Recruitment recruitment recruitment

[East Londoner]

Todays performance and the meltdown since both on here and on twitter have reminded me of a point Joe Royle made on his recent conversation with podcast. 

‘The most important point of a football managers job isn’t coaching its recruitment’ and we’re seeing the results of that now.

Frankly we could have Guardiola in charge and the players we have would still make poor decisions in and out of possession and until we get better players or more players will a different attitude we’re going remain being we are where we are 

We can blame Ashton all we want it’s not going to change anything the man’s left the building. In the meantime we’re asking Pearson to pull a rabbit out of the hat and then getting frustrated when it doesn’t always come off. 

It’s bizarre that we’re having the sort of season everyone expected but are then getting frustrated and calling for Pearsons head when that’s how it turns out. We’ve shown glimpses of looking gals decent which in itself is an improvement on last season 

 

 

[Dastardly and Muttley]

It’s been an odd season. We’re pretty much where I thought we would be, but it could have been so different.

So many late goals, and points lost from winning positions. That screams of a weak mentality amongst the squad, which is hard to change.

Lots of set piece goals conceded also links to poor organisation, or mentally switching off.

If we hadn’t conceded the injury time goals, we’d be up near the playoffs! So, who’s to blame for that? Pearson’s tactics in crunch time? Players tiring? Players switching off, or making individual mistakes?

For me, it’s not a problem that is easily fixed without substantial recruitment and we’re not going to get that. So, what do we do? Stick with NP, even though he clearly doesn’t value several members of the squad and hasn’t been able to improve the organisation of the defence. Or, twist and see if someone else can turn water into wine with our mentally weak players.

Today’s the first time that I’ve started to edge towards twisting. Give me someone like Gareth Ainsworth who can build a strong team spirit, unless we’re in a position where we can provide NP with some funds to replace the players he wants out.

[RSW8]

For me, our recruitment has to be better this summer. Even though our injury record was horrendous last season, we still ended up signing too many players in the summer with poor availability records in recent seasons eg King, Simpson, James. We can’t afford to make the same mistake again. Whilst injuries are obviously part and parcel of football and can’t be predicted, we need to be more decisive and savvy in this area and stay away from players with questionable appearance/ injury records. Our recruitment policy (or lack of it) is concerning for a club at championship level. 

[Davefevs]

12 hours ago, RSW8 said:

For me, our recruitment has to be better this summer. Even though our injury record was horrendous last season, we still ended up signing too many players in the summer with poor availability records in recent seasons eg King, Simpson, James. We can’t afford to make the same mistake again. Whilst injuries are obviously part and parcel of football and can’t be predicted, we need to be more decisive and savvy in this area and stay away from players with questionable appearance/ injury records. Our recruitment policy (or lack of it) is concerning for a club at championship level. 

Guess we have to quantify how expensive those “mistakes” were.  It appears that Simpson was very cheap (according to Kid).  King was a 1+1 contract, so we aren’t committed to him, and likely low wage.  James has been below par since his return, looks like he could do with a good pre-season, but is here for another 2 years.

I do agree we need to try to focus on recruiting players with strong non-injury records though.

We have seen improvements under Rennie….Weimann and Martin in particular.  O’Dowda hasn’t suffered a recurrence of his h/s, both his injuries have been contact or joint in matches.

Williams really needs a full pre-season too.  Needs to build that robustness.  But he’s played significantly more than last season…appeared in 21 / 41 match day squads.  Not as many as we’d like, but an improvement.

[Silvio Dante]

8 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Guess we have to quantify how expensive those “mistakes” were.  It appears that Simpson was very cheap (according to Kid).  King was a 1+1 contract, so we aren’t committed to him, and likely low wage.  James has been below par since his return, looks like he could do with a good pre-season, but is here for another 2 years.

I do agree we need to try to focus on recruiting players with strong non-injury records though.

We have seen improvements under Rennie….Weimann and Martin in particular.  O’Dowda hasn’t suffered a recurrence of his h/s, both his injuries have been contact or joint in matches.

Williams really needs a full pre-season too.  Needs to build that robustness.  But he’s played significantly more than last season…appeared in 21 / 41 match day squads.  Not as many as we’d like, but an improvement.

Although I agree with a lot of the above Dave, it’s pushing it to call Weimanns increased availability a plus for Rennie. Bloke had a very good availability record, snapped his cruciate which made him unavailable for 2/3 of a season and now has a very good availability record again.

[kiwicolin]

Don't expect too much money going Pearsons way next season. 

[Davefevs]

24 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Although I agree with a lot of the above Dave, it’s pushing it to call Weimanns increased availability a plus for Rennie. Bloke had a very good availability record, snapped his cruciate which made him unavailable for 2/3 of a season and now has a very good availability record again.

Yes.  Was more referring to coming back from ACL with no impact.  That’s some doing, at 30 too, for a player who has built his game on speed and buzzing around (amongst other things).  Credit to Andi too.

[GrahamC]

47 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Guess we have to quantify how expensive those “mistakes” were.  It appears that Simpson was very cheap (according to Kid).  King was a 1+1 contract, so we aren’t committed to him, and likely low wage.  James has been below par since his return, looks like he could do with a good pre-season, but is here for another 2 years.

I do agree we need to try to focus on recruiting players with strong non-injury records though.

We have seen improvements under Rennie….Weimann and Martin in particular.  O’Dowda hasn’t suffered a recurrence of his h/s, both his injuries have been contact or joint in matches.

Williams really needs a full pre-season too.  Needs to build that robustness.  But he’s played significantly more than last season…appeared in 21 / 41 match day squads.  Not as many as we’d like, but an improvement.

The fundamental question for me is why did we make the signings we did last summer, before we even get to whether they were good or not.

We appeared (& to me still appear) to have no functioning recruitment department, the bloke who “runs” it is Mr. Invisible with absolutely no track record anywhere else.

This hasn’t changed & doesn’t appear even to be considered likely to, until it does when you add in the financial position we are going to struggle, even with someone else in charge of selection.

[1960maaan]

It's always about recruitment, but you then need to get the best out of what you have. I'm not sure Pearson has done, though we have moved in the right direction. This is my thoughts on the team....

Keeper
Bentley: Good Championship keeper, has faults but could possibly play higher.

Defence
Kalas : Current International, though not always shown that.
Klose : With his experience should be easily good enough for solid mid table Championship
Atkinson : Shown some real promise, time will tell long term but I think he could be good.
DaSilva : Current form easily good enough for higher end of Champs.
Pring : I'm a fan, I think good enough for top end of Champs.
Tanner : Hopeful, but too early to tell.

Midfield
Williams : Should be nailed on good enough for the top of Champs, but we need to see his long term fitness.
Massengo : So much promise, I think he needs to nail down his position and if he does, who knows how high he can go.
Scott : Not been on it lately, but I think the team & formation or positions haven't helped. Will play higher.
Benarous : Too early, but hopeful
James : Could be the glue we need, should be easily good enough for mid table Champs.

Forwards 
Martin : I'm not a fan, but should be good enough to do a job.
Weimann : If he gets a chance to play up front, I can see another good year and good enough for upper Champs
Semenyo : I still see him being a bit in & out. Potentially Prem standard, on his day unstoppable .

Obviously this is my take on what should be the basis of our squad next year. Now looking at it , it does look like a squad that should be producing much better than it is. That Pearson isn't a hands on coach worries me a little, I do understand it can work, but I do wonder if it might lead to a struggle getting his ideas over. There definitely seems a disconnect between coach and team. 
This is why I wonder if the powers that be are considering the future.
Pearson has had plenty of time to affect all aspects of the team. There were/are major problems, but I would have hoped to see more direction shown. We will never know (until the book comes out) how much he has done behind the scenes, and there has been small improvements on the field. Whether there have been enough to give the Lansdown's confidence in him for the future , who knows. 
I'm not even sure where I stand, I wanted Paul Cook and still think he ticks all the boxes needed for a rebuild. I'd give him a Mulligan for Ipswich , for obvious reasons, but would he/we ?
Is there another stand out man for the Job ? Is there a stand out man that would take the job?

We are clearly not good enough. IMO the squad is good enough to be better. With no DoF or head of recruitment the rebuild will be put on the shoulders of a man that doesn't really do that. All feels a little Football Manager*.

 

 

* currently I've managed to take this squad though 6 games without a win , sooooooo ......

[chinapig]

Nigel has been asked at least twice if we are going to appoint a head of recruitment. The answer on both occasions was a terse no.

On the second occasion he said further that this was "club policy." Who knows what the implications of that phrase are but it does seem to suggest it is not necessarily his policy.

But the fact remains that we do not have a proper recruitment infrastructure and have no intention of creating one. Baffling.

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, 1960maaan said:

It's always about recruitment, but you then need to get the best out of what you have. I'm not sure Pearson has done, though we have moved in the right direction. This is my thoughts on the team....

Keeper
Bentley: Good Championship keeper, has faults but could possibly play higher.

Defence
Kalas : Current International, though not always shown that.
Klose : With his experience should be easily good enough for solid mid table Championship
Atkinson : Shown some real promise, time will tell long term but I think he could be good.
DaSilva : Current form easily good enough for higher end of Champs.
Pring : I'm a fan, I think good enough for top end of Champs.
Tanner : Hopeful, but too early to tell.

Midfield
Williams : Should be nailed on good enough for the top of Champs, but we need to see his long term fitness.
Massengo : So much promise, I think he needs to nail down his position and if he does, who knows how high he can go.
Scott : Not been on it lately, but I think the team & formation or positions haven't helped. Will play higher.
Benarous : Too early, but hopeful
James : Could be the glue we need, should be easily good enough for mid table Champs.

Forwards 
Martin : I'm not a fan, but should be good enough to do a job.
Weimann : If he gets a chance to play up front, I can see another good year and good enough for upper Champs
Semenyo : I still see him being a bit in & out. Potentially Prem standard, on his day unstoppable .

Obviously this is my take on what should be the basis of our squad next year. Now looking at it , it does look like a squad that should be producing much better than it is. That Pearson isn't a hands on coach worries me a little, I do understand it can work, but I do wonder if it might lead to a struggle getting his ideas over. There definitely seems a disconnect between coach and team. 
This is why I wonder if the powers that be are considering the future.
Pearson has had plenty of time to affect all aspects of the team. There were/are major problems, but I would have hoped to see more direction shown. We will never know (until the book comes out) how much he has done behind the scenes, and there has been small improvements on the field. Whether there have been enough to give the Lansdown's confidence in him for the future , who knows. 
I'm not even sure where I stand, I wanted Paul Cook and still think he ticks all the boxes needed for a rebuild. I'd give him a Mulligan for Ipswich , for obvious reasons, but would he/we ?
Is there another stand out man for the Job ? Is there a stand out man that would take the job?

We are clearly not good enough. IMO the squad is good enough to be better. With no DoF or head of recruitment the rebuild will be put on the shoulders of a man that doesn't really do that. All feels a little Football Manager*.

 

 

* currently I've managed to take this squad though 6 games without a win , sooooooo ......

I guess the question you have to ask is are you evaluating them based on their “a-game” or the middling levels we’ve seen them perform at.  Very few, if any (?) have performed at top 6 level consistently, odd flashes, yes.

[GrahamC]

1 hour ago, chinapig said:

Nigel has been asked at least twice if we are going to appoint a head of recruitment. The answer on both occasions was a terse no.

On the second occasion he said further that this was "club policy." Who knows what the implications of that phrase are but it does seem to suggest it is not necessarily his policy.

But the fact remains that we do not have a proper recruitment infrastructure and have no intention of creating one. Baffling.

Yep & so we are left with guesswork or conspiracy theories as to why not.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that under our owner & chairman certain people are only in post because they are friends or otherwise they won’t rock the boat.

Pearson is taking a lot of stick on here at present but Fleming aside, look at every other person we employ on the coaching & recruitment side.

Not a single one of them, Ball, Cisse, Tinnion, Mickey Bell, Hines, Gilhespy has any track record anywhere else at our level or indeed in the professional game.

Tinnion was a disaster as a manager one level down & since that has never been employed by any other club, the rest have never worked in professional football in their current capacity.

As someone said yesterday “the club is strange in that regard”..

[Charlie BCFC]

15 hours ago, East Londoner said:

Todays performance and the meltdown since both on here and on twitter have reminded me of a point Joe Royle made on his recent conversation with podcast. 

‘The most important point of a football managers job isn’t coaching its recruitment’ and we’re seeing the results of that now.

Frankly we could have Guardiola in charge and the players we have would still make poor decisions in and out of possession and until we get better players or more players will a different attitude we’re going remain being we are where we are 

We can blame Ashton all we want it’s not going to change anything the man’s left the building. In the meantime we’re asking Pearson to pull a rabbit out of the hat and then getting frustrated when it doesn’t always come off. 

It’s bizarre that we’re having the sort of season everyone expected but are then getting frustrated and calling for Pearsons head when that’s how it turns out. We’ve shown glimpses of looking gals decent which in itself is an improvement on last season 

 

 

Think it’s been better this season than it was last two summers. Atkinson looks a good player and done well for a first season in the league, James for free is a good signing although been under par recently (thought he wasn’t too bad yesterday though), King contributed more than I thought and Tanner will be a great player for the future.

 

Giving Simpson a new deal was a horrific decision in hindsight though

[1960maaan]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

I guess the question you have to ask is are you evaluating them based on their “a-game” or the middling levels we’ve seen them perform at.  Very few, if any (?) have performed at top 6 level consistently, odd flashes, yes.

Absolutely Dave.
I'm looking more over all, kindly to some maybe. But I do think there is the base of a good team there. 

What I do believe is, we could have seen more from this group. Now who's fault that is, is open to conjecture . Pearson has to take some blame, the Club being too laid back or the culture around the team could be another fault and some blame has to be levelled at previous Managers and coaches . 

They have to decide what the next step is. With little or no money It's doubtful that throwing a new man in would see an easy fix.  In the same breath I could ask will things change if we carry on the same way. 
Big decisions lay ahead for the Owner, something he has not really done well so far.

Edited April 10, 2022 by 1960maaan

[Simon bristol]

7 minutes ago, Charlie BCFC said:

Think it’s been better this season than it was last two summers. Atkinson looks a good player and done well for a first season in the league, James for free is a good signing although been under par recently (thought he wasn’t too bad yesterday though), King contributed more than I thought and Tanner will be a great player for the future.

 

Giving Simpson a new deal was a horrific decision in hindsight though

Sad to say cause no one could have forseen the exact circumstances, but baker’s availability record has been patchy historically, and he hasnt set the world alight when he has played before,,, the initial decision to not extend him was the correct one

[Simon bristol]

42 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I guess the question you have to ask is are you evaluating them based on their “a-game” or the middling levels we’ve seen them perform at.  Very few, if any (?) have performed at top 6 level consistently, odd flashes, yes.

What do you reckon dave,,, could we/ should we go in for 2/3 top championship free transfers in this next window, and bite the bullet on their wages? Im thinking wallace of millwall and lawrence of derby, plus one of the right backs available… to be financed by releasing whoever we can plus moving out ideally wells or palmer or both? Or do we just not have the budget available to do it?

[Davefevs]

34 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

Absolutely Dave.
I'm looking more over all, kindly to some maybe. But I do think there is the base of a good team there. 

What I do believe is, we could have seen more from this group. Now who's fault that is, is open to conjecture . Pearson has to take some blame, the Club being too laid back or the culture around the team could be another fault and some blame has to be levelled at previous Managers and coaches . 

They have to decide what the next step is. With little or no money I'd doubtful that throwing a new man in would see an easy fix.  In the same breath I could ask will things change if we carry on the same way. 
Big decisions lay ahead for the Owner, something he has no really done well so far.

Absolutely, Pearson not without blame, but some would have you believe that posters like myself are happy-clappers re Nige….because it undermines their need to create a wedge in reasonable debate…which is what OTIB is great for.  Create divide is their MO when there isn’t really divide there.

23 minutes ago, Simon bristol said:

What do you reckon dave,,, could we/ should we go in for 2/3 top championship free transfers in this next window, and bite the bullet on their wages? Im thinking wallace of millwall and lawrence of derby, plus one of the right backs available… to be financed by releasing whoever we can plus moving out ideally wells or palmer or both? Or do we just not have the budget available to do it?

My opinion will be scrutinised and challenged by a certain poster, with or without a spreadsheet, but as you asked and he doesn’t decide what I post or who I reply to or dictate my opinion….I don’t think the likes of Wallace and Lawrence will come here over other clubs, regardless of how much we are willing to pay them.

We are in for a tough summer, even if we generate funds, because we are not attractive currently to other Champ players.

I think we might be attractive to those good up and coming Lg1/2 players, where smaller fee and wages might well be less financially burdening than a free transfer on big wages.  I sense Pearson thinks that type of player is already here / covered with the Academy boys and the signings of Tanner / Atkinson, and he’d like a few established Champ players…but that’s only my guess.

[1960maaan]

36 minutes ago, Simon bristol said:

What do you reckon dave,,, could we/ should we go in for 2/3 top championship free transfers in this next window, and bite the bullet on their wages? Im thinking wallace of millwall and lawrence of derby, plus one of the right backs available… to be financed by releasing whoever we can plus moving out ideally wells or palmer or both? Or do we just not have the budget available to do it?

Butting in ..

I don't think we can "bite the bullet" on any wages, while at the same time trying to cut and renegotiate others.
That said, I think wages will come down throughout the Championship. Clubs have lost a lot of money, so with all those factors and potentially new regulations taking over from FFP, they might be forced to show more caution. We simply can't compete with the top of the Championship when it comes to wages. I think there are 6 clubs still with parachute payments which takes them out of our financial League, even just not having lost so much money means others have an advantage. 
 

[Sheltons Army]

I recall Ashton’s and LJ’s presentation about recruitment at a Fan Forum not too long into their reign

The use of stats etc to identify players blah blah, and used Elliason as an example , and how we had beaten Premier League Sides to his signature

Tbf , it was all very interesting but there was no mention or hint of eyes on recruitment - it was based predominantly on software and analytics

Im not sure or convinced LJ ever saw live a number of players we signed 

Although if I’m correct I find that almost inconceivable, but tbf to LJ I think that’s probably the norm at a lot of , if not most , Clubs

And I have no problem with stats to aid recruitment ( Not a young un but  I dabbled at FIFA a few years back and am amazed how many Foreign players particularly who I signed as youngsters on their FIFA stats / ratings are now appearing at the top level Mendy at Chelsea and Alvarez who is going to Man City two examples - a slightly daft example but actually shows stats have merit)

But

For a multi multi million pound business , purchasing players for millions , paying players £1m + annually in wages....

I simply cannot get my head around the shambles our recruitment set up has been , for , not seasons , but decades

(From Gibbo And Jock , thro Fawthrop to the present day) (Save the efforts and contacts of Keith Burt / SC , and for a large part,  GJs recruitment , - but , as a Club , no long term system or department )

and is as limited now as it’s ever been , or at least appears to me

Would £40-50k a year (Probably less) for a Full time Scandinavian Scout , or a Full time French Scout , Full time Irish , Non League .... not be likely to prove a beneficial investment ?

IMHO a club like ours should have,  or at least aim , to have the best scouting and recruitment set up at this level - We as a Club need it if we are to ever thrive IMHO

Id be happy , as an owner to invest a million a year into establishing and maintaining an excellent ‘eyes on’ scouting network who is in place to provide an excellent service / support to whoever is the manager or head coach at any given time.

Whilst we pay a single player like Kasey Palmer £1m + a year , plus any bonuses I really cannot see why this area is so ignored.

Have a team of analysts , great , but any decent analyst at every club will quickly identify the stats gems ( FWIW actually see opposition analysis , clearly presented as @Davefevs has regularly demonstrated , far more insightful and useful product , I’m sure to manager and coaching staff) 

IMHO ‘Eyes On’ is the way to identify the hidden gems early , before others,  and with decent scouting appointments , get a prolonged , detailed feel and assessment of suitability , to consider alongside the stats and data. 

 

Am I missing something or is it just me ?

[Buster Footman's T shirt]

3 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

I recall Ashton’s and LJ’s presentation about recruitment at a Fan Forum not too long into their reign

The use of stats etc to identify players blah blah, and used Elliason as an example , and how we had beaten Premier League Sides to his signature

Tbf , it was all very interesting but there was no mention or hint of eyes on recruitment - it was based predominantly on software and analytics

Im not sure or convinced LJ ever saw live a number of players we signed 

Although if I’m correct I find that almost inconceivable, but tbf to LJ I think that’s probably the norm at a lot of , if not most , Clubs

And I have no problem with stats to aid recruitment ( Not a young un but  I dabbled at FIFA a few years back and am amazed how many Foreign players particularly who I signed as youngsters on their FIFA stats / ratings are now appearing at the top level Mendy at Chelsea and Alvarez who is going to Man City two examples - a slightly daft example but actually shows stats have merit)

But

For a multi multi million pound business , purchasing players for millions , paying players £1m + annually in wages....

I simply cannot get my head around the shambles our recruitment set up has been , for , not seasons , but decades

(From Gibbo And Jock , thro Fawthrop to the present day) (Save the efforts and contacts of Keith Burt / SC , and for a large part,  GJs recruitment , - but , as a Club , no long term system or department )

and is as limited now as it’s ever been , or at least appears to me

Would £40-50k a year (Probably less) for a Full time Scandinavian Scout , or a Full time French Scout , Full time Irish , Non League .... not be likely to prove a beneficial investment ?

IMHO a club like ours should have,  or at least aim , to have the best scouting and recruitment set up at this level - We as a Club need it if we are to ever thrive IMHO

Id be happy , as an owner to invest a million a year into establishing and maintaining an excellent ‘eyes on’ scouting network who is in place to provide an excellent service / support to whoever is the manager or head coach at any given time.

Whilst we pay a single player like Kasey Palmer £1m + a year , plus any bonuses I really cannot see why this area is so ignored.

Have a team of analysts , great , but any decent analyst at every club will quickly identify the stats gems ( FWIW actually see opposition analysis , clearly presented as @Davefevs has regularly demonstrated , far more insightful and useful product , I’m sure to manager and coaching staff) 

IMHO ‘Eyes On’ is the way to identify the hidden gems early , before others,  and with decent scouting appointments , get a prolonged , detailed feel and assessment of suitability , to consider alongside the stats and data. 

 

Am I missing something or is it just me ?

Boom! So obvious and this makes it all the more baffling why it hasn't been addressed since the last Ice Age

[Sheltons Army]

1 minute ago, Buster Footman's T shirt said:

Boom! So obvious and this makes it all the more baffling why it hasn't been addressed since the last Ice Age

I could understand it in the 80s even 90s to a large degree when the turnover of the Club / Clubs was significantly less , even relatively to the modern day....

But when we start paying players a million pounds and more a year , suddenly the outlay on permanent established scouts / network makes more and more Cost / Potential Benefit sense... doesn’t it ? 

If one of those scouts occasionally finds you an Alex Scott or persuades you not to sign a Kasey Palmer , he’s repaid his annual salary for .... how many years 

 

[Davefevs]

9 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

I could understand it in the 80s even 90s to a large degree when the turnover of the Club / Clubs was significantly less , even relatively to the modern day....

But when we start paying players a million pounds and more a year , suddenly the outlay on permanent established scouts / network makes more and more Cost / Potential Benefit sense... doesn’t it ? 

If one of those scouts occasionally finds you an Alex Scott or persuades you not to sign a Kasey Palmer , he’s repaid his annual salary for .... how many years 

 

Scouts might stop a bluffer CEO though!

[chinapig]

19 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

I could understand it in the 80s even 90s to a large degree when the turnover of the Club / Clubs was significantly less , even relatively to the modern day....

But when we start paying players a million pounds and more a year , suddenly the outlay on permanent established scouts / network makes more and more Cost / Potential Benefit sense... doesn’t it ? 

If one of those scouts occasionally finds you an Alex Scott or persuades you not to sign a Kasey Palmer , he’s repaid his annual salary for .... how many years 

 

Even in the 70s Alan Dicks had Tony Collins as what these days we would call head of recruitment. His scouting network led to us finding the likes of Gow and Ritchie as youngsters as well as more experienced stalwarts of the promotion side.

Here we are 50 years later with nothing comparable. Passive or what?

[Davefevs]

18 minutes ago, chinapig said:

Even in the 70s Alan Dicks had Tony Collins as what these days we would call head of recruitment. His scouting network led to us finding the likes of Gow and Ritchie as youngsters as well as more experienced stalwarts of the promotion side.

Here we are 50 years later with nothing comparable. Passive or what?

Loved listening to @headhunter’s one to one with Dicks….so enjoyable to hear him reminisce about Collins and all the rest of the stuff.

[Simon bristol]

2 hours ago, chinapig said:

Even in the 70s Alan Dicks had Tony Collins as what these days we would call head of recruitment. His scouting network led to us finding the likes of Gow and Ritchie as youngsters as well as more experienced stalwarts of the promotion side.

Here we are 50 years later with nothing comparable. Passive or what?

Its probably passive, but we can have the best scouts in the world, and we would struggle to afford, or justify a 50 grand transfer fee at the moment. All those million pound or so punts over the last 5 years, how could it have been allowed? Someone signed off on all this and now the club is buggered

[redapple]

I’d ask all fans, staff and hierarchy to listen to that Joe Royal interview. What a nice guy and font of common sense and knowledge . 

[Sleepy1968]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Loved listening to @headhunter’s one to one with Dicks….so enjoyable to hear him reminisce about Collins and all the rest of the stuff.

I liked AD mentioning we were in for Bryan Robson, even if there was little chance of him ending up here.

[Loco Rojo]

For me, off the back of the past couple of seasons and with the financial mess we're in, this season was about survival in this league. It's been a horrible season overall, but objective met.

Too many performances have been poor or players just aren't fitting the system here, so it feels to me like Nigels performed a bit of a miracle keeping us up with the resources he's had.

Now that looks to be sorted (), the even bigger challenge will be this summer (Tranfers/club culture/finances/non playing staff recruitment). So many areas to try to improve.  Feels like an uncomfortable few months ahead. 

 

[Bat Fastard]

Blackpool Gazette reporting that JET could be available on a free transfer. Now he must be cheap and would guarantee to entertain.  Is he a tad quicker than Martin>

[Carey 6]

25 minutes ago, Bat Fastard said:

Blackpool Gazette reporting that JET could be available on a free transfer. Now he must be cheap and would guarantee to entertain.  Is he a tad quicker than Martin>

Butterbean is a tad quicker than Martin