INEOS have just arrived but the deep dive analysis of our footballing operations apparently started over a year ago. It was heartening how quietly they secured Omar Berrada from City with no press whisperings before Ornstein essentially confirmed the deal. The Dan Ashworth pursuit has become more public and messy but perhaps that was unavoidable.
I’m assuming lots is going on behind the scenes that isn’t even vaguely on our radar. I’m very optimistic by INEOS’ approach thus far. What I worry about is 1) there’s huge decisions that need to be made quickly, 2) many of our competitors have the same needs as we do but are way ahead of the curve and 3) some of the key members of the failed regime still need to be kept sweet to oversee the transition and the end of the season, i.e. Murtough and arguably Ten Hag.
Now obviously Ashworth and Berrada haven’t started yet but they are bound to be discreetly feeding into the key strategic decisions. It would be stupid not to, unless next season is treated as a low risk, low investment transitional year where we blood youngsters, flog the older ones, loan out those whose values have diminished like Antony and maybe sign the hidden gem types.
The likes of Mitten, Ornstein et al, who generally know what’s going on more than most, are fairly adamant that ETH’s future is still not decided on. They also say that a Head of Recruitment person hasn’t been chosen yet. For me, these decisions need to be made pronto.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag’s said that Summer transfer activity is already in the works. Most insiders seem to think that months of negotiations are needed to even have a halfway decent transfer window.
Surely ETH and Murtough can’t have their hands all over this Summer’s transfer strategy? But are we leaving it a bit late to properly bring in their potential successors and put in the proper leg work in the deal making?
Dare I say that most of the most promising possible ETH replacements will require totally different players. If we get in Amorim or Alonso, we arguably need several centre backs to fit their system.
So how do you think we approach this Summer? What can we expect? If we’re leaving everything so late in comparison to our rivals, do we just be pragmatic with minimal activity, get our strategic ducks in a row and work towards a revolution next year rather than rushing stuff this Summer and getting it wrong?
All I know is that the last thing I’d want is a repeat of the last couple of years of poor transfer activity. We can’t risk wasting any more money.
I’m assuming lots is going on behind the scenes that isn’t even vaguely on our radar. I’m very optimistic by INEOS’ approach thus far. What I worry about is 1) there’s huge decisions that need to be made quickly, 2) many of our competitors have the same needs as we do but are way ahead of the curve and 3) some of the key members of the failed regime still need to be kept sweet to oversee the transition and the end of the season, i.e. Murtough and arguably Ten Hag.
Now obviously Ashworth and Berrada haven’t started yet but they are bound to be discreetly feeding into the key strategic decisions. It would be stupid not to, unless next season is treated as a low risk, low investment transitional year where we blood youngsters, flog the older ones, loan out those whose values have diminished like Antony and maybe sign the hidden gem types.
The likes of Mitten, Ornstein et al, who generally know what’s going on more than most, are fairly adamant that ETH’s future is still not decided on. They also say that a Head of Recruitment person hasn’t been chosen yet. For me, these decisions need to be made pronto.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag’s said that Summer transfer activity is already in the works. Most insiders seem to think that months of negotiations are needed to even have a halfway decent transfer window.
Surely ETH and Murtough can’t have their hands all over this Summer’s transfer strategy? But are we leaving it a bit late to properly bring in their potential successors and put in the proper leg work in the deal making?
Dare I say that most of the most promising possible ETH replacements will require totally different players. If we get in Amorim or Alonso, we arguably need several centre backs to fit their system.
So how do you think we approach this Summer? What can we expect? If we’re leaving everything so late in comparison to our rivals, do we just be pragmatic with minimal activity, get our strategic ducks in a row and work towards a revolution next year rather than rushing stuff this Summer and getting it wrong?
All I know is that the last thing I’d want is a repeat of the last couple of years of poor transfer activity. We can’t risk wasting any more money.