Stickied League 1 Transfer Rumours/Confirmed Transfers 2024/25

[Bobbin']

Desperately needed a striker and centre back, got neither.

What a shambles.

 

[thewwfc]

Nothing for us either it seems. We’re still not full strength owing to injuries, particularly up top, but I guess we think we can deal with it.

Ainsworth has also hinted at free agents (who you can sign whenever) and we’ve done that before very successfully with Garath McCleary for example, but you really wonder how many free agents of real quality there are, in terms of experienced players. We’ve signed a ton of dev squad players - which is a positive, don’t get me wrong - but it would be good to see some experience through the door.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Aye, a real eye opener as to where we stand in the pecking order. Clearly losing out not just to League One sides, but many in League Two and even some in the National League. I wonder if we had sold Pond earlier we may have been able to use that money to attract players.
Its clear that to get quality players, you need to pay for it, and we aren't able to do that.

We seem to be in the same boat unfortunately. We're competing against teams that are spending unsustainably, some on tiny crowds. It'll catch up with them eventually but in the meantime we just can't compete on wages.

Our signings are a bit odd if I'm honest and not really what we needed. I think it's clear that some of them were not even 3rd on our list but I'll reserve judgement until I've seen them play.

I said before the season that football is just not a level playing field. It's basically who has the owners who are willing to throw away money, way beyond what is achievable from their income.

 

[Si Robin]

Ryan Broom returns home from Peterborough for the remainder of the money they owe from when they signed him from us two years ago.

This is undoubtedly our best signing of the summer, and I can't wait to see him in the red of Cheltenham again. The only downside is the deal is only until the end of the season.

 

[Si Robin]

We’ve signed Carl Winchester on loan from Sunderland.

Sunderland fans seem to rate him which is always a good sign. What’s he like FGR fans? Looks like he’ll be playing his debut against his former club this weekend.

He's a dirty snake c***, and one of a very few number of players that gets grief from our fans.

He was the central midfield fulcrum for us in L2, one of the first on the teamsheet and we were sorry to see him go. I remember him as very comfortable on the ball, a good passer but not quick or a ball winner. I think Sunderland played him elsewhere though, as did Cheltenham before us.

Not quite - his main position for us was centre-mid, but because he could do a job there we sometimes played him at right wing-back if we had injuries or suspensions there.

 

[valefan16]

We seem to be in the same boat unfortunately. We're competing against teams that are spending unsustainably, some on tiny crowds. It'll catch up with them eventually but in the meantime we just can't compete on wages.

Our signings are a bit odd if I'm honest and not really what we needed. I think it's clear that some of them were not even 3rd on our list but I'll reserve judgement until I've seen them play.

I said before the season that football is just not a level playing field. It's basically who has the owners who are willing to throw away money, way beyond what is achievable from their income.

Its been a strange window but don't think its to bad in the end, just taken way to long to get the players in which as you say it is difficult with the money being talked about.

We've got three experienced strikers (Proctor, Harrison and Wilson) and two loans (Harratt ended up in Vale folklore for his last goal for us but hadn't played a pro game before! so both these lads have more experience than he did) so it is similar to last season but with Harrison added in.

Politic obviously is a great signing and gives us that game changer we've been crying out for, when we needed the key to unlock a Bolton side sat in or Pompey last week and he would have been the ideal go to man to give us a chance.

The Stoke lad gives us a winger option so we can adapt the formation if we need to change it up and take out the fact he is from Stoke City his C.V. is decent, he made an appearance in the Prem last season so must have something about him.

Massey, Ojo, Forrester, Cass, Stephens and solid enough signings for this level if not spectacular and Small is worth a gamble in an area we are well stocked anyway.

It could have been worse but lets be honest we were never going to spunk 600k on Stockton and neither did anyone else, the price tag was absolutely ridiculous and someone will just snap him up for free or virtually nothing in January.

The fact is tomorrow we go into a game for the first time this season with a set of attacking options compared to just the one striker available last week (and most of the season) so its progressive.

Its ended up being an adaptable squad which can change formation and have plenty of cover so whilst it wont pull up massive tree's it should have enough to at least survive at this level.

 

[Laker]

I don’t think £600k is ridiculous for Stockton, it’s just out of range for clubs like Vale and Cambridge at the moment. Staying in League 1 is probably worth more than £600k to Morecambe so even holding him one more season and losing him for free next summer is better than now for £600k as I believe he is the difference between Morecambe being relegated or staying up.

I had the same feeling with Sam Smith for us, I’d rather lose him for nothing next summer with us still in League 1 than cash in now and then get relegated (though I would stress I think Morecambe are more reliant on Stockton than we are on Smith).

 

[Luke Imp]

As well as landing Koroma on loan we've loaned out CB Haji Mnoga to the Gills.

And that's a wrap on an excellent transfer window.

No surprise that once Cowley was able to churn through some of your existing squad, he was then able to shape it to how he wanted. His transfer dealing here were generally excellent (bar Tom Champion on loan from Torquay in our NL, who he signed for three months and then sent back three week later!).

 

[Floreat Salopia]

He's a dirty snake c***, and one of a very few number of players that gets grief from our fans.



Not quite - his main position for us was centre-mid, but because he could do a job there we sometimes played him at right wing-back if we had injuries or suspensions there.

If your fans are branding him a snake, I’m assuming he was good for you then as when shit players move on whether it be to a local rival or not, you’re happy they’re out the door. Am I right in saying that? Definitely seems to be a good signing for us judging by the comments from Sunderland and FGR supporters.

Transfer window has been a strange one. We’ve got a really good starting 11 but we’re extremely light on numbers although yesterday’s 3 signings have helped bulk us up.

We’ve been very unfortunate with injuries early doors, Bennett, O’Brien & Udoh all out long term and all would be in the first team. These two new strikers have to be hitting it off early doors as I can’t see where our goals are coming from without O’Brien & Udoh. We can’t just rely on Leahy to score a 30 yarder or free kick every weekend.

 

[Luke Imp]

A really really painful window for us. Any more than 2-3 injuries and we’re struggling to fill the bench. On the plus side, we have a very good first XI and a handful of others who are more than capable of the bench so should be fine but, as I say, once players get tired and injuries occur we’ll be up against it.

Taylor has also been quoted in the press at midnight saying he’s really frustrated and his words smacked of someone who won’t hang around if we’re not able to be more active in a L1 market.

Aye, a real eye opener as to where we stand in the pecking order. Clearly losing out not just to League One sides, but many in League Two and even some in the National League. I wonder if we had sold Pond earlier we may have been able to use that money to attract players.
Its clear that to get quality players, you need to pay for it, and we aren't able to do that.

We seem to be in the same boat unfortunately. We're competing against teams that are spending unsustainably, some on tiny crowds. It'll catch up with them eventually but in the meantime we just can't compete on wages.

Our signings are a bit odd if I'm honest and not really what we needed. I think it's clear that some of them were not even 3rd on our list but I'll reserve judgement until I've seen them play.

I said before the season that football is just not a level playing field. It's basically who has the owners who are willing to throw away money, way beyond what is achievable from their income.

You guys have had the same issue we had in our first season - and it doesn't get much better!

The bottom half of L1 is a weird place for transfer movement full stop. Can't compete at the top half of L1 for signings, some players would rather play at the top of L2 than the bottom half of L1 and it's a big jump from the NL to L1 so those signings are often too risky.

 

[Chris FGR]

Winchester is very good tbf, and I’m not exactly delighted that he’s signed in time to play us.

 

[Luke Imp]

Scully went to Wigan in the end, which is a good move for all three parties I think.

We cash in and keep a future interest in a player who had a year left on his deal and deserves a crack at the Championship after being a 1 in 3 for us from wide left,

Wigan get a player who is proven in L1 and even if it doesn't work out for him there, he'll have L1 sides queuing up to sign him or Wigan have a L1 goal scorer if they get relegated.

Scully gets his move up a league and it's probably a Club where he'll play. He was never going to get a top Championship one anyway, it was always going to be a Wigan, Hull, Blackpool kinda size one. Boosts his international ambitions as well I suspect.

We're doing fairly well with selling players to Championship sides now, that's 5 in two season I think. Poole will probably be next in January.

 

[Chris FGR]

So we ended up with 14 in, 14 out this window, 5 in on loan.

Only 3 (Connor Wickham, David Davis & Reece Brown) with any real league 1 experience though, and 8 are 21 and under.

I’m stIll not convinced our starting xi is as strong as last year, especially not with Godwin-Malife & Stevens both now out for a while. Hopefully Burchnall can start working out what our best team is now the windows shut, we definitely need to tighten up as a unit we’re conceding far too many atm.

 

[valefan16]

I don’t think £600k is ridiculous for Stockton, it’s just out of range for clubs like Vale and Cambridge at the moment. Staying in League 1 is probably worth more than £600k to Morecambe so even holding him one more season and losing him for free next summer is better than now for £600k as I believe he is the difference between Morecambe being relegated or staying up.

I had the same feeling with Sam Smith for us, I’d rather lose him for nothing next summer with us still in League 1 than cash in now and then get relegated (though I would stress I think Morecambe are more reliant on Stockton than we are on Smith).

Depends how settled he is going to be doesn't it though.

He liked a tweet from Nixon about how sorry he felt for Stockton missing out on the move so doesn't suggest he is particularly happy about it.

 

[BarrieOwl]

Pretty happy with how our window went, we have improved on last seasons squad in my opinion and our attacking and midfield options are quite frankly ridiculous at this level.

 

[kieran_vale]

Depends how settled he is going to be doesn't it though.

He liked a tweet from Nixon about how sorry he felt for Stockton missing out on the move so doesn't suggest he is particularly happy about it.

That's going to be the challenge now for him and Morecambe. I think once he's over the initial disappointment of not getting the move he wants it'll be in his best interests probably to put his head down and then re-evaluate in January. At that point one of the bigger clubs at this level may have an injury crisis and come calling or maybe someone like us or Shrewsbury have another bite.

From DC's press conference today he's indicated a lot of the players we wanted on permanents we've lost out on to Championship clubs, obviously never going to compete at that level.

 

[LeonTheGreen]

Teams at this level have to take a punt on that kind of signing.

I’ve only watched one game in the Norwegian top tier (it actually was Rosenborg, though several seasons back) but I’d say it was slightly better than L1 level, plus you’d think he can’t be that bad to even get in the door at Chelsea, though I know they have the philosophy of signing tons of players and loaning out tons on spec.

Anyway, hopefully a young guy keen to prove himself.

We had two lads a few years ago, Ashley Smith Brown and Tafari Moore ( who was on loan at you guys). From Man City and Arsenal. Both absolutely useless and disappeared into non league

 

[valefan16]

That's going to be the challenge now for him and Morecambe. I think once he's over the initial disappointment of not getting the move he wants it'll be in his best interests probably to put his head down and then re-evaluate in January. At that point one of the bigger clubs at this level may have an injury crisis and come calling or maybe someone like us or Shrewsbury have another bite.

From DC's press conference today he's indicated a lot of the players we wanted on permanents we've lost out on to Championship clubs, obviously never going to compete at that level.

Tyrese Simpson then!

 

[Luke Imp]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565640452853882880

 

[thewwfc]

We had two lads a few years ago, Ashley Smith Brown and Tafari Moore ( who was on loan at you guys). From Man City and Arsenal. Both absolutely useless and disappeared into non league

Oh of course, you will definitely get those types, we’ve had them as well, but if the players were that great already then you wouldn’t get the Prem teams loaning them out to the lower leagues.

Usually these are youngsters with maybe some technical potential but who aren’t fully ready for senior football and need to be toughened up or whatever. You can get a gem (Kane at Leyton Orient) but of course those are the exception rather than the rule, and the risk is if they do too well, they get recalled!

We’ve definitely had cases of loanees being recalled mid-loan just to sit on the bench, which was infuriating…

 

[Si Robin]

If your fans are branding him a snake, I’m assuming he was good for you then as when shit players move on whether it be to a local rival or not, you’re happy they’re out the door. Am I right in saying that? Definitely seems to be a good signing for us judging by the comments from Sunderland and FGR supporters.

He was decent for us - the issue wasn't that he was a good player that went to a rival, it was the way he went about it, saying he wanted to stay and was hoping to work things out, when he'd already agreed to go to FGR. The fact it was FGR stung some fans, but the majority were just pissed off with the way he went about leaving.

The year after Kevin Dawson made the same move and no-one gave a toss, until he said he was more likely to get promotion with FGR than Cheltenham - that didn't quite work out for him though.

 

[Chris FGR]

Dawson seems to be prone to a red or two at Gloucester, never seemed much of a hot head with us but then he was injured a lot.

 

[GEORGE]

You guys have had the same issue we had in our first season - and it doesn't get much better!

The bottom half of L1 is a weird place for transfer movement full stop. Can't compete at the top half of L1 for signings, some players would rather play at the top of L2 than the bottom half of L1 and it's a big jump from the NL to L1 so those signings are often too risky.

Exactly what Joey Barton has been saying.

 

[Chris FGR]

Exactly what Joey Barton has been saying.

He’s still signed 10 players though tbf.

Apparently the 4 promoted sides from League 2 have signed a combined 41 players this summer. And that’s including Exeter who haven’t done a lot.

 

[The Globule]

Liam Jones - season long loan from Celtic. Thoughts, Wednesday fans?

 

[BarrieOwl]

Liam Jones - season long loan from Celtic. Thoughts, Wednesday fans?

Is that like Liam Shaw?

And fuck him, horrible little c***

 

[valefan16]

Chris Hussey has left Vale to join Stockport County after scoring the winner against them Tuesday. Overloaded on left backs so makes sense and he never really produced for us unfortunately.

wish him well all the same.

 

[kieran_vale]

Does make the McCarron signing make more sense now. From what DC has said looks like Thierry Small will focus on playing higher up the pitch now rather than as a wingback. It hasn’t sat right with me how Hussey has been treated by a small section of our fanbase. You can see it on the announcement of him leaving some keyboard warriors tagging him in calling him shit etc.

 

[Tea Towel]

Liam Jones - season long loan from Celtic. Thoughts, Wednesday fans?

Shaw.

I didn’t really get the hype around him. Tony Pulis liked him because he got stuck in. Not much else apart from that.

 

[valefan16]

Does make the McCarron signing make more sense now. From what DC has said looks like Thierry Small will focus on playing higher up the pitch now rather than as a wingback. It hasn’t sat right with me how Hussey has been treated by a small section of our fanbase. You can see it on the announcement of him leaving some keyboard warriors tagging him in calling him shit etc.

Bonkers, granted he was on decent money and it didn't work out completely how we hoped but he did ok, seems a scapegoat for some poor performances such as Newport at home which cost us the auto's but that corner delivery against FGR for example and pretty sure it was his delivery for the winner at home to Scunthorpe so he played a part in a Vale side which will be long remembered in Burslem.

Some real odd stuff with our fan base like some suggesting they will boo McCarron as he is a Stoke player on loan!