Our Signings are poor…..your alternatives (and why)

Dont know how viable any of these are and ranging from maybe to not a chance, but below are just signings from other teams I'd have liked to have seen in what appears will be our wing back system going forward.

Curtis Tilt, CB with a left foot and pace who has played Championship or L1 all career and joined Salford earlier in the season. Same with LWB Luke Garbutt, had a few years at Blackpool before joining Salford.

Think pretty much every team in the league would have taken David McGoldrick.

Dan Kemp who joined Swindon on loan would have been a very welcomed creative player. Alex Gilbey who I thought played really well in midfield for Stevenage against us at their place signed for MK Dons.

Bailey Cargill, was a good left footed central defender at FGR joined up with Mansfield who look to have an impressive defender.

And 3 lads at Gillingham who would have done well would be Conor Masterson, 24 year old Irish CB who was on loan there last season made his move permanent. And both wing backs, Max Clark signed from Stevenage. Former Hull youth who can play wing back on either side and also Scott Malone, very experienced attacking left wing back.

Other than McGoldrick, there aren't a lot of strikers signed in L2 that I'd be falling over myself for.

 

Don't they have people at the club that are paid decent money to sort this out ????? Btw I ain't gonna start pulling any player to bits you actually play them in there correct positions then you may see a different outcome ............ and let's be right how come Stevenage got it so right last season and yet again we didn't????

 

As above, for our real weak points the below would've been much better.

For Ash Taylor see Curtis Tilt, Aden Flint.

For LWB, see Scott Malone, Luke Garbutt.

 

Isn’t it the job of paid professionals to scout talented players, rather than the fans? Our recruitment has been poor for far too long, and it needs to change.

 

You arent gonna be wowed by names in League 2.

how many of Orient’s XI were world beaters? Its about a good manager instilling discipline and organisation into a well drilled outfit. And getting them fit and motivated.

Cambridge and Morecambe two other recent examples. Managers are the key at L2 not players, most of whom are very limited in L2.

Last year we lacked ambition but a few attacking tweaks and we’d have been ok. We’ve ripped the defence apart and tried this new formation but its too much change.

for now;

1) go back to a flat back four and last season’s set up for now
2) partner stubbs and platt at CB
3) make a ballsy decision at RB whether you want more attacking output (Oggy) or defensive solidity with Brexit Brad
4) grow some balls and drop smallwood and bring in the more mobile Gillead to start alongside Pattison
5) work out which wide options are best to play with Walker, behind Cook

……then take it from there.

 

We need to forget about this wing back nonsense, we don’t have the players to play it. We are short of two wingbacks and a pacy centre back if we want to continue. Just get back to a back four where we can play the same back four as the 2nd half of last season with Stubbs and Platt who were fine together. Remember Crichlow couldn’t get back in the team until Platt was sent off at Crawley on Good Friday. We then just need a loan left back to complete the defensive side. I don’t have suggestions but given a list I would come up with someone as good as the inept Stephen Gent our recruitment expert.

 

Or perhaps, Steven Gent and the club should be doing that seeing as it's their job?

I'm absolutely sick to death of nonsense posts like this that pretend just because you've not played, coached or managed at a professional level you don't know what you're talking about.

Well let's start with Taylor. Are you honestly suggesting you'd recommend signing this bloke on a 2 year deal or that, as a club, we'd struggle to attract better?

I can't even believe I'm replying if I'm honest and anyone suggesting we can't do better than spending all summer to get to the first game and field a back 5 with 3 of them out of position and a 4th who looked like he shouldn't be anywhere near the professional game is clearly either on a wind up or needs to be spending Saturday afternoons in IKEA looking for a new lamp and fridge accessories instead.

 

Get off the fence and say what you really mean Northern….

 

Joking aside, you’re spot on. Any talk of our fans being an issue behind our demise and struggles is farcical. If anything, we’re WAY too accepting of mediocrity and failure, and far too eager to justify and make excuses for shortcomings.

Our recruitment has been a shambles for far too long. Not every transfer works out, but a fair few should. And questions need to be asked of Gent. If you were to look at our recruitment since last summer and rate it, it’d look something like this:

Clear Successes
Harry Lewis
Rom Crichlow
Scott Banks

Done Reasonably
Sam Stubbs
Matt Platt
Brad Halliday

Not exactly failed, but has underwhelmed
Jamie Walker
Adam Clayton
Richie Smallwood
Harry Chapman
Ryan East
Osadebe


An absolute waste of everyone’s time
Lee Angol
Vadaine Oliver
Matt Derbyshire
Ciaran Kelly - but there’s time
Dion Perreira
Timi Odusina
Jake Young
Dara Costelloe
Thierry Nevers
Kian Harratt
Tolaji Bola


There’s a bit of a debate about a couple, but that’s broadly right. It’s piss poor.

 

Can't disagree with much of your player assessment there tbh. There is the potential for a couple in the underwhelmed category to come good, ie Walker and Chapman, and a couple in the waste of space category were welcomed signings at the outset, ie Pereira and Harrat but yes unfortunately more Misses than Hits in that lot

 

Yeah that’s fair. The 3rd category has a couple that could or should be in the 2nd.

 

I'd argue a fair few players in the bottom category should be in the one above like Angol and Oliver

 

Angol, maybe. At a stretch. But Oliver has done nothing. And he’s on a 3 year deal. Awful signing.

 

Oliver possibly, Angol definitely not. If we are just talking about last season, as it was for last season that he was given a contract under MH(Before that he was an Adams signing) then yes for last season he was a waste of everyones time imo

 

So one of the reasons recruitment this summer looks poor right away is, we started the season playing with backs.

But we didn't sign any wing backs.

Nor so we have wing backs.

It's not that we recruited poorly - we just didn't recruit.

So that's bizarre, but let's see, I can't imagine that lasts long. Hughes has tried to be more attacking, and bringing in Oduor and Pattison makes sense, let's see how McDonald does, Taylor looks like a busy after one game but who knows - at least we have alternatives.

Things look even bleaker when Oyegoke doesn't seem to have a position and fails to last a single half...

... But it's one bad game, victory on Tuesday and Saturday will change the whole atmosphere, and if we achieve it with Ridehalgh and Halliday at wing back, well, it will show coaching is paying off I guess - which is more important than recruitment when we've gone for consistency among the players.

 

Questions do need to be asked. I pointed out this morning. This is our ST money and sponsorship (who wouldn’t bother but for the 15,000) We need to know what the problems are, because we can’t keep wasting money. If the person is lacking in contacts and or skills them I am sorry they need to go so we can get better.

 

I just don't deal with idiotic comments very well. It's definitely a big weakness of mine!

 

Don't play 3-5-2 unless you have players who can play the positions to execute the formation.

 

Spot on Monkey Man.

I said yesterday that I've never looked less forward to a season than this.

One reason is the hangover from our feeble play off performance at Carlisle.

Main reason though is seriously weakening our defence with the stupid formation of 3 at the back with wing backs when we haven't the personnel to do this.

The only positive for me so far this summer is our attacking midfield options look to have improved.