Is our recruitment policy flawed or just crap ?

Progressfan

Progressfan

Well-known member
Firstly the way I understand the policy , is a similar structure to Crystal Palace where we bring quality young players into the Development Squad , develop them bring them through to the first team and sell them on for big profit . Now that’s all well and good for our long term existence if it was working , this philosophy has been running for a number of years but not one of the youngsters has become a regular in the first team so it’s flawed.
Secondly the only decent signings we made for the first team this season are loan players and we can’t get our half decent players to sign new contracts . We let decent players go , Dale is putting in man of the match performances at Oxford ! not to mention Hardie who I know was a couple of years ago but he was never given a run of games just poor management decisions. Sadly next season looks bleak unless we change and start recruiting decent players as well as bringing through the youngsters to fill the gaps in the squad made by loan returns and players leaving .
 
If loans are your better/best players and you have little chance of signing them on a permanent basis then you will always struggle in the summer transfer window. Why? Because basically, you have to start from scratch again. A few on here saying that Critchley needs longer and into next season. i'm not defending him but if he has to start from scratch again it of course makes the job more difficult.
 
The Development philanthropy has been running for years and if we had any real ambitions to get back up this year loan players was not the answer, ask yourself why players who have been with us for years refuse to sign ? ,big holes to fill next season , the production line of youngsters into the first team is not happening !
 
Progressfan said:
The Development philanthropy has been running for years and if we had any real ambitions to get back up this year loan players was not the answer, ask yourself why players who have been with us for years refuse to sign ? ,big holes to fill next season , the production line of youngsters into the first team is not happening !
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The Loan Market is an excellent way to improve your squad and plenty of Clubs have successfully used the Loan Market to achieve promotion. At Blackpool we have a sensible balance between loans and permanent players. I'm not sure who you are referring to when you mention players 'refusing to sign', but that will likely be due to a combination of things, not least last year's relegation.

I'm not sure where the so called 'big holes' to fill will be next season and in all honesty, I prefer to look at that as a big opportunity to redevelop a squad that almost certainly needs to lose a few and bring in some fresh faces.

In terms of the so called 'production line' anyone who has had their eyes even slightly open over the course of the last few years will have seen a regular influx of development talent and there are also younger individuals who have featured in the First Team over the course of this season and will continue to make progress.

As I have said, the new Recruitment Team has only been in place for a matter of Months
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
The Loan Market is an excellent way to improve your squad and plenty of Clubs have successfully used the Loan Market to achieve promotion. At Blackpool we have a sensible balance between loans and permanent players. I'm not sure who you are referring to when you mention players 'refusing to sign', but that will likely be due to a combination of things, not least last year's relegation.

I'm not sure where the so called 'big holes' to fill will be next season and in all honesty, I prefer to look at that as a big opportunity to redevelop a squad that almost certainly needs to lose a few and bring in some fresh faces.

In terms of the so called 'production line' anyone who has had their eyes even slightly open over the course of the last few years will have seen a regular influx of development talent and there are also younger individuals who have featured in the First Team over the course of this season and will continue to make progress.

As I have said, the new Recruitment Team has only been in place for a matter of Months
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How often have these younger individuals featured and in which of the competitions?
The only one who is anywhere near to playing first team league 1 football is Apter, and I'm far from certain that Clueless will trust him further than the bench.
In my opinion this season's loans players are the only reason we're not involved in a relegation scrap.
 
2 parts to this.
First team recruitment.
For players likely to have an immediated impact on the 1st team I think Byers and Coulson are very possibly "loans with a view to permanents". If that's the case I offer the opinion that that's an improvement.
As for Dembele if you can find a gem like him on loan you'd be stupid to turn him down. If he excels and goes on to better things than we become a more attractive proposition to the next Dembele join us.
So in that respect I think the current recruitment team appear to be getting off to a decent start.
Academy recruitment.
This is many layered.
Last window we recruited Sassi and Finnigan. Sassi has at least gone out on loan whereas Finnigan has had maybe 1 game behind closed doors but otherwise appears to be being kept under wraps. Until we get the new training and achieve Cat 2 Academy status its going to be very difficult to provide regular, decent standard competitive football for the 19 to 23 age group in house so that link to the first team will continue to be a problem.
We also recruit quite actively from players who are released at the end of their scholarships ie when they finish their u18 career. Thiese fall into the previous group and this is the age we are contantly sending out on loan, typically at tier 6/7 where we still retain a good deal of control and they still continue to train with us some of the time.
Another quite active level of recruitment is for kids coming out of u16s (eg Rob Apter) who we bring in on scholarships. I've said a few times recently that I'm looking forward to seeing next years u18 squad. We will have an unprecedented 7/8/9?? of our u16s being offered scholarships (last year it was 2) which is a good indicator that things are looking up.
Finally there is still lots of work going on in the younger age groups about which am I far less knowledgeable.
Just a final word for David Bailey "Academy Head of Recruitment" who appears to be a very enthusiastic recruit to the BFC staff.
 
65 & Counting said:
How often have these younger individuals featured and in which of the competitions?
The only one who is anywhere near to playing first team league 1 football is Apter, and I'm far from certain that Clueless will trust him further than the bench.
In my opinion this season's loans players are the only reason we're not involved in a relegation scrap.
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How do you know?

Fact is you’re just pulling assumptions out of your arse.

We’ve just signed two ‘development’ players in January who may well be fast tracked and ready to impact next season. We have players like Koassi who have already been good enough to feature in the league .. Casey who has been a regular starter this season after a season of development…

We’ve then got players who are younger still (15-18) who are are various stages of progression.
 
Insider said:
2 parts to this.
First team recruitment.
For players likely to have an immediated impact on the 1st team I think Byers and Coulson are very possibly "loans with a view to permanents". If that's the case I offer the opinion that that's an improvement.
As for Dembele if you can find a gem like him on loan you'd be stupid to turn him down. If he excels and goes on to better things than we become a more attractive proposition to the next Dembele join us.
So in that respect I think the current recruitment team appear to be getting off to a decent start.
Academy recruitment.
This is many layered.
Last window we recruited Sassi and Finnigan. Sassi has at least gone out on loan whereas Finnigan has had maybe 1 game behind closed doors but otherwise appears to be being kept under wraps. Until we get the new training and achieve Cat 2 Academy status its going to be very difficult to provide regular, decent standard competitive football for the 19 to 23 age group in house so that link to the first team will continue to be a problem.
We also recruit quite actively from players who are released at the end of their scholarships ie when they finish their u18 career. Thiese fall into the previous group and this is the age we are contantly sending out on loan, typically at tier 6/7 where we still retain a good deal of control and they still continue to train with us some of the time.
Another quite active level of recruitment is for kids coming out of u16s (eg Rob Apter) who we bring in on scholarships. I've said a few times recently that I'm looking forward to seeing next years u18 squad. We will have an unprecedented 7/8/9?? of our u16s being offered scholarships (last year it was 2) which is a good indicator that things are looking up.
Finally there is still lots of work going on in the younger age groups about which am I far less knowledgeable.
Just a final word for David Bailey "Academy Head of Recruitment" who appears to be a very enthusiastic recruit to the BFC staff.
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Finally… someone with a clue what they’re on about 👍👍
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
How do you know?

Fact is you’re just pulling assumptions out of your arse.

We’ve just signed two ‘development’ players in January who may well be fast tracked and ready to impact next season. We have players like Koassi who have already been good enough to feature in the league .. Casey who has been a regular starter this season after a season of development…

We’ve then got players who are younger still (15-18) who are are various stages of progression.
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...and how do you know what the future holds, you know absolutely nothing if your spelling of Kouassi is anything to go by.
My assertions are about the current situation, you're obviously too thick to see that 🤡
 
65 & Counting said:
...and how do you know what the future holds, you know absolutely nothing if your spelling of Kouassi is anything to go by.
My assertions are about the current situation, you're obviously too thick to see that 🤡
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I had to unhide the ignored content to have a look at the spelling of Kouassi🤦‍♂️🤣🤛 and ignoring her again now....
 
65 & Counting said:
...and how do you know what the future holds, you know absolutely nothing if your spelling of Kouassi is anything to go by.
My assertions are about the current situation, you're obviously too thick to see that 🤡
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I don’t know what the future holds. Nobody does.

I can see what is happening now though.

And like I said, you’re talking through your arse.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
I don’t know what the future holds. Nobody does.

I can see what is happening now though.

And like I said, you’re talking through your arse.
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You should know all about being a bag of wind. You've no knowledge of football whatsoever. Pain in the arse sums you up.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
Are you having a bit of a ‘Meldrew Moment’ old fella. Go and have a lie down and chill down for half an hour… 👍👍
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I think you've been in a coma this season such is your lack of knowledge about the current situation. Wake up and smell the coffee and give your tangerine spectacles a clean 😂
We may not agree on much but let's hope next season is a vast improvement on this one.
 
65 & Counting said:
I think you've been in a coma this season such is your lack of knowledge about the current situation. Wake up and smell the coffee and give your tangerine spectacles a clean 😂
We may not agree on much but let's hope next season is a vast improvement on this one.
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This season isn’t over yet
 
Just as a PS to my post #7.
There are plenty of clubs with 18yr olds in their squads. At the top of the pyramid Liverpool are currently the best example. Blackburn another good example. It's not a team of 18yr olds but it's a measured introduction. So if you get your recruitment right at 16 you will hopefully get some oven players at 18. You then miss out completely that difficult gap at 18+.
 
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Some positives for balance.

Some younger players signed from development squads and lower leagues have played in the first team.

We’ve sold Yates and Bowler for big fees after signing them as younger players.

We’ve had some very good loan signings.

There’s always going to be signings that don’t kick on or don’t work out too.
 
Insider said:
2 parts to this.
First team recruitment.
For players likely to have an immediated impact on the 1st team I think Byers and Coulson are very possibly "loans with a view to permanents". If that's the case I offer the opinion that that's an improvement.
As for Dembele if you can find a gem like him on loan you'd be stupid to turn him down. If he excels and goes on to better things than we become a more attractive proposition to the next Dembele join us.
So in that respect I think the current recruitment team appear to be getting off to a decent start.
Academy recruitment.
This is many layered.
Last window we recruited Sassi and Finnigan. Sassi has at least gone out on loan whereas Finnigan has had maybe 1 game behind closed doors but otherwise appears to be being kept under wraps. Until we get the new training and achieve Cat 2 Academy status its going to be very difficult to provide regular, decent standard competitive football for the 19 to 23 age group in house so that link to the first team will continue to be a problem.
We also recruit quite actively from players who are released at the end of their scholarships ie when they finish their u18 career. Thiese fall into the previous group and this is the age we are contantly sending out on loan, typically at tier 6/7 where we still retain a good deal of control and they still continue to train with us some of the time.
Another quite active level of recruitment is for kids coming out of u16s (eg Rob Apter) who we bring in on scholarships. I've said a few times recently that I'm looking forward to seeing next years u18 squad. We will have an unprecedented 7/8/9?? of our u16s being offered scholarships (last year it was 2) which is a good indicator that things are looking up.
Finally there is still lots of work going on in the younger age groups about which am I far less knowledgeable.
Just a final word for David Bailey "Academy Head of Recruitment" who appears to be a very enthusiastic recruit to the BFC staff.
Click to expand...
Thanks for such a good and positive post. Best I’ve read on here for a while and it all makes sense.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
Because it can take longer than that for the players to reach maturity for one thing.
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If you're talking about 18yo coming in the academy, then they'll be 23 when maturity hits (hazi's post).

The model dictates it needs to be a quicker fix at least in the short to medium term. Once you've established that, thats when you widen ambition in terms of age group.
 
fcblackpool said:
If you're talking about 18yo coming in the academy, then they'll be 23 when maturity hits (hazi's post).

The model dictates it needs to be a quicker fix at least in the short to medium term. Once you've established that, thats when you widen ambition in terms of age group.
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I don't know exactly who we would have who was signed at 18? However 18 feels a bit of a crossover age to me and more of a 'Development' Player as opposed to what you might describe as academy?

@Insider will likely know more about plyers who have been brought in within that age group... Did we sign Tayt Trusty in 2020 will have been 171/2 when signed. He'd obviously featured in L2 for Hartlepool and then he's got quite seriously injured in the cup for us....but decent prospect nonetheless

SS is t going to just wander in, start an academy and then sign a selection of 18 year old players on Day 1 is he?... I mean first of all SS has had to put the Leadership Team in place, then they need to develop their plans, start the recruitment process etc etc... It might take 12-18 Months before you're even brining in the kind of 17/18 year olds you want... It might take 12 Months for Simon to reach a point where he’s sorted his own Leadership Team and organised the Management structure / Team for the Academy.
 
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Progressfan said:
Firstly the way I understand the policy , is a similar structure to Crystal Palace where we bring quality young players into the Development Squad , develop them bring them through to the first team and sell them on for big profit . Now that’s all well and good for our long term existence if it was working , this philosophy has been running for a number of years but not one of the youngsters has become a regular in the first team so it’s flawed.
Secondly the only decent signings we made for the first team this season are loan players and we can’t get our half decent players to sign new contracts . We let decent players go , Dale is putting in man of the match performances at Oxford ! not to mention Hardie who I know was a couple of years ago but he was never given a run of games just poor management decisions. Sadly next season looks bleak unless we change and start recruiting decent players as well as bringing through the youngsters to fill the gaps in the squad made by loan returns and players leaving .
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Talk about putting a negative spin on things, give this new fella more than one transfer window.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
I don't know exactly who we would have who was signed at 18? However 18 feels a bit of a crossover age to me and more of a 'Development' Player as opposed to what you might describe as academy?

@Insider will likely know more about plyers who have been brought in within that age group... Did we sign Tayt Trusty in 2020 will have been 171/2 when signed. He'd obviously featured in L2 for Hartlepool and then he's got quite seriously injured in the cup for us....

SS is t going to just wander in, start an academy and then sign a selection of 18 year old players on Day 1 is he?... I mean first of all SS has had to put the Leadership Team in place, then they need to develop their plans, start the recruitment process etc etc... It might take 12-18 Months before you're even brining in the kind of 17/18 year olds you want... It might take 12 Months for Simon to reach a point where he’s sorted his own Leadership Team and organised the Management structure / Team for the Academy.
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Tayt was signed in 2020 on a 2 year scholarship. He came from outside (can't remember where). In the 18+ category brought in from outside we currently have Owen Moffatt (on loan at Dunfermline), Donavon Lescott, Zak Emmerson as a few examples.
 
Doesn't matter how good the recruitment team is it's still going to be a struggle bringing in players who can instantly turn our fortunes unless we're willing to pay twice the going rate in wages, which we're not.

To be honest i've lost track of the comings and goings since those blokes from Coventry were here for about a week until they started saying stuff like "yeah, i love the eiffel tower they have 'ere and who can forget Bradley Matthews and the famous 1954 league cup victory"
 
Insider said:
Tayt was signed in 2020 on a 2 year scholarship. He came from outside (can't remember where). In the 18+ category brought in from outside we currently have Owen Moffatt (on loan at Dunfermline), Donavon Lescott, Zak Emmerson as a few examples.
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What sort of ages do you tend to see players being released from the EPL Academies @Insider?

Are there many in the 18/19 bracket ?
 
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