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Juantwothree

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Posts posted by Juantwothree

    All things Dundee FC

    in Scottish Premiership General Chatter

    Posted

    1 hour ago, RandomGuy. said:

    Its a long one so ill spoiler it.

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    I think he was left to pretty much do all the scouting/signing when he first joined, just as TW did.

    Its why he seemed to go for experienced proven players (Conway/Bryson) and Millwall loanees (Olaofe/McNamara). Of those four, three were successes, while Olaofe just couldnt get in the team but has shown quality in England.

    Added Melamed based on video, after asking an agency to find a striker, and left him out the team for months before finally playing him and he was sensational.

    2nd season is where it fell apart. Folk go on about the sales of Kerr/McCann screwing him over, but it was agreed for a while before Kerr left that he could go once we were out of Europe and Davidson thought Hayden Muller (Millwall loanee) could replace him. McCann was the big one but again, Davidson agreed to sell him and wanted Cammy MacPherson as a replacement. A lack of ambition to improve the squad led to us scrambling about for loan players at the end of the window and we ended up with a mixed bag. Muller struggling at RCB saw us sign another in Lars Dendoncker, without him being watched, based on the word of David Weir. He struggled so Efe Ambrose was then signed a few months later. He also failed and left just months later.

    By the end of the season he had tried to replace Kerr 5 times. Finally got a decent one in Cleary, then when he left he signed another 2 players (Mitchell (Millwall loanee) and Ryan McGowan) to play that role, and neither played it the way his system needed. So all in he had 6 failed attempts to solve one position.

    That January was the first where he worked with a HOR, we signed 10 in a scattergun attempt to rebuild a squad staring at relegation, most of whom are gone or were frozen out by Davidson. Very much felt, looking at the signings, like both were signing players. 

    This past Summer he was on his own again and signed a lot of good players. Most have contributed something and im not sure any are really "failures". His issue was he didnt actually know how to use these good players, while also stockpiling ones who were too similar to all fit in. Led to us having David Wotherspoon, Ali Crawford, Jamie Murphy and Graham Carey all on the bench watching Stevie May and Connor McLennan chase long balls. Just a complete waste of money.

    Barely anything was done in January, which was needed tbh (we'd signed over 30 players in 18 months), but a few left. One, a £100k signing who'd played about 100 minutes, quoted as saying he had made to feel like an outcast and had barely been spoken to by the manager in his 12 months with us. A month or two later a second player said similar, and hadnt been contacted at all during his loan spell by the manager.

    All in its a mixed bag. His order of preference in terms of building a squas seems to be...

    1. Over 30s, proven experienced players - His preference, and they do well generally. He'll overpay and overcommit to them.

    2. Millwall loanees - Relies on this to beef up the squad. Presumably based entirely on Gary Rowetts recommendations. Will give them more chances than your own youth players.

    3. Younger Scottish players he remembers from years ago - Both MacPherson and Rudden signed based on showing potential at a younger age, rather than what they are like now.

    4. Punts based on agent recommendations -  Pot luck. For every Dan Phillips and Guy Melamed you get a Viv Solomon-Otabor and Jahmal Hector-Ingram. He seems to sign them regardless then decide.

    5. Your own youth players - Not to be trusted until they're 23yo+ with multiple loan spells at a lower level, unless in emergencies or for final 10 minutes of dead rubber. Max Kucheriavyi is twice the player Ali Crawford is yet got dumped in the stand then papped off on loan to Falkirk simply because hes young.

    He spent more over his tenure than Wright, McInnes and Coyle combined, and its highly likely that extends way back to the 90s too. If you include wages then it almost definitely will. One of the best backed managers we've ever had in terms of spending power and freedom to target who he wanted. Even a few months back we were bidding £100k for Jordan White, while having 6 senior strikers already on the books.

     

    Yikes

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