(07-08-2023, 00:15)Blue Baggie Wrote: We all appeared to agree we needed new leaders on the pitch. We have done nothing again. Until the team have a leader with big balls we're going nowhere.

(07-08-2023, 17:57)drewks Wrote:

(07-08-2023, 00:15)Blue Baggie Wrote: We all appeared to agree we needed new leaders on the pitch. We have done nothing again. Until the team have a leader with big balls we're going nowhere.

.... or ovaries   

(22-08-2023, 11:11)talkSAFT Wrote: Any point in keeping our Youth System? Sam Field and TGH (for instance) very promising Youth players, who have cost lots of money to rear. And we just let them go.

(23-08-2023, 12:53)Slick_Footwork Wrote: I think the main problem with the club is our dreadful recruitment.

I think the fans could tolerate selling young players if we bought in better replacements, who would push us on to a higher level.

But we have a track record of bringing in high earning journeymen who can't play and contribute to the club going backwards...

From what I've seen, I'm still undecided if TGH will push on and become a good player or not. At times he's really looked the part. On other occasions, he's not been so good.

So only time will tell if we've made a reasonable decision cashing in for (what seems to be a very measly) £1.25m...

But it does seem bizarre to sell a young player who has shown a lot of promise, when we have so many bang average players at the club with no potential.

Furlong, Townsend, Kipre, Bartley, Reach, Chalobah... The list goes on and on...

Just shows how skint we must be if we need to sell a low earner for so little, especially when you consider his potential.

I hope I'm wrong, but I give us about 0.5% of making the playoffs this season. So it would've made sense to keep and improve the likes of TGH and ship high earning dross like Furlong and Reach. Players that will never get any better. Even if we gave these away for free and kept TGH, it would almost average out the same financially, as they must be on a lot more cash.

(23-08-2023, 18:03)BaggieSteve Wrote:

(23-08-2023, 12:53)Slick_Footwork Wrote: I think the main problem with the club is our dreadful recruitment.

I think the fans could tolerate selling young players if we bought in better replacements, who would push us on to a higher level.

But we have a track record of bringing in high earning journeymen who can't play and contribute to the club going backwards...

From what I've seen, I'm still undecided if TGH will push on and become a good player or not. At times he's really looked the part. On other occasions, he's not been so good.

So only time will tell if we've made a reasonable decision cashing in for (what seems to be a very measly) £1.25m...

But it does seem bizarre to sell a young player who has shown a lot of promise, when we have so many bang average players at the club with no potential.

Furlong, Townsend, Kipre, Bartley, Reach, Chalobah... The list goes on and on...

Just shows how skint we must be if we need to sell a low earner for so little, especially when you consider his potential.

I hope I'm wrong, but I give us about 0.5% of making the playoffs this season. So it would've made sense to keep and improve the likes of TGH and ship high earning dross like Furlong and Reach. Players that will never get any better. Even if we gave these away for free and kept TGH, it would almost average out the same financially, as they must be on a lot more cash.

Yep, completely agree. I’m very disappointed to see TGH go; I appreciate it’s currently a loan but there seems to be an agreement to sell at the end of that period.
As others have said, I’m struggling to understand why we spend so much on our Academy when we look at the outflow of young players in recent years. We have an absolute load of dross within the senior squad, mainly because, as you say, we have recruited very poorly and now can’t get rid of them; who, in their right mind, would currently offer us money for Furlong, Townsend, Reach and Kipre?
If we manage a mid table finish this season, I feel it will be as much as we can expect