The need for the league above

[PeteBlade]

If someone polled our fans and asked who they ranked as our best players, I'd hazard a guess that Che Adams, Jose Baxter and Matt Done would feature heavily in the top 5 ( so would Billy Sharp but he doesn't fit my point so I'm conveniently ignoring him...).

These guys are either highly regarded in the lower leagues,or consistent performers in our current league.

Our recruitment attempts always seem to fall down because we can't persuade talent from the league above to drop down.

We've wasted so much time in our pursuits of Brayford (first time around), Chris O'Grady, and now the likes of Burn and Hammond.

Going forward, should we try to limit our recruitment to quality players from this level?

Our top performers have come from this level and it would seem to eliminate the constant issues we have when trying to bring in reinforcements.

 

[FTPE]

Wolves didn't piss about, they bought some of the best players from the league they were in -to not only strengthen their already decent squad but to also weaken their rivals.

 

[PeteBlade]

Yup, an excellent tactic as it turned out.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

The problem is, clubs at this level don't want to sell to a promotion rival so to cherry pick the best, we would have to pay over the odds. Given our failures to even manage the going rate, we're likely to fall down there. If we can find players like Done who have done well at tiny overachieving clubs like Rochdale then we can do it but any team who has a bit of ambition at this level won't sell for the sort of money we're willing to pay. Our failed bid for Callum Wilson even when Coventry were on their arse is a prime example.

I've have loved to see us snap up the likes of Connor Goldson, Alfie Mawson, Bradley Dack, Nathan Byrne, Nathan Cameron, Tom Bradshaw, Daniel Bentley, Miles Weston, Romaine Sawyers, etc but it just doesn't seem to happen. I suspect even those types of signings are largely beyond our recruiting power.

We seem far more willing to pay big wages for championship journeymen than to invest in a transfer fee on a good young player from League 1 or 2.

I'd like to see us in for Lee Angol from Peterborough but I suspect it won't happen. Kemar Roofe or Josh Windass from League 2 might be more achievable. Both seem like good prospects.

 

[Bartleby]

Wolves didn't piss about, they bought some of the best players from the league they were in -to not only strengthen their already decent squad but to also weaken their rivals.

Bristol City got a few from L1 and L2 but then they also brought in Kieran Agard and Aaron Wilbraham to great effect.

 

[Bartleby]

Yup, an excellent tactic as it turned out.

assisted by a contractual flaw in one significant case

 

[PeteBlade]

The problem is, clubs at this level don't want to sell to a promotion rival so to cherry pick the best, we would have to pay over the odds. Given our failures to even manage the going rate, we're likely to fall down there. If we can find players like Done who have done well at tiny overachieving clubs like Rochdale then we can do it but any team who has a bit of ambition at this level won't sell for the sort of money we're willing to pay. Our failed bid for Callum Wilson even when Coventry were on their arse is a prime example.

I've have loved to see us snap up the likes of Connor Goldson, Alfie Mawson, Bradley Dack, Nathan Byrne, Nathan Cameron, Tom Bradshaw, Daniel Bentley, Miles Weston, Romaine Sawyers, etc but it just doesn't seem to happen. I suspect even those types of signings are largely beyond our recruiting power.

We seem far more willing to pay big wages for championship journeymen than to invest in a transfer fee on a good young player from League 1 or 2.

I'd like to see us in for Lee Angol from Peterborough but I suspect it won't happen. Kemar Roofe or Josh Windass from League 2 might be more achievable. Both seem like good prospects.

But then this is surely one advantage of being a "big" club in this league, there must be one??!

We do other teams what Wolves, Hull, Brighton do to us, force their hand?

It has to work both ways, surely?

 

[PokerBlade]

I think there has to be some acceptance that while everybody wants a long term prospect like Che Adams, some players need to be signed that are the right men for right now.

When we went up to the Premiership we had players like Short, Gillespie, Unsworth, Shipperley, and probably another couple I'm forgetting, that we knew were getting their last glory days in a lower division and would have to be phased out if we went up. But that's fine, because they were capable of doing the job in front of them. Okay, we wasted some silly money on the way signing both Akinbiyi and Horsfield, but we didn't hang about in making sure we had the options needed to get over the finishing line.

Worrying about whether we'll have to shift players on or sign more if we go up is in some ways a false economy simply because it's an inevitability. The only way to avoid it would be to start spending Brayford kind of money on the entire team, and no League One club can really afford that, especially with the FFP rules.

 

[FTPE]

The problem is, clubs at this level don't want to sell to a promotion rival so to cherry pick the best, we would have to pay over the odds. Given our failures to even manage the going rate, we're likely to fall down there. If we can find players like Done who have done well at tiny overachieving clubs like Rochdale then we can do it but any team who has a bit of ambition at this level won't sell for the sort of money we're willing to pay. Our failed bid for Callum Wilson even when Coventry were on their arse is a prime example.

I've have loved to see us snap up the likes of Connor Goldson, Alfie Mawson, Bradley Dack, Nathan Byrne, Nathan Cameron, Tom Bradshaw, Daniel Bentley, Miles Weston, Romaine Sawyers, etc but it just doesn't seem to happen. I suspect even those types of signings are largely beyond our recruiting power.

We seem far more willing to pay big wages for championship journeymen than to invest in a transfer fee on a good young player from League 1 or 2.

I'd like to see us in for Lee Angol from Peterborough but I suspect it won't happen. Kemar Roofe or Josh Windass from League 2 might be more achievable. Both seem like good prospects.

They got McDonald at the Blades bargain bucket price.

 

[RMBlade]

Wolves didn't piss about, they bought some of the best players from the league they were in -to not only strengthen their already decent squad but to also weaken their rivals.

To be fair Wolves did have a top end championship club when they went down and kept held of all of their players, plus they still had quite a few from their Premier league season.

 

[BushBlade]

The problem is, clubs at this level don't want to sell to a promotion rival so to cherry pick the best, we would have to pay over the odds. Given our failures to even manage the going rate, we're likely to fall down there. If we can find players like Done who have done well at tiny overachieving clubs like Rochdale then we can do it but any team who has a bit of ambition at this level won't sell for the sort of money we're willing to pay. Our failed bid for Callum Wilson even when Coventry were on their arse is a prime example.

I've have loved to see us snap up the likes of Connor Goldson, Alfie Mawson, Bradley Dack, Nathan Byrne, Nathan Cameron, Tom Bradshaw, Daniel Bentley, Miles Weston, Romaine Sawyers, etc but it just doesn't seem to happen. I suspect even those types of signings are largely beyond our recruiting power.

We seem far more willing to pay big wages for championship journeymen than to invest in a transfer fee on a good young player from League 1 or 2.

I'd like to see us in for Lee Angol from Peterborough but I suspect it won't happen. Kemar Roofe or Josh Windass from League 2 might be more achievable. Both seem like good prospects.

That ^^^^^^

I actually remember an interview with KM when Warnie was in charge when he said it was better to sign players on frees because it meant you could spend more of your budget on wages and therefore 'get better players'.
It's worked out really well.

 

[MobileBlade]

To be fair Wolves did have a top end championship club when they went down and kept held of all of their players, plus they still had quite a few from their Premier league season.

And they also were still receiving parachute payments.

 

[BushBlade]

I think there has to be some acceptance that while everybody wants a long term prospect like Che Adams, some players need to be signed that are the right men for right now.

When we went up to the Premiership we had players like Short, Gillespie, Unsworth, Shipperley, and probably another couple I'm forgetting, that we knew were getting their last glory days in a lower division and would have to be phased out if we went up. But that's fine, because they were capable of doing the job in front of them. Okay, we wasted some silly money on the way signing both Akinbiyi and Horsfield, but we didn't hang about in making sure we had the options needed to get over the finishing line.

Worrying about whether we'll have to shift players on or sign more if we go up is in some ways a false economy simply because it's an inevitability. The only way to avoid it would be to start spending Brayford kind of money on the entire team, and no League One club can really afford that, especially with the FFP rules.

http://www.financialfairplay.co.uk/latest-news/the-benefactor-model-permitted-in-league-1-and-2

They could if they wanted to.

And I'm not saying they should throw good money after bad, it's their money and they can do what they like, just as supporters can chose not to renew their STs but they're not hampered by FFP.

 

[MobileBlade]

http://www.financialfairplay.co.uk/latest-news/the-benefactor-model-permitted-in-league-1-and-2

They could if they wanted to.

And I'm not saying they should throw good money after bad, it's their money and they can do what they like, just as supporters can chose not to renew their STs but they're not hampered by FFP.

Don't you think they already are? For every £1 put in they can spend 60p on football wages and the other 40p on other things. Why do you think we have spanking new pitch, ticket office etc.? £5 million a year put in and counting. £7 million budgeted to go in this year.

 

[BushBlade]

Don't you think they already are? For every £1 put in they can spend 60p on football wages and the other 40p on other things. Why do you think we have spanking new pitch, ticket office etc.? £5 million a year put in and counting. £7 million budgeted to go in this year.

Not the point I was making.

 

[MobileBlade]

Not the point I was making.

Appreciate. Think I was supporting your point but maybe not phrased well.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

But then this is surely one advantage of being a "big" club in this league, there must be one??!

We do other teams what Wolves, Hull, Brighton do to us, force their hand?

It has to work both ways, surely?

I agree Pete it’s what we SHOULD be doing (well, mostly. I think you need the odd old head with experience from above like McCall, Speed, Shipps etc in the past) but look how hard our club find it to do a deal for players that aren’t even wanted by their parent clubs. Could you imagine us prizing anyone away that is actually wanted? Especially if said player isn't mates with the manager/chairman/MD etc. Unless that team plays in a league beginning with “Evo” then we can forget it I reckon.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

But then this is surely one advantage of being a "big" club in this league, there must be one??!

We do other teams what Wolves, Hull, Brighton do to us, force their hand?

It has to work both ways, surely?

Big advantage of being a big club is we don't have to spend owt.