| Any McKenna sales succeeded? 08:55 - May 18 with 2601 views | RIPbobby |
## Have Our Exports Really Kicked On?
**The Question:** Our system is undeniably unique and has produced some genuinely exciting talent over recent years. But here's what's been nagging at me, when these players have moved on, have any of them actually thrived elsewhere? Or does something about our setup make them shine in a way that doesn't translate?
## The Case Studies
### Delap to Chelsea
He left with a get-out clause at max price and won a Club World Cup and reached an FA Cup final. Impressive silverware on paper. But has he actually delivered on the pitch? **Not convincingly.** He also missed out on a UEFA U21 European Championship winner's medal. The medals don't tell the full story—his performances have been underwhelming.
### Omari's Move
An even bigger transfer fee, but **he's massively flattered to deceive.** He's had moments, sure, but manager changes and uncertainty from ownership have clearly hampered his progress. Yes, he scored in the UEFA U21 European Championship final, a genuine highlight, but 12 months on, I'm not convinced he's in a better position than he was. The move doesn't look like a win for him.
### Chappers Loan to Portsmouth
Good experience, but he's **nowhere near repeating his League One Golden Boot form.** Nothing to write home about.
### Massimo to Millwall
**Probably our most successful export.** He arrived looking sharper and more streamlined, but a serious injury derailed what could have been a real success story.
## The Real Mystery
**Why hasn't anyone truly kicked on under a different manager?** Is it our system that artificially inflates their performances? Is it the coaching or guidance they receive here? Or is there something else we're missing? It's genuinely interesting to me, because it suggests our environment might be doing something special that's hard to replicate elsewhere. [Post edited 18 May 9:07]
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| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 13:48 - May 18 with 229 views | Vic |
| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 11:49 - May 18 by longtimefan |
Well Wark, Muhren and Brazil for a start strike me as successes post Robson
Edit: Add Talbot and Mariner to that. [Post edited 18 May 11:52]
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Mariner struggled to nail a starting place at arsenal and only there 2 seasons before he went to Canada |  |
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| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 14:08 - May 18 with 209 views | RIPbobby |
| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 13:09 - May 18 by ITFCson |
Hutchinson has moved to a very decent team in N.Forest who reached the semi final of the Europa. Furthermore he starts most games and also did under the previous manager. I am sure if you asked most Forest fans who watch him every week rather than bitter town fans they'd tell you he has had a decent season. |
I'm not bitter at all. I hope he does well. My assessment is that he was playing well here and bagged a few top flight goals and went. He has not averaged 60 minutes per game for forest and I don't think he has been mentioned as pushing for the world cup. So was that moving on? I'm not sure.
Jfyi I hope all ITFC players past and present do well and live brilliant lives. I can think of only one player from years ago who I didn't see eye to eye with. But that's another story. | | | |
| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 14:12 - May 18 with 195 views | Mercian |
After Gibbs-White and Anderson Hutch is in the equation for being Forest's third best player in the final third of the season. |  | | |
| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 14:20 - May 18 with 186 views | HighgateBlue |
| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 10:22 - May 18 by homer_123 |
I see your McKenna and raise you a Robson.
How many players that were fantastic for us went on and did better.....not too many if memory serves.
In short, if they deliver for us and/ or we make a profit - not sure it really matters what happens once they move on.
I look at the likes of Burns, Chaplin, Morsy et al and see a manager who got so much more from them than anyone else did. |
The Robson point is not a bad one, but as others have said, it's not a watertight case, and there are certainly some debatable counter-examples.
But I think, given the objective size of our club, our success tends to come when we are more than the sum of our parts. Our great teams are greater than the aggregate of the players in them, even though some of those players have been great. This is underlined by the fact that our two greatest figures are managers: Sir Alf and Sir Bob. We love the likes of Beattie and Warky, and rightly, but in the popular consciousness, it's Sir Alf and Sir Bob that loom far far larger.
If we have managers who can get the very best out of players as a collective, I suppose it stands to reason that they won't hit quite the same heights in other set ups and situations.
The same was true under Burley to a large extent. Dyer, for one reason and another, never hit quite the heights that he might have. Richard Wright won a premier league medal, but in truth never quite hit the heights that he might have. I guess Titus Bramble maximised his talent for a period with Newcastle, and Benty scored wherever he went. But Burley certainly maximised the talents of his squad, for a period.
But I think there is something in this, overall.
I suppose long may it continue, if it means that either (a) our decent players all stay, or (b) we get huge fees for players who actually are not that special. |  | | |
| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 14:58 - May 18 with 162 views | longtimefan |
| Any McKenna sales succeeded? on 13:43 - May 18 by Vic |
I was thinking exactly the same. Off the top of my head I'd say that Talbot, Wark, Brazil & possibly Muhren were successful after they left. But the rest generally went downhill - Mariner got most of his England caps with Ipswich, Thijssen lasted just one season at Forest then disappeared. Butcher went up to Scotland; Mills, Burley, Osman all departed but certainly went downhill after they left.
True to say that success and progression after life at Town wasn't the norm. At least that's how I remember it! |
Worth remembering that Mariner and Thijssen and many others of the Robson era were actually in their 30s when they left |  | | |
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