Rockford's Love Child
Member
- Joined
- 15 Mar 2010
- Messages
- 13,875
- Player
- Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
- Manager
- John King
Ray will have been a lot cheaper than a proven League One centre half, which is why we had to take a gamble on him.
While not a "wizard" his transfers certainly hold up to scrutiny very well. Davies and Jennings have made the journey from NL to regular L1 starters which is an achievement; Norwood, McNulty and Cook became legends on our journey while Harris, Maynard and Sutton have ended up playing at a league above the NL level they were signed at. Not forgetting Jeff Hughes who played his part and could have stayed for a further season. I think Brabin signed them all which is not too shabby. Ok, there were misses as well as hits but the 9 players mentioned above is pretty impressive in a tenure that only lasted 16 months.The idea that Brabin was some wizard in the transfer market is an urban myth.
As Ross says, Brabin had one of the highest budgets in the league and could cherry pick players who would have been known to most managers. Mellon does not have that benefit. It is easy to judge him based on the players that stood the test of time, but what about the dross that did not. Marlon Jackson, Ben Tomlinson, Michael Higdon, Darren Stephenson, Louis Almond, Jonny Margetts, Gary Taylor Fletcher........While not a "wizard" his transfers certainly hold up to scrutiny very well. Davies and Jennings have made the journey from NL to regular L1 starters which is an achievement; Norwood, McNulty and Cook became legends on our journey while Harris, Maynard and Sutton have ended up playing at a league above the NL level they were signed at. Not forgetting Jeff Hughes who played his part and could have stayed for a further season. I think Brabin signed them all which is not too shabby. Ok, there were misses as well as hits but the 9 players mentioned above is pretty impressive in a tenure that only lasted 16 months.
Fair comment, but I think Mellon's recruitment is harshly criticised by some supporters.My point wasn't in support of Brabin as a manager or a criticism of Mellon as a recruiter; purely that Brabin's recruitment record shouldn't be disregarded. It was certainly the most impressive part of his tenure and meant Mellon had a core of a squad to work with when he took over, rather than having to start from scratch at the next transfer window.