Marcus McGuane - Signed from Oxford Official

[Davefevs]

4 minutes ago, INCRED said:

Spot on and hence the transfer policy and identifying the type Manning wants.

My only concern is, we signed players in the last 12 - 18 months prior to LM which appears to be based on a particular profile that the Manager/coach at the time maybe had no input on and was dictated to by someone within the club where as it appears LM is having more input and decision making on players?

I honestly don’t think the profiles have changes at all.  They were set by Nige (in the main) based on what he / they believed were needed to create PL players.  Availability of funds has changed.  Making do with what you’ve got has changed.  Being able to attack markets like Japan has changed because of changes to WP criteria.

Manning, granted is more involved day to day with the recruitment team than Nige was.  But the profiles and the “sausage machine” is the same.

[RedRock]

Hopefully, TGH is the last ‘utility/we don’t know which is his best position’ player this Club ever signs. Utterly bizarre that we signed him after the ‘trial’ period when it was clear that he wasn’t going to be a game changer and couldn’t impose himself on play as a stand out in any position, but hey ho. Seemed a nice lad, but let’s hope lessons have been fully learnt. 

Warming though to what appears to be the adoption of a ‘smarter’ recruitment (and release) strategy. 

[Natchfever]

On 22/08/2024 at 10:19, westonred said:

Like the MA /LJ days when MA would go out and get players in that LJ didnt want

Which ones?

Genuine question.

[Ian M]

16 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

He certainly didn’t let the hierarchy in on it.

Let's hope that he was engaging in a spot of Machiavellian sandbagging, as it would suggest that we were actually one of the better teams in the Championship that whole time. With the amount of backing he's now received, we can now go out and get that Championship winner's trophy!

[robin_unreliant]

38 minutes ago, Dredd said:

Guess those new floodlights can do the flashy stuff then judging by the announcement video

Not good enough for the roof or what?

[chinapig]

5 minutes ago, Natchfever said:

Which ones?

Genuine question.

The ones he didn't play probably.

Engval

Eisa

Adelakun

Smodicz

for instance.

[Port Said Red]

6 minutes ago, robin_unreliant said:

Not good enough for the roof or what?

Can't see the literally flashy new lights from the roof.

[Robbored]

46 minutes ago, Super said:

That's fine Armstrong wasn't rated by QPR fans.

They saw far more of Armstrong than we have. It’s waay to early after just two games to draw any conclusions just yet.

[grifty]

16 minutes ago, robin_unreliant said:

Not good enough for the roof or what?

The roof announcement has become overused now. It was a superb idea for Kalas (who I think was the first?) but now for every signing it takes the excitement away.

Should be reserved for a big or expensive signing.

[David Brent]

I have a good feeling about this one. He’s obviously got some talent and has played his best football under Liam. He’ll be even better in our team with the players he’ll have around him. 

Not bothered about stats or even the opinion of Oxford fans.

 

[The Coach]

Another club in the bag?

[David Brent]

1 minute ago, The Coach said:

Another club in the bag?

One in one out

[robin_unreliant]

5 minutes ago, grifty said:

 

Should be reserved for a big or expensive signing.

So, in effect you are confirming he isn't good enough to get on the roof then?

[westonred]

35 minutes ago, Natchfever said:

Which ones?

Genuine question.

The rumour at the time was Gustav Engvall (Swedish U21 international )was brought in without LJ knowing to much about it Thats why LJ only played him (4 Games) although he was obviously a good player. The same was said about Sammie Szmodics LJ didnt want him and he only played 3 times 

[Numero Uno]

12 minutes ago, Robbored said:

They saw far more of Armstrong than we have. It’s waay to early after just two games to draw any conclusions just yet.

The point is that players fail at some clubs and do better at others. Plenty of examples of players on the scrapheap who have breathed new life into their careers elsewhere whether that be due to a manager that understands them or a style of play that suits them. Liam is paid well to recognise that and we have a recruitment team also paid well to recognise that. Sometimes you look at a player and think "they would be perfect for our side".

As always the likes of Armstrong and McGuane will be judged by most of our fans on what they produce for us not what they did for QPR and Oxford. It's a small minority of fans determined to rubbish a player before they've put the shirt on that I find bizarre - "he's useless and can't even trap a ball" was said of Armstrong by one poster (not that you often see a player "trap" a ball that often these days anyway tbh).

[Severn Beach Pigeon]

1 hour ago, Manor Born said:

I came to this forum when you signed Sykes, who's signing seemed to spark great indifference at best. I passed on a few reservations but also said that I thought it was a good signing and he could do well for you.

Likewise, I thought I'd give my view on McGuane, having watched him a lot over the past three years. First thing, he's a good footballer - athletic, comfortable on the ball (albeit one footed) and has  that ability to break away from a tackler or marker and create space. If you're looking to break a press or counter attack, he can be very useful. He was particularly effective in the first part of last season under Manning and seemed to suit his system really well. Very much like Sykes when he arrived at Oxford, he used to go down too easily but he has become stronger on the ball and can be hard to dispossess. Oh, and he doesn't seem injury prone 

On the less positive side, he often seems a conservative player, someone who rather keep up his passing stats with a safe pass, rather than looking to really break forward and he can often disappear for large tracts of a game if the going gets tough. It was said by some that he 'downed tools' when Buckingham arrived to takeover from Manning. Whatever happened, he was way less effective and once Buckingham started to introduce his own style, there seemed less of a role for McGuane who perhaps isn't very adaptable to change, although he started to be used more from the bench in the play off run in. We have also recruited heavily in the midfield and I think the writing was on the wall over the summer.

For what it's worth, I like the bloke a lot and I think it's a worthwhile low level gamble for you. There's no doubt that he's under achieved for someone with that much natural ability but it seems like Manning might be the one to get the best out of him and I don't think he will be out of his depth in the Championship. A clean start is probably best for all!

 

 

We'll soon fix that!

[grifty]

29 minutes ago, robin_unreliant said:

So, in effect you are confirming he isn't good enough to get on the roof then?

Oxfords 6th choice midfielder replacing our 5th choice midfielder?

Is he our star player? no.

Does he expect to come here and be our star player? no.

[Supersonic Robin]

Obviously a minor point, but I've been surprised by the slightly weird timings of our announcements this summer.

Traditionally, the club announces players at times of peak social media traffic (e.g. 6pm on a Friday). Seems like there's been a lot of announcements at non-optimal times so far (bar the Yu one, which was clearly done to align with the time in Japan).

[NewquayRed]

Maybe keeping the evening slot open

[Sleepy1968]

1 hour ago, Northern Red said:

"Bristol City is delighted to announce the signing of Marcus McGuane...."

This is an irrational hate of mine.

 

1 hour ago, Port Said Red said:

To be honest, it's something that is always difficult to pin down in English. I would say the Club is a single entity so the grammar is correct, but I know others would argue otherwise.

I'm in the same boat, and came to the same conclusion as PSR when I got annoyed enough to check one time.

At least they corrected the 'advanced' wording in their season ticket renewal literature that wound me up every year!

Edited August 23 by Sleepy1968

[Port Said Red]

I know this is going a bit before time for some of you, but for some reason I keep thinking back to when we signed Adam Locke from Colchester Utd for next to nothing in the 90's. 

He had little or no pedigree, had been hardly playing at Colchester and yet he came and played wing back for pretty much the whole of our promotion season under Ward. I never could work out how we had even spotted him at the time, we have paid much more before and since for far less effective players.

I hope this will be a similar signing.

[hinsleburg]

9 minutes ago, Supersonic Robin said:

Obviously a minor point, but I've been surprised by the slightly weird timings of our announcements this summer.

Traditionally, the club announces players at times of peak social media traffic (e.g. 6pm on a Friday). Seems like there's been a lot of announcements at non-optimal times so far (bar the Yu one, which was clearly done to align with the time in Japan).

I would hope this is a change in our Marketing Strategy following the arrival of Sheridan.

It's been a real bug bear of mine that our strategy seemed to revolve around clicks and numbers, whilst I appreciate that's important many of the clicks and numbers were negative. Hopefully we are going back to basics and communicating at an appropriate time and targeting positive sentiment rather than clicks.

[Major Isewater]

1 hour ago, MythikRobins said:

Closest I’ve seen to a fee is Bristol City Live saying “Not a lot….” 

But you’ll like it.

[Sleepy1968]

32 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

The point is that players fail at some clubs and do better at others. Plenty of examples of players on the scrapheap who have breathed new life into their careers elsewhere whether that be due to a manager that understands them or a style of play that suits them. Liam is paid well to recognise that and we have a recruitment team also paid well to recognise that. Sometimes you look at a player and think "they would be perfect for our side".

As always the likes of Armstrong and McGuane will be judged by most of our fans on what they produce for us not what they did for QPR and Oxford. It's a small minority of fans determined to rubbish a player before they've put the shirt on that I find bizarre - "he's useless and can't even trap a ball" was said of Armstrong by one poster (not that you often see a player "trap" a ball that often these days anyway tbh).

Bob Taylor was a make weight in the deal that took Carl Shutt to Leeds ...

[Numero Uno]

3 minutes ago, Sleepy1968 said:

Bob Taylor was a make weight in the deal that took Carl Shutt to Leeds ...

Rob Dickie was struggling at QPR. On the flip side how many times have we signed a player who was apparently the dogs bollocks meaning "we're gonna win the ******* lot"............until he put the shirt on and got out there playing? You cannot make firm judgements on players you've never seen play. Don't see the point in making snap judgements, either, when you will be watching them play soon anyway!! If the new lad is crap people will get their opportunity to say so after watching him a few times...............(albeit some of the worst culprits on the MDT's in terms of slagging people off every few minutes presumably don't go and watch games that often).

[Robbored]

1 hour ago, The Coach said:

Another club in the bag?

Such an antiquated phrase……………...

[Dullmoan Tone]

57 minutes ago, westonred said:

The rumour at the time was Gustav Engvall (Swedish U21 international )was brought in without LJ knowing to much about it Thats why LJ only played him (4 Games) although he was obviously a good player.

How are you coming to the conclusion Engvall was a good player? He’s scored 28 goals in 7 years in the Belgian and Swedish leagues?

[Fordy62]

Lansdown is his own worst enemy isn’t he? This really feels like the last roll of the dice. 

Managers who deserve his backing don’t get backed and then he’s cornered into making the replacement work out by throwing money around.

You’d think he’d learn but he doesn’t.

I wonder what Nige might have done with the coffers Manning has had. 

[RSW8]

34 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

I know this is going a bit before time for some of you, but for some reason I keep thinking back to when we signed Adam Locke from Colchester Utd for next to nothing in the 90's. 

He had little or no pedigree, had been hardly playing at Colchester and yet he came and played wing back for pretty much the whole of our promotion season under Ward. I never could work out how we had even spotted him at the time, we have paid much more before and since for far less effective players.

I hope this will be a similar signing.

Always remember Adam Locke scoring a very late winner at Portsmouth in the late 1990s. Bank holiday (Easter) game if I remember correctly right in front of what was the open away end/terrace. That was certainly a lively day out

[Davefevs]

54 minutes ago, hinsleburg said:

I would hope this is a change in our Marketing Strategy following the arrival of Sheridan.

It's been a real bug bear of mine that our strategy seemed to revolve around clicks and numbers, whilst I appreciate that's important many of the clicks and numbers were negative. Hopefully we are going back to basics and communicating at an appropriate time and targeting positive sentiment rather than clicks.

Earthy - no fuss

Twine - no fuss….after the circus

McGuane in / TGH out - no fuss

I did hear a whisper that she is settling into the task at hand well.

[1960maaan]

31 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Rob Dickie was struggling at QPR. On the flip side how many times have we signed a player who was apparently the dogs bollocks meaning "we're gonna win the ******* lot"............until he put the shirt on and got out there playing? You cannot make firm judgements on players you've never seen play. Don't see the point in making snap judgements, either, when you will be watching them play soon anyway!! If the new lad is crap people will get their opportunity to say so after watching him a few times...............(albeit some of the worst culprits on the MDT's in terms of slagging people off every few minutes presumably don't go and watch games that often).

Difference with Dickie is that they had talked about £10m or more for him not that long before he came here. He might have lost his way but everyone knew there was a player there.

This lad is a bit of a punt , but the only real criticism of him as he's cautious in his passing. That isn't much to worry about , right coaching, right (better) team and more confidence who knows.

Like you say until we have seen him in the shirt a few times we won't know what we have. 

I like TGH , but Manning has his ideas about what and how he wants the team. TGH wasn't right , this lad he thinks is. We shall see.

26 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Such an antiquated phrase……………...

Not in Golf 

[westonred]

32 minutes ago, Dullmoan Tone said:

How are you coming to the conclusion Engvall was a good player? He’s scored 28 goals in 7 years in the Belgian and Swedish leagues?

I thought he looked a tidy player and scored 64 goals in his career I take it you didnt rate him then ? 

[bcfc01]

24 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Lansdown is his own worst enemy isn’t he? This really feels like the last roll of the dice. 

Managers who deserve his backing don’t get backed and then he’s cornered into making the replacement work out by throwing money around.

You’d think he’d learn but he doesn’t.

 

Not sure that SL has a lot do with it these days (I assume you mean Lansdown senior).

5m for Conway and the residual monies from the Scott sale would cover the incomings I would think.

But it does have the feel of "going for it" this season, maybe because its the first time for a few seasons that we've seen quite a bit of activity lately and maybe a bit more to come.

[Port Said Red]

28 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Lansdown is his own worst enemy isn’t he? This really feels like the last roll of the dice. 

Managers who deserve his backing don’t get backed and then he’s cornered into making the replacement work out by throwing money around.

You’d think he’d learn but he doesn’t.

I wonder what Nige might have done with the coffers Manning has had. 

Probably something similar, who knows? I would say who cares, but apparently too many do. 

Have we spent huge amounts of money? I don't think we have in comparison with some clubs or some seasons in our past, but others seem to have a better understanding of what's been paid out in these days of undisclosed fees than I do.

What I do know is what the criticism usually is, and that's "Lansdown doesn't care anymore, doesn't want to spend "the nest egg", etc etc. So now the narrative changes and he's spending it at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons. 

So boring.

[WarksRobin]

Has he featured for Oxford yet this season?

[Severn Beach Pigeon]

5 minutes ago, WarksRobin said:

Has he featured for Oxford yet this season?

No, not been in any matchday squads since they played Oxford City in a friendly.

 

Edit- correction, was an unused sub in a friendly against Palermo.

Edited August 23 by Severn Beach Pigeon

[Jerseybean]

2 hours ago, RedRock said:

Hopefully, TGH is the last ‘utility/we don’t know which is his best position’ player this Club ever signs. Utterly bizarre that we signed him after the ‘trial’ period when it was clear that he wasn’t going to be a game changer and couldn’t impose himself on play as a stand out in any position, but hey ho. Seemed a nice lad, but let’s hope lessons have been fully learnt. 

Warming though to what appears to be the adoption of a ‘smarter’ recruitment (and release) strategy. 

The article I read about MM stressed how he hasn’t yet found his best position! 

[Maltshoveller]

1 hour ago, Sleepy1968 said:

Bob Taylor was a make weight in the deal that took Carl Shutt to Leeds ...

Was gutted the day that happened 

Turned out ok though 

[Jerseybean]

1 hour ago, Sleepy1968 said:

 

I'm in the same boat, and came to the same conclusion as PSR when I got annoyed enough to check one time.

At least they corrected the 'advanced' wording in their season ticket renewal literature that wound me up every year!

Annoys me too! 

[Harry R]

It's really tedious that when we sign squad players people declare themselves 'underwhelmed' and similar. Not every signing is going to go straight into the team. And we already signed Bird who is a pretty exciting signing in the same position.

For whatever reason, TGH is off, so without a replacement we would have been one injury away from having noone on the bench who could come on at 6 without playing out of position.

 

[Lew-T]

32 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

What I do know is what the criticism usually is, and that's "Lansdown doesn't care anymore, doesn't want to spend "the nest egg", etc etc. So now the narrative changes and he's spending it at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons. 

So boring.

This. So this.

[Mr Popodopolous]

3 hours ago, RedRock said:

Hopefully, TGH is the last ‘utility/we don’t know which is his best position’ player this Club ever signs. Utterly bizarre that we signed him after the ‘trial’ period when it was clear that he wasn’t going to be a game changer and couldn’t impose himself on play as a stand out in any position, but hey ho.

With respect this re-writes history a bit.

A reason he was signed if we remember was because he was relatively cheap and ticked a number of boxes. It was relatively begrudgingly as memory serves 

Scott sold and McCrorie uncertain in respect of his medical position.

CM- 

RB- 

Potential at RWB- 

He was shunted around during the injury crisis playing at RB and CM, and then during the Manning phase where he threw mud at the wall hoping some stuck.

For me he is a CM in a 3, maybe deeper maybe higher but in a 3.

Edited August 23 by Mr Popodopolous

[Mr Popodopolous]

15 minutes ago, Harry R said:

It's really tedious that when we sign squad players people declare themselves 'underwhelmed' and similar. Not every signing is going to go straight into the team. And we already signed Bird who is a pretty exciting signing in the same position.

For whatever reason, TGH is off, so without a replacement we would have been one injury away from having noone on the bench who could come on at 6 without playing out of position.

 

If he isn't an upgrade on TGH and or we haven't gained financially, why bother In then Out in a sense.

[Redland]

3 hours ago, Gilli74 said:

Media team smashing it again !! 
can’t even spell the Club name correct .. 

Us old un’s remember it’s BRRRISTOL. BRRRISTOL.

[Severn Beach Pigeon]

5 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

If he isn't an upgrade on TGH and or we haven't gained financially, why bother In then Out in a sense.

Who said he isn't an upgrade on TGH?

What's with the determination to view absolutely everything you can to do with LM in the most negative light, or perhaps are you "slinging mud to see what sticks"?

[Davefevs]

9 minutes ago, Severn Beach Pigeon said:

Who said he isn't an upgrade on TGH?

What's with the determination to view absolutely everything you can to do with LM in the most negative light, or perhaps are you "slinging mud to see what sticks"?

The person he replied to gave the hypothesis of his squad status.  All Mr P was doing was replying with a perfectly reasonable request.

Edited August 23 by Davefevs

[Harry]

3 hours ago, Natchfever said:

Which ones?

Genuine question.

A lot of them. 
And if anyone asks for a source - Straight from the horses mouth. 

[Northern Red]

3 minutes ago, Harry said:

A lot of them. 
And if anyone asks for a source - Straight from the horses mouth. 

Wonder if we'll ever get those books he said he could write?...

[Severn Beach Pigeon]

5 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

The person he replied to gave the hypothesis of his squad status.  All Mr P was doing was replying with a perfectly reasonable request.

The person Mr P responded to didn't suggest MM is worse than TGH though, just a replacement for the squad player/backup role that TGH had.

That can be a downgrade, can be equivalent quality or can be an upgrade.

Automatically assuming the worst case about everything is a cynical (therefore not rational) view to take- as would be the opposite stance.

 

Do I need to chuck in a pointless emoji too, or can a conversation be had sensibly?

Edited August 23 by Severn Beach Pigeon

[Mr Popodopolous]

14 minutes ago, Severn Beach Pigeon said:

Who said he isn't an upgrade on TGH?

What's with the determination to view absolutely everything you can to do with LM in the most negative light, or perhaps are you "slinging mud to see what sticks"?

Manning is fine, but what do you base the upgrade hypothesis on exactly.

Have you watched him at length, better Value for Money? Better cover positionally?

Anything other than blind faith with which to back it up.

[Natchfever]

6 minutes ago, Harry said:

A lot of them. 
And if anyone asks for a source - Straight from the horses mouth. 

Ok so who were LJ signings then?

Understand if you cant answer that one.

[Peter1450]

3 hours ago, robin_unreliant said:

So, in effect you are confirming he isn't good enough to get on the roof then?

The only reason anyone should be on the roof is to give it a lick of paint 

[JP Hampton]

On 22/08/2024 at 08:46, Hocca said:

Has to be a loan for TGH then. Not surprising he’s been poor lately.

Season’s only just started and he wasn’t getting much game time at the end of last season!

[Harry]

As I posted last night, I’m not entirely sure why this particular signing seems to have sent a few posters to a place where they claim there is now “too much churn”. 
We have carried a pretty small squad over the past 2 years. Last year we basically had 21 senior first team players. 
 

We’ve lost 5 those in Conway, James, King, Weimann and Hickman. 
We’ve added 7 in Fally, Armstrong, Bird, Twine, McGuane, Earthy and Yu. 
Cornick is also transfer listed, so if he does attract interest then we are only 1 senior player up on last season. I wouldn’t say that’s huge or unnecessary churn. 
 

McGuane is clearly a 1 in 1 out situation that presented itself. 
Hickman (as was clear from day 1) is not a player that will fit the way Manning wants to play. McGuane (as evidenced by his form under Manning at Oxford) is someone who fits the required style. 
 

Whichever player anyone thinks is better is regardless. He simply fits better. So that, for me, is an upgrade. We have signed a player who the manager thinks (no, knows), can better play his way, and moved out someone he knows can’t. = upgrade. 

[Severn Beach Pigeon]

10 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Manning is fine, but what do you base the upgrade hypothesis on exactly.

Have you watched him at length, better Value for Money? Better cover positionally?

Anything other than blind faith with which to back it up.

Have I made a claim that he's an upgrade?

Anything to justify putting words in my mouth?

We have numerous people saying that McGuane suited LM's style of play. We could also see that TGH didn't particularly.

That alone would suggest that even if they are of the same ability overall then it's probably a positive move.

But even then I haven't labelled it as such, I'm pretty indifferent about the transfer.

I'm hopeful that we'll see a good player when MM is needed to fill in for a few games or come on as a sub. But I'm hopeful with every signing because past performance elsewhere (and even at the same club) is no guarantee of future performance.

When Wilbs joined he'd scored a combined 7 goals in the previous 4 seasons and was 33ish, were you tearing your heart out or complaining about SC constantly then? I can remember my reaction, I was underwhelmed but hopeful he'd prove my concerns wrong and he did. But being underwhelmed by a signing doesn't mean you need to shit on it or the manager constantly.

Giving new signings a chance before writing them off isn't blind faith either. Sticking to saying they'll come good in the face of any kind of evidence would be, but allowing them to have a chance in the first place, no.

Edited August 23 by Severn Beach Pigeon

[Harry]

10 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Manning is fine, but what do you base the upgrade hypothesis on exactly.

Have you watched him at length, better Value for Money? Better cover positionally?

Anything other than blind faith with which to back it up.

I’ve seen McGuane about 15 times. I’ve seen Hickman about 30 times. McGuane definitely fits Manning better. Without a shadow of doubt. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

Just now, Severn Beach Pigeon said:

Have I made a claim that he's an upgrade?

Anything to justify putting words in my mouth?

We have numerous people saying that McGuane suited LM's style of play. We could also see that TGH didn't particularly.

That alone would suggest that even if they are of the same ability overall then it's probably a positive move.

But even then I haven't labelled it as such, I'm pretty indifferent about the transfer.

I'm hopeful that we'll see a good player when MM is needed to fill in for a few games or come on as a sub. But I'm hopeful with every signing because past performance elsewhere (and even at the same club) is no guarantee of future performance.

When Wilbs joined he'd scored a combined 7 goals in the previous 4 seasons and was 33ish, were you tearing your heart out or complaining about SC constantly then? I can remember my reaction, I was underwhelmed but hopeful he'd prove my concerns wrong and he did. But being underwhelmed by a signing doesn't mean you need to shit on it constantly.

 

Your claim was challenging the point that he wasn't. You think it was more of a like for like?

Wilbraham although older had done it at a higher level...I remember the name from Stockport in the early 2000s. This is a guy approaching peak years albeit a strong Academy background, has served much of his career in League 1.

We are supposedly going for it from a very competitive League..let's hope McGuane knits it together well or is a strong a shrewd first reserve when called upon.

1 minute ago, Harry said:

I’ve seen McGuane about 15 times. I’ve seen Hickman about 30 times. McGuane definitely fits Manning better. Without a shadow of doubt. 

We shall see, although I'll take your word at this juncture. Ultimately if Manning wants 2 and a pure 10, I'm not sure we succeed at this level but that's on Manning.

TGH 2-3 years younger too so we're not really comparing like with like.

[Son of Fred]

3 hours ago, RedRock said:

Hopefully, TGH is the last ‘utility/we don’t know which is his best position’ player this Club ever signs.

Well,,McCrorie's still here........

[jbcfc]

seen mixed reactions to this signing, but as previous comments have alluded to, mcguane offers a particular attribute (driving with the ball from deep) that tgh was unfortunately lacking. while not a bad player as such, he’s not got an outstanding attribute and is no more than a squad player and therefore would just be sat on the bench, or even the reserves, as just that - a reserve. feels like mcguane can actually offer something different to the current contingent of midfielders and is more of a tactical option for manning, who was by all accounts the last man to get a tune out of him.

got to love the ruthlessness and the backing that manning is getting. just hope that any more incomings aren’t at the expense of another. (re: vyner/mcnally)

[David Brent]

2 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

Lansdown is his own worst enemy isn’t he? This really feels like the last roll of the dice. 

Managers who deserve his backing don’t get backed and then he’s cornered into making the replacement work out by throwing money around.

You’d think he’d learn but he doesn’t.

I wonder what Nige might have done with the coffers Manning has had. 

Why don’t you put that in the Nige “master thread”

[Merrick's Marvels]

19 minutes ago, Harry said:

As I posted last night, I’m not entirely sure why this particular signing seems to have sent a few posters to a place where they claim there is now “too much churn”. 
We have carried a pretty small squad over the past 2 years. Last year we basically had 21 senior first team players. 
 

We’ve lost 5 those in Conway, James, King, Weimann and Hickman. 
We’ve added 7 in Fally, Armstrong, Bird, Twine, McGuane, Earthy and Yu. 
Cornick is also transfer listed, so if he does attract interest then we are only 1 senior player up on last season. I wouldn’t say that’s huge or unnecessary churn. 
 

McGuane is clearly a 1 in 1 out situation that presented itself. 
Hickman (as was clear from day 1) is not a player that will fit the way Manning wants to play. McGuane (as evidenced by his form under Manning at Oxford) is someone who fits the required style. 
 

Whichever player anyone thinks is better is regardless. He simply fits better. So that, for me, is an upgrade. We have signed a player who the manager thinks (no, knows), can better play his way, and moved out someone he knows can’t. = upgrade. 

You can lead horses to water, mate, but....

.... some are still as thick as mince.

Slowly but surely, we are progressing - on paper.

Time to show it on the grass!

[Davefevs]

38 minutes ago, Severn Beach Pigeon said:

The person Mr P responded to didn't suggest MM is worse than TGH though, just a replacement for the squad player/backup role that TGH had.

That can be a downgrade, can be equivalent quality or can be an upgrade.

Automatically assuming the worst case about everything is a cynical (therefore not rational) view to take- as would be the opposite stance.

 

Do I need to chuck in a pointless emoji too, or can a conversation be had sensibly?

And it’s a reasonable question to ask whether we should be looking to better what we’ve just lost.  That is all Mr P asked.  Just because some of his posts might be on the negative side, doesn’t mean all his posts are.  The emoji is just saving typing words.

+++++

FWIW as per earlier post on whichever thread it was, I think McGuane is a good signing, and will be pushing the other CMs to the hilt for a place.  I don’t believe he’s come here to play second fiddle to anyone.  Whether that happens or not, who knows.

Edited August 23 by Davefevs

[Bar BS3]

4 hours ago, RedRock said:

Hopefully, TGH is the last ‘utility/we don’t know which is his best position’ player this Club ever signs. Utterly bizarre that we signed him after the ‘trial’ period when it was clear that he wasn’t going to be a game changer and couldn’t impose himself on play as a stand out in any position, but hey ho. Seemed a nice lad, but let’s hope lessons have been fully learnt. 

Warming though to what appears to be the adoption of a ‘smarter’ recruitment (and release) strategy. 

I think he was fine for what we needed at the time - now we have improved the squad with excellent transfer dealings Iver the summer & he has dropped down the pecking order - so the move is best for all concerned. 

He should be outstanding at L1 level.

 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

I know officially it is a dreaded 'undisclosed fee' signing but I saw, reports that it was a negligible fee whereas Sky are reporting it as a Free transfer. Do we know what it is? 

[Mr Popodopolous]

33 minutes ago, Harry said:

As I posted last night, I’m not entirely sure why this particular signing seems to have sent a few posters to a place where they claim there is now “too much churn”. 
We have carried a pretty small squad over the past 2 years. Last year we basically had 21 senior first team players. 
 

We’ve lost 5 those in Conway, James, King, Weimann and Hickman. 
We’ve added 7 in Fally, Armstrong, Bird, Twine, McGuane, Earthy and Yu. 
Cornick is also transfer listed, so if he does attract interest then we are only 1 senior player up on last season. I wouldn’t say that’s huge or unnecessary churn. 
 

McGuane is clearly a 1 in 1 out situation that presented itself. 
Hickman (as was clear from day 1) is not a player that will fit the way Manning wants to play. McGuane (as evidenced by his form under Manning at Oxford) is someone who fits the required style. 
 

Whichever player anyone thinks is better is regardless. He simply fits better. So that, for me, is an upgrade. We have signed a player who the manager thinks (no, knows), can better play his way, and moved out someone he knows can’t. = upgrade. 

In fairness as a ratio it is a decent sized or has the makings of the decent sized churn.

It maybe for the better.. on paper younger and room to develop is good, but so long as it doesn't reach a critical mass and a tipping point beyond improving and refreshing and just chaos. Too much experience out, too much relative youth in.

Edited August 23 by Mr Popodopolous

[Harry]

22 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

 

We shall see, although I'll take your word at this juncture. Ultimately if Manning wants 2 and a pure 10, I'm not sure we succeed at this level but that's on Manning.

TGH 2-3 years younger too so we're not really comparing like with like.

It’s not about age either. I’m also not comparing like for like in terms of talent, ability, technique, goals/assists columns etc. I’m simply coming from the point of view of a player fitting a specific style. 
Hickman doesn’t fit Manning. McGuane does. Based on evidence of both players playing under the manager. 
If a manager can say “player A fits my style better than player B” then it’s an upgrade. 

[Porto Red]

4 hours ago, Northern Red said:

"Bristol City is delighted to announce the signing of Marcus McGuane...."

This is an irrational hate of mine.

Likewise.

4 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

To be honest, it's something that is always difficult to pin down in English. I would say the Club is a single entity so the grammar is correct, but I know others would argue otherwise.

It is a grey area and grammatically an argument can be made for either, but these things are properly determined by historical usage, and in British English it's always been "are" and not "is". The latter is basically an Americanism now, but as it seems to be increasingly used by younger people (such as our media team, at a guess!), no doubt it will become the usage in time. Disappointingly.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Just now, Harry said:

It’s not about age either. I’m also not comparing like for like in terms of talent, ability, technique, goals/assists columns etc. I’m simply coming from the point of view of a player fitting a specific style. 
Hickman doesn’t fit Manning. McGuane does. Based on evidence of both players playing under the manager. 
If a manager can say “player A fits my style better than player B” then it’s an upgrade. 

Thanks, that makes sense.

I look forward to seeing what MM can do when called upon.

[LocoPal]

26 minutes ago, Harry said:

I’ve seen McGuane about 15 times. I’ve seen Hickman about 30 times. McGuane definitely fits Manning better. Without a shadow of doubt. 

Well, that's good enough for me!

Welcome to the club Marcus. A player Mannning knows well and should be a useful addition for the football he wants to see play.

This is business that is best done as early as possible. There are also going to be a few more players in this squad, who will not be getting the minutes that they had hoped for and so TGH gets another go at Brum.

[Ashtongreight]

2 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

Lansdown is his own worst enemy isn’t he? This really feels like the last roll of the dice. 

Managers who deserve his backing don’t get backed and then he’s cornered into making the replacement work out by throwing money around.

You’d think he’d learn but he doesn’t.

I wonder what Nige might have done with the coffers Manning has had. 

I understand your point, it does feel a bit like Groundhog Day, over spend, a period of consolidation, then followed by throwing the kitchen sink at it again. 
 

It does feel slightly different this time, as it seems the amount spent is less than previously. 
 

I’ve no problem with them backing their manager, what I’m more concerned about is if we are successful I’m not sure LM will stay the course. Then where does that leave us. At least with LJ I had the sense he wanted to be successful with US, with LM I don’t have that feeling.