[Statesideowl]

Weaver's back where he wants to be, a very experienced player that will make a good addition to the staff. You know he's not going to half arse it and be in it for the pay cheque either.

[Owlkev71]

Well that French lad Tardieu wont be coming, he appears to have signed for Sochaux.

[Chezzie Owl]

Welcome home Nicky

That's Bully, Hirsty now Nicky back home where thy belong...

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He wasn't coming as soon as MM knew the takeover wasn't happening...even with the Antonio money we couldn't afford him

Also, I reckon SG changed tact a little as he had signed Hutchinson, had Lee and Coke and retained Semedo with McCabe as back up, maybe he felt he had enough in CM...but I still think a CAM is still needed or a CM who can thread balls to our strikers.

[madsteve]

if everyone one was fit lee hutch hope &  lavery  we would be top of this league after beating forest & bolton    and we would need knowbody    there not    we need 3 more players in quickly    and 1 should be signed up as a central midfielder    and be xxxx quality    not a kid     not a loan    and not from the leagues below    because im afraid i told you so    with lee & hutch this will be happening all season long  

Hope has played ten minutes, Lavery is way off the standard so far & Lee is only average for this division. Only Hutch is a major loss.

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

Just going back to Antonio for a second, yes he was brilliant for us but he had started to stagnate and for the good of him and us he needed to move on. MM knew the takeover was off and we were woefully short on numbers. By selling Antonio it paved the way for 4 players in and I think the rest of the money will be there for SG to strengthen further if needs be (a CAM would be nice)

That doesn't stack up on finances. We received £1.3m for Antonio & paid £800k for May so we have a £500k surplus on those deals. We have already saved over £40k per week by releasing Taylor, Gardner, Reda, JJ, Prutton & Llera which more than covers the wages of the new players, Westwood, Lees & Dielna.

How does it not stack up. I already said we have money left to reinvest.
Westwood and Lees were here before Antonio so I won't count them as the new players (bet their wages add up to £30k a week though). We bought May and have £500k left, he'll be on £7k, Dielna will be on £5/6k (so already we've spent that £40k a week and we're into Antonio's wages), we'll be paying some of Drenthe's wages (he'll be on a fair whack) but then we'll not be spending much on Hope. That doesn't leave much of the "saved" wages. Any new payers & you can bet that our wage bill will be higher than at the end of last season

[Owlkev71]

Some of that 500k, could be going into the day to day running of the club, it might not be going on fees or wages for players.

[consilio]

All the talk in the press is that SG is still looking for a CF. I wish he'd concentrate on the midfield where we need strengthening

[madsteve]

Just going back to Antonio for a second, yes he was brilliant for us but he had started to stagnate and for the good of him and us he needed to move on. MM knew the takeover was off and we were woefully short on numbers. By selling Antonio it paved the way for 4 players in and I think the rest of the money will be there for SG to strengthen further if needs be (a CAM would be nice)

That doesn't stack up on finances. We received £1.3m for Antonio & paid £800k for May so we have a £500k surplus on those deals. We have already saved over £40k per week by releasing Taylor, Gardner, Reda, JJ, Prutton & Llera which more than covers the wages of the new players, Westwood, Lees & Dielna.

How does it not stack up. I already said we have money left to reinvest.
Westwood and Lees were here before Antonio so I won't count them as the new players (bet their wages add up to £30k a week though). We bought May and have £500k left, he'll be on £7k, Dielna will be on £5/6k (so already we've spent that £40k a week and we're into Antonio's wages), we'll be paying some of Drenthe's wages (he'll be on a fair whack) but then we'll not be spending much on Hope. That doesn't leave much of the "saved" wages. Any new payers & you can bet that our wage bill will be higher than at the end of last season

Taylor & Gardner (along with Kirkland) were our top earners last season. In effect, Lees & Westwood have replaced them. I bet Onweyu was on a similar wage. MM said that he was going to increase the wage budget. So are May & Dielna on more than Antonio, Reda, Prutton, JJ, Onweyu & Llera?

I bet we are not paying much towards Drenthe's wages because Reading want rid of him. Also remember, we were paying wages towards Leon Best at the end of last season

[Wereham Owl]

My thoughts so far on the games/players/team I have seen,

Probably the best I have seen for a decade, maybe not the most skilful, but a TEAM, they play for each other now and seem to have belief in the manager, and more to the point , the fans seem to have belief in them.
The signings of Westwood and lees are proving to be a masterstroke, along with Loovens and May (who I think could become an Owls legend), plus the fact Nuhiu, and dare I say it Helan could both have a great season bodes well for the coming months.
SG while personally not my choice of manager seems to be getting the best out of what he has at the moment (Dave Bassett/Wimbledon anyone ??).
While we do need to strengthen our midfield I honestly think these players are ones that will give their all for Sheffield Wednesday, which makes a refreshing change.
We just need a little more thought and inspiration in the final 3rd and I can see us staying in the playoff places, because if The Trees are the best in this division then we really have nothing to fear, just a little more luck, more composure and we could be surprised come May.

Or am I being a little OTT ??

[madsteve]

One beauty of our current situation is that May believes that if he scores once then we will win the match because the defence is so solid. The defence believe that if they hold out then we will win the match because May will score. This is s kind of evocative combination which creates belief & keeps all the players battling because they know a little effort can achieve exceptional results.

I said last season that we had players that weren't far away from being a top six team but also could be bottom six as well. I think a lot depends on how SG reacts when the opposition start with three in CM. He has made good substitutions and tactical adjustments recently. Will he be bold enough to start with a 433 against the 451 teams.