Talking Transfers in the Maxwell Mailbag
From Crawley being gutted to Rotherham being delighted, and much more in between, Ali Maxwell answers your transfer questions.
Ali Maxwell
If our Monday and Thursday bulletins are the drumbeat of NTT20’s Transfer Window Coverage, let’s make the Friday Mailbag a screeching jazz sax of recruitment queries.
This will be a free-flowing call and response, allowing us to glide along to the EFL rhythm. You — the readers — are the band leaders. I’m just here to play.
Now, the way I think about football and player recruitment means that I can’t always offer nice neat answers. You know… Upbeat… Downbeat… Yes… No… This is good… That is bad… NOO!
The reality is that recruitment is hard. EFL clubs are MILES better at it than they were 5-10 years ago and still, the success rate of transfers remains mixed. And so, I can only give answers that come naturally into my brain, and it’s a brain teeming with long EFL corridors and winding recruitment roads. For every twist and turn, I promise you, there will be a lot of thought applied.
Today, I’m talking about Rotherham United. Crawley Town. Jack Rudoni. Peter Kioso. I am, in fact, taking charge of Birmingham City’s striker recruitment and realising that sometimes transfers are hard even when you have (relatively) loads of cash to splash.
But before we dive in, can I just say: do leave a question in the comments.
We will see them…
We will do our best to answer them. We are — and I am — excited to have some great conversations with you guys throughout the window and provide some long-read content for you on long summer Fridays in the office. Let’s dance!
Rob:
Well - hard to avoid two words - Rotherham United. An outrageous level of business. Will it end well?
Liam H:
Be easier just to list the players Rotherham haven’t signed wouldn’t it?
Steve Evans is inevitable.
There is surely no manager in the EFL with as much clarity when it comes to squad building, with as much conviction to crack on and build the majority of a squad early on in the summer, and with as much persuasiveness to convince a chairman to sign the cheques…
He does not overcomplicate football with his tactics.
He does not overcomplicate football in the transfer market.
And, as sure as night follows day, Evans’ early business as Rotherham manager has been early, targeted and eye-catching. For balance, it’s worth pointing out that he also generally raises both the average age and the wage bill of a club — this summer, Evans has signed two 34 year-olds in Liam Kelly and Alex MacDonald to be cultural architects, a trendy expression that managers are using at the moment which basically means ‘great in the dressing room’. Neither are likely to start games. Most managers don’t have that option.
Let’s take a look at this business:
It all looks and feels great, so far. Evans has the core of his squad locked in nice and early, ready to be drilled in his style, and surely likely to hit the ground running in August. More than half of them have won promotion from this level previously.
Will it end well?
As a 12-24 month project, sure, I think Rotherham have a great chance of getting back to the Championship with Evans in charge of this squad. As a long-term thing? It’s likely to lead to problems down the line with squad make-up and wage bill. But Rotherham United’s owner and fans go into this with his eyes wide open.
Ryan Deeney:
You're Chris Davies. You've recently been appointed manager of a relegated team that has countless Championship-level footballers that need direction. You've signed a goalkeeper and your XI should be the best in the division - on paper at least. But while you may have Donovan, Miyoshi, Hall, Roberts, Dembele, Anderson and one or two new signings to play with in the final third, your only striker is 35-year-old Lukas Jutkiewicz.
You need fresh blood. Your budget is the biggest in the division by some distance. You can almost sign who you want. Which striker are you head-hunting to lead a promotion push?
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