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!
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.
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.