How Rotherham United can use heavily debated transfer tactic to Matt Hamshaw's benefit | OneFootball

Matt Hamshaw should use the free agent market to ensure play-off form

Rotherham have a proficient tactic when it comes to transfer windows that fans have become begrudgingly more and more frustrated with as time moved on and the tactic prevailed.

Rotherham’s last signing of monetary value was back in the summer of 2023 when they acquired the services of Sam Nombe for a club-record fee of £1m from Exeter City.

A player who is beginning to live up to this price tag, Nombe is living proof for the Millers faithful that, with investment, the club can both improve and have the potential to increase their value of return on the player.

However, this last occurred almost two years ago and, for many fans, this is a growing frustration. Many Millers consider the way Rotherham have operated in the past couple of years to be a “cheap option” and feel that the underwhelming 2024/2025 season is due to the lack of investment and ambition shown by the club.

How Rotherham have operated

Since Rotherham last spent part of their budget to sign a football player, they have been relegated from the Championship and had an incredibly underwhelming season back in League One.

Steve Evans was tasked with the duty of bringing in a new-look squad to tackle the competitive League One campaign. With this in mind, Evans brought in 11 new players, none of which cost a penny to the opposition clubs from which they left.

The signings proved unsuccessful, as Rotherham endured a painful season full of abject failure, ending with the dismissal of Evans and the return of previous coach Matt Hamshaw.

The reason behind the signings of free agents for Rotherham could be a multitude. We are currently in a market where the agents of players demand a higher fee for their services in the process of bringing a player to the club, thereby causing the budget to be withered thin when paying transfer fees.

Alongside this, the calibre of players Rotherham have signed are of high esteem – and with high esteem, comes a high wage bracket, again detracting from the idea of paying a fee to a club is almost a surface cost of a greater fee.

This was then a choice by the manager and the recruitment team to instead sign players without a club to mitigate the cost of recruitment in the long term.

Why the Rotherham fans are upset

With question marks already raised around how much investment the chairman fully indulges into the club, these past few years have further frustrated Millers fans with the transfer business.

With the Millers not spending on transfers, there is a feeling surrounding the club that the recruitment team are getting pipped to players that should be doing their services to the Millers. As a result, the club are not obtaining players that are improving upon the system that Hamshaw wants.

Instead, the club are signing players that they can obtain as opposed to who they want – hindering their chances of promotion due to having a team of 11 players they can have as opposed to 11 players they have designed meticulously to gain promotion.

What needs to happen for Rotherham now

For Rotherham to mount a full promotion push next season, there needs to be a full revision of their current side. With only 11 players currently under contract and captain Hakeem Odoffin leaving the club, a huge reshuffle and rebuild is required for Hamshaw to mount a substantial push for a place in the Championship.

This means that there needs to be a mix of paid transfers and free agents in a “best case” scenario for Hamshaw.

The Millers should use this budget to target specific players they know will improve their team – designated “squad players” that are attuned to the roles and responsibilities that are needed from a Hamshaw team.

However, it is unfathomable to imagine that Rotherham will get all their players through paying for them. Some will have to be attained through the use of the free market, and in doing so, the rebuild will be pushed into players that they may develop into players that will suit them in the long term.

Although it is a highly debated transfer tactic amongst Millers’ fans, the realistic approach for the coming transfer window should be those of players to develop off the free market and a dip into the budget to sign already established personnel that can fit the style seamlessly.