Lack of loans this season was crucial

Robert California

Well-Known Member
I think due to circumstances in SG Season 1 & 2 were had to take a few punts on loans which had limited success

But this season with only Zungu as the sole inbound loan, I think we have had a much hungrier squad.

Budget restraints may mean we have to utilise loan market next season for one or two max, but I think we can be really selective and ensure any loan in is the right one for what we need.
 
Loans are only really effective if you have an option to buy at the end of the contract such as Hagi or if you are signing a player at a higher standard than you could normally afford.

Doubt we will bring in many loans in the summer but try before you buy should be part of our strategy
 
I dont like loans or loan to buys, no use having players unsettled and most likely the club having to look elsewhere next season.

Buy who you want and who wants to come.
 
I would only take loans with the option to buy, hate us either getting a half arsed player or just developing another clubs player.
 
Agree, really like that we don’t have really any important loans this season. Definitely makes the squad hungrier as if things aren’t going well they can’t just chuck it and think ach only a couple months till I’m away.

Look at the mutants, they have what 4/5 on loan that have played a lot of games. They all now need to be replaced, and that’s before they sell any players. They also don’t need to care about the disaster of a season they’ve had as they’re away soon.

Hopefully we stick to the same next season and only bring in a loan if we need to, or else loan-to-buy which is definitely better as it’s basically try before you buy, Zungu for example where we could have spent £3m on him.
 
All clubs everywhere use loans and they have proven to be good for us under SG with Hagi, davis, kent but it's the other loans which have proved absolutely pointless coulibaly, king and zungu which are the downside to using loans.

Im all for it but it shows show difficult it can be getting any transfer correct.
 
The other side of the coin was that we were allowing loanees out to play against our opposition in the league thus gaining an advantage that the same players could not play against us.

Playing them at their own game for a change.
 
Loans for us should only be in to categories and 1 of those is slightly lessened now.

1/ loan with option to buy pre agreed for X

2/ loan of player out with your reach a first time player from Man U / Liverpool etc who you know you will not sign but could do you a turn for 12 months (this was more likely in season 1 and 2 to win 55 - less likely or pressing now)

taking in other clubs prospects is hindering our own IMHO
 
I guess on the flip side, if we hadn’t used the loan market, we likely had circa £3m of a dead weight on our hands with Zungu.

It has its pro and cons, as you highlight.

At times, it gives us access to a level of player that we maybe couldn’t buy. Or, if we have no money left, but need a back-up, then it is low cost, low risk.

Probably more about the character than the status of the player.
 
I guess on the flip side, if we hadn’t used the loan market, we likely had circa £3m of a dead weight on our hands with Zungu.

It has its pro and cons, as you highlight.

At times, it gives us access to a level of player that we maybe couldn’t buy. Or, if we have no money left, but need a back-up, then it is low cost, low risk.

Probably more about the character than the status of the player.
Was going to post much the same, the try-before-you-buy approach allowed management to confirm Hagi was worth investing in and Zungu wasn’t. With clubs finances hit by COVID, there might be another option out there for us this summer.
 
Its more about the quality of player rather than the actual use of loans. Ojo for example was never going to be good enough but then on the other hand you can recruit well through its use such as with Kent
 
Hagi and Kent are two examples of us successfully using the loan market, I like the approach of a loan to buy.
I think it is also more important for the loans that didn't work out. If we had bought all the loans that we have had in the last few years we would have quite a few duds on the books, but luckily we didn't and we punted them back to their clubs when the loan period was over.
 
I dont like loans or loan to buys, no use having players unsettled and most likely the club having to look elsewhere next season.

Buy who you want and who wants to come.

I think they can be very useful, particularly for players you have a realistic possibility of signing permanently. I can understand this attitude if we were loaning players we have no prospect of signing beyond the loan period.

For example, having a loan to assess Zungu made us sure not to buy whereas we might have otherwise ended up spending £2m+. It also convinced us that Hagi and Kent were worth the outlay.
 
I think they can be very useful, particularly for players you have a realistic possibility of signing permanently. I can understand this attitude if we were loaning players we have no prospect of signing beyond the loan period.

For example, having a loan to assess Zungu made us sure not to buy whereas we might have otherwise ended up spending £2m+. It also convinced us that Hagi and Kent were worth the outlay.
Hagi and Kent we knew were worth it just couldnt afford the fees at that time. In Kent's case we would never have afforded him had Liverpool not dropped their price.

Zungu is a good example of why it didnt work out. A season spent with a player who maybe was never all that motivated to come as much as he was to get away from where he was.

If youre building or improving a team you need players you know are going to be there all season and the next and the...
 
As you said, they served a purpose as we built our squad and it’s a sign of where we are in that process that we no longer require/rely on them to bolster squad.

Only way I see more loans in future is a try before we buy scenario or a big player that would rely make a difference to our 11 that may be surplus elsewhere.
 
Less about players being permanent signings or loans and more about consistency in performance levels that has made the difference. Wouldn't rule future loans out if players are going to enhance the team.
 
Zungu loan was crucial, as our current injuries show. Having 6 internationals pushing each other was vital imo, even if he wasn't of the required standard.

Had Balogun not slotted in so seamlessly then I'd have no issue with another loan being made at Centre half, likewise if Morelos had left on deadline day, no issue with another loaner coming in.

When it's needed it's a great tool for us and will continue to be a great tool. West Ham have probably had the greatest loan signing of the season but I remember the FF scouts being extremely stuffy towards Lindgaard
 
Less about players being permanent signings or loans and more about consistency in performance levels that has made the difference. Wouldn't rule future loans out if players are going to enhance the team.
Succinctly put mate and far better than my words, right player at the right time with the right attitude and I'll take as many loans as Gerrard wants in
 
My original point was that loans to buy, or really well targetted loans have value, but we are now way beyond "loan-punts"

Option to buy very popular and allows time to make full assessment, I still would not like us to have more than 2 loans at any time though
 
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