It's only a problem if it was unexpected

The hope is that all those in charge recognised that this not only could but would more than likely happen when we had such a turnover of players in the Summer.

If there was/is genuine expectation that this team would be good enough now then there is an issue.

Biggest job in the Championship this year bar none. The fact we're so far ahead of the Relegation Zone still is a massive achievement. January needed to get shut of some and to even out the squad that was assembled.

One other thing - we've been here before. Injecting some experience at this stage in L1 really helped us in 2015. Needed again.

 

In late 2015 you and I went to the meeting with Lee and Ben in Athersley. We both took **** loads of hammer on here because we were well into that appalling losing run but we were saying we should keep Johnson and we're going to be fine.

I didn't think we were going to be fine because of anything either of those two said at that meeting. I liked them both, but the reason I thought we were going to be fine was because I could see we'd got some decent players and it just needed to click. I don't see that now.

 

It's the same situation. The only issue now is that the 'system' is more mature & we're 12 months earlier in that cycle than we were then.

I'm hoping that our analytical approach also meant that we took all that into account too when we brought this group together.

The issue back then wasn't LJ & the issue now isn't Heckingbottom.

I agree with you on this group being of nowhere near the likely quality of Winnall/Mawson/Roberts/Conor though. But could be wrong.

 

If i bought a car.

I mean it could be that I got a real good deal.

I then realise that all the parts were worth a fortune. It motors on brilliantly.

Until someone made me an offer for the engine. And then the brakes. And then the wheels.

I suddenly realised I could nip off to the scrap yard and replace said parts with cheaper alternatives.

I could employ the world's best mechanics who tinker with it. Replace oil and lube up (ooh err mrs) parts. It might run smooth.

Eventually I'm going to hit a point where I need to realise I'm going to end up with a **** car. Unless of course I allow the mechanics to go and buy the parts they want.

Some people are happy that the car fires up on a morning. Some will be happy that it drives to the shop and back.

Well. I'm neither. If the sale of those parts allow me to better the car I want to. I don't want to still be looking at scrap yard parts.

I'm not suggesting blowing the lot on a new engine and have no wheels. But come on. Expecting to make my car run when I've replaced every part but the chassis is going to take an enormous amount if luck.

In fact I've replaced so much of it I wonder why I'm scratching my head wondering why it doesn't work right.

But then I'm no mechanic

 

Of course Johnson was part of the problem with his Technical football crap.

Only when he ditched his so called philosophy did the players start to deliver.

It all depends how much belief folk have in their having found the magic formula. My fear is they think they’ve found it and all the players need are coaching and time at this level. They seem to forget they number of players that fell by the wayside in the previous cycles and in any case Just playing games at this level isn’t the golden guarantee of competence at this level it’s made out to be - some will just not be good enough and that seems to be conveniently forgotten too.

Hecky has worked a small miracle in us not being in the bottom three so far this season but the lack of quality, pace and genuine options are hampering him. January is huge if we want to stay up. Although I’m not that convinced those that matter are that arsed about relegation.

 

I'd be interested to know how our recruitment actually works.

As an example, I very much doubt that Heckingbottom had even heard of Thiam. I doubt Patrick Cryne had either. He wasn't playing in a league we scout, for which we've got data sheets on young players. To put 2 and 2 together and end up with 96, we employed a French CEO who brought in a couple of French players. Maybe that didn't happen, but I'd like to hear the explanation if it didn't.

What I'm getting at is, if we can chuck a million quid at a signing recommended by someone in the role of what always used to be called club secretary, how have we identified the others?

Not having a go at Thiam, he might end up OK, I just don't understand how the process works. If we work from spreadsheets then fine, but that doesn't appear to be the case with this signing.

If I was spending that kind of money, I'd be asking the opinion of the guy on the football pitch in the tracksuit organising the players, not the guy in the office wearing a suit and fiddling with a calculator.

 

Don't buy into the LJ thing or how he isn't rated by folk. He was and is obviously a coach. When given time to coach & decent players be does well - can see that with Bristol this season. We'd turned a corner when we brought in a winger & a left back which allowed us to play a certain way.

He might have sounded a tit but he did a very good job for us in the end.

 

They did speak in the Summer about expanding that system because, as you've rightly pointed out, there's not an endless supply of these players in the lower English leagues. Maybe he was the first one? No idea.

The system has worked for us, almost incredibly so if your definition or measurement criteria has been financial. I'd argue though that the system requires more than just signing players. It needs solid, sound business management too to give it the chance to prosper. We've lacked massively in that this calendar year with Linton Brown leaving, Morsy failure, contracts etc. For us to compete everything needs to be working brilliantly together. That hasn't happened this year & it'll take time to recover.

 

Just because we haven't been watching them for years doesn't mean we can't grab any relevant stats from that period and put them into the spreadsheet to see how they'd have stacked up if we had. That's more or less how I assumed it may have worked.

 

I think that identifies them & then we follow up with traditional reporting. Or at least that's what I was led to believe (or possible made up TBF).

 

If I recall.

It identified such as a young player making his debut as say a 17 or 18 yo in the conference.

We'd be out like a shot to take a look. As opposed to waiting for him to make his name after say 20 games.

Of course that's just one example. So I dont think you made it up

 

Do you not think that they look worse because they're at a much higher level? I've pointed out before on here that the autumn 2015 incarnation of Hourihane, Roberts, Winnall, Scowen, Watkins etc would have looked absolutely lost at Championship level.

 

To add to that analogy, you can’t keep going back to the same scrap yard expecting the owner to have an endless supply of similar standard engines.

 

Maybe so. Which to Winnie's point further down shows you can't go back to the same type of player we were signing in L1. In fact, we probably signed 'better' players in the Summers of '14 & '15 & they needed time to adjust. Winnall had a much better track record joining us than either Thiame or Ugbo for example.

 

The issue is that we're trying the same thing at a much better level.

It's as simple as that really.

 

Absolutely.

It could be said if you replaced one or 2 parts every now and again that you have more chance of it integrating. And have the mechanics working on those 1 or 2 parts until solved.

But to expect a mechanic to work wonders on all parts at the same time is madness. Irrespective of how much you could sell those parts for.

 

Not sure that's the real issue. We're trying it without the core foundations. Any side, regardless of where they pick their players up, would struggle with such a huge influx of players coming in.

Got to remember that the first season in L1 we played these lads around Cranie/Ramage/Nyatanga for example. We have no such experience today.

 

Lack of leadership on the field is key for me. The fact our club captain can't get into the team illustrates it.
Our assistant captain is in a lousy run of form, but there is no one capable of replacing him by the looks.
Our most experienced player, Hammill is in & out of the team. Gardener, grief, I had hoped he might provide a bit of composure.
Yiadom has one eye on a move away. Doesn't look like he wants to be here.

Agree January will be key to us staying up. If the takeover isn't completed I wouldn't be holding my breath on much happening.
Maybe one or two leaving (Yiadom being one) & a couple in. If we get new owners I'd expect some sort of statement signings.
Hopefully they will be of Hecky's choice. Without the right signings we'll be relying on 3 teams being worse than us. I think
Sunderland will come good, so that maybe leaves Burton, Birmingham & Bolton, maybe Millwall, although they seem to be an organised "unit" that may do enough this year.

I can't see much point beefing about selections. There aren't a great deal of options, sadly, which must place some question marks about summer recruitment.

 

Another good example/question is as to how we ended up with a whole bunch of midfielders who (disregarding the fact that they are all crap) are variations on the same theme and none of them fit the coach's clearly preferred and successful modus operandi of a pressing 4-4-2.

And we wouldn't offer Scowen the same as Alex fcukin' Mowatt - ye gods.

 

This is possibly the most frustrating thing for me. We have brought in around 7 midfielders - Mowatt, Gardner, Potts, Williams, McGheean, Mallan and Moncur.....think that's it? And Hecky doesn't feel there are 2 good enough to play together in a 2, even when we play 3 we are still overrun and can't create anything through the middle. Surely keeping Josh and looking at 2/3 slightly better recruits would have been the better option here than getting 7 in? I like the basis of the plan but I just think keeping clearing the decks for profit and then having a shotgun approach to 'potential' as the only recruitment strategy needs amending slightly.