Frankie 8,394 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 [tweet]685013153562914816[/tweet] A 4-3-3 system playing from the back – asking players to be comfortable on the ball through their technical abilities and decision making and short passing are very important in the modern game. It is also important to mention that he brought in several players to plug the gaps left by the players we had deemed not good enough and let’s be honest, they weren’t. In starting to build an exciting young side he spent little over £665k, Martyn Waghorn, James Tavernier and Rob Kiernan came in from English League One side Wigan, fans' favourite Jason Holt signed from Scottish Premiership newbies Hearts in a development fee agreement, goalkeeper Wes Foderingham from English League One club Swindon and Andy Halliday joined after being released from English League One outfit Bradford City. This was supplemented via three loans: midfielder Gedion Zelalem from Arsenal along with centre-back Dominic Ball and wide man Nathan Oduwa from Tottenham. Gaining links like these will be vital as the loan market will be a valuable place to exploit, as Mark Warburton has stated many times. The clubs mentioned above are hardly anything too impressive minus the loans, yet some fans can't accept that it's looking as if Accrington pair Josh Windass and Matt Crooks will be joining either in the summer or in a cut price deal this month. For a support that claims “Warburton is magic” there are quite a few sceptical faces over this and I question their opinion, I really do. Whilst Brentford manager in the summer of 2014 he paid Luton Town (an English League Two side) an undisclosed fee thought to be between £200k and £400k for the services of striker Andre Gray. He scored 20 goals that season before sealing a £6million move to Championship side Burnley. In regards to Harry Forrester, he was previously tipped to have a big future but has had problems since then - nevertheless he still rejected a contract with European giants Ajax to sign for Brentford for first team opportunities. Warburton seems to love signing young players who have big talent but have had tough times or just simply need a fresh start and I love that aspect of his management. No longer will we spend millions on a 29 years old on the decline. However, we are fast becoming one of the most progressive and modern football clubs in Britain – the appointment of Frank McParland is a massive coup and while his role is head of recruitment; I think you’ll see that move to a sporting director (director of football) in the near future, something Warburton is a massive fan of. I think now would be a good time to visit some young players that were/are based in England, and many will have heard of but maybe not realise where they started out or were signed from. Joe Hart (Shrewsbury – League Two), Chris Smalling (Maidstone - Isthmian Premier), Dele Alli (M.K Dons – League One), Jonjo Shelvey (Charlton - League One), Jamie Vardy (Fleetwood Town - Conference), Danny Ings (Bournemouth - League Two), Leigh Griffiths (Wolves – League One). The reason for that above is to show that there are many reasons why players either start in a team near the bottom of the pyramid, then develop and are noticed later or they drop down from big academies for first-team football: the league they operate in or club they play for is not always indicative of the quality of player they are or the potential they have to develop in to. Many fans, as I mentioned, have adapted and embraced our new footballing philosophy. However, a small minority still moan we don’t lump it in the box, that we shouldn’t play it from the back, that going back to 4-4-2 is the way to go etc and the same goes for transfer strategy: this is the method we will now operate under so please stop having a go and embrace the new apporach in regards to finding talent and playing the beautiful game. Matt Crooks is a natural holding midfielder, which is an area many supporters have rightly pinpointed as a problem area, and would possibly free Halliday to move further forward. Crooks was also in the famous Manchester United youth academy though moving down to get game time at Huddersfield never worked as he wanted but is seriously impressing this season with Accrington. Josh Windass is a central midfielder, who can play in behind the striker, so it will be interesting to see where he would fit in, especially with the impressive form of Jason Holt, who will be difficult to dislodge from the side. He started his youth career with Huddersfield but didn’t do enough to earn a deal and was released in April 2012, having to resurrect his career with a move to non league side Harrogate before he signed a professional contract with Accrington in the summer of 2013. His dad Dean Windass has been a major influence in advising him to move on and take this chance. Both young lads Josh Windass and Matt Crooks are 21 years old, have earned rave reviews for their performances this season and both were being chased by English Championship clubs. So no, they are not poor as some comments have suggested. As fans, we should have full trust in the excellent work Warburton is doing: looking to unearth diamonds in the rough and add "value" should be complimented not derided. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC 150 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) "However, a small minority still moan we don’t lump it in the box," I haven't been to a game this season and the way work is panning out won't get to more than a couple at best, so am wondering how "small" this "minority" is - it comes as across as quite large on TV and radio at times - and very large on the FF matchday thread. Edited January 7, 2016 by SteveC 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,394 Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 Can only agree with John's comments. Every transfer strategy has its risks but we had to move past the excesses of the SDM era onto something more refined and less of a gamble financially. Only time will tell if our new approach will work but, so far at least, it has been acceptable enough. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,394 Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 "However, a small minority still moan we don’t lump it in the box," I haven't been to a game this season ans the way work is panning out won't get to more than a couple at best, so am wondering how "small" this "minority" is - it comes as across as quite large on TV and radio at times - and very large on the FF matchday thread. Hmmm, I don't think it's too bad but at games there's definitely a few hundred who vocally voice their displeasure and impatience when we're struggling to break down teams. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trublusince1982 243 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) How many of the quoted players were free or extremely cheap? How many of them were not regulars for their lower division sides? There is no similarity in our transfer approach Edited January 7, 2016 by trublusince1982 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,394 Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 How many of the quoted players were free or extremely cheap? How many of them were not regulars for their lower division sides? There is no similarity in our transfer approach Hart cost Man City £100K. Smalling cost Fulham a nominal fee based on games played. Ings, Vardy and Griffiths were a bit more expensive at around £1m each. Yes, obviously, we're operating on a different budget from even the £1m fees above but the point is decent pedigree lower league players can be bought cheaply. Time will tell if the strategy is successful but will it be any worse than spending inflated money on the likes of Templeton to name but one? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trublusince1982 243 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) All those players were at the top of their game and stand outs in their respective leagues. Hardy was £1.7m alli £5m. There is no comparison. It's like saying Laudrup was a free from the SPL so there must be other players within the SPL of similar ability at similar cost. Smalling was cheap because he asked for a termination from Middlesbrough due to home sickness Edited January 7, 2016 by trublusince1982 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Hmmm, I don't think it's too bad but at games there's definitely a few hundred who vocally voice their displeasure and impatience when we're struggling to break down teams. I think it's as valid as previous complaints of style of play. Just because so many people simpistically think always playing the ball on the deck is highly entertaining and effective does not make either assertion so. It can sometimes be incredibly dull and frustrating and I predicted that way before we adopted this style. There is always another team on the pitch and they are certainly not there merely to entertain the Ibrox crowd. I think there is a misconception that football is an entertainment with a bit of sport in there, the reality is that it's a sport with a bit of entertainment in there. For the former you need something like the Harlem Globe Trotters. You can still entertain by winning well without playing "nice" football, but ultimately not so much by playing "nice" football without winnng well. Ideally you want both, but if the previous sentence prevails, then it shows that winning well is more important than "nice" football. Personally I really like the way we are playing but would like us to perhaps use more variety of style to see it evolve into something a bit more effective against park the bus defences. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,394 Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 All those players were at the top of their game and stand outs in their respective leagues. Hardy was £1.7m alli £5m. There is no comparison. It's like saying Laudrup was a free from the SPL so there must be other players within the SPL of similar ability at similar cost. You're being disingenuous and that's a pity. Rangers - unless under very rare circumstances - cannot compete at the very top end of the market so it's unfair to suggest we'll be signing the next Dele Alli. Windass and Crooks may not be the next Alli or Smalling but they may well prove to be just as capable relatively speaking. The point is bargains can be had from lower leagues in the market we're more likely to be shopping in. And I think that is proven regularly enough at any level of the game as the more expensive options also show. It's a shame you want to be so negative but hey-ho... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trublusince1982 243 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Where do I suggest buying the likes of alli? That's nonsense. You are arguing the finding of players like alli smalling etc from these leagues is proof talent exists validating our transfer policy. I merely point out the argument is completely flawed and makes no sense what so ever. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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