Sign players early ......... or play a waiting game

[Rattus Norvegicus]

With the squad decreasing each week Brown, Horton and co will be working away looking at signing new players for the coming season.

Now, we all like to see some quick signings - it suggests that the club is a desirable place to be, the finances are in order and that we are taking our pick from a bigger pool. And having a nearly full squad gives the team more time to gel and get used to each other as the pre-season friendlies roll on.

Alternatively, leaving it late suggest that the club is not so good ......... and then there is the suggestion that any signing is better than no signing ....... and the doubting Thomas posts start flying on Shrimperzone.

But there is the position that players from the Championship might not settle their position for some time ........ look at the Pigott position last summer for instance ........ and waiting might see the club net some good talent that is being let go by London based clubs higher up the pyramid. If we have the spine of decent team already then why not wait and be picky?

What do you think? Sign players early ........ or play a waiting game?

 

[davewebbsbrain]

PB played a waiting game last season and we ended up with the dross

 

[Smiffy]

He has already come out and said he wants business done early ahead of pre-season training, so let's see what or who he can magic up in the next couple of months......huge job on his hands.

 

[RHB]

He has already come out and said he wants business done early ahead of pre-season training, so let's see what or who he can magic up in the next couple of months......huge job on his hands.

I have a sinking feeling that Barnett is still part of that huge job.

 

[leeblue]

To a large extent it's out of the club's control. The players ultimately decide who they sign for and when. Once the agents have got the best deal.

 

[SufcUpAndDown]

I have a sinking feeling that Barnett is still part of that huge job.

I do as well, I'm hoping not though.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

PB played a waiting game last season and we ended up with the dross

I doubt PB purposely played the waiting game and we didn't end up signing dross either!!!

 

[tommy tucker]

Get a few player in early but isn't there some kind of rule that you cant sign released players until there full contract is up some time in june I thought it was . The other bug bind is that watch word Agents .Now I know I'm getting old but years ago when we brought great players into our club Ie Billy best Billy Garner Stewart brace didn't have agents .Maybe garner did but the good old days players football did the talking not bloody agents . The is a word that should only be used for greedy prem players .

 

[LCBB72]

The managment will say they have pin pointed the players they want to bring in but wont say who they are because they dont want to alert other clubs , so come the end we get the players nobody else wants .

 

[BoyWonder2]

Get a few player in early but isn't there some kind of rule that you cant sign released players until there full contract is up some time in june I thought it was . The other bug bind is that watch word Agents .Now I know I'm getting old but years ago when we brought great players into our club Ie Billy best Billy Garner Stewart brace didn't have agents .Maybe garner did but the good old days players football did the talking not bloody agents . The is a word that should only be used for greedy prem players .

The transfer window doesn't officially open until the start of July.

Anyone we "sign" from now until then is only on a pre-contract agreement, similar to the players we "signed" under Sturrock whilst we were under an embargo.

 

[shrimpercats]

The problem is that we can have little confidence about the quality of Brown's signings. Whilst I accept that injuries played a part, not one of last year's signings (Hunt, Mooney, Wordsworth, O'neil, McLaughlin) cemented a regular first team place. And neither did any of the loan signings. That is desperately poor and any repetition this year will certainly spell relegation.

 

[JD]

Unfortunately, losing two of your best players in Bentley and Payne gives the wrong message to any potential new recruits, for that reason we will be forced to do our business lastminute.com .......


Saying that I hope I am completely wrong and we get it all done on the 1st of July!

 

[kentblues]

Last year due to the playoffs we didn't know what division we would be in- a huge impact on the recruitment process. This year there is much more time to plan and work on targets.

In answer to the question I suspect both. Some key targets that we have been tracking (and players like Moussa, Barbett and perhaps Piotr M) early, others later. I would imagine its always worth having a slot or two open for players who have been unable to find a club at a higher level and who lower their wage demands etc. But just one or two max as it can be a bit of a lottery late on.

 

[Barry.C]

I dont think its an either or matter. We have been notoriously late as a club in sorting out recruitment and other matters. It seemed to have crept into the wallpaper. Not many on here believe that approach has served us well at all, added to the slightly separate issue of our pretty poor record under Phil and Co at actually identifying and bringing in better, quality players. To add some balance I accept that getting in the play offs twice hampered the time available.

What evidence there is from the Premiership, clearly confirms that planning some time ahead and getting in early on player recruitment is MORE LIKELY to lead to success and promotion for all the more obvious reasons , of getting everyone in as a team and match strong from the outset. I do wonder about what was said to be our careful due diligence on players to see how they might fit in. Bolger? , Fitness issues with Hunt and others etc, doesn't breed confidence in the clubs skills in this area.

On the other hand and secondly, there is also a significant advantage if you can just hold back some funds for that late, great hopefully, Championship player. Justin Edinburgh wrote about this and the importance of keeping your nerve towards the end to capture the late bird.
So in summary my view is, just for a change , go out there and get the majority of a good squad in early and leave room for a last minute bargain. I should also add there are an ever increasing number of decent players are out there early on and pre-contracts work quite well. Unattached players can also be signed permanently and immediately.
The Management have woken up at last to the idea of getting em in early. You could also add that some Premiership clubs, which I accept we are not in the same league, are planning recruitment at least one year ahead. Phil has said he is going to go out and do it this year, so despite a poor track record, lets hope he has every success

 

[Jai]

What evidence there is from the Premiership, clearly confirms that planning some time ahead and getting in early on player recruitment is MORE LIKELY to lead to success and promotion for all the more obvious reasons , of getting everyone in as a team and match strong from the outset

You mean the Premier League clubs that the majority of players in the world would love to sign for...

Unfortunately, the majority of players in the world do not want to sign for Southend. They will get an offer from us, possibly quite early. They will go on holiday, weigh it up, and wait for an offer from a bigger and better club. If one doesn't come, they sign for us. How early they sign will depend on how confident they are they will get that better offer. The better players will wait, get better offers and sign for other clubs. The ones not so sure of themselves will sign early.

Unfortunately as much as people think the club is in control of when players come in, they really aren't. The ball is in the court of the player and their agent.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

The problem is that we can have little confidence about the quality of Brown's signings. Whilst I accept that injuries played a part, not one of last year's signings (Hunt, Mooney, Wordsworth, O'neil, McLaughlin) cemented a regular first team place. And neither did any of the loan signings. That is desperately poor and any repetition this year will certainly spell relegation.

That does sound poor - but I suspect that this is also a feature of today's game where there seems to be a constant churn of players (on short-term contracts often). Add to this the loan system and a contracted player (out injured or struggling with form) can suddenly find someone else coming in and filling their place - although on many occasions it can (with hindsight) be argued that the loan player is little better than what he have already.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Another factor that might have been important in the last few seasons was of course club finances.

Now I don't want to start another thread on this but it does seem that the club is now on a more stable financial footing than it has been for a number of years and perhaps it is easier for Ronald to come up with budget figures to discuss with Brown earlier in the closed season rather than later.

All of the above is guesswork ........... but based on a little common sense I hope.

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

It's not helped in the last two seasons that we've been involved in the play-offs, meaning our season has finished later than everyone else's. Hopefully this season, with players already released, Brown knows what he's got, he can identify what he needs and we can get at least a few players in early. But as Jai says, it is largely out of the club's control - you can't force players to sign early. A lot of people in the football world will be on holiday for the next few weeks anyway.

 

[Barry.C]

It certainly will be interesting to see how this develops, now that Brown has the opportunity to move quickly. Finances should be better, even more so if Bentley, Payne and Worrall depart for reasonable sums.Hopefully he has been mulling over all season who might not be suitable for moving the side beyond consolidation

To his credit he has already made the first main moves in determining his retained list nice and early as best as possible. What I shall look out for with my usual fevered enthusiasm and excitement is whether we do actually act as quickly as other clubs in a similar position this time, or whether hot air is at play, otherwise our structure and organisation might need a revamp
The biggest thing I will be looking for though is the actually quality of those brought in, given overall the very poor servings to date from Phil and Co's recruitment and assessment team .
Its easy to look on the BBC transfers page to see and compare with other teams if we are actually living up to the" get in early approach ", compared to others? This doesnt mean rushing, its about good planning

 

[BoyWonder2]

Finances should be better, even more so if Bentley, Payne and Worrall depart for reasonable sums.

We won't be getting a penny for Worrall should he leave.