I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
Personally I think that’s absolute bollocks. One of the fundamental problems we’ve underperformed so much over the last 17 years has been too many players with delusions of grandeur who think they’re better than this.
But the players have been absolute dross. And I doubt the majority of them had many clubs knocking down the door to sign them at the time despite what their agents may have said.
What I hope Scott is alluding to is that we start bringing in some high pedigree that are genuinely being courted by championship clubs. That will take wedge..and plenty of it
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
I have to say when he said that all I could think of was Tommy Sandgaard, I am sure he said something similar. Then bought Kirk and DJ and Lavelle.
TS deserves a lot of flak mate but nobody can hang Kirk on him I distinctly remember Gallen saying we had been after him for atleast a year before we signed him. TS was the poor sod who spunked half a million on the bloke
And if i recall correctly most of this forum (including myself) were pretty happy at the time when we signed him.
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
Personally I think that’s absolute bollocks. One of the fundamental problems we’ve underperformed so much over the last 17 years has been too many players with delusions of grandeur who think they’re better than this.
But the players have been absolute dross. And I doubt the majority of them had many clubs knocking down the door to sign them at the time despite what their agents may have said.
What I hope Scott is alluding to is that we start bringing in some high pedigree that are genuinely being courted by championship clubs. That will take wedge..and plenty of it
And we had exactly that when Sandgaard come in. We waste effort targeting players higher clubs with better wages want and we repeatedly miss out.
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
I have to say when he said that all I could think of was Tommy Sandgaard, I am sure he said something similar. Then bought Kirk and DJ and Lavelle.
TS deserves a lot of flak mate but nobody can hang Kirk on him I distinctly remember Gallen saying we had been after him for atleast a year before we signed him. TS was the poor sod who spunked half a million on the bloke
And if i recall correctly most of this forum (including myself) were pretty happy at the time when we signed him.
Not being wise after the event but from his you tube clips & early games I always thought he looked very lightweight & scared of getting stuck in.
Just to even the score, I thought Ronnie Scwartz would be a sensation in this poxy league
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
I have to say when he said that all I could think of was Tommy Sandgaard, I am sure he said something similar. Then bought Kirk and DJ and Lavelle.
TS deserves a lot of flak mate but nobody can hang Kirk on him I distinctly remember Gallen saying we had been after him for atleast a year before we signed him. TS was the poor sod who spunked half a million on the bloke
Gallen comes out of this unscathed, but needs to take a few bullets.
We are underperforming due to many many years of bad owners, bad manager appointments, lack of sufficient funding and backing to the incumbent manager, bad recruitment of players, clearly a poor scouting network, poor coaches and SOME backroom staff. 2018/19 was an anomaly
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
Personally I think that’s absolute bollocks. One of the fundamental problems we’ve underperformed so much over the last 17 years has been too many players with delusions of grandeur who think they’re better than this.
But the players have been absolute dross. And I doubt the majority of them had many clubs knocking down the door to sign them at the time despite what their agents may have said.
What I hope Scott is alluding to is that we start bringing in some high pedigree that are genuinely being courted by championship clubs. That will take wedge..and plenty of it
Alfie May plays every game as if there are Liverpool and Man United scouts watching him.
Too many in our squad play like they've won a competition or are on an episode of Jim'll Fix It to spend a day as a professional footballer.
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
Personally I think that’s absolute bollocks. One of the fundamental problems we’ve underperformed so much over the last 17 years has been too many players with delusions of grandeur who think they’re better than this.
But the players have been absolute dross. And I doubt the majority of them had many clubs knocking down the door to sign them at the time despite what their agents may have said.
What I hope Scott is alluding to is that we start bringing in some high pedigree that are genuinely being courted by championship clubs. That will take wedge..and plenty of it
Alfie May plays every game as if there are Liverpool and Man United scouts watching him.
Too many in our squad play like they've won a competition or are on an episode of Jim'll Fix It to spend a day as a professional footballer.
Think that's what Scott is alluding to.
They are doing their job about as well as Scott is his. Nuff said!
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
Captain of Chelsea under 23’s, left to join Leeds for better chance of first team football but doesn’t have ambition ?? Really ?
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
Personally I think that’s absolute bollocks. One of the fundamental problems we’ve underperformed so much over the last 17 years has been too many players with delusions of grandeur who think they’re better than this.
We also wouldn’t have signed May with this logic coz he wanted to come to us. I ubderstand what Scott is saying but what covered end is saying is a wind up or utter bollox
I'd happily have Bate in January if Camara has to go back.
Lewis Bate was captain of the Chelsea u23 side when millwalls new ‘coach’ was running the team - millwalll have not made contact to date and I’m told Leeds will not allow him to go on loan to the championship - he would love to cone to Charlton and get first team football - it’s an absolute no brainier
We've all got to realise that Scott's talk is a load of hot air. I will only take any notice of him, when we sign some quality who are either 1) not injury prone or 2) not crap that no-one else wants
I think, long term, the idea is that Scott has little to no influence on player scouting or recommendations after our new scouting team is fully fleshed out - just as a technical director is meant to have little to no influence on the tactics and team selection when a head coach and his staff are working at Sparrows Lane every day.
In the mean time, he’s definitely missed on a few, especially loanees, but in interviews has spoken about improving the club’s scouting processes. Whether that’s through better tools or simply more bodies in the building we don’t know.
But I think his days of having an input on signing the likes of Chem Campbell (I remember his signing distinctly because Scott’s comments on him stood out) will soon be a thing of the past.
Well I know for a cast iron fact he turned down Lewis Bate in favour of Watson - i thought Watson has been good so that isn’t a stick to beat Scott with but he can’t get in the team now for whatever reason so… everybody says he’s now crap so… I‘ve heard millwall Mat. R sniffing around Bate which makes sense so if he goes there and is a success, that will defo be on Scott coz he was dying to come to Charlton in the summer and it was about to happen until Holden got the boot
Ties in with Scott saying he doesn't want players that want to sign for Charlton.
He wants to convince players with loftier ambitions to sign for Charlton.
Personally I think that’s absolute bollocks. One of the fundamental problems we’ve underperformed so much over the last 17 years has been too many players with delusions of grandeur who think they’re better than this.
We also wouldn’t have signed May with this logic coz he wanted to come to us. I ubderstand what Scott is saying but what covered end is saying is a wind up or utter bollox
I'm simply repeating what Andy Scott said, not sure what's got into you lately, obviously on a massive wind up for some reason. Hope you're ok and I'm not into childish wind ups.
I'd happily have Bate in January if Camara has to go back.
Lewis Bate was captain of the Chelsea u23 side when millwalls new ‘coach’ was running the team - millwalll have not made contact to date and I’m told Leeds will not allow him to go on loan to the championship - he would love to cone to Charlton and get first team football - it’s an absolute no brainier
I'd happily have Bate in January if Camara has to go back.
Lewis Bate was captain of the Chelsea u23 side when millwalls new ‘coach’ was running the team - millwalll have not made contact to date and I’m told Leeds will not allow him to go on loan to the championship - he would love to cone to Charlton and get first team football - it’s an absolute no brainier
No brainer is the phrase.
You need to put what he said into context - May wanted to come to us but by your logic that means he isn’t good enough - do you think that’s right ? I think it’s u that needs to have a re think, not ne
I'd happily have Bate in January if Camara has to go back.
Lewis Bate was captain of the Chelsea u23 side when millwalls new ‘coach’ was running the team - millwalll have not made contact to date and I’m told Leeds will not allow him to go on loan to the championship - he would love to cone to Charlton and get first team football - it’s an absolute no brainier
No brainer is the phrase.
You need to put what he said into context - May wanted to come to us but by your logic that means he isn’t good enough - do you think that’s right ? I think it’s u that needs to have a re think, not ne
It's not my logic. I'm simply repeating what Andy Scott said (as I've already said).
It may be cliché because Curbs regularly speaks about it on Charlton TV, but it's about hunger, desire and what these players are like as men as much as it is about what is assessed in data, statistics and even, to an extent, athletic ability. I just have the perception that the weighting behind the non-"old school" attributes is much lower than what they want to achieve in that season and how driven they are to achieve it.
May and Dobbo are the shining lights to this, broadly speaking. They go out every game like it is their last - that is the effort that we, as supporters, feed off of. It's somewhat of an unrealistic (albeit I'd love it to always be the case) expectation, but you need more players that are like that than not, plus adding in the ability to play a bit and the body to sustain in through a season.
Conversely, I just question players like Fraser and Hector that, for my personal observations, don't come as close to that as regularly as they should. You get the occasional uplift here and there, but it's not nearly consistent enough across a season. You also cannot also rely on loans to do this either, because their personal gains outweigh those of us and players like Cullen and Gallagher of years past are the exception rather than the rule.
Sadly, I don't currently see Scott as someone that is walking the walk to back up the walk of pushing us towards "elite". His values have felt overly skewed towards future objectives for younger player sales, when this season was one to invest in. January is an opportunity to change that, but I remain unconvinced as of yet.
I'd happily have Bate in January if Camara has to go back.
Lewis Bate was captain of the Chelsea u23 side when millwalls new ‘coach’ was running the team - millwalll have not made contact to date and I’m told Leeds will not allow him to go on loan to the championship - he would love to cone to Charlton and get first team football - it’s an absolute no brainier
No brainer is the phrase.
You need to put what he said into context - May wanted to come to us but by your logic that means he isn’t good enough - do you think that’s right ? I think it’s u that needs to have a re think, not ne
It's not my logic. I'm simply repeating what Andy Scott said (as I've already said).
Yes and simply repeating what somebody had said and not putting it into context is where u r going wrong - anyway, who cares it’s irrelevant - u don’t rate scott, u may or may not be right
So much arguing over what was a sound bite for the fans…
Potential player recruits are obviously, you would hope, be judged on individual merit rather than how keen they are when the get out the car at Sparrows Lane.
So much arguing over what was a sound bite for the fans…
Potential player recruits are obviously, you would hope, be judged on individual merit rather than how keen they are when the get out the car at Sparrows Lane.
I'd happily have Bate in January if Camara has to go back.
Lewis Bate was captain of the Chelsea u23 side when millwalls new ‘coach’ was running the team - millwalll have not made contact to date and I’m told Leeds will not allow him to go on loan to the championship - he would love to cone to Charlton and get first team football - it’s an absolute no brainier
No brainer is the phrase.
You need to put what he said into context - May wanted to come to us but by your logic that means he isn’t good enough - do you think that’s right ? I think it’s u that needs to have a re think, not ne
It's not my logic. I'm simply repeating what Andy Scott said (as I've already said).
Yes and simply repeating what somebody had said and not putting it into context is where u r going wrong - anyway, who cares it’s irrelevant - u don’t rate scott, u may or may not be right
It may be cliché because Curbs regularly speaks about it on Charlton TV, but it's about hunger, desire and what these players are like as men as much as it is about what is assessed in data, statistics and even, to an extent, athletic ability. I just have the perception that the weighting behind the non-"old school" attributes is much lower than what they want to achieve in that season and how driven they are to achieve it.
May and Dobbo are the shining lights to this, broadly speaking. They go out every game like it is their last - that is the effort that we, as supporters, feed off of. It's somewhat of an unrealistic (albeit I'd love it to always be the case) expectation, but you need more players that are like that than not, plus adding in the ability to play a bit and the body to sustain in through a season.
Conversely, I just question players like Fraser and Hector that, for my personal observations, don't come as close to that as regularly as they should. You get the occasional uplift here and there, but it's not nearly consistent enough across a season. You also cannot also rely on loans to do this either, because their personal gains outweigh those of us and players like Cullen and Gallagher of years past are the exception rather than the rule.
Sadly, I don't currently see Scott as someone that is walking the walk to back up the walk of pushing us towards "elite". His values have felt overly skewed towards future objectives for younger player sales, when this season was one to invest in. January is an opportunity to change that, but I remain unconvinced as of yet.
I think most clubs have a mixture of fist pumpers and more calm types. Pearce was a fist pumper, Bauer was calm, and they made a good pairing.
I agree that Dobbo and May are the closest we have to maximum effort types, and we could do with a few more. But you equally need a few calm heads too.
He's barely been in the job, properly, for 4 months.
I hope none of you are judged on your work so quickly
It's not really a fair comparison, where people in football are regularly sacked for poor performances - a month of bad results will mean the majority of managers across the FL will struggle to keep a job. It's a results-based industry where you are judged on the immediacy of results. I would wager few of us are held to such a high standard.
That's not to say it's right or fair, but if the players brought in in January do not have the impact on getting us to the playoffs, does this blame purely lie on MA? Or does the missed potential opportunity of this season equally land at the door of Scott too? I feel he should be given time, but another notably poor window should be questioned, if it happens.
He's barely been in the job, properly, for 4 months.
I hope none of you are judged on your work so quickly
It's not really a fair comparison, where people in football are regularly sacked for poor performances - a month of bad results will mean the majority of managers across the FL will struggle to keep a job. It's a results-based industry where you are judged on the immediacy of results. I would wager few of us are held to such a high standard.
That's not to say it's right or fair, but if the players brought in in January do not have the impact on getting us to the playoffs, does this blame purely lie on MA? Or does the missed potential opportunity of this season equally land at the door of Scott too? I feel he should be given time, but another notably poor window should be questioned, if it happens.
And that would be fair enough, but people calling him out already are IMO jumping the gun, and probably the same people that complained under Curbs, and actually probably complain about absolutely everything in life
He's barely been in the job, properly, for 4 months.
I hope none of you are judged on your work so quickly
It's not really a fair comparison, where people in football are regularly sacked for poor performances - a month of bad results will mean the majority of managers across the FL will struggle to keep a job. It's a results-based industry where you are judged on the immediacy of results. I would wager few of us are held to such a high standard.
That's not to say it's right or fair, but if the players brought in in January do not have the impact on getting us to the playoffs, does this blame purely lie on MA? Or does the missed potential opportunity of this season equally land at the door of Scott too? I feel he should be given time, but another notably poor window should be questioned, if it happens.
And that would be fair enough, but people calling him out already are IMO jumping the gun, and probably the same people that complained under Curbs, and actually probably complain about absolutely everything in life
Nobody had problems with Curbishley, that is a myth.
What Scott was suggesting was that he wanted players with more ambition than to just play for Charlton IN LEAGUE ONE.
He didn't want players coming here for their retirement (EG Ben Watson) or for the money (EG Kirk - both examples mine not his) but players who want more than to cruise at this level (EG May) or who have the ability to and want to play at a higher level so have to be persuaded to sign for a mid league one club based on the ambition and future possibilities of that club.
So Bate and May both meet that criteria.
Was that bullshit? Quite possibly but we shall see. If it isn't BS then will the owners put the dollars in to back Scott's plans? We shall see
He also emphasised his preference for permanent deals over loans (without ruling out loans; he mentioned positive talks with Man City) and the need for "men" who can be leaders and mentors on and off the pitch for the excellent youngsters we have but upon whom we have, he felt, been over reliant.
Again, this is what he said. This, as said previously by me and Covered End, is not endorsing, agreeing or falling for what he said, just repeating it.
The proof will not be "in the pudding" (as Scott said!) but the proof of the January window pudding will be in its eating ie in the team's performance from January until May.
Comments
What I hope Scott is alluding to is that we start bringing in some high pedigree that are genuinely being courted by championship clubs.
That will take wedge..and plenty of it
Just to even the score, I thought Ronnie Scwartz would be a sensation in this poxy league
2018/19 was an anomaly
Thats it, simples
Alfie May plays every game as if there are Liverpool and Man United scouts watching him.
Too many in our squad play like they've won a competition or are on an episode of Jim'll Fix It to spend a day as a professional footballer.
Think that's what Scott is alluding to.
May and Dobbo are the shining lights to this, broadly speaking. They go out every game like it is their last - that is the effort that we, as supporters, feed off of. It's somewhat of an unrealistic (albeit I'd love it to always be the case) expectation, but you need more players that are like that than not, plus adding in the ability to play a bit and the body to sustain in through a season.
Conversely, I just question players like Fraser and Hector that, for my personal observations, don't come as close to that as regularly as they should. You get the occasional uplift here and there, but it's not nearly consistent enough across a season. You also cannot also rely on loans to do this either, because their personal gains outweigh those of us and players like Cullen and Gallagher of years past are the exception rather than the rule.
Sadly, I don't currently see Scott as someone that is walking the walk to back up the walk of pushing us towards "elite". His values have felt overly skewed towards future objectives for younger player sales, when this season was one to invest in. January is an opportunity to change that, but I remain unconvinced as of yet.
Potential player recruits are obviously, you would hope, be judged on individual merit rather than how keen they are when the get out the car at Sparrows Lane.
I hope none of you are judged on your work so quickly
That's not to say it's right or fair, but if the players brought in in January do not have the impact on getting us to the playoffs, does this blame purely lie on MA? Or does the missed potential opportunity of this season equally land at the door of Scott too? I feel he should be given time, but another notably poor window should be questioned, if it happens.
He didn't want players coming here for their retirement (EG Ben Watson) or for the money (EG Kirk - both examples mine not his) but players who want more than to cruise at this level (EG May) or who have the ability to and want to play at a higher level so have to be persuaded to sign for a mid league one club based on the ambition and future possibilities of that club.
So Bate and May both meet that criteria.
Was that bullshit? Quite possibly but we shall see. If it isn't BS then will the owners put the dollars in to back Scott's plans? We shall see
He also emphasised his preference for permanent deals over loans (without ruling out loans; he mentioned positive talks with Man City) and the need for "men" who can be leaders and mentors on and off the pitch for the excellent youngsters we have but upon whom we have, he felt, been over reliant.
Again, this is what he said. This, as said previously by me and Covered End, is not endorsing, agreeing or falling for what he said, just repeating it.
The proof will not be "in the pudding" (as Scott said!) but the proof of the January window pudding will be in its eating ie in the team's performance from January until May.