Back to the thread title.

Good piece written by Lee Curtis....................

"Elisha Sam and Ruben Rodrigues were used sparingly by Neal Ardley in the weeks leading up to his dismissal

amid concern as to whether they possessed the characteristics required for the National League.

The duo must have hoped that a change in manager would have given them a fresh start, but head coach Ian

Burchnall left them out of the squad altogether at the weekend.

That’s now two managers who are yet to be convinced they are up to the standard required after they were

identified by the club’s recruitment model in the belief they could have a major impact this season.

In fairness, Sam and Rodrigues are not the only players who have been signed on the back of using statistics

and video footage, but it has raised question marks over the quality of the club’s recruitment once again.

The harsh truth is there have not been many transfer success stories this season and key players who left

the club have simply not been replaced by like for like quality in what was a huge mistake.

Instead, there has been a gradual shift by the club to sign young players who are considered “projects” such

as Lewis Knight, Jordan Barnett and Jimmy Knowles but they proved to be raw and unpredictable.

That has been reflected by the inconsistency of their performances which has undoubtedly been one of Notts’

biggest problems throughout the course of the campaign.

One would hope that Richard Montague, the analyst and director who oversees the recruitment, will learn

where the club has gone wrong this season given he plays such a key role.

Nobody can ever dispute the owners’ financial commitment to Notts, but for all money invested in the squad

since last summer, they have had little bang for their buck".