League one forever

Some of your best work.

Have you made a sign yet? Maybe something like - 5PM- you’re having a laugh. Or 3 months of failure and still they back him! Or Simply Mellon out.

Your desperation for him to fail is palpable.

Aye, probably. I didn’t expect to get promoted this season, but playoffs was the absolute minimum to call it a good season and tangible progress. Over the course of last season - we did ok. Over the course of this season - we’ve done ok. Ok isn’t progress to me- but that’s only my opinion. Oh- and I was buzzing with being 5th, I sang eieieo every chance I could. Just want it to last a little longer than a few weeks.

Yeah, I think we underestimate how good/consistent you have to be to get out of this league- especially with only two up. Your point above illustrates that- very good/very bad/average for parts of the season will get you in the playoffs but ultimately isn’t enough. (I know they’re exceptions on occasion) It’s the mentality of the grind and churning wins that sees you promoted.

If we’re going down that road, ST contributed to being 5th as well as Mellon. It’s all semantics though. To my mind being excited for a couple of weeks in Feb is nowhere near to getting promoted. Dave- a caller on the phone inn last night, made a great point. Sides that can sustain a playoff push throughout the whole season are serious contenders. This season that’s Bromley and Barnet. They don’t have runs of 1 win in 10, and they definitely don’t have two runs like that in a season. We are pretenders at the minute, not contenders.

We didn’t pay a fee, so we’d be reliant on someone paying fee to claw back his wages and I don’t see anyone paying a fee for him at this stage of his career.

Aye. It’s better than last season, but being 5th in Feb isn’t close to promotion.

Yep, we need 4 wins, we won’t get 4 wins. So it’s a bit meh now. Just want the season over, so we can start again.

He was there before, which shows the youth team was producing players before Frank and co and they didn’t have to start again or wait years for the youth team to bear fruit. It’s not a competition and I wasn’t comparing BP to Mellon and Co, I just know he watches a lot of youth team football and has spoken highly of a couple- it would be nice if we could develop a couple. We’ll never know, if we never give them a go. One was Forshaw I think, and I can’t remember the other lads name. In your opinion- Do you think a profitable youth team is important for the club. Or do you think it’s just a nice to have? Personally I’d love to see some of our own come through and sold for profit- that hopefully would be re- invested in the first team. We can’t just rely on Frank pouring money in, the club needs to look at every avenue to make money.

Yep- I’m not wedded to stats bomb either way. What’s important - (and it’s what I said earlier in the thread) is it a club thing where the manager has to work with it. Is it causing friction between DR and the manager? Everyone from top to bottom has to buy into the same process- as far as I can see we’ve got different ideas and objectives which is leading to muddled decision making with the squad.

Brad made a very interesting observation on the phone inn last night- only us and York use stats bomb and both clubs have seen big budgets blown on bloated underperforming squads. . . Matt speculated that he thought Mellon might be talking to the board- with ‘I know what a good player looks like’ Everything about the club barring the actual team performance is great, but it’s obvious with the size of the squad and its under performance that something isn’t right, and it’s a collective responsibility.

How can you can state something as fact, when you have no idea how long it takes? We had a one player who got sold in the owners first season- where did he come from? Oh- the youth set up. According to BP we have at least one or two who at the very least could be in and around the first team and given some minutes. (In a side desperate for some pace and energy) How on earth have we found them in so little time under the owners. . ??

It depends what he club is set up as or what it wants to be. When DR came in - he, in my opinion set up a vision, he talked about the youth set up, stats bomb, it gave the impression of a very detailed top to bottom analysis of what the club needed on the football side. It felt like a Swansea/Brentford/Brighton/ Peterborough type- where the incumbent manager would be required to work within the parameters of what the club want. All good. In reality it has just become- back the manager with whatever he feels is necessary. That’s isn’t made up or guesswork that’s what has happened, and we are left we an awfully imbalanced squad. The panacea being- two managers haven’t felt it necessary to sign a right back for a side aiming for promotion. (Freeman and Sav are stop gaps) Shouldn’t that alarm the club? Should they be sanctioning another midfielder or striker?? When we leave everything to the manager. . what are we left with??? In my opinion there is nothing wrong in saying to a manager please will you include one or two youth players in the set up on a regular basis, and try to blood them in lesser games so we can have a look. Kofi Moore has had a few minutes . . . that’s it. Not very good for a club who needs to maximise their youth set up.

Still haven’t moved on. . .

Never in doubt. I said - the football operation alone. Stats bomb. One youth player sold- without really playing for the first team- despite his performances being good enough. No other youth player in the first team- despite big proclamations. B team with Unsworth No B team with Mellon. 6 centre half’s 12 midfielders 8 strikers No right back. One left back. None of that is made up. It’s either what DR has said, or what has happened. If you don’t think two years is enough time to asses someone’s suitably to the role- then fine, but I disagree. It won’t happen because he so intwined into the club, but Id like him to keep doing what he’s doing on everything bar the football decisions.

You asked for examples- I gave you some. You can pull everything apart if that suits your narrative. (Not a dig) You come across online as someone who always, always wants to defend the club, by finding any multitude of reason for failure and/or mistakes. Which is fine when there is grey area. Places there isn’t grey area. The family are on record saying they won’t get involved with football decisions. I believe them- so if they aren’t doing it, who is?? Both Unsy and Mellon have said in interviews they are constantly on the phone to DR, so while I wasn’t in the room listening everything suggest from the family and managers that he is heavily involved in the football side. DR is on record as staying stats Bomb is highly effective tool for recruitment and we were one of only a few clubs to have it. If it’s been used - it’s been woeful. If it’s not been used, why have it in the first place. DR is on record as saying a B team is important (because Unsworth said it was) then it disappeared when Mellon arrived. Where is the oversight from the man making the footballing decisions or does he just go with what the manager says. . . DR is on record as saying the youth is vital to the health the club. Our only player to come through got sold cheaply, when it’s obvious that had he played more we would have potentially got a higher fee. If we did or not is irrelevant- are we giving them a pathway or not?? One player in two years, who hardly played is not what he said is vital to the club, and at interview I would fully expect him to tell the manager how important that is to the club. Instead, he folds and we just sign more strikers and more midfielders on long contacts. We haven’t had an established right back for two seasons- that is at best a mystery and at worse negligent. He can’t tell the manager who to sign but for someone who is in charge of footballing decisions- the facts tells us- he lets the managers sign who they want. What does in charge of football decisions mean? It means leaving the manager to do his job under the remit of which you agreed at the time of appointment. On both occasions it looks like DR and the board have said do what you like and we’ll back you. The facts not guesswork tell you that. Two years later and we extremely lopsided squad and our return for a fantastic budget is 12th and 9th. DR - (on the football side alone) has done a poor job. I know you’ll pull my post apart, so I’ll leave it there.

Good to know. Maybe we could your best mate Curle in as sporting director? I know how much you love him- and he’s available. .

Aye. We were told 18 months ago there was a proper recruitment plan/strategy. . . It’s culminated in 56 strikers, 36 midfielders, and one left back

Are you pleased with the footballing decisions?

I have some sympathy with that one, there are certain players that need enticing, and they just won’t come for a one year deal. The issue we have is that everybody seems to get two years or more. We need to be much, much more selective in who gets the longer deals.

Oh. Agreeing to a B team in division 5. Canning a B team. Saying the youth structure is vital to the club, and then overseeing the only player to come through underplayed and sold for peanuts.

Recruiting ST. Bringing stats bomb. Both of which have contributed to some awful decision making regarding recruitment. How many successful signings have we had since they joined? Norwood? (And I don’t think even he has hit the heights we were expecting) Im sure DR does a lot of great things for the club, however his footballing decision and/or oversight has been very poor.