Once the Rotherham game was over and done with, I thought I would have the best part of a month before I needed to begin the weekly reviews through the summer that I post to keep up to date as far as new signings, player departures, fixture lists, news on friendly games, season ticket sales etc. was concerned because there would be nothing to report for a few weeks – I was wrong!
What I certainly didn’t expect was that we would have news of a new signing (two of them actually) before May was finished, but that’s what happened this week.
While the richest of clubs will have been hit financially by the Pandemic to some extent, the situation regarding Harry Kane’s future with both Manchester clubs and Chelsea expressing an interest in signing the striker in the coming weeks hints that huge transfer fees are hardly a thing of the past. However, lower down the financial ladder, I feel we’ll see a quiet few weeks before a flurry of deals as June ends and contracts run out, while there’ll also be a tendency for deals where transfer fees are paid to be delayed at least until players return to training so as not to pay wages over a period where you’re effectively paying your new signing for doing nothing.
If I was in charge of finances and/or recruitment at a club, I’d definitely be looking at swap deals, both permanent and temporary, as a way of getting the new players your manager wants in, while also keeping outgoings and wage costs pretty low.
However, there will be some transfers when a player has let his present club know that he will not be renewing his contract when it runs out this summer and their situation will be sorted out early on in the close season because there are a few clubs in the running for his services.
For such players, the Pandemic will only have a limited impact as far as their career is concerned, because, financially, they will be the subject of a kind of wages and signing on fee auction which will end with their income staying steady or even increasing, but others may not be as fortunate and I believe that they will face a choice of staying where they are on reduced wages or take a pay cut while going elsewhere.
One of the luckier players is Luton’s Republic of Ireland international striker James Collins. Middlesbrough, Coventry and Bristol City were among the clubs supposed to be chasing Collins and the first named definitely held talks with the player, but it was announced a couple of days ago that he will be joining City on a two year contract when his deal at Luton expires.
In his comments following the signing, Mick McCarthy, who gave Collins his first Irish cap a couple of years ago, described the striker as durable and, with I make it over four hundred and seventy league appearances and well over five hundred in all competitions, he certainly is that. Collins has played the large majority of his career in Leagues One and Two (there was also a short spell at Hibs) after being freed by his first club, Aston Villa, without playing a game for them, but has been a regular for Luton In the Championship over the last two seasons during which he has scored an encouraging twenty nine goals.
Looking at Collins’ record, he has been consistently around a goal every three matches at nearly all of his clubs – in fact, at his last two sides, Crawley and Luton, he’s been better than that. These days, there aren’t too many strikers who make it to two hundred league goals in their careers, but Collins is currently thirty five short of that milestone, so he definitely has a chance of achieving it.
Collins’ scoring rate over his career compares favourably with Keiffer Moore and so there are plenty of reasons to be pleased with this signing – if we aren’t keeping Robert Glatzel, there would be a need for competition for Moore with more experience than the likes of Mark Harris (who also signed a two year extension to his contract this week) and Max Watters.
All things considered Collins is a cheap, but, seemingly, effective addition to the squad, but I have a couple of minor quibbles about him. First, you don’t get a career record like Collins’ without being on the old side for a footballer and he will be thirty one in December. As mentioned above, I understand the need for an older forward, but Mick McCarthy’s two additions to the first team squad (Jonny Williams is the other one) push its average age up following Neil Harris’ welcome efforts to bring it down during his time at the club – it’s too early to get concerned about the direction McCarthy is taking us in, but it’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues over the coming months.
My other issue with our new striker is that as I progressed through this video of the goals he scored for Luton, penalties became much more frequent towards the end, suggesting that, while his scoring record has been good in the Championship, it has been greatly helped by the number of spot kicks he’s put away.
All of this makes me think that James Collins (he’s the third player we’ve had with that name by the way because besides James “Ginge” Collins, Jimmy Collins was a “barrel chested” centre forward with City for a couple of seasons before the Second World War – my thanks to the messageboard poster who pointed this out) will make a good backup to Keiffer Moore, but, if Keiffer were to leave this summer, then I’d hope that someone else would come in as first choice striker.
I mentioned two new arrivals, the second one is seventeen year old right back/wing back Jai Semenyo (younger brother of Bristol City’s Antoine) who has been playing for Mangotsfield and SGS College, Filton. Semenyo, who was offered terms after a short trial with City, had, reportedly, been attracting interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, Palace, Southampton and Spurs.
Other items of news, having written about a free transfer signing by the club, there is news on three others who could justifiably be said to have been excellent free signings for us.
Firstly, a belated goodbye to Junior Hoilett who will be leaving us this summer after giving us almost four seasons worth of fine service- Junior was the most consistent and reliable of the wingers we had at the club during that time and was, by some way, the best crosser of a ball out of Murphy, Mendez-Laing etc.
Second, it was reported in the local media that Joe Bennett had turned down the offer of a new contract with us before he sustained the injury which is likely to keep him out until quite well into the new season – I think we may have seen the last of him in a City shirt, but with the club’s retained list to be released soon, we should have a better idea on that score then.
Thirdly, it’s by no means a certainty that Sol Bamba will stay with us either – Sol has indicated that he wants to keep on playing, but it’s reported that the club are only thinking in terms of a coaching post for him. Whatever happens on that score though, it was great to read Sol’s confirmation that he is now cancer free on Twitter this week – I hope he and the club can come to some sort of agreement on his future because he’s a great Ambassador for City.
Finally, blog reader Rob Evans posted a poem about following City which I’ve put on the Feedback section, but I think it deserves wider audience, so here it is again;-
Memory
It was on a field in Canton
where we used to watch them play
Our heroes and the colours
remain so clear today.
In the smell of cheap tobacco.
We walked there feeling small.
The singing just beginning,
as we took up the call.
Our first sight of the green pitch
would capture us for years.
Not knowing of the future
and the coming joys and tears.
That first time still imprinted.
We dream about it yet.
The sound, and feel of glory
when City hit the net!
Those days are still so distant,
just like draft pints of dark,
but we all still remember
Our magic Ninian Park.
'Paul Evans'