Mind over transfer matters
SOMETHING has troubled me more and more with Albion this season.
It's not been so much a lack of spending on wages or even Tony Mowbray's tactical quirks or team selections.
It's been a growing realisation that Albion really haven't done too well in the transfer market lately.
Not so much outgoing players - anyone who can squeeze £6million out of Fulham for Diomansy Kamara or get £10million for Curtis Davies is clearly doing their bit.
I'm not even talking about the quality of incoming footballers. Some are hugely taleted, some less so.
It's more about the character and mindset.
Or, to put another way, should we be questioning the process of due diligence?
Obviously some have worked. James Morrison, Chris Brunt, Jonas Olsson, Filipe Teixeira and, looking further back, Robert Koren and Dean Kiely have all proven to be outstanding value for the transfer fees paid.
But there have been too many misses.
Take Abdoulaye Meite. This is a player who effectively refused to go out for the second half during a game for his former club.
The fact Albion had a clear run at him when they signed him, barring a bit of speculation about Hull, was a worry.
What we've seen since has made me wince further. His calf strain took an amazing amount of time to heal and the hamstring he pulled against Chelsea prevented him from playing for most of the game but didn't stop him from running off the pitch as he was subbed. One media colleague, an ex-footballer I should add, claims Meite was actually walking when he grabbed the back of his thigh.
How about Ryan Donk? AZ Alkmaar coach Louis Van Gaal's comments at the time of Albion signing him were, well, galling.
He spoke about Donk's talent but alluded to his inability to take on board training ground instructions and was worried about issues in his private life. How have you rated him?
Marek Cech. A talented footballer, no question and shouldn't have been dropped for the Villa game. But the alarm bells should have been ringing last summer when he was told by Porto to not report back to pre-season training, despite still being under contract. I'm told that, disciplinary wise, all isn't well with his conduct and hasn't been for a while.
Scott Carson is a different story altogether. He has the ability, no question. But Albion surely knew they were dealing with a goalkeeper who needed a major overhaul to his confidence following a dramatic loss of form last season. And, let's face it, he won't have got much confidence from playing behind the Baggies' backline this season. A case of the right goalkeeper at the wrong time for Albion. As it happens he's probably been a relative success story and, at 22, can only get better. Assuming this season doesn't do more damage than harm.
And speaking of which, it's fairly clear that Borja Valero is a talented, tidy player. But surely someone should have questioned whether a footballer of his kind was ready for the brutality of the Premier League when a club who were always going to struggle were perhaps more in need of a touch more brawn and definitely more know-how.
Someone may even tell me what the point of Menseguez has been? Rumour has it he's still at the club. And why were Villa so keen to sell Luke Moore? Was this questioned before Albion parted with £3million for a striker who has scored once in 14 months?
Albion employ a sporting and technical director. They have a vibrant and active scouting network along with a database that allows them to know all about a player's attributes and qualities. Albion have the technology which allows them to type a player's name into their system, knowing that they will get an automatic recording of any game featuring that player. That can be edited down to give a visual analysis of the player's performance which will inevitably prompt Tony Mowbray whether to check him out or not.
But sometimes you have to ask why such players become available on the market. What are they like as people? What is their background? Why, in some case, are they no longer wanted by the club or available for a knock-down fee?
A lot was made about Gary Megson's one-man-and-his-dog scouting system - which was effectively his father and a select few contacts he had. He fell out with two chairmen over it. Yet his signings were, albeit not always the greatest footballers, generally made of the right stuff. He made mistakes but the side he built to win promotion in 2002 was either inspired judgement on his part or an incredible fluke. My money's on the former.
In his latter years at the club, Megson will claim that Albion stopped him from signing some players he had picked out by his methods. The club have claimed that Megson turned up his nose at some of their suggested names which came via their scouting projects or through contacts - some current England stars are among that list - but it was a period when Albion were bringing in players of spirit and a strong mental calibre, regardless of the methods.
All managers/clubs are guilty of poor signings. Yet Albion's season has been dictated by a succession of players who haven't worked out.
Something, somewhere isn't quite right with Albion's current transfer policy and that's a worry.
On another note, I'll be doing my live chat tomorrow between 11.30am and 12.30pm. The link is www.birminghammail.net/live or just click here.
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Chris Lepkowski - Mail man Chris Lepkowski’s view of what’s going on at West Bromwich Albion FC.
Out of interest Chris how many of these players do you feel we would've had the remotest possibility of signing if they weren't seen as 'risks' in the footballing world, for whatever reason?
Hi Luke, thanks for message.
Difficult to say. For instance, albion have signed Bosmans before or players who came on low fees on fairly high wages (Kanu, Campbell, Watson, Scimeca) so it is possible.
Perhaps that's a little harder for the Mowbray model because of the type of players he wanted - ie, younger players in the ascendancy of their careers - but both Stoke and Hull (just to offer two examples) brought in players like Faye, Shawcross, Kitson, Boateng, Gardner, Mendy who were made available by their clubs due to natural turnover of players.
There's an element of risk with every signing. But was enough done to eliminate those risks in the first place?
The biggest failures of Mowbrays signings have been on Carson, Valero and Moore.
I was so glad to hear Stoke were looking to sign Carson, then we had step in and pay over the odds for an overrated, low on confidence goalkeeper. Surely sticking with Kiely would have been better and saved us a few quid?
Valero, where do you start with this guy, we didn't need him in the first place as we had too many players of his type of already, but TM took a massive gamble and its failed big time.
Then there is the strange Luke Moore signing, personally i'd like to see him given a go in these left few games of the season to give the lad a fair chance to prove his worth, but again, why did we sign him? We had enough strikers at the time that were getting the goals. Crazy
These 3 players have cost around £12m, just think of the defensive midfielder and decent centre back we could've brought with that money!
Do you really think Tony Mowbray wanted and signed Luke Moore?
If so, he signed him then decided very quickly that you do not feature in my plans, despite the fact were were and are struggling for goals.
I reckon Moore came in against the wishes of TM and formed part of the Davis deal organised by the very silent Jeremy Peace.
Some signing have been questionable, some selections have been questionable (Brunt may actually do something soon) but TM cannot perform miracles with what hes been given. You cannot make a silk purse from a sows ear
The real villain and common denominator in holding this club back is Jeremy Peace.
Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and speculate to accumulate (not mortgaging the club indefinatley) and make a concerted effort to remain in the Premier League....he didnt....were not.
A real test of supporter loyalty next season....empty seats all round I reckon
Even less money then Mr Peace
Jeremy Peace could not be happier with a yes man as a manager.
Is Tony Mowbray just happy to along with everything the chairman does. To 25,000 loyal fans it seems to be the case.
But would TM say yes when the chaiman says your fired.
Just got a feeling when the fans have one go at the chairman he will sack Tony Mowbray to take the pressure of his own back.
Chris, next time you get to interview Jeremy Peace I speak for all the fans when I hope you really grill him as to why he won't allow this club to establish itself in the Premiership. He owes us an explanation now, because it's the same old story, only this time it hurts all the more, because we had more hope than ever this time, with a manager of rare quality, yet it's been the worst campaign yet. Ok the transfers of the summer have seemed naive and ill-thought but in January, while Stoke were buying Beattie and Etherington and Hull were giving Jimmy Bullard the wages that Fulham wouldn't, Mowbray could only sign four players of no Premiership experience whatsoever to try and salvage our season. It's not like these clubs have a billionaire in the boardroom or have accumulated years of Premiership money is it. Bottom line is they show a passion for keeping their clubs up, while our chairman sits on the cash and seems to happily watch us go through the pain of relegation. About a month ago the club announced on the official website that in response to claims that Mowbray hadn't been backed with any money during his tenure, he had actually spent £9m net on transfers. So in essence, he's only had £9m to spend on building a Premiership team! And with the smallest wage budget in the league too! In this day and age, that's almost impossible.
Some blame Mowbray for the mess but most know that we have a good manager who is potentially a great one. Most can see that Peace's running of the club is getting us nowhere. If he sacked Mowbray to buy himself more time, I hope the furious reaction would mean he needs to get out very quickly! I've heard worrying things from people who speak to those within the club, that the players the scouts recommend to Mowbray are simply given a "no" by Peace, that Mowbray has reached the point where he doesn't see any point in asking the chairman for funds anymore, and that Peace is looking to sell the club with his pockets well lined. Until he's gone, we may as well wallow in the Championship it seems.
Er, Chris - some of us have been banging on about this since May. An appalling and totally negligent approach to the season. Whats this nonsense about "due diligence"? Ultimately, Mowbray takes full responsibility for signings as its his job on the line if they dont work out - not the scout, not the agent, not the chairman. The manager signs the players. If he doesnt want them then he doesnt sign them. Its not rocket science, good manangement is about signing good players. Cloughie knew that. Look at the money we've wasted - a million on Slusarki, a player most Albion fans have never even seen. Criminal.
Oh, and if you look back at your articles from the later Megson era, you'll find you were also one of the ones who fell for the line about an "integrated scouting approach" and made snide remarks about Don Megson being old school. Some of us remember...
People like you voted for this in your treatment of Gary Megson - now deal with the fall out. Frank Burrows put it best in his parting comments: "these people wont appreciate the job that Gary's done for West Brom for another 5-10 years when theyre back where they were when he took over".
ps. you also forgot Zuiverloon - a defender who cant actually defend.
Re: Dan Nash's post above
Dan - how on earth can you justify calling Mowbray "a potentially great manager"?
Have we made ANY progress this season? No. Have we learnt anything? No. Have we got any better over the season and cut out the mistakes? No. Have we spent a small fortune? Yes.
Stoke and Hull spent - but so did we. And they had a lot lower base to work from.
Mowbray has learnt nothing this season that a fan with a genuine understanding of the game couldnt have told him on 10th May last year.
1. Our defending has been appalling and after 3 years its as bad as it was the day he joined
2. You need experienced pros in this league - why did it take until Jan to figure this out? doh!
3. You need a decent squad size - not just keeping your fingers crossed that injury or form doesnt strike
4. Buy players for their correct position - defenders who defend, not because they can hit a 40 yard pass
5. Dont go into the season with kids and "magic dust" - naieve at best, at worse negligent.
6. There is no moral high ground when youre dead last - please remember, this is our WORST EVER premiership showing and arguably the league is poorer than ever
7. No successful team plays without a midfield defensive anchor - we dont and hence we're not successful
8. Starting the season without your top goalscorer, without an attacking midfielder with a knack for key goals and instead starting with 2 forwards with no prem experience and one other who hadnt scored a goal for the club was criminal.
9. Sign players for the key positions needed - centre mid, centre forward and centre half. Why spent 5m+ on a right winger (a position which we have 4+ players already)
10. Dont be so wasteful with peoples hard earned money - Slusarki, Mensequez, Moore, Valero, Zuiverloon, Meite, Donk, Cech. Thats a lot of money spent on players with no impact on our season.
Perhaps the biggest question is why the albion fans continue to put up with this rubbish and make excuses for a manager out of his depth. If this was Robson in charge (another rubbish manager by the way) they'd be burning down the Halfords Lane by now. But Mowbray gets an easy ride. Madness
Dave/soft footed Borja,
Thanks for your message. But a few things I need to set the record straight over.
While the manager signs players, in the sense that they join while he is manager, there are cases (and this happens at many clubs) where players have come from recommendations or from the scouting network and are rubber stamped by the manager after he's seen them. It may sometimes be, for example,a player whose name has been mentioned in the boardroom during a conversation between chairmen. It does happen. It doesn't mean the manager doesn't want that player - but equally if you're offred a player who may improve your squad, then you'll not turn your nose up at it. Slusarski, incidentally, came on the recommendation of the sporting and technical director at the time. Such signings are common in football. Albion is hardly unique.
As for my articles about Megson's late era, then I stand by those. Megson's signings in the first 2-3 years were outstanding, in the main. But what of the successful 2003/04 season and the number of players brought to the club? I believe it was about 35-40. It was a scattergun approach. Some players worked, some didn't, some were barely (if at all) used. Gary admitted this himself! Hardly a fiancially viable management of resoures, not least as some of those players remained on the wage bill for the start of the following season and were draining money out of the club which could otherwise have been spent on other players. Also, don't assume that Gary Megson's signings all came from his own contacts or his scouting contacts- there were several big-hitters during that Premier League campaign (Gera for instance) who were brought to the club on recommendations from others. Gera was touted around many clubs before Albion made their move. Gary needed convincing that Gera was the real deal before he signed him. As for 'voting for this' - I don't recall it ever being put to a ballot, but yes perhaps I would have done because it was structured. Albion were only playing catch-up in what other clubs, including Gary Megson's current employers, had been doing for many years.
Regarding the process of due diligence (or the nonsense as you call it), surely you're not suggesting Albion should sign players without making character checks through the club's vast contacts? It only takes a phone-call or two to find out if Player A is suitable for the club or if he's bad news or got potential for trouble.
Thanks.
Chris
soft footed borja. I honestly can’t agree with anything in your post. Yes we have made progress this year we will end this season at least a place above last year. In my eyes we have moved forward, if you haven’t noticed Mowbray is starting to build ‘his team’ which takes time especially if you bring in young players and inexperienced who haven’t played in this league. (Before you say that’s Mowbray’s fault would like to see the alternative players we could have gone after with our wage budget and lack of funds) Have we spent a small fortune? The answer is no. 3million net spend over the last three years = a joke.
1. Our defending has been poor last three years but would take that for more substance in the last third. What would you rather have good going forward or good at the back because a good defense doesn’t keep you up.
2. Buy experienced pros. Yeah that’s a good idea with our wage budget and we can’t progress by buying old players because we can’t afford to keep on rolling over players every year. Its ok for stoke to spend money on Beattie for maybe couple of seasons then waste 5 million on Kitson we can’t compete with that money.
3. Decent sized squad with 3 million net spend, not viable is it?
4. Can’t see the point of that comment
5. The magic want will have to do if the manager is not backed over the long term.
6. You mustn’t have been to many games if you think this is the worst Premership showing. Performance wise we have done miles better that three years ago. So many games this year we have been robbed. As said by opposition players and managers - Bruce and Neville spring to mind
7. Chelsea and Man Utd got a defensive midfielder. Don’t see Keane and Makelle been replaced? We wouldn’t need one if our midfielder tracked back a bit more
8. So you think we should have kept Phillips not matter what he asked for? Hartson springs to mind.
9. You must not know any player positions if you say that
10. In my opinion the performances from the players who have been brought in and done well i.e. Koren, Tex and Olsson outlay these players. Remember their Albion careers aren’t over yet.
It is easy to blame the manager. Who else could do a better job with our club?