At this remove, football seems an abstract concept. It's something that happens on DAZN in another part of the world. Observing the slow paced spectacle of multi millionaires sweating a lot whilst also sometimes not really seeming to try very hard, attempting to win a competition that no one can agree whether it matters or not, I feel very distant from the kind of bone chilling, leg crunching blood and thunder football of a mid January League One game.
Midsummer can take on a dreamy feeling. The days seem endless, even in the current gloomy weather. The world though is one giant clockwork certainty. Soon we'll look back on summer from the perspective of autumn and then, in turn winter. The nights will draw in, the temperature will drop, the floodlights will burst into life.
So, this summer, we've been out into the woods, foraged for wood and from where I stand, it seems we've done a grand job so far. I'm no expert in signing footballers, but shopping falls basically into two categories. You can either go the the supermarket with a neatly formatted list and steadily make your way around, ticking things off as you go- or you can run madly from aisle to aisle filling your basket with what happens to be on offer or takes your fancy.
This season we seem to have plumped for the former approach. It feels as if we've written a metaphorical list on the fridge door and that we've taken that our with us and have returned with at least some of what we need in our bags, rather than a random collection of things we're not sure what to do with. There's a lot to be said for a bargain, but the problem with hoovering up only the offers and reduced items is you end up with a confused and overstocked fridge full of things about to go off and because you haven't properly planned it, you lack other items that would allow you to turn the things you've bought into a meal. I'm not a man of great planning and routine - but shopping is one place where a bit of discipline and forward thinking definitely applies and I'm glad to see that Steve Bruce and David Downes have opted for a steady and focussed trudge around the supermarket of football, rather than a fitful dash
Everyone we've signed falls into the category of "was an important player last season for a club who were us or better" and equally importantly, none of them fall into the all too familiar category of "if he can stay fit/if you can get him fit - there's a player there" with all of them playing regular football at a good level over the last few years.
We seem to be following the plan Bruce and Downes outlined at the mid season event - we're putting our resources towards wages and trying to cultivate a smaller squad of higher quality and reliable players, rather than a larger squad of punts and gambles. Less is more.
Time will tell if that's the right approach but I like it as an idea because for too long, it's felt like we've had players taking up a first team squad place who aren't really threatening the fist team but also blocking an opportunity for a young player or an investment in new talent.
I find it difficult to really assess the signings in depth. I struggle to really evaluate a player until he plays for us. I'm not a pundit, I'm not a scout - I'm just a bloke with a blog he writes for no apparent reason. I just don't watch the opposition or a neutral game in the same way I watch us - but all the signings make sense to me - for whatever that is worth (which is probably not a great deal.)
I'm delighted to get Ennis back (who, of course, I do have an opinion on) as I like his gritty willingness allied with a bit of sharpness and skill. He's not a million miles away from Jerry Yates in his style, a determined irritant to opposition defences and I wonder if we've yet seen the best of him.
Honeyman is an amazing coup - a player with considerable experience at a higher level, who seemed at home in the division above and who possesses both determination and no little skill. He's not the same player as Carey, being less of a dribbler and more of a touch player - but he brings a certain adventure to us that we'll undoubtedly need.
Horsfall is another coup coming from a team who were right up there and being a key player for them. It's evident from his numbers that he's dominant in the air but his passing stats suggest a reasonable quality on the floor as well. Iheikwe comes with good reviews from Wednesday fans I know and has largely played his football in the Championship. I'll freely admit I don't know a lot about the keeper - but he started at River Plate and brings a lot of potential for chants and exotic cult status so I can't not like that.
We've brought in a hell of a lot of experience and (as you might expect from Steve Bruce) the central defence looks potentially outstanding (assuming we keep Casey) and what we've bought, definitely addresses some of the shortcomings - but there's still a lot to do. CJ alone as a left side option doesn't cut the mustard, we've only got one keeper who isn't a nailed on first choice (something Bruce has acknowledged openly) Andy Lyons is an unknown quantity as the sole right back and we don't possess a defensive midfielder (link with Jordan Brown would suggest we're well aware of that long standing deficit)
There are, of course other positions where we might want to upgrade - but for me, I want to see us balance the experience with some more youth. Despite valid critiques of our transfer policy at times, we've done ok in terms of finding younger players and giving them a platform. Yates, Bowler, Joseph and Grimshaw have brought in good money. Carey, Anderson and Ekpiteta potentially *could* have brought decent fees in different circumstances. Casey almost certainly will command a few quid one day, Morgan and Apter might also make a step up on the back of good performances for us.
The one thing about the players we've signed so far, is few of them will attract much at the end of their contracts and I think it's important we stock the cupboards for the next 2 or 3 years and ensure we have the assets developing to fund the next rebuild.
In our own ranks, we have Bondo, Upton and Knight who spring to mind as the players currently with a shot at a future (it seems we'll lose Schluter, a fact that underlines the frustrating and in unequal playing field in youth development) but all of those are far too big a gamble to imagine being the next million pound plus sale - it's no sleight on their abilities at all, but it's a stretch to have any confidence that any of them could could even establish themselves on our bench, let alone prosper, such is the brutal attrition rate of youth players attempting making the step up to the pro game, even at League One level.
Essentially, I think good football teams are generally a blend of abilities and ages - alongside the solidity and experience, you need a few wildcards. You need experience to ground the youth, but you need the youth to energise the experience.
Whilst the job is ongoing, the most important thing about this close season so far, is that the club has acted with a sense of purpose. The stadium will be refreshed and improved when we walk back in to it. Season ticket prices were addressed in the right places - something that goes a long way to restoring a sense that the club values the support and we've recruited thus far, with what feels like a sense of ambition, confidence and purpose. It's hard not to feel some positivity in these circumstances.
We have, as I've already suggested (and Steve No1 has also acknowledged,) still got plenty to do - and in the remodeling of a team, there is of course, the danger we get it wrong. Football history is littered with preseason excitement yielding disappointing realities There's a possible future where, by November, Bloomfield Road is a frustrated place, bored of watching massive players trundle around smashing it up front and then looking leaden footed as teams pass around us and all the dire warnings from Newcastle fans upon Bruce's appointment come back to haunt us.
I don't think that will be the case though. I think the precise reason why Bruce seems to fit us so well is because he knows that he can deliver what we want and that, however you cut it, whilst we're not in a position to buy the league, we're on the bigger end of the teams in this league - When you look at the basic numbers (i.e. how many people pay to watch us play) we really should always have a sporting chance at competing and therefore, he can build a side to play some football, score some goals and express themselves a bit.
For all of his prior attritional reputation at certain clubs, he's a manager forged in the ethos of Manchester United and in sides who, whilst less technically and tactically complex than their modern counterparts at the top of the pyramid, possessed players of game changing skill and largely, played 'we'll score one more than you' football rather than 'we'll strangle you and stop you having the ball and score one goal' football. To put it another way, our recruitment thus far has been quite focussed on the Pallister and Bruce types - but I can't believe he won't have a few Sharpe, Kanchelskis, Giggs or Cantona types on his shopping list because this is a man who surely knows (and has said multiple times himself) you win games with match winners.
I think Bruce is here for one last dance and is listening very carefully to the music and moving in perfect time with it. I think, whilst he wants solid foundations he wants those to be the basis for something that both he and we enjoy. I think he's a man of remarkable resilience who has had just about everything football and life can throw at him, thrown at him and has emerged, ready to snap off the ends of reporters questions, to put an arm round players and whisper some gently spoken words in their ears, to front up when we're crap and to smile softly and modestly praise the players when we're good.
I know of at least two of our players from last season who thought Bruce was the best manager they'd worked for. It felt brilliant to be in crowds where we were behind the team, even when it wasn't going very well. It feels as if our owner trusts him too. Perhaps most importantly, pretty much every time he speaks, he exudes a sense that he's enjoying what he's doing and that enthusiasm is unexpectedly infectious.
None of this is any kind of promise of success. Football doesn't work on preseason vibes alone. Nonetheless, none of this resembles the mood of the last 3 pre-seasons which were marred by divisive appointments and characterised by, yes, some signings that worked in the long run, but also, a lot of insipid business in the transfer market and at times some odd choices off the pitch. That's the past - the beauty of the game is the, the book is never ending and new chapters always being written - this one feels as if it's a story of a club where everything is pulling in the same general direction.
For the third and final time, there's still a lot to do. Regardless, the signs so far are encouraging...
Something tells me, I'm into something good.
Onward!
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