Thought a discussion on why the U21 games were being cancelled deserved a thread on it's own. Conspiracy Theory 1: The Club are aware that a transfer embargo is about to be imposed under FFP and recognise that will further hinder the appointment of a new Head Coach. Decide therefore to delay until after January window closes to bring someone in (a la Felix!). Meanwhile Grant can't multi-task 1st team and U21s, so cancel virtually all U21 games until end of January. Conspiracy Theory 2: Similar but worst case scenario. The Club give up on making a new Head Coach appointment, so give Grant an 8 week period to prove himself (a la Kit!). To give Grant a fair chance, let him concentrate on the 1st team and cancel U21 games. Conspiracy Theory 3: Something completely different but how then do you explain the U21 games being cancelled? And Grant all of a sudden being given the title "Caretaker Head Coach"? (Rigg had said there wouldn't be one in his video).
The Club have broken a little bit of the silence in announcing that Peter Grant will take Thursday's press conference ahead of the game against Notts Forest. That, together with cancelling the U21 League matches (bar one) until the end of January, suggests that the Academy Duo will be in charge for some time yet. Setting aside the Big Issue of our recruitment strategy to replace Kit, I'm concerned that the Club may have skimmed over this short term solution far too easily. Have they properly taken account of the impact on our Development Squad? The current group of youngsters may be a step or two away from the first team (Grant's words) but they are our future. Being without a game for two months just cannot be good for them on so many fronts. They were beginning to put together a decent run of wins and beginning to gel as a group. Now they will have to re-start in two months time, behind the pack and matches coming thick and fast. It needs to be remembered that these are young people, still developing physically and a clutch of games on top of one another brings with it a higher risk of injury, which could hurt their careers. Also, has any thought been given to the fact that the January window and the possibility of going out on loan, may pass them by? What League club would take on a youngster that hasn't played for 6 weeks and more importantly, one they haven't been able to watch? Given the ages of our current crop, this is arguably a mute point. But it does mean a fast track route in their development could, potentially, be cut of for some. While I'm mainly thinking about the core U21 squad, it is quite a small group. So in considering the loss of games for two months, you should include U18s who have been regularly getting experience at the higher level. And above all, what the heck is it doing to their confidence.
I'm pretty sure that no-one knows what is going on C58. Total shambles, it's embarrassing. Grant's got nothing to lose, any points are good points as far as I'm concerned. We're going down the pan quickly if this isn't sorted. Forget the play offs, we'll be lucky to survive the drop.
What do you mean rosc? Jesse is out on loan and scoring! ['S alright I know who you mean. Doubt if even a new regime will change his situation though.]
