Ben Purrington

[Donald_Valley]

Something just doesn't add up to me about the signing of this lad. Not going mention his performances since he arrived or whether he is any good but what I can't fathom is just why we paid 300k for a left back. Particularly given we now seem to be shopping in the reject bin again. I mean, you can pick up a steady left back for much less than that and spend the rest on one striker?

[Brin]

Simple really. Stewart is looking at no longer blowing his money away and who can fault him....I did for not even attempting to retain Championship status last season but that's another story.....so it's all about bringing in young blood for the future and working with them and making them stronger and better players that may be retained by us and sold on in the future.

Barnsley is a perfect model who made millions last season selling players that cost peanuts but OUR scouting team is abysmal.
£60,000 on software to say who is the best recruitment...Stewart has had his pants down again...will he ever learn?

[lbj]

Perhaps he's got something we haven’t seen yet...?

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

He had a big hernia called Alan Stubbs, got shut of that , but still got a irritable bowel in Paul Douglas

[lbj]

Oh dear
Oh dear
Oh dear

[Donald_Valley]

thats sort of my point...he signed in January and there as clearly no chance a LB would have kept us up. So why bother unless it was the start of a wider spending spree to have a dart at the league one title. Feels a little bit like when the blades signed Brayford for close to a million but never spent one the rest of the team.

[leedsmiller]

Yes, if it was the first of many such signings in keeping with the young, hungry theme it would make sense. Could still be, of course but at the moment it's one in isolation (and no doubt everyone wishes they could turn the clock back).

Our perennial problem is that we never fully commit to anything, it's all half-hearted, knee-jerk, start and never finish, be it managers, stadium, facilities, policies... there's never an overall, comprehensive, costed plan with a deliverable timescale that we adhere to.

[millavanilla]

thats sort of my point...he signed in January and there as clearly no chance a LB would have kept us up. So why bother unless it was the start of a wider spending spree to have a dart at the league one title. Feels a little bit like when the blades signed Brayford for close to a million but never spent one the rest of the team.

I thought it was the head of recruitment whatever his name is, who recommended us to sign him...one good game against liverpool was it ?... im not that impressed though, even though hes got time to improve..get rid of this recruitment bloke I say...ronnie moore and breckin could get us better players blindfolded than the ones weve got...

[monty_rhodes]

Yes, if it was the first of many such signings in keeping with the young, hungry theme it would make sense. Could still be, of course but at the moment it's one in isolation (and no doubt everyone wishes they could turn the clock back).

Our perennial problem is that we never fully commit to anything, it's all half-hearted, knee-jerk, start and never finish, be it managers, stadium, facilities, policies... there's never an overall, comprehensive, costed plan with a deliverable timescale that we adhere to.

A good summary. Unfortunately some on here see this trait as a virtue reflecting TS's commitment to a sound financial policy. In reality the club's policy is as sound as the South Sea Bubble.

[tony260674]

The club want to move away from the Steve Evans transfer years where 88 players came through the door and have a new philosophy that takes a more long term view. Of course Evans was very successful but his practice of signing 5 players for every position in the hope that 2 turned out to be okay was never going to be sustainable. The philosophy the club wants to foster is buying players who are young, athletic, hungry and most importantly on the way up. The idea then is that we will have a competitive team, playing the type of football Rotherham fans enjoy and that players will be allowed to move on for the right price down the line to keep the club sustainable at the highest level possible. Its the kind of strategy that Southampton and Barnsley use, with a bit of Peterborough thrown in for good measure. To get this philosophy going the club brought in Jamie Johnson who is highly thought of and equally sought after which meant he came with a hefty price tag.
As far as I am aware, Johnson and his scouting software was responsible for the signing of Purrington as well as Ajayi and Bray. These are players that can perform in the first team now and at the same time improve so that we can sell them on at a profit in the future. The problem is that for this to work, the management team needs to be on the same page as the head of recruitment. Again reading between the lines as interim manager, Warne was happy to be guided as to who he was to bring into the club but as he has gained more confidence in the role and gained a bigger power base at the club, he now wants the biggest say on transfer dealings. I find it very hard to believe that Jamie Johnson was in favour of retaining Wood and Mattock but I also hear that it was NOT Warne's decision to renew JCH's deal so potentially there is a bit of a battle of ideas going on. Mix this together with a the fact that a large chunk of our budget is taken up by players we don't want at the club and there is no surprise that we have only made one signing.