YAYYYYYYY another midfielder

From last seasons loanees how many truly added value? Elder? Jones? Armstrong? I'd say they had zero impact. Kent started to improve the last 10 games but his overall influence was minimal. James is a good player but again went on our worst run of the season with him in the side. Morsy I guess is the only one who both played well and had an Impact on team performances.

Would we have been better investing time and training in our own players? Say 5 of the ones we signed this season would it have been more beneficial to integrate them in the team last season and have them entering this season with a few games at this level and a years worth of training in our methods? Do we lose out on long term gains by gambling on short term ones that rarely come?

 

In one of his interviews about the plan and how we have to try and compete. It has to be fundamental to the plan surely otherwise inevitably we will be playing catch up whilst we wait for players to develop. I think that is where we are now.....we will improve as the season goes on but it will most likely be too late and a young team will be playing under the pressure of a relegation battle.

 

That doesn't answer the point though. What is a better approach for the long term? Signing, training, and developing our own players or gambling and usually failing on another teams?

 

We were short of a winger, we had 3, Potts is a central midfielder. This lad makes 4. I would have loved for us to sign a permanent player. We've obviously identified this lad as a target, it's not ideal.

The problem with academy players is, there's probably none good enough to be in the first team squad yet. I mean the u23s squad is very light at the minute. It had about 3 first team players in the last line up and 2 trialists and they were still only able to name 4 subs.

I obviously take your point. Sadly we're having to utilise the loan market to make up the numbers. Particularly in attacking positions where the players we want are probably fairly expensive.

 

We need the loans to supplement the players we are developing. That's no different to most other clubs.
Maybe one day we'll be self sufficient but that's not the case right now.

 

Ah so you only wanted to answer your own point. Yes fair dos you have done that.

The problem is we very rarely get the right players in as the better ones are snapped up by wealthier teams In L1 this is different as we are one of the wealthier teams that snaps up the good players.

 

Would it have been better to sign several of the players that we have just signed last season giving them a years experience of training and occasionally playing at a championship club or loaning Elder, Jones and Armstrong on loan? The Leicester lad a tidy player from my limited viewings. If he gets in the team ahead of Ryan Hedges how will that aid Hedges development?

 

Didn't we win 2 out of 19 games with James in the side? Not knocking him as an individual bit what benefit did the team gain from him being here?

 

I can see the argument but I am sure most would agree that League 1 and the Championship are very different. I honestly believe to stay in this league we need experience in key positions, which we don't have and a goal threat up top, which we may have with Ugbo but we don't know yet. It is about balance but I don't see that we have it....the model at the moment seems to only be generating finance - look how badly our results suffered - I don't think we have won a league game at home since Connor's swansong against Leeds and we had some experience in the side with James etc. I am not very optimistic about our chances given the quality of the opposition and lack of experience, regardless of how good the young loaness are....you need nous to win a game or dig out a draw........really really hope I am proved wrong