Could sustainability be in different levels, Ehab ran the club on free transfers and No fans. Tan could run the club with a decent transfer budget which would be sustained by a full stadium and commercially better. Ie the Turkish market etc
I hope so but where are the fans coming from for this full stadium? And what Turkish market do you mean?
I have no idea chazz but I’m assuming if we buy better players and results improve. Then naturally fans will jump on the bandwagon We’ve certainly improved our global prescence (maybe just turkey) There’s definatley a decent Turkish community locally. I’m not into all this but it can only attract interest
Why is it such an accepted thing that his legs have gone? Can he not run about? I don't think he's been noticeably worse on that front than he was in his prime, he was always a big, lumbering sort of player. I think if we didn't know he was 35 no one would be talking about his legs. I mentioned before some of his performances this season. He's not played many games and most of the times he has he's been so far ahead of anyone else on the pitch it was ridiculous. He got an injury and basically hasn't played since, and I think people have forgotten how good he was in those games as a result.
His game has never been about his mobility, I’m not sure why some are making a big deal about it. Meanwhile the rest of our midfield struggle to retain the ball and stringing 2 passes together.
Yesterday was ideal for Huddlestone to play. Livermore was decent for them and hardly moved about really so it can work. On a bobbly pitch we do need someone like Hudds or Walsh to control the ball and pick the pass rather than panic like we seemed to do a lot yesterday and even more so against Barnsley.
I am not interested in the Turkish transfer market what the club needs is proven Championship quality players in the summer not Fenerbahce reserves as this is not what the club needs.
If Tan is talking about a top 8 budget from the summer then you'd think he'll be bringing in experience to go alongside the youth. Continuing with Darnborough indicates it won't be just Turkish recruitment, though I'd expect one or two obvs.
I think we'll see most summer signings come in from abroad. It's pretty much the only place being looked at seriously ATM.
Mainly there to help in Jan and support the handover due to how late everything happened. I think he'll be gone in the summer ( personal opinion )
I’m comparing it because Ehab’s transfer policy in recent years was to find free transfers and young players in Scotland and League 1/2. I actually thought Ehab’s recruitment in League 1 was spot-on and I give credit to him and Darnbrough for signing the likes of Smallwood, Docherty, Alfie Jones, Wilks permanently, Emmanuel and Coyle etc. They were all really astute signings last season and it showed as we won the league. Problem is, Ehab’s recruitment policy at the start of this season was to sign League 1/2 players on frees and some youngsters on loan from PL teams. Baxter and Longman were decent signings and Williams looked good before he got injured but the rest didn’t improve us. We signed League 1 players to add to a League 1 team. We really needed an experienced centre-half, a proven striker with goals at this level and some quality in midfield. Hopefully the new owner, with a full summer to sign players without an embargo, can set us on a decent path. I don’t really mind if the club looks to foreign markets for players.
Well the Stoke game (I think?) when their midfield just kept knocking it past him and running round him and getting to the ball as if he wasn't there might have hinted at it That doesn't mean I wouldn't play him though. I would, but I'd probably bring him on later in the game when everyone is a bit slower. EDIT - or pick a formation that doesn't rely on him moving much
That was his worst game for us, no doubt. But the entire team was crap that day, and Huddlestone has had a very good game every other time he's played. I'm not at all convinced that the "legs" thing is anything other than people looking at his age and making an assumption.
A study that I just read said that elite marathon runners with proper training can limit their performanc decline to 7% per decade. This suggests that Tom at 35 would be just 7% less fit than one of his younger 25 year old team mates. I would take Tom -7% anytime.
well that game he wasn't crap...he was just slow. he was never fast anyway so I think it's reasonable to question his legs. doesn't mean I wouldn't play him some games, just don't stick him in the middle of a formation that relies on him stopping runners through the middle
I can't imagine that if Hudds has only lost 7% from his peak that he'd have had no takers for a year and now 2 successive city coaches have seen fit to limit his involvement. Seems to me he's here largely to see a game out when required and for his influence in the dressing room. A 90% Huddlestone would be starting every game and wouldn't have had no club for a season prior to signing again here.
I think it’s been a mistake not playing Huddlestone, there’s been several games he was ideal to bring on, but I think he was wrongly written off after one poor performance.
