The recruitment should have started with the Head Coach, Paul Conway sat in a room. Schopp explaining that I need players for the 4-2-3-1 he operated in Austria. While he had his bedding in power. He should have been more vociferous in his honeymoon period. Struber and Val got what they wanted in the transfer market. As far as i can see Schopp hasn't flexed any muscles at all. Replacements were needed for Mowatt and Dike (Not our player).
We are a small club who over-achieved last season. Those who left knew that last season was impossible to repeated given the financial restrictions imposed by ownership. When the offers came in, to a man, they would know that it was the only chance they might get to cash in, and they all did so. They were simply looking after no1, and that is hard to stop.
He asked for experience. He did not get it. Instead he got 2 19 year olds on loan. He must have thought, what have I let myself in for here, but he has stayed and he fights on against enormous odds.
A repeat of last season was unlikely. Not impossible. If it was impossible it would never have happened in the first place. I always felt we’d do well to be lower mid-table. As it is we’ve earnt fewer points on the pitch than 22 of the other 23, and only the same number as the last. Goal difference and a points deduction aside, we are the worst side in the division. All the upheaval is one thing, but there are players in this squad that are much better than bottom of the table. They are not being led. A crap hand is one thing, but using it as an excuse for months without actually trying to do anything is quite another. What do we do? Carry on like this until January? We will be on a record low number of points if we carry on in this vein, we’d be down before the trimmings.
There are plenty of smaller clubs that can over achieve for more than 8 months without being completely ripped apart.
As I said on Saturday,if we do not have a centre forward, then we are unlikely to score. Then it becomes a case of trying to keep a clean sheet and hoping for some luck. In my opinion, that is where we are. Yourself and many others have criticised the coach for not changing the system, but whatever system you use, you encounter the same problem. We do not have a fit centre forward.
Why doesn't he play his only fit midfielders and persist in playing centre backs in midfield. His team selection on Saturday felt like he was spiting the fans. He sorted out the defence and picked three strikers up front only to faff with the midfield. It showed he'd learnt nothing or worse he was stubborn. Reminded me of the days of Johnson picking one striker and going 4-5-1.
Were it not for the huge gap it would leave in defence, I'd stick Helik in at centre forward. At least he knows how to put the ball in the net.
I don't disagree that much of what went on in the summer was a shambles, but it could have been mitigated to an extent, with Conway appearing to be particularly culpable. The departure of Dane Murphy was a farce, and should have been handled entirely differently. On the face of it they simply allowed the CEO to run down a temporary contract and then walk away, without no obvious plan in place to replace him until after he'd gone. We've subsequently heard that this was linked to his work permit situation. Either way, it should have been addressed a minimum of 6 months before the expiry date and appears not to have been, presumably on the basis that we were doing well at the time and there was no crisis management required. Whatever spin I try to place on it to give the owners some leeway, it was totally avoidable and utterly negligent of them to allow it to happen within such a critical role in the club's operations. From there, much of what you've described stems from Conway taking on the role of CEO at a critical stage and, once again, failing to do an adequate job in a transfer window he's had responsibility for. However, if we are to believe what the club tells us about the recruitment process then it shouldn't have been impacted by this, as it all theoretically stems from James Cryne's 'moneyball/spreadsheet' analytics department, which have remained in place throughout. Whether they've been utilised is another question, given the ongoing dispute between the Cryne family and the majority shareholders, but logic would suggest that the process of identifying targets under this system should have continued unchanged during this time. Again, using the recruitment model described to us, the players actually recruited result from the Head Coach being provided with a shortlist of options from which to choose his preference. Timing wise, I think only the signing of Devante Cole preceeds his appointment, so Schopp has theoretically had a say in the recruitment of all the other players you listed. You make a good point about him being (yet another) coach who's expressed a desire for experience in the squad and not receiving it, but I'm assuming he was recruited having been made well aware of the recruitment process and constraints we operate, so can only assume that he's had an input into the signings, many of whom he's then suggesting, from both selections and comments during interviews, aren't sufficiently capable of selection. The fact that the tangible evidence contradicts the theory so much suggests to me that none of the stated recruitment processes have been operating over this period and, if accurate, the fault for this would seem to fall squarely on Conway's shoulders. We can only hope that the long-delayed arrival of a new CEO will go some way to addressing this, but it has all happened too late for the current performance crisis, as we now have to wait for the next transfer window to open. However, having successfully avoided losing any of our key in-contract players during the summer, the chances are we are now going to see an exodus of disillusioned players in the January window based on their subsequent experience of the way things are being run, including the quality of the coaching they're receiving. Ultimately, while I do have some sympathy for Schopp as to the situation he's found himself in from a recruitment perspective, this still doesn't overlook the fact that he has utterly failed to make any positive impact on the playing squad, the tactics and, worryingly, hasn't shown any signs that he's putting a long-term fix in place from which we can see a positive direction of travel. If anything, he's done the opposite, with the situation getting progressively worse and his tactics/selections becoming more knee-jerk and baffling, to the average supporter. As short as his tenure has been, I've seen enough already to be certain that another coach should be given the chance to benefit from the next transfer window as I don't trust his decision-making based on the evidence I've seen. If Conway was employed as a CEO, rather than being a part-owner, there'd be an overwhelming case for him being ahead of Schopp in the line for being removed from his role. Sadly, that's not a luxury we'll get to see happen, but we have to trust that the new CEO will be allowed to develop into that role without interference, as appeared to have been the case with Murphy. There's little doubt that the behind the scenes issues fully deserve the title of being a mess, but the problems started much earlier than in the summer, and can't simply be isolated to that period as a means to defend Schopp's own performance. I'd be inclined to view Schopp's situation with more sympathy if I could see any tangible evidence that he'll ultimately prove us wrong as to his capabilities. However, I simply can't see that this is going to be the case. Sadly, I suspect that we will get further time to find out the answer on this, as I fully expect the club to compound all its earlier errors by keeping him in place through this international break and allowing things to deteriorate further by doing so.
Some fair points in there and some not so fair. He took the job presumably knowing the long term strategy was not to buy players over a certain age and that we avoided loans of players we could not sign. If not why did he not do his due diligence? Our plan is about sustainability and will not change and neither should it. On the field he had a very successful side often complimented on their fitness levels. One player was taken from that side and one loanee. Whatever the off field situation that some not have impacted us the way it has done. He has taken the 5th best team in the league and made it the worst in the league through a combination of having no describable style and a lack of any attacking training or intent.
A fair assumption of your opinion but that’s mainly what it is and nowt wrong with that . My opinion is firstly on the Morris injury I thought it was a bad tackle allowed by an inconsistent ref who blew everything we did and let Coventry get away with murder rather than a rushed training injury . On Conway not being experienced enough CEO, I think he’d more experience than the last one and this one imo , this is the second or third time he’s taken over and I don’t think last two CEOs had much more experience than him. However still not enough but that’s how we roll at minute . We have been unlucky with injuries and I think if just Mads had been fit out of the list we’d be three or four points better off imo . According to form we have every position in the club monitored in case of a vacancy in led to believe . Where we’ve gone wrong in the forward position is that if an injury occurs as in the new lad , that Victor was good enough to cover which he clearly is not and never was imo despite the many chances he’s been given ,
Then we may as well admit that we're a League 1 club in all but name, if there isn't even any intent to retain backroom staff.
I totally agree with the strange team selections, player positions, player omissions and player substitutions.
Things are not even going right for him. His three shots (which I can remember) this season have all gone wide, when last season he would have buried them.
