This is our fourth year in League one and there is, sadly, a strong chance that we will end up staying here for a fifth. We need to start learning the lessons that are becoming more and more obvious.
On Saturday, we were able to match (and be better than) a Wigan side pushing for promotion, a side who want to play football, a side who like time on the ball and using the width of the pitch. But that has never been our problem in the four years we’ve been here. The problem is when we play everyone else and I don’ t think we have the right players to play them.
I am not pointing fingers at the recruitment staff (the scouts and the data analysts) but it has now become obvious that we are not going to get of the league trying to play football like Manchester City or by playing classic League One football with players that don’t suit the system.
This year it was clear from the start of the summer window that we were going for young, quality players capable of playing at Championship level. When we play on smooth surfaces where we can control possession and break teams down then that works fine. However, this is League One and very few grounds have that kind of surface or the sorts of players who give you time on the ball. More likely players who’ll kick you in the balls. This results in us having to try and play the physical game when we have no one that has that League One side to them.
If we are in this division for another year, we need squad depth. But we need different types of players. For example, if you look at Wycombe or Portsmouth, they both play very similar styles of football. Big centre halves with fast wingers, a creative midfielder and huge strikers who are physical. In League One this tactic clearly works as they get wins and they are willing to scrap for it.
This is not me saying that we should turn in to a classic physical League One team all the time because it won’t help us if we ever get out of here. We need that nice stylish passing football for better surfaces and, when it works, we will blow teams away, but we can’t continue to be this one-dimensional team.
From a business side, the advantage of this is that the League One style of players tend to be a lot cheaper because, well, they are in League One. Normally they only sign one or possibly two year contracts which means if we got out of the division we could get rid of them. Then we can focus on the future with players like Huggins, Neil and Stewart.
Hopefully once Sharegate has been sorted out KLD, Kristjaan Speakman and Alex Neil can work together so we no longer are so one-dimensional and easy to work out. We need to become more like Wigan, Rotherham and recently Sheffield Wednesday who have that ugly League One side to them but can also come out with some nice football.
It might be ugly. It might be painful to watch, but it might be the only way out of League One.
