Somewhat less simple answers: Wholesale squad changes two years running A bad start and subsequent confidence drop Two changes in Head Coach and assistants Major injury problems with 30% of squad missing My simple question is which players should not have been signed?
The first 3 points are, directly or indirectly, a problem with recruitment and whilst there have been injuries we have not had 30% of our squad permanently missing since January. Simple answer to your simple question - on the basis of our form since January and our current league position - all of them. There is a more detailed argument about one or two individuals such as the GK but the form since January and our league position does not lie.
Knapper was either tasked or was hired in the principle of lowering the age profile of the playing squad. When he came on board we had the oldest average age squad in the league from memory. I completely agree with and prefer the preference to sign younger players to develop. However I think th balance has tipped too far on the inexperienced side. As PC has said today, it will take time for th profile of player that we have signed to show their worth. Unfortunately we have too many players that are not yet settled, or are at the beginnings of their development. A mistake certainly but not one that has me calling for his head. Knapper himself will learn form the experience and be a better SD for it.
I don't agree with conflating last season and this - each should be examined separately. I would certainly say that Thorup and Manning raise some questions about HC recruitment, but they were not the main problem IMO. The Thorup appointment was a risk taken on a young and relatively inexperienced HC with no experience of the English leagues. Manning was an attempt to rectify that with a more experienced English manager. Those were certainly contributing factors, but not the only ones. As Suffolk says, the lower age of players involves risks until they develop. The more balanced recruitment this year has helped, but the constant changes in lineups are another factor in the lack of consistency. The extreme number of injuries is a huge factor IMO and our future will depend on finding solutions for this. PC''s focus on player fitness is another factor to deal with and personally, I think he's the right man to sort out our problems and take us up the table.
Knapper has bought a coach load of players and hired two Head Coaches who have not lasted a season. We have hardly won a game since January, have not won at home all season and are currently 5 points adrift in the bottom 3. If Oxford beat us on Tuesday we will be 3 extra victories away from safety. Whose fault is it apart from Knappers?
' The more balanced recruitment this year has helped ' - have you looked at the league table? This is not a temporary blip and it is getting worse. We could have been thrashed 8-1 last Saturday and it wouldn't have been unjust. The only competent spell we have enjoyed in the last two seasons was the first 4 months under Thorup but then Cowboy Joe stuck his oar in and collapse followed. Young players need time to develop but there is no guarantee that they will. Non league football is full of promising youngsters who did not train on - using the Horse Racing expression. Having said all that I suspect that Clement might well save us but if he does it will be in spite of Knapper and not because of.
Depends on what the recruitment's focus was on. Was the main focus to recruit players that could have an immediate impact, if that was the criteria, then it's clearly failed. If the focus was on more long term results then we won't know if it has been a success until the time period has past. I would suggest that it's probably a mixture of short and longer term and the majority of younger players, if not all, were bought for the long term. I suspect there's a reason why the they all seem to be on 4 year contracts. As a fan you can only reasonable judge whether the recruitment of each individual player has been successful or not if you know the criteria / timeline that was considered when they were purchased. I would also add that recruitment, of younger players in particular, is notoriously difficult to get right. Even the greatest coaches / clubs regularly get it wrong, it's not a precise science. We are no different to most clubs, although if you look at our recruitment over the long term, I think you'll find, especially if you judge it in terms of money raised then we've done better than average.
