The main positive is that if McDermott is our manager, we might just have a younger, more vibrant side with some energy and enthusiasm. Would make a welcome change from the boring, lethargic performances we've had to deal with under Warnock. He seems to put a lot of faith in younger players - he signed Hope Akpan and Nick Blackman in January to help Reading stay up - encourages home grown players and has a great eye for lower-league talent. And maybe that's not such a bad thing. If we really aren't going to spend some money to get out of this division, we're going to need a long term plan. And McDermott, with his knowledge of the lower leagues and his ability to spot, and then nurture, young talent, might just be perfect for this. We have an academy that's starting to produce some players with real potential after a slight delay in productivity (Lees, Byram, Dawson, Poleon), and with a good scouting system and a clever manager who's given the time to build, we could be in a really good position a year or two down the line. There's a lot of talented young players in the lower leagues that could easily do a job for us and continue to grow and improve. They'd certainly be no worse than Varney/Morison etc. We've been crying out for a goalscorer ever since Becchio left, and I don't see why we never looked into League 1 or even League 2. Paddy Madden has 23 goals for Yeovil this year - granted it's his first real season where he's been consistent in front of goal, but surely that's the sort of player we want to be looking at, not Steve Morison who's closing in on 30 and doesn't even look like he can be bothered most days. Let's just hope McDermott is backed sufficiently and we can look forward to having an exciting, young, vibrant side again - even if it's a long building process
Good post though I don't really think Lees is on a par with the other three you've mentioned, I think he's reached the limit of his potential, which is pretty average. Byram, Dawson and Poleon are already good and will only get better.
With QPR, Reading, Wigan & Aston Villa might be coming down, it will be harder for us to get out of this Div.
Last year, Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves went down. Two are currently fighting relegation and one is fighting for the final play off spot. Three teams come down from the premier league every year, and very rarely do all three go straight back up. Anyway, the point is, we need to stop planning for the short term and signing players who can do a job for one or two seasons. It doesn't matter if we don't go up next season, or the season after that, or even the season after that. If we start to implement a structure based around youth and build a team up over a period of two or three seasons, rather than rebuilding an entire squad from scratch every year, we will not only stand a much better chance of progression, but we'll stand a much better chance of actually staying up should we get there.
I think if he's paired with a competent defender (Pearce has been poor and Peltier okay) he could begin to really shine. There's Thompson too, I like the look of him, and Charlie Taylor. We may as well give them a go, start building long term
If all four come down, then I will be worried Its not unusual to see a team come up from league 1 to do well in there first season, momentum and all that Our best shot was under Grayson when we had Snod Gradel and the rest. I will take seasons for us to rebuild a team as strong as we had then. To think that was picked apart for pennies when a bit of investment and backing in the transfer window could have seen us in the prem.
Kiwi I have been banging on about such a strategy for 3 seasons now. I'm sick of the "we have to go up this season" attitude by the club - understandable desire from the fans' point of view - and I actually think the club with the current academy system is trying to bring through a long term strategy, it's just we egt managers in like Warnock and it screws it all up for a bit. I hope you are spot on with McDermott and what he will be able to do. I have the same hopes - I don't know if they will be dashed or not. But if we see progress slowly over the next 3 seasons so that we are consistently there or thereabouts and playing good football, much like Cardiff or Swansea previously, I will be very happy
Completely agree. This is the best crop of youngsters we've had for a long time. We may as well start using them and bedding them in early, and build the team around them. There's plenty of exciting talent in the lower leagues that can come in, do a job and still improve. Alan Judge is out of contract at Notts County at the end of the season - a creative attacking midfield player, something we've been desperate for all season. Jacques Maghoma at Burton in League 2 has 17 goals from the same position this season. I'm not saying we shouldn't sign players from the Championship, but I'd much rather us take a punt on a lower league star than an ageing, distinctly average Championship journeyman.
Brian McD does have a reputation for bringing the kids on, so I expect we'll see some of that take place next season if he actually takes the job. If he does take the job he needs to get us another 3 points to ensure safety, and can then have a look at the potential of some of our present crop this season, or whats left of it. No damage done, but people talking about young Dom Poleon as our future super star, is wide of the mark. How prolific is he? how many goals has he got in lower leagues whilst out on loan? If Brian McD turns the job down, you'll know its because he has no cash coming, and no chance of development work for kids at TA. This means we can already write off next season as too much financial damage has been done to the club in the last 10-years
Poleon has one thing defenders hate - pace. No, he hasn't been prolific yet, but I don't recall Thierry Henry being particularly prolific when he was at Monaco, or Juventus either. No suggesting he's going to be anywhere near the same player Henry was, but he's only 19, he's still raw and he has a lot of learning to do. Under the right manager (ie, McDermott), he might be able to harness his undoubted potential and go on to be a great player for us.
Great post kiwi, I completely agree. It's good to know he's worked as a scout as well, not only did he buy Le-Fondre, but Kevin Doyle was his find at £78k and Shane Long (never disclosed transfer fee) but can't of been much. We have a great crop coming through in Lee's, Dawson, Poleon, White, Byram. Granted White has not had the impact as hoped, but in a faster overall team, he might shine more. Our last 3 appointments have been very good, Grayson was the man for league 1, Warnock had a great record but it didn't work out, and Mcdermott won the league last year. Hopefully Mcdermott will be given a 3/4 year contract to rebuild, and improve the team. In my oppinion the main reason Warnock failed was the 1 year contract, he had no time to build a team, and signed old journeymen he knew, to try get a home run first attempt, if he had been on a longer contract we may of had more success. Anyway, morning everyone, its Friday!
