Proper debate time. Are our recruitment team good, bad or hopeless?

[Altobelli]

IMO I think its the fault of 3 different factors.

(1) Sean Dyche I would think targets the players he wants, players which have to have (1) PL experience, (2)players who don't upset the dressing room, (3) one's that most have to have a defensive mind whether attacker or midfielder, those 3 ingredients to me narrow down the possibilities of many; I have said before he's supposed to be a Manager, so why is he not able to Manage ? He also seems to stifle players ability with over burdening them with defensive duties, he did it with Boyd, he does it with Iceman, Brady and Lennon, its too much.

(2) Recruitment team seem very Amateurish, we should be targeting the one's we want long before a window opens, and offering as a few have already said, nearer to the sellers valuation, we seem to alienate other Clubs with our pound shop offerings.

(3) Mike Garlick needs to unload some of our banked money, not throw the sink at it but at least give the recruitment team better ammunition, its gone on for to many windows now and the next window will always be more costly than the one before, so we are not just playing catch up every time, but 2/3 and 4 steps behind every time, it will inevitably catch up with us, and the way the first 7 games have gone, it already has.

[sinkov]

We can all surmise about the various dealings, however, none of us really know the ins and outs of getting any transfer over the line. It is like every other job in that, everyone who does not do the job and has never been asked to do the job can always do it better than those who are actually doing it.
If I knew all the facts in all these cases I would express my honest view, however, I don't know even one hundredth of what has happened in these deals, apart from reading what the media guess at, and that is what they do, therefore, I honestly don't know whether the recruitment team are good, bad or indifferent.
If they worked for me I definitely would know the ins and outs.

I don't think we need to know how they operate Sub, all we need to do is look at the end result, numerous players the manager has identified aren't signed, even after lengthy and protracted negotiations. They seem unable to ascertain whether a deal will be possible or not, surely a pre-requisite for any negotiators. The number of players we have pursued for months on end is evidence of this, Dawson, Lansbury, Jay, Stephens, are just four we know about, months spent pursuing them and failing to sign them, instead of walking away and going for other targets. They are clearly incapable of reading their opposite numbers, who are quite happy to play them for the fools they are, to the detriment of BFC, and the frustration of the manager.

[blueheeler1]

IMO I think its the fault of 3 different factors.

(1) Sean Dyche I would think targets the players he wants, players which have to have (1) PL experience, (2)players who don't upset the dressing room, (3) one's that most have to have a defensive mind whether attacker or midfielder, those 3 ingredients to me narrow down the possibilities of many; I have said before he's supposed to be a Manager, so why is he not able to Manage ? He also seems to stifle players ability with over burdening them with defensive duties, he did it with Boyd, he does it with Iceman, Brady and Lennon, its too much.

(2) Recruitment team seem very Amateurish, we should be targeting the one's we want long before a window opens, and offering as a few have already said, nearer to the sellers valuation, we seem to alienate other Clubs with our pound shop offerings.

(3) Mike Garlick needs to unload some of our banked money, not throw the sink at it but at least give the recruitment team better ammunition, its gone on for to many windows now and the next window will always be more costly than the one before, so we are not just playing catch up every time, but 2/3 and 4 steps behind every time, it will inevitably catch up with us, and the way the first 7 games have gone, it already has.

I couldn't agree more with your item 2 Alto.

Surely the sensible way has to be to bring new players in early; get them up to speed with tactics, fitness and the dressing room.

Take them away for pre-season games and have them ready for the first league game of the season.

How can you possibly make up for this when players come in very late or even worse, in the January window?

However, when they don't come in at all ------

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Dyche and the recruitment team have signed the following players specifically for first team duty during his current tenure:

Tom Heaton,
Nick Pope,
Joe Hart,
Adam Legzdins,
Anders Lindegaard,
Matthew Lowton,
Phil Bardsley,
Stephen Ward,
James Tarkowski,
Ben Gibson,
Michael Keane,
Charlie Taylor,
Ashley Westwood,
Steven Defour,
Robbie Brady,
Jeff Hendrick,
Ashley Barnes,
J B Gudmundsson,
Andre Gray,
Aaron Lennon,
Jon Walters,
Nakhi Wells,
Chris Wood,
Matej Vydra.

Apologies to any player I might have missed, but looking at this list it hardly looks to me that our recruitment team are sitting on their arses, nor does it appear that Garlick is unwilling to spend a bob or two!

[Supersub6]

I don't think we need to know how they operate Sub, all we need to do is look at the end result, numerous players the manager has identified aren't signed, even after lengthy and protracted negotiations. They seem unable to ascertain whether a deal will be possible or not, surely a pre-requisite for any negotiators. The number of players we have pursued for months on end is evidence of this, Dawson, Lansbury, Jay, Stephens, are just four we know about, months spent pursuing them and failing to sign them, instead of walking away and going for other targets. They are clearly incapable of reading their opposite numbers, who are quite happy to play them for the fools they are, to the detriment of BFC, and the frustration of the manager.

Much like the Brexit negotiations then sinkov. I wonder if the goalposts keep getting moved? We do not know because we do not have the inner knowledge of exactly what had happened in negotiations and why things broke down.
As I said, we can only surmise what happens but none of us knows the facts. Having been involved many years ago at a much lower level, nothing ever surprises me and there was very little involvement with agents in those days.

[sinkov]

Very much like the Brexit negotiations Sub, they're a shambles as well, lots of people negotiating who clearly have no idea how to achieve what they want.

[sinkov]

We bid £25m for two so assuming that was £15m for Jay and £10m for Dawson, I don’t think they are ludicrously low at all, just a reasonable starter assuming they wanted rid.

You may not think they are ludicrously low OC, but WBA clearly did, and unfortunately it was WBA we were dealing with, not your good self. Which is why we have now failed in two attempts to sign Dawson and one to sign Jay. Three failures, failure being the significant word. It's not that we lost interest in these players, it's not that we were far away in the transfer fees or wages, it's not that the players didn't want to sign for us, it's not that WBA won't transfer their players, other clubs have signed players from them this summer. Whatever the reason, our transfer team simply failed to bring in the players the manager wanted, they failed to get the job done.

[ClaretinBudapest]

You may not think they are ludicrously low OC, but WBA clearly did, and unfortunately it was WBA we were dealing with, not your good self. Which is why we have now failed in two attempts to sign Dawson and one to sign Jay. Three failures, failure being the significant word. It's not that we lost interest in these players, it's not that we were far away in the transfer fees or wages, it's not that the players didn't want to sign for us, it's not that WBA won't transfer their players, other clubs have signed players from them this summer. Whatever the reason, our transfer team simply failed to bring in the players the manager wanted, they failed to get the job done.

Well said Sinkov.Not rocket science is it.I wnat something-I go to the seller,make him a DECENT offer and tell him I want an answer within 48 hours.Then agree the fee,sign or move on.

[sinkov]

Dyche and the recruitment team have signed the following players specifically for first team duty during his current tenure:

Tom Heaton,
Nick Pope,
Joe Hart,
Adam Legzdins,
Anders Lindegaard,
Matthew Lowton,
Phil Bardsley,
Stephen Ward,
James Tarkowski,
Ben Gibson,
Michael Keane,
Charlie Taylor,
Ashley Westwood,
Steven Defour,
Robbie Brady,
Jeff Hendrick,
Ashley Barnes,
J B Gudmundsson,
Andre Gray,
Aaron Lennon,
Jon Walters,
Nakhi Wells,
Chris Wood,
Matej Vydra.

Apologies to any player I might have missed, but looking at this list it hardly looks to me that our recruitment team are sitting on their arses, nor does it appear that Garlick is unwilling to spend a bob or two!

The accusation BT, is not that our recruitment team are bone idle and sitting on their arses, it's that they are incompetent, not fit for purpose even. It might appear impressive that list, but look at it in more detail,


Boyd, Hendrick, Gibson, Vydra, Wells, Keane, all signed at the last minute, on Deadline Day. Keane in particular, a last minute panic loan signing because we'd spent all summer in a futile attempt to sign Dawson.

Gray, Barton, Defour, Wood all signed in August after the season had started.

Tarko, Brady, Westwood, all signed on the last day of the January window, Lennon signed just a week before the end.


You have to feel for Dyche, he might get the players he wants, he might not, if he does it will likely be at the last minute. It's no way to run a football club.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I am simply not buying into the last minute desperation signings argument.

SKYSPORTS have a commentator or reporter at every Premier League ground at the very last minute of every deadline day. Jim White literally wets himself with excitement as the fax machine goes berserk. Every club does this last minute malarkey and we certainly are not alone.

The lack of information, appallingly bad PR and what I consider to be no concern for the true fans like us who avidly watch developments, really frosts my arse.

If we can't afford Rodriguez and his like, the club just fcuking say so!