Transfer Policy

[Albuquerque Stag]

Just thinking about our recent acquisitions (Flint, Williams, Brunt, Lewis, Pym, Cargill, (Keillor-Dunn, Reed, Akins, to an extent) etc.), have we benefitted from Sharpe leaving in terms of transfer policy?

Was Clough limited previously, or have we just got lucky? All the players named above (and it looks like Nichols) who have joined recently look quality and look to help us achieve promotion, so is this the result of the shackles being removed from Clough and we can finally go after who he wants, or have we just hit on a few players in a row?

I know new players can be hit or miss, but compared to Murphy, Longstaff, Nartey etc. who we've had to put up with, these players that we've signed seem to all be contributing immensely to our promotion push.

So, is this due to the restraints being off Clough, some other reason/person associated with the Stags, or just pure luck?

[stagmanrob]

I doubt any player is forced on Clough.
He will always have the final say on whether he wants them or not.
I would expect a good load of them are known to both him and Simon too, their knowledge of players is so broad.

It's as simple as some players work, and others don't for me.
Nobody was complaining at all when Murphy and Longstaff were signed. Clough had managed Murphy before at a higher level, and Longstaff had been seen by the nation scoring past Man United twice.

The reality was, they actually weakened the side because they weren't as mobile as what we already had.

I don't think the club needed drastic changes in January and neither did Nigel.

[daddycool]

Good to see Longstaff back on the recovery trail ,he’s signed for Gateshead.

[gazza1988]

Sharpe left at the beginning of July 2023.

We signed Pym and Swan on loan last season whilst he was here. Swan was announced 26th May 2023. If I remember correctly wasn't Pym transfer delayed due to Pym's social media comments andtehir owner wanted to punish him. So it is possible that would have been done before he left.

Callum Macdonald and Baily Cargill were also announced before he left.

I would guess it is very rare that a player signs because of who the CEO or DOF is, bar Longstaff I guess . A lot of the time it is how deep the owner's pockets are, where the club want to be and who the manager is.


We signed Aaron Lewis 11 days after it was announced Sharpe had left, the same day we announced Pym was signed. George Williams arrived on 21st July. Flint arrived 7th August and Brunt was signed 29th August.

You've picked up on Murphy Nartey and Longstaff. Murphy and Longstaff were great signings at the time. Longstaff actually had a decent scoring run. Nartey was injured for large chunks of it.

[Young021]

I’m not sure what the point of your post is. You’ve named 3 players that signed when sharpe was here in DKD,Reed and Akins. And players like Murphy and nartey where players clough had already managed so obviously clough wanted them. If you listened to any fan forum it was clear that Nigel and Simon would pick the targets and then Sharpe negotiate. The anomaly ofc is longstaff,who’s loan spell isn’t as bad as people make out. People’s expectations were just higher as he came from the premier league. I think Nigel and his team have always been in charge off targets etc. as have all of the manager in charge since radford took over.

[Martin Shaw]

Sharpe didn't put restraints on Clough. Clough told me on more than one occasion that Sharpe was very good to work with.

Several of the players you mentioned were signed while Sharpe was at the club.

You mention Longstaff. He was a very good signing at the time.

[bobbystagsfan]

No one please mention Nartey again, I get flashbacks to his horrific defending when I see his name

[PaulG]

There are two other elements to this; firstly, the right players becoming available at the point at which we're in a position to sign them, and secondly, team-building. Some players fit, some don't, whatever their abilities.

[broomo]

There are two other elements to this; firstly, the right players becoming available at the point at which we're in a position to sign them, and secondly, team-building. Some players fit, some don't, whatever their abilities.

Spot on.

Perhaps if people knew how long we'd been tracking Cargill, Johnson, Kilgour, DKD, Nichols and Reed they'd see things differently.

We've tried to sign all of them in multiple windows.

The one off was Flint who was arguably never available as a realistic option until last summer.

[yorkshire stag]

There are two other elements to this; firstly, the right players becoming available at the point at which we're in a position to sign them, and secondly, team-building. Some players fit, some don't, whatever their abilities.

Spot on.

Perhaps if people knew how long we'd been tracking Cargill, Johnson, Kilgour, DKD, Nichols and Reed they'd see things differently.

We've tried to sign all of them in multiple windows.

The one off was Flint who was arguably never available as a realistic option until last summer.

& is totally irreplaceable, far far to good for League two !

for once the geographical location of the club worked in our favour

[Johnny H]

I think a few players that have signed had previously been targets for NC but they signed for other clubs (Kilgour, DKD, Nichols, Johnson and McDonald if memory serves my right....maybe more) or we were knocked back on our earlier enquiries (Akins)

Its the Clough way it seems, slowly adding to a squad, strengthening it until a successful season arrives (Hopefully)

I have been critical in the past and never thought NC would get the 4 or 5 seasons to get us promoted....will be very happy to be told I thought wrong come May.

[bear 73]

Clough and his team have always done well in the transfer market and players he has signed have become internationals.
All the clubs he has managed have had small budgets and in 20 plus years has a manager his transfer record is just over a million pounds for Richard Keogh in 2012..
Derby and Sheff utd are the biggest clubs he managed, one losing money hand over fist.
And the other struggling in league 1.
I would say he knows horses for courses, and he will never over stretch a clubs budget for short term gain

[Albuquerque Stag]

The point of the original post wasn't to blame or target anyone, more to highlight the recent successes of our transfers in compared to previous windows and players.

As some have said, I don't know how long we've been tracking players and can't remember exactly when players were brought in compared to when Sharpe left, it just seems like it is possibly more than a coincidence (a good one, because we're flying at the moment) that I can't seem to think of a 'bust' in our recent acquisitions.