Don't shoot the messenger

Actually it isn’t, it’s a tone. You’re talking to a painter, remember..!

 

I’m remembering why I tend to take a break from this page through close season. Wake me up in August..

 

Especially with the likes of Notts County and Wrexham waiting in the wings. Salford City too. The basket cases will drop, but overall L1 is only going to get tougher.

 

What on earth makes you think that Gally is going to give that information when the club clearly aren't ready to release it yet?
On what planet is he ever going to do that?
Some of the stuff on this thread is utterly stupid tbh.

 

The club's situation is difficult - that can't be disputed. Archerfield summarizes it above. Unless we have an interested owner willing and able to inject some funds in the way that Matthew Benham has (even if on a smaller scale) we are destined to be at best a yo-yo club and perhaps more likely to become a mid-table third-tier side.

But as for last season being something to build on - sorry, I can't agree. A very good head coach has left, soon to be followed by our captain and arguably best player. There are at least two more likely candidates to exit. So rather than something to build on, we are heading back to square one and again hoping to find a rough diamond or two on the cheap. That can go one of two ways, as the last two seasons have shown.

 

I'm glad to hear it

 

You cannot change history , the 22/23 season cannot be changed & it was surely a season to build on, progress was made on all fronts & the only way you can ultimately decide whether we did actually build on is to let the 23/24 season run its course & judge it next may , the season has not begun , the players have had 3 days training in the close season , yes we are having to deal with the initial problems but these will be dealt with , the problem is that everyone is acting as if the club should wave a magic wand & the problems solved , well it doesn"t happen like that , patience is required & should be exercised , crikey if anyone needs proof of that then we only have to look at last season where it took several months not days to get our act together , all this doom & gloom really is way over the top , there is no magic wand , give the club time & judge at the end of the season .

 

We've got the new shirt coming out.. someone thinks that's exciting

 

I'm not sure too much turns on it, but I would say that if 2023-24 is successful we will have built something new, not built on what was achieved in 2022-23. That season was built to a great extent on Duff and Mads. They are gone, maybe to be followed by others. our business model involves degrading our squad at the end of each season and starting again. I get the economics, but I don't find it satisfactory.

 

You originally said that last season should be a season to build on, hence my response , to me building on something is to achieve progress & progress over a season can only be judged at the end of the season & regarding our business model you are right it revolves around the turn over of staff & players but once again that cannot be judged now , the squads strength & quality etc can only be judged after assembly & ultimately with its performance over a season , I get the impression that because the early moves in the end of season turn over is the finished article when it is clearly not , why do we not see what unfolds over time instead of jumping to a conclusion every time a piece of business is concluded , play the long game because lets be fair a season is 9 months long & is indeed a long game .

 

I do think the original post is a wildly exaggerated version of a very feasible version of events.

I don't for one second believe that a coach is being told to play specific players for a match. They could, however, create an environment where the likes of Jalo are likely to play by refusing to sign any more strikers.

I don't think the board tell a coach about what playing style to adopt, but they do have a preferred style, and find a coach who is aligned to that before appointing them.

I think the model the club is operating in is flawed. Nowhere near as bad as Conway's way, but still flawed. Succession planning seems to be our Plan A. The fact that we still look for players under 23 the majority of time is at odds with wanting to develop players in the academy, and also disregards the fact that our most energetic player in the play off final was also our oldest.

Time will tell, let's see how many players we sell, and how we replace them. Will we bring in a defender that has played 2 or 3 seasons, with decent stats for headers won and intercepts, to replace Mads? Or will we replace him with a novice, like he himself when he replaced Pinnock or Benson replacing Mowatt?

I personally don't buy into this idea that there was nothing the club could do to pursuade a coach to turn down the mighty Swansea, and fear we'll understand why he left by the end of the transfer window. I really hope I'm proven wrong.

 

If the club remain tight lipped and don't give the fan base any information, then these rumours are inevitable. Most fans are reasonable people and understand the difficult financial situation in English football. Treat them like adults, keep them informed and they'll back you.

Personally I believe the way football clubs are run in this country is utterly shambolic. Player wages are too high and in order to compete at a decent level a club needs massive investment from a rich owner. There will always be a few exceptions, but that's clearly the general rule. Barnsley are a solid L1 club in finance terms, but it will always be a struggle to stay afloat in such a basket case of an industry...

 

I feel we have viewed the long game since the ownership changed from Patrick Cryne in 2017. At that point we were told that the aim was to achieve stability in the Championship and to improve the squad year on year. neither of those things have happened. So this summer's sell-off is merely the latest episode in this chain of events.

 

Khaled s always spoke about planning for every eventually and constantly monitoring recruitment of players and staff so let's hope that this is true and we carry last season's momentum into August and don't accept writing the first 10 games or so off.

 

We were discussing building on last season & thats what my comments are aimed at and I think we can build on last season what has happened in the past has gone we are discussing the coming season.

 

I agree. It is obvious that the model is flawed. You can’t have success at this level with a team whose age averages 23, it needs to be around 26 or 27. The regular summer sales and managerial changes make it impossible to move forward. The owners are playing with BFC as a toy to satisfy their egos.I suggest they look at alternative models that have proved to be successful at smallish clubs and see if there is anything to learn. Then modify the model.

 

Without doubt the most successful "small club" recently has been Brentford who have been using a similar model to us.