I’ve been thinking ...... Potts sale is more to do with Jacob Brown .....

.......... than it is to do with Potts.

And it’s a real indication of the blueprint of the club in the future.
Mark my words on this.

As soon as a youngster is knocking on the door of the first team and ready to take that place - the older player currently holding that position will be sold.

I think Stendel has a lot of faith in Brown.
And when an offer came in for Potts then Stendel and the owners knew it would open the door for Brown.

 

Yup. Totally agree. Hence why Hammill went, to make way for Hedges etc.

Hammilll had no resale value and blocked younger ones developing and increasing their own value.

Simple model really. But means very rarely will we have experience with us - unless **** hits the fan (hence the Matt Mills temp signing).

 

I think it's the way it should be the majority of the time. As long as the "youngster" is ready for more first team minutes then moving the senior player on for a profit makes sense. Obviously it shouldn't be the case everytime, and choosing the right time to "promote" the youngster is paramount....

 

I think you have let the (secret) cat out of the bag!

 

You are probably right and hopefully Brown continues to flourish but I do think an older head is good for the squad too, especially in defence or centre mid.

 

I don't know. It all sounds a bit too easy. We don't know if Potts had that release clause or not - and if he wanted away from the Club. He had a bad experience with the fans when he first joined, and he alluded to this in his final words on leaving "the fans eventually took to me" which shows that he hadn't forgotten his welcome. Maybe he just wanted a change. I still think it was more to do with him than the Club. If this model of bringing on a younger player and cashing in on one that has had "value added" is true (and it's possible) can you identify the younger players being coached to take over key positions.

 

We wouldn’t have got to the premiership years ago with this blueprint though , we had a mixture of youth and experience then . Would be nice to have a older head or two in the squad to add experience

 

Experience doesn't equal age

 

The youth was developed from with though, so had the system and work ethic instilled in them for years before hitting the first team. They were well drilled and hit the ground running.

We didn’t buy youngsters in, apart from Martin Bullock.

Our new model is very different from a kids perspective and Brown is the only one getting any game time. I know Ben Williams is young but again he was brought in from outside our own academy.

 

Was it Keith Hill who mentioned squad "layering"? If we're going to make aproper go of this spreadsheet/moneyball system, then we need to hav layers of players at different stages in their development for each position.

I'm not saying this was the case for Potts/Brown, just how I'd hope the squad/youth system is ran to allow us to take maximum benefit from this system.

 

Browny didn't join our academy till he was 16/17 either, he was at Guiseley

 

Yes he did. Which is common in most organised clubs with academies.

Select style of play and make sure all levels of the club play in the same style. Then have your layers for each position. There’s a few in the U23s who if needed, would do a decent job if they had to step up. But it’s about doing it at the right time. Walton did well last season, Brown and Ade’ this year.

The key to it all, is ensuring when players leave, it’s done in small clusters so the squad cohesion is still in place. That’s where it wrong last season and why we got relegated - too many new and young faces came in , in one go.