Fix the recruitment, not the manager

We don't need a managerial purge — we need a coherent recruitment model, a smaller, sharper squad and leaders on the park. Here's why wholesale change won't solve our problems.

Start with the basics. The model I've been banging on about isn't some fancy theory — it's about continuity. If you allow three or four quality signings a year to slot in and replace those who leave, the spine of the team stays intact. When recruitment goes wrong you don't get subtle tweaks, you get wholesale churn and the loss of any identity. It's obvious why people panic, but firing the manager is rarely the clean fix some imagine.

Look at the lack of creativity. This isn't a stat to invent, it's a feel on the pitch: there are positions that should be sources of invention and they're empty or filled with players who don't fit the role. That feeds through to results, to tempo and to how the team shapes up in transition. Good recruitment finds the profile and the character that suits the manager's way of play — that's the missing link more often than not.

Responsibility is shared. I used management examples to show it's not always the gaffer alone. Players have to step up. The worrying absence of real captains on the pitch is part of the problem. Leadership isn't a badge; it's presence, organisation and someone who drags the team through patches. Without that, younger signings don't get nurtured, standards slip and the cycle continues.

The practical side? Trim the squad. Aim for 22 senior players with four being genuine projects — youngsters who can be blooded and grown. Make that a condition in recruitment briefs for whoever gets the job. If the manager doesn't buy into a smaller, sharper squad and a clear profile for signings, then he's not the right fit for what the club needs.

So I'm saying no to knee-jerk managerial changes and no to endless reshuffles. Demand success, always. Expect standards, always. But do it with a plan: tighten recruitment, create leaders, and build a squad that actually hangs together.

Written by Windy: 5 April 2026