I can see us taking a step back this Season and it will need us all to be really patient.The Club has been allowed to run down in so many areas it is a complete rebuild job from the ground (ie the playing surface) up.
On the contrary, my viewpoint is that with the addition of two or three players and the hopeful evolution of our management and coaching, this decidedly average team will avoid dropping into the third tier. While I think we have a fairly good squad that has the potential to play a better style of football, we narrowly avoided relegation two seasons ago and, without some inspired signings last summer and the brilliant seasons of Bart and Waghorn, I think we would have been in similar trouble last season too. Being comfortable in playing a more technical and possession-based style of football is a necessity, in my opinion, because we were outplayed in too many matches last season. Other sides looked like they were progressing ahead of us. We have lost a lot of players this summer, squad players mostly, but still players that need replacing. With some sales bringing in money, and the wage budget being freed up more after the likes of McGoldrick and McCarthy leaving, it is imperative this squad gets the investment that is needed. I'm not talking about throwing millions against the wall, that would be stupid and counter-productive, but signing players on fees and reputations similar to Edwards, Webster, Huws, and hopefully Tilt is good business, freeing us from a transfer market of loanees, cast-offs, and has-beens. I don't know what my expectations are going into this season, as we've still got plenty of time to complete our business. However, if we fail to bring in enough quality and we get hit by further departures (such as Waghorn), then I can see this being a long slog and a difficult transitional campaign.
fieldmashall, bigal, nuggets.. I think we're all saying we need to rebuild from the ground up. I doubt it can all be done in one transfer window. If we cut out the defensive mistakes and keep the ball better I'd take that for starters.
This makes very encouraging reading,joined up thinking at last! https://www.twtd.co.uk/forum/435863/paul-hurst--making-his-mark/#19
I think we all want the same thing and although not being " in the game " its been obvious to just about every supporter that our Club has been run almost into the ground, transfer monies coming into the Club and disappearing, quality players leaving and not replaced with like players, even PR has been allowed to become shabby,and the once renowned playing surface has become one of the worst in the division. We all know whats required, our owner knows whats required, and there we have the stumbling block.
To be fair to Evans the club is running at a loss. Mick McCarthy bares responsibility - and a majority of our supporters who backed him for so long.
Which club isn't running at a loss? That's no excuse to ignore the upkeep of the stadium, pitch or team. Can't blame Mick for this one, he made us some decent bank with the players he sold. We seem to sell players to offset the losses, other teams sell their best to reinvest and help propel the club forwards. Ours is in decline in all areas and money has been cut from wherever possible if reports from staff within the club are to be believed. I know it will take a while for Paul to build the team he wants but I'm already worrying that he is filling our ranks with too many lower league players too quickly. He doesn't have any experience at this level and surrounding himself with players who also don't have that knowledge could lead to some tough times ahead. I'm not expecting us to even think about challenging top six this season but we need to be solid enough that we can allow players to develop and not enter panic mode if we find ourselves closer to the foot of the table than we'd like.
I don't think this is entirely Evans' fault, apart from making bad appointments. This is one of the reasons I like Hurst. He's a manager - not a shirker taking up a coaching role and leaving everything else up to other people.
With you 100% here. I think ANY manager requires three transfer windows. About 1% chance in my view that we can make play offs this season - that's no pop at Hurst it's more...... - He's got a different managers squad........... - Zero backing from chairman.......... - Sicknote injury plagued players............ - With a good %%%% of targets likely to go to other clubs = Very very tough for the lad. Also completely agree with you that spine of the team is the most important to get right. However ours ......... = Bart / Chambers / Skuse + Dozza / Waggy at present. 99% sure Waghorn will be going, and clearly we need to properly replace Webster. Spine incredibly important - ( convinced Knudsen is going ) think we're horrific at full back still and that will need to be sorted. Zero point having quality wingers to go forward if they have to keep helping out bang average poor full backs all game......... Also crap full backs make CM incredibly hard. That's where I play myself, and if we have a liability at full back I have to run a hell of a lot more to cover. I'm 99% sure Waghorn + Knudsen will go........ maintain we need minimum LB / RB / CB x 2 / CF x 2 / winger. Sears aint good enough and not sure Garner will be rated by Hurst. Interesting couple of weeks until Blackburn H.
Mick McCarthy and the supporters that supported the football team bear responsibility for the club running at a loss? Come off it Hampy. Yes, Mick’s style of football was one of the reasons why thousands of supporters stopped attending games, but I believe that’s the extent of McCarthy’s influence. In today’s environment, gate revenue does not contribute much towards club finances. Any losses we made on that front would have been considerably offset by the amount of money Mick helped make by his successes in the transfer market and the millions of profit we made from player sales. Mick also managed to keep us in the Championship (despite a near scare), which is worth stating because relegation would’ve been a heavy financial blow to this club. I’d argue Marcus Evans, as the man at the top, ultimately bears the responsibility for the decline of this club. His ownership during the Keane and Jewell years, where he splurged millions contributing to greater debt, not to mention his poor managerial appointments. He stood by as Keane gutted the academy and drove away Bryan Klug. He willingly watched this club become a mercenary centre under Jewell. These are much bigger factors. Not to mention the almost two decades we’ve spent in this division derived from Sheepshanks’ mistakes, the collapse of ITV Digital, and the failure from our owner to implement anything progressive or innovative at the club (see for example how Huddersfield reacted to achieve promotion, and the goodwill they generated around the place before achieving it).
Completely agree. Mick bears the responsibility how exactly !?!? His highest spend was around £250k for a player in 5.5 years......... probably net spend under Mick on transfer fees = £4 mill absolute tops if not less. Sales = take your pick but Cresswell / Mings / Murphy straight off the bat. You can blame Mick for a hell of a lot but to point the finger at him regarding ££££££££££. Jesus christ.
A winger signed on loan in time for the Norwich game then. Jordan Graham returns to the club 4 years after his short stint with us as an 18 year old https://www.itfc.co.uk/news/2018/august/town-sign-graham/ Looked half decent, but very raw from memory and had a very decent (albeit short) spell at Wolves since then until he got injured. If he was to get himself fit he could be a really good player for us this season... He clearly isn't part of their plans at Wolves (was available this summer) so club(s) and player could be open to a permanent move (I think he might be out of contract next summer as well) so we might have a 'view to permenant' providing we want him after he's played a few times
My first instinct was the proverbial face slap...but thinking about this, if he can get fit and STAY fit, could be a decent signing. Definitely has the potential..but then again, how many times have we said that about a loanee/short term signing. Means we can only get one more loanee in, unless Donacien is confirmed as a signing
The curse of the left wing signing.. Not sure how many players we've signed in that position (bloody loads) that haven't produced. Cameron Stewart, Alex Henshall, Tommy Oar, Carayol, Pringle, Liam Feeney, JET, Jack Doherty & Josh Carson (albeit from the academy) spring to mind.. Which is why Mick decided to loan in Fraser, Lawrence and Celina to try and get someone decent in that position as we'd failed for years.
Civelli + Le Pen........... OUCH!!! Not for me this lad. Knee ligaments 2016, THREE sub appearance since. That's pathetic. FIVE games at Oxford. 33 minutes at Fulham. Wasn't even always a starter at Oxford, 3 starts,,, 2 sub appearances. Wish him well but his injury record / amount of football in 3 seasons is a bloody disaster. Not happy with this.
