Quote Originally Posted by freemuzzy View Post
I think most of these categorisations are fair - though as someone else stated Gordon is a recent promotion winner from this league so his assessment may be a bit harsh. He?s rarely been played in his actual position and when he has is told to stop putting crosses in for our giant striker, and instead recycle possession and bore them into submission. Also think Martin was a worthwhile punt on a short term deal who had some good moments in the end.

The broader issue in my view is which player has the manager improved in his year here? Who has he taken from a relatively low starting point and integrated into the team.

The model - which has generally worked very well - has never relied on readymade players; Langstaff and Rodrigues weren?t readymade players. Would they have been considered poor signings/recruitment under a more limited Head Coach? Rodrigues struggled under Ardley and Langstaff had had one strong season at the level below, but was anything but a proven striker. My guess he?d have been back at Gateshead within six months had Maynard been our Head Coach at the time.

Having played in the L1 playoffs last season, Grant looked like an exciting signing but has largely been disappointing. Similar (so far) with Jarvis. The Recruitment is not black and white - it is only as good as the Head Coach being able to make it work.
I think they are valid questions. There are question marks over roles and positions. Josh Martin was generally poor as a wing back or wide player but was great for one game through the middle and with his pace gave us a real game changing outlet. He was sent back to the wing and then let go.

Jarvis is not as fast but could be similar. Playing wide for Notts County seems to be quite a hard job as you get the ball after it has been slowly worked wide and you are most probably working with the touchline right behind you and double marking in front of you.