|
Post by stewartdonald on Feb 23, 2016 10:16:10 GMT
Yes he has.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2016 10:51:36 GMT
He has indeed (started 4 games). It will be interesting to see if he continues to start games now we supposedly have everyone back fit from injury & are still assumably looking to bring in more loan players. I really hope he does, but given the main priorities are to score goals, or stop conceding them, i'm not sure, i'm probably not expecting him to get into the starting eleven ahead of a JP, or a Jai. So it will depend on the teams shape, as to where he fits in.
|
|
|
Post by back4more on Feb 23, 2016 11:31:36 GMT
Stewart, I agree with erc that your post deserves a much wider audience.
From the responses posted by some of our forumites on here, it seems that they either haven't read or haven't understood everything you have said.
One of the obvious conclusions to draw from a football point of view is that if the FA and other powers that be wanted to try to do something useful they would ensure that money is siphoned off from the revenue generated by major competitions to support youth development throughout all levels of the game. There seems to be a plentiful supply of capable young players from other parts of the world so perhaps they could benchmark those countries and their methods to see what we can learn in England. Unfortunately those exalted bodies seem to have about as much accountability as the EU Commission.
I wonder though whether our problem in this country is finding young lads who have both the skills and the mental strength and aptitude to knuckle down and succeed. We seem to be lucky in that respect with Luke Coulson and I disagree totally with the strange unjustified assumption in one post that he will not develop into a regular starter. I also imagine that Luke probably sees Eastleigh as a new chance to show what some bigger clubs have missed by not keeping/signing him.
FFP does also seem to be a problem from what Stewart is saying. It's easy to overlook how the perverse injustice of FFP stifles not only smaller Prem and Championship clubs but also every smaller ambitious club down to the non league. Perhaps there might be a use for the EU after all. Can we get them to outlaw FFP on a restraint of trade or anti competition basis? I suspect it might be illegal in the USA for anti-competitive reasons.
On a more parochial note, I also can't help noticing that we have, again, some contradictory posts. Last week we didn't have a big enough squad. Now we shouldn't be signing players who won't start every match. 22 a side anyone?
And as for the play offs? We have every bit as much chance of reaching and winning the play offs as Leicester City have of winning the Premier League. We would have beaten most teams on Saturday. The pitches and the weather will improve from now on and that will work in our favour. Having a free Saturday this week won't really help us but it will provide more recovery and regrouping time.
|
|
|
Post by westendspitfire on Feb 23, 2016 11:59:57 GMT
Seriously football only, all reference to EU or referendum should result in a fine/ban or corporal punishment back4more (maybe all 3). Amazing insight from Stewart and it is far from over yet, 14 games to go and 4 points off the play off places. Surely we have all been around long enough to know there is plenty to play for and form is a very fickle friend just ask Leicester. Kidderminster had 14 points from their first 28 games and were doomed to relegation, they have earned 10 points from their last 5 games which is more than double the other 6 teams in the bottom 7 over the same period and must feel they can stay up. Keep the faith!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2016 12:30:24 GMT
Ive only just seen SD's big post, dunno how i missed that!
EXCELLENT WRITE UP AND EXPLAINATION!
I think in general terms on this forum, we are just stating our own personal wishlists, i'm pretty sure that none of us (myself included) expect the things we wish for, to come to fruition, but it doesn't stop us asking, or questioning the recruitment policy at the club. Only time will tell how things pan out with the likes of Tony Lee & Lewis Noice, but i'll hang my hat on it that neither will be at the club at the end of next season. That's not necessarily because they are not good enough, but it will be because we haven't given them a crack in the first team for any length of games. If we really believed in Lewis, we would never have felt the need to bring Poke back. Same for TL, we recently brought in Tubbs to try and give us a boost, and now Tony has Tubbs, Beano, Yemi, Midson, Kaid & Others ahead of him, so he wont get in until its all over in the last 3 games. We sent him out on loan where he smashed in 6 goals in 3 games, yet he still doesnt get a start for us. Sure his goal were at lower levels, but because of his age and inexperience, he isn't deemed as "ready" for us yet. So when will he be? I fully except that with the position we are in, we go for experience over an untried and tested 19 year old, because you feel we can still make the play offs, but that's not going to be any different next season when he's 20, has then played about 15 games on loan at various clubs, maybe scored 15-20 goals, but then comes back to us when we are around the top 5 again, is it? It sounds like the club intends to go down the ex pro release recruitment route (as we have with Coulsen), which could also end up very expensive, when you are paying club record transfer fees to "starlets" who may or may not make the grade at our level. I don't mind that, its your money after all, but you can go and get a John Akinde & Bondz N'gala for the same money, and with them in our side, we would probably win the league. Whereas a Coulsen is just going to keep you on an even keel at best (i'm being unfair on him as he's only played 4 games), but i'm just making the point, that if you intend to pay big transfer fees for ex Man City kids, then why not just go out & get the best at this level and give up on the youth system completely, which is kind of what you feel you are doing anyway in terms of not wanting to put the real money into the youth set up, because you believe it would cost to much to be successful. It would appear the club are trying to balance all plates at once, which is commendable, but a few plates will be dropped. I think we've dropped out of the play offs because our squad was too small and we really didnt strengthen with players that would improve our first eleven, when we should have with real quality players who would make us better. Fanimo, Kaid, Poke, Coulsen, Willmott - None of these made us a better team.
Great post through Stew, and as others have said, the FA need to see that!
|
|
|
Post by stewartdonald on Feb 23, 2016 15:38:44 GMT
Fair points Sattsy.
Akinde interestingly is not the same money - we enquired and were quoted 500k. That of course may have been negotiated down possibly to half in all seriousness but that was the figure quoted nonetheless and we just left it. I could have bought Coulson 25 times for that and the wages would be a lot less too Sattsy.
I am afraid though I have to take your point on the signings to date - hopefully Coulson, Poke, Tubbs and any new editions will make the difference we need. The others clearly have not worked as hoped and I think we have lost ground over the other clubs who did strengthen and are now playing catch up but it is not over yet!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2016 16:01:56 GMT
Quoting you 500k for Akinde, is just Barnet's way of saying he's not for sale unless you give us silly money, and i dont blame them for that. They have just taken up the option in his contract to sign him for next season, but after that he's a free man...and they wont be asking 500k this time next season when they are mid table and going nowhere. I strongly suspect you would get him for 50k-100k and that's a lot of money, but it practically buys you the title IMO (once we have signed N'Gala or Josh Gowling aswell of course ...You could have got Gowling for 1k a week last season, which is peanuts now in the scheme of things...We dont have a center half to can header a ball. That's why we conceded the 2nd goal at FGR, it wasnt because they was a bit of push and shove going on, it was because Turley and Reid don't win big headers, and that's why we let in 2 goals per game. Anyway, i dont wanna argue, i'm just suggesting that maybe if we really do want to go up, we go in hard next season (with your money of course ). Rather than go at it halfheartedly with the Coulsens of this world, who may well turn out to be decent players, but are not going to win us this league.
|
|
|
Post by hantslondoner on Feb 23, 2016 16:25:13 GMT
Gowling's teammate at Grimsby, Nsiala, will probably be available for transfer soon after mouthing off at his own fans during the 4-2 defeat at Halifax. Mind you, there were allegations of racial abuse from them...... the Mariners fans don't seem to rate him as highly as Gowling anyway. He played well at the Silverlake, but all their defenders do :-(
If Akinde had been Div 2's top marksman too then I'd have thought 500K would have been quite reasonable to ask. 11 in 32 is OK, but not fantastic.
I think Coulson's a good player. But he needs at least the rest of the season to fit in, and for the manager to decide where his best position is.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2016 17:10:15 GMT
Pearson at Grimsby isn't even getting a game, but they wont sell him either... Grimsby have the 3 best CH's in this league, the greedy gits..
There really aren't many/any L2 players that go for 500k, no matter how many goals they are banging in. Matt Tubbs was top scorer in L2 last season with 21 goals...i wonder what happened to him... These big transfer fees in L2 are a myth.
|
|
|
Post by michaelefc on Feb 23, 2016 17:17:48 GMT
No time to say anymore, but I do wish to show my appreciation for Stewart's lengthy post on the youth situation. I always appreciate the time he takes on this forum to put over his point of view. He is one in a million. Thanks.
|
|