Fatigue

I think it is always likely to be more difficult to get good players in during January than the summer months. The big clubs can pay the money to sign players to hopefully improve their chances of promotion/play-offs/avoid relegation, but the rest of us are feeding on scraps and trying to either sign players whose clubs don't want them or tempt players to sign rather than going on a Bosman in the summer. Dallas (and perhaps Emmanuel?) were the latter but Dallas decided to wait for a bigger move/the chance of more money. Emmanuel just wants to play games to get himself fit and in the shop window. The other arrivals are just loanees but for the lad from Crawley whose situation is an odd one due to the shenanigans going on down there. Last season was very unusual in the way that the players who came in after Christmas all improved the squad and played an important part in the run in. More often than not, I'd say that players signed mid-season don't have much of an impact straight away, though some do improve the following season.

What we need now is a few results to steady the ship to ensure we keep clear of the relegation mire and then, hopefully, Hurst can begin to look at targets for the summer. The money from the Cup run should help in this regard and Hurst won't have any excuses if he can't get the signings we need during the close season.

Quoted from 123614

So what in your opinion was wrong with our transfer strategy in January?  He hired a Head of Recruiting, that has to be a plus, but I'm guessing you're 'rethinking' the transfer window in the summer will involve offering more money to players that we want, that won't happen as it appears that we are sticking to a budget that we will not go over, and rightly so.  The other thing is location, we cannot change where we are, and it is a fact that both Dallas and Hopper said they didn't want to come here, as quoted by PH.  So, what else do we do to get the players in that you think we should have done in January?

The Head of Recruitment wasn't likely to bring immediate success but the owners have a decision to make. Either they spend money to attract the players he identifies or he's wasting his time. Our stubborn manager (which he admits himself) decided to play the waiting game in the window - it didn't work. We need to make strategic choices otherwise our investment in recruitment staff looks a. a bit silly and b. an utter waste of money.

Quoted from 123614

So what in your opinion was wrong with our transfer strategy in January?  He hired a Head of Recruiting, that has to be a plus, but I'm guessing you're 'rethinking' the transfer window in the summer will involve offering more money to players that we want, that won't happen as it appears that we are sticking to a budget that we will not go over, and rightly so.  The other thing is location, we cannot change where we are, and it is a fact that both Dallas and Hopper said they didn't want to come here, as quoted by PH.  So, what else do we do to get the players in that you think we should have done in January?

I think firstly the manager needs to decide what he wants. He has signed endless players (yes, they were all happy to come to Grimsby) who are cast aside in short order. Usually it seems because they weren't hard working enough ?

If his requirement is to sign players whose main attribute is to work hard then just get them and stop wasting everybody's time.

What system does he want to play? He seems to sign all sorts of players but is always unsure of the system or tactics. If you knew the formation you might not get through so many players.

League 2 quality. That is a basic requirement.  By that I mean players who can stand the rigours of league 2, and not the endless stream of loanees who can't make their mark.

Stop keep signing endless squad players. How many players does he get through? How on earth can you have incremental improvement with such a player turnover?

Fewer core players on more money to attract the better players?

Whatever the longer term aims, put the playing budget first, even if it means taking longer to make some of the improvements.

There is all sorts we can do but losing all our main targets is not an option or we struggle which is a shame given the support we have.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

The Head of Recruitment wasn't likely to bring immediate success but the owners have a decision to make. Either they spend money to attract the players he identifies or he's wasting his time. Our stubborn manager (which he admits himself) decided to play the waiting game in the window - it didn't work. We need to make strategic choices otherwise our investment in recruitment staff looks a. a bit silly and b. an utter waste of money.

Surely a key part of the Head of Recruitment role is also to identify players they believe meet our budgetary needs?

The HOR has only just started so any database of knowledge he had pre-built wouldn't have been entirely suitable for us. Any criticism of him for January is unfair I think.

If the HOR is only identifying players that are out of our budget, then the parameters need tweaking.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Surely a key part of the Head of Recruitment role is also to identify players they believe meet our budgetary needs?

The HOR has only just started so any database of knowledge he had pre-built wouldn't have been entirely suitable for us. Any criticism of him for January is unfair I think.

If the HOR is only identifying players that are out of our budget, then the parameters need tweaking.

That's pretty much what I said.

I'd be interested to know what you think the parameters should be.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I think firstly the manager needs to decide what he wants. He has signed endless players (yes, they were all happy to come to Grimsby) who are cast aside in short order. Usually it seems because they weren't hard working enough ?

If his requirement is to sign players whose main attribute is to work hard then just get them and stop wasting everybody's time.

What system does he want to play? He seems to sign all sorts of players but is always unsure of the system or tactics. If you knew the formation you might not get through so many players.

League 2 quality. That is a basic requirement.  By that I mean players who can stand the rigours of league 2, and not the endless stream of loanees who can't make their mark.

Stop keep signing endless squad players. How many players does he get through? How on earth can you have incremental improvement with such a player turnover?

Fewer core players on more money to attract the better players?

Whatever the longer term aims, put the playing budget first, even if it means taking longer to make some of the improvements.

There is all sorts we can do but losing all our main targets is not an option or we struggle which is a shame given the support we have.

I think that assessment could apply to most, if not all, League 2 teams.

They all chop and change players, formations and tactics for varying reasons, and most of them have a load of squad fillers.

We aren't unique in a league where most of the teams are much of a muchness.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

That's pretty much what I said.

I'd be interested to know what you think the parameters should be.

The parameters have to align with budget etc. He's an absolutely pointless appointment if he's tasked with finding players we have no chance of securing.

A lot of our transfer income in recent years has come from players below like Bogle and Hearn (didn't sell Hearn due to injury but we could have got a tidy sum otherwise) or good young players released elsewhere (Bennett, Dembele, Pollock, Burrell). We've ocassionally had some local lads fetch a decent fee without playing a game (Barlow and Grist) but I think a lot of his work should be focused on these areas because we can genuinely sell the success stories.

Going back to when 1878 took over JS, AP and DC all said they had no experience in running a football club and it was going to be a steep learning curve. 18 months on and I get the impression it came as a shock that initial transfer targets did not want to come to play for Grimsby.

They had their 5 year plan which I suspect did not include promotion last year, so I suspect it's been redrawn. The problems highlighted in the last transfer window, especially by JS seem to have come as a shock to him; but probably not to Hurst.

It may be that 1878 will have to redraw their transfer budget plans again to entice the targets HOR and Hurst want.

And Michael Reddy as well.

I think that last Sat morning we could have got into the playoffs if we had won all our games in hand.  That speaks for itself, even if very unlikely.

Impressive Playoff matches last season and 5 excellent FA Cup performances and results against higher league opponents demonstrates that we can raise our game.  Considerably.  

We have a poor record over our last 10 /15 supposedly easier League games.  

The  cup v league performances and results are the polar opposites.  Hard to explain with any confidence.

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

And Michael Reddy as well.

I think that last Sat morning we could have got into the playoffs if we had won all our games in hand.  That speaks for itself, even if very unlikely.

Impressive Playoff matches last season and 5 excellent FA Cup performances and results against higher league opponents demonstrates that we can raise our game.  Considerably.  

We have a poor record over our last 10 /15 supposedly easier League games.  

The  cup v league performances and results are the polar opposites.  Hard to explain with any confidence.

Given that we can't fill the matchday squad for the FA Cup, perhaps there is a large burden of personal responsibility on those eligible players to remain able to play?