Is it just me, or do we feel like we still have quite a lot to do?!
We're idling towards nothing, with no real sense of urgency.
We have very little depth, across the park.
We need a first choice CB
A first choice CM, especially if anyone leaves.
We are still playing Gus LW and then if he leaves, we have no replacement.
We have an inexperienced kid at RW and no further depth. Huge drop off from Brooks.
We have no pace or athleticism, or creativity. A problem worsened notably if Gus goes.
...and we seemingly have next to naff all resources upon which to do it.
We seem preoccupied with fending off bids for who we do have and we are showing no gumption or ambition to try and improve the squad in any way.
I’m not sure the hierarchy of the club know what they want to do at the minute.
Wilder will want to compete and will want resources to allow him to do so his recruitment track record is open to criticism but his desire to compete isn’t.
The issue is above Wilder I’m not sure the club knows what it wants to achieve currently the club is behaving like it’s content finishing somewhere between 16th and 10th and being another also ran in a lost season.
As I see it there are 4 ways to get promoted out of the Championship each more unlikely than the last.
1. Outspend the division buy high quality players for big money that realistically are too good for this level. Put an inoffensive beige face in a suit in charge who can keep the dressing room happy and everything ticking along and you’ll very likely go up - Parachute payments are over and we don’t appear to have big injection of funds from the owners United don’t have the cash for that.
2. Sign young players in their early 20’s develop them and sell them for profit reinvesting in more signings. If your recruitment is good normally in 2-3 cycles you’re consistently at the top end of the division waiting for the stars to align and it be your year.
3. Build on previous momentum normally centred on a manager who is in the defining period of their career. This normally happens with teams who have recently been promoted from league one but not always a manager catches lightning in a bottle with the right group of players over a 2-3 year period and together they go on a charge.
4. Be boring and hard to breakdown sneak into the playoffs and scrape through on determination and organisation with the ball bouncing your way in a short knock out run of games.
United don’t have the cash for number 1. We aren’t pursuing number 2 and our track record would suggest we don’t have the recruitment staff to pull it off right now if we were. We don’t have the manger for number 3 Wilder was that man for us but neither he nor this group of players are the same as then so he’s unlikely to do it twice. Plus you can’t hire a manager expecting based on their previous track records that they can go on that kind of run as most managers only do that once in a career when everything comes together perfectly and then struggle afterwards see Adkins. I’d guess we’re hoping for number 4 but that is a slim slim chance and most teams who try that end up as also rans.
