Leonard has big boots to fill

[Keen Blade]

“He did okay” seems to be the phrase on here.

It’s sort of damming him with faint praise but he did genuinely do okay.

But..

Was he any any better than Basham in the role? honest answer.. No

Even more of an honest answer.. He wasn’t quite as good as Basham in the role.

Now I know that back three is not the role he was brought into play but if you aren’t as good as Chris Basham, a decent honest trier, have we actually signed a player to improve the squad? Surely that is the requisite of any player signed in the mid season transfer window.

A question that if we ask it about all the signings from January we might not like the answer.

This is the correct & crucial point.
In his RS interview , CW said - we'll keep trying for the POs "as outsiders".
He then explained that we were considered outsiders (by others) :
1) because we've just come up ; and
2) because of the players we've signed - a clear reference to the low budget January we had.

I sympathize with CW's view that we can't expect to sign players who will IMPROVE a squad which is ALREADY IN THE TOP SIX , unless we spend some real brass.

Tantamount to a public challenge to the co-owners , which they richly deserve.

Looking at where we were when thats clumsy fucker broke Coutts leg , (top of the league) , wouldn't most owners have recognised the golden opportunity IN THEIR HANDS and told CW to go and get a proper replacement , at whatever cost ? Given the Prem jackpot available.

But no , that opportunity goes begging and we scratch around in L1 for players who might have helped us win L1 last year (only a year behind the times our board). Which as it turned out we didn't need.

Sheffield United ? I've followed em for 50 years - I could write you the script for every sorry stage.

The most galling ones are not the failures , not even the unfair conspiracies we've suffered , but the missed opportunities which 20 odd thousand ordinary mortals can see but the board can't.