Jack Hunt from #SWFC to Bristol City

[swfcGibbo]

1 hour ago, airborne_rat_of_s6 said:

Seems we are becoming a selling club just like united. 

 

Because we have sold one player with 12 months left on his contract? I hate this 'selling club' tag. Name me a club who doesn't have to sell? Liverpool had to sell both Suarez and Coutinho. Man Utd with Ronaldo and Beckham. Pretty much every single club bar Real & Barcelona are 'selling clubs'. We gambled on the Premiership and fell short. We now need to cut our cloth accordingly with the correct long-term strategy. The boom and bust with senior pros didn't work. We go again.

[S36 OWL]

Maybe the rumours of Byram coming on loan from the Hammers is true . Would ex plain letting hunt go. 

[Tamworthowl]

I thought the consensus was that we need to sell before we can buy.

 

It seems with Hunt were getting a reasonable price for a player that missed over half of last season, is in his final year of his contract, is a high(ish) earner and is variously, mediocre, inconsistent, not good enough, fast but no end product.

 

So why the panic? Why the doom and gloom?

Presumably because there's a gap needs filling now.

But back to the top line: we need to sell BEFORE we can buy.

Personally, I think Palmer will leave too.

 

£1.6m should get us Venancio and a decent loan signing that would allow gradual development of Baker as back up.

 

But before we consider any new signing, we have in addition to Baker, Lee, Hutchinson, and possibly Boyd. So we do have options. Let's see what happens over the next week or ten days before getting the knives out.

[Cash in the Attic]

4 hours ago, swfcGibbo said:

Where does it say that we are selling Hunt and going into the season with Palmer and Baker as our wing backs? I must have missed that bit.

Hunt signed from Palace and was on a cracking salary. You would imagine at least 15-20k a week. That's nearly a million wages over the year. He's in the last year of his contract and it's not uncommon for a player to enter their last year and not sign another. It happens to every single team (Emre Can Liverpool).

 

The Bristol Post are also suggesting 1.75 million as the fee. That feels about right given his remaining contract.

 

I've always found Hunt hardworking and honest but just steady. There's nothing amazing about his game but nothing really wrong with it. He's always a good 6/7 out of 10. I'm hopeful this is wheeling and dealing to allow us to bring in a fullback & Venancio. If we can do that then that's fantastic.

 

Our strategy seems to mirror that of Derby County's who have also yet to sign anyone and have shipped out some high earners to make room for fresh signings.

In an ideal world, there would be other players you sell before Hunt but you can only move on those with interest. All up on the surface it seems like a pretty solid deal for us.

 

That totally sums it up for me!!   I am a bit gutted as I genuinely think hes one of the better right backs in the division, but I would rather let him go than have to sacrifice someone else like Fessi or Bannan because no-one wants any of our fringe players.  We can only sell the players that other clubs are interested in!

 

Anyone suggesting Kieran Lee as a ready made replacement can't obviously remember his crossing skills from when he was playing right back, which were worse than both Hunt and Palmers, so thats a no from me!  He needs to play cm where he is much better placed and good at making those late runs inbetween the centre halves that he does probably better than most in the the division!

 

I would expect we will sign a wingback either from the left or right to compete with Reach, Boyd, Palmer and Baker for those positions.  Boyd would be better on the right for me... good engine and will balance the team up better than having to come inside all the time as he did on the left.  I expect to see a youngster from the prem or some free transfer from Germany, Holland or Portugal that none of us have heard of but Jos knows..

 

Lets see what wheeling and a dealing we do before now and then...I do expect someone else to leave who we dont particularly want to lose, but we have to deal with it and see what Jos has up his sleeve.

 

 

[owls maniac]

40 minutes ago, sheffield_dave said:

I've posted this before, but Sheffield Wednesday fans seem to have a real issue with seeing players leave. Unless it's someone who has been utterly derided for ages like McGugan or Abdi (when he eventually f*cks off) we see this mass panic about who is left, who fills in for the position, why we're selling..

 

I dunno. We've got a decent enough sum for a player who - lets face it - many would list as a player to release if we were discussing retain lists a year from now. £1.6m also sounds in the same sort of ballpark as the fee we're looking at for Venancio, and I still regard CB as a high priority position for us right now.

 

We have options in Hunt's potion too. RWB is probably Palmer's best fit as a position, and despite popular opinion I regard him as a steady performer at Championship level. Baker is interesting as far as prospects go and I'm sure we'll see more of him (and others) this season. Lee playing there is a REYT shout and I'd be shocked if this isn't something Jos is looking at. Both WB positions also seem like the most likely areas we may dip into the loan market for, if that ends up being an option.

Our fans get too emotionally attached to players. We need to face the cold hard facts, which are that we need to cut our wage budget and shipping out an injury prone player is a good place to start. 

[HIGHERSTATE]

I've never got the opinion that Palmer is a terrible player.

 

He'd do a good job in a mid-table championship team, maybe even as a midfielder.  Is that what we're becoming?  Will need better if we are aiming for promotion.

[Groundhopping Owl]

2 hours ago, shandypants said:

I think Jos prefers Palmer to Hunt - he was picking Palmer ahead of Hunt consistently last season. I think Jos likes teams that can defend and, let’s face it, Palmer is better defensively than Hunt. Palmer can also put in a better cross than Hunt.

 

The thing that has let Palmer down over the last few seasons is his fitness within games - his general cardio fitness (ability to quickly recover) and stamina (ability to sustain long periods of high energy work) - it’s well documented that the team was in general weren’t fit enough. 

 

I think the OwlsTalk sheep and bedwetters are out in force in this thread. Let’s trust Jos and if that’s going with Palmer, let’s see what happens first before p1551ng our pants about it. 

While I don't think going with Palmer would be a catastrophe, I'm surprised to see arguments that he's outright better than Hunt. He's certainly not a better crosser, I've lost count of the number of attacks over the last two years that ended with Palmer shanking his cross into row Z behind the goal.

[mogbad]

2 hours ago, shandypants said:

I think Jos prefers Palmer to Hunt - he was picking Palmer ahead of Hunt consistently last season. I think Jos likes teams that can defend and, let’s face it, Palmer is better defensively than Hunt. Palmer can also put in a better cross than Hunt.

 

The thing that has let Palmer down over the last few seasons is his fitness within games - his general cardio fitness (ability to quickly recover) and stamina (ability to sustain long periods of high energy work) - it’s well documented that the team was in general weren’t fit enough. 

 

I think the OwlsTalk sheep and bedwetters are out in force in this thread. Let’s trust Jos and if that’s going with Palmer, let’s see what happens first before p1551ng our pants about it. 

 

I thought Palmer was selected by Jos because Hunt was injured. I don't totally agree that Palmer is the better defender. He is when the ball is infront of him but once the ball has gone past him he switches off & makes very little attempt to get back whereas at least Hunt will bust a gut to get back.

 

I'd personally be worried if Palmer is going to be 1st choice at right back or right wing back but I'm with you on the "Let's trust Jos". If he feels he can transform Palmer like he has with Nuhiu then I'm right behind him.

[LiamAP22D]

Excellent! Let the wheeling and dealing begin.

[OhForAnotherShez]

1 minute ago, LiamAP22D said:

Excellent! Let the wheeling and dealing begin.

Can't.

 

Doyen's closed today.

[LiamAP22D]

8 minutes ago, OhForAnotherShez said:

Can't.

 

Doyen's closed today.

Don't worry about Doyen. Footballs just a game. Enjoy it! it's exciting, things are starting to happen.

[StudentOwl]

1 hour ago, S36 OWL said:

Maybe the rumours of Byram coming on loan from the Hammers is true . Would ex plain letting hunt go. 

Wishful thinking pal

But it ain't half a nice thought... 

[WhiteOwl91]

2 hours ago, shandypants said:

I think Jos prefers Palmer to Hunt - he was picking Palmer ahead of Hunt consistently last season. I think Jos likes teams that can defend and, let’s face it, Palmer is better defensively than Hunt. Palmer can also put in a better cross than Hunt.

 

The thing that has let Palmer down over the last few seasons is his fitness within games - his general cardio fitness (ability to quickly recover) and stamina (ability to sustain long periods of high energy work) - it’s well documented that the team was in general weren’t fit enough. 

 

I think the OwlsTalk sheep and bedwetters are out in force in this thread. Let’s trust Jos and if that’s going with Palmer, let’s see what happens first before p1551ng our pants about it. 

Jack Hunt was injured.

 

In fact he played him when he wasn't totally fit, purely because he was our best right back.

 

Can you imagine Bristol or anyone offering anything close to £1.6m for Palmer and paying him 3x what hes on? And thats only because he has 12 months left on his contract

I certainly can't. Surely that makes it clear enough that Hunt is better.

[DesWalker]

Could a fit Boyd who is played solely at RWB without chopping and changing his position be the answer?

 

Has the engine and experience in the league, chipped in with a couple of goals last year as well.

 

I'm not sure, interested to see opinion on this

[Flat Owl]

Palmer loses concentration and/or loses possession and gets caught out of position with no pace to get back - he is more suited to a defensive set up.

Jack has pace to recover and links up well - as he did with Wallace in the first season and the partnership paid off many times.

Decent business in the last year of his contract and would not have a problem with a season loan for someone equivalent to JH and less injury prone otherwise that right hand side will be lacking any serious threat this year.

[Athelwulf]

Irrespective of the financial situation, there was always going to be changes in personnel now we have a new manager.

 

It happens at all clubs.

 

And we don't know whom Jostle covets to replace those leaving.

[Harrysgame]

1 hour ago, owls maniac said:

Our fans get too emotionally attached to players. We need to face the cold hard facts, which are that we need to cut our wage budget and shipping out an injury prone player is a good place to start. 

Agree. Liked Hunt as a player but some on here have rose tinted glasses, seems if a player "gets stuck in" and is quick he can do no wrong and cannot be sold. In reality end product was not thst great, injury record not the best was probably goung to let his contract run down so no value to us in a year. Think with ffp we need to make sure we get a return on our investment with all players where possible.Hunt is yesterday news now  just like the hundreds we have let go over the years. Good luck to him.

 

[Bannofan]

Feels a bit like when you where thinking about finishing with your girlfriend, but they surprise you by dumping you first.

 

Good luck Jack Hunt. 

[davetherivelinowl]

Sorry to see Hunt go. Thought we'd be fine with Hunt and Reach as the two wing-backs. Both have pace and energy.

 

Can see why he's going - we needed to lose someone and its better to lose him than one of our marquee players..

 

But it leaves us with a gap. How do we fill it?

 

We MIGHT sign a replacement, most likely from abroad or a young Prem loanee. Would be delighted if it was Byram but that seems unlikely.

 

Who else?

 

Palmer? Please, no. Can't understand anyone suggesting that wing-back suits him. It needs pace and energy (and crossing ability) and he's woefully lacking on all those fronts.

 

Baker? Maybe one day but he's so unproven. A gamble if we think he's good enough to replace Hunt.

 

Lee? Sounds like a good fit. Ex right back, loads of energy BUT whenever he's played at full back or even wide right he's looked lost and wasted. He's one of those players like Carlton Palmer who needs to be free to run all over the park to make the most of his greatest asset - boundless energy. (Remember when Graham Taylor played Carlton for England and stuck him on the wing!)

 

Hutchinson? Another former right-back. It might work. But I see Hutch as the opposite to Lee. He needs to play in a role where he can't go tear-arsing around getting booked and sent off. As a wing-back he'd often be chasing back and that's when he gets his red-mist moments. I think centre-half suits him better. From what I've seen, he's not a great crosser of the ball either.

 

Boyd? If Boyd is right-footed then RWB might be his best position. I don't think we've seen the best from him yet so I'd like to give him a try in this role.

[Paul Triplo]

Weakens us in a position we needed to strengthen.

 

And strengthens an opponent.

 

So not ideal at first glance.

 

We need our wing backs to have pace and be one of the best players in the team in the formations Jos likes.

 

Hopefully, he has an improvement lined up on a loan deal for both left and right back positions. I can't imagine he sees Palmer as a first choice.

 

As for those suggesting Lee or Hutch. They do not have the fitness or pace. Young quick wing backs are the way forward.

 

I reckon Hutch could be nailed on for the RCB spot this season if he is fit. 

 

Lee needs to stay in CM.