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Ryan McAidoo
at 10:53 3 Feb 2026

We have had a few kids come through our doors and go onto other clubs. We usually get a decent enough wedge and there are some future fees usually / clauses.

Not a lot of them usually make the grade sadly. But it's the same with boys who do stay with us, get talented lads but just not quite good enough to make the step up ultimately.

We have had a couple this season trial at Premier greed sides, one was at Man Utd. The longer they are with us the bigger the fees are, but we don't often hear about it.

The academy isn't just about players coming up from our own academy either. It certainly does help us attract players from the higher age groups who fall out of clubs. The likes of Tovide, Terry, Lisbie, Kvy, Kent and Tchamadeu have all come from other clubs and we have benefitted from fees from the latter three.

We will even get a percentage of any future fee on Szmodics although its likely a small 5 figure fee, but it all bolsters the coffers. Whether its worth the spend is another question, but it is a string to our bow.

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U's Steam Into Railwaymen Territory
at 10:15 3 Feb 2026

I think the criticism of Goodwin is a little unfair. The life a striker is a difficult one.

Mbick is one of the best loan signings we have ever had. His game intelligence is absolutely outrageous for a player of his age. Charlton are seriously onto a winner with that one and any striker we get we will obviously compare him to.

Personally, I felt Goodwin had a much better game at Crewe than he did on Tuesday night. It's been a tough loan for him, getting injured in pre season and then barely getting any minutes thereafter due to the form and ability of Micah.

Striker's needs to get minutes in their legs to get sharp and I think Grimsby's performance was telling at how far away he is.

But against Crewe, he worked the channels nicely and showed some neat touches to link the play. The problem for me is that we was far too negative in the final third. We didn't push bodies forward until it was too late. DC was constantly trying to get Gape/Barbrook to push further forward and we didn't really get any overlaps with Hunt and Back. We looked like a jigsaw puzzle with several pieces missing, which is exactly what we are with the injuries.

Let's not forget that the service into hasn't been great either. Where Mbick can carve out chances for himself, Goodwin is a different sort of striker, certainly not as good with his movement or positioning. But more worrying for me was Lisbie and Edward's inability to put a decent ball into the box. Akande another coming back from injury seems to have his boots on the wrong feet as he also cannot seem to put the ball into the box effectively.

I think even Mbick would have struggled out there.

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January 2026 Transfer Window
at 09:56 3 Feb 2026

I cannot help but be surprised that we managed to keep our best assets. It would have been easy to sell them to give us a little bit more wiggle room for a potential quality asset, though on paper we actually have quite a large squad.

January is a horrible month and the last couple of years have left us fearing our prized players will leave. Cowling is a hard negotiator but I cannot for one minute believe he actually sanctioned the transfer of Lisbie, without us finding a replacement.

Maybe he might have agreed on the basis of a transfer pending, but I truly believe that we wouldn't have actually said yes and then rejected it last minute.

Overall, it's been a good window. If we can get players back fit soon and avoid injuries we might be able to push for the playoffs.

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Alexandre Pato
at 09:35 3 Feb 2026

According to people that were present at Crewe, the Brazilians had looked at a fair few clubs previously and plumped with the U's. By all accords, they are a six man consortium.

They consulted fans on their thoughts of a potential takeover and let slip that they placed a bid last Thursday, but rather interestingly are not the only ones who have made a bid to the club...

The Brazilians certainly seem keen, but I am not sure what Mr Cowling would think of such behaviour as guardians as the club. Seeing how quiet he has been in the last few years, he may not like that they are trying to getting ahead of themselves to get fans on board whilst there are other consortiums bidding. Although, maybe better in person than a cheap GoDaddy website...

Interesting times ahead of us.

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