STFC Transfer Rumours

[4D]

Well, if ever there was a post that guaranteed Smith to Cambridge - this is it…

I was going to add "he'll be gone"

[Tails]

Our fans are just as bad.
We’ve gone from ‘Smith is irreplaceable. We can’t let him go. He won’t go to Cambridge’ to ‘meh, he’s replaceable, let him go if he really thinks Cambridge is a better offer’ in less than a day…

I mean, one person said to let him go. And he IS replaceable. The question is, whether we actually we will - I don't trust us to do so.

[Tails]

.... And of course would rather he stayed. If only so I can make more Harry Smith content on X that gets 4 likes or so.

[4D]

I’ll go the complete opposite & say we won’t be able to replace him & our chances of being at the right end of the table massively rely on Smith being on the same form he was on last season.

To the point - that aside from an immediate cash boost upfront now - I don’t think selling him would make us any profit come the end of the season. Without his goals there is less of a feel good factor, results aren’t as good, not as high up the table, casual fans not coming in through the turnstiles. The potential down turn in form would cost us as much as we’d sell him for.

Better off keeping his goals this season & letting him walk for free…

Defo this

[4D]

Absolutely this. Baffles me when people are like Cambridge soapy tit wank?! But when you factor in they have genuine investment behind them, direction, better training facilities and can offer more money, and add in that we aren't even entertaining entering longer term contract discussions with him, then why the hell not.

 

Jeez, it's a tongue in cheek post 

[Peter Venkman]

Our fans are just as bad.
We’ve gone from ‘Smith is irreplaceable. We can’t let him go. He won’t go to Cambridge’ to ‘meh, he’s replaceable, let him go if he really thinks Cambridge is a better offer’ in less than a day…

For me Smith is pretty much irreplaceable, hes easily the best target man in the league by miles, but if his head has been turned as to them being able to give him a large wage hike then we have to plan around that possibility that he will leave, so we are softening the blow.

Despite the fact that he would be the biggest loss to the club if he does leave, but if his head isnt in the game because its been turned by another club then we have to let him go reluctantly, as long as the blow is softened by a decent fee.

[Batch]

As you say, nobody is irreplaceable. Its really about how quickly and well you can do that at this time. Can't say i'm as concerned as others if we do sell him honestly.

The way I see it is that he was super important to us last year once Ollie came in, he was our most consistent striker and our only consistent scorer from open play.

Drinan, Glatz  and Nichols score, but not very often. Bodin I don't think of as an out an out striker and  Tabor is taking a lot of steps up the pyramid.

So yes we'd get a replacement, but its going into the unknown without backup.

It also potentially sends a signal to our fans that we are not that serious about promotion - this may not be factual if Smith wants out of course, but it'll have the effect.

Not trying to tell you your opinion of course!

[Peter Venkman]

It also potentially sends a signal to our fans that we are not that serious about promotion

This is the main point I pick up.

[Tails]

The stick the board will get will be fun.

[Riddick]

The way I see it is that he was super important to us last year once Ollie came in, he was our most consistent striker and our only consistent scorer from open play.

Drinan, Glatz  and Nichols score, but not very often. Bodin I don't think of as an out an out striker and  Tabor is taking a lot of steps up the pyramid.

So yes we'd get a replacement, but its going into the unknown without backup.

It also potentially sends a signal to our fans that we are not that serious about promotion - this may not be factual if Smith wants out of course, but it'll have the effect.

Not trying to tell you your opinion of course!

He was very important to the way we played last season, and i'm sure he is this season as well. We don't have a like for like in the squad, and honestly we needed a target man back up anyway, because its not Drinans position.

He's also very important defensively, and creates a problem with defending set pieces.

But i'm just stating a logical fact, any player in league two is replaceable. There are quite literally hundreds of players bet than them out there. Now if you can afford them, or attract them to the club, or juggle the team to compensate, thats a different question. But at this level nobody is irreplaceable.

So yeah we need would need a replacement of course. And you are unlikely to get a like for like style player, but its certainly not impossible.

[Batch]

But i'm just stating a logical fact, any player in league two is replaceable. There are quite literally hundreds of players bet than them out there. Now if you can afford them, or attract them to the club, or juggle the team to compensate, thats a different question. But at this level nobody is irreplaceable.

So yeah we need would need a replacement of course. And you are unlikely to get a like for like style player, but its certainly not impossible.

Yeah fair enough.

[Peter Venkman]

The stick the board will get will be fun.

Especially if Holloway comes out and says it was "out of his hands that Smith left".

I would imagine Holloway is not a happy chap today.

[magicroundabout]

I’ll go the complete opposite & say we won’t be able to replace him & our chances of being at the right end of the table massively rely on Smith being on the same form he was on last season.

To the point - that aside from an immediate cash boost upfront now - I don’t think selling him would make us any profit come the end of the season. Without his goals there is less of a feel good factor, results aren’t as good, not as high up the table, casual fans not coming in through the turnstiles. The potential down turn in form would cost us as much as we’d sell him for.

Better off keeping his goals this season & letting him walk for free…

absolutely. We have a much better chance of promotion with Smith leading the attack.

He's a bully up front who also gets plenty of goals. We need this, this season to allow the likes of Tabour and Nicholls to feed off him and chip in with their fair share of goals.

[UTR]

Stick Ryan Delaney up there to win some headers and let the forwards around him do the scoring.

Tongue in cheek aside though, selling our only target man (who our play relies so heavily on) 2 weeks before the season starts and after you’ve publicly drilled in he wouldn’t be sold would be a fairly big morale hit overall.

The money you’d have to pay to replace him like for like is heavy and likely out of our reach. Smith provides physicality as well as goal scoring. If we were to replace him then within our budget you’d likely only get one of the 2 and you’d have to go for the physicality aspect. Some physical forwards out there for sure but you’re then putting the goal scoring burden on relatively less clinical forwards like Drinan/Glatzel, raw younger players like Ameen/Tabor and a 33 year old Bodin. Not ideal.

In terms of Swindon Town though, this is the most Swindon Town thing that could happen. Regarding whether it’s Cambridge or not means little, we’ve lost players to far funnier teams in the recent past and it’s not too long ago we lost Knoyle over to Cambridge so losing players to anyone doesn’t surprise me whilst we’re in this banter era.

[DV]

For me Smith is pretty much irreplaceable, hes easily the best target man in the league by miles, but if his head has been turned as to them being able to give him a large wage hike then we have to plan around that possibility that he will leave, so we are softening the blow.

Despite the fact that he would be the biggest loss to the club if he does leave, but if his head isnt in the game because its been turned by another club then we have to let him go reluctantly, as long as the blow is softened by a decent fee.

Fuck all this head turned bollocks.

If he wants to go & we don’t want to sell that tough shit for him. He’s still contracted here - he can either keep playing & scoring (hopefully) to potentially get a move in January or a better move / contract in the summer.

…or he can sulk, act like a twat play shit & come the end of his contract everyone would have forgotten the good form because football is very often ‘what have you done for me lately?’