Recruitment (in January)

[Deacster]

Whilst our Summer recruitment has been very good over the last two seasons, our January recruitment has been very, very poor.
It's left big gaping gaps in our squad and us relying too much on our core players who are tired.
Not getting a striker in for over 12 months now is unbelievable, we get that it's hard to get a top quality Championship forward but was there really no striker in world football who could have done us a job?
We look threadbare and poor. A functional striker and a reasonable No.10 and I think we would be staying up.

 

[Biggs]

I remain in a state of shock over what happened over that period.

One of the worst and most impactful managerial departures, followed by possibly our worst ever managerial appointment and then terrible recruitment as the cherry on top.

Everything went wrong and it’s really hard to stomach.

 

[Deacster]

It was definitely a traumatic time and Simone Hallett played it down in his post Jan podcast. He compared recruitment to traders and appointing people like for like, I'm not criticising him but this has shown it's not that easy.
Ultimately we needed players with sufficient quality at this level and we didn't get them.

 

[WoodsyGreen]

It's an inconvenient truth that we aren't ready to be a Championship club yet. Our budget, our training facilities and our academy are miles away from the required standard. Changes are afoot thanks to our outstanding owner but now, today, we're nowhere near.

The Snake saw it coming and couldn't wait to leave. Azaz was cherry-picked for a price that was bargain basement by Championship standards but completely unreachable for us. We desperately needed attacking reinforcements in January but we clearly didn't have the money. Our captain wouldn't get into any other squad in this division, apart from Rotherham's, but is a regular in our first XI. We've got one senior striker for goodness sake!

It's not a criticism of the club, it's just a fact and one we need to accept. We're a League One club and that's where we'll return, if not next week then next season.

It's all very depressing.

 

[StrictlyGreen]

Well said Woodsy, what we've forgotten is that we've punched above our weight for the last 4 years. In the Champoinship you need a little bit of luck, we don't seem to have got any this season

 

[mutley marvel]

We relied on young PL loanees whose clubs wanted their youngsters to cut their teeth in the league below
Our budget dictated what players we could afford
This is not sustainable over a long period of time
The seasoned pro we was able to sign came with signer beware - off the pitch more times than on it
The reality is we do not have the finances to compete in the Championship - the longer we are in this league the struggle will become greater
If we stay in this league 2nd season syndrome will be a reality & we will become next season's Rotherham

 

[pafc jack]

Woodsy is right, but it's devastating to watch it pan out.

I think the Gyabi injury and Forshaw's persistent niggles have magnified the problem. Forshaw's troubles were foreseeable though, making the Butcher decision look awful now.

Not saying by any stretch if Gyabi/Forshaw were fully available at the moment we'd be as good as we were at the beginning of the season, but it's been particularly bleak the last few weeks in midfield. Double pivot of Edwards and Randell (that's a League 1 midfield I'm afraid) today with effectively no one to bring on to freshen things up (I assume Forshaw was basically fit enough to come on in an emergency only?)

Not to glorify the Foster era (!), but at least when Gyabi/Forshaw fully fit we had "legs" in games, e.g. the better performances Boro and Blackburn away - full of energy. Currently feels like we're bare bones. Every starting XI fills me with worry if I'm honest.

 

[Fergy]

The BBC should commission an episode of Panorama focusing on the club’s recruitment over the past 12 months. It’s been nothing short of scandalous.

 

[Old Brown]

Watching Derby at lunchtime, they had a solid squad, including three former Pilgrims (Bradley. Nelson and Hourihane). They look equipped for a Championship campaign. Sadly our January recruitment made the squad weaker even allowing for the deeds of the phantom menace of Stoke.

 

[Biggs]

The BBC should commission an episode of Panorama focusing on the club’s recruitment over the past 12 months. It’s been nothing short of scandalous.

Not 12 months surely, the summer was good with Mumba, Whittaker, Gibson, and Azaz in particular. Admittedly with lack of centre forward a big miss.

 

[Fergy]

Not 12 months surely, the summer was good with Mumba, Whittaker, Gibson, and Azaz in particular. Admittedly with lack of centre forward a big miss.

Or midfielders.

 

[Deacster]

That's the thing, both Summers we've done well. It's January it's gone wrong, especially this year where no player has added anything of note apart from the injury prone Forshaw.
A target man and another No.10 such as Azeez would have made all the difference.

 

[Deacster]

Not 12 months surely, the summer was good with Mumba, Whittaker, Gibson, and Azaz in particular. Admittedly with lack of centre forward a big miss.

Also add to that KKH and Cundle alongside Hazard.

 

[memory man]

Woodsy is right, but it's devastating to watch it pan out.

I think the Gyabi injury and Forshaw's persistent niggles have magnified the problem. Forshaw's troubles were foreseeable though, making the Butcher decision look awful now.

Not saying by any stretch if Gyabi/Forshaw were fully available at the moment we'd be as good as we were at the beginning of the season, but it's been particularly bleak the last few weeks in midfield. Double pivot of Edwards and Randell (that's a League 1 midfield I'm afraid) today with effectively no one to bring on to freshen things up (I assume Forshaw was basically fit enough to come on in an emergency only?)

Not to glorify the Foster era (!), but at least when Gyabi/Forshaw fully fit we had "legs" in games, e.g. the better performances Boro and Blackburn away - full of energy. Currently feels like we're bare bones. Every starting XI fills me with worry if I'm honest.

I agree that Gyabi has been a miss but Butcher seems to have become a better player since he left. Many completely wrote him off after the backpass at Cardiff and even before that he was regularly targeted as 'not Championship standard'. Gillesphey was the same - murdered when he left a ball that spun back into play, written off as not good enough. Within a week or two of joining Charlton he was seen by some as the answer to our problems.

 

[East DevonGreen]

Whilst I desperately want us to stay up, I'm struggling to see light at the end of the tunnel. We're just so far off the other teams in this division and will just be cannon fodder next season, except we are unlikely to have Whittaker and possibly some of the other better players in the squad. I can't see the necessary levels of investment happening that are needed to compete in the league.