We’re not in Europe. We won’t have extended cup runs. What we have now is overkill. Having cover means basically having 22 players. And that includes the injured ones, or it's not cover. If you have quality sitting it out for extended periods - not youngsters or journeymen - but quality, then the only thing you’ll have is discontent. Especially if they have come here from a top flight club to get minutes. As Westlake points out, players turning in solid performances are being rewarded with the axe whilst others who have shown very little stay in the first team. Very odd.
That is incredibly speculative and quite the assumption. I've worked in performance sport for a number of years and the team sports I've worked with have always wanted greater competition. One sport in particular ran national Talent Identification programmes to recruit for a position that people didn't want to play because we already had one of the world's best. Having been involved in a number of teams and individual sports there is a huge amount of management involved in controlling those expectations and emotions of athletes, but if done well there is absolutely no reason why we should expect discontent. It certainly isn't the "Only Thing" that will come from a big squad as I've worked with a few sports that have managed that exceptionally well.
Scowey If you've worked in sport then we may as well bow to your superiority and end the debate there. What I would say is that elite sport, and particularly elite football (whether that applies to Town is debatable but I think it just about does), is a different beast altogether and it depends on whether you are winning or losing and the characters that you have at the club. One or two bad eggs or prima donnas in a situation like we find ourselves at Town and you are in trouble. There seems to be a good team spirit at the moment, but if results don't come quickly and good players feel they have been 'locked out' of the first team then I think it becomes an issue. We also don't want a situation where some of the team selection is based on trying to involve so many players to keep them happy. You talk about the management involved in controlling those expectations and emotions and I'm not seeing it from Paul Hurst. You only need to look at the extreme case of Chelsea over the last four or five years to see that their success or failure is almost exclusively dependent on the emotions of the players.
Can certainly go positive / negative. However take Rowe - tearing it up of late for the U23s. I'm sure he's sooooo motivated now we sign a sicknote / unfit winger on loan in Graham. I bet Donacien was uber thrilled at being left out due to signing 6 loanees ( hopefully that can go permanent sooner rather than later ) Not a massive problem now until more get fully fit, but this squad looks interesting to say the least.
Nothing mature about letting your career pass you by. Drive and passion is something that good footballers should possess.
