All this talk of January transfers got me thinking. Are we all missing something? A major change has taken place. During the summer we lost a genius. Ewan Chester might not be a name familiar to every fan but he was our chief scout during the first two years of Paul Lambert's reign at Carrow Road. He is responsible, or at least part responsible, for identifying some of the gems we currently have playing in our Premier League first team. His loss has been played down but maybe when Paul Lambert mentioned the other day that there might not be anymore 'hidden gems' from the lower leagues, perhaps he meant we might not be able to identify those 'hidden gems' quite as easily anymore. Was our boss talking about losing Chester's knowhow? Our new chief scout is, as I understand it, Colin Jackson (no, not he of hurdling fame!). I must confess I know nothing about him or his background and I'm sure he is very good at his job, else Lambert wouldn't have appointed him. However, maybe the days of scouring the lower leagues for talent have passed for City? I'm not saying we won't continue to dig around but it's a very difficult process and skill to find quality that can reproduce in the top flight. January is not a great time to buy players but it will be interesting to see how things develop in the summer and it will also be interesting to see who Birmingham City, Chester's new employers, sign and whether they take a similar approach under Chris Hughton. Or maybe I'm looking into it a bit too much...
Or maybe I'm looking into it a bit too much... I wouldn't say that. I would imagine there is only so much capable talent in the lower leagues that are worth taking a risk on. I am pretty certain the time will come when there simply has to be a change of policy regarding transfers to enable to club to stay in the top flight. Not suggesting every player we will sing in the future will be a big name but I would guess if we survive the season we are likely to start bringing in one or two 'known' players to 'help out'
It's hard to say exactly how much was personally down to Chester, but he certainly seemed highly rated by the club. The fact he was sought after perhaps tells its own story. He's at Birmingham now is he, I thought he was doing something with Chelsea? I guess the thing with signing from the lower leagues now is that we don't want to tread water. The number of players who will improve the squad we have now is lower than the number that could improve the squad over the last couple of seasons. What I mean is, we don't want to sign another Crofts, we want someone better than Crofts.
i could be wrong but i think chelsea approached him but he'd already agreed to join birmingham city its true he won't have been responsible for every signing, and lambert will have pointed him towards the right areas anyway - he'd have had requirements to fulfil - but he was clearly a talent and would have guided his fellow scouts. the calibre of players remains the same. talented footballers, not tarnished by the game but who have something to prove, smaller wage demands, good personalities... it takes time to find players who fit the bill no matter what division they play in. its easy to find someone who is a talented footballer - most people can do that. but to find someone who will fit into a club too... a different ballgame! we want to sign better players but they still need to be the right kind of personality
Doesn't Gary Karsa have something to do with signings. A sort of director of football but there is much better communication so if Lambert doesn't want a player he can say no.
We only want players better than we have and for a large part of the squad we already have some of the best players from the lower leagues. This makes it harder to buy from the lower leagues. Not a criticism of the talent down their at all, after all for the most part they've lead us to mid table in the prem. Now I think maybe a look at foreign leagues. I know people talk about Lambo's german contacts, and tbh I think that's vastly overplayed, if you don't agree ask our star striker Miroslav Close. But if I were up and coming in Germany and fancied the prem as the next step in my career I would seriously think about a club managed by someone who played and trained in Germany, just to make the transition easier and to know that he will understand you a bit.
You seem so much cheerier on our board JWM. Maybe my 'Adoption' thread does have some merit after all
Thanks for the temporary escapism Maestro! I'm just spending my time writing rude slogans on bed sheets ready for Saturday.....!
the point i would make is that there are always and always will be future gems in the lower leagues, and its worth continuing our strategy of trying to sign these players if possible
doesn't bother me in the slightest warky! there's been many a time when i've done the same to your own threads i'm sure
I'm sorry but I know that ewan is held in very high regard and his talent is as good as the player he finds but it doesn't take a genius to see that there are some superb players still to buy in the lower leagues. Just look at jordan Rhodes, he is just as down to earth as pilks and seems like a really decent chap aswell as being an awesome striker but if he goes to a club like west ham its clearly going to change him and that would be a big miss for a club like us. We sign him for say 6mil, we get relegated but he bangs in a few goals his price is clearly going to go up so surely its worth a gamble!
Rhodes does look very good I think the point that superman is making is that there is a skill in unearthing hidden talent. Rhodes' talent is at this point pretty blatant. Also if he goes anywhere it will be to a prem club. If I were a betting man I'd say Everton they need a goal scorer and moyes isn't shy about buying from the lower leagues. Although he got burnt with beckford.
bath canary is bang on. do you know if jordan rhodes has the right character to make it at the top? lots of research goes into any signing but its a lot harder when the player is a bit of an unknown. not talking about rhodes really because he is the sort of player which someone will take a gamble on but players like crofts before - would anyone have seriously considered him a player who could make it just from watching him a couple of times at gillingham and brighton? lots of skill involved in scouting well
One other thing with some of the lower league players we've signed is that we've been directly engaged in the same league as some of them, that must help spotting talent. Unquestionably however, the better your scouts, the better your transfers. I think our real problem now is the type of player we're after. They're the one's that in terms of quality sit between the 'rough diamonds' that can be polished up, and the obvious stars waiting to be picked up by other prem clubs who almost inevitably command big fees. They're few and far between, though they must still be there. As for Rhodes, as much as I'd like to see him here, I think he's probably gone beyond our price bracket.
