Do we know the merit of this squad?

I'd say it was 18 months before Conor Hourihane began to look totally convincing - although others would say they always saw the latent talent. So far as I can see, we had two lads playing their first league games yesterday. It's clearly going to take time, and not all of the signings will progress as expected. The promotion season suggests that things can look desperate way beyond this point and still turn out OK. And let's not forget that just staying in this league this season will represent a massive achievement. The first ten games look very difficult to me, but hopefully Hecky and Jamie can begin to tune the players in beyond that.

3-0 at half time looked to me yesterday as though it might be 5-0 or 6-0 at the end, but we won the second half. That's a start, however unimpressive it might have looked. I suspect that a large dose of Mr Red Rain's patience may be required in the first couple of months. The main things to me seem to be to get the defence more watertight, and to try and get the midfield to striker linkage working properly. That may hinge on getting Izzy and McGeechan fit. We failed to get the best out of Adam Armstrong last year due to woefully inadequate supply - particularly after Conor left. We need to get that right if we are going to benefit from Ike Ugbo and (hopefully) Thiam.

 

Atrocious as the decision to sell Roberts was, we've also had some dreadful luck with injuries in pre-season. My main worry is that attempting to gel a team of talented youngsters in League 1 where you've got some leeway is one thing. Trying to do it in an extension of the Premier League is very much asking for trouble. I'd be looking around the Premier League to see if anyone has an experienced centre half available for loan as a matter of urgency. Somebody coming back from injury or out of favour, it doesn't matter. Somebody to steady the ship and talk the younger lads through it when we're under the cosh. I love Gus, but he's had a huge amount of responsibility cast upon him. As an aside, I think that Brad Potts was a panic buy, and will turn out to be a complete waste of money. Happy to be proved wrong, obviously.

 

Don't disagree with any of that. As for Potts we have been after him all summer so definitely not a panic buy.

 

The reason the score line wasn't worse was that Bristol practically declared at half time. Can't disagree with much of the rest though. Imo and it's only mine we have amassed a very good L1 squad without significant additions in the next few weeks we will seriously struggle. By that I mean 4/5 first team players with actual ability at Championship level rather than potential be it on loan or permanent.

As an aside Hourihane scored 7 in his first 10 games and won divisional player of the month. Maybe a better point to raise would be that in order to get 1 good midfielder we also signed Bailey and Berry.

 

Take your point about Conor, JC. But my recollection ( increasingly unreliable as I get older) is that he became a bit more inconsistent thereafter, but blossomed as the promotion season went on.

I totally agree that 4/5 more experienced hands would help us along no end. Surely Huddersfield have a defender or two spare?

 

I think we all agree that we have a big job on our hands in staying in the championship this year. The transfer policy that we have in buy young with resale value is good and next year in league 1 we will have an exciting young side this year it's a step too far. Players should have been bought for a new transfer policy of being able to compete in the championship, so the young prospects are in now and potentially they could be great but for now spend some money on 5 experienced loans or permanent signings please.

 

The way I understood it with Potts, we were after him then out interest cooled for whatever reason.

I thought that with Isgrove and Williams signing, that would be it for midfielders. Then we went back in for him when it was clear we didn't have enough players. That's how it looked from aside anyway.

With regards to his ability - I can't work out how much of the Blackpool fans saying good riddance is down to sour grapes. Certainly we must have seen something in him to have forked out over half a million quid for him. Many of their fans said he looked lost on League 1, which is a bit worrying considering we're in the Championship. He was however very young then. Hecky must believe that he has what it takes to develop into a solid second tier player. I guess in an ideal world he wouldn't have been dropped into the first team yesterday less than two days after signing, but that's the situation we find ourselves in.

 

Which leads (hopefully) to promotion back to Championship again just in time for most contracts to be up at the end of the season again!

 

I think that's our level yo yo between championship and league 1 until new owners come in. It's the harsh reality of football now even the money we have brought in is peanuts for this league but it has given us stability for the next so many years.

 

Why was he dropped straight in? With Hammill and Hedges on bench who have at least some recent experience above L2. Really don't understand it. Bring him on later if they struggle but at least start with some experience & known quantity. Although also wonder why Mowatt on wing. Why Jackson & Bradshaw.

That's what makes me worry so much about who we've signed! Didn't expect them to be better than Roberts, Hourihane or Watkins. But perhaps at least as good as Mowatt, Jackson or Callum Elder.

 

In his post match interview hecky basically said a couple of older heads will be needed. Will he be allowed to bring them in is a different matter.

 

In league one it took 6 months and Kevin Long on loan before Mawson and Roberts formed a partnership. This is the Championship and we'll be very lucky if Pinnock, Jackson and Lindsay are near their standard. Time will tell but Hecky's post match interview does not imply a manager confident in the right people being brought in.

 

It would be nice to bottle up that feeling from the promotion season, in December after the eighth?defeat and present each supporter with said bottle before each game. I think it would improve the atmosphere significantly. They could even sell it in that little shop in Alhambra, club shop would be able to keep up with the demand surely? Infact club shop could do all the 'bottling' and send it up, bit like Peckham Spring really. I've digressed.

 

I don't think we ever dropped our interest it was just haggling about price. Like the rest of our recruits very raw (for the level we are at) but with some potential. Some will succeed tge majority will fail. Our problem is we need them all to succeed.

 

I think they're more likely to succeed with some experience around them. It's no coincidence that by all accounts Gus has looked a bit lost without Robbo beside him. Failure to bite the bullet and sign a couple of older heads, even if it's on loan until January, will probably not only cost us our Championship status, but could also irreparably damage the careers of some of the young lads we've signed, if they're getting hammered every week. And that would be very sad.