What is Our Team Building Strategy? | PASOTI
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What is Our Team Building Strategy?

Koala Green

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Mar 17, 2012
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There have recently been threads on Mike Cooper and people suggesting he should be dropped. Also there were questions about Ennis and our recruitment policy. So it got me thinking what exactly is our team building strategy? And I wanted to get a discussion going on how best we balance the investment in emerging talents vs getting results and managing our own expectations as fans. Bear with me, and apologies in advance for the long post! :D

i) Long term thinking
As we know Simon Hallett, is a shrewd investor who places large emphasis on long term planning and building business and the club sustainably. I therefore imagine he is thinking like that for the team too, hence the reason we have Dewsnip in place. Therefore I think if we are realistic, we all know a successful team takes at least 1-2 seasons to become successful. So therefore is our realistic plan for promotion going to take 2-3 seasons before we can truly compete for top place in League One?

1) - This season in League One is all about establishing ourselves in the division,
2) - Season 2, next season is probably to aim to be a solid top half side and maybe push for the playoffs
3) - Season 3, I would expect a 3rd season is when we are ready financially and personnel wise to push for automatic promotion.

ii) Who are we building a team around?
Assuming longterm thinking in mind , what is our team building strategy? Obviously a lot depends on Lowe remaining manager but I think we can put the squad into 3 broad categories:
Category 1- Core players - for now and future who we build a team around
Category 2 - Squad players - L2 standard or good squad players
Category 3 - “Passing through players” - Loans and tactical 1 year deals to give squad depth and quality

Group 1) - Core players?
M Cooper, Aimson, Camara, Grant, G Cooper, Ennis, Randall, Mayor, Jephcott, Edwards and the next batch of youth
Group 2) - “Squad players”?
Moore, Telford, Wotton, Mccormick, Ruddy.
Group 3) “Passing through”?
Reeves, Nouble, Watts, Opoku, Lewis, Fornah, Hardie?, Macleod?

While we may sign the odd loan permanently eg Hardie and I wonder if Macleod is long term? It looks like we have a core basis of the team we can build a squad around over the next couple of years of about 10 players. What is therefore pleasing is seeing Camara, Jephcott and Cooper looking very comfortable against higher league opposition. Cooper looked far better than Ramsdale of Sheff Utd for example. Camara when he is in full flight is one of the more exciting players I've seen in an Argyle shirt for a while. He can definitely play at a higher level. Also it is encouraging to see Ennis being signed as I imagine he could really blossom over the next couple of seasons.

iii) How do we manage our own expectations as fans?
So the question of M Cooper performances and should we drop him I think is counter productive (unless he completely loses the plot) as we need to put faith in these younger emerging players. Let them make mistakes (they are very young after all at 20-22 years old and are learning) , grow and develop. Then once they have 50-100 games under their belts we could see them being the drivers of a promotion push in 2-3 years.

Finally it is also vital then that our loan network is strong as clearly we need 5 high quality players a season to bolster the squad quality. So the signing of Lewis from Liverpool alongside the good relationship with Fulham, Newcastle and Forest is very important to cultivate for our development as a club.

To me it is clear we are a team in development and with that it will mean some high and lows in terms of performance. Therefore how do we manage our expectations and reactions as fans? I hope we as fans can keep being supportive to our players (especially young ones ) and remain patient as the team improves. I think it is clear we still need some more leaders, more strength and experience but that will take a couple of transfer windows to build that.

What is great though is that this last week after 20 odd hours on a coach for the team to play so well vs Sunderland and Sheff Utd away I think is a huge confidence boost and learning curve for them. I am really excited about our prospects as a club these next few years and watching us steadily improve.
 

Tugboat

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Someone’s got a free Sunday to themselves :lol: :lol: :scarf:
 

Koala Green

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Tugboat":3d4xtdlp said:
Someone’s got a free Sunday to themselves :lol: :lol: :scarf:


Haha so true!, 11pm in OZ, family gone to bed, and just looking at highlights of cup game!
 
Apr 1, 2009
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Not a lot to disagree with in the opening post.

Difficult time, however, to have a co-ordinated team building strategy, as so much depends on revenue. There's virtually no possibility of POTD revenue this season, and it's going to be a while before Argyle are going to even start tapping into the non-matchday income that the Grandstand refurbishment was intended to produce. What the club will really fear is trying to sell another season's STs with uncertainty remaining as to whether fans can attend. The longer this goes on, the more Argyle (and most other clubs) will have to concentrate on short term financial survival rather than longer term strategies of any sort.
 
Jan 27, 2012
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I think the strategy is to buy as many strikers and wingers as possible and don't worry about the defence too much.
 
Jun 27, 2019
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I thought it was very interesting what RL said about the signing of Ennis. He seemed to suggest the Board actually requested the signing of another Luke Jephcott type... a youngster with potential who we could improve and potentially make money on.

That points to a deliberate strategy in terms of targeting players because of what they could do for the bottom line as much as what they'll do on the pitch. Seems sensible.
 
Mar 15, 2007
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WoodsyGreen":jx6sh5pr said:
I thought it was very interesting what RL said about the signing of Ennis. He seemed to suggest the Board actually requested the signing of another Luke Jephcott type... a youngster with potential who we could improve and potentially make money on.

That points to a deliberate strategy in terms of targeting players because of what they could do for the bottom line as much as what they'll do on the pitch. Seems sensible.

That's what Peterborough do, and do very successfully, despite being unable to have established themselves in the Championship when the chances arose.

The nature of lower league football is that it is hard to keep a core squad together for more than 2/3 seasons. Good players move up, bad players move down, the rest stick around and do a job until they fall into the other two categories. When you move to the Championship, I think it becomes a bit easier to keep a squad together. The jump is so significant to the PL that good players have to reach a high level before moving up.

If we manage to move Mike Cooper, Luke Jephcott and Pan Camara for nine figures each (and sell-ons), that gives us a chance of building a very, very good squad and it would've cost us nothing to begin with. That's how we should be operating.

My only concern currently is that we spend a lot of time developing youngsters from other clubs, which is not hugely to our benefit beyond the current season. It's necessary to compete, but it's frustrating.
 
Dec 30, 2020
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Nobby":cji6pfj7 said:
WoodsyGreen":cji6pfj7 said:
I thought it was very interesting what RL said about the signing of Ennis. He seemed to suggest the Board actually requested the signing of another Luke Jephcott type... a youngster with potential who we could improve and potentially make money on.

That points to a deliberate strategy in terms of targeting players because of what they could do for the bottom line as much as what they'll do on the pitch. Seems sensible.

That's what Peterborough do, and do very successfully, despite being unable to have established themselves in the Championship when the chances arose.

The nature of lower league football is that it is hard to keep a core squad together for more than 2/3 seasons. Good players move up, bad players move down, the rest stick around and do a job until they fall into the other two categories. When you move to the Championship, I think it becomes a bit easier to keep a squad together. The jump is so significant to the PL that good players have to reach a high level before moving up.

If we manage to move Mike Cooper, Luke Jephcott and Pan Camara for nine figures each (and sell-ons), that gives us a chance of building a very, very good squad and it would've cost us nothing to begin with. That's how we should be operating.

My only concern currently is that we spend a lot of time developing youngsters from other clubs, which is not hugely to our benefit beyond the current season. It's necessary to compete, but it's frustrating.

I wonder what chance we've got of keeping any of the loan players (and which ones we'd want).

Watts was talking prior to the Sunderland game about how he'd like to play against them in a derby game for Newcastle. I think he's probably a bit off Premier League level at the moment, ditto Opoku, though of course either or both of their clubs might not be in the PL next season.

It would obviously be some going for Lewis to make the Liverpool team.

Fornah and Hardie are probably the likeliest permanent signings. I think Hardie in particular could become a really good player.
 
Mar 15, 2007
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greenpilled":1c1ir8ch said:
Nobby":1c1ir8ch said:
WoodsyGreen":1c1ir8ch said:
I thought it was very interesting what RL said about the signing of Ennis. He seemed to suggest the Board actually requested the signing of another Luke Jephcott type... a youngster with potential who we could improve and potentially make money on.

That points to a deliberate strategy in terms of targeting players because of what they could do for the bottom line as much as what they'll do on the pitch. Seems sensible.

That's what Peterborough do, and do very successfully, despite being unable to have established themselves in the Championship when the chances arose.

The nature of lower league football is that it is hard to keep a core squad together for more than 2/3 seasons. Good players move up, bad players move down, the rest stick around and do a job until they fall into the other two categories. When you move to the Championship, I think it becomes a bit easier to keep a squad together. The jump is so significant to the PL that good players have to reach a high level before moving up.

If we manage to move Mike Cooper, Luke Jephcott and Pan Camara for nine figures each (and sell-ons), that gives us a chance of building a very, very good squad and it would've cost us nothing to begin with. That's how we should be operating.

My only concern currently is that we spend a lot of time developing youngsters from other clubs, which is not hugely to our benefit beyond the current season. It's necessary to compete, but it's frustrating.

I wonder what chance we've got of keeping any of the loan players (and which ones we'd want).

Watts was talking prior to the Sunderland game about how he'd like to play against them in a derby game for Newcastle. I think he's probably a bit off Premier League level at the moment, ditto Opoku, though of course either or both of their clubs might not be in the PL next season.

It would obviously be some going for Lewis to make the Liverpool team.

Fornah and Hardie are probably the likeliest permanent signings. I think Hardie in particular could become a really good player.

Hardie I think is a possibility, particularly if Jephcott is sold. Watts very unlikely. Fornah I'm not sure we'd bother. Lewis we can't afford. Opoku is a possibility I would say. He's nearly 23. I can't see him making Fulham's team anytime soon. Would depend on the fee.
 

davie nine

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Jan 23, 2015
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I was very happy when Hardie signed for the season and disappointed that it was not a permanent transfer.
However, watching him this season, he is not getting the type of passes that were making him so effective last season. He seems to be spending 80% of his time using up energy chasing around after lost causes.
He seems to get on well with Jephcott but in the last few games they have both struggled to get involved. Neither is tall enough to win balls in the air but they rarely receive passes to feet either.
Some will say that it is because Hardie is in the higher league but I still think he could cause League 1 defences problems if he gets the right service.
 
Jan 27, 2012
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Even though Hardie is not scoring, his quality is there for all to see. He would be an excellent long-term signing who is likely to improve. I suppose it depends on whether Balckpool want to keep him and if other clubs are interested. As Hardie hasn't been scoring much, perhaps his transfer value has fallen and Blackpool will be glad to get him off their books ?
I can't comment on the quality of Ennis as I have hardly seen him play- but Ennis and Hardie together would give the team some real pace in attack (something which we could exploit more if Lowe was prepared to play long now and again).
 
Aug 5, 2016
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Nobby":2xfs2zqx said:
greenpilled":2xfs2zqx said:
Nobby":2xfs2zqx said:
WoodsyGreen":2xfs2zqx said:
I thought it was very interesting what RL said about the signing of Ennis. He seemed to suggest the Board actually requested the signing of another Luke Jephcott type... a youngster with potential who we could improve and potentially make money on.

That points to a deliberate strategy in terms of targeting players because of what they could do for the bottom line as much as what they'll do on the pitch. Seems sensible.

That's what Peterborough do, and do very successfully, despite being unable to have established themselves in the Championship when the chances arose.

The nature of lower league football is that it is hard to keep a core squad together for more than 2/3 seasons. Good players move up, bad players move down, the rest stick around and do a job until they fall into the other two categories. When you move to the Championship, I think it becomes a bit easier to keep a squad together. The jump is so significant to the PL that good players have to reach a high level before moving up.

If we manage to move Mike Cooper, Luke Jephcott and Pan Camara for nine figures each (and sell-ons), that gives us a chance of building a very, very good squad and it would've cost us nothing to begin with. That's how we should be operating.

My only concern currently is that we spend a lot of time developing youngsters from other clubs, which is not hugely to our benefit beyond the current season. It's necessary to compete, but it's frustrating.

I wonder what chance we've got of keeping any of the loan players (and which ones we'd want).

Watts was talking prior to the Sunderland game about how he'd like to play against them in a derby game for Newcastle. I think he's probably a bit off Premier League level at the moment, ditto Opoku, though of course either or both of their clubs might not be in the PL next season.

It would obviously be some going for Lewis to make the Liverpool team.

Fornah and Hardie are probably the likeliest permanent signings. I think Hardie in particular could become a really good player.

Hardie I think is a possibility, particularly if Jephcott is sold. Watts very unlikely. Fornah I'm not sure we'd bother. Lewis we can't afford. Opoku is a possibility I would say. He's nearly 23. I can't see him making Fulham's team anytime soon. Would depend on the fee.

Why is Watts unlikely - is he likely to go back and play for Newcastle in the Premier League?
Why can't we afford Adam Lewis? I doubt he is one of Liverpool's top earners.
Why would Lowe play Fornah all season if he wasn't keen on him?

I don't think any of our loan players are particularly above our level of affordability. They are young and possibly all believe they are destined for the top, but we shall see about that. Reality will bite when their contracts expire and it is the likes of Argyle, Blackpool and Doncaster that will be on the phone to their agents.