Stickied League 2 Transfer Rumours/Confirmed Transfers 2023/24

[Redfox]

The season finished less than 2 weeks ago. Signing no players isn't going to "keep up" til august!

I agree, this current squad is relegation material, but getting into a panic because we haven't signed anyone 2 weeks after the season finished is over reacting.

Sorry mate I just don't have as much optimism and patience as you, by now this time last season and the season before we'd made some promising signings already. So far this pre-season seems more like an Abbott summer where we will be only left to pick players off of the scrapheap!

 

[JJ1532]

Chris Porter signs for Crewe Alex on a 2 year deal. Good signing for this level, knows where the net is and creates a good competition for places with Dagnall and Bowery. As TNO says, just need 2 first teamers in the RB and CM spots and the Alex should have a reasonable enough squad.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Chris Porter to us confirmed on a 2 year contract.

3 or 4 key signings away now from having a squad that could genuinely be promotion material. 2 to play in the gaping holes at RB and CM and another 2 needed for depth and competition at CB and CM. Maybe a winger in from elsewhere too but I'm not being greedy!

 

[JJ1532]

Chris Porter to us confirmed on a 2 year contract.

3 or 4 key signings away now from having a squad that could genuinely be promotion material. 2 to play in the gaping holes at RB and CM and another 2 needed for depth and competition at CB and CM. Maybe a winger in from elsewhere too but I'm not being greedy!

We'll get the 2 key signings at RB and CM. After that it gets interesting. Do we need to sign a 4th CB, or do you run with 3 and hope you don't lose 1 to injury? I know Ray is yet to sign, but I doubt he won't. Is there budget to bring in a 4th CB? Given the way Ng ended last season, I would find it a bit odd to see him shunted down the pecking order by another CB coming in. And if you're signing one that will be 4th choice, how good are they going to be? What sort of quality can you hope to bring in on whatever budget you have left?

I think a winger is quite an important one to look at. Maybe Dave goes with a 4-3-3 primarily next season, but if he doesn't, he'll need 3-4 wingers in the squad. Cooper is 1, but after that? Kirk by all accounts has shown little to suggest he should get lots of game time. Do you push Dagnall or Ainley out wide? Wintle, Finney, Lowery, all CMs. I think we're really lacking in the wide areas and could do with signing a winger.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

Have we still not signed anyone??

We will struggle next season if this keeps up!

Don't panic Mr Mainwaring. This point last year I think we had only about four or five of the first teamers from the previous year, and did not sign our first new player until about 16th June. Moreover, I think the more economical deals often come a bit later when players realise their agents sweet nothings in their ear are widely optimistic.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

We'll get the 2 key signings at RB and CM. After that it gets interesting. Do we need to sign a 4th CB, or do you run with 3 and hope you don't lose 1 to injury? I know Ray is yet to sign, but I doubt he won't. Is there budget to bring in a 4th CB? Given the way Ng ended last season, I would find it a bit odd to see him shunted down the pecking order by another CB coming in. And if you're signing one that will be 4th choice, how good are they going to be? What sort of quality can you hope to bring in on whatever budget you have left?

I think a winger is quite an important one to look at. Maybe Dave goes with a 4-3-3 primarily next season, but if he doesn't, he'll need 3-4 wingers in the squad. Cooper is 1, but after that? Kirk by all accounts has shown little to suggest he should get lots of game time. Do you push Dagnall or Ainley out wide? Wintle, Finney, Lowery, all CMs. I think we're really lacking in the wide areas and could do with signing a winger.

Believe Artell's next priority is two sign the two CMs he reckons we need. One of which is to be the experienced sitting CM to replace Danny Hollands and the other to be a more attack-minded CM in the Callum Cooke mould. This will enable James Jones and Ryan Wintle (whichever one features) to be more box to box as opposed to having one of them as a sitting CM as they're too lightweight to do this role every game.

I can see Ng being CB and RB cover with Woodcock already being our LB cover. So another CB is definitely needed and Dave won't have us hamstrung in that position after the glut of injuries we had at the back towards the end of last season. We can definitely afford one anyway with the mass of departures that have happened this Summer and the significant income we've generated in the last 18 months (most of which goes on losses and overheads but there'll be some in the bank to back the manager).

When he came on at Luton in October, Lowery was a very attacking mid in the Ainley/Cooper role so I'd assume he's cover for there and Finney is cover for the deeper CM role. Lowery could easily be adapted to play out wide but needs to work on his strength due to his lack of height. That said, given our penchant for switching our attacking players round to confuse defenders, we'll still need another attacking mid and some steel to add in the holding midfield department. There's also the option of playing Jordan Bowery out wide as his supply is better than his finishing and he could play a brilliant wide target man role that could create space for our forwards to prosper.

Few more signings and this belated squad overhaul will be complete. Amazing what binning serial losers on decent pay packets can do to this football club. Optimism and belief in full flow...

 

[RavenBish]

Looks like we're keeping the great Jon Stead for another season. Nothing says sensible than paying a bloke in his mid 30s a big wedge when he's been shite for you for 2 seasons already.

 

[hellogregory]

Sorry mate I just don't have as much optimism and patience as you, by now this time last season and the season before we'd made some promising signings already. So far this pre-season seems more like an Abbott summer where we will be only left to pick players off of the scrapheap!

Yeah I am an optimist when it comes to Carlisle United. It's still a month until players contracts are up and still over a month until we're back for preseason, so if by then we've signed no one i will then be worried.

Last summer we didn't sign anyone for the first 2 weeks after our last game either.

 

[hellogregory]

We'll get the 2 key signings at RB and CM. After that it gets interesting. Do we need to sign a 4th CB, or do you run with 3 and hope you don't lose 1 to injury? I know Ray is yet to sign, but I doubt he won't. Is there budget to bring in a 4th CB? Given the way Ng ended last season, I would find it a bit odd to see him shunted down the pecking order by another CB coming in. And if you're signing one that will be 4th choice, how good are they going to be? What sort of quality can you hope to bring in on whatever budget you have left?

I think a winger is quite an important one to look at. Maybe Dave goes with a 4-3-3 primarily next season, but if he doesn't, he'll need 3-4 wingers in the squad. Cooper is 1, but after that? Kirk by all accounts has shown little to suggest he should get lots of game time. Do you push Dagnall or Ainley out wide? Wintle, Finney, Lowery, all CMs. I think we're really lacking in the wide areas and could do with signing a winger.

I'm hoping you have budget to take mark ellis from us.

 

[GTFCfish]

Poor Grimsby....

Doesn't like the physicality of League One so will struggle with it in League Two. Can dribble the ball a bit and can score a wonder goal (all be it 3 in 2 years) but other than that most fans were chuffed to see him released.

Will be remembered as much for inexplicably booting the ball into the stand in a mardy whilst the ball was still in play late on in a game we were losing by the odd goal.

Dear oh dear, what a god damn excuse of a player, amazed he not gone non-league. As weak as a kitten and the heart of a butterfly.

He also has a heart and brain the size of a raisin.

Spent most of last year on the bench, I spent most of last year hoping he wouldn't come on and getting pissed off on the odd occasion when he did.

He generally comes inside a lot most of the time... then leaves the left back completely exposed as he doesn't get back. Looked ok at the start of the time with us but was diabolical last year.

So an 8/9 out of 10 then?

 

[Crewelad87]

What a difference a transfer window with a proper manager makes. Very good signings, not only good players proven at this level but leaders, and physically strong. Porter, Raynes and Bowery is a cracking start to the window, if the cm and rb that we need are of the same quality, we should have a very good season.

 

[hellogregory]

Keith Curle has said at our AGM
tonight that Mansfield have beaten us to 4 players so far this summer, by offering a lot more money.

Mansfield are the PSG of League 2.

 

[hellogregory]

Bit of good news for us is Jason Kennedy signing a new 2 year contract.

He was the out of contract player I most feared/expected to lose this summer.

 

[SVH]

I'm surprised Jordan Bowery is described as good business.

Absolute carthorse!

 

[SVH]

We've signed Emmanuel Osedebe from Gillingham on a 2 year deal.

I know nothing about him but mixed reviews from Gills fans. Could be excellent but poor attitude.

Box to box midfielder with pace and energy.

 

[hellogregory]

We've signed Emmanuel Osedebe from Gillingham on a 2 year deal.

I know nothing about him but mixed reviews from Gills fans. Could be excellent but poor attitude.

Box to box midfielder with pace and energy.

It doesn't matter who you sign now you've got Jabo.

 

[Crewelad87]

I'm surprised Jordan Bowery is described as good business.

Absolute carthorse!

Was very good for us in the 2nd half of last season. He was a great foil for Dagnall.

 

[SVH]

It doesn't matter who you sign now you've got Jabo.

Jaboooooo!

My boy has already chosen him for the back of his shirt next season. He will be our new talisman for sure.

 

[dedwardp]

Porter is a decent enough signing for this level, scored 16 and set up quite a few last year having missed a chunk of the season through injury too. Splits opinions amongst our supporters but is definitely a loss, albeit one I think can be replaced without too much difficulty. It was rumoured he was looking to move back up north as I think he's expecting a child and I see he has signed a two year deal at Crewe... I'd be surprised if we were offering him more than a year so that would contribute too. I would only have offered him a year anyway.

 

[lordofthepies]

The amazing thing is that we're actually signing first team players from teams around us. I don't remember that ever happening before. We can't offer mega wages but there should be some pretty compelling reasons to sign for The Alex and Artell seems to be doing a great job of selling the idea to players. Great stuff.

 

[Redfox]

Keith Curle has said at our AGM
tonight that Mansfield have beaten us to 4 players so far this summer, by offering a lot more money.

Mansfield are the PSG of League 2.

We also missed out on Chris Porter by the looks of things, as for those that went to Mansfield it is obviously Steve Evans going over his budget probably. THE FUCKING FAT JOCK BASTARD!!!

 

[valefan16]

So an 8/9 out of 10 then?

You never know. He's got something there a bit like JJ Hooper but is too weak and attitude didn't seem the best.

That said we've signed some players slaughtered by clubs they've left (some below us at the time) and they've been decent I.e. Akpo Sodje, Anthony Griffith even made AJ Leitch Smith half decent!

 

[RavenBish]

Mansfield are paying well over the odds for players (especially when you pair it with MacAnthony's comments and other chairman backing him up) - but....it's also perfect ammunition this time of year for managers/chairmen to peddle the 'other clubs are spending silly money' line. Curle's one of the best at playing that card despite seemingly being well-backed at Notts and Carlisle, he's always insinuating he's fighting some sort of tide financially.

Speaking of Mansfield, we've nicked their commentator THUS establishing ourselves as the bigger club. A real show of intent. Welcome Charlie Slater. Hard work starts now. #NotMuchMatchesMansfield

 

[Stripes]

We'll do it the mansfield way.... and just scrape third if were incredibly lucky.

Happy with the signings compared to what we usually get... but it will take time to gel and all these players need to actually produce their best and have a bit of luck. It will be a tough season for every team.

Touch at 2:55 is quality though, I miss him.

I remember last close season we had assembled quite an impressive array of new talent, and in good time. A fair few bit the dust, mostly strikers and midfielders who failed to impress. So I wish you luck and if you get a 66.6% over the line you'll do doubt be in for a good season.

Cooper has made two decent signings so far, but has stated he's now playing a waiting game to see who struggles to find a club later in the window. TBF probably has to say that, but being new to this league I would prefer we took the Mansfield approach and got some more business done soon. Who would you plam us of with at least Cooper has recent experience of this league and should have a shrewd idea of what he want's.

 

[Conker]

Keith Curle has said at our AGM
tonight that Mansfield have beaten us to 4 players so far this summer, by offering a lot more money.

Mansfield are the PSG of League 2.

Money defiantly and you know, the fact Mansfield is nearly dot centre in the middle of England and not in Cumbria.

 

[GTFCfish]

You never know. He's got something there a bit like JJ Hooper but is too weak and attitude didn't seem the best.

That said we've signed some players slaughtered by clubs they've left (some below us at the time) and they've been decent I.e. Akpo Sodje, Anthony Griffith even made AJ Leitch Smith half decent!

Yeah one mans trash is another mans treasure etc, hopefully he is the latter!

 

[joethegill]

We've signed Emmanuel Osedebe from Gillingham on a 2 year deal.

I know nothing about him but mixed reviews from Gills fans. Could be excellent but poor attitude.

Box to box midfielder with pace and energy.

Perfect case of a 'too much, too young' kid. Signed from Spurs' academy programme, no-one really expected much of him. There was much surprise when he was named in the starting 11 for the first game of the season and did well (the whole team did, and we battered Sheff Utd 4-0). He was fortunate to be playing in a team high on confidence and despite not actually contributing anything particularly tangible to it he was getting quite a few minutes. 6 months after being a pro he assumed he'd made it and more or less gave up putting in the effort. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas showing up at the beginning of last season and was a shocking influence around the place, but Osadebe obviously hero-worshipped him for some reason. 18 months later and he's out on his ear and dropping down a league, hardly the trajectory he would've been after.

He also has an uncanny knack of being an absolute dickhead (or as it's sometimes called, a footballer) on Twitter. When he left he slagged off the manager, and even today as he's signed for another club he's taken the time to slag off Gills fans on there too, including one particularly personal comment about a fans' appearance. The kid can be a good player if he knuckles down and gets off social media, but I can't see that happening. I hope he does, cause I like Cambridge. Hopefully Leon Legge can kick him into shape.

 

[GTFCfish]

Hopefully Leon Legge can kick him into shape.

I don't know whether it was intentional or not but that's one hell of a cracking pun haha.

 

[joethegill]

I don't know whether it was intentional or not but that's one hell of a cracking pun haha.

Sadly, it was intentional....

 

[hellogregory]

Money defiantly and you know, the fact Mansfield is nearly dot centre in the middle of England and not in Cumbria.

That's nothing to do with it to be fair.
If we'd offered the same money, they'd more than likely be here.