[Albion] Dan Ashworth joins Newcastle

[Kosh]

Whilst I support the assertion that selling BDB was a folly, and losing Webster simultaneously devastating, I am curious as to why we’ve not seen Roberts, or Offiah... ? if they’re not good enough to cover in a team on a six game losing streak - then why bother retaining them in and around the first team picture? For me, GP has lost his courage to give a youngster a ‘chance’ of late, which all rekindles the latter days of Hughton, 2 mins at the end of a game and that’s yer lot.

However if they’re not good enough, then the recruitment failure is pretty unforgivable and/or maddening.

 

[Perfidious Albion]

The sale of Dan Burn has been a much bigger factor (though how much of a nudge Ashworth might have given Newcastle about BDB is open to question).

I have wondered this. I mean , it was an open secret that D A was going to Newcastle. He knew what they needed and was well placed to have a word in Burn’s ear and sell the idea ( not that it needed much selling it seems) It could of course all been a big coincidence, but I don’t really believe in coincidences.

 

[Springal]

Athletic reporting that Man Utd were exploring taking Ashworth but Geordies moved quicker ..

 

[Badger Boy]

Athletic reporting that Man Utd were exploring taking Ashworth but Geordies moved quicker ..

Which is exactly what they require and should have done years previously.

 

[chaileyjem]

Whilst I support the assertion that selling BDB was a folly, and losing Webster simultaneously devastating, I am curious as to why we’ve not seen Roberts, or Offiah... ? if they’re not good enough to cover in a team on a six game losing streak - then why bother retaining them in and around the first team picture? For me, GP has lost his courage to give a youngster a ‘chance’ of late, which all rekindles the latter days of Hughton, 2 mins at the end of a game and that’s yer lot.

However if they’re not good enough, then the recruitment failure is pretty unforgivable and/or maddening.

Moises Caicedo, 20 years old, who has started the last four PL games wants a word.

 

[Frankworthington]

Moises Caicedo, 20 years old, who has started the last four PL games wants a word.

[/I]
Caicedo is an Equadorian International who cost the club a big fee, not an unknown youngster.

Even Potter admits he should have been picked earlier

 

[chaileyjem]

[/I]
Caicedo is an Equadorian International who cost the club a big fee, not an unknown youngster.

Even Potter admits he should have been picked earlier

Bit of a stretch for anyone to make the case that Potter is reluctant or won't provide a pathway for development players , ex loanees, or young players in general (internationals or not) or that the young players like Roberts or Offiah (both 19) represent "recruitment failure"
But you seem to want to argue it so fair enough.

 

[Frankworthington]

Bit of a stretch for anyone to make the case that Potter is reluctant or won't provide a pathway for development players , ex loanees, or young players in general (internationals or not) or that the young players like Roberts or Offiah (both 19) represent "recruitment failure"
But you seem to want to argue it so fair enough.

Please do not misquote me

I have never said Roberts or Offiah are recruitment failures. You are confusing me with another poster

I do think Potter has lost his nerve. Perhaps the early experience with Connolly and Alzate has effected him. I do realise,before you say it that both White and Sanchez were academy products.

Have a good afternoon

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Please do not misquote me

I have never said Roberts or Offiah are recruitment failures. You are confusing me with another poster

I do think Potter has lost his nerve. Perhaps the early experience with Connolly and Alzate has effected him. I do realise,before you say it that both White and Sanchez were academy products.

Have a good afternoon

Potter is a Yes man. He does what his bosses tell him to do. Perfect bland choice for the future England job, irrespective of whether he is deserving of it or not (Spoiler Alert: he isn't)

 

[Badger Boy]

Potter is a Yes man. He does what his bosses tell him to do. Perfect bland choice for the future England job, irrespective of whether he is deserving of it or not

I completely agree with this assessment. I think he's been lucky with the club he's inherited here, all the tools were in place for him to be successful. Dan Ashworth leaving puts a big dent in our infrastructure though and I would have no issue arguing he was more important than any manager we appoint.

 

[chaileyjem]

Please do not misquote me

I have never said Roberts or Offiah are recruitment failures. You are confusing me with another poster

I do think Potter has lost his nerve. Perhaps the early experience with Connolly and Alzate has effected him. I do realise,before you say it that both White and Sanchez were academy products.

Have a good afternoon

Apols. I got you mixed up with [MENTION=494]Kosh[/MENTION] ! Sorry.
PS - he has given PL debuts this season to Ferguson, Richards, Sarmiento, and Caicedo.
There’s clearly still a pathway there but naturally he’s a large squad , these are still teenagers so he needs to go carefully.

 

[Baldrick]

Looking at the back of last Saturdays programme we have a smallish squad of 20 senior pros (relative to pros in squads of other EPL teams). Well, we did move on and clear out some deawood last summer!

We are probably going to break our EPL points record this season and possibly finish in our highest EPL position. That makes it difficult for younger players to get game time when our pros are usually playing so well.

I think Alzate is worth more game time. IMO he is a better holding midfield Bissouma replacement than MacAlister if Macs last Saturday's performance is anything to go by. Sarmiento and Ferguson look promissing but IMO they need more gametime in the Championship, say for the first half of next season, to gain experience in first team pro-football.

I can see Van Hecke, Undav, Sima and Koslowski being involved with our first team next season. Maybe Mitomo too after he stars with Japan in the World Cup.

We need to move on the cheating and diving Connolly (he would fit in at Everton or Palace). Duffy would suit a Championship Club and there are quite a few fringe players who probably IMO will make better Championship rather than Premier League players; eg Clarke, Molumby (now gone to WBA), Karbownik, Jenks, Cochrane, Taylor Richards, Tolaj. As much as I like the effort Maupay puts in, if we aspire to be a top half EPL club, sadly he will need to be moved on too because to be a top half EPL goal scorer you need to be a clinical finisher.

The bottom line is U23 players need to earn their game time and when given a chance they need to shine. A case in point is Ferguson. When he has come on as a sub this season he has put in the effort and tried hard, but heclearly lacks experience and knowhow against seasoned full time pros. He needs a season in the Championship.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Please do not misquote me

I have never said Roberts or Offiah are recruitment failures. You are confusing me with another poster

I do think Potter has lost his nerve. Perhaps the early experience with Connolly and Alzate has effected him. I do realise,before you say it that both White and Sanchez were academy products.

Have a good afternoon

I'm not sure why you've paired Connolly and Alzate. One is a flash-in-the pan liability while the other is a decent bench option that has never let the club down.

 

[Silverhatch]

I completely agree with this assessment. I think he's been lucky with the club he's inherited here, all the tools were in place for him to be successful. Dan Ashworth leaving puts a big dent in our infrastructure though and I would have no issue arguing he was more important than any manager we appoint.

Ashworth is an architect. He builds footballing infrastructures. He’s left before (absolutely) everything is in place but a lot of the heavy lifting is done. David Weir, with his better footballing pedigree, appears to be more of a ‘normal’ director of football - rather than a technical director responsible for building ground up processes. Ashworth will be pivotal in building the Geordie Arabia football operation. He’d have been perfect for Manchester United too.

 

[Badger Boy]

Ashworth is an architect. He builds footballing infrastructures. He’s left before (absolutely) everything is in place but a lot of the heavy lifting is done. David Weir, with his better footballing pedigree, appears to be more of a ‘normal’ director of football - rather than a technical director responsible for building ground up processes. Ashworth will be pivotal in building the Geordie Arabia football operation. He’d have been perfect for Manchester United too.

My concern with David Weir is that it's a very different job from what he was doing before and it might take a window for him to get familiar with the role and we also shouldn't overlook that he might just not be as good as Ashworth or go in a very different direction. West Brom really suffered when Ashworth left them.

 

[Silverhatch]

My concern with David Weir is that it's a very different job from what he was doing before and it might take a window for him to get familiar with the role and we also shouldn't overlook that he might just not be as good as Ashworth or go in a very different direction. West Brom really suffered when Ashworth left them.

If he has to perform exactly the same job description as Ashworth then there’s every chance he will not be as good. Ashworth transformed the football infrastructure of West Brom, England and us. However, it can be argued that the Albion have built their football operations. Structures and processes are in place. The club’s objectives and philosophy now needs to be delivered upon. Is that Ashworth’s strength? He moved on from West Brom and England for new building jobs. That seems to be what floats his boat.

 

[Badger Boy]

If he has to perform exactly the same job description as Ashworth then there’s every chance he will not be as good. Ashworth transformed the football infrastructure of West Brom, England and us. However, it can be argued that the Albion have built their football operations. Structures and processes are in place. The club’s objectives and philosophy now needs to be delivered upon. Is that Ashworth’s strength? He moved on from West Brom and England for new building jobs. That seems to be what floats his boat.

All fair points - ultimately, we won't know but the proof of the pudding will be in the tasting. I really like the look of the football operations at the club but squad progression is the real challenge and I'm interested to see what business we do in the next window.

 

[GT49er]

Looking at the back of last Saturdays programme we have a smallish squad of 20 senior pros (relative to pros in squads of other EPL teams). Well, we did move on and clear out some deawood last summer!

We are probably going to break our EPL points record this season and possibly finish in our highest EPL position. That makes it difficult for younger players to get game time when our pros are usually playing so well.

I think Alzate is worth more game time. IMO he is a better holding midfield Bissouma replacement than MacAlister if Macs last Saturday's performance is anything to go by. Sarmiento and Ferguson look promissing but IMO they need more gametime in the Championship, say for the first half of next season, to gain experience in first team pro-football.

I can see Van Hecke, Undav, Sima and Koslowski being involved with our first team next season. Maybe Mitomo too after he stars with Japan in the World Cup.

We need to move on the cheating and diving Connolly (he would fit in at Everton or Palace). Duffy would suit a Championship Club and there are quite a few fringe players who probably IMO will make better Championship rather than Premier League players; eg Clarke, Molumby (now gone to WBA), Karbownik, Jenks, Cochrane, Taylor Richards, Tolaj. As much as I like the effort Maupay puts in, if we aspire to be a top half EPL club, sadly he will need to be moved on too because to be a top half EPL goal scorer you need to be a clinical finisher.

The bottom line is U23 players need to earn their game time and when given a chance they need to shine. A case in point is Ferguson. When he has come on as a sub this season he has put in the effort and tried hard, but heclearly lacks experience and knowhow against seasoned full time pros. He needs a season in the Championship.

Wow! Congratualtions on identifyng our South American ACM/No.10 (where he's played for Argentina) as our replacement for Bissouma at DM, and promoting Sima to the first team squad on the basis of a season on the treatment table, while at the same time writing off the PL futures of Jenks, Richards and Tolaj on the basis of a few minutes playing time on loan!

 

[GT49er]

If he has to perform exactly the same job description as Ashworth then there’s every chance he will not be as good. Ashworth transformed the football infrastructure of West Brom, England and us. However, it can be argued that the Albion have built their football operations. Structures and processes are in place. The club’s objectives and philosophy now needs to be delivered upon. Is that Ashworth’s strength? He moved on from West Brom and England for new building jobs. That seems to be what floats his boat.

Whatever legacy Ashworth may have left at West Brom, there isn't much evidence of it now. Team not doing well, very disgruntled and unhappy fans and nothing vaguely modernising or innovative on the managerial front.

 

[Justice]

Looking at the back of last Saturdays programme we have a smallish squad of 20 senior pros (relative to pros in squads of other EPL teams). Well, we did move on and clear out some deawood last summer!

We are probably going to break our EPL points record this season and possibly finish in our highest EPL position. That makes it difficult for younger players to get game time when our pros are usually playing so well.

I think Alzate is worth more game time. IMO he is a better holding midfield Bissouma replacement than MacAlister if Macs last Saturday's performance is anything to go by. Sarmiento and Ferguson look promissing but IMO they need more gametime in the Championship, say for the first half of next season, to gain experience in first team pro-football.

I can see Van Hecke, Undav, Sima and Koslowski being involved with our first team next season. Maybe Mitomo too after he stars with Japan in the World Cup.

We need to move on the cheating and diving Connolly (he would fit in at Everton or Palace). Duffy would suit a Championship Club and there are quite a few fringe players who probably IMO will make better Championship rather than Premier League players; eg Clarke, Molumby (now gone to WBA), Karbownik, Jenks, Cochrane, Taylor Richards, Tolaj. As much as I like the effort Maupay puts in, if we aspire to be a top half EPL club, sadly he will need to be moved on too because to be a top half EPL goal scorer you need to be a clinical finisher.

The bottom line is U23 players need to earn their game time and when given a chance they need to shine. A case in point is Ferguson. When he has come on as a sub this season he has put in the effort and tried hard, but heclearly lacks experience and knowhow against seasoned full time pros. He needs a season in the Championship.

Seventeen year old lacks experience against PL defenders, I’m really shocked at this