Scannell

Ha, yes he has. I'm not questioning Max's ability and certainly not comparing him as a player to Hanson.

It's Max's struggle with injuries which is the concern. And obviously a massive shame to Max himself who must be devastated that he keeps breaking down.

Is Max still developing? I had a lot of muscle injuries when I was late teens/early 20's. Played a lot of football and also was into long distance cycling, which built my calves too quickly and I suffered before it settled down as I aged. Had problems with shin splints too.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Considering our ongoing history of players never getting or staying fit, I would think it's unfair to blame any player.

I have some sympathy for this p-o-v, but I think behind this lies the reality of what we have to do to attract players.

I'm pretty sure Hanson and Green only signed because we offered a 2 year deal.  This was a massive risk in Hanson's case, and Green was already on a downward curve in performance levels due to his stage of career.  Both, really only merited 1 year deals.

Bottom line, you might take a punt on one or two players with a poor injury history - but to have 5 or 6 in your squad in the same season is a massive risk.  The almost inevitable outcome is inconsistent availability through the year, maybe one or two that work out and a couple of duds - and those on long contracts essentially drain the budget and eat up squad places.    In recent times, just off the top of my head, you could name John Welsh, Jordan Cook, Charles Vernam and Sean Scannell as similar.

Whether it's our unattractive location, or unattractive recent history, or a cap on the maximum we're willing to pay - it means we're taking too many risks to secure the players of the calibre we need.  There's no real saving in giving someone a 2 year deal at a lower rate if they aren't ever available to play.

Apparently, back in Buckley's day we had a reputation of paying well - small squad, but good footballers - most of whom didn't arrive with baggage in terms of long term injuries.  

Maybe Olly's scouting of young players is part of a change in strategy, one that can't be fully put into place until players like James Hanson have moved on and freed up budget.  I hope so, the recruitment approach of recent years has failed miserably.

Quoted from ginnywings

Is Max still developing? I had a lot of muscle injuries when I was late teens/early 20's. Played a lot of football and also was into long distance cycling, which built my calves too quickly and I suffered before it settled down as I aged. Had problems with shin splints too.

I was the same. The problems always seemed to have settled down or went away when I was too knackered to run anymore.