A house without plans

[Jules88]

What we haven't seen from Hecky is how he performs as a manager in a bad run When you take the accolades when things are going well you should stand on the Town Hall steps and and look out at thousands and think, "This is going to end.....these are good players, some with great potential" you should also think "These players are moving on, I need to have a plan to do the same."

The plan at Barnsley was to buy young, and develop and sell on, then "repeat"

Hecky knew the plan, and was prepared to take the job.

The "Repeat" bit is something that everyone but the owner has forgotten.
We were ecstatic when the plan worked, we got success, and two trips to Wembley and a promotion. "hurray, the plan works !!!! "

Of course, the players gave that magnificent season had developed under the plan and wanted move on ( as was the plan......a plan we all signed up to......)

Now the "repeat" bit
Nooooooooooo !!!!!

everyone but the owner now wants to change the plan.

The team in Blue and White down the road had a similar plan, Their second season back in the Championshp after we went down they could have gone down on the last day.
Non of their players were Championship names, players or standard last season. The highest priced signing ( only one )was £1.5 million. Rest were young loanees young foreigners unproven and unknowns. Their million pound man Wells played poor, few games and scored 8
They went up courtesy of two penalty shoot outs and a minus goal difference.
They put a team together and played a plan. Their manager had complete belief in his plan and never once came out and moaned after a poor result that he hadn't the rescources.
I Remember they spent very little on signings and loaned well.
I despise that team, you all know, but they had a plan. Didn't change it when they were at the bottom, and playing badly at first and the following season it came good.

Go out and buy some championship 30 year olds? No.
Remember the plan. Stick with it. If we go down, then we go down.

"Repeat" starts again.

Build a house cheap without plans...... it collapses. Changing the plans of a house costs money... so build a house to the plan you can afford.

[animallittle3]

What many people aren't acknowledging is the fact that previously the gems were put together over a two year period and a division lower .

The plan expects the manager to sign 12 or 13 new players in one summer window who are untested at this level and some of whom haven't made a single league appearance a league higher and just simply carry on picking up championship points .

Every plan needs to be revisited and looked at in depth to see if it's still fit for purpose .

If the plan is all about enabling the club to operate in good financial health then it's a good one .

If the plan is also to compete effectively in the championship then it needs tweeking and certain parameters lifted .

[DOOALI]

Couldn't put it on better myself animal spot on

[animallittle3]

Couldn't put it on better myself animal spot on

At the end of the day dooali , the club needs to determine what it wants to be .

A club in good financial health prepared to drop down into league one and risk not getting back up to the championship .

Or

Be prepared to down grade the sustainability model and chance their arm a little in the hope of remaining at this level .

[lk311]

You make a fair point Animal and looking at your comment here, the business man in me says go with the first option, but the fan in me says go with the second.

[renno]

I might be corrected on this but the players we recruited in league 1 at the time weren't tried and tested at that level - they were all lower leagues. Hourihane, winnall, mawson, scowen (league 2), Roberts, yiadom (conference). So what's to say what we're signing now won't conduct good in 2 years' time?

[animallittle3]

I might be corrected on this but the players we recruited in league 1 at the time weren't tried and tested at that level - they were all lower leagues. Hourihane, winnall, mawson, scowen (league 2), Roberts, yiadom (conference). So what's to say what we're signing now won't conduct good in 2 years' time?

Two years time isn't an option that's open to us in the championship .

Completely different gravy building a team from scratch at our current level , you can manage a transition far easier in league one when you are BFC because we have a competitive budget and brand at that level .

[renno]

That's a fair point but it's all ifs and buts at the minute. We have to give the new players time. For me theirs potentially 3 or 4 teams that will struggle (burton, millwall, Bolton, qpr). There's always a surprise relegation candidate that emerges. I think we have to be patient. Mawson and Roberts were pants in their first half a dozen games or so for us and to listen to some folk you'd think we'd been watching Baresi at centre back.
I personally would like to see a bit of experience in there.

[Romared]

Some experience has been needed for a while Renno , i think most would agree with that

[pass_and_move]

What we haven't seen from Hecky is how he performs as a manager in a bad run When you take the accolades when things are going well you should stand on the Town Hall steps and and look out at thousands and think, "This is going to end.....these are good players, some with great potential" you should also think "These players are moving on, I need to have a plan to do the same."

The plan at Barnsley was to buy young, and develop and sell on, then "repeat"

Hecky knew the plan, and was prepared to take the job.

The "Repeat" bit is something that everyone but the owner has forgotten.
We were ecstatic when the plan worked, we got success, and two trips to Wembley and a promotion. "hurray, the plan works !!!! "

Of course, the players gave that magnificent season had developed under the plan and wanted move on ( as was the plan......a plan we all signed up to......)

Now the "repeat" bit
Nooooooooooo !!!!!

everyone but the owner now wants to change the plan.

The team in Blue and White down the road had a similar plan, Their second season back in the Championshp after we went down they could have gone down on the last day.
Non of their players were Championship names, players or standard last season. The highest priced signing ( only one )was £1.5 million. Rest were young loanees young foreigners unproven and unknowns. Their million pound man Wells played poor, few games and scored 8
They went up courtesy of two penalty shoot outs and a minus goal difference.
They put a team together and played a plan. Their manager had complete belief in his plan and never once came out and moaned after a poor result that he hadn't the rescources.
I Remember they spent very little on signings and loaned well.
I despise that team, you all know, but they had a plan. Didn't change it when they were at the bottom, and playing badly at first and the following season it came good.

Go out and buy some championship 30 year olds? No.
Remember the plan. Stick with it. If we go down, then we go down.

"Repeat" starts again.

Build a house cheap without plans...... it collapses. Changing the plans of a house costs money... so build a house to the plan you can afford.


I totally agree Jules. On our current wage policy it wouldn't be a disaster being relegated. It would hurt us as supporters obviously but the fact is that football and the money involved at this level has meant we've been totally left behind. I've learned to accept that. It doesn't mean I'm a defeatist.


Of course we can defy the odds. The optimism in me burns bright. We're BFC, we defy the odds regularly, It's what we do

[Jules88]

I'd like to give Hecky, and these lads 10 games before I say that we are stuffed. The lads we've signed haven't been forced on him... it's his job now to make them work. Have we suddenly signed 8 people who can't tackle....? I refuse to happy clap, but I also refuse to condemn our bluddy season before it's started

[Nozzer1953]

Hecky has staed that it was agreed that we needed to bring in 12 players. We brought in 1o players last summer.
Kpekawa, Kayden Jackson, Elliot Lee, Shaun Tuton, Stephan Payne, Adam Jackson, Tom Bradshaw, George Moncur, Andy Yiadom, Mcdonald. How many have been a success, and will be with us this season? I think Yiadom has, but will not be with us. Mcdonald has, but the jury is still out on Adam Jackson, Bradshaw and Moncur.
We signed Mowatt and Hedges in January, again the jury is out.
So far this summer we have signed 7 players, and another 2 on loan. As of Saturday night, 3 were injured, Lindsey, Isgrove and McGheenan (who has yet to kick a ball).
It is a big ask to bring in 12 players and expect them to gel and click straight away. As Animal has pointed out in a previous post, we don't have the time in the Championship for them to develop (like Roberts, Hourihane and others did in League One). Would we have been better bringing in 4 or 5 better quality players (with more experience) rather than aiming for quantity? It is a difficult one, Could we afford the fees and wages? The club is between a rock and a hard place given the amount of money being spent in the Championship, which makes the financial fair play a joke. I don't know what the answer is, but I know we need a lot of luck anf few or no injuries to survive in the Championship, as it is a thin line between success and failure. It would be great if one or two of the kids from the U23/U18 came through this season and were our saviours. We can but hope