That apply to Danny Baath and Gooch ? Who were also told to do one. It's down to dosh I agree with you, but replacements and lack of experience are coming home to roost ain't they ?
AN wanted to feel more valued and have a longer contract. Didn't get it. Prichard wanted the same. Gooch wanted the same. Even after Mowbray over performed , KS was sounding out other head coaches in the summer and eventually Mowbray became disillusioned with it all with his conferences getting more and more to the point. It's a call the KS has to make but for me, he has made the wrong ones. Players and coaches who have experience in this league shouldn't be binded off for data corporate waffle, head coaches and 18 year olds from the French second tier. This is why we have regressed this year and the season was over in the new year. It's simply went too far the other way.
No because they didn't throw their toys out the pram? Both reacted respectfully and their leaving was entirely amicable. Just like it could have been for both AN and Pritch if they hadn't been twats about it
Still didn't feel valued and booted down the road due to age and contract and KS thought he knew better. Then went into the market and signed replacements who have made zero impact this year.
Yeah but... So? Running a football club is hard, signing players is hard. Noone will ever get It right every time. Sometimes it seems like some people think every other club in the league sign star after star and are on a one-way course to the Premier League... Besides, I'd say Seelt has been pretty decent (better than Bathh for Norwich), and are we really pining after Gooch? There was pretty much universal agreement on here that it was time he moved on...
They werent told to do one, nothing wrong with the club saying we wont renew their contracts - they then left it up to the players to decide what they wanted to do. Both decided it was right for them to get a longer deal elsewhere, fair play to them as both did it the right way n will always be welcomed back For far too long as a club we continued to give players new contracts even though they werent going to be part of longer term plans. Now the new signings havent improved us and thats the biggest issue, rather than not keeping 2 players that would have been squad players this yr.
But the point you are getting at is neil wasnt happy with the transfer activity that the club did that summer - he felt the squad wasnt good enough But we finished 6th so the squad was good enough. Mowbray working miracles is bull imo, we had quality players and he brought them together as a team - hardly a miracle We were also in the top 6 for a lot of this season before the shocking appointment of Beale, so shows theres plenty of quality in the squad The squad we put together the summer when neil was here was good, he was disappointed to not bring in certain players - the players i heard he wanted were def experienced but were also poor (bar a GK he wanted who was decent)
We need them because we have loads of injuries defensively. It wouldnt be right or fair on either of we just kept them in case we had injury issues. Gooch wouldn't start ahead of hume huggins or cirkin - now 2 are out injured so he would have played a part but gooch is limited as a footballer. Great lad n pro but he isnt going to take us to where we want to go - now will pembele do that, who knows (if he reaches his potential he will but hes not showed it yet) Batth is probably the worst cb ive seen play in the league this season, and i loved him here. The injury looks like its totally taken it out of him, so id of rather be giving Seelt game time to get him up to speed as there is a player there but he needs the experience I dont mind folk calling out the club at times but feels constant with some people at time
Equally so does the positive even though the reality is something different. When all these lads signed in the last couple of windows, there were only a few who said we needed experience and were missing key positions. Most buzzed off it. The model and KS needs to flex IMO but the latter won't do than as it will show he made mistakes. Anyway, canny debate and hope we get 3 points on Saturday.
AN wanted to feel valued with a big pay rise and control over transfers - he got both at Stoke and that worked out well Gooch is not up to this level - the way Clarke destroyed him is evidence of that Pritchard - good player, but inconsistent and injury prone. I'd have preferred he saw out the season, but am shedding no tears about his departure. He's not as good as he thinks he is. Birmingham fans finding that out now The TM thing - I wish the club had stuck to their guns and made a change in the summer. As soon as the rumours came out there was bad blood and uncertainty and making a change mid-season completely derailed us
You can't keep a bloated squad just in case of injuries though. Players will get disgruntled because of lacking of playing time. The club website lists 28 players in the first team. At one point, could still be the case, Championship squads were limited to 25.
I agree some can be too positive at times, i just dont get the constant negativity at times. Our club has been in far worse places during my time and we dont need any major work to kick on again We are on a shocking run at the minute and this season has been a step backwards and thatll always impact folks opinion Some folk just dont like writting off the new signings before theyve even kicked a ball. Loads have said if it was a choice between 2 players who are as good as each other n have similar potential then theyd prefer the one with experience Also most said we were missing in certain positions, so stop trying to get one over fans. Most have been banging the drum about a cdm n striker with some presence or experience - not just a few people as you are claiming Its easy saying we should just sign experience but just signing experience doesnt always work - like just saying youth doesnt always work. The recruitment team must get the balance right this summer n as ive said loads we need more championship ready players
Maybe I'm one of the ones that is too positive but, to be honest, I see it as realism. The reality is, under KLD and Speakman we've had two good seasons and a not so good one. Mistakes have undoubtedly been made in various aspects of the running of the club but its important to consider what the cause of those mistakes is and whether they really are mistakes or the cause of circumstance. As I said with regard to Kieffer Moore the other day, there could be any number of reasons over which the club has no control which has prevented them from signing the players we all think we need. The club have been happy to sign experienced players previously under this ownership so there's no reason to think that they won't again, if they can get the right player. On the basis that we've had good season previously under the current set up, there's no reason to think that we won't again. But, if we don't, then the owner will have to ask questions of his Sporting Director. However, it's easy, when you've already decided you don't like someone, to leap on anything that goes wrong and frame it as proof that they don't know what they're doing.
Agree with this. We have one or two who do get some behind the scenes info.and will have a go at KS at every opportunity. There may be genuine reasons for it,I don't know,but it's tedious in the extreme. Nothing lasts forever,and at some future point he will go,then they'll be on feeling vindicated. In the meantime,when something doesn't work for us,he's going to get slammed. I look at the club now and its' prospects before he arrived,and conclude we're in a much better place,despite our recent poor run.Mistakes have been made,for sure,but there aren't many clubs that don't make them. The club decisions are made for a reason,and,as fans,we don't necessarily get to know what the reason is. It's a business where personality and ego abound....apart from a select few,no-one is popular with everyone all the time.
Spun it? Is there anything inaccurate in my post? Just because Johnson took the team to the top, then lost his way, doesn't make Neil a Roy Keane with his promotion. You're spinning things so much I'm surprised you can keep your balance. You'll say anything to discredit Speakman, imo, do you give him any credit for the promotion ... after all he had a hand in that team and bringing in Neil. Or was he just lucky? Now who's spinning ... it didn't simply 'look' horrendous, it was horrendous. You're always saying how the club embarrass the supporters. Don't you think that Neil made us look bad to other people? We were a laughing stock, especially with the Stoke supporters. Thankfully he took them into a relegation fight and was booted down the street so we had the last laugh on him and all of them. It was absolutely disgraceful and disrespectful to the supporters who'd been great with him. Now that's the epitome of spin, boy that's some grudge you have there.
This is where I'm at. They're not perfect, KLD and KS, but we're in a much better place than we have been for years.
