Your New Signings

[Magic]

How are they doing?

Ours have been pretty underwhelming really. Some good on paper who I'm sure would thrive elsewhere just haven't hit the ground running...

Rob Green is no better than what we already have (although Silvestri's a bellend so meh).

Luke Ayling started well but the general consensus is when Berardi returns, he should take over.

Kyle Bartley hasn't done too much wrong really. Him and Jansson could prove to be our best partnership for quite a while.

Pontus Jansson is the potential coup...he's on loan with an agreement where we have to buy him when he plays 20 games so this is the dodgy part...he's come in and looked great so far - a proper commanding centre-half capable of bringing the ball out (was a striker) and wins everything in the air. Will cost us a few million but so far looks more than worth it considering how much it'd cost us to sign a top Championship domestic CB.

Matt Grimes has fallen off the face of the earth. RIP. Well down the pecking order. Played shite on the opening day and hasn't made a league squad since IIRC.

Eunan O'Kane has only played once but looked decent so hopefully he can be a permanent partner to Bridcutt.

Pablo Hernandez has been underwhelming really. Has been moved around a bit though so hasn't played much as a number 10. He finds pockets and clearly has quality but hasn't cemented his spot in the team which is disappointing for a player with such a pedigree.

Hadi Sacko is a typical in and out winger. Frightens defences because of his unpredictability though - haven't seen that here since Gradel. He's not as good but I've been surprised by him a bit as he's certainly a threat - even if he's capable of some sloppy play too.

Kemar Roofe has shown glimses but struggling to make the team which is a shame. Would be okay if he was plucked from the lower leagues as a youngster but we spent big money (for us) on him so it's disappointing he can't make an impact. I don't think he's looked bad but another signing who I'm sure would have already bagged 5 at a different club

Marcus Antonsson is a decent striker. Works hard, eye for a goal, bit of an upgrade on Antenucci but probably not quite as good a finisher.

So yeah, not brilliant yet. Jansson the only one to come in and really show what he's made of but he's only played three games so far. Plenty have shown signs but we need them to step up and do it more consistently.

 

[Walkley_Owl]

Almen Abdi
Came with a big reputation and a decent price tag, £4m, but has struggled to settle in as quickly as I'd hoped, that said he has looked tidy in possession.

Will Buckley
Not had much game time as yet, looked lively in his cameo appearances from the bench mind.

Steven Fletcher
He's a player, fitted in well, his link up play is solid and he's notched twice in the last two games and he will be a big factor in us chasing the top six spot.

Adam Reach
Another big money signing on deadline day with a fee of up to £7m, made his full debut in the week and was a threat to the City defence even from full back.

David Jones
Signed from PL Burnley in the middle of August, got sent off in his second appearance so hard to make a judgement.

Urby Emanuelson
Not played as yet, cannot judge but has excellent pedigree.

Jake Kean
Yet to play.

 

[MagpieBee]

I've ranked them in order of how well I think they've done for us so far...

John Egan - Free / Tribunal
He's been an absolute revelation so far, instantly our defence looks much stronger, particularly against the long ball, which was a real weakness of ours before. He's had to put in a few last ditch tackles, and has been caught out of place a fair number of times, but he has definitely been a real surprise and success so far. Dean has been playing well as well, and is our captain, so Egan still has to look out for Bjelland coming in and taking his place, but he's been brilliant so far and should keep the shirt for a while.

Daniel Bentley - Free / Tribunal
He's looked a very tidy goalkeeper, to get him for less than we sold Button for is a great achievement, we get a younger player, with more potential, on a longer contract and smaller wages. Complete win all round. His distribution is nowhere near as good as Button's, which is a problem, but he should develop this well over time. His shot stopping is brilliant, I wouldn't yet rank him in the top 10 keepers for this division, but I can't see any reason he couldn't be there by the end of the season.

Romaine Sawyers - Free
He's show some flashes of real good play, and an eye for a killer pass in the final third, but his languid play style isn't winning too many fans at the moment. I think he just needs to settle into the formation, but having someone a bit quicker alongside him will also help pull apart the spaces he needs to operate in. A good signing definitely, but he isn't Pritchard, Jota or Canos...

Callum Elder - Loan
A solid left back, clearly now just a short term option until we can get Rico fit. He's missplaced a few passes and been caught under pressure a few times, but in general looks solid and a good player to have on loan.

Sulley Kaikai - Loan
Only seen him very briefly so far against Villa last night, but he showed some pace and trickery, which is exactly what we were missing and what we needed, and he delivered the cross for the equalising goal. Shame he's only on loan, would have been the perfect permanent signing for us.

Rico Henry - £1.5m potentially rising to £5m
Not seen him play yet, and won't do for a while yet. The fee looks high but he also seems to have huge potential, and could be worth an awful lot of money for us one day. The 5 year deal shows we see him as a key cog in the project to get to the PL, can't wait to see him start playing.

--------------------------------------

Lewis Macleod - £800k potentially rising to £1m / Andreas Bjelland - £1.7m
These guys aren't technically new signings, so I shouldn't have them here, but given neither played a league game for us last year because of injury, I'm going to throw them in (could arguably throw Hogan in here as well). Having these guys back has been a huge plus to the team, they ooze quality, and Macleod can go far in this league. We'll continue to treat them well and ease them in, but they have some of the quality we were missing last year.


Overall, we're missing a little bit in the final third, something I think Jota would have been able to provide. If we had Judge back fit (and under contract!) then this would begin to look like an amazing team. As it is, I think we could sneak a play off place, but more likely we're a couple of players (DM and a RW) away from having a squad capable of properly challenging at the top of the league. Considering our small budget, especially for wages, the management team have done very well reinventing the team (only 1 starter in Dean was here when we started our Championship campaign).

 

[Ciderhead]

Tammy Abraham
Where to start? Hit the ground flying. He's a goalscorer. All his strikes have come within the six yard box so far but he just has that knack of being in the right place at the right time, anticipating where the ball's going to drop in the penalty area. Holds his own physically as well, his touch and link up play is outstanding. Crazy to think he's only 18.

Hordur Magnusson
Had a bit of a shaky start against Wigan but has looked good since. Very composed, comfortable on the ball and can battle in the air as well. Mistakes have been on the other side of the defence so far, sad to say.

Adam Matthews
Started against Newcastle and went off after 20 mins with a hamstring injury. Johnson's not been happy with his fitness levels. To quote: "When fully fit, he's one of the best FBs in the division, when not he's probably one of the worst"

Joel Ekstrand
Came on against Rotherham 2nd half. Gives us the option of going with 3 at the back, though may get a chance in the back 4 sooner rather than later.

Taylor Moore
Young CB, yet to make an appearance.

Gary O'Neill
Even with Tammy's exploits I'd say he's our signing of the summer. Experienced head in the base of the midfield, dictates the play and always seems to have that extra second on the ball. 3 assists as well. His sending off was a bigger blow than the penalty miss on Tues, we wouldn't have lost that game with him on the pitch. Also means he misses the Derby game, but hopefully Korey Smith will be back for that.

Josh Brownhill
In his couple of starts early on the game passed him by somewhat, didn't really seem to offer anything, but sounds like he did pretty well at Weds. Doubt he'll start regularly but he'll be an option.

Callum O'Dowda
Looks quite an old-school winger, pacey, gets to the byline and runs at his man. I like him

Jamie Paterson
Hasn't started yet, came so close to scoring a belter last minute at Rotherham

Lee Tomlin
Actually been quite poor in all honesty. Had more bookings for ranting at the ref than goals he's been involved in, and missed the pen Tues night. But we know he's got the quality, and in the 2nd half against Villa he scored a wonderful free kick, got an assist and just generally took the piss. Hope to see more of it.

Gustav Engvall
Swedish striker signed on deadline day. Carrying over a bit of a knock apparently, haven't seen anything from him yet.

I feel like I'm forgetting someone in all that, but that's all I can remember right now. It was a busy summer!

 

[Haillay7]

Big fan of the thread idea. I'll beef this out later after writing this on my phone.

Matt Ritchie
Been excellent so far and although he's only got the one goal he's been instrumental in our recent excellent form. Arguably first name on the team sheet.

Dwight Gayle
Hit the ground running and has 4 goals in 5 games thus far after being rested against QPR. Has that killer instinct that Mitrovic possibly hasn't yet. Another excellent addition. Also recently grabbed August goal of the month.

Matz Sels
A shaky start but I guess you can't really argue with 4 clean sheets in a row (albeit he had very little to do against Derby and/or QPR). But hit and miss so far and appears to be a quintisential European keeper, punching et all.

Grant Hanley
Again a bit hit and miss. Only made fleeting appearances but looks to be good cover for Lascelles and Mbemba. Already got his first goal.

Ciaran Clark
See Hanley. Again, was very shaky in his debut but seemed a lot more comfortable in his last outing. Has a goal and will be decent enough cover for the back four.

DeAndre Yedlin
Fleeting appearance against Brighton, similar again at Derby, getting a goal in the process. Happy with how he's fitted in so far and looks like he'll be good competition for Anita at RB

Mohammad Diame
Excellent so far and is exactly what Sissoko should have been doing for years. Great carrier of the ball and has been pivotal to some of the more ground out performances this year.

Achraf Lazaar
Yet to play

Daryl Murphy
Yet to play

Isaac Hayden
Behind the form of Shelvey, he's arguably become our most important midfielder. Great at retaining the ball and has allowed for the likes of Shelvey and Diame to play more advanced. Another player rested against QPR.

Jesus Gamez
Played a matter of minutes against Brighton. Imagine he'll make his first start in the cup.

Christian Atsu
Came off the bench against QPR and looked a real threat, hitting the bar at 6-0. Expect him to start in the cup also.

 

[markwwfc1992]

Cant be arsed to write a bio on all of our new signings but they're all shit bar Bodvarsson.

 

[JJH]

Cant be arsed to write a bio on all of our new signings but they're all shit bar Bodvarsson and Stearman.

 

[Madejski]

Danzell Gravenberch - Only played one cup game where he was hardly involved.

Joey van den Berg - Slowly becoming the first name on the team sheet and a fan favourite. Carrying on his discipline record from Holland, but he knows how to tackle, and he knows where to be. With him at DM we are a far better team

Joseph Mendes - A couple of appearances and looking like a forward with a 1 in 6 goal record in a lesser league. Though to be fair he has been unfit

Anssi Jaakkola - Has not had much to do in his cup appearances so far, though looks more suited to our style than Al-Habsi. Will probably be first choice before the end of the season.

John Swift - Possibly our key player. With him out of the team we look far less likely to score. Believe he was involved someway in 5 of our first 6 goals this season.

Roy Beerens - Hasn't put in a solid 90 minute shift yet, but glimpses of good quality. Looks more consistent than some past wingers we've had.

Yakou Meite - Only a couple of substitute appearances and then got injured. Young, fast, but doubt he'll be involved too much this season.

Callum Harriott - Looks like a very solid backup winger. Been destroying lower league teams in the cup but yet to have many chances in the league.

Sandro Wieser - Yet to play

Liam Moore - Slotted in seemlessly into our defence, though we needed him to. Was one of Jaap's main targets in the Summer and you can see why as he suits our style. Solid so far.

Tyler Blackett - Young, raw, we've seen some good, some bad. Will be a solid backup defender for us this season. Though I hope we're not reliant on him soon.


Very early days, but looks like a majority of our signings have strengthened the side. Money well spent with our buy cheap scattergun approach.

 

[Rammy]

Our new signings are all as shit as our old signings.

 

[markwwfc1992]

Stearman has been a disaster, Fulham have ruined him

 

[BCFC David]

Stearman has been a disaster, Fulham have ruined him

Oh Mark

 

[SMH]

Will do it based on what I've seen so far. Difficult because I've only been to our first three games so far and since then we've lost our last four!

Adam Bogdan
Done very well but had an absolute howler on Tuesday night and should have done better for Sheff Wed's equalizer on Saturday. Is he better than Jussi? I'd say it's a very close call to be honest.

Alex Gilbey
I like him, very energetic midfielder, box to box, scored an great goal on the opening day. Needs to work more on his positioning but a very talented player.

Dan Burn
Absolutely terrible player. To think we lost out on John Egan and signed this lamppost instead.

Jake Buxton
Not seen enough of him but he's not getting rave reviews. Should have done better with Bogdan for the Sheff Wed goal.

Shaun MacDonald
Not seen him live either but fans aren't impressed. Not sure what he brings to the midfield, most seem to have preferred Morsy as you knew what to expect with his game.

Nick Powell
Been class every time I've seen him but seems to have tailed off a bit the last couple of games and got injured on Saturday. Ultimate hot and cold player but no doubting on his day he wins games for us on his own.

Jordi Gomez
He'll do very well for us, scored on his first start on Tuesday night. Get him up to speed and he'll be a really good asset.

Luke Garbutt
Since he's come in we've lost every game we've played. Says it all really, I've not seen him but I'll write him off anyway. He'll be gone in January when his loan expires and Reece James returns.

Adam Le Fondre/Nathan Byrne/Reece Burke/Kaiyne Woolery

Not seen any of them to comment. Byrne played a big part in our goal on Tuesday night after making his debut off the bench so promising signs. I'm especially looking forward to seeing him and Burke, hopefully they both start on Saturday.

So a real mixed bag on the whole!

 

[Veggie Legs]

I'm very pleased with our signings on the whole, quality over quantity this year is a nice change.

Grant Ward
Bargain buy of the summer in this division. He's hit the ground running, top scorer so far and looked a threat in every game. I'm sure there's more to come, too.

Adam Webster
Looks like a very good signing, made a couple of notable mistakes in his first few games but on the whole he's fitted in really well. We've got other good options at centre back so he won't play every game this season but he's got great potential for the future.

Conor Grant
Missed a few games through injury so hasn't had much of a chance, more of a technical player than a pacy winger and by accounts has looked better playing centrally.

Tom Lawrence
Played half against Derby on Tuesday in which we were mostly defending so hasn't really had the chance to show what he can do going forward.

Leon Best / Jonny Williams
Not played yet.

 

[SMH]

Shaun MacDonald yesterday with a timely reminder not to judge a player until you've seen him with your own eyes, especially in the case of Wigan fans as the majority probably wouldn't rate Messi if he played for us.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

Shaun MacDonald yesterday with a timely reminder not to judge a player until you've seen him with your own eyes, especially in the case of Wigan fans as the majority probably wouldn't rate Messi if he played for us.

In terms of knowing what to expect from a player every game, that's exactly what MacDonald is. Just does his job.

 

[Six pints of STELLA]

Danzell Gravenberch - Haven't seen him play yet, so can't really comment.

Joey van den Berg - Haven't seen him play yet, so can't really comment.

Joseph Mendes - Haven't seen him play yet, so can't really comment.

Anssi Jaakkola - Haven't seen him play yet, so can't really comment.

John Swift - Only seen him 15 minutes on TV and he looks like our playmaker. Seem to have a touch above what else was on the pitch.

Roy Beerens - Great first 45 minutes on TV against Ipswich. Has pace and trickery, but hopefully he can weight in with some goals.

Yakou Meite - Haven't seen him play yet, so can't really comment.

Callum Harriott - Haven't seen him play yet, so can't really comment

Sandro Wieser - Yet to play

Liam Moore - Looked very good against Ipswich. Comfortable on the ball and exactly what Jaapy wants.

Tyler Blackett - Seems raw when I saw him on TV. Probably be used when we want to line up more defensively away from home.

 

[mpmbee]

Dan Bentley - Amazing signing, bold claim I know but the best keeper in the league in my opinion. He is going to have a great career.

John Egan - Outstanding so far, we have the best defence in the league so far and he is a big part of that. Already got 3 goals too.

Romaine Sawyers - Bit of a slow start but you can see he has real quality. Always in space looking for the ball. Had an excellent game against Preston on Saturday.

Sullay KaiKai - Only signed on deadline day and haven't seen much of him yet. Our only geniune wide player so should have a big part to play.

Rico Henry - Injured so can't comment.

 

[MagpieBee]

Dan Bentley - Amazing signing, bold claim I know but the best keeper in the league in my opinion. He is going to have a great career.

John Egan - Outstanding so far, we have the best defence in the league so far and he is a big part of that. Already got 3 goals too.

Romaine Sawyers - Bit of a slow start but you can see he has real quality. Always in space looking for the ball. Had an excellent game against Preston on Saturday.

Sullay KaiKai - Only signed on deadline day and haven't seen much of him yet. Our only geniune wide player so should have a big part to play.

Rico Henry - Injured so can't comment.

It's amazing how defence has been our achilles heel the past 2 years, and now we have such a good one! I think we've had quite a few kind fixtures so far, but the new guys have come in and done a brilliant job. Egan has been immense. Wouldn't say Bentley is the best, his distribution is not good enough for that yet, but his shot stopping is second to none.

 

[THE LAST WALTZ]

Re John Egan:

It is a shame that the tribunal will not take his performances for you this season into account when setting his fee.
We will get a fraction of what he is worth.
Anyway, I said last season that he was the best young centre back I had seen at Gills since Steve Bruce and I am glad he is doing well.
He is a smashing lad as well as being a fine player.
Good luck for the season Bees.

 

[MagpieBee]

Re John Egan:

It is a shame that the tribunal will not take his performances for you this season into account when setting his fee.
We will get a fraction of what he is worth.
Anyway, I said last season that he was the best young centre back I had seen at Gills since Steve Bruce and I am glad he is doing well.
He is a smashing lad as well as being a fine player.
Good luck for the season Bees.

Thanks man - I thought we were getting a good player, but he's been completely beyond anyone's expectations so far. It remains to be seen if this is just a good run of form that won't last forever, or if he really is this good.
Don't think he's got the speed or ground game for the PL, but hopefully we can keep him away from the clutches of the top Championship teams.

We've got quite a few youngsters from the lower leagues in our ranks at the moment, Woods is destined for the PL, he's been immense this season. Wouldn't surprise me if Hogan, Henry, Egan or Bentley made it at some point in the next couple of years either.

 

[SMH]

A quick update and Nathan Byrne came on in the first half to replace an injured Gilbey and played right back. I thought he did really well, it was refreshing to see a right back run at the opposition, something I've not seen at Latics in a long time. I'm excited to see more of him as the season progresses.

 

[Magic]

Funny how things can look differently in a short space of time. Green has improved the last few games, Ayling shown a return to form in a strong backline. Bartley and Jansson are the best partnership we've had in years, and Hernandez is showing his class.

Goes to show how insane it is when managers and players get written off and given no time. Monk could have been shown the door 2 weeks ago but we've won 4 in a row since, conceding 1 goal. We've gone from our worst start in 40 years to our best in 6 just in the space of 14 days! Funny old game.

 

[Madejski]

John Swift on a free. Championship signing of the season.

 

[MagpieBee]

John Swift on a free. Championship signing of the season.

Meh. He's got quality but is incredibly lazy. His work rate when his team don't have the ball is non-existent.

 

[Madejski]

Meh. He's got quality but is incredibly lazy. His work rate when his team don't have the ball is non-existent.

Luckily we have the most possession in the league then!

He's been absolutely quality for us. Singularly the main reason why we're nowhere near as shit as the past couple of seasons. All of our play and creativity goes through him. 3 goals & 3 assists doesn't do justice to how key he is.

Only just turned 21 and already our best player. Fully expect him to be gone in the next couple of seasons though..

 

[City169]

John Swift on a free. Championship signing of the season.

Only a loan, but surely that is Tammy Abraham.
10 goals already, and prior to yesterday the joint top scorer in the top 4 English leagues.

 

[markwwfc1992]

I nominate Richard Stearman

 

[JJH]

Kris Commons has started well for Rotherham.

 

[Costello]

Glenn Murray - potentially the 20+ goal striker we've been needing to help us over the line these past few seasons. Pretty much the player we remember, just better and with more experience. Great hold-up, often unplayable on the air.

Shane Duffy - came in at a pretty crucial time when Dunk was our only fit, senior centre-half. Obviously was the butt of the jokes with his own goals but seems to have put that behind him now, after a dodgy home debut v Brentford he's looking very solid alongside Lewis with 3 clean sheets on the trot now. Doesn't lose much in the air and better on the ground than I first thought.

Oliver Norwood - has his uses when either a game is opening up and he can put players into space in behind, or we just need to keep the ball to see a game out. Doesn't have the same box to box attributes as the exceptional Kayal~Stephens axis regrettably so we'll have to very carefully pick and choose which games he (or Sidwell) can fill in for to give them the occasional rest.

Seb Pocognoli - left back signed on loan from West Brom on deadline day, hasn't played a league game yet, in part due to still not being at the required levels of fitness having played so little football over the past two years. Will likely need to slot in well for our next league game though as Bong is suspended.

Not a particularly active summer in terms of bringing in players; was always gonna be about keeping the best of the players we already had, but so far I'll give a thumbs up to Murray and Duffy, whilst the jury's out on Norwood and Poco.