Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Dean Coneys boots

Most interesting and might explain a lot

Recommended Posts

I was reading today that Goerge Graham had a very simple transfer policy. Only sign players for whom the move is a step up- otherwise, so he reckons, they feel they are doing you a favour and never really perform.

That would explain why Clingan has been the mustard....wheras Sibi has been poop. It would also explain why we have bottomed out once turning to journey men and did so well with a team of Holty et al....and in Hucks case - although he dropped- he had been languishing in the reserves. So.....what do you think? Should we be offering a chance to up and coming talent...or looking to Roeder''s ''in betweenies''?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="the artist formerly known as VIYAG"]

I was reading today that Goerge Graham had a very simple transfer policy. Only sign players for whom the move is a step up- otherwise, so he reckons, they feel they are doing you a favour and never really perform.

That would explain why Clingan has been the mustard....wheras Sibi has been poop. It would also explain why we have bottomed out once turning to journey men and did so well with a team of Holty et al....and in Hucks case - although he dropped- he had been languishing in the reserves. So.....what do you think? Should we be offering a chance to up and coming talent...or looking to Roeder''s ''in betweenies''?

[/quote]Hucks was a definate "in betweenies", blatently. You even say it yourself! The inbetweenies are the ones in the reserves of Premiership teams.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Well I would say that Hucks was not the ''typical'' inbetweeny in that he was rotting in the reserves and unloved...a more typical example would be someone playing. But I take your point and just wondered what people thought of Graham''s policy?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think George has a real point. 

Hunger is what is needed - perhaps even more so in the Championship than the Premier League.  In the top flight you need real quality, but in our league a little endeavour goes a long way. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Graham might very well have a point!

 

Sibierski is 33ish and in the twilight of his career. Hes probably made enough money before coming to Norwich and saw us as a last pay day!

 

One of the last managerial regimes big failings was virtually dismissing trying players from the lower Leagues instead going for Prem reserve players who cost more than we''ve been led to believe!

 

If we are as hard up as many people seem to think we are (which I don''t believe for one minute!) then the lower Leagues has to be an option! 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="the artist formerly known as VIYAG"]

I was reading today that Goerge Graham had a very simple transfer policy. Only sign players for whom the move is a step up- otherwise, so he reckons, they feel they are doing you a favour and never really perform.

That would explain why Clingan has been the mustard....wheras Sibi has been poop. It would also explain why we have bottomed out once turning to journey men and did so well with a team of Holty et al....and in Hucks case - although he dropped- he had been languishing in the reserves. So.....what do you think? Should we be offering a chance to up and coming talent...or looking to Roeder''s ''in betweenies''?

[/quote]

I think George Graham has a good point but the game has changed a lot since even his time and with the power of Agents today even lower league players - and many of them are a risk who could step up and be a great capture or turn out to be incapable of stepping up - will make considerable demands even if being given a "chance" in a higher league.  Most of them will want a two year contract at least and that''s a long time to be lumbered with someone who turns out not to meet expectations. 

I am not sure you can generalise although the principle may be sound.  It depends very much on the personality of the player and there are some arrogant gits in League Two (and the Conference) just as there are in the Premier League.  I think it''s more to do with the personality of the player than perhaps the Division you find them in.

As others have posted there have been lower or even non League players who have stepped up and gone on to be great players but for each of those there are probably 60 who made no impact at all.  That''s the problem.

I don''t know if some of you remember last Summer some people were upset about missing a lad who had scored 44 goals in Ireland being nicked (Notts County???) but unless I''ve missed it he doesn''t seem to have replicated that form or else we would have heard about it.  Colchester found Elokobi (now with Wolves but crocked) playing for Dulwich Hamlet Reserves so they are out there....but very, very risky if you have a tight budget.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="the artist formerly known as VIYAG"]

I was reading today that Goerge Graham had a very simple transfer policy. Only sign players for whom the move is a step up- otherwise, so he reckons, they feel they are doing you a favour and never really perform.

That would explain why Clingan has been the mustard....wheras Sibi has been poop. It would also explain why we have bottomed out once turning to journey men and did so well with a team of Holty et al....and in Hucks case - although he dropped- he had been languishing in the reserves. So.....what do you think? Should we be offering a chance to up and coming talent...or looking to Roeder''s ''in betweenies''?

[/quote]I think you contradicted yourself there.  Sibierski and Huckerby both came from Premiership teams and were both fringe/reserve players when they signed for us.  One was good, one was poor.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote]

I was reading today that Goerge Graham had a very simple transfer policy.

[/quote]Probably not a good idea to quote the transfer policy of a manager who was charged with receiving payments for signing dodgy players.[:P] Namely John Jensen and Pal Lydersen.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="the artist formerly known as VIYAG"]Well I would say that Hucks was not the ''typical'' inbetweeny in that he was rotting in the reserves and unloved...a more typical example would be someone playing. But I take your point and just wondered what people thought of Graham''s policy?[/quote]

The Hucks transfer was one in a million. Not many seasoned pros whom at the time was at his peak of his career want to step down in order to step back up again. He helped get us promoted and we were then able to play Premiership football with him and us happy. George Graham had a point, it''s a very valid point which probably applies to 90% of players.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think it''s a good principle but ultimately it''s the character of the individual player that is key, George Graham''s policy just simplifies it somewhat.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Again I think it depends on the player not where they are coming from.  Under Graham''s logic his former club Arsenal would never have signed the likes of Bergkamp, Viera and Henry.I still think we should be looking at the lower leagues but to be honest, there is not much down there except maybe a few who have slipped through the net of some of the bigger clubs academys.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What he''s saying sort of makes sense but it''s a bit of a generalisation. For every Sibierski there is a Huckerby. I can remember Paul Merson dropping down a league to play for Portsmouth and being the best player in the division. You could probably also count Kevin Phillips in the list of players who have taken a ''step down'' yet he performed pretty well last year.

The problem with signing ''up and coming talent'' is that it can be difficult to tell whether the players have that extra mental capacity to play at the top end of The Championship. It''s often said that the main difference between a good Championship player and a good lower league player is their concentration levels and their decision making. There are plenty of talented players in the lower leagues who will never make the step up because they lack the concentration levels to cope with the higher standard of football or they make a couple of bad decisions each match that will be punished by better players. That''s not to say there aren''t players who are capable of making the step up, clearly there are, but whether they are statistically more sucessful than the ''in betweenies'' is open to question in my opinion.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Unfortuntely, for every Sammy Clingan, there''s a David Bell to disprove the theory!

Come on David, make me eat humble pie on this one!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Saint Canary"]Again I think it depends on the player not where they are coming from.  Under Graham''s logic his former club Arsenal would never have signed the likes of Bergkamp, Viera and Henry.I still think we should be looking at the lower leagues but to be honest, there is not much down there except maybe a few who have slipped through the net of some of the bigger clubs academys.[/quote]Berkamp accepted but wasn''t Henry a fringe/reserve team player when he was signed for Arsenal? As a rather general rule I would say this is quite true. The problem is identifying how far the said player can step up.[quote user="Colchester Canary"]

Very good point - it also confirms many norwich signings, Iwan, Francis, Ashton, Holt

 [/quote]

Iwan and Francis? Not sure I can agree with those two being the best examples. Francis was still in our league when we signed him, as was Iwan who had played at the same level as us and higher. Surely both were more sideways moves?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...