One Day Soon
06-01-2023, 05:32 PM
Posted what is below elsewhere but I wanted to start a thread on what really is or is not going on at the club in its own right. For me this transfer window is emblematic of everything else that happens next. I have no idea what is really going on behind the scenes but this is my tuppence worth. My sense is that no-one is really in charge and leading hands-on at Easter Road. No-one. If I'm wrong I'll be happy to eat a cart full of humble pie. I really, really hope I'm wrong.
As we haven't come out of the starter blocks like lightning in the first six days of this window which closes on 31st January - 25 days time - I think it is fairly safe already to draw some conclusions.
We have been in trouble for some time and that has been obvious to everyone. We have very clearly needed to add quality for months now and on the back of that you would expect that the targets we need were identified long ago either by the manager or the 'recruitment team'. However we still haven't signed anyone (or indeed offloaded anyone) and the critical next three fixtures are respectively just 2, 6 and 14 days away. This is genuinely astonishing.
I would argue that we are already in a position where it is too late for any new signings to integrate in time for either of those first two fixtures and the same will be true for the Hearts fixture within days.
The only plausible explanations are:
1. We didn't start identifying targets until the derby fiasco.
or
2. We are genuinely financially unable to sign ANYONE until we first ship players out.
or
3. We are deliberately going to wait until very close to the end of the window to see what our injury situation/squad thinning exercise leaves us looking like before we sign anyone.
or
4. Despite the statement from the Manager and the indirect noises from club we actually have no serious intention of going into the transfer market in this window.
My conclusion is that unless we make signing(s) in the next few days we are likely, once again, to be left scrabbling around at the very end of the window trying to sign leftovers - way too late for the four league games and the one cup game taking place before the window closes and probably too late for the game against St Mirren on 4th February too. We currently have 13 games left to play in the league (not counting relegation play-offs). If this turns out to be correct then by the time any signings we do make are available we will have just 8 games left to play.
Given the utterly abject state we are in that would be ****ing irresponsibly mental.
As we haven't come out of the starter blocks like lightning in the first six days of this window which closes on 31st January - 25 days time - I think it is fairly safe already to draw some conclusions.
We have been in trouble for some time and that has been obvious to everyone. We have very clearly needed to add quality for months now and on the back of that you would expect that the targets we need were identified long ago either by the manager or the 'recruitment team'. However we still haven't signed anyone (or indeed offloaded anyone) and the critical next three fixtures are respectively just 2, 6 and 14 days away. This is genuinely astonishing.
I would argue that we are already in a position where it is too late for any new signings to integrate in time for either of those first two fixtures and the same will be true for the Hearts fixture within days.
The only plausible explanations are:
1. We didn't start identifying targets until the derby fiasco.
or
2. We are genuinely financially unable to sign ANYONE until we first ship players out.
or
3. We are deliberately going to wait until very close to the end of the window to see what our injury situation/squad thinning exercise leaves us looking like before we sign anyone.
or
4. Despite the statement from the Manager and the indirect noises from club we actually have no serious intention of going into the transfer market in this window.
My conclusion is that unless we make signing(s) in the next few days we are likely, once again, to be left scrabbling around at the very end of the window trying to sign leftovers - way too late for the four league games and the one cup game taking place before the window closes and probably too late for the game against St Mirren on 4th February too. We currently have 13 games left to play in the league (not counting relegation play-offs). If this turns out to be correct then by the time any signings we do make are available we will have just 8 games left to play.
Given the utterly abject state we are in that would be ****ing irresponsibly mental.