Alex's Midweek Musings…

07/02/2024 07:01 AM

Over the past week, while news of possible ins and outs at City has generally been on a go-slow, a few odd snippets and comments have appeared in the local media and various other outlets.

Some have been informative, others less so, but for what it’s worth, here is my take on what has been quoted:

Ben Knapper in the EDP:

"We’re ambitious, we feel like we’ve got a group that can win and hit the ground running but also we understand that there’s going to be bumps in the road, and I’d like to think that everybody else can understand that too,”

"Our responsibility is to build a team, and show a team on the pitch every week, that people understand what we’re doing, that they can relate to, and there’s an identity, and hopefully that will allow people in difficult moments to afford us that patience, because at least they’ll be able to see and feel something.

“That’s so important. That’s our responsibility. We take that so seriously, and that’s what we’re focused on every day to deliver.

"We’re going to try and make a lot of changes in terms of playing style, the way that we want to implement a structure that we think can set us up better to achieve what we want to achieve, in terms of performances and results, but also, in terms of developing players.

"That takes time.”

For me…

The Club needs to show greater ambition, and that means Mark Attanasio taking full control immediately. Without this happening we will be seen by other clubs as easy pickings and by foreign clubs as a cash cow to pay over and above the valuation of their players, just as we have done in the not-too-distant past.

As supporters, we are already engaged and fully supportive of the changes made. The art of keeping us onside is by keeping us up to date on how these changes are being implemented. We have seen before that if this doesn’t happen there will be growing concern over the slow pace of changes, but by keeping the majority in the loop it will garner time and understanding.

Jonahhes Hoff Thorup:

“Ben will find out that I will not be ringing him all the time and saying we need this and we need this and we need this and we need this because a part of my job is also to develop football players.

"I would prefer to wait and see.

“It will be not professional enough of us if we’re not looking where we can improve. I prefer to work with football players and train every day instead of being at the office and calling for players that are not here. I'm the type of coach that is not important for me.

"But like I said, to be fair to the players I see great potential. And I see high quality from all the players. Even though you’re 35, with the right mindset and great ambition you can still improve, you can still be better. So when we talk about development, it is not only for 18-year-old players, it can also be for 26-year-olds or 31-year-olds. And that’s a big part of my role."

For me…

Is this a self-assured head coach, one who completely understands his role? Only time will tell, but the early signs are promising.

He says he will leave the recruitment to Ben Knapper, which takes a lot of responsibility away from him, and it’s within Knapper’s remit as sporting director to oversee the recruitment; hopefully with the full backing of his head coach who should also have some input into those players being looked at.

Data-driven recruitment works if it’s done alongside traditional scouting. In the ‘good old days’ a scout would recommend a player after watching him on numerous occasions and then ask the manager to take a look at the player in action before making a final decision.

That was all fine back then but nowadays, with Joe Bloggs being an ace on Football Manager, there are many many ‘scouts’ out there.

Recently a League Two manager mentioned that he had received tips from all over the world about possible players he might be interested in, mostly based on info from Football Manager. Maybe City’s recruitment department is getting similar levels of ‘assistance’.

For me, the data and scouting must go hand in hand and whether or not it’s the sporting director doing the recruitment, the head coach should be the one having the final say, The alternative is we end up in a Sydney van Hoojidonk situation – a player arriving that the coach doesn’t want.

Thoughts away from NCFC…

Our nearest and not-so-dearest have opened their Premier League recruitment with a bang. First through the door was Ben Johnson from West Ham on a free, and this was soon followed by the signing of Omani Hutchinson – who was there on loan last season – for £20m plus add-ons from Chelsea.

(Imagine having the resources, or access to resources, to spend £20 mill – Ed).

Leeds United look to be on the verge of selling 18-year-old Archie Gray to Spurs for £30m while centre-back Joe Rodon, who has been on loan at Leeds from Spurs, is expected to sign a permanent deal at Elland Road.

Polish winger, Olaf Kobacki, once rumoured to be a City target, looks likely to join Sheffield Wednesday along with another supposed City target, Jamal Lowe.

The first deadline of this transfer window has closed and all clubs’ accounts should be winging their way to the FA, EPL and EFL, or whichever body receives them, but player sales can still be added to the accounts if both clubs have documented the deal before the deadline. It’s then called a ‘near-miss deal’. In other words, the bending of rules continues in favour of the elite clubs.

And finally… England

Has the inevitable just been delayed with their last-minute draw and extra-time win over Slovakia? And will the Swiss find large holes in Southgates chosen XI on Saturday?

The other big question is, will UEFA throw the rulebook at Jude Bellingham and ban him from the Switzerland game after Slovakia claimed he aimed a ‘lewd’ gesture at their bench after celebrating his goal?

Now that would throw the cat among the pigeons!