Hill and Coton


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So it sounds like the recruitment team did a canny job then, on paper we have exactly the players needed to get out the division, coming up short is the fault of players / manager then when it comes to last season.

As for this season, i hear SD say we're close to 2/3 players last week, we sign 1, and it smacks of desperation given the profile of the player, so imagine he was well well down that list.

Players we should be targeting are the ones too good for this division to get us up and stabilise us next season, but they are not likely want to come to Sunderland...why would a player take a chance on possible promotion to championship and have a year on league one wages, when they could likely already sign for a Championship club on higher wages.

I think our recruitment has been okay we've got solid league one players, i think the players themselves and the manager are the ones who've come up short.

Do you genuinely think the recruitment team done a canny job? If you look at the squad and think it's balanced and gives the manager what he wants, then fair play they did a canny job. I don't and I doubt many more will, even for this level we've collected centre halfs and midfielders without having adequate balance and maybe even quality for the level. The depth in wide areas is nothing short of pathetic too.


So you're saying targeting players too good for this level to get us up and stabilise should be what we're looking for? How well would the recruitment team be doing If they were targeting those and failing to sign them? Hardly imaginative or realistic, if like you say we don't get them is it? Then to say "sign for a Championship club on higher wages" - well if they're getting higher wages than we're offering, I'd imagine they'd be very decent Championship players, not ones just "too good for this level" as you were suggesting. I've also got to laugh when you say "have a year on league one wages" - yeah like McGeouch, McLaughin J, Leadbitter, Grigg signed on League One wages. Fully appreciate many players will go to the Championship over us, but we'll not be paying average league one wages.

We haven't paid solid league one wages or solid league one transfer fees mostly, we've paid above that. so the fact as you say we've got "solid league one players in" shows exactly where the recruitment team are failing.

I could understand your viewpoint if it had been done on a limited league one budget, but the reality is it hasn't.
 
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Do you genuinely think the recruitment team done a canny job? If you look at the squad and think it's balanced and gives the manager what he wants, then fair play they did a canny job. I don't and I doubt many more will, even for this level we've collected centre halfs and midfielders without having adequate balance and maybe even quality for the level. The depth in wide areas is nothing short of pathetic too.
I think they have assembled a very good league one squad yes, one that should piss this league, two forwards in that are well proven at this level, the so called 'King' brought in, proven midfielders. I would only question the quality of our CB's brought in, although Willis is looking good now, and seems to have brought the best from Ozturk.

We've paid fees for Grigg (£3m), Wyke (£600k) and Baldwin (£200k), some undisclosed in Power, O'Nein, Dobson and Maquire, the list of free's we have brought in are Loovens, Ozturk, Flanagan, Leadbitter, James, McGeouch, McLaughlin, Lynch, Willis, Conor McLaughlin and Burge. Admittedly those fee's paid are well above what goes around in this division, Grigg takes that up to stupid levels, but I think for the likes of Grigg the owners have had had their pants taken down!

How can that assembled squad not be classed as good league one business, if you were told they would manage to get most from that list through the door before we got them you'd be happy, people are only pissed because we've come up short and that fault doesn't lie with the recruitment, but the manager imo.

I suspect cutting the scouting network to save costs may also have hindered us, not sure any of the player brought in were from outside of the UK, we've limited ourselves there also.
 
Hope I’m wrong like, just think that given they’re not “football people” they’ll put trust in what we’ve already got in the short term
Americans generally know the square root of fuck all about football. The could do worse than giving Ellis a quick call and ask him where he went wrong.
 
Why, surely they deserve criticism if the club isn't going in the right direction or are they above criticism for you ?
How is the club not going in the right direction?
Face the facts he failed last season and all his failings are clear as day this season.
Who failed
You can clearly see what put recruitment has been like. It's absolutely bewildering anyone can thinks it's decent
Yeah because we are struggling at the bottom of the league!!!
 
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How is the club not going in the right direction?

It is going in the right direction at the moment, however i wonder would you Criticise, those at the club if it wasn't ?
 
I think they have assembled a very good league one squad yes, one that should piss this league, two forwards in that are well proven at this level, the so called 'King' brought in, proven midfielders. I would only question the quality of our CB's brought in, although Willis is looking good now, and seems to have brought the best from Ozturk.

We've paid fees for Grigg (£3m), Wyke (£600k) and Baldwin (£200k), some undisclosed in Power, O'Nein, Dobson and Maquire, the list of free's we have brought in are Loovens, Ozturk, Flanagan, Leadbitter, James, McGeouch, McLaughlin, Lynch, Willis, Conor McLaughlin and Burge. Admittedly those fee's paid are well above what goes around in this division, Grigg takes that up to stupid levels, but I think for the likes of Grigg the owners have had had their pants taken down!

How can that assembled squad not be classed as good league one business, if you were told they would manage to get most from that list through the door before we got them you'd be happy, people are only pissed because we've come up short and that fault doesn't lie with the recruitment, but the manager imo.

I suspect cutting the scouting network to save costs may also have hindered us, not sure any of the player brought in were from outside of the UK, we've limited ourselves there also.

How? My take on the signings:

Wyke looks as though he's improved this season, but yet again goals are hard to come by.

Grigg has been shockingly bad.

Baldwin started well before trying to do his utmost to give the opposition a goal advantage every game.

Flanagan, see Baldwin.

Ozturk's debut is one of the worst I've ever seen, possibly beaten by Loovens who was playing in the same game.
Thankfully he's steadied himself and actually looks like a decent league one player.

We didn't need Leadbitter, I called it at the time, he was too similar to what we had. He's not a bad player, but he hasn't got the legs.

James was average. He was way over-rated on here. I was glad when he left, but naively thought he'd be replaced by a better player.

McGeouch has the attributes to do well, but never gets a proper run in the side. He has a good game, then plays average, then misses a game and before you know it you forget he even plays for us.

McLaughlin was class last season, he's been suspect so far this season imo.

Willis on a free looks our best business of the summer, that said, apart from him and McNulty, the rest can't even hold down a place in the first team.

C. McLaughlin is only getting a game due to injuries, he looks as though he needs replacing already.

Lynch isn't rated by the fans that follow his past club, I'll be surprised if he amounts to anything here.

Burge has been sound when he's played, signed on a free as a backup, no complaints. Based on McLaughlin's form, he probably deserves a chance in the first team.

Overall, it's canny shite.
 
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Yeah sorry just missing out on promotion meant we recruited shit even after a massive overhaul of squad and club. 3 points off the top this season and it’s still barely begun ! Have you ever done anything but slag the club off? I will criticise the team if they have played shiloke the Peterborough game, I won’t slag off people who work at the club

have you ever done anything but slag club off in some way! I will criticise the team when they play shit like at Peterborough . I won’t slag off people who work at the club when I don’t have a clue what they are doing behind the scenes


Whilst I like the manager as a person I am not totally convinced he will get us promoted and that is because of the players he has at his disposal in part. Our recruitment is bewildering at times and I cannot get my head around it. Saying that we are in div 3. Frankly whatever it takes we must be promoted we should not be heading for the playoffs so if the new people want a new manager then so be it
 
You kind of ask for it when you make 12 unsuccessful bids for shite like Grigg and keep coming back with a better offer.

Oh no doubt marra.

But still think they and the club will have to deal with having this issue all the time.
 
Jesus wept. Just keep on accepting the shite we've seen for months. 5th in league one and you're content. Good for you.
Accepting the shite, we aren’t shite, you carry on in your dream world thinking we are this great massive club that should walk this league. News flash we aren’t we been ran poorly for years so are where we deserve to be . The owners are slowly trying to sort out the mess and if Ross fails to get promotion this season they will make a change. You just carry on whining and see that it gets you nowhere
Whilst I like the manager as a person I am not totally convinced he will get us promoted and that is because of the players he has at his disposal in part. Our recruitment is bewildering at times and I cannot get my head around it. Saying that we are in div 3. Frankly whatever it takes we must be promoted we should not be heading for the playoffs so if the new people want a new manager then so be it
We will get promoted this year in my opinion, if not he will be sacked
It is going in the right direction at the moment, however i wonder would you Criticise, those at the club if it wasn't ?
Yes I would , but I don’t whinge for nowt, it’s blatantly obvious it’s going in the right direction, just over a year ago we were a shambles almost going into admin
 
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Accepting the shite, we aren’t shite, you carry on in your dream world thinking we are this great massive club that should walk this league. News flash we aren’t we been ran poorly for years so are where we deserve to be . The owners are slowly trying to sort out the mess and if Ross fails to get promotion this season they will make a change. You just carry on whining and see that it gets you nowhere

We will get promoted this year in my opinion, if not he will be sacked

Yes I would , but I don’t whinge for nowt, it’s blatantly obvious it’s going in the right direction, just over a year ago we were a shambles almost going into admin
We are a big club for this level and proved that by spending unprecedented amounts for this division. That money wasn't spent well, recruitment was as crap as the performances were. You're very easily pleased.
 
We are a big club for this level and proved that by spending unprecedented amounts for this division. That money wasn't spent well, recruitment was as crap as the performances were. You're very easily pleased.
No it’s called understanding the situation we were in when Donald took over
 
I'm hoping the new owners take a bomb to the entire scouting, recruitment and coaching set up and start again.

Our youth team have amazing facilities but poor coaches and direction.
Our recruitment appears to be limited to say the least and our scouting random.

For me a real statement of intent and proof that the new owners are here for the long term would be to announce a compete shake up of those 3 things and the best staff to oversee it that money can buy
 
So here is a question. Ppl seem happy enough the new guys will keep on the owners and have them run the club. They made the appointments on the recruitment team which look terrible at present. Will they be under scrutiny themselves from the off?
Of course. Donald will be an employee now even though he owns a small part of the club. If he doesn't cut the mustard he'll be replaced just like anyone else.
 
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