Clubs reap what they sow in the cut-throat world of recruitment
FOOTBALL is about players. Of course, managers/head coaches are very important but, at the end of the day, it is what the players achieve. Jack Grealish is the perfect example at Aston Villa.
Who has the best players? This is clearly illustrated by the teams at the top and bottom of divisions. Now, you may think this is stating the obvious but recruitment is so important.
Take Wolves. Their new ownership brought in money, head coach Nuno Espirito Santo and a range of top players, mostly Portuguese, and, bingo, they win the Championship and then enjoy good seasons in the Premier League, an FA Cup run to the semi-final and a run in the Europa League. What a contrast to previous seasons.
This season, they sold Diogo Jota to Liverpool but when their Mexican striker Raul Jimenez was injured at Arsenal, their progress fell away.
Villa’s recruitment after losing players when they won the Championship play-off final was not successful and they just stayed up on their return to the Premier League after the last match.
This time the recruitment was much better. Despite Dean Smith’s insistence that they are not a oneman team, the stats show differently.
Grealish has missed six games with a shin injury. During this time Villa have taken five points from a possible 18 with just one win. Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat by Spurs illustrated his absence, particularly in the final third.
No Villa shots in the first half... just two of note in the second. Grealish has created 75 scoring chances this season, which is over twice the next player, Ollie Watkins.
Hopefully, Jack will be back soon because Villa are still aiming for a Europa League spot.
Leicester City’s recruitment has been outstanding and the squad copes without key players James
Maddison and Harvey Barnes, although they could do with them to secure a Champions League spot.
Their form is excellent – third in the Premier League – and they are now in the FA Cup semi-finals after beating Manchester United brilliantly 3-1 in the quarter-final. They have the easiest-looking semi-final draw against Southampton.
West Bromwich Albion seem doomed to relegation and head coach Sam Allardyce would have to weigh up his options about staying.
The team, despite a few signings in January, is clearly not good enough. Relegation would see all the loan players return to their parent clubs, apart from Robert Snodgrass. The remaining better players may want away with wages reportedly lowered considerably. The Baggies are not big spenders. Despite visits to the Premier League and its riches, their record transfer fee is £18 million for England Under21 player Grady Diangana from West Ham in the summer.
So, to Birmingham City and their new manager Lee Bowyer. Most fans think it’s a big improvement on Aitor Karanka and I agree.
But are the players good enough? The new boss ‘bounce’ saw a better attitude in the excellent 2-1 home midweek win over high-flying Reading.
But at the weekend, they lost 3-0 at second-placed Watford, who really are the second-best team in the Championship after runaway leaders Norwich.
Bowyer was quoted as saying that Watford ‘ain’t the games that will keep us up in this division.’
Well, looking at the fixture list with eight games left, there are not too many that fall into his category.
Swansea on Friday week will be followed by Brentford (third and fourth in the table) and Stoke (top half ) before going to Rotherham in a match Blues simply have to win.
The Millers, fresh from their 3-0 win at Bristol City, are now just three points behind Blues with FOUR games in hand and a far superior goal difference, which is worth an extra point on paper at this stage.
Their fixture list is slightly easier on paper but some games will have to be packed in tightly to finish the season on time.
For Blues, add in-form Cardiff and the only three matches left in those ‘games that will keep us up’ are Nottingham Forest at home and visits to Derby and Blackburn. No guarantees there. On the plus side, the Championship can be unpredictable and Bowyer has the international break to work with his ‘new’ players.
Ironically, Blues’ main hope for staying up is that their tenants, Coventry, slip up.
The Sky Blues missed a golden chance at St Andrew’s on Saturday, drawing 0-0 with bottom club Wycombe. They missed a hatful of chances and it leaves them just one point above their landlords, albeit with a game in hand and a better goal difference of six. However, Coventry do have to keep picking up points so they too have it all to do to stay up. A tense finish, so who will be relieved by tea-time on May 8 – Paul Warne, Bowyer or Mark Robins?
But a final thought... could Derby, Forest, Huddersfield or Preston get dragged in? Blues are only six points behind. If that happens, it could be DING-DONG not DONG-OUT!
This time the recruitment was much better. Despite Dean Smith’s insistence that they are not a one-man team, the stats show differently.
In addition to this weekly column with energy power company Utilita, I am now writing in the Sunday Mercury – nostalgia columns based on my 53 years in broadcasting – thanks to the family-owned car sales group All Electric. Don’t miss it!