Sorry, it just hasn't happened. Nor do I believe it will. Even if we smash up League One next year we will only be back where we started. For me, the squad of last year wasn't close to the quality of 2016-17. Still though, the better players were sold despite still being in contract, and before suitably-equipped replacements had been secured. We have appointed a temporary head coach with a 30% win record in bottom tier and non-league football. A permanent replacement could be either another Morais or another Stendel. Either way they will be starting from square one in the third tier. In the meantime, can anyone be confident that Woodrow, Mowatt or McGeehan will still be at Oakwell after January? The deafening silence from the owners suggests that this club is going to continue to operate the same way it has for decades, despite allegedly having the wealthiest owners in it's history. The biggest danger is that people will cease to care.
Conway boasted of the club records on transfers in their time, 14m (dollars, euros or pounds he didn't stipulate), 21m and 27m. Obviously didn't say anything about transfers out and what net spend was per season. I recall them generating quite a few big transfers with Dalmat, Seri & Le Marchand and sure there were a couple of others. After lucking out in their first season finishing 3rd (with Balotelli and Sneijder), having changed strategy to younger players, they then finished 8th and 7th. If they are here long enough, I'm sure they'll try and profess to the same "records"... quality at the time of purchase clearly is immaterial to them.
Success is purely financial to them and from that point of view.....they are achieving year on year but to what expense? We will probably never see the net progression on the pitch, as they flog them as soon as they become a profitable asset (any good). Then their replacements (young and inexperienced) come in and we sell em year on year.
For balance, their back 4 was not based on youth, but on experience and they lost significant amount of money by refusing to sell Seri to Barcelona for 35million (reported) and sold him the following summer to Fulham for reported 10 million (Seri also refused to play at start of season).
I'm not sure why the league positions need balance, or Conways own words as to what he constitutes "records". A little bit like his implied suggestion they were responsible for the whole build of the Nice Training Academy. Just one aspect and not wholly accurate.
Raw material. We have significantly bought better raw material this summer just gone. Under 21 internationals from good clubs and academies, think about the past where we were buying non league players such as Payne and Jackson. now i know the major failing is that they are not ready now. they might be in 3 years time when they will be sold. thats the model, thats the business plan, it doesn't matter (within reason) what league these players are playing in, just that they will be worth significantly more than they are now. to progress year on year we forgot that these young ones need help, they need experience and better players around them, its fairly easy to see 11 young players cant work, but 4 or 5 good young players from a good grounding and standard may have. The owners have failed to understand football.
You said about at NICE going to youth & sales (including Seri). I was just saying that what you have put was factually correct, but with 3 over 30 they did still use experience and they didn’t cash in on Seri when they had the chance. Edit: Doesn’t change that they did sell players, etc. 2 of there star players in their high season were loan players, which both were sent back at end of season.
The only reason I can think is that Moore for example would be a free agent by the time we go down and back up.... gone. The rest (or most) would still have 2 years. We could hopefully only then have the revolving door effect on one or 2. With most of the squad kept. And then the true cycle of introducing one or 2 changes each window. It's the only hope I have left. Cos I'm sick and tired of this constant total squad overhaul
I can't recall where Conway stated it, but somewhere (maybe in opening presser or in the interview they gave to Tykestv) that they initially got the model wrong with old players and changed it. I cant say I know every ingoing or outgoing, and it would be interesting to see the net trading per window (though suspect much of that was undisclosed, as I think the Seri fee was, i've seen it vary from £10m for Seri to £25m for the pair). And nobody seems to have mentioned the champions league prize money, that's got to be a decent chunk of money even for getting the group phase. All will out in the end as January approaches. They can entrench and hope it all goes away, but i'd advocate some form of contrition on their part rather than continued silent hubris.
I think that's what is affecting quite a few people. Some form of constant. Some one you can expect to be there, get to see over time. Tries their best and has a ceiling but makes the squad better. Its truly crap when I not only harbour for a Foster or Hassell... but even a Dawson or a Perkins. Will we ever see a Barnsley player reach 100 league starts under this ownership?
That's one of the issues that's affecting me. Over years, fans build relationships with the players, support them, sing their names, sometimes criticise them. That's not really possible any more, as players come and go. It's pointless getting attached to players (and managers) as their departure is only just round the corner. I honestly believe the owners don't understand this principle - or if they do, they ignore it because it doesn't fit the profit-generation model. I've got to know Daniel Stendel, Chris Stern and Mike Bähre personally in the time they've been here. Mainly because of my German language connections but also because of my work with the Patrick Cryne flag. We're not mates, but we do share the odd message. It is sad to know that all 3 of them will probably be gone by the start of next season, who knows? I'll probably still keep in touch, but it won't be the same. I've got a young female friend, 19 years old, who excitedly sent me a picture of her with Kieffer Moore, taken at the open day. She worshipped him, and she was excited because he'd told her he was happy at the club and didn't want to leave. A few days later, he'd gone. She was distraught. Experiences like this can't be expressed in financial terms, they don't appear on a balance sheet. They just piss fans off, and wear down their support slowly, gradually, over time, until they feel like I do today.
The saying 2 Steps forward and 3 back seem very appropriate for our club. Taking away the recent events with Daniel, i was disillusioned and had decided to choose games. A lot of stuff with our plan didn't seem right. The plan and its execution seem to be separated. Whenever we step in the right direction such as Hiring Stendel, having a promotion, balanced squad we seem to do things that takes us backwards. Just when we get to a point of where we were prior we press the reset button again. We aren't bringing in 2-3 young kids to replace Moore and letting him leave when we have a proven replacement, we are letting them go first then taking a risk we can find better. The time factor between works against us every time. The biggest and worrying issue for me is that now players, agents and other teams know exactly what we do. Every player is always for sale and league position, coverage and progression don't factor in whether we sell or not. Players now sign on the basis we make em better and attractive over 18 months then they can move on to a bigger and better position.
Agree. Its telling for me that after the firesale (understandable but unpalatable) of January 2017 and Heckingbottoms seemingly haughty words of "time for new heroes".. well, have we had a "hero" since? I'm not sure we really have. We've had some heroic performances here and there. But a hero is built over time. Repeated acts or one momentous maybe never to be repeated act, or a combination of the two. Was Bradshaw a legend, a hero? Not for me... he scored a very late winner against the blunts when it looked all was lost... but he was gone in no time and aside from speaking well and running around a bit, I don't remember much of his time with us. You could argue Mowatt and Cauley are on the right track.. but will either still be here in January... doubtful, particularly following Stendels disgraceful treatment. You look around beyond that and theres little fond affection because we don't know them. Or as we know too well, they've gone and are sitting out time elsewhere. Its not what fans will discuss over a pint. Remember that time the average player was under 21..... remember the transfer window we got some money for xyz…. remember the year or year progress, club records all, when we signed 12 kids, then 14, then 22..... ah, fond memories indeed. Not.
I'm glad you put that, at the time I honestly believed it and it made me feel good about the club again. And I believe that Hecky genuinely meant it. Little did I suspect what was to come. It's not a phrase that can be repeated over and over again, it was a one-off.
