I really don't understand peoples need to try and find something negative all the time.read the negativity on here, and then listened to the interview - miles apart from each other - drama queens, go to sleep until August
Yes but it's a question of how you increase the depth of the squad. Just sticking to expensive long term prospects isn't going to cut it. You need depth which includes more experienced players who are used to the rigours of the Championship and to utilise the loan market.I didn't read that as negative but more just managing expectations. We don't have an owner that is going to endlessly fund those losses - the goal is to build the club's revenue to bring it closer to sustainability and also to get that ridiculous Premiership promotion $$$.
I am not sure we can ask for a lot more as long as we keep improving and investing in the team. I don't read his message as "we're not going to deepen the squad" clearly we are going to do that - but we're also not likely to go and spend more than we have earned in transfer fees to do that.
Robins has been saying for ages it’s an area that needs improvement too.I really don't understand peoples need to try and find something negative all the time.
As an example we've had a history in recent years of players going out with long term injuries, there's been multiple comments on here suggesting we need to look at the medical side of things. King comes out and says we're doing just that and people aren't happy
It has, but I think that’s because we’ve had a good 11 mainly backed up by our league one squad. We seem to be looking at trimming them now so if we get the 7 players I think we need as a minimum, we’ll have a much healthier squad size and qualityOur squad has been far too thin since we came back to the Championship.
Moore has gone already
Yes but it's a question of how you increase the depth if the squad. Just sticking to expensive long term prospects isn't going to cut it. You need depth which includes more experienced players who are used to the rigours of the Championship and to utilise the loan market.
And we need to stop dishing out four year contracts to players like Collins, which is really wasteful.
I don’t think anyone would say it's not a good idea to improve the medical team. However, I don't think a state of the art medical team will be saying it's a great idea to keep playing players when they have played too many matches because there is insufficient depth to the squad. In fact they are likely to say the opposite.I really don't understand peoples need to try and find something negative all the time.
As an example we've had a history in recent years of players going out with long term injuries, there's been multiple comments on here suggesting we need to look at the medical side of things. King comes out and says we're doing just that and people aren't happy
Robins said that in January and nothing was done about it. Our end to the season proved Robins right and it is concerning if we haven’t learned from that. Anyone can make a mistake but the problem is if you don't learn from it.
If I were Robins I’d point out that we’re consistently at the bottom of this list:
View attachment 35666
What list is it?
I think too many have tried to put their own slant on what King said. He is right when he says it is pointless having too big a squad. You need the squad to all be competitive and involved.
Yes there will be injuries and you cannot legislate where they will come or what positions they will affect? Bad luck can make you look short in an area when you aren't really. It is about striking the right balance.
I am glad we are looking at the fitness of players and how we can keep them fit and also the detail in how we recruit. It is about time the club became more professional in this area; as under SISU things had seen us fall behind improved industry standards.
I would like to see the squad a bit larger than it has been, but I still advocate quality over quantity. For instance if we can find someone of Kelly's quality but can give us more than 16 games a season, that would be an improvement straight away. We need to avoid signing players like Dabo who we just had to nurse through each season.
The Recruitment and Fitness departments are key members of our team, who can influence how strong our squad is. It is not all about player numbers.
Look at the teams at the bottom though not really teams that done badly is it the higher the list the worse the teams performs,If I were Robins I’d point out that we’re consistently at the bottom of this list:
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Number of players used in a season. We’ve always been either the lowest or second lowest afaik.
It doesn’t really prove much when the most used is the worst team and Leicester have one more than us
Spot on. When I was stood at Northampton away January 2017, that was the time for feeling despondant when the mood literally was like a mutiny. I missed games last season owing to work commitments, but I take it on the chin - fixtures may be moved. If all people want to complain about is the kit not being out yet then feels like progress to me.What's incredibly boring is the seemingly desperate need for negativity when, in my opinion, there's no reason to be anything but positive and incredibly optimistic about next season and the general direction the club is headed.
Things will never be perfect and it is impossible to keep everyone 100% happy all of the time, but we have an owner with a clear desire to go up and its clear that we feel like a proper club rather than a basket case like we have been most of my lifetime.
Is he perfect? No. But neither are any of us.
Mid May and we've already got our first 24/25 season 'Robins is going to walk'Robins will rapidly lose patience
Tbh the players with linked with suggest we're going about improving the squad. Hitting the high end free market (for us the likes of Browne, McCallum and Willock) is very smart and will put us in a good place.Think his comments on squad size lend credence to what I've been told and said on here that he doesnt like loans,(Sometimes you end up with players who dont play) .
I'm not trying to catastrophise here but if he doesnt add the depth Robins needs, wants and deserves, and supplement that with 1 or 2 quality loans that we all know are needed to get out of this league, Robins will rapidly lose patience
We have been operating with a paper thin squad for years.
I'm not sure why people are arguing against a bigger squad, (I appreciate that's not exactly what you're doing), but I'd rather worry about having too many players than not enough.
And Dabo isn't a good example, I think there's a strong case that playing him when he was injured is part of the reason he ended up a total crock.
Is that not the downfall of lots of championship clubs though? Bloated squads full of players they can’t get rid of. Stoke, Cardiff, etc.
Bristol City used to be the same and they’ve trimmed right back after the past couple of seasons.
I’m not saying having a small squad is right per se, but there’s definitely advantages. We’ve done fairly well with a low budget, which surely isn’t possible if we have a bigger squad.
Is that not the downfall of lots of championship clubs though? Bloated squads full of players they can’t get rid of. Stoke, Cardiff, etc.
Bristol City used to be the same and they’ve trimmed right back after the past couple of seasons.
I’m not saying having a small squad is right per se, but there’s definitely advantages. We’ve done fairly well with a low budget, which surely isn’t possible if we have a bigger squad.
I think a lot of folks believe that for everything to work the owner and the manager have to be in perfect agreement and alignment and if not, then it's all drama and arguments.
Robins and Doug may make statements publicly that appear to conflict or contradict which makes sense because ultimately the CEO is responsible for making sure the club is run correctly and isn't haemorrhaging money. Robins of course is mostly focused on his squad and assembling the best squad he can to achieve their objectives. They're not always going to perfectly align - in an ideal world, Robins would have a massive high quality squad full of the best loans and best permanent signings in the division. The reality is we can't afford it, so we have to thread the needle between what is ideal and what is actually possible.
I think it's been pointed out already that Doug is willing to take feedback publicly and change decisions - I believe the same is likely to be true internally. So when it comes to things like not doing enough business in January or not using the loan market enough, he'll be listening to Robins & the recruitment there - but he'll only agree if it fits within whatever budget they have. That may lead to Robins having to say no to the loan market because it reduces his budget for permanent deals.
Well, I think this season he's learned an important lesson - that one most likely came at the expense of another. And you would argue that success in the playoffs is worth so much more.If King doesn't want to operate with a squad size that's fit for purpose he shouldn't be making demands about cup runs and top 6 finishes.
100%, Robins clearly didn't trust Tavares, Kelly or by the end Godden so they were just making up the numbers. But we will need to increase the wage bill.We’d have been fine this season with EMC in, an outfield player instead of Moore and the right quality instead of Wilson, Tavares, Godden, Kelly making up the numbers (and O’Hare going on strike).
But we’d probably need to spend more in wages than they free up
The interview impressed me tbh, struck the right balance between football and business.He's not an idiot - he might be a little too pigheaded at times, but he seems to be learning and adjusting. That's the best you can ask for, really.
Surely he says “this is the wage budget” and robins cracks on? If he wants 80 players on a L2 wage or 10 on a PL wage that’s up to him.
If King doesn't want to operate with a squad size that's fit for purpose he shouldn't be making demands about cup runs and top 6 finishes.
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