Most liked posts in thread: Our Signings are poor…..your alternatives (and why)

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.

 

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.

 

Whilst losing on Saturday was a massive disappointment,I don’t think the main gripe from most people was that we lost,it was the fact that Hughes doesn’t seemed to have learned what is his best way of setting the team up.
If you are playing wingbacks then sign wingbacks.
I’ve not done any coaching badges but I know that Halliday and Ridehalgh aren’t wingbacks but Oyegoke is.
Hughes however chose to play him at CH.

It’s the usual thing of having players and then turning them in to something rather than buying specific players for specific positions.

He also favoured Taylor,who has the speed and turning circle of an oil tanker over Platt and completely ignores Odusina,who everybody knows has the pace to play in a back 3.

In my opinion the biggest disaster from Saturday was that Hughes seems to have learned sod all from last year.

I agree that if we lose on Saturday it will get toxic but that will be tempered if the performance massively improves.
If the performance is the same with players looking completely lost and out of position then he deserves all he gets.

 

There’s demanding then there’s abuse, a bit like what happened with Crichlow last season. Young lads like Omari Patrick and Gibson abused on social media for any mistake. There’s a reason a lot of former players love to stick it to us and I don’t blame them. City fan’s behaviour and entitlement has gotten worse over the last 7 or 8 years. Not just with players but things like chucking flairs about against the rules of the sport.

 

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.

 

That’ll be the Harrogate who conceded 68 goals last season compared with our 43?

Our back 4 was perfectly ok last season and would have been fine this season if that was the way we chose to play.It’s the tinkering of the players yesterday that everybody has issues with.
If you are gonna play with wingbacks,try and use players who have played in that position before.

I’ve no issues with Foulds,but don’t make him out to be some sort of defensive kingpin that’s made Harrogate rock solid.

 

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????

 

I put demanding in highlights as it can be interpreted in different ways. No problem being disappointed with the result but I don't think having a go at the players is the way forward. They weren't the ones that picked.yhe formation that hung them out to dry, that was the manager. Personally I think the reaction has been over the top, you should never go all in early. Give Hughes at least a.dozen games to get it working, bring in new players as necessary. If no progress is seen by that time then the whole process within the club needs to be seriously questioned.

 

Are our fans gonna be like this every time we.dont get what we think we deserve? I'll be honest, I thought Hughes team selection was annoying but then I thought his comments about the pathetic referee were correct and it had a bearing on the result. I'm not wanting to come across as a Hughes apologist, he's on thin ice with me after his approach to the Play off games which was diabolical. But personally I'm not gonna lose my shit after the first game of the season as it clearly has no bearing on what will happen for.the rest of it.

 

I think it was the 'WTF' moment when we saw the teamsheet. Without being privy to the fitness of all the players, I don't think any supporter would've selected that team, nevermind that formation. I think Hughes made the mistake of expecting an easier game based on Crawleys disarray. I knew and said as much beforehand, that the game would be tougher than we thought. That team selection had the appearance of somebody rocking up on Saturday morning and seeing the players for the first time. That's the worrying thing and the reason why some supporters are concerned. He's had a full preseason and majority of the window and that was the best team and performance he could put out.

 

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.

 

I have been posting pretty heavily over the last day or so on other channels about our recruitment policy.

There are several issues at the club that need addressing but none more immediately than our recruitment department. The main problem is that we don't actually seem to have a plan going into each window.

January is a fine example of this. We were in and around the automatic spots at this point and some of the fixtures were really quite favourable.

We lost Wright who was a key player and what did we do, we replaced him with Nevers who had already had an uneventful loan. We needed to share the goals around and we signed Derbyshire and Costelloe.

Steve Gent seems to well liked at the club, but to my eyes he has added nothing at all to the process. Its a disgrace that we have gone backwards.

 

Gent can get you the best players around but if your manager insists on playing a formation with players out of position? Why on earth was Ogeyeke not playing wing back yesterday?

 

I don’t see anything wrong with demanding that players be on their game and try to fulfil the target of promotion.

 

There's a pattern emerges in the thoughts of the modern day football fan. We lose and every player is crap, the exact same players become great again if they win the week after.i don't think perspective ever comes into the thinking. There were a lot of results on Saturday that defied logic, take Oldham for instance. They signed James Norwood, their fans are ecstatic and they get pumped 5-0 by the shitshow that is Southend.

Saturday was a disappointment for us but I've seen far worse in the last five years. Still time for new players to come in and injured ones to come back. The pressure is definitely on Hughes but not right at the moment. Let's see where we are month or two down the line, not making crazy judgements after one game.

 

Losing Stubbs was as bad a blow as Hughes could imagine at the back. He's a natural leader and I can see why he tried the much maligned Taylor in his absence as none of the others are leader material. I also don't think Hughes envisaged the much praised Lewis to get beat from that range, I said to my lad there's no way they'll try and beat a keeper like Lewis from there. But let's face it, that wasn't a free kick that lead to the goal, neither was Ogeyeke's first yellow in my opinion. Hughes can help himself by picking the right formation when players are fit but the luck calls deserted him on Saturday.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

The biggest problem with Gents recruitment appears to be laziness or lack of contacts outside of teesside.