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Stewart & Winstanley

I dont mind the project it's great we building for the future however I don't really in my heart believe half these players are top club quality. On what advice or criteria were they chosen?
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Seems like it was entirely based on data analytics rather than actually watching them play, like scouting used to work. It is fine to invest in some potential, but you are likely to find more players that fail to fulfill their potential, than those that succeed. That is why a strategy based entirely on young players with potential is unlikely to help us build a better team.

 
Seems like it was entirely based on data analytics rather than actually watching them play, like scouting used to work. It is fine to invest in some potential, but you are likely to find more players that fail to fulfill their potential, than those that succeed. That is why a strategy based entirely on young players with potential is unlikely to help us build a better team.
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We've doing that for ages though. It was Emenalo and Granovskaia who first cut the number of scouts we had in favour of an analytics-based approach, doubling down on the approach in 2019. Analytics identified the targets, and only then scouts were sent to watch them. Since Emenalo and Arnesen were brought in, we have always had sporting directors who identified young talents for long-term investment, rather than purely based on what the manager wanted/needed at the time. None of that has substantially changed, and signings like Palmer, Sancho, Caicedo, Estevao, Paez and Fernandez were not identified by analytics, but by scouting. A closer look reveals that many of our reported targets and signings (Madueke, Sancho, Palmer, Bynoe-Gittins, Olise etc...) are all well-known English academy products from its most recent 'golden generation'.

The real issue is that the club continue to believe that these products will simply develop in a vacuum, devoid of any real coaching, competition or active management. Like a computer game, they expect these players to simple be programmed to reach their potential as they age with no extraneous effort. Of course, great players are shaped and formed and mentored by senior, experienced professionals and coaches who set the standard through leadership and a culture of success. We absolutely do not have that and unfortunately our upper management do not believe it is necessary. Who will help Estevao settle in London? Who will stand up for him when he is kicked off the park? Who will model professional training habits to a pampered generational talent like Kendry Paez? I think we are signing very talented players on paper, but we do not have the framework to help them come close to their potential.

 
We've doing that for ages though. It was Emenalo and Granovskaia who first cut the number of scouts we had in favour of an analytics-based approach, doubling down on the approach in 2019. Analytics identified the targets, and only then scouts were sent to watch them. Since Emenalo and Arnesen were brought in, we have always had sporting directors who identified young talents for long-term investment, rather than purely based on what the manager wanted/needed at the time. None of that has substantially changed, and signings like Palmer, Sancho, Caicedo, Estevao, Paez and Fernandez were not identified by analytics, but by scouting. A closer look reveals that many of our reported targets and signings (Madueke, Sancho, Palmer, Bynoe-Gittins, Olise etc...) are all well-known English academy products from its most recent 'golden generation'.

The real issue is that the club continue to believe that these products will simply develop in a vacuum, devoid of any real coaching, competition or active management. Like a computer game, they expect these players to simple be programmed to reach their potential as they age with no extraneous effort. Of course, great players are shaped and formed and mentored by senior, experienced professionals and coaches who set the standard through leadership and a culture of success. We absolutely do not have that and unfortunately our upper management do not believe it is necessary. Who will help Estevao settle in London? Who will stand up for him when he is kicked off the park? Who will model professional training habits to a pampered generational talent like Kendry Paez? I think we are signing very talented players on paper, but we do not have the framework to help them come close to their potential.
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Spot on. Great post.

 
You know I'm starting to think we should take a look at our goalkeeper recruitment

 
Given we’ve got all these “data” guys and goalkeeper specialists, I’m amazed the best we could come up with is Jorgensen. It’s shocking.

I can forgive Bohley with the early signings like Sterling, Kouliabaly etc as it was early days. However we’re 2 years down the line now and our recruitment has been SO bad. Outside of Palmer, has anyone had any outstanding impact? Most of them are pretty average.

 
Given we’ve got all these “data” guys and goalkeeper specialists, I’m amazed the best we could come up with is Jorgensen. It’s shocking.

I can forgive Bohley with the early signings like Sterling, Kouliabaly etc as it was early days. However we’re 2 years down the line now and our recruitment has been SO bad. Outside of Palmer, has anyone had any outstanding impact? Most of them are pretty average.
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Only Joe Shields’ signings and he’s technically beneath the directors.

 
Tbe Musk and Trump of Premeir League.

They run a club with EIGHT keepers on the books, and none are good enough?

 
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Tbe Musk and Trump of Premeir League.

They run a club with EIGHT keepers on the books, and none are good enough?
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Not sure why you’re brining politics into it, strange comparison, since those two tend to make a lot of common sense decisions, unlike the Starmer dystopia we’re enjoying over here. Chelsea now is more akin to Joe Biden stumbling and tumbling around with Kamala.

 
I actually mentioned on Teamtalk I would not select Jorgensen ahead of Sanchez after his last game , the question is if a nobody like me could see that why can't Maresca? Why not bring Petrovic back, he seemed the best of the lot .

 
Tbe Musk and Trump of Premeir League.

They run a club with EIGHT keepers on the books, and none are good enough?
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Musk and Trump are far more talented and intelligent just lacking in a bit of wisdom

 
Doesn't bode particularly well for Maresca if the board are already sending out barely-veiled threats via their favourite social media shills.

"It will not erode the ownership's faith in Winstanley and Stewart" - probably because the objective they were hired for has nothing whatsoever to do with footballing success.

 
Agree but maybe it gives a clue as to how the dissenters ( of which there are many ) might target their complaints.

For example -these two clowns might not be tasked at building a winning team, but by buying players that are incompatible with the squad and or are losing form, they ( the two clowns) may not be operating in the best interests of the shareholders. Put simply better players would mean better returns for the shareholders.

And therefore better SD's would result in better profits.

 
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Given we’ve got all these “data” guys and goalkeeper specialists, I’m amazed the best we could come up with is Jorgensen. It’s shocking.

I can forgive Bohley with the early signings like Sterling, Kouliabaly etc as it was early days. However we’re 2 years down the line now and our recruitment has been SO bad. Outside of Palmer, has anyone had any outstanding impact? Most of them are pretty average.
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Out of all the positions on the pitch, goalkeeper is the least subjective, the most measurable, and the best suited to predictive analysis. It is the only position on the pitch that requires a measurable baseline physical characteristic (reflexes). In short, you're either sh*t or you're not.

And yet, our (until recently) #1 is a mate of the SDs and coach Ben Roberts. I have feeling that it's not hard, it's just these people are well in over their head and are selling snake oil.

It's no wonder Christopher Vivell left. It is not a bad idea to seperate the responsbility for immediate and 'project' signings, but I think it became increasingly clear to Vivell, as it is to us fans now, that the SDs have virtually zero accountability so long as the balance sheet ticks over. Clearlake couldn't care less otherwise so long as their club value increases on paper.

The only person who has had success is Joe Shields, able to leverage his contacts and knowledge of the English U21 set up, but you'd think he won't be sticking around for long if he is judged by a different yardstick to his SDs.

 
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