Fuber

Relative, I consider them to be different players. And there are other players I would shift before Massengo, especially in respect of wages. Ideally, with the current squad, we need another right back as Vyner simply is not the answer in that role and Simpson is done. Tanner injured has highlighted this. DaSilva and Palmer need selling to free up wages, period. May be we look to the loan market to allow scouting to take place and recruit in summer. Kalas I could see leaving to free up wages, which if combined with the former two, hopefully we can shift Wells even at a discount to free up a further £25kpw - gives us circa £70kpw, which when budgeted is three £1m signings at £8-10kpw wages, and maybe a loan or two. I think we need to keep Massengo as we know he can actually perform at this level. Depends on contract negotiations. If it's not looking good then he's going to have to be sold in the summer anyway.

Just to check Harry, three of the five I specifically quoted, as they played for us primarily at Championship level and we're all decently over the age of 30 when we let them go. In theory Wilbs did also play a role keeping us up the first season. So could count as four of the five. The issue with the older players signed since is that our Fitness, Conditioning, and Medical under Rolls' was a car crash. It's multiple areas that failed under LJ and Ashton's tenure. See O'Neill's injury treatment - we basically ended his career.

The start of the 'collapse' was LJ himself. He thought he was Guardiola and tried tinkering counter each and every opposition he faced. Even when he stumbled onto the idea of Reid as a pressng forward or as he put it the 'double false nine' with Pato, the second Diedhiou was back, Pato was shipped to LM, Reid to CAM, collapse occurred as he did what LJ alway did when we started losing. The tombola came out again. Huge initial investment kept momentum in his first two seasons, the issue was once we started selling. LJ went for options, plural, instead of faith in a like-for-like replacmemt. I.e. Weimann, Palmer, and Watkins were signed when Reid was sold. Moore was recalled after we sold Flint, we also signed Kalas and Webster. It's not the fees that screwed us, it was wages. Kalas and Webster may have worked, but Flint was on his extended contract at the point so, circa £10kpw, wages of the former two we were likely around £30kpw. Weimann, Palmer, Watkins probably around £35kpw to replace Reid's 6kpw (L1?) deal. Add that to poor punts on decent wages such as Djuric, Engvall, Tomlin. Put another way, aside from loans out, we bought in 17 players between 2018-20. In the same period, we sold 7.

Hartley, Odemwingie, Cisse, Wade Elliott, Wilbraham. Can and has worked for us jn days past as much as against us. The issue, is that like most signings, due diligence did not occur (under MA, period), and at the point we signed Simpson, Hunt was playing pretty damn badly. I can understand NP punting on one of his (former) most consistent 6.5/10 performer at Leicester as emergency cover, the bad decision in this case was the extension, while injured, at the age of 34 going on 35.

Need more of the ilk to be honest. League professionals who have both played in, and not played, in PL.

One reason. Andrew Roll's medical team. Ever since he was appointed in 2018 till he left this summer, injuries under LJ, DH, and NP were measurable. Add to that his records at Watford and Arsenal. It very well could not be his fault. But there's a definite correlation.

On this note - I think it has to be said - Fairplay to Nige. For all the talk that LJ gave younger players a chance and we profited, the only one who wasn't playing first team football at the point he introduced them to the squad was Kelly(?) unless I'm mistaken. Not countin Brownhill as he knew him before he joined us. To take the risk implenting and trusting two academy players on the right hand side - never mind on the pitch at the same time - could've been pretty huge if it backfired, both against Blackburn and again today. It did not. ? Both of them heart-on-sleave stuff and repaying NP's trust. Back the process.

Coppell had a track record of being out of and in love with football before Reading. Nige was a risk with the real battering he took from CoVID the first time around. SL's problem is that he only goes for the big appointment when the backend (finances, directors) is completely ****ed.

Wouldn't surprise me if it turns out to be health it would be mutual.

That was Steve Walsh. Shakespeare was his assistant at Leicester and Hull.

Thats a very good coup for them.

Disagree. Everyone says that in regards to FFP his hands are tied. True he is. However as the founder of a financial sector firm, the the fact Ashton and LJ were able to stack the club with rising wages and a bloated squad, falls directly his purview. He's in this position due to his own lack of oversight of the football club he owns. Ashton was his appointment. This is, it's not even the first time this has happened under his watch, the whole relegation after Coppell came down to wage spending cuts and awful appointments (Millen (the assistant of the stale regime), McInnes (the manager people wanted to work), over a four year period. The rot started back in 2018 with regards to our rising wage costs and only got worse, we're three years in. We once again have a squad that aren't good enough. Non-existent coaching. Poor recruitment. Toxic Culture. All roads point to League One again. He just isn't learning. He needs to appoint a competent football operations director onto the board who can then refer to the former and discuss an overarching strategy, and go from there. Not someone like Ashton who completely failed previously at this level with Watford, comprehensively.

On paper, the best to get something out of this squad, with the current players available, is someone who can run 3atb. That leaves Chris Wilder or Ryan Lowe. Will either join us? Unlikely.

Most of the players havent been good enough for three years in some cases under 3 managers, and 4 assistants despite having 'talent' in this squad.

Not buying whatever you're selling. I think it seems more the case that evidently, with the second bout of COVID and missing the match today - it may have more to do with his health rather than him simply being here for a payday, I don't think the latter is true at all. It needs to be pointed out that, he could have quite easily walked come the end of the season - but he saw a project that he really wanted to work with (god knows how) - and his reputation from his time at Leicester would have remained mostly untarnished ahoc his spell at Watford. He's done work where he can with regards to recruitment (Tanner, Atkinson), and Medical (Rennie). If he only wanted the money, he would have never stepped in here back after Holden's sacking - could have just waited for another PL gig to come aorund from a club in trouble, Villa, Norwich, among others as examples. Really, really, want it to work; but I think akin to O'Driscoll, there's simply too much for one manager to sort from the ground up in such a short space of time without impacting performances on the pitch; it may be easier for us to poach another manager (and ergo coaching staff) from a manager already in employment - but that costs money. Can we even afford that under FFP?

Will see, I'll be judging it over the next 5 games once we have similar players available. I have a feeling losing James when we have - let's hope its not too serious - could severely hamper us. As I personally think losing Nagy is going to be tougher on us than we may have realised, especially with King injured, and Bakinson on his current form; as in nowhere near good enough for this level this season.

Which coincides with him sacking the two coaches the most hands on with the players; he gave them a chance, they've failed; he's a delegator more than hands on, he's since learned he couldn't trust the coaches under him.

I'd say the only mistake of those four was Ayling; especially considering the miniscule fee recieved, that was LJ and MA's single biggest blunder, along with the former not playing Nagy and Benkovic in the lead up to his sacking. As for Eliasson, Webster, and Pack; I'd argue we made the right decisions moving them on. Once again - the issue was not adequately replacing them. For context, for that fee alone we could have bought the likes of Ethan Pinnock, Anthonee Robinson, Ivan Toney, Ezri Konsa, Said Benrahma, and Oliver Norwood off the top of my head who were playing abroad and or at a lower level and were available at that time, with change. Granted hindsight etc. Using FM (I know, I know) simply for wage estimates at their clubs for the following season (20/21), the former list comes to around £55-60kpw. While in reality we bought: Kalas (£8m), Massengo (£3m rising to £8m), Wells (£4m), Palmer (£4m), DaSilva (£2m), Bentley (£2m), Nagy (£2m), Szmodics (£1m) over the course of the following 12 months of that sale. All bar two on very expensive contracts for us at this level (Massengo, Szmodics). That, was the big issue with out receruitment strategy, and why we're now crippled; using the same method (i.e. FM 20/21 wages), that equates to £100-110kpw. Stupid spending that MA and LJ were both culpable for; the former for allowing that inflated a budget and spending, and the latter for signing 'clubs in the bag'. It wasn't the transfer fees that crippled us; we should never have operated at over 125% of base turnover before fees recieved. Ashton didn't sign players to develop, he signed premier league cast offs who were much more expensive than their lower league counterparts with regards to wages. He simply signed extra players to fill the 'development' quota; however they were never used - for which LJ takes the blame, as the latter development could never be done while he focused on countering the opposition instead of developing an identity for oursleves; more experienced players would be easier to deploy as having greater anticipation. It's why its good that we're at least blooding younger lower league signings (what of them we have so far) and academy players - i.e. Tanner, Atkinson, Scott, Benarous, Pearson, Conway, Bell, etc. The issue remains expensive players on deals they simply do not deserve, i.e. DaSilva, Palmer, O'Dowda, Wells, among others.

It's why Scott is so effective. He actually wants the ball. We need one of him and/or Palmer on the pitch with Massengo to give some options.

Only of those I'd consider would be Wilder, Neil, and as a wildcard, Rosler. I'd argue nobody here would want Campbell, Lambert, Monk, Lennon, nor Pulis, they can be wrote off completely. The only ones of any of these that have a style and philosophy are Rosler, Wilder, and outside of these, Lowe.

Wilder is probably the only person available who would be an upgrade on Pearson. Only in that his formation better suites the players we have available, i.e. 3-5-2.

Basically yep. Wouldnt quite call it shoe horning - just fluid. Pressing style as per LJs second full season, such a system doesn't require as strict positioning and can easily be rotated between phases. Lots of legs in the middle for closing and tracking runners, forcing openings.

In my head I'm thinking more fluid, just more akin to him and DaSilva down the left, rotating. Bryan's best games for us came at LM imo. Man Utd as an example.

Just to add with the above, i.e. I'd line up akin to: Bentley Kalas, Webster, Atkinson, DaSilva, Brownhill, Massengo, Williams, Kodjia, Reid, Bryan (rotate with DaSilva down the left). 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1.

Reid, Bryan, Webster, Brownhill, Kodjia