Notwithstanding tonight's disappointing loss to Brentford, I have enjoyed much of the football that we have played this season and, at this early stage, we are in a higher league position than I would have dared forecast. I am very pleased with the job that Mark Warburton has done so far and, for long periods, I feel we have played a style of football on which we can build success.
Whilst I don't wish to appear negative, there is one aspect of Warburton's reign that has surprised me: how few of his Summer recruits have made an impact on the first team. He brought in a total of 15 players and, if you exclude known quantities like Cameron, Wells and Rangel, there were 12 new faces. Tonight's starting line up was not untypical: only one of those new faces made an appearance, Liam Kelly. But for his suspension, Jordan Hugill might have been another but Warburton can't claim too much credit for unearthing a lower league unpolished diamond because Hugill was a high profile, known quantity.
To mitigate any implied criticism in my observations, one must give the manager credit for the improved performances of both Wells and Hugill, the latter hardly having been a resounding success last season at Middlesborough. Possibly, the re-emergence of Eze and the fact of Chair holding down a regular first team place also speak in Warburton's favour. However, these improvements do not invalidate my central point: I just want to flag that Warburton's actual recruitment record, albeit without incurring significant fees, is so far rather sketchy.
Having made some excellent saves in his last two games, Kelly may just be starting to show what he can do. Barbet has had some good moments, as well as some bad ones! Injury has deprived Amos of a prolonged run in the side and he has looked promising at times. I sincerely hope some of the other recruits start to appear, or appear more regularly. A few injuries and a few more cards may help accelerate this process.
However, I did expect us to be a little further down that line by now. And if he gets any money to spend in future transfer windows, I hope those recruits make a more immediate and sustained contribution. Our shaky defence, once again fairly abject against Brentford, might be a good place to start!
Whilst I don't wish to appear negative, there is one aspect of Warburton's reign that has surprised me: how few of his Summer recruits have made an impact on the first team. He brought in a total of 15 players and, if you exclude known quantities like Cameron, Wells and Rangel, there were 12 new faces. Tonight's starting line up was not untypical: only one of those new faces made an appearance, Liam Kelly. But for his suspension, Jordan Hugill might have been another but Warburton can't claim too much credit for unearthing a lower league unpolished diamond because Hugill was a high profile, known quantity.
To mitigate any implied criticism in my observations, one must give the manager credit for the improved performances of both Wells and Hugill, the latter hardly having been a resounding success last season at Middlesborough. Possibly, the re-emergence of Eze and the fact of Chair holding down a regular first team place also speak in Warburton's favour. However, these improvements do not invalidate my central point: I just want to flag that Warburton's actual recruitment record, albeit without incurring significant fees, is so far rather sketchy.
Having made some excellent saves in his last two games, Kelly may just be starting to show what he can do. Barbet has had some good moments, as well as some bad ones! Injury has deprived Amos of a prolonged run in the side and he has looked promising at times. I sincerely hope some of the other recruits start to appear, or appear more regularly. A few injuries and a few more cards may help accelerate this process.
However, I did expect us to be a little further down that line by now. And if he gets any money to spend in future transfer windows, I hope those recruits make a more immediate and sustained contribution. Our shaky defence, once again fairly abject against Brentford, might be a good place to start!
