Maxwell signs!

[Bessie Red]

We appointed a scout in Scotland recently so if this is the result of his work then well  done!

Sadly not. McSheffrey said it was completely by chance, in that the agent of Maxwell made a call to us, rather than us seeking him out.

I thought he said in the interview last night that it was the scout who put him to us?

I thought I heard him say that too.

[Colin C No.3]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

[Jonathan]

We appointed a scout in Scotland recently so if this is the result of his work then well  done!

Sadly not. McSheffrey said it was completely by chance, in that the agent of Maxwell made a call to us, rather than us seeking him out.

I thought he said in the interview last night that it was the scout who put him to us?

He did say that it was the scout that put him onto us. One can only assume the scout has seen him play live, and that’s been supplemented with due diligence - speaking to people and reviewing clips, assessing him on trial etc.

I’ve not seen any evidence that suggests we’ve been signing people that haven’t been watched live, either by McSheffrey directly or by someone involved at the club. I know McSheffrey has personally watched Molyneux play live for Hartlepool. But then he may be criticised on the basis it’s not a big enough sample to assess his contribution.

We can always learn and do things better in recruitment, but I haven’t seen any evidence that we’re doing things hopelessly this summer. That doesn’t mean everyone has to agree with every incoming - they never will.

[Bessie Red]

Good interview with James

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F3397597%2F2022%2F07%2F05%2Fjames-maxwell-rangers%2F

[Campsall rover]

If all that happens it would be a top ten squad in league 1 never mind league 2

Top 10 Alan with all the players fit?

That’s top 10 in League 1

Top 3 in this league easily. If Bradford have a better squad than ours then they have done very well indeed with their recruitment.
I am saying this based on all our players being fit, which of course they are not.

[Campsall rover]

Sorry dickos that should be tagged on to Alan’s post not yours. 

[GazLaz]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

[Jonathan]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

Do we not count the scout having seen him play live?

[GazLaz]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

Do we not count the scout having seen him play live?

I think that should be part of a bigger, more controlled process obviously but not THE process.

[Jonathan]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

Do we not count the scout having seen him play live?

I think that should be part of a bigger, more controlled process obviously but not THE process.

Can you embed and draw from a bigger and more controlled process in one summer?

[Alan Southstand]

Top 3 in this league easily. If Bradford have a better squad than ours then they have done very well indeed with their recruitment.

We’ll know where we are after the first 7 or 8 games, as they’re nearly all against ‘fancied’ teams. Let’s just wait and see.

[GazLaz]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

Do we not count the scout having seen him play live?

I think that should be part of a bigger, more controlled process obviously but not THE process.

Can you embed and draw from a bigger and more controlled process in one summer?

GM and JC have been working closely since December. Seven months. Plenty of time to put in The foundations of a really robust process if you know what you are doing.

I’ve met with James and spoken to him about this and he’s got his ways of doing things and I kind of get the impression he wants to lead recruitment and trust himself to draw on his experience to make the right decisions long term. I’m my opinion, that’s not what his role is about, it’s about creating processes he can step back from and will last well beyond him being in the hot seat.

The role was created to operate with a longer term strategy that runs beyond the lifespan of the head coach. I get a little feeling that that life span is now only extended to the life span of James Coppinger. Happy to be proven wrong.

[Jonathan]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

Do we not count the scout having seen him play live?

I think that should be part of a bigger, more controlled process obviously but not THE process.

Can you embed and draw from a bigger and more controlled process in one summer?

GM and JC have been working closely since December. Seven months. Plenty of time to put in The foundations of a really robust process if you know what you are doing.

I’ve met with James and spoken to him about this and he’s got his ways of doing things and I kind of get the impression he wants to lead recruitment and trust himself to draw on his experience to make the right decisions long term. I’m my opinion, that’s not what his role is about, it’s about creating processes he can step back from and will last well beyond him being in the hot seat.

The role was created to operate with a longer term strategy that runs beyond the lifespan of the head coach. I get a little feeling that that life span is now only extended to the life span of James Coppinger. Happy to be proven wrong.

Fair enough. That’s an insight that most of us don’t have, and a considerable extension of the suggestion that we’re signing players that haven’t been watched live in competitive games (I’ve seen no reason to believe that this is the case). Copps has only officially been in post for a couple of months I think. I expect him to learn, grow and develop processes as we progress. I don’t expect everything to be right straight away or for every (or any) direction we move in to evade constructive challenge. Copps demonstrated a willing to listen as a player and I don’t expect that will stop now, even though he may hold different views to others on some matters. The building blocks we’re putting in place through the backroom structure suggests to me there is some long term vision and thinking.

This is an interesting discussion but seems to have pivoted very quickly from you suggesting that Maxwell appears to be the best signing of our summer, to having been signed as a huge risk without being watched, to this. 

[Chris Black come back]

We appointed a scout in Scotland recently so if this is the result of his work then well  done!

Sadly not. McSheffrey said it was completely by chance, in that the agent of Maxwell made a call to us, rather than us seeking him out.

I thought he said in the interview last night that it was the scout who put him to us?

I’ve listened back and you are right, McSheffrey said it came through the scout. If you listen to the Maxwell interview it was him who said that his agent had put feelers out to Rovers.

I guess that could have come after the scout had done some work, or conceivably before.

[GazLaz]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

Do we not count the scout having seen him play live?

I think that should be part of a bigger, more controlled process obviously but not THE process.

Can you embed and draw from a bigger and more controlled process in one summer?

GM and JC have been working closely since December. Seven months. Plenty of time to put in The foundations of a really robust process if you know what you are doing.

I’ve met with James and spoken to him about this and he’s got his ways of doing things and I kind of get the impression he wants to lead recruitment and trust himself to draw on his experience to make the right decisions long term. I’m my opinion, that’s not what his role is about, it’s about creating processes he can step back from and will last well beyond him being in the hot seat.

The role was created to operate with a longer term strategy that runs beyond the lifespan of the head coach. I get a little feeling that that life span is now only extended to the life span of James Coppinger. Happy to be proven wrong.

Fair enough. That’s an insight that most of us don’t have, and a considerable extension of the suggestion that we’re signing players that haven’t been watched live in competitive games (I’ve seen no reason to believe that this is the case). Copps has only officially been in post for a couple of months I think. I expect him to learn, grow and develop processes as we progress. I don’t expect everything to be right straight away or for every (or any) direction we move in to evade constructive challenge. Copps demonstrated a willing to listen as a player and I don’t expect that will stop now, even though he may hold different views to others on some matters. The building blocks we’re putting in place through the backroom structure suggests to me there is some long term vision and thinking.

This is an interesting discussion but seems to have pivoted very quickly from you suggesting that Maxwell appears to be the best signing of our summer, to having been signed as a huge risk without being watched, to this. 

It’s possible to sign good players through poor process. It happens all the time at all clubs. Being a well run football club is about eliminating as much luck in decision making as possible. Obviously impossible to eradicate it all but it affects the best clubs less than the ones that generally make it up as they go along.

[Colin C No.3]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

Do we not count the scout having seen him play live?

I think that should be part of a bigger, more controlled process obviously but not THE process.

Can you embed and draw from a bigger and more controlled process in one summer?

GM and JC have been working closely since December. Seven months. Plenty of time to put in The foundations of a really robust process if you know what you are doing.

I’ve met with James and spoken to him about this and he’s got his ways of doing things and I kind of get the impression he wants to lead recruitment and trust himself to draw on his experience to make the right decisions long term. I’m my opinion, that’s not what his role is about, it’s about creating processes he can step back from and will last well beyond him being in the hot seat.

The role was created to operate with a longer term strategy that runs beyond the lifespan of the head coach. I get a little feeling that that life span is now only extended to the life span of James Coppinger. Happy to be proven wrong.

Fair enough. That’s an insight that most of us don’t have, and a considerable extension of the suggestion that we’re signing players that haven’t been watched live in competitive games (I’ve seen no reason to believe that this is the case). Copps has only officially been in post for a couple of months I think. I expect him to learn, grow and develop processes as we progress. I don’t expect everything to be right straight away or for every (or any) direction we move in to evade constructive challenge. Copps demonstrated a willing to listen as a player and I don’t expect that will stop now, even though he may hold different views to others on some matters. The building blocks we’re putting in place through the backroom structure suggests to me there is some long term vision and thinking.

This is an interesting discussion but seems to have pivoted very quickly from you suggesting that Maxwell appears to be the best signing of our summer, to having been signed as a huge risk without being watched, to this. 

It’s possible to sign good players through poor process. It happens all the time at all clubs. Being a well run football club is about eliminating as much luck in decision making as possible. Obviously impossible to eradicate it all but it affects the best clubs less than the ones that generally make it up as they go along.

We’re Doncaster Rovers not bl**dy Liverpool!

You call it ‘poor practice’, I call it ‘probable potential’. In Maxwells case ‘probable’ because at 20 he’s played 70+ games in men’s football & I don’t mean men’s football as in non league playing against ‘Neanderthals’ week in week out, but ‘proper’ league football forAyr United & Queen of the South.

In his interview he compares ‘back to the wall football’ to playing to feet at Rangers. He says he feels he can adjust to both styles because he believes in his own abilities.

Potential because he’s come South to not only show what he can do, but to learn to do it even better. I think we may well have a real gem here mind you, I’ve never seen him play live, so let’s see what time brings before I return to the subject.

[GazLaz]

Signing players we haven’t seen play a live competitive game is madness. We are obviously doing a lot. Every signing should go through exactly the same process (I know it’s not 100% possible in the real world), but that should be the plan. Just not much real preparation as part of our system it seems.

?
Are you saying it was madness to give Maxwell a contract when we haven’t seen him play a live game?

I’m saying as a long term strategy it’s an exceptionally risky one and not one I’d advise.

Do we not count the scout having seen him play live?

I think that should be part of a bigger, more controlled process obviously but not THE process.

Can you embed and draw from a bigger and more controlled process in one summer?

GM and JC have been working closely since December. Seven months. Plenty of time to put in The foundations of a really robust process if you know what you are doing.

I’ve met with James and spoken to him about this and he’s got his ways of doing things and I kind of get the impression he wants to lead recruitment and trust himself to draw on his experience to make the right decisions long term. I’m my opinion, that’s not what his role is about, it’s about creating processes he can step back from and will last well beyond him being in the hot seat.

The role was created to operate with a longer term strategy that runs beyond the lifespan of the head coach. I get a little feeling that that life span is now only extended to the life span of James Coppinger. Happy to be proven wrong.

Fair enough. That’s an insight that most of us don’t have, and a considerable extension of the suggestion that we’re signing players that haven’t been watched live in competitive games (I’ve seen no reason to believe that this is the case). Copps has only officially been in post for a couple of months I think. I expect him to learn, grow and develop processes as we progress. I don’t expect everything to be right straight away or for every (or any) direction we move in to evade constructive challenge. Copps demonstrated a willing to listen as a player and I don’t expect that will stop now, even though he may hold different views to others on some matters. The building blocks we’re putting in place through the backroom structure suggests to me there is some long term vision and thinking.

This is an interesting discussion but seems to have pivoted very quickly from you suggesting that Maxwell appears to be the best signing of our summer, to having been signed as a huge risk without being watched, to this. 

It’s possible to sign good players through poor process. It happens all the time at all clubs. Being a well run football club is about eliminating as much luck in decision making as possible. Obviously impossible to eradicate it all but it affects the best clubs less than the ones that generally make it up as they go along.

We’re Doncaster Rovers not bl**dy Liverpool!

You call it ‘poor practice’, I call it ‘probable potential’. In Maxwells case ‘probable’ because at 20 he’s played 70+ games in men’s football & I don’t mean men’s football as in non league playing against ‘Neanderthals’ week in week out, but ‘proper’ league football forAyr United & Queen of the South.

In his interview he compares ‘back to the wall football’ to playing to feet at Rangers. He says he feels he can adjust to both styles because he believes in his own abilities.

Potential because he’s come South to not only show what he can do, but to learn to do it even better. I think we may well have a real gem here mind you, I’ve never seen him play live, so let’s see what time brings before I return to the subject.

Being smarter than the rest is the only way to punch above our weight in the long term, that’s what it’s about as a small club surely? I know how possible it is on our budget to be able to get back challenging for Champ promotion against teams with two or three times our budget. As things stand, in my very humble opinion, we are reliant on lots and lots of luck to achieve anything near that.

[Sammy Chung was King]

Once you take the luck out of decisions, then success can be replicated again and again.