Craig Gardner (4 replies)
Keep seeing threads about individual performances but nothing to mention Gards so far, without the interference of Dong, I think he was massively Influential in bringing John Eustace in as manager and he should be commended for that, albeit Bowyers tenure had gone sour, I can’t believe that decision could of been easy, but to then find a replacement like he has in JE should be appreciated, many of us including myself were sceptical of the hire, but wow what a breath of fresh air it’s been so far.
Now onto the player recruitment, with limited resources and off-field issues, I think many lessons were learnt from last years scattergun approach, there was a clear philosophy this summer to recruit players with energy, pace, tempo and a good bloody engine on them, but also players who are technically good with something to prove, it wasn’t square pegs in round holes or to fill a squad. It was sensible, well thought out and clever business in my opinion, I would say every signing so far has panned out, even the Norwich lad who’s been injured is serviceable and did alright when he was needed.
The Ruddy, Trusty and Bielik signings were inspired, the spine of that team is phenomenal so far this season, supplemented by Longelo, Hannibal and Sanderson signings.
Think Craig deserves some credit, using his contacts in the game and understanding that in this league that model of business is probably the way to go. Lots of teams in recent times have recruited this way; I hope this continues and they are keeping there beady eyes on lower leagues players too because there are some gems to be found, aswel as developing there own youth which JE is doing really well and taking advantage of the loan system.