Summer recruitment, and how will it end?

[RoyMac5]

Not long until 1st September and what appeared to start out well has both stalled and plummeted. Who agrees with a couple of the tweets below. Will it all end in panic?

 

[DiggerB]

Ah, another thread for the sake of a thread!

we get it Roy, honestly we do.

[8Leeds]

I don’t think the club would be hard to sell, good crowds and great facilities. So, that leaves two options, it’s the manager and his style of play and/or we haven’t got the funds required to get the sort of players we’re aiming for.

God I miss the days of the bargain Scotsman or cheeky punt on a player from leagues below. 

[RoyMac5]

3 minutes ago, 8Leeds said:

I don’t think the club would be hard to sell, good crowds and great facilities. So, that leaves two options, it’s the manager and his style of play and/or we haven’t got the funds required to get the sort of players we’re aiming for.

God I miss the days of the bargain Scotsman or cheeky punt on a player from leagues below. 

Why haven't we managed either, Wilson perhaps excepted?

Is there no-one who has pace either? Or is there no-one better than what we already have?

[8Leeds]

1 minute ago, RoyMac5 said:

Why haven't we managed either, Wilson perhaps excepted?

Is there no-one who has pace either? Or is there no-one better than what we already have?

Our scouting hasn’t been particularly great for a long time, has it? 

What’s Simon Clough up to these days? 

[RoyMac5]

12 minutes ago, DiggerB said:

Ah, another thread for the sake of a thread!

we get it Roy, honestly we do.

Yeah but it deserves talking about and not just clogging up the 'Summer Rumours'.

I saw another post that @FlyBritishMidland said Warne had said " In his pre-match press interview last week when discussing transfers he discussed Mark Thomas is planning transfer for next summer and the one after that."

Isn't that a bit late?

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Yeah but it deserves talking about and not just clogging up the 'Summer Rumours'.

I saw another post that @FlyBritishMidland said Warne had said " In his pre-match press interview last week when discussing transfers he discussed Mark Thomas is planning transfer for next summer and the one after that."

Isn't that a bit late?

Nah, they were just planning ahead to when they get back to Rotherham 😂.

[Carnero]

25 minutes ago, DiggerB said:

Ah, another thread for the sake of a thread!

we get it Roy, honestly we do.

All of twitter should be re-plastered over this forum in my opinion.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Carnero

[21CSchizoidRam]

we are fishing in a small, stagnant pond, using a fraying  piece of string and a hook made from a rusty paper clip. Our bait is an old piece of green chalk. 

All will be fine!

[RoyMac5]

6 minutes ago, Carnero said:

All of twitter should be re-plastered over this forum in my opinion.

Here you go then:

Where has our recruitment improved us?

[Caerphilly Ram]

18 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Yeah but it deserves talking about and not just clogging up the 'Summer Rumours'.

I saw another post that @FlyBritishMidland said Warne had said " In his pre-match press interview last week when discussing transfers he discussed Mark Thomas is planning transfer for next summer and the one after that."

Isn't that a bit late?

A bit late for this summer? Yes I suppose it is.

You could take it as a reassuring sign that there is some future planning going on, that’s one of the growing concerns amongst the fan base isn’t it? We want to see both immediate results and long term planning. Mark Thomas focusing on recruiting for the academy and planning recruitment for subsequent summers ties into the idea that Clowes has a strategy in place to strengthen the club further with some forward planning and sustainability, it will however require an element of patience. 
 

The comments @FlyBritishMidland referenced are from this rams daily podcast, from about 10 mins in;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0g7gxl9?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

There some really interesting comments about the process, the committee element to it, the plans to recruit immediately, and that Thomas is planning for the future, and they’re looking to invest in the academy. Lots of commentary on the things people want to see from the club, whether it becomes reality is a different conversation but the “right” noises are there.

TRIGGER WARNING - if anyone with an aversion to Paul Warne’s character or manner do listen to the attached be warned there are a number of Warne-isms which includes an illustrative example of a goalkeeper with no hands, a hypothetical discussion around agreeing a transfer with Marseille, a house selling analogy and at least one “quelle surprise” and “chill your beans”. 

Edited August 24, 2023 by Caerphilly Ram

[Warwick Ram]

So if we haven’t got the funds why were we able to recruit who we did last year? Connor Hourihane, Tom Barkhuizen, Korey Smith and James Collins all came from the leagues above. They were not put on long contracts, perhaps two years for most, which means the wages were reasonably competitive.

My thought is that Paul Warne isn’t attractive to some players. At the end of the day he is a nobody. He is an ex Rotherham player who struck lucky when they gave him the job after Kenny Jackett left. Paul had only played in the lower leagues and had no reputation. His playing style isn’t attractive and I believe he has no pulling power.

Liam Rosenior was known in the Championship and at mid / lower Premier League teams. In my opinion he had a lot more pulling power.

Why are we constantly linked with Rotherham or ex Rotherham player? Because they know Warne and no convincing is required.

We have the ground, which is better than most Championship clubs, and the training facilities. We have a tier one academy and we get 25,000 plus crowds in League 1.

[RoyMac5]

14 minutes ago, Warwick Ram said:

...My thought is that Paul Warne isn’t attractive to some players. At the end of the day he is a nobody. He is an ex Rotherham player who struck lucky when they gave him the job after Kenny Jackett left. Paul had only played in the lower leagues and had no reputation. His playing style isn’t attractive and I believe he has no pulling power.

Liam Rosenior was known in the Championship and at mid / lower Premier League teams. In my opinion he had a lot more pulling power...

It's an interesting thought. Maybe there is indeed a disconnect. We have a 'good budget' for this league and are aiming for promotion but we seem unable to attract players who want to improve themselves? Well Wilson maybe?

Or is it down to the recruitment team? Who were Rotherham's recruitment team - were they the one's who supplied the success?

Edited August 24, 2023 by RoyMac5

[Mr Tibbs]

11 minutes ago, Warwick Ram said:

So if we haven’t got the funds why were we able to recruit who we did last year? Connor Hourihane, Tom Barkhuizen, Korey Smith and James Collins all came from the leagues above. They were not put on long contracts, perhaps two years for most, which means the wages were reasonably competitive.

Isn’t this half the problem?

A bunch of players who most deem not good enough to be in the starting 11, taking up most of our wage budget. Hourihane has obvious ability but is probably our highest paid player - a wage that would be pretty handy for a rebuild of the football club. 

[TomTom92]

Big few days ahead.

Our only hope is that the drama of the deadline day will come in to force and as the date edges nearer we may be able to make the 3/4 gun signings for a price that we can accommodate. 

I expect we'll get at least 3 new bodies in, but i wouldn't say i'm confident that they'll be good enough to move us forward. 

[Warwick Ram]

1 minute ago, RoyMac5 said:

It's an interesting thought. Maybe there is indeed a disconnect. We have a 'good budget' for this league and are aiming for promotion but we seem unable to attract players who want to improve themselves? Well Bradley maybe?

Or is it down to the recruitment team? Who were Rotherham's recruitment team - were they the one's who supplied the success?

A recruitment team can only recommend a player. At some point they have to talk to the manager. So either Warne puts people off or the deal we offer is rubbish.

If it was the deal then why have the recruitment team looked at that player. A decent recruitment team would surely establish if the player was available and if they were within our budget.

[TomTom92]

3 minutes ago, Mr Tibbs said:

Isn’t this half the problem?

A bunch of players who most deem not good enough to be in the starting 11, taking up most of our wage budget. Hourihane has obvious ability but is probably our highest paid player - a wage that would be pretty handy for a rebuild of the football club. 

Does nobody in the Championship or League 1 want to take him off our hands?

[Bald Eagle's Barmy Army]

I've never thought this until the last few days - we're in danger of staying in this league for a good few years. Nothing is telling me any different. 

We're always plagued with long term injuries and on our budget, can't replace. We only replace the quantity not quality and when we fail to attract players, it makes it even harder.

We used to be able to dip into the academy and bring a player or two through. The academy has been torn to pieces and any player that does show promise, I feel our manager might not spend the time with them. 

I don't think league 2 will be anywhere near we end up but a stagnant league 1 club is a real possibility. 

[Ghost of Clough]

9 minutes ago, Caerphilly Ram said:

A bit late for this summer? Yes I suppose it is.

You could take it as a reassuring sign that there is some future planning going on, that’s one of the growing concerns amongst the fan base isn’t it? We want to see both immediate results and long term planning. Mark Thomas focusing on recruiting for the academy and planning recruitment for subsequent summers ties into the idea that Clowes has a strategy in place to strengthen the club further with some forward planning and sustainability, it will however require an element of patience. 
 

The comments @FlyBritishMidland referenced are from this rams daily podcast, from about 10 mins in;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0g7gxl9?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

There some really interesting comments about the process, the committee element to it, the plans to recruit immediately, and that Thomas is planning for the future, and they’re looking to invest in the academy. Lots of commentary on the things people want to see from the club, whether it becomes reality is a different conversation but the “right” noises are there.

TRIGGER WARNING - if anyone with an aversion to Paul Warne’s character or manner do listen to the attached be warned there are a number of Warne-isms which includes an illustrative example of a goalkeeper with no hands, a hypothetical discussion around agreeing a transfer with Marseille, a house selling analogy and at least one “quelle surprise” and “chill your beans”. 

From that interview, the first topic of discussion feeds into what @brady1993 keeps saying.

When asked are these players being able to play his system, Warne's response: "I don't think we're losing due to tactics or player deficiencies... or a flaw in the system". To me, this is a concern that he didn't categorically deny it, and cannot see the very obvious reason why we have been struggling so far against top half opposition, especially when he has signed 8 players specifically for his system.

[Warwick Ram]

4 minutes ago, Mr Tibbs said:

Isn’t this half the problem?

A bunch of players who most deem not good enough to be in the starting 11, taking up most of our wage budget. Hourihane has obvious ability but is probably our highest paid player - a wage that would be pretty handy for a rebuild of the football club. 

I didn’t hear anyone moaning when we signed the then Premier League player. Shouts of ‘we are going to win the league’ were heard.