Exeter City chiefs losing trust after muddled Brighton, Brentford transfers | OneFootball

The wheels look to have come off at Exeter City and January's muddled transfer business sums up the confusion around the club.

It feels like the wheels have come off.

Performances on the pitch have gone south at Exeter City of late, and it seems that it's started to go wrong behind the scenes as well.

It's been a tricky transfer window for The Grecians who had set up this season on a platform of rock-solid defence.

Boss Gary Caldwell likes to play with three centre backs but all of his first-choice options have either left or are out long-term injured.

The excellent Tristan Crama was recalled from his season-long loan by Brentford before being sold on to Millwall, and we're still waiting on a replacement as the clock ticks down to the window closing.

Pierce Sweeney remains out with no indication of a return date and Johnly Yfeko's comeback from a hamstring injury was short-lived and he's now out for some time with a similar injury, but this time on the other leg.

It's led to some baffling selections, no less so than when Jack Fitzwater was forced off in the shambolic 3-1 loss to Blackpool at the weekend, only to be replaced by midfielder Ryan Woods instead of centre back Cheick Diabate.

It meant City had six central midfielders on the pitch with two of those making big errors for goals, with Woods and Kevin McDonald missing key tackles as the Tangerines ran riot in the first half.

With Diabate having to wait for game time behind a 36-year-old central midfielder in City's defence, he must be pretty demoralised, though he did start on Tuesday night.

Then there's Ben Purrington, who's conspicuous by his absence with murmurs online that his next appearance will trigger a contract extension and that's why he's been frozen out.

Things went from bad to worse on Tuesday evening when Exeter were thumped 6-2 at home by high-flying Leyton Orient in a performance that was, largely, completely and utterly abject.

Exeter City need quality signings now

But at least it's January and City can make an effort to improve things. After all, Caldwell said he had contingency plans when Crama was recalled.

That was almost two weeks ago and, at the time of publication, the Frenchman hasn't been replaced and now Fitzwater and Yfeko are out.

In terms of incomings, City have bolstered their already-packed attacking central midfield options with the on-loan arrival of Joel Colwill, but have since lost Kamari Doyle and Amani Richards (both recalled) with the exit of the former a particularly sore subject for many Grecians who felt he was under utilised in a side crying out for some creativity. He's been shipped back to Brighton and then moved onto Crawley Town swiftly.

Winger Tony Yogane has joined loan from Brentford in another fairly-baffling move and, given the need for some quality at the back and up top, that was a position no-one was asking to be improved as a priority.

However, he does look handy enough and has been involved in some good things in his two cameos so far.

But, with all the problems at the club at the moment, perhaps the most worrying thing is that the business so far stinks of panic and muddled thinking.

Where are the defensive reinforcements? Why have we still not got a decent goal-scoring forward? Why the need to waste a loan spot on a winger at the expense of Doyle?

There may still be a flurry of activity between now and the window closing on February 3rd, but there is so much work to do to get this team looking competent again.

"It [defence] obviously an area of the pitch where we are seriously depleted with injuries in particular at this moment, and obviously we need to get one or two in to help us," Caldwell told the press after Fitzwater's injury at the weekend.

"That hasn't materialised yet. We've come close to a few who we feel were real high-quality targets that would have really made the team a lot better, and we have to keep searching the market for that type of player to come in and help us."

Caldwell under mounting pressure

It's a tale of transfer woe that we've heard all too often at Exeter and this season's performances have started to take a similar turn to last year's as well.

City went 100 days without a win in the 2023/24 campaign and are in the midst of a mildly-better spell of three league wins in the last 100-plus days. Hardly anything to write home about.

A growing proportion of the fanbase has turned on Caldwell now, with frustrations over transfers and a playing style that doesn't produce too much excitement in attack.

Now the defence has fallen apart it feels like relegation is a real possibility and Tuesday's drubbing did have an air of being the final straw for Caldwell, though the Exeter City Supporters' Trust have never sacked a manager over the course of their two decades at the helm.

While the fans have turned it still doesn't feel like the club will pull the trigger on Caldwell. They stood by him in worse times last season. Why would they see fit to sack him now?

Whatever happens between now and Monday night will play a huge part in the outcome of City's season and in Caldwell's future.