Hasn't Z Mitchell played CDM previously? Not saying he's a ready made backup for Cov (I'd put Doc in before him) but could he be one for the future in that role or one to learn it over the season? Or did he revert more to his natural CB role on loan?
You can never be quite sure until the season unfolds of course, but my sense is that NJ, Chapple and Dr Will (there's more in the team doing this recruiting but those are the main names I know....) can pick 'em and can pick 'em very well indeed...... and maybe they're not quite done yet as well.....? I think we're going to see some very exciting football this season and I can't wait!!
You can never be quite sure until the season unfolds of course, but my sense is that NJ, Chapple and Dr Will (there's more in the team doing this recruiting but those are the main names I know....) can pick 'em and can pick 'em very well indeed...... and maybe they're not quite done yet as well.....? I think we're going to see some very exciting football this season and I can't wait!!
Somehow cant see much exciting football coming from us myself. Can see a lot of hustle and bustle, and grinding out enough results for survival/lower midtable.
I wasn't suggesting we need someone as good as Cov, I reckon thay would take a hell of a chunkbof budget to get. But we do need someone who can play in the same way. Doc can operate in the same spaces as a DM but has different strengths, namely his workrate and being a bit of an allrounder in midfield. Cov specialises in interceptions and breaking up play thanks to his reading of the game, he is also so good at the transition out of defence, keeping the ball moving and positional he is excellent.
He keeps the entire system ticking over. Doc is so much better as the box to box player in our system. I think we are taking a huge gamble on Cov not having any significant period of injury this season. I hope it doesn't come to it but if the worst does happen and he's out for a period of months I can see Ramsay as the best option in his role. But that only works of Burke is fit and Apter has taken to the hybrid RWB/RM role. Which demonstrates the problem of having one player as cover for multiple positions and having first choice players in one role as cover for a 2nd or 3rd role.
Without quoting everyone who replied, this is what I was getting at. Comparing the scenario to Liverpool & Arsenal is very different. They have a multitude of very good options.
I know it's all league relative but my point was if Coventry goes, there isn't a player even near his level that could even temporarily fill his role. At least if someone like a forward gets injured we have 5 good options up top.
It's very difficult to manage in modern football with just a good XI and a few job doers on the bench, you need players who are versatile and ready to take someone's spot if their form dips or they get injured, that's my point. I am not saying we should have a defensive midfielder as good as Coventry just as a back up.
You can never be quite sure until the season unfolds of course, but my sense is that NJ, Chapple and Dr Will (there's more in the team doing this recruiting but those are the main names I know....) can pick 'em and can pick 'em very well indeed...... and maybe they're not quite done yet as well.....? I think we're going to see some very exciting football this season and I can't wait!!
Somehow cant see much exciting football coming from us myself. Can see a lot of hustle and bustle, and grinding out enough results for survival/lower midtable.
Our midfield will not be controlling many games.
Well, may as well give up now then eh...that's the spirit 🤦♂️
You can never be quite sure until the season unfolds of course, but my sense is that NJ, Chapple and Dr Will (there's more in the team doing this recruiting but those are the main names I know....) can pick 'em and can pick 'em very well indeed...... and maybe they're not quite done yet as well.....? I think we're going to see some very exciting football this season and I can't wait!!
Will Abbot isn't part of the recruitment team, his speciality is keeping the players fit and injury free.
Ipswich have had their £20m bid accepted for Hayden Hackney… which would presumably give Middlesbrough a chunky war chest.
Didn't they also get a rather juicy fee for Latte Lath from the yanks?
It was reported to be $22 million that they received from Atlanta United for the Ivorian. Latte Lath is another player that Africa keeps turning out for the global market. Middlesbrough certainly could smell the coffee after that transaction but the profit was just too good to turn down
You can never be quite sure until the season unfolds of course, but my sense is that NJ, Chapple and Dr Will (there's more in the team doing this recruiting but those are the main names I know....) can pick 'em and can pick 'em very well indeed...... and maybe they're not quite done yet as well.....? I think we're going to see some very exciting football this season and I can't wait!!
Will Abbot isn't part of the recruitment team, his speciality is keeping the players fit and injury free.
Well yes and no. Any data/scouting team worth their salt will ask the medical team for an opinion on a players previous injuries (where available) and obviously the medical has to be completed too
Would Terry Taylor be an adequate Coventry backup? Seems like he was good got Northampton before getting injured again and as a backup option I wouldn't be mad about it. Could even be like a.....new signing
Would Terry Taylor be an adequate Coventry backup? Seems like he was good got Northampton before getting injured again and as a backup option I wouldn't be mad about it. Could even be like a.....new signing
I know we have no rumours but please lets not go back to TT
Unless we have a link up with the JFF specifically (which hasn't been mentioned anywhere) then I think the Jamaican element to this one is a bit random. Seems more likely that the family are moving back to South London and an agent put feelers out to see if any clubs were interested
Interesting we've picked Jamaica as our feeder nation, very few top-end footballing athletes have emerged from there.
There are a lot of players of Jamaican descent who have been part of the England team for a long while now. Some of them like Raheem Sterling or John Barnes were born in Jamaica and some have Jamaican parents, like Morgan Gibbs-White, Kyle Walker and Sol Campbell. Typically those players have been the beneficiaries of a higher standard of training in England from a young age. Sterling almost certainly wouldn't have developed anywhere near as much as he did if he hadn't been in an English academy from the age of 10. I imagine part of our strategy with this is identifying potential that we can get for cheap on the basis that with a higher standard of coaching these players can be developed into better players and then utilised in the first team and sold on for a substantial profit. We're already competing with so many other clubs on our own patch and getting players poached by Category 1 teams out of our academy before they even reach the age to make any first team squad appearances, picking up these players for a small investment on proper contracts is a fairly low-risk strategy. You only need one of these players to develop into a Football League level player to benefit.
Unless we have a link up with the JFF specifically (which hasn't been mentioned anywhere) then I think the Jamaican element to this one is a bit random. Seems more likely that the family are moving back to South London and an agent put feelers out to see if any clubs were interested
Not sure it’s too random, the Mount Pleasant owner is friends with Mevthen. That was our in to string up a link. At that stage we are in a good position to have knowledge on player son the JFF set up as well as top performers in their national league.
Think it’s smart to use undervalued or under utilised markets to find diamonds in the rough. Who would have thought that South Korea and Japan would be hotbeds for talent 25-30 years ago
Interesting we've picked Jamaica as our feeder nation, very few top-end footballing athletes have emerged from there.
Possibly being whooshed but my god Jamaica have churned out some athletic talent over the decades. Less of footballers than other codes but Jesus i’d not be writing Jamaica off as a target talent market. Jamaica has the population of say Manchester. How many gold medals has Manchester won at the Olympics ?
Interesting we've picked Jamaica as our feeder nation, very few top-end footballing athletes have emerged from there.
Possibly being whooshed but my god Jamaica have churned out some athletic talent over the decades. Less of footballers than other codes but Jesus i’d not be writing Jamaica off as a target talent market. Jamaica has the population of say Manchester. How many gold medals has Manchester won at the Olympics ?
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I think we're going to see some very exciting football this season and I can't wait!!
Our midfield will not be controlling many games.
I know it's all league relative but my point was if Coventry goes, there isn't a player even near his level that could even temporarily fill his role. At least if someone like a forward gets injured we have 5 good options up top.
It's very difficult to manage in modern football with just a good XI and a few job doers on the bench, you need players who are versatile and ready to take someone's spot if their form dips or they get injured, that's my point. I am not saying we should have a defensive midfielder as good as Coventry just as a back up.
Well, may as well give up now then eh...that's the spirit 🤦♂️
It was reported to be $22 million that they received from Atlanta United for the Ivorian.
Latte Lath is another player that Africa keeps turning out for the global market.
Middlesbrough certainly could smell the coffee after that transaction but the profit was just too good to turn down
https://x.com/reluctantnicko/status/1953010446539096246?s=46&t=A-w3Eq0EWWpjMxring904Q