For as long as Fenty has been here we've always bought the dregs of the transfer windows and whats left at the end of the Preseason , Can anyone else rememember a time when we used to recruit early and get a better quality of player ?
If you look at our best players over the last few years , Bogle ect they was targetted early because the manager felt they was the missing piece of the jigsaw.

I would say Alan Buckley brought in many players that proved to be super footballers, he certainly had an eye for quality & he did not get it wrong many times.

I bet you'd be surprised with how many he got wrong but to an extent it didn't matter as he got the other ones very right. In my head we played pretty much the same 11 every week in 89/90. The other thing is we offered more than 1 year contracts then so it wasn't a rebuild job every season.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I bet you'd be surprised with how many he got wrong but to an extent it didn't matter as he got the other ones very right. In my head we played pretty much the same 11 every week in 89/90. The other thing is we offered more than 1 year contracts then so it wasn't a rebuild job every season.

We always knew our team if everyone was fit , the players that came in and covered also seemed not to mind being out the first team and always did a good job when their time came.
I seem to remember Buckley buying Childs and Rees ect during the season , not end of summer cast offs that we seem to get now

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I bet you'd be surprised with how many he got wrong but to an extent it didn't matter as he got the other ones very right. In my head we played pretty much the same 11 every week in 89/90. The other thing is we offered more than 1 year contracts then so it wasn't a rebuild job every season.

That has been true of most of our best teams, also of most of our worst ones! Remember all those contracts Newell did that had to be paid off? Maybe times have changed though.

The disappointment for me has been the quality and staying power of the young loanees. We seem to get that more wrong than right especially in the past 2-3 seasons. We need to look for better ones who will make an impact long term, even if we have to pay for the privilege. I mean players who are on the fringe of the first team at Championship/L1, not kids who are never likely to make it. Mr Wilks looked about  the most promising, pity about the injury. DJ could be a decent player in a side that isn't struggling.

Dembele has flattered to deceive but again, he needs to be in a side doing well and wanting to play in the final third.

We get the 'dregs' because we cannot compete with the money being offered at the start of the recruitment process
You have to remember that GTFC was a major force and a very attractive proposition 20-30 years ago - but not now

Geography is a huge factor - Dave Roberts' excellent article on Cod Almighty is evidence of that; players simply don;t fancy a move to north east Lincs

That's why the YDA idea is a must IMO and I also feel a manager like Jolley will be more intuitive and open to non league players, youth players, foreign players

Hurst was great at finding/attracting some real gems - Macca, Pearson, Toto, Amond, Bogle (and I know someone will point out the poor ones - but how often does anymanager get it right 100%?)

Feel confident Jolley will be more 'left field' and innovative in finding new players for next season

We can't afford/won't pay for the better league players, so we get the dregs. Much better to recruit from below- something i have been saying for ages, but people at the club seem to think we are the side we once were, and we most certainly aint. You can pick up good league players like Dis, but most of our recent better players have been from non league. I know we were in non league at the time, but i think most of them would still have done a job for us this season, certainly a better one than the players we have now. Academy players from clubs higher up the leagues obviously have talent, but players from the lower reaches come with game experience and a desire to climb the ladder. How many players did the Cowley's bring with them from below?

Quoted from ginnywings

We can't afford/won't pay for the better league players, so we get the dregs. Much better to recruit from below- something i have been saying for ages, but people at the club seem to think we are the side we once were, and we most certainly aint. You can pick up good league players like Dis, but most of our recent better players have been from non league. I know we were in non league at the time, but i think most of them would still have done a job for us this season, certainly a better one than the players we have now. Academy players from clubs higher up the leagues obviously have talent, but players from the lower reaches come with game experience and a desire to climb the ladder. How many players did the Cowley's bring with them from below?

Myself and others have a preferred option of five or six experienced pros with the right attitude and then promising youngsters who haven't quite made the top two tier sides first team.

The experienced guys must have the right attitude and be natural leaders. Look for former captains who are on the way down. These are likely to have the attributes we require.

I am sure Michael knows a few under 23 players at Burnley and the like,

I expect we might get 2 or 3 in the summer if we are still in the league,









What am I saying ?

Of course we will still be in the league. 8)

Quoted from grimsby pete

I am sure Michael knows a few under 23 players at Burnley and the like,

I expect we might get 2 or 3 in the summer if we are still in the league,



What am I saying ?

Of course we will still be in the league. 8)

Do you think we can afford that type of player ? Premier League club 21 yr old ....i would imagine that may be stretching our wage structure.

Quoted from grimps

For as long as Fenty has been here we've always bought the dregs of the transfer windows and whats left at the end of the Preseason , [b][/b]Can anyone else rememember a time when we used to recruit early and get a better quality of player ?
If you look at our best players over the last few years , Bogle ect they was targetted early because the manager felt they was the missing piece of the jigsaw.

I always thought it was the managers who identified the players required. Didn't realise it was Fenty who found all these players last summer and there's silly me blaming Slade!

Quoted from rancido

I always thought it was the managers who identified the players required. Didn't realise it was Fenty who found all these players last summer and there's silly me blaming Slade!

Fenty sets the budget so effectively he is responsible. A manager has a list in preference order and when he gets priced out of one he moves to the next. Pretty obvious that last summer Slade was a long way down his list before he found players he could afford.

Quoted from moosey_club

Do you think we can afford that type of player ? Premier League club 21 yr old ....i would imagine that may be stretching our wage structure.

I was thinking of a season loan like Dyson from Everton,

Or a player that have been released they are not all on big bucks.

Quoted from moosey_club

Do you think we can afford that type of player ? Premier League club 21 yr old ....i would imagine that may be stretching our wage structure.

Yeah, our budget was £2m last season which isn't great but if we keep our squad size to sensible numbers by signing players that actually have some ability instead of clowns then we should be able to compete. If they have been released by Prem / Championship clubs then they probably won't have many first team games behind them and will be looking for a chance to impress. Character at least as important as ability and physical attributes so that's where you do your homework.

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

Fenty sets the budget so effectively he is responsible. A manager has a list in preference order and when he gets priced out of one he moves to the next. Pretty obvious that last summer Slade was a long way down his list before he found players he could afford.

Why is that obvious? It could be that some of the players might not have wanted to come here or didn't want to play under Slade. Also the wage of 4 dross players like Kelly, Woolford, Hooper and Dixon could have funded two quality players. I would have used the wages of all four to fund one decent left-back as let's face it we wouldn't have been any worse off , points wise, without Woolford, Kelly or Hooper. Why bring in Clarke when we could have kept Pearson who I'm sure would have been on less money.
It's easy to blame Fenty because he sets the budget but Slade wasted that budget on bench warmers he didn't have to sign. I would imagine that one of the questions Jolley would have asked at his interview would have involved his playing budget. Obviously he is quite confident of working within that and achieving success so why couldn't Slade? Like I said on another post I will blame JF for a lot that has gone wrong at this club but our present predicament is down to one man and one man only - Russell Slade.

You do sort of get the feeling that Dyche is the type of manager who would like to see his younger players blooded in League football in the lower divisions. Problem is, that they are more likely to ship such players out to Accrington/Morecambe/Bury/Fleetwood etc so they can keep a closer eye on them and they aren't so far from home.

The fact that Jolley is here might make some difference, but we're still across on the other side of the country.

Less is more....less players and better quality of player. That's one thing I liked about both Buckley and hurst's squad.

Ok some of the loan players that both got in weren't what was expected, but some, players were absolute master strokes. Always thought, as many have said also, that having Buckley (or similar) as a scout would be a good idea. Do we have links to a scouting network at all?

Be interesting just to see the change or reaction of the players we already have here.

Quoted from Mrs Doyle

Be interesting just to see the change or reaction of the players we already have here.

Think this is a major factor. In pub last night with load of Gimp fans and I observed that not sure Pep or Jose could do much with our squad but that said we did win games prior to Christmas albeit whilst Jones was still a regular.

Big question is how does having a slow back four limit our attacking ability and the opportunity for the midfield to get further forward and hopefully either create chances or, heaven forbid, score themselves. Thus will the lad from Villa get a chance? Will he change the midfield? And can he suddenly find a striker who can stick it in the net?

Maybe tough ask for too much change tomorrow but time is running out so something has to change and quickly.