[Albion] Player recruitment has been THE failing

[The Fits]

I genuinely think we need to rethink the squad make-up. For me, we need to get rid of all these squad players and rely more on youth, but by doing that invest more heavily directly in to the FIRST team.
You don't need 25 experienced pros. You need probably 13-16 with the rest made up of your younger players.

 

[portslade seagull]

Break the bank to get Giroud

 

[Guinness Boy]

How can any fan answer that question?
It's not my business to be able to make forecast.

I will leave this for the governor, Mr Bloom.

That's funny. Because, when I've suggested Potter might not be up to it then people have asked me who would replace him. Yet you are willing to say our players are not up to it but not who is out there who is better but in our range

 

[PoG]

Agreed, with 'had' being the operative term. Murray hasn't been PL standard for two years now. Before you get all high-handed about that: how many goals has he scored in the PL in that period?

No need to get on the offensive pal I agree with you, our current setup has offered sweet fa hasn't it. Murray and Andone both should have stayed if we didn't plan on bringing any real quality in.

 

[blue-shifted]

Bloom doesn’t like doing business in January. Reckon we will get Molder & Tau in and that’s it for first team, unless we can off load a few (unlikely)

Whether he likes it or not (and we've blatantly bought plenty of good players in January), we absolutely need more than this to survive.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Our squad is good enough to survive. Our management team are not good enough to keep us up. £20m won't get you a good enough striker to keep us up and we can't afford more. If you want a player to score 1 : 2 or 3 you have to fork out at least £45m. Ain't gonna happen.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Break the bank to get Giroud

What...at £150k per week?

 

[Weststander]

Interesting, and I'll pick on you because I'm likely to get a response that will be decent, even if I disagree with it.
I'm not so sure there is one thing that is the problem/failing. The issue is that we're a bottom six PL club, have been for the last four seasons, and there's only so long you can remain as a bottom six PL club without being relegated.
I'm not entirely sure I'm blaming anyone, or any one issue although it's pretty clear that things aren't looking too clever at present and that something really seems to need to change.
If I were to pick out one thing it would be the reluctance to spend on a striker because this, in part, is the reason for what might be just the biggest problem I can think of and is related to your thread: our first 11 isn't good enough.
You play a 38 game season, and if you've got a decent enough first 11, then you ought to get by with picking the same 11 game in game out. They can then develop an understanding together. I do realise that this doesn't necessarily fit in with Potter-ology, but I think his selection is informed by the fact that he's got 20 or so players that are all pretty similar in terms of quality but no one of sufficient ability, especially in the attacking third (where the quality is the lowest).

In effect, I suppose I’m saying that TB will need to spend beyond that bottom 6 budget, or spend more wisely on quality (which might include the loan system, with a player on higher wages than we normally pay).

@El Pres still maintains that we have a bottom 6 budget, as you correctly mention.

TB is banking on GP being an alchemist, making from a bottom 6 budget, a mid-table or top 10 club. It’s partly worked in that Lamptey, Bissouma and March have improved so much already, even the harshest of GP critics must accept that.

But the bottom line in the unforgiving EPL is that money always talks in the end. If TB wants us to no longer be a relegation candidate, it looks like he’s going to have to invest in players of quality.

Imho.

 

[portslade seagull]

What...at £150k per week?

To save the potential loss of the 120m TV money

 

[blue-shifted]

That's funny. Because, when I've suggested Potter might not be up to it then people have asked me who would replace him. Yet you are willing to say our players are not up to it but not who is out there who is better but in our range

Usually it's someone we've never heard of isn't it, but the names, Eduoard, Origi and Dia keep coming up ... at least on this board.

Now that we're a clear risk of relegation we'd probably have to offer far inferior sell on terms and probably another £10k a week than we would have had to in the summer.

I won't demand anything of this chairman, but it's obvious that getting at least one up front who can score turns a strong chance of relegation into an outside chance of relegation.

 

[raymondo]

It always feels like we’re so close. Couple of times tonight MacAllister was in a great position and went for glory instead of putting it on a plate for someone else. Literally one pass, one decisive shot and it would have been 1:0 HT, but one lapse in defence costs us dear again. Not convinced it is Potters fault, although not playing Welbeck or Maupay from the start is baffling. Still Potter in but only just. Something needs to give in January. Either Potter OUT or striker IN. If we do nothing we could be in trouble.

Agreed... MacAllister should have made those passes, but sadly I think the other guys would have missed anyway. I reckon MacAllister was under orders to shoot when in those positions.

 

[Springal]

To save the potential loss of the 120m TV money

Also known as ‘doing a Portsmouth’

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

Bloom doesn’t like doing business in January. Reckon we will get Molder & Tau in and that’s it for first team, unless we can off load a few (unlikely)

I know that’s the line that’s always trotted out but he likes it as much or as little as any other owner. He does do business in January, in fact some of our most important signings in recent seasons:

Lamptey
Mac Allister (x 2)
Mooy (made permanent)
Burn
Locadia
Ulloa x 2
Murray (made permanent)
Knockaert
Skalak

Plus a whole host of youngsters.

He’s going to have to do it again this year I think.

 

[Springal]

I know that’s the line that’s always trotted out but he likes it as muchas any other owner. He does do business in January, in fact some of our most important signings in recent seasons:

Lamptey
Mac Allister (x 2)
Mooy (made permanent)
Burn
Locadia
Ulloa x 2
Murray (made permanent)
Knockaert
Skalak

Plus a whole host of youngsters.

He’s going to have to do it again this year I think.

I’m not sure that list is going to convince him to spend big in a January window [emoji23][emoji23]

 

[beorhthelm]

im going to say no. not that its great, just that with a few better players than last season we are doing worse. 6 months ago we beat Arsenal at home, a little over year ago we beat them away. and they were better then too. what ever got us to those sorts of results has gone missing, and it isnt players available, its manager, coaching, attitude. we're going backwards.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

I’m not sure that list is going to convince him to spend big in a January window [emoji23][emoji23]

Ulloa, Knockaert, Murray, Lamptey not successful then?

He clearly is happy to buy in January if necessary which it obviously is now.

 

[raymondo]

Agreed.

Too many makeweights and not enough players who can make an impact to win or save a game.

We still sing of the heroes of old, but how many of the current squad will be remembered in 5-10 years time by the Albion faithful?

We're not in a position to accept mediocrity now. We're in a relegation fight.

The January transfer window can't come soon enough.

I fear we're going to be sorely disappointed in the January window

 

[trueblue]

It certainly seems fair to say that if we had Lacazette on the bench, we’d have won that match, just as Arsenal did.

But top strikers are way out of our reach. And, for all the poor signings, there are several that have been absolute bargains. Most Premier league squads at our level have had their fair share of players that didn’t work out.

 

[The Fits]

And Giroud is starting for Chelsea for goodness sake.

 

[raymondo]

All I know is that our current squad of players, and GPs preferred playing styles, don't seem to sit well together. So SOMETHING needs to change.