Reams
My apologies for my delay in responding - my time is not always my own.
You seem to have this expectation, no matter the stage of development of the squad, we should be doing better. You are entitled to your expectation and I mean no offence but for me it is simplistic and unrealistic. I have called for patience but you continue to deride and attack sundry players, the coach and the ownership in you own inimitable style. I will try and deal with some of your comments.
I have no idea of Brentford’s realistic ambitions - I do not follow Brentford. I imagine on a weekly basis they, as per 99% of football clubs including us, go out to win matches and if they cannot win try to make sure they do not lose. From a survival perspective it is a fact of life. Brentford is a good comparison. They are building on the momentum they established last season. Without checking I bet the majority of the team built last season form at least 7/ 8 of the team playing this season with 3 or 4 key additions to complement the squad and cover the loss of Donaldson & Forshaw. Judging by Warburton’s comments he is doing exactly the same as us but his team building is a season farther along than ours.
Only 3 of our current starting 11 Jackson, Cousins & Wiggins played regularly last season (Solly made only10 appearances - Wilson is currently a bit part player). We are rebuilding the team. Brentford are not they are building on the foundations of previous seasons. We have made a range of overseas additions and promoted a couple of youngsters and seeing where that will take us. Nothing more complicated than that.
The club does NOT NEED to tell you anything about challenging for promotion. The evidence, to which you yourself unswervingly testify nearly every week, is staring you in the face.
The weekly interactions with the other 23 clubs have no relevance to the club making a statement of intent by word or deed of investing for promotion. The latter will determine the quality of the squad you are able to draw upon and the manner in which you might approach the task but it will not deter your weekly ambition to succeed.
For me your classification of a Head Coach is simplistic. There are clearly many aspects common to both roles but fundamental differences exist between the authority of a Head Coach and that of the unique traditional English football manager. Having worked extensively in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and lived in France for 6yrs - my experience suggests there is appreciable difference in how things work.
If you look at the official site you will see Peeters is listed as the Head Coach. If you listen a little harder to KM she gives you a clue. “Bob will give me a profile of the type of player he wants and it is MY job to secure a range of player options to bring to the club. We will then discuss our options and with Bob’s agreement it is MY job to secure the signing.
The role of the traditional English football club manager is largely unique in world sport. Although with increasing internationalization of English football things are changing. Most Head Coaches are not empowered to target or sign specific players. Only the elite Head Coaches across Europe would enjoy such empowerment. If you look further afield any suggestion to similarly empower a Head Coach in any US professional sports franchise would be met with disbelief - they have General Managers or Front Offices to manage their player recruitment.
Of course every Head Coach in every country and in every sport will have input to the type players he needs and would want to work with, but other than a power of veto in terms specific players he does not want, the final recruitment decision will rest elsewhere. Club officials under the guidance of a sporting/ technical director after discussions with Head Coach will decide who they can afford to bring in to help improve the squad. It is unlikely they will sign a player the coach does not want but there is no guarantee it will be anywhere near his preferred choice.
Do you think Tucudean was Peeters first choice or de Melo was his long standing target? I doubt it but I guarantee they fit the playing style he was asking the club to look for. Do you think Luzon signed all those Liege players at Liege who promptly decided to literally stop playing for him.
The logic is simple. If a club empowers and funds a “Manager” to sign a series of players and he fails they are stuck with HIS players and their contracts. The new “manager” then wants the club to invest more money in signing his new players and their contracts. It is a football and financial nightmare to manage. e.g. Dowie & Pardew we are still paying the price. In essence the responsibility of scouting and recruitment is taken off the shoulders of the Head Coach. It was what Dyer complained about. It was the friction between Duchatelet and Powell.
I made no comment on the ability of the younger players other than Cousins being good enough to make a contribution? Hardly a rapturous endorsement was it? I did define THE STRATEGY and give examples of the strategy in action. In terms of retaining the clubs identity I am very proud the club is giving the opportunity to our academy players to progress. I clearly stated they have a long way to go.
They are not they finished article. It is a big step up from the development squad and they have things to learn. However if you seriously think younger players do not learn and develop from playing at a higher level with senior/ better players I will argue with you until the end of time. You are entitled to your opinion on their prospects. The odds are stacked against any youngster but if the club wants to give them a chance they will have my support. Some will make the grade. For some “the lights never come on” but based on your views RD may as well keep his Academy Category 1 investment money in his pocket. If supporters are not going to support the development of the academy players he is wasting his time.
I could not agree more about Smith. Had the current regime had control at an early stage do you not think he would have had his chance to play?
In terms of coaching approach of course B. C and D are the same. That is the whole point! When you are starting a squad from scratch and setting the team pattern of play particularly the defensive structure THE POINT IS about keeping your shape. Peeters approach has been about an emphasis on the classic retreating continental defence of suffocating space in the final third. It is not new - it has been around for 40yrs.
For the entire preseason he focused on the defensive structure. He drilled and drilled the side on how they needed to work WITHOUT the ball. Did you not see Morrison look like a rabbit in the headlights in preseason? Have you not noted the greater focus on defence from Solly and Wiggins? Why are possession statistics in so many games so heavily in favour of the opposition and yet we have proven so hard to beat? It is no accident.
The reason you focus on all of that is to make it easier to bring in back up players to do a similar job, particularly younger players. No one is saying it is perfect, far from it, but it is a perfectly reasonable STARTING POINT. We will need to progress and I suspect Peeters is probably
saying the same thing and arguing for better resources to help make it happen but ON THE BASIS of the resources available to him at this stage he is doing a very sound job. He has no mandate to being in any specific new players. He does have the mandate to bring through the younger players. In the very words of the owner it is precisely why he was given the job. He is delivering to that remit.
Perhaps you can explain why you expect him to deliver better results when based on your assessment;
- all recent introduced academy/ development players are not good enough i.e. Pope, Gomez, Fox, Cousins, Harriott, Ahearne-Grant
- the potential overseas source of future signings is not fit for purpose - 5 of the squad had not previously played in, and only now have completed 1/3rd of a season in the Championship
Then consider of the remainder
- Church has been completely peripheral to the squad while Coquelin has barely arrived on a short term loan
- Onyewu is here on a short term contract as likely cover for the absence of Morrison
- Moussa's championship experience before this season amounts to 16 starts in 2010/11
which leaves a championship core squad of 7 players - Henderson, Solly, Ben Haim, Bikey, Wiggins, Wilson & Jackson
Then consider the balance of the squad and explain the logic of playing an open expansive style of football based on the strength of just 3 creative quality front six attacking players with no quality replacements where just 1 injury would reduce your potency by 30%.
You are entitled to your view but I am sorry based on the data for me your argument simply does stack up.