to play to his strengths. I still think a 4-4-2 diamond is the way forward for the personnel in this team.

Why are we signing strikers who thrive in a pair for a manager who plays only one striker?

[AKCJ]

I'm sure Soumare and Daka will come good.

[Sampson]

55 minutes ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Daka just isn’t being used properly.

 

He thrives as a pressing forward and working in a 2 whereas we are trying to play him by himself against big centre halves. 
 

Bertrand will leave this summer along with Vestergaard.

 

Soumare is an intriguing one, he wasn’t really a star in the Lille side and Renato Sanches did most of the running. 

Same argument people used to have about Beckford and Kramaric though, that they were being used wrong.

 

Problem is you have to show you’re good enough to have the team built round you in your style and for example to go to a wingerless formation or to give Dewsbury-Hall less freedom in a diamond. I’m not convinced Daka has shown that yet.

Edited 21 April 2022 by Sampson

[Spudulike]

1 hour ago, coolhandfox said:

Hindsight a wonderful thing, 90% of fans were happy with our summer business.

Not sure if that's true. I think, for most, the signings of the Soumare and Daka were accepted at the time as we tend to fall into the trap that players from the euro leagues are better than we already produce (even after having recent experience of that not being the case). Many also expressed concern that money was being spent on another midfielder which was likely to stifle the progress of KDH. Signing the two Southampton defenders was called out by fans as madness at the time, no hindsight needed. 

[Sampson]

Re: Soumare. Just looking at our pressing stats and I was surprised how high Soumare was actually. He’s 2nd behind Ndidi for most presses per 90 as our midfielders go, even slightly ahead of KDH.

 

Barnes still stands out like a sore thumb though. He’s got Yakubu levels of pressing going on this season. Dunno what’s happened there, as I never remember him having such poor work rate before this season.

[Fear Of The Fox]

Daka was a good signing. Give him some time. Or watch him go to Arsenal, Liverpool or ManCity and scoring 20+ goals per season.