bonaire wrote:
Think Leeds will be the surprise team for 2025 and pushing the top four.
I can see your point thinking 2025 is just about steadying the ship and finally getting proper foundations with real structure in both training and game plans. Unfortunately the way this poor quality recruitment has been made and the length of contracts leaves us with very little room for adding some quality and pace in the positions we need in 2026 so we could be left with virtually the same squad for 2026 and another year in the lower depths of S/L
I think we were & are (through the clubs own doing in cutting corners since 2018) in pretty much no man’s land in recruitment.
We aren’t as I’m sure even the most rose tinted would agree the most attractive club or team at present. We’ve had an awful lot of deadwood & rot to cut out which in fairness to Myler he has done to a large extent.
I think it was always going to be a difficult task to do much in this current recruitment cycle due in the most part to being behind the eight ball when the recruitment was started.
We wouldn’t have got many takers offering 1 year deals and certainly not of quality. It’s been a case of do we pay way over the odds or offer longer deals? I’ll admit some of the deals are on the face it longer than I’d have liked but that maybe the more cost effective way even if we end up moving them on after 1year.
I’m disappointed we haven’t brought some quality into the centres or pace especially given we’ve signed Cust when a player of Leuteles quality was & is still available.
That said I dont know the true facts/figures of the costs of 2024’s squad so it’s difficult to know how much recruitment had been hampered paying off a large number of inflated contracts.
We had little room for 2025 but players have been moved on or out so I would hope should the need to do so again we will.
Hopefully we’ll start to see and be able to understand what the thoughts, plans and processes are from the club especially when pre season has got underway.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not exactly thrilled with the recruitment for 2025 but we were in such a mess due to years of neglect in that dept steadying the ship was needed first & foremost.