Mark Robins is responsible for Hyam being sold (4 Viewers)

[CCFC54321]

Robins and Badlan have utilised our budget poorly since achieving promotion to the Championship really. Again something I pointed out last season but the feel-good factor of last season clearly glossed it over.

Contracts have been awarded to new and existing players that seemingly aren't deserving of them: Bright, Dacosta, Jones, Hilssner, Kelly and you could argue probably Allen as well as although he's a fine squad player the rush to award him a new deal was slightly bizarre.

There seems to be a growing obsession with bringing in Championship experience when really the budget could be better allocated elsewhere.

The only consistent success really has been in the loan market and from bringing in young PL castoffs. Not really sure why the club has deviated from that, or rather shifted their focus to another market, as the model now has zero structure and just seems to be: do the best you can with what little you have at your disposal.

I think the recruitment (at times) has been dreadful.

I look at Preston last night and have a side of nobody’s that I’ve never heard of except for the forward but they maximise everything they have. Don’t get me wrong I’d hate to watch a Preston type of team week in week out but they do it on a budget I’d have a guess lower than ours?!

My point is their recruitment team must be doing something good?

 

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[KenilworthSkyBlue]

Most of them have gone awfully quiet in the last two weeks or so, as have those who were constantly posting the 'Panic GIF'.

Our recruitment, in my view, has been questionable for a while. It makes me feel a bit less crazy that this is being noticed a bit more now.

It's not necessarily even poor recruitment, although granted there have been some poor acquisitions in recent years, but rather terrible utilisation of the budget and moving away from one of the club's fundamental objectives - to identify suitable targets to develop and be sold on for profit to ensure the shortfall is bridged each season.

We've gone from being on the cusp of shifting to a sustainable model that would genuinely work at this level to bringing in Championship vets and awarding increased contracts to the likes of Kelly.

 

[Senior Vick from Alicante]

When you move up a level the model has to be adapted accordingly. In the first window following promotion you could argue the club was actually building the foundations to a sustainable model. Sheaf and O'Hare were brought in (PL castoffs), solid loans in Ostigard, McCallum and I'd even include Giles in that mix (PL talent) and a young European talent in Hamer. Hilssner and Dacosta were bizarre transfers, especially as both were offered long term deals, but

But since then we've totally moved away from what I initially thought was a positive recruitment strategy, and now the club are increasingly bringing in or retaining players with zero resell value which is entirely unsustainable.

But if you go for talented players from lower leagues who you think can step up or young premier league players being released you either have to pay a transfer fee and will be competing against other clubs or development fees for youngsters and we dont have a pot to piss in apparently. We are all jumping to quick to judge and need to wait for Robins to have his best side on the pitch.

 

[CCFCSteve]

I doubt by January those players will be worth that much in a difficult window.

Boddy must have been reading the guff on here and over valuing players worth.

Think that’s a bit harsh. We know bids came in for Ohare around 5m+, reckon probably similar but a bit less for Hamer and we also know Viks going to be worth a lot more than we bought him for. If they’re fit and playing well their values shouldn’t drop much….if they’re injured or playing shit and we’re desperate it’s a different story

 

[Grendel]

Think that’s a bit harsh. We know bids came in for Ohare around 5m+, reckon probably similar but a bit less for Hamer and we also know Viks going to be worth a lot more than we bought him for. If they’re fit and playing well their values shouldn’t drop much….if they’re injured or playing shit and we’re desperate it’s a different story

No championship club outside the relegated teams have paid £5m for anyone I don’t think so unless it’s a premier league club who thinks these players are real first team contenders they are just not worth the money.

Why would Hamer or O Hare be worth that sort of money?

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

It's not necessarily even poor recruitment, although granted there have been some poor acquisitions in recent years, but rather terrible utilisation of the budget and moving away from one of the club's fundamental objectives - to identify suitable targets to develop and be sold on for profit to ensure the shortfall is bridged each season.

We've gone from being on the cusp of shifting to a sustainable model that would genuinely work at this level to bringing in Championship vets and awarding increased contracts to the likes of Kelly.

This is where my criticism of the Palmer signing comes in. Looking at the paper of what's coming in and out, and what there is to spend, it just does not make any sense whatsoever given his record. Neither how high his likely wages are. The loan of Adaramola also looks to be a dud, and that's then 50% of our incomings this month already being highly debated.

We have signed some good players, but there has been some really poor ones as well, and I do put that at the door of the recruitment team. As pointed out though, with the budget so tight, the room for error is very small. If posters on here are able to pick apart the signing of a player, and it becomes true, then it just makes the recruitment team, and those in charge of spending said budget, look amateur. It stretches back earlier than this transfer window by a long way, but given how extra tight this one is, our actions look even more desperate.

 

[duffer]

I've got to be honest and say that I'm not sure it's quite as bad as some here feel, though I respect opinions differ.

If we take Luton as an example of "good" recruitment it looks like they also often look for Championship experience. And like us, not all of their recruitment necessarily works out.

As a vague attempt at putting some evidence together, I've looked at the reviews of their summer signings, and then how many of them made the starting line up in their last game.

Is it so different to the kind of recruitment we've done?

'He could really do damage' - All of Luton Town's summer signings rated out of 10

Luton Town have enjoyed another strong summer transfer window, signing seven players in total.

the72.co.uk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62641667

 

[Deleted member 5849]

Some fair points here and something I was thinking about the other day with regard to wages for Waghorn, Kane and Walker, all of which appeared totally out of favour with Robins…although Waghorn maybe back in now

I don't even mind Walker. He was bought for potential and re-sale, and not all of those work out as hoped. He did however offer the potential for re-sale.

 

[Deleted member 5849]

I've got to be honest and say that I'm not sure it's quite as bad as some here feel, though I respect opinions differ.

If we take Luton as an example of "good" recruitment it looks like they also often look for Championship experience. And like us, not all of their recruitment necessarily works out.

As a vague attempt at putting some evidence together, I've looked at the reviews of their summer signings, and then how many of them made the starting line up in their last game.

Is it so different to the kind of recruitment we've done?

'He could really do damage' - All of Luton Town's summer signings rated out of 10

Luton Town have enjoyed another strong summer transfer window, signing seven players in total.

the72.co.uk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62641667

Bar Freeman, every one of those players is younger than our Champiosnhip experience signings, so you'd expect more re-sale potential.

As an aside, I'm not convinced that Luton have budgeted wisely, and it won't bite them in a season or two without a decent sale themselves...

 

[Greggs]

Yeah, seems very hit and miss. How can the same team of scouts, etc get it so right with Hamer yet so wrong with the likes of Jobello, Kastaneer and Hilsner.

Luck

 

[Frostie]

I've got to be honest and say that I'm not sure it's quite as bad as some here feel, though I respect opinions differ.

If we take Luton as an example of "good" recruitment it looks like they also often look for Championship experience. And like us, not all of their recruitment necessarily works out.

As a vague attempt at putting some evidence together, I've looked at the reviews of their summer signings, and then how many of them made the starting line up in their last game.

Is it so different to the kind of recruitment we've done?

'He could really do damage' - All of Luton Town's summer signings rated out of 10

Luton Town have enjoyed another strong summer transfer window, signing seven players in total.

the72.co.uk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62641667

Agreed. Ours & Luton's are some of the best recruitment teams around given what they have to work with. They have at least been able to pay some (relatively) substantial fees this season too which we sadly can't.

Bar Freeman, every one of those players is younger than our Champiosnhip experience signings, so you'd expect more re-sale potential.

This season maybe but Cameron Jerome, Henri Lansbury?

 

[CovBrummie94]

So we aren't following the Brentford model?

 

[duffer]

Bar Freeman, every one of those players is younger than our Champiosnhip experience signings, so you'd expect more re-sale potential.

As an aside, I'm not convinced that Luton have budgeted wisely, and it won't bite them in a season or two without a decent sale themselves...

In fairness Palmer is 25 and Kane is 28, so neither of them are completely ancient yet. If either of them have (or had) outstanding seasons then you could probably expect a reasonable profit if you then wanted to sell them on.

I even get why we might have reasonably expected more from Waghorn, albeit him approaching his golden years and unlikely to achieve much resale value other than for rendering down as glue.

Nothing that you're saying is unreasonable, NW, but I think it is possible to see it in a slightly different way.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

So we aren't following the Brentford model?

Well kind of - the main difference being we don’t spend any money

 

[Deleted member 5849]

In fairness Palmer is 25 and Kane is 28, so neither of them are completely ancient yet. If either of them have (or had) outstanding seasons then you could probably expect a reasonable profit if you then wanted to sell them on.

I wasn't including Palmer in my Championship experience group tbh. This season's recruitment is a whole other thread, and a whole other approach!

 

[KenilworthSkyBlue]

In fairness Palmer is 25 and Kane is 28, so neither of them are completely ancient yet. If either of them have (or had) outstanding seasons then you could probably expect a reasonable profit if you then wanted to sell them on.

I even get why we might have reasonably expected more from Waghorn, albeit him approaching his golden years and unlikely to achieve much resale value other than for rendering down as glue.

Nothing that you're saying is unreasonable, NW, but I think it is possible to see it in a slightly different way.

Kane is 29 in a couple of weeks and his form last season hardly suggests he'll have a dramatic turnaround.

If it weren't for his injury I'd imagine he would've already been moved on by now.

 

[CCFCSteve]

I don't even mind Walker. He was bought for potential and re-sale, and not all of those work out as hoped. He did however offer the potential for re-sale.

It’s more the fact that within a year Robins didn’t seem to fancy him (or the others). We can’t afford to do that with players on championship wages

 

[CCFCSteve]

No championship club outside the relegated teams have paid £5m for anyone I don’t think so unless it’s a premier league club who thinks these players are real first team contenders they are just not worth the money.

Why would Hamer or O Hare be worth that sort of money?

I thought lower prem or yo yo championship teams would be in for both. Plenty of premier league clubs pay those figures for squad players

 

[Nick]

It’s more the fact that within a year Robins didn’t seem to fancy him (or the others). We can’t afford to do that with players on championship wages

Same as Kane.

 

[CCFCSteve]

Same as Kane.

Yeah, that what’s I was saying walker, waghorn and Kane, all big salaries and us trying to bomb them out after a year.

 

[SkyblueDad]

It’s more the fact that within a year Robins didn’t seem to fancy him (or the others). We can’t afford to do that with players on championship wages

It happens, we bought Garry Collier years ago for a record fee he played 2 games

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

Yeah, that what’s I was saying walker, waghorn and Kane, all big salaries and us trying to bomb them out after a year.

Failing to bomb them out as well, unless something changes in the next nine hours or so. However, the good part of signing practically no one else in this window means that list should be shorter next year, although it wouldn't surprise me if Palmer was in a similar position to those three come the close of season. We've given him a three year contract based on a lot of amber flags.