We have lost players from our squad totalling 29.1% of the minutes played.

Why does he? Because it benefits us? King may not have had an offer at all yet, or if he has, an offer that he considers to be worthwhile both in terms of club and finances. We cant rely on things like that regarding our own budget. If he or any other player we have a sell on clause regarding moves on, it should be treat as a bonus as and when it occurs, not as something we wait around for and are reliant on. Compensation is massively reduced abroad I think but I have no reason to suspect that Nyambe wouldnt sign a new deal and it is probably our own lack of having our house in order that has let him get into the last year of his deal, baring in mind he is one of only 2 competent defenders that we have.

It would be crazy to hold off doing any business on the hope that a player at another club gets sold and we get a small chunk of it, what happens if he isnt sold? What happens if he gets sold on the last day of the window? We have struggled in the past to get deals over the line, to work on more than one deal at once and to appreciate the need for a fast start to a season. I very much doubt that we are waiting for a transfer to happen elsewhere to kick start things as some sort of strategy.

A point about Nyambe and Rankin Costello, especially the former, he is in the last year of his deal and there have been suggestions that we could sell him should he be unwilling to renew, which I have no reason to believe he has, they at least wouldnt be able to go for nothing, assuming they stayed in England, we would get something due to their age. No way does Adarabioyo get sold for 4m either.

It isnt even the lack of rumours for me, as no journalists really seem on the ball. Can only judge the manager on what he does get over the line. At the moment, even compared to last seasons mid table squad, we are short. Even though Rich Sharpe has said that it is very quiet, even then, he for example was nowhere near the Kaminski deal. Although his comments are a little alarming. Ultimately for me it is the fact that it happens every year really. We first have the needless delays that come from having this constant handicap of negligent owners. Last year, defensive reinforcements took an age to get over the line, we lost our first 2 games with our defenders, both on loan, done very late on in the window. I am also unconvinced that Mowbray has either the capability to navigate the window in terms of getting the players we need, we have signed some good players under him but our squad is so imbalanced considering the time and money he has had. And also the ability to get signings over the line. Last summer, the window was half about the players we didnt get, we missed out on Bauer, he bemoaned the loss of 2 mystery foreign keepers and loaned in a clown to replace the cheaply sold Raya, and there was also Maher. It was a summer of missed opportunities and temporary stop gaps, and I am getting a sense of de ja vu. For example, Kipre was unfortunate, but we arent only in need of a centre back, in which case there may be a little more patience. Even if he had to move on to option B as his main CB, he needs 2 CB's, a left back, another keeper, etc, surely he hasnt just missed out on his main target in all of them areas, and if he has, then there is something wrong. It seems to be one at a time.

There is no way that the current squad, which has Amarii Bell as first choice left back and Derrick Williams as one of the first choice (and one of only 2 senior CB's who himself could be about to leave) centre backs, and as @JHRover points out is also missing more than just Adarabioyo from last seasons mid table squad, is a top 6 squad all of a sudden.

And any signings made on deadline day would presumably be unavailable for the Forest game the next day, ie our 5th League game of the season. Certainly bizarre to advocate waiting as long as is necessary to sign players yet dismiss foreign players due to a potential 2 week quarantine, especially when our only signing thus far has been required to quarantine, which is not ideal but still leaves him training today and ready for the first game. Its just further excuses. There was and still is nothing stopping us from signing playing in Europe, as we have already done with Kaminski, and had we got it done early enough as we did with Kaminski, it wouldnt have been anything other than a minor inconvenience. As it is, even if he missed 2 games, not great but will a domestic player be here any quicker?! Probably not. I dont care where we sign players from as long as they are good enough, but there seems to be neither any urgency nor any ability to work on more than one deal!

And ultimately, the manager should be judged on players that he is able to get signed, not the ones he missed out on.

Be amazed if we paid a fee for a goalkeeper and if he came seemingly to be number 2 when he can do that (if not number 1) at his boyhood club. Think thats an old rumour.

Has he been training with us? i read he was training with Nantwich Town.

The inability to close deals or seemingly work on more than one at once just continues to hinder us. Even if a CB deal has fallen through, we need 2 so why are we only working on 1? Why arent we trying to get a left back in at the same time. You are right, we will end up with a kid on loan.

They had Tom Lockyer, a right footed CB who played all 43 games that he was available, and someone I suggested that we signed prior to joining Luton. Pearce started 35 and was sub the other 11, and Sarr started 26 and was sub 17 times. Charlton played with 3 centre backs quite a lot though, but when they played 2, Bowyer seemed to often trust Jason Pearce who is just a journeyman but a lot more conservative than Sarr. I wonder if Sarr is the player who is going elsewhere?

The words "if they can get them" very much key here.

Its another farce of a transfer window. Under the potent mix of Mowbray and Venkys, it often seems like we struggle to get deals over the line. Was the same last summer. Wanted Bauer, failed to get it done, ended up with a loan. Supposedly tried to get 2 mystery foreign keepers, ended up with Walton on loan. Supposedly made contact over Maher, couldnt get that done. And theres never any urgency. If Kipre was our main target, he moved elsewhere, and then plan B is close to doing the same, that might explain the struggle if we needed one player. But we need 2 CB's, not 1, we badly need a left back, we need another keeper and perhaps a wide man and central midfielder. Why are we only capable of working on and inevitably failing at one deal at a time?

The question would be whether he is a competent enough defender for us. He regularly made errors at Charlton and was often not selected in favour of journeyman Jason Pearce.

Hes half way through a loan, hes a number 10, the rumour was previously dismissed and we arent close to signing anyone so id be amazed.

I dont think that Sarr could be described as "very steady." A risk taking centre back who is good on the ball but error prone. The Sarr rumour seemed to snowball from nowhere amidst a very Mind you, I wouldnt take any notice of that Jaqoub Crooke. He doesnt know anything we dont, his articles tend to just be generic, vague and non-committal summaries of information already in the public domain. He kept saying that we wanted that Dillon Phillips which I think he got from that phoney fake journalist on twitter. Does Lindsay come in as replacement for Adarabioyo and make you think that we can get close to the top 6 though? I also dont think we should be loaning him, for a start, that is him out of 2 games as ineligible. Not sure why there is urgency to sign a right back either. Edwards has been out on the fringes after not keeping fit during lockdown I think but any right back would be second in line and thus is far from a priority. You would think that there is better across Europe than Lindsay, although I have seen nothing to suggest anything but a passing interest. The quarantine reason is just an excuse. Ultimately doing our business quicker would eliminate the problem, like with Kaminski whereby he is eligible for the season opener. The 2 potential 2 week isolation is not ideal even now but if there is someone better, it is still worth just accepting that he will miss 2 weeks depending on where he comes from. If the scouting network is what it is hyped up to be, surely there is a decent centre back somewhere across Europe.

From which games is that Magloire stat from? Stats are only of limited value in isolation, especially from friendlies.

Not at all, a change of scenario may suit him although I dont think he would fill the void left by Adarabioyo. All being said, I read that Stoke want their 2m investment back should they sell so we wouldnt be able to afford him and I wouldnt want him on loan.

He has had a dismal time at Stoke where he has tumbled down the pecking order, so probably not.

Noticed that Lindsay wasnt even in the extended squad in their latest friendly, he is so far out of the picture. Would guess maybe he is in talks with someone but obviously with no new deals in the pipeline, that may well be someone else. Not saying that I would sign him but of course he has been linked through the Lancashire Telegraph.

Brooks made a return to fitness today for Wales, if he plays on Saturday he will be a massive danger, I can only imagine what he will do if we play Bell against him! https://bournemouth-forum.vitalfootball.co.uk/threads/team-v-blackburn.12374/page-2 Looking at their side compared to last year, they definitely miss King and Wilson in terms of attack. Plenty to cause our defence problems I would suggest though, Solanke is a 20m flop really but he started scoring towards the end of last season, Surridge did ok at Swansea, Stanislas was always an irritant when at Burnley and Danjuma is a fast winger that they paid decent money for. Their midfield is very strong, Lerma, Cook, Billing, Gosling are all very good options. They also have plenty of good defenders at this level, Kelly signed from Bristol City last summer and Liverpool were linked with him before signing that Greek left back, Adam Smith, Rico and Stacey are all good full backs, and Cook is a very experienced CB. And Mepham is regularly involved with Wales. Ramsdale is a loss but Travers looked good when he got a chance in the Premier League. Will be a tough game on the opening day, we will have to keep it as tight as we can, hopefully with the aid of some new defenders between now and then, and hope that Armstrong can do something on the counter attack.

Of which 2 started.

Haha I think that it is is a big if to see him get 10 goals but I would love to see you be right because it would be in both of our best interests! Fingers crossed.

The fact of the matter is that if you start poorly, you have to accumulate more points in the remaining games to meet your objective. Say it takes 75 points to get into the play offs. Basic maths, get 15 from your first 6 and you need 60 from the remaining 40 games, only get 5 and you need 70. A bad start is not terminal and a good start wont guarantee that you achieve your objectives. But it is important in the main because we already fail to achieve our objectives in terms of accumulating the amount of points we need, so getting plenty on the board early on is a big boost. There will always be exceptions but Charlton got relegated despite that fast start, not because of it. Would anyone have been happy going into the season with the defenders we have? No.