This is exactly the sort of content that makes me very happy to pay my subscription money. Really great read.
Interestingly as a National League North fan (Macclesfield) I have had a working theory for a while that we are seeing more young players who I think historically would have got league minutes who instead fall straight through. (James Berry, Kane Drummond etc) I wonder if this could be a contributing factor.
Excellent read! One comment is that the trend seems to have shifted from being able to sell youth straight from League 2 to the top dogs (I.e. Nick Powell), instead clubs have to sell at a lower price point to clubs in between (Pickering from Crewe to Blackburn) and bank on sell on clauses to reap the rewards down the line if they get another move. Adds a level of chance to the investment and throws off the reinvestment cycle.
Cap doffed. The best article I’ve read all season. This does a very good job of explaining the pressures a League Two manager faces. Lee Bell, as Crewe manager, genuinely has an extra one, in that he is expected to play academy kids alongside whatever on pitch expectations he is handed for the season.
Thank you Tim, that makes the extra effort for a piece like this all worth it.
And yes, hard not to come out of this without extra respect for Lee Bell. Not least because, on top of the academy grad first teamers, you also maxed out on loans, which means his group of ‘senior’ players is surely the smallest in the EFL by miles - essentially ten players of which at least three can barely stay fit enough to get on the pitch.
Super interesting thanks Ali, goes in some way to explain what's gone on with Barrow's recruitment in the summer which went a bit weird, lots of injury prone signings albeit those with lots of EFL game time, Tyler Walker and Rhys Healey definitely not worth signing as completely crocked, will have a proper in-depth read through when I'm more awake as I think there's some things which potentially nail what's going on (and some potential groupthink from those in charge of recruitment at clubs potentially).
Thanks for the comment, Fraser! Losing Gotts, Campbell and Spence all on a free - three excellent bits of recruitment success - may have stung and added to that ‘what’s the point?’ feeling.
If the more in depth read leads to more in depth thoughts, either broad or Barrow focused, I’d love to hear them.
Aye, I think losing all of them for nothing was nothing short of a disaster, we should have cashed in on Spence in between first and second season in hindsight, not sure why it didn't happen, I don't think we'll be making the same mistakes with the Stanways and McCanns should they court any interest in the future!
This is exactly the sort of content that makes me very happy to pay my subscription money. Really great read.
Interestingly as a National League North fan (Macclesfield) I have had a working theory for a while that we are seeing more young players who I think historically would have got league minutes who instead fall straight through. (James Berry, Kane Drummond etc) I wonder if this could be a contributing factor.
Excellent read! One comment is that the trend seems to have shifted from being able to sell youth straight from League 2 to the top dogs (I.e. Nick Powell), instead clubs have to sell at a lower price point to clubs in between (Pickering from Crewe to Blackburn) and bank on sell on clauses to reap the rewards down the line if they get another move. Adds a level of chance to the investment and throws off the reinvestment cycle.
Cap doffed. The best article I’ve read all season. This does a very good job of explaining the pressures a League Two manager faces. Lee Bell, as Crewe manager, genuinely has an extra one, in that he is expected to play academy kids alongside whatever on pitch expectations he is handed for the season.
Thank you Tim, that makes the extra effort for a piece like this all worth it.
And yes, hard not to come out of this without extra respect for Lee Bell. Not least because, on top of the academy grad first teamers, you also maxed out on loans, which means his group of ‘senior’ players is surely the smallest in the EFL by miles - essentially ten players of which at least three can barely stay fit enough to get on the pitch.
Super interesting thanks Ali, goes in some way to explain what's gone on with Barrow's recruitment in the summer which went a bit weird, lots of injury prone signings albeit those with lots of EFL game time, Tyler Walker and Rhys Healey definitely not worth signing as completely crocked, will have a proper in-depth read through when I'm more awake as I think there's some things which potentially nail what's going on (and some potential groupthink from those in charge of recruitment at clubs potentially).
Thanks for the comment, Fraser! Losing Gotts, Campbell and Spence all on a free - three excellent bits of recruitment success - may have stung and added to that ‘what’s the point?’ feeling.
If the more in depth read leads to more in depth thoughts, either broad or Barrow focused, I’d love to hear them.
Aye, I think losing all of them for nothing was nothing short of a disaster, we should have cashed in on Spence in between first and second season in hindsight, not sure why it didn't happen, I don't think we'll be making the same mistakes with the Stanways and McCanns should they court any interest in the future!