"You pays your money and hopes..." Well not really.John Stephenson described the system that Watford had put in place since the later days of the Boothroyd era, and that was applied by Rodgers and Mackay. It involved a detailed process to identify , assess, and recruit new players, according to a strict set of criteria, and then sought to develop them further, with the aim of turning the "typical" under 50% success rate for new recruits into an 80% success rate . It seemed to be working, since it brought in Williamson, Graham, Cowie, McGinn, Buckley... jury still out on Deeney , and Aldred and a couple of others must be put in the debit column. This system was also central to the business model devised by Winter. But are Dyche and Bas still following this system? The number and quality of recruits brought in this transfer window suggests not. It looks like we now have a more opportunistic recruitment policy, aimed at getting in experienced players and creating "competition for places" as a principle, rather than what we had before. I think i liked the more measured, evolutionary approach. myself. However, we should know in a month or two who, among the new recruits, is likely to add value to the squad , who will become a saleable asset , and who will prove a pig in a poke.
but I,m sure the Orns that do make the trip will be very Vocal! as an aside to MM If he had just gone on his way , I too would have wished him well, but to come back for players and backroom staff ,even when GT asked him to stop killed off all my good wishes towards him!
