We have no long term plan.

[Grist_To_The_Mill]

No long term plan?

I'm not convinced we have a short term plan either.

When you look at our coaching set up it's very limited. Both manager and assistant manager are ex forwards so no real experience of defending, an area which is painfully wrong.

As for Warne's much reported fitness regime, running up Austrian mountains etc it's surprising how many players are carrying excess "timber". Look at JCH and Emmanuel for example, thighs like giant redwoods, and painfully losing pace as a consequence. Jerry Yates is turning into a suffler, D Ball has lost what pace he had, Frecks is as injury prone as ever (maybe more so now).

As for Pollitt coaching keepers, well maybe he has bad stock to work with but chop and change isn't helping. Remember also that Pollitt had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus so quite a few managers had in the past found him a bit wanting. There was a time when he was a flapper when it came to crosses and he had his best spell with us when McIntosh and Swailes were in front of him which tells you a lot.

I still think we need a major overhaul of coaching staff before TS wastes any more money on player transfers.

[tom12026]

I have decided to put my 2 pennyworth in-We have some players who are not too bad but nobody really special.For myself I go to the games to enjoy the day and to a certain extent the actual match is a by-product.I go hoping for a good result but I don,t kick the cat if we lose (yet again).It,s all a bit deja vue all over again to be honest.I do smile when I think about top teams like Liverpool who spend more on directors sandwiches than we do on players yet get whopped by Spurs,Man City etc.Spurs then lose to Man U. .What I am trying to say is I try not to get too up if we win or to down WHEN we lose.Enjoy the weekend-it,s another one you will not live through again.

[animallittle3]

I can't believe you guy's missed Stephan Payne who we let go in the summer , scoring for fun at Shrewsbury and right under your noses .

I'm not best pleased we let the lad go at all to be honest .

[gwru]

Pocket I'm like you I'm not a wordsmith. I just put it as I see it. Summer transfer window. We've ended up without a reliable keeper. No Right back or another Centre back apart from Ihiemke good enough. Left back we're unlucky to have Mattock banned & Purrington injured. No cover for Potter & no Left winger. Up front only Moore good enough unless we get JCH back to match sharpness. Whose fault is that. Head of recruitment, Warney? For me head of recruitment can put players to the manager but it's up to the manager to research the player being good enough, right for the club + fitness levels. Somebody tell me if I've got it wrong.

[kempo]

Spot on gwru..

It's unfortunate that these young replacements that you suggest are far worse than the players we have.

We are years and years away from bringing our own youth through as we have no infrastructure and we deal in peanuts.

To get a promising young player now you not only have to offer a significant amount of cash but grease the palms of immediate family members not to mention a house.

You also need way way better infrastructure as I have said ad nauseum.

We are a million miles away from developing players to even L1 standard.

[flourbasher]

I don't think it's feasible to develop players from youngsters because there are clubs who are already a lot better and more established at it than us.
Our best bet is to pick up younger players of say 19-20 yrs who have been discarded by other clubs and give them a chance to blossom.
They might be really good players but don't fit the ambitions of the club who let them go.
We would need a really good coaching set up though

[Yak]

I think that’s the point flourbasher even when we get someone with potential we seem to ruin it tbh.

We don’t develop players or improve them.

[PeteWaller]

Said it time and time again. We need the Academy for a sustainable future. It needs big sums to do it properly but nothing compared to waste of wages spent on players in our recent past.
But it needs to be an academy which should be the envy of L1. Nutrition. Sports Science people as well as physios and the like. Video rooms for teaching technique and playing pitches inside as well as out for all year training in warm conditions. Multiple machines for stamina building, core development, cardio.

Until we can see our way to doing this then L1 it will be. On top of that, we might like to set up a network of scouts (us fans) who may watch local football. They could observe regularly and when they themselves feel confident, make a recommendation to a Scouting Committee who would then follow it up. If they are happy, the next stage would involve the club manager etc. Costs minimal. Football fans I’m sure would recognise talent. Put enough in the net and let the club funnel the talent out and develop it.

From what I understand, old fashioned scouting had its day years ago. Bring it back, what would the club lose? Plenty of local talent missed by the big clubs that would be suitable for us. Miss out the really young ones and concentrate on those about 15 or 16. Put them through the high tech academy full of different types of coaches and develop them into saleable assets for the club. In the meantime have a string of good quality young players coming through who have the clubs interests at heart as well as their own. Team spirit in a set up like this would be immense.

Sponsor that TS !

Good post Pocket. Good to see you back again.

[mellowmiller]

I don't think it's feasible to develop players from youngsters because there are clubs who are already a lot better and more established at it than us.
Our best bet is to pick up younger players of say 19-20 yrs who have been discarded by other clubs and give them a chance to blossom.
They might be really good players but don't fit the ambitions of the club who let them go.
We would need a really good coaching set up though

I agree with this, there are plenty of young players out there who are just looking for an opportunity to prove themselves.
In my opinion our academy set up is way off the pace anyway and we will be lucky to bring any youngsters through who will make the grade.
My grandson was taken into the Rotherham youth development set up while his best mate went to Barnsley. I have watched several training sessions at each club and the difference is like chalk and cheese.
The Rotherham sessions are predictable, repetitive and boring whereas the Barnsley sessions are much more innovative and enjoyable.
The Barnsley set up is light years ahead of ours and their success in bringing young players through will continue to be way ahead of ours unless our club is prepared to invest in a more professional organisation.
I think that is unlikely to happen but, in any case, it would probably be preferable to go for a more focused approach by those responsible for recruitment with the aim of unearthing a few young rough diamonds who just need a bit of polishing.
Other clubs, Peterborough for example, do this very successfully so it is obviously a realistic strategy and one that we should invest in.

[Pocket rocket]

Said it time and time again. We need the Academy for a sustainable future. It needs big sums to do it properly but nothing compared to waste of wages spent on players in our recent past.
But it needs to be an academy which should be the envy of L1. Nutrition. Sports Science people as well as physios and the like. Video rooms for teaching technique and playing pitches inside as well as out for all year training in warm conditions. Multiple machines for stamina building, core development, cardio.

Until we can see our way to doing this then L1 it will be. On top of that, we might like to set up a network of scouts (us fans) who may watch local football. They could observe regularly and when they themselves feel confident, make a recommendation to a Scouting Committee who would then follow it up. If they are happy, the next stage would involve the club manager etc. Costs minimal. Football fans I’m sure would recognise talent. Put enough in the net and let the club funnel the talent out and develop it.

From what I understand, old fashioned scouting had its day years ago. Bring it back, what would the club lose? Plenty of local talent missed by the big clubs that would be suitable for us. Miss out the really young ones and concentrate on those about 15 or 16. Put them through the high tech academy full of different types of coaches and develop them into saleable assets for the club. In the meantime have a string of good quality young players coming through who have the clubs interests at heart as well as their own. Team spirit in a set up like this would be immense.

Sponsor that TS !

Good post Pocket. Good to see you back again.

Cheers Pete pal hope you and the family are keeping well ?

Cracking post mate.

Bloody hard work at time following the millers.