Koala Green wrote: I find it incredibly frustrating that despite the club doing well this forum can at times have such a negative focus, with some well documented perpetual naysayers. I find it baffling and a total disservice to the quiet majority that visit this site every day and put up with the negative carp being spouted.
Lets look at the facts - and I suggest on the squad development, you should all watch Neil Dewsnip's interview as he clearly states how loans are being used to strengthen the squad, talks about the development of youngster. https://www.pafc.co.uk/news/2020/octobe ... interview/
Lets look at facts on squad development and recruitment
Competition for places - Lowe wants, like most managers, 2 people fighting for each position, it creates competition and strength in depth. He now has that and it allows him to have quality options from the bench.
Fixture congestion - This season is also unique and it is going to be condensed with many games coming thick and fast which equals tiredness and injuries.
Covid Impact - On top of this we have Coronavirus rampant, we have already have had 2 players test positive. I'm sure more will test positive at some stage in the season.
Injuries - So lets imagine that 15% of the (22 man) squad is always going to be missing, so 3-4 players through a combination of injuries, illness, suspension will be out every week. So that leaves a match-day squad of 18. This weekend for example we miss Luke/ Macleod/ Sawyer and possibly Hardie.
Youth Development - Lowe has clearly seen that Wilson, Randell, Tomlinson , Pursall and probably Lolos are all still a work in progress hence why they are on loan or have a clear plan. Dewsnip said for example that young Pursall is benefitting from exposure and learning from first team training.
Budgets - On the subject of budgets, it is clear to me that Lowe, Dewsnip, Schuey all talk about this every 2 weeks with Simon Hallett and Andrew Parkinson (see video where Neil refers to this). So they are simply operating within their football budget. Plus as another poster said I'm sure some parent clubs help out on the loan front. Loans are good for us, think where Cooper and Hardie came from last season.
Partnerships - I would say to have the quality of the squad we have, a clear development pathway for young players and the added bonus of having forged strong partnerships with the likes of Newcastle, Fulham and Forest is a big feather in the cap of the club and the football department. Those relationships with "bigger" clubs can only help us in the future and also bridge that gap from the football community we have due to our geographical location.
Strong start and learning - On top of this we are 8th in the league, conceded only 2 goals in the last 3 league games ( !!) , we are getting better, creating chances, playing attractive football, two academy products are delivering at either end of the pitch and as a team we are learning all the time. Ok so we might not be good enough to go up (but who knows?) but I think we are also too good to go down and I think we will have a lot more excitement than dreary times watching Argyle this season.
Argyle professionalism and positive atmosphere - Oh and all the players talk about the great atmosphere at the club (see Nouble, Watts interviews), the no"d1ckhead policy" and Luke also talked about how professional the club is compared to when he was last here (Commentators mentioned this in ifollow last week).
Wouldn't you say the club is doing really well, so why the negativity ? I've seen nearly 40 years of Argyle and this is up there with one of the best periods I have seen and I am personally very proud of how our club is developing. Well done to all concerned with the club ....oh and please don't listen to some of these serial negative naysayers nonsense posts!![]()
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Thank you for writing what I was thinking! We've built a strong squad within the League 1 salary cap and Simon Hallett's playing budget. We have options in every position, COVID and injuries permitting.
I am delighted with all of this, and looking forward to seeing how this continues to translate on the pitch.