Richard Montague

[TSANHO]

That was one of my first thoughts on hearing the disappointing news. Not even worthy of comment was the exact scoff from the host.

I suspect 95% of fans can see Montague at Notts has worked regardless of how great or little his input into the system. He?s part of the machine that has seen our overall recruitment improve big time. I think he can pick a player so I would not want him leave. If he does I hope a symbiotic relationship be formed with Swansea and RM keeps in touch moving forward as we could benefit from that

It may just be my initial feeling talking but I hope they cut all ties with him. Under no circumstances would I want another club benefiting from Football Radar, I mean, how much would that benefit Notts in the greater scheme of things?

Some posters on this board always berated RM for some bizarre reason, I hope they?re happy now. I imagine the owners must be a little shocked by this as well considering his ties with the club and FR for such a long time.

I feel more dismayed about this than any other departure for some reason.

[TSANHO]

By no means is this a barb at the club or owners but a genuine question. Are we as a club not financially able or financially willing to keep someone as important as RM?.or is just simply out of the owners hands if he wants to leave?

[marky]

By no means is this a barb at the club or owners but a genuine question. Are we as a club not financially able or financially willing to keep someone as important as RM?.or is just simply out of the owners hands if he wants to leave?

What level do Notts County need to get to before we can keep people that are important, obviously we couldn't do it in non league and we don't appear to be able to do it in this league so if we're in League One next year, will that mean we can keep people we want to keep?

[countygump]

What level do Notts County need to get to before we can keep people that are important, obviously we couldn't do it in non league and we don't appear to be able to do it in this league so if we're in League One next year, will that mean we can keep people we want to keep?

I would imagine it never stops. Even if you're a Prem league team, some club higher up the pyramid will poach your best players and staff. There's nearly always a bigger boy!

[legs77]

What level do Notts County need to get to before we can keep people that are important, obviously we couldn't do it in non league and we don't appear to be able to do it in this league so if we're in League One next year, will that mean we can keep people we want to keep?

You?re never safe if a bigger club or put another way someone offers you a better package knocks in your door.

Blackburn lost their manager to Derby then you have Potter being snapped up from Brighton by Chelsea, Grealish leaving his boyhood club for Man City the list goes on this is nothing new at all.

As I?ve said several times in the last few months you can?t stop people from bettering their career or getting a much higher salary for doing the same job it?s human nature.

You could be old school and loyal like Warnock who turned down Chelsea and guess what his reward was not long after ? Yes you guessed it the sack.

[jackal2]

You're never safe if a bigger club or put another way someone offers you a better package knocks on your door.

And the owners know that and cater for it. Whether it's a player or a backroom staff member they will have a figure in mind in terms of how much they will pay to retain an employee and deter the vultures, but if the bidding goes above that figure and the employee wants to go (e.g. like Crowley did), there's no point risking the financial stability of the club to retain someone whose heart might lie elsewhere anyway.

Richard Montague may have been the public-facing front man for the recruitment operation, and I don't doubt the importance of his contribution individually, but it has been made clear all along that recruitment is done by a team and a system underpinned by the Football Radar operation, precisely so we don't become dependent on any one component. As one door closes another opens, and Montague's departure presents an opportunity for someone else to show their ability, still working within the same overall structure.

I suspect that Swansea may be putting too much store in the idea that particular individuals who have done well elsewhere can be the solution to their problems. If they haven't got a structure in place, and if they expect instant results from their new recruits, they could be in for a shock. Our progress as a club has come from five years of constructing solid foundations, more slowly than some would like, with plenty of setbacks along the way, but the overall trajectory has been very gradually upwards. I don't think Richard Montague's departure will be allowed to change that.

To borrow the old 'Indispensable Man' phrase: if you want to know how much you will be missed in an organisation, put your hand in a bucket of water, then remove it, and see how long the ripples last.

[TSANHO]

What level do Notts County need to get to before we can keep people that are important, obviously we couldn't do it in non league and we don't appear to be able to do it in this league so if we're in League One next year, will that mean we can keep people we want to keep?

I was thinking the same thing. Everyone who comes to Notts always speaks of their experience so glowingly, even people like Neal Ardley who was sacked, who then wrote a lively letter to the fans.

IB, LW, ML, RR, NA, SM?.and who can remember who else, all loved being at the club, but at the first chance of leaving they packed their bags and left.

Is it just as simple as wanting to progress their careers in a higher league or do they genuinely think that Notts won?t or can?t go much higher? And if so, why? For their part the owners never seem too non-plussed about any departures, like ?if they don?t want to be part of it, that?s ok?.next!? So that is encouraging.

I guess it is just in our nature now to worry that everything is just going to crumble down around us after everything the club and its fans have been through for so long.

[BigFatPie]

I was thinking the same thing. Everyone who comes to Notts always speaks of their experience so glowingly, even people like Neal Ardley who was sacked, who then wrote a lively letter to the fans.

IB, LW, ML, RR, NA, SM?.and who can remember who else, all loved being at the club, but at the first chance of leaving they packed their bags and left.

Is it just as simple as wanting to progress their careers in a higher league or do they genuinely think that Notts won?t or can?t go much higher? And if so, why? For their part the owners never seem too non-plussed about any departures, like ?if they don?t want to be part of it, that?s ok?.next!? So that is encouraging.

I guess it is just in our nature now to worry that everything is just going to crumble down around us after everything the club and its fans have been through for so long.

It is a bit of a pisser that we lose key people at the drop of a phone call, especially when you see that someone like Stockport have somehow managed to keep hold of Challinor.

The optimistic side of me thinks we could afford to pay silly money to keep hold of them but choose not to in the name of sustainability. And also the owners have confidence in themselves to get someone better.

My goodwill to Luke Williams has definitely run out he will be gutted to hear.

[slack_pie]

It is a bit of a pisser that we lose key people at the drop of a phone call, especially when you see that someone like Stockport have somehow managed to keep hold of Challinor.

The optimistic side of me thinks we could afford to pay silly money to keep hold of them but choose not to in the name of sustainability. And also the owners have confidence in themselves to get someone better.

My goodwill to Luke Williams has definitely run out he will be gutted to hear.

Yeah, I know. The clubs we are competing with don't seem to have their best players and coaching staff nabbed repeatedly. But as we've said before, this is the strategy in action. And the fact we have so much interest in our personnel is because we have something special going on here.

I do think there comes a point when offering a star player/coach more money makes more sense than letting them go though. Say we get promoted this season and Jatta gets 20+ goals, I'd rather we offered him a big new deal than look to sell for a big profit. But then it's not my money.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Yeah, I know. The clubs we are competing with don't seem to have their best players and coaching staff nabbed repeatedly. But as we've said before, this is the strategy in action. And the fact we have so much interest in our personnel is because we have something special going on here.

I do think there comes a point when offering a star player/coach more money makes more sense than letting them go though. Say we get promoted this season and Jatta gets 20+ goals, I'd rather we offered him a big new deal than look to sell for a big profit. But then it's not my money.

The key fundamental is the club bring in people whether that be players, coaches, or back room staff who seem to be on their way up in their careers or are up and coming, ambitious and want to progress and develop. The club gives them a platform and the environment to be successful as has been proven over the past six years under the Reedz brothers. It doesn?t bother me that we may be a stepping stone to them reaching their peak because the club has it right in that it keeps moving forwards and going up at the same time.

I?d sooner the club operate in this way than in the twenty years previously where players, coaches, managers and back room staff came into the club who had done it elsewhere and had their most success elsewhere and were over their peak and on the way down in their careers. Or there would be those people came in who never were going to be.

Of course there have been exceptions in both scenarios but it?s the overall philosophy change that took the club off life support and brought it back from the brink.

The one constant in football is the fans. Players, coaches, back room staff and even owners come and go regardless of whether they are successful or not. I?d sooner people be leaving because they have been successful here than not.