> Twelve months ago you would argue that the squad was not worth investing in

I am not sure why the squad was not worth investing in 12 months ago but is now. We had just finished 7th and I had hoped we would have invested more a year ago to push for the play offs in 2016/17. Ward and Webster were a start, but I think we needed more of their ilk. Selling Murphy and not replacing him in August or even January scuppered our season.

I think the investment now is the owner realising that he just must do something or we will be going down. I like the new signings so far and am feeling more optimistic. Berra and Lawrence will be big boots to fill though as we look to improve our 15th place finish.

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Agree we need to go balls out and sign a (I hate this expression) marquee player: a striker to rival the acquisitions of the past - think Stewart, Armstrong, Mariner or David Johnson (mk 1 or 2). In today's money that's probably around 6 million, but as the recent signings have shown, there's possibly a free agent coming online we could sign on a big "signing on" fee.

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I don't believe it matters who we sign or how much money is spent by Evans the problem is and will be McCarthy because he is so narrow minded in football terms and unless this changes along with his relationship with the fans Town will not be going anywhere soon.
I really do hope I am wrong

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12 months ago we all thought we had the best squad McCarthy had his best squad. Then Murphy was sold not replaced and McCarthy's one dimensional style was there for all to see. This season will depend on his signings settling quick, his defence doing it's job of keeping a clean sheet always remember McCarthy will always take a draw and finally Garner or someone nicking a goal. This is the first season in 25 that I don't believe we can win the league.

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Bottom 6 squad...still. #dinosaur

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Football is a transient business and must constantly adapt and adjust. Players rarely hang about these days, moving around to personal advantage at every opportunity. Thus it is important to ensure that players are brought in in every window to ensure that we are not surprised when players move on. We have stagnated in recent years relying on loanees to plug gaps. IMO we have brought in some good players in this transfer window but we have NOT replaced the likes of Murphy and Berra and will ultimately pay the price. John McGinn is not the answer to these problems and only a substantial investment in the recruitment of the necessary playing staff will save us from a season of average indifference.

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I think you're being a bit optimistic about the strikers - I mean last season they were hardly prolific - Sears (7) McGoldrick (5) and Garner (7).

But I do think we have more of a chance of being successful this season because of the players MM has signed - 2 box to box midfielders and a hardworking forward, Garner and Adeyemi both strong physical players - he's not bothering with small creative skilful players like McGinn and Johnny Williams, these are proper McCarthy players who are more suited to his game.

It won't be pretty but MM has had success before with a strong hardworking energetic side before, and that's what he's going for again

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@Edmundo I guess you mean a marque player rather than a player for a large tent? :)

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" From the moment Roy Keane was appointed, the club was doomed and this fool frittered away all of the money "

Disagree with this to a point. Keane did waste a lot of ££££ sure, however how much of that was quite his fault is open to debate. For example, in his book he states he wanted us to sign Priskin and the deal was done. Keane thought it was a £400-£500k bid however it was north of £1.5 mill which absolutely shocked him. Sure, he signed the player but a little communication behind the scenes may have been beneficial.

Magilton and Jewell were equally culpable regarding throwing an absolute fortune down the toilet. Paul Taylor on Jewell springs to mind, David Norris under Jim similarly as he was never in a month of Sundays worth that. Halmosi and E Banks Blake were the two boys from Plymouth we should have gone in for at the time, not Norris. Likewise, Boyd was the Peterborough man that was key to sign. Taylor in my opinion is a very decent player with a terrible attitude - however he didn't warrant such a bid. Worth a punt, not for the fee.

The midfield attacking wise looks better sure - hopefully Dozzell will make his mark and we can get a tune from a fit Bishop. We appear to be lacking some muscle in there to mainly play alongside Skuse if Mick's comments regarding Celina playing LM are to be believed. There's no chance in a month of Sundays if we line up with 2 strikers, Celina and Ward out wide that Mick would play either Bishop or Dozza alongside Skuse in my opinion and potentially rightly so. Another strong CM I expect to see arrive before deadline day.

I also think we may well be lacking in the fire power this coming season. Sure, Garner is a start and will at least score 8 - 10 I'd say plus be a pain. Pitman clearly doesn't fit into a higher pressing higher tempo system so I cannot say I'm sorry to see him hopefully go if that's the case. We all know McGoldrick will break down at any point and Sears... well when he goes on a run like the back end of the season he's a great player to have. When he goes over six months of the season without a goal. Painful. Therefore going into the season with three strikers - clearly another to arrive.

At the time of writing this I am more than happy with our summer transfers to date and feel we're three signings away from what should be a far better campaign. I'd say a CB/CM/CF and that would be a good summer. Unfortunately for us, other clubs are spending a lot more ££££ and attracting generally better ball players so it's going to be a long shot for us to make the top 6 in all likelihood this term. I'd suggest top 12 would be a good season all things considered - not that this will please anyone.

In a nutshell, both Joe Royle and Mick McCarthy ( very good managers in my opinion ) sadly haven't had much to spend yet three very questionable managers had millions and wasted it.

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The simple fact is that we are slow and lack talent. Most of the teams will just run around our plodders and outclass us. Mucks dreary tactics will see us survive for another season but it won't be pretty to watch.

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Away from the football side of things....the last few seasons proved McCarthy was unable to communicate and was totally detached from the supporters of this club. Evans had always detached himself from the fan base too from the very beginning of his ownership. So a lot of supporters just simply gave up supporting this regime and the poor football that followed. The poor McCarthy media interviews only made things a whole lot worse. It will take more than a mid table finish to get those fans back. Sadly, we will still carry a few players who are not good enough.

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