Orlando Vs Kermorgant

[genome]

I think the point that's being missed is - what is the actual objective here?

If it's to get to the Premier League and then to have a wholesale change of players, using PL-level budgets, then the age of the striker concerned is utterly irrelevant. Sa or Kermorgant would both be finished here at the point of promotion - who cares how old they are?

McDermott also knows the importance of team spirit and togetherness in the dressing room - he was there and heavily involved in the 106-point team, and he fluked a promotion in 2012with a squad that wasn't up to the job but got there almost entirely on team spirit and determination.

If he wants to get rid of someone who doesn't fit into the "togetherness and team spirit" he's trying to build, and replace him with someone else plus a pot of cash, fair play to him.

One of the most critical things in winning promotion isn't the quality of the individual players - it's their fit together in building a team. Sa might be the better individual, but if he fits into the team as a whole less-well than Kermorgant does then why retain him?

I agree with most of this post but how exactly do you fluke 15 wins in 17 games, conceding just 10 goals?

[The Sum of the Parts]

I think the point that's being missed is - what is the actual objective here?

If it's to get to the Premier League and then to have a wholesale change of players, using PL-level budgets, then the age of the striker concerned is utterly irrelevant. Sa or Kermorgant would both be finished here at the point of promotion - who cares how old they are?

McDermott also knows the importance of team spirit and togetherness in the dressing room - he was there and heavily involved in the 106-point team, and he fluked a promotion in 2012with a squad that wasn't up to the job but got there almost entirely on team spirit and determination.

If he wants to get rid of someone who doesn't fit into the "togetherness and team spirit" he's trying to build, and replace him with someone else plus a pot of cash, fair play to him.

One of the most critical things in winning promotion isn't the quality of the individual players - it's their fit together in building a team. Sa might be the better individual, but if he fits into the team as a whole less-well than Kermorgant does then why retain him?

I agree with most of this post but how exactly do you fluke 15 wins in 17 games, conceding just 10 goals?

Fair enough - the point is that the team he put together bonded so well that they got away with some outrageous wins - at West Ham, and winning 1-0 at Brighton despite having zero shots on target. "Fluked", of course, isn't the right word, but it's a reflection that that team achieved far more than their individual abilities suggested - and that's got to be down to the mix and the team spirit.

[Extended-Phenotype]

http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/201 ... se-of-nick

This article - 14 months old - does not agree with my general concerns at what I perceive to be Hammond's shortcomings of late, as it is free to do of course.....it is just an opinion which cannot be measured one way or another.

However it says:

His role, as I understand it, arose in 2003 out of John Madejski’s self-proclaimed lack of football knowledge, and his need to have someone to advise him on football matters, especially when considering spending money on players. The chairman felt he wasn’t in a position to judge whether prospective players were worth the wages and transfer fees being asked, and so needed an informed link between himself and the football club, and someone who could act as "Chairman’s proxy."

The writer has clearly researched the DoF role at Reading more than I have done, I would freely admit that. It also seems to corroborate my suspicions that NH has an active role to play in who we recruit, not just on the terms we negotiate.

No it doesn't.

Well I think it does in the sense that if Hammond thinks someone is too expensive, we won't sign him.

It doesn't corroborate he plays an active role in who we recruit. It corroborates that he advises on whether said player is worth the figure a team is asking for. That's way different from Hammond actively finding these players, or deciding whether we sign them or not.

[Nameless]

Coppell's team was an even better example of a team of fairly average players being shaped into something quite formidable.
Don't think that it's an exaggeration to say that every single member of that side had the best season of their career that year (some wriggle room to allow for the following season of course !)

[genome]

I think the point that's being missed is - what is the actual objective here?

If it's to get to the Premier League and then to have a wholesale change of players, using PL-level budgets, then the age of the striker concerned is utterly irrelevant. Sa or Kermorgant would both be finished here at the point of promotion - who cares how old they are?

McDermott also knows the importance of team spirit and togetherness in the dressing room - he was there and heavily involved in the 106-point team, and he fluked a promotion in 2012with a squad that wasn't up to the job but got there almost entirely on team spirit and determination.

If he wants to get rid of someone who doesn't fit into the "togetherness and team spirit" he's trying to build, and replace him with someone else plus a pot of cash, fair play to him.

One of the most critical things in winning promotion isn't the quality of the individual players - it's their fit together in building a team. Sa might be the better individual, but if he fits into the team as a whole less-well than Kermorgant does then why retain him?

I agree with most of this post but how exactly do you fluke 15 wins in 17 games, conceding just 10 goals?

Fair enough - the point is that the team he put together bonded so well that they got away with some outrageous wins - at West Ham, and winning 1-0 at Brighton despite having zero shots on target. "Fluked", of course, isn't the right word, but it's a reflection that that team achieved far more than their individual abilities suggested - and that's got to be down to the mix and the team spirit.

Your username is apt!

[The Sum of the Parts]

Your username is apt!

Quite!

In 2 months you'll be able to buy a book all about what made Steve Coppell's team so perfect. http://www.micklepress.com

[Nameless]

Well I think it does in the sense that if Hammond thinks someone is too expensive, we won't sign him.

A) we've now got different owners so Hammond won't be advising SJM of anything any more
B) clearly we signed players in the past that bypassed this advisory role
C) I actually agree that it would be good if Hammond was able to veto crazy money signings, but to be honest we hardly ever make crazy money signings
D) given most of our summer signings were free, loan deals or fairly inexpensive it's hard to see which one he might have vetoed on value grounds. I would be surprised if he had the power to tell a manager he simply wasn't going to negotiate for a player because the manager rated him butHammond didn't , I could imagine him being blue to say player x was only available for £3 million and in his view £1 million was a realistic price for us to pay.

[genome]

Smooth

[genome]

Your username is apt!

Quite!

In 2 months you'll be able to buy a book all about what made Steve Coppell's team so perfect. http://www.micklepress.com

Smooth

[genome]

I've had a mare here

[Nameless]

Your username is apt!

Quite!

In 2 months you'll be able to buy a book all about what made Steve Coppell's team so perfect. http://www.micklepress.com[/quote

[Extended-Phenotype]

[The Sum of the Parts]

E) The Thais don't know football (they're property people) and don't show any major signs of getting involved in it. So they're happy to retain the same structure that's worked for the club up to now, which is the D of F (who has the Head of Recruitment reporting to him) working in a partnership with the manager to sign players, and reporting to the CEO.

[Nameless]

Not entirely true, the Thai's do have people in their set up who have football backgrounds and I suspect the recent flood or players with Iberian connections is linked to that.
But it seems true that to date the Thai's have been happy to leave the upper management structure of the club most entirely in place while slotting some of their own people in alongside

[The Sum of the Parts]

Fair point - they've tinkered, but their people seem to be more "consultants" than doing day-to-day stuff.

The player recruitment process is virtually unchanged - I'd suspect these consultant's suggest potential signings rather than say "you must sign so-and-so."

[Pepe the Horseman]

Your username is apt!

Quite!

In 2 months you'll be able to buy a book all about what made Steve Coppell's team so perfect. http://www.micklepress.com[/quote

Smooth

[The Sum of the Parts]

Smooth

Tap-in!

[Nameless]

Fair point - they've tinkered, but their people seem to be more "consultants" than doing day-to-day stuff.

The player recruitment process is virtually unchanged - I'd suspect these consultant's suggest potential signings rather than say "you must sign so-and-so."

Although if they have access to agents etc in a particular market it's understandable if we seem to suddenly be recruiting there

[genome]

Quite!

In 2 months you'll be able to buy a book all about what made Steve Coppell's team so perfect. http://www.micklepress.com[/quote

Smooth

[The Sum of the Parts]

Fair point - they've tinkered, but their people seem to be more "consultants" than doing day-to-day stuff.

The player recruitment process is virtually unchanged - I'd suspect these consultant's suggest potential signings rather than say "you must sign so-and-so."

Although if they have access to agents etc in a particular market it's understandable if we seem to suddenly be recruiting there

Yes, although don't forget that BMc spent over a year scouting for Arsenal - you can be sure they have scouts across the globes, so it's perfectly possible that some of the players he saw in that time that might not have been right for Arsenal are of interest now. I'm fairly sure the young winger we signed recently who needs a work permit falls into that category.