Don't slate the recruitment team

Let's be straight: branding the recruitment team 'garbage' feels short-sighted. Fans see a few names that didn't quite click and the noise gets loud, but you only have to glance at the bigger picture to see that's not the whole story.

Profit and progress don't look the same on every sheet

To be fair, recruitment isn't judged purely on sentimental favourites. Players come in, develop and sometimes leave for a profit. You mentioned Gassama, Chermiti and Fernandez being in that bracket, and Igamane moving after a single season — those are examples people point to when arguing the scouts and analysts are getting things right. Profit doesn't mean everything, but it's a sign someone in the background is doing their job.

Deals are messy — agents, clubs and players all have a say

It isn't Fifa Ultimate Team where you just click and a player appears. In reality a transfer needs the player's buy-in, our board, the selling club and the agent to align. That adds friction and sometimes we miss out on targets through no fault of the recruitment department. Saying 'they couldn't get X so they're useless' ignores how many hurdles exist behind the scenes.

Don't judge an entire strategy on a lone stat

Fans are justified to be frustrated when strikers don't score enough. Dessers drew criticism for missed chances and for not offering the all-round game people expect. But reducing the judgement to ‘he only scored six so he's mince’ misses context — movement, hold-up play, link-up, the chances created for him, the system he's asked to play in. Good recruitment looks for fits as well as goal counts.

In short: recruitment is messy and imperfect. But there are clear signs of planning and potential in several signings. We should hold those in the mix before writing the whole department off. To borrow the obvious — transfers are risky. That risk doesn't automatically equal incompetence.

Written by AyrshireMurphy: 16 February 2026