I used to post back on this board many years ago but have subsequently dropped away from this site due to many reasons, not alone the poor running of the site itself. Being the only miller in the family and my immediate group of friends however there has been nowhere to discuss this topic and of course the local football heaven is just too short, too "balance critical" and frequented by too many idiots from all sides to justify spending any time or effort on. I have long lurked here though and there has recently been some good debate, so I thought id re-register and join the post-mortem.

Here then are my musings that sum up, for me, where it went wrong and how badly things probably are or arent looking behind closed doors.



1) Poor budgeting and financial execution.

In the immediate aftermath of our play off thriller, (Still on the pitch) Steve Evans stated that he believed the budget would have to go up and the conversation with TS had been had. This clearly was not the case and, whichever way its buttered, is the main stand out reason for the clubs current state.

That is NOT to say that this budget isnt TS funding the club, or backing the club. Far from it, we are still running at an operational loss which TS, I believe, has covered. Still his ability to to do this at Championship level isn't as effective as in L1 or L2 and the clubs commercial prospects have not grown off the field. The empty retail units, poor organisation on a match day and the club shop isn't exactly a money spinner. When TS arrived at the club he made much talk of bringing in new revenue streams to solidify the financial base of the club in a path towards sustainability. Clearly that has not happened. Couple this with terrible transfers, fee's paid on sick players, hiring then sacking within days etc. has all taken a bite out of the money we did have.

TS has spent the money, in his mind, to keep us up. What he gave probably could have done the trick back in 2012, but not now. I cant blame him for not wanting to stick more in, but he has been a big part of the issue.


2) Poor transfer management.

The immediate breakup of that 2014 winning squad by Evans was in order to ensure his authority. He said as much in an interview with Radio Sheffield whilst speaking about his future at the club. It was during an interview, if I recall correctly that he said he had spoken with Neil Warnock about signings and the "Cant have too many strikers" line that still sticks in my teeth today. This was, as time would tell, a huge mistake. And yes as much as Neil helped us stay up, I wouldnt take signing advice from the man who thought that Dani Cadamarteri, Ade Akinbiyi and Luke Beckett were going to be major players in the Championship.

(Believe this or believe it not) I spoke directly with one of the players (named later on) who I came to know a little bit as we he was living in the same development as me in Sheffield. He told me that they could not believe that hours before the parade through town several of them were told that subsequent contract offers would have to wait until the new season had begun and that several players, popular lads, would be leaving. Effin joke was his words. Looking back, this is probably why some players didnt seem all that happy to be there at the parade.

The squad that had showed so much heart, resilience and ability to drag themselves back into contention from bad positions all season was broken up too soon. A squad that had the exact qualities a club needs when you cant buy the best players in the league and you're up against it for results. I believe the breakup of the 2014 squad was the biggest mistake the club has made since entertaining Millers05.

Add into that recruiting (again) over the initial summer window post Wembley a poor squad with the exception of Broadfoot and Smallwood coming on permanently, possibly Derbyshire too. With the exception of Lee Camp and possibly both Wards, everyone signed beyond that initial pre-season has been a step backwards. This has over time weakened the squad to its present state with Alan Stubbs' signings being horrendous. We will NEVER know if the signings he made were the ones he wanted or what he could just about afford but eitherway it went wrong and he has to take some of the blame.

Part of the problem has been a poor scouting network and poorly executed targeting of players compounded even more so by the lack of a head of recruitment. Still, even when we had Gee Evans, who was the last player we found that didnt have a stand out CV of being a player where we knew what we were getting? Exactly! It hasn't happened since probably Agard or Reuben Reid - everyone else has come with the reputation in advance. Indeed I cant think of anyone other than Pringle or Arnason that's still at this level.


3) Inability to keep better players the club have developed.

To me the signs of a long struggle were there before we'd kicked a ball in the Championship.... selling Agard was the first. His sale was a shock and I think many of us at this point were perhaps starting to see the future. He was never replaced. In Fact, we were willing to pay more for the likes of Stevie May and co then Agard was actually sold for, a proven goalscorer at a lower level. Exactly the sort of player a championship side on a budget would go for.

You can then look at Ben Pringle who was messed around with his contract, the inability to sign James Tavernier and the subsequent sale of Arnasson - who would run rings round any defender we have now (albeit it at a slow pace ;-) ). All of those players wanted to stay, deserved to be paid a Championship wage and were at a higher level than players we have now. The only time I liked Redfearn is when he said this, about a week before getting the sack. Makes you think eh?

If the club couldn't keep our own players who didn't need a transfer fee then something is up. Its worth remembering this more than anything else we've done when discussing the recruitment policy has dragged us down in my eyes. Infact, id say its evidence of a lack of willingness from the board to give these guys there dew. "This team is not weaker than the team we had last season". Evans was forced into saying that more than once in both of his seasons in the Championship, in reality we did go backwards year on year. This was down to poor retention more than poor recruitment.

I actually believe this is the reason Evans left, following a heated discussion.


4) Lack of cohesion and consistency at the higher echelons of power

Its clear from the staff changes under Redfearn for example how badly run the club is on a contractual basis. Offering a position of a first team coach picked by a guy you instantly sack is hilarious and shows utter detachment between people making key decisions. I'm not sure how given everyone on the board is pretty much an employee of ASD and they've worked together for years. You don't need football knowledge to get this right. This has happened on more than one occasion and most recently with a head of recruitment.

Things have been worse though on actual footballing contracts. Ive already discussed the players we've had and been forced to let go, but beyond this there has been another series of errors. Signings such as Blackstock (3 years for someone who should be retiring by the looks of it), fielding of ineligible players which could have relegated us, inability to sign plays such as May, Tavernier, Bradshaw, Armstrong and others indicate the money is lacking or the art of negotiating is being done poorly. I suspect its both - "look at our new stadium" wont work in the Championship like it did in League Two.

When you couple this with appointments contradicting the publically given brief, appointing managers who dont fit ambition statements to the fans, make remarks about Harrods when clearly we are on a lidl (see what I did there) and do not follow up on promised projects then you look, rightly, ineffective.

This links into the commercial side of the club too and points raised in my initial statement on the budget. There has been money squandered through this, too much of it too and that's before going onto the managerial merry-go-round.

The club has not made progress on the training facilities or the ground since it opened. Retail has not been expanded. (It doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out a pub near the away end with a sensible drinks policy and selection of local ale would do well on a match day, possibly food during the week). An onsite gym with discounts for season ticket holders, anything really. Even something, if not making money but not losing droves would lift the impression of the club and might drive further investment from outside the current revenue streams.