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2022/23 Kevin Thelwell

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I have the same concern with him as I shared last year.

I've no idea if the bloke has ever been in charge of transfers anywhere before Everton. Only had the title at Wolves and Mendes ran the show there.

Some promising signings in Onana, and Garner in particular but then you could say he spent the money in the wrong area on both which should have sent us down last season.

But then concerns that he got the runaround with the likes of Gana, the sheer amount of players we tried for and failed with last season and not to mention the Danjuma episode.
 
GrandOldTeam said:
I have the same concern with him as I shared last year.

I've no idea if the bloke has ever been in charge of transfers anywhere before Everton. Only had the title at Wolves and Mendes ran the show there.

Some promising signings in Onana, and Garner in particular but then you could say he spent the money in the wrong area on both which should have sent us down last season.

But then concerns that he got the runaround with the likes of Gana, the sheer amount of players we tried for and failed with last season and not to mention the Danjuma episode.
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Danny, a valid and fair concern to be fair, but as you mention yourself the transfer business last season wasn't diabolical, especially with the finances.

McNeil, Onana, Garner and Tarkowski were all decent signings at a minimum. Coady and Gana are a meh at best, and then you have Maupay.

I think Thelwell still has a lot to do before many or most fans will trust him, however I do think we have to be realistic about the situation the club faces.

For a DoF, that must make planning particularly difficult because we're neither a stable club, a place most players will look at as an attractive prospect and...

... most likely heavily restricted in terms of finances. It ain't excusing him from his responsibilities, but rather highlighting that we're in a very difficult position.

I will judge him come the end of August, however already I think we all know that the shenanigans behind the scenes will be a hindrance.
 

GrandOldTeam said:
I have the same concern with him as I shared last year.

I've no idea if the bloke has ever been in charge of transfers anywhere before Everton. Only had the title at Wolves and Mendes ran the show there.
Click to expand...
I honestly think he is just a project manager type here to co-ordinate the various departments within the football club. Dan Purdy is our actual Head of Recruitment and he is someone who has been previously sacked then given his job back again and seems very much a 'jobs for the boys' type appointment imo so probably isn't going to complain when chairman Bill and his black book of contacts and extensive transfer acumen come along.
 
PhilM said:
Danny, a valid and fair concern to be fair, but as you mention yourself the transfer business last season wasn't diabolical, especially with the finances.

McNeil, Onana, Garner and Tarkowski were all decent signings at a minimum. Coady and Gana are a meh at best, and then you have Maupay.

I think Thelwell still has a lot to do before many or most fans will trust him, however I do think we have to be realistic about the situation the club faces.

For a DoF, that must make planning particularly difficult because we're neither a stable club, a place most players will look at as an attractive prospect and...

... most likely heavily restricted in terms of finances. It ain't excusing him from his responsibilities, but rather highlighting that we're in a very difficult position.

I will judge him come the end of August, however already I think we all know that the shenanigans behind the scenes will be a hindrance.
Click to expand...

We instinctively try and find the positive angle during the summer as we try and move from doom and gloom to optimism but the thing is, and to be fair it's not hindsight stuff as I was like a stuck record with last summer - we needed goals and he didn't address that. That decision absolutely buried us last season and we were minutes away from a Doucoure worldie from going down.

We finished last season with our lowest ever points total and he contributed to that. January was a total disaster;



No room for misplaced optimism when we have just survived relegation 2 seasons on the spin by the skin of our teeth.

Thelwell for me is a massive concern because he has no credit in the bank.

We ended the last 2 windows weaker than how we started it. Do that again and it's curtains.
 
GrandOldTeam said:
We instinctively try and find the positive angle during the summer as we try and move from doom and gloom to optimism but the thing is, and to be fair it's not hindsight stuff as I was like a stuck record with last summer - we needed goals and he didn't address that. That decision absolutely buried us last season and we were minutes away from a Doucoure worldie from going down.

We finished last season with our lowest ever points total and he contributed to that. January was a total disaster;



No room for misplaced optimism when we have just survived relegation 2 seasons on the spin by the skin of our teeth.

Thelwell for me is a massive concern because he has no credit in the bank.

We ended the last 2 windows weaker than how we started it. Do that again and it's curtains.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to argue against needing a striker and it was an undoubted failure, yet I think that view alone ignores quite a few other important elements.

I've said it multiple times, but the major issues we had in the 21/22 season were our woeful defence and non-existent midfield. They were the priorities.

To some extent, Thelwell and co. made the necessary improvements in those areas, which you could argue helped us survive last season.

However, it was to the detriment of the front line, which can't be ignored. In terms of ending the season weaker, I think on the balance you're right.

But, again, we need to add the context that we're in such a perilous financial position that we need to sell. Personally, I'm worried how paper thin our squad is.

As I said, I'm not ignoring the failings in terms of our recruitment, although I do think mitigation is something that we shouldn't ignore either.

Right now, the lack of a working board, the disharmony behind the scenes and our finances in the mire mean I think we're playing in a rich league as paupers.
 
PhilM said:
I'm not going to argue against needing a striker and it was an undoubted failure, yet I think that view alone ignores quite a few other important elements.

I've said it multiple times, but the major issues we had in the 21/22 season were our woeful defence and non-existent midfield. They were the priorities.

To some extent, Thelwell and co. made the necessary improvements in those areas, which you could argue helped us survive last season.

However, it was to the detriment of the front line, which can't be ignored. In terms of ending the season weaker, I think on the balance you're right.

But, again, we need to add the context that we're in such a perilous financial position that we need to sell. Personally, I'm worried how paper thin our squad is.

As I said, I'm not ignoring the failings in terms of our recruitment, although I do think mitigation is something that we shouldn't ignore either.
Click to expand...
This is more or less where I'm at. I thought Thelwell did well on limited funds last summer. It doesn't follow that he'll do it again. We have problems. The biggest one, now, is goals. That needs to be cured. Can he do it?
 

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