New beginnings - 25% Truth, 80% Bollocks

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

Since Clem took over we’ve sold players whether via the Chorley approach or, now, the Russell approach. Looks like we’ve got some youth assets that will be worth a few quid soon enough.

So the recruitment is similar but the results have dipped.

[ChalkyWhiteIsGod]

I'm inclined to agree, and so Clem now has to make tough choices in order to get the fan base back onside. Clearing the decks would be a good start, but there is no evidence to suggest that will happen.  

Can it happen? The trust let it slip before deleting the tweet....not the sort of people you can just ask to stop using facilities.

If anything I expect to see a boxing event at the county ground next with Adam Harts fighters and whatever totally not MTK Global *wink wink* are calling themselves these days promoting.

[4D]

And us lot taking part 

[Power to people]

Chorley left as Clem (or his advisors selling him the vision) wanted to go in the new direction of signing all young players and be more data driven and wanting to sell for a profit which was not the original plan - Chorley obviously felt this route was the wrong one to take, so Garner then decided that without Chorley his job would be more difficult so decided to go Charlton despite turning them down previously.

Clem has done a few U Turns

Garner / Chorley - DoF  / head coach - mixture of players, Chorley in charge of recruiting players in discussion with Garner
Jody Morris / Sandro DoF -  Head Coach - what was the plan ?
Lindsey / Sandro - DoF  / Head coach  - data driven  - young players to sell on
Flynn - / Russell- HoF - manager fully in charge of recruitment
Gunning / Russell - HoF football in charge of recruitment and bringing in young players to sell for profit seemingly

What's next ?

[DiV]

Since Clem took over we’ve sold players whether via the Chorley approach or, now, the Russell approach. Looks like we’ve got some youth assets that will be worth a few quid soon enough.

So the recruitment is similar but the results have dipped.

We will always be a selling club - think we all know and accept that.

It’s one thing having a few hopefully sellable assets in a solid team but it’s another to have a whole team of hopefully sellable assets.

We’ve just been talking about the money we got for McKirdy. A decent amount of money almost no one would have predicted us getting when he signed. Does he reach that value in the Lindsey or Morris or Flynn team. Does he hit the same heights without the likes of Jack Payne, Josh Davison & Louie Barry around him?

Doubt it. For me you get jack shit value from a team of McKirdys but you’ll get decent value of one maximised talent McKirdy is a team of solid players even if they have no monetary value themselves.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

Chorley left as Clem (or his advisors selling him the vision) wanted to go in the new direction of signing all young players and be more data driven and wanting to sell for a profit which was not the original plan - Chorley obviously felt this route was the wrong one to take, so Garner then decided that without Chorley his job would be more difficult so decided to go Charlton despite turning them down previously.

Clem has done a few U Turns

Garner / Chorley - DoF  / head coach - mixture of players, Chorley in charge of recruiting players in discussion with Garner
Jody Morris / Sandro DoF -  Head Coach - what was the plan ?
Lindsey / Sandro - DoF  / Head coach  - data driven  - young players to sell on
Flynn - / Russell- HoF - manager fully in charge of recruitment
Gunning / Russell - HoF football in charge of recruitment and bringing in young players to sell for profit seemingly

What's next ?

I think we all know and accept Clem knows Jack shit about football so just who is advising him on all these twists and turns?

[RobertT]

We will always be a selling club - think we all know and accept that.

It’s one thing having a few hopefully sellable assets in a solid team but it’s another to have a whole team of hopefully sellable assets.

We’ve just been talking about the money we got for McKirdy. A decent amount of money almost no one would have predicted us getting when he signed. Does he reach that value in the Lindsey or Morris or Flynn team. Does he hit the same heights without the likes of Jack Payne, Josh Davison & Louie Barry around him?

Doubt it. For me you get jack shit value from a team of McKirdys but you’ll get decent value of one maximised talent McKirdy is a team of solid players even if they have no monetary value themselves.

This is where I really do not understand our approach.  McKirdy really wasn't sold for all that much - it's not a sum of money that sees you absorb a season of running a million over Revenue for example.  If he is the best we can hope for, and evidence suggests that much, then you need to be selling five or six at that value every season.  That is simply not sustainable, not while trying to be a good team.  You essentially have to recruit 20 or so new players a season, because the majority will not return 6 figure sell on fees.  Most will be a miss.

Very rarely does a defender go for big money at L2, same for a Goalkeeper and midfielders are going to be worth more if they are attacking.  Therefore, you bring in a steady bunch to solidify your team in these positions and maybe the odd loan that gets you higher quality (from the top 2 Divisions).

Then you focus your younger, more gamble related recruitment, up top.

We are taking a series of diminishing return gambles it seems - having to up the ante by churning more and more of these lower cost roles of the dice.

[RobertT]

Finally, people can still make money the way we are doing it, just not the club/business.

[joeydubya]

The mystery is we have no reason to suspect Chris Kiely. We can see who he is, a former goalkeeper and son of an ex Premier League one, a property manager, a racehorse owner...

If his 'data model' is so good, why doesn't he make any noise about it? Get some investment... cynically the lack of openness makes me think... there isn't a data model at all.

[ron dodgers]

Follow the money back it's the only way. Sam M is a journalist that's what he should be doing.

[Nemo]

Follow the money back it's the only way. Sam M is a journalist that's what he should be doing.

Not all journos are investigate journos, most just report on the on the pitch stuff. If the Adver saw a huge leap in sales whenever they did any investigative stuff, I'm sure they'd do that, but most people don't care enough to pay for it.

Sam in particularly isn't really a full time STFC journo, he just writes a column occasionally for an online publication.

If we had a bit more of a national profile it's something The Athletic might do... but anything from the local press would be well above and beyond expectations.

[The Million Pound Man]

I have no knowledge of journalism, but from the outside it looks to me like local journos cant dig too deep or the club will either ban them or make it impossible for them to get any access.

[Peter Venkman]

Follow the money back it's the only way. Sam M is a journalist that's what he should be doing.

For all we know he may be doing that already or other journos doing similar, its a case of finding a paper trail I guess and see what pops out of the woodwork.

I have no knowledge of journalism, but from the outside it looks to me like local journos cant dig too deep or the club will either ban them or make it impossible for them to get any access.

This is always a concern for them I would imagine and Sam for certain is trying to build the bridges back with the club that Power burnt down so quickly.

[Sam Morshead]

Follow the money back it's the only way. Sam M is a journalist that's what he should be doing.

Afternoon. If I could make it financially viable, I'd love to get teeth into this more. Fwiw, my earnings from Town coverage at the mo are £80 a week; have to do the day job - digital/media consultancy & more lucrative freelancing - to pay the bills. Maybe down the line, there'll be a platform which allows me to sustain myself and do Town full-time. Right now, I'm doing what I can but I'm pretty much in the same boat as everyone else

[Bob's Orange]

Afternoon. If I could make it financially viable, I'd love to get teeth into this more. Fwiw, my earnings from Town coverage at the mo are £80 a week; have to do the day job - digital/media consultancy & more lucrative freelancing - to pay the bills. Maybe down the line, there'll be a platform which allows me to sustain myself and do Town full-time. Right now, I'm doing what I can but I'm pretty much in the same boat as everyone else

You could do crowdfunding