Comment: The summer transfer trend that Carlisle United need to reverse

There is no doubting that Carlisle United's squad requires some considerable change this summer.

While Paul Simpson's arrival heralded an upturn in results, there remain some glaring deficiencies that need to be addressed before the 2022/23 season kicks-off on July 30.

How many summers in a row have we said that?

It was something that Nigel Clibbens alluded to during the club's recent fan forum.

"Paul is working his socks off to get players in who'll improve us as quickly as possible," he said.

READ MORE: Carlisle United's fan forum - as it happened

"But if you're churning ten players every summer window...you're building a team every season, and that doesn't work."

Last summer, Carlisle brought in nine players during the summer window (and then Mark Howard shortly after). The year before that, the end-of-season trading period saw the club sign no fewer than 16 new faces.

Summer 2019: 15. 2018 saw 12 new players arrive, and prior to that nine signings were sealed in the summer of 2017.

Mark Howard was a late addition for Carlisle United last season (Photo: Barbara Abbott)

That's 61 additions made over the last five summer transfer windows. An average of just over 12 per trading period, without even looking at the winter window.

Now that's not to say that such wholesales changes weren't needed. Sustained on-field success has eluded Carlisle over this period and the transfer market is the natural place to address that.

But quite frankly, it hasn't worked.

Turning over a vast number of individuals each and every summer does not usually correlate with success. For comparison, League Two champions Forest Green Rovers signed just five players last summer - and one of them was a returning loanee.

READ MORE: Carlisle say budget is 'highest for years' as they back Simpson

They built a squad steadily over several years and reaped the rewards.

At Brunton Park, however, there was always a change required.

Whether that was to improve upon miscalculations in previous windows or to plug notable gaps, the squad never quite felt finished.

It perhaps speaks volumes that Carlisle's longest-serving player is now Jon Mellish, who has been with the club for just three years. There were only three clubs in League Two last season who had a longest-serving player who had been at the club less time than Mellish.

Mellish joined Carlisle in 2019 (Photo: Barbara Abbott)

That paints a picture of an unsettled, ever-changing squad.

Fingers can be pointed over that, but the focus must now be on the future.

And the early signs are positive. 

The appointment of Greg Abbott as head of recruitment was a smart move and, alongside Simpson, there is now a team leading recruitment that the vast majority of supporters will firmly place their trust in.

When was the last time we could say that? 

Their first signing of the summer was Owen Moxon on a two-year-deal. Handing that length of deal to something of an unproven player represents a desire to look to the long-term.

READ MORE: Inside the Owen Moxon performances that show his Carlisle potential

The Cumbrians' case is undoubtedly helped by the fact there is now stability in the manager's office too. With Simpson having penned a contract until 2025 there is now scope to build something for the future.

Again, it's been a long time since we could conclusively say that was the case at Brunton Park.

That, coupled with the new recruitment structure, will hopefully allow Carlisle to buck their trend of summer overhauls.

For if next summer there is no rebuild required, it will mean that there has been at least some element of success on the field.