Good to know that we are looking elsewhere as well as this country.
But interesting that they have been following players for a year or so before making a move.
Smacks of good careful management.

Well, I think many of us have been saying it for a long time, should have been done a few years ago in my opinion. However the capability is now there, so we should expect to see more recruitment from overseas. Same things apply to any of those from abroad as to home bought players. Right skills, right temperament and attitude, right price.

as said and many know our Scouting has been weak for too long. I could do a better job and I’m blooming Meh. Looks like it’s on the up

Don’t forget Evans scrapped scouting along with much of the club’s infrastructure including letting the yoof system rot. It came down to knowledge and contacts of individual managers which is why we deservedly finished in L1.

It takes a while to rebuild a proper professional scouting network. I’d add that scouting from abroad wasn’t viable in League One, as was explained at the time.

I've been saying for months now if we are going to compete in the Premier league our scouting network needs to be spread worldwide like all established Premier clubs.

Has the Penny at last dropped ? - not before time either.

How about now reforming the Matusiwa Cajuste partnership?

@churchman , exactly that, the club was systematically dismantled via Evans….has the penny finally dropped @blueboy? Twelve years of neglect takes time to recover and rebuild!

Simple fact is that our club had to be systematically stripped down and rebuilt piece by piece, and you can't do everything at once.
It's very easy to say that we should be doing this, that and the other, delivering it and everything else though is very different.
Expansion of the scouting network ready for the PL (Let's be honest the club were in no way prepared last season after two promotions) is another part of the jigsaw. Thats not news to the club it will always have been known. Reading criticism of the progress we are now making is disappointing given the overall progress the club has made. I think people are quick to forget where we were in 2021.
Churchman has it right, we need to show some patience and appreciation of the work that HAS been done before we start criticising

So many apologists, it should have been the first thing they did to make the club competitive but no they staggered into the Premier League thinking they could stay there by buying Championship players. Never going to work because they didn't address the most compelling problem of recruitment.
So many on here came out with the claptrap about knowing we were going down so we bought to win the Championship this season. Oh really, so we don't need to do anything if your theories are right?
It just beggars belief that the majority give the management so much slack, even when their ineptitude is so clear to see.

Something that’s been a serious issue for a long time, and still is.

It’s like tying one hand behind your back, paying more, for less quality, if you need world class players then it’s essential to have reach.., they aren’t playing in the EFL.

McKenna needs help. He may be a brilliant coach but the flip flop strategy says it all….., now we recognise the failure, but it was always 101 of wanting to be at that level, and as we’ve stopped mentioning, he was at Man Utd for years.

If we recognise we didn’t have the networks, that’s fine, understandable.

But you don’t then go and spend up to £150 million, and risk the clubs future, on players not at the level, who cost more.

You spend £50 million…, or £70 million and contingency plan …, otherwise you have to sell your best players, your staff leave, and your club ends up for sale!!

That’s not progress.

As good as he is on the training pitch, the strategy was a complete car crash.., really poor.

McKenna wanted to ‘coach’ the gap …, he thought he was that good, and no coach can now do that.

That’s ego. He believed his own media hyperbole.

The owners are out, the staff have to leave, because under new ownership after the season starts. They (unlike Kieran) will struggle to get work. And our five best players are gone.

This is the reality of a 39 year old manager, talented as he is, we never put the strategic support in place around him. Maybe he won’t accept it.

We needed football people, who have been there and done it. We still do.

It’s painful watching Leeds Utd …, buying one of Seria A best defenders. One of germanys best midfielders.

They’re buying proven top flight experience, very talented players, and spending LESS than we did. And even if it doesn’t work, they have MORE quality, for less risk and investment.

Our talented young English players…, they’ve all left and we didn’t get a premium on the sales either.

Leeds know what’s required, as do 99% of the football world, it wasn’t rocket science, or hindsight.

Spend big on global talent, or if you can’t, don’t spend big.

Ashton was never the support McKenna needed…, and still isn’t.

I’m not sure we have learnt any lessons.

New ownership and ideas, and structure can’t come soon enough…, hopefully Kieran gets a good start and is part of the journey.

We can’t still keep leaving it to the same people and hoping for different outcomes, Ashton has had 35 years in the game, to work out what’s required at that level, and he still isn’t close to knowing.

I can see why Brett and Gamechanger are out …, it must be frustrating, to invest so much, for so little return.

As Brett says ‘don’t piss in my boots and tell me it’s raining’

No manger had had so much support in a single season in the history of the league, ever.

But they don’t have the desire to put it right, or the strength to replace Ashton after back to back promotions…., so they reaped their own inertia.

Hopefully new majority ownership, from people who know the game, understand the game, and have ambition for the club.

People who unlike a minority of our fan base, don’t have recency bias and measure everything through the prism of us as a THIRD division club.

That’s not who we are.

We are bigger than that. We have realistic ambition, and can because established in the premier league, IF we stop wasting eye watering sums on poor players, and performing so badly we have to sell anyone with an ounce of talent.

New ownership. New hope. New strategic support.

Bazza8564

That’s simply not true. If the club believed what you say, they wouldn’t have spent up to £150 million, on players to RY clearly believed were good enough…, and there was no long term plan to go down, keep the players and develop, because they’ve all left, and they always DO.

No. Ashton and McKenna persuaded the owners that level of investment would likely keep us up…., the players and manager would be good enough, otherwise you don’t also give a manager too of the premier league level wages either.

The consequences.

Players sold, all the best ones have left, I don’t think many would argue Sam, Delap, Tuenzabe, Hutchinson are our best players…, and Butgess one of our best legacy players.

The data have left. Our best players have left. And the owners we can see what they were promised, because they’re leaving too!

So you can be an apologist all you like…, and had we spent £50-70 million, and didn’t have £20 million a year of additional lainlilitirs from they spending, you’d be 100% right.

But we did spend so much money that we need to sell players.

As soon as Delap left in last years accounting period, the writing was on the wall for Hutchinson.

So let’s have it straight.

Last year strategically might be the single worst in the clubs history, it’s up there with Sheepshanks lack of contingency, without parachute payments.

And it ALL comes down to Ashton and Mckanna believing with eye watering investment, relegation wasn’t a likely outcome.

We can evidence McKennas blind faith in his own strategy.

He had a double pivot…., played it every game…, on relegation he does have a single player left in the squad that can play that position…., not ONE in a squad of 28, having spent over £100 million.

One player…, we just signed.., who until yesterday, had never kicked a ball for us.

That’s how much contingency we had for relegation!

NONE - as a measure not an opinion.

If we’d stayed up Cajuste would stay…, Phillips is an England international, McKenna will get the best out of him, another option?

Instead we signed 5 inside forwards to add to the 5 we already had.

It all made some sense IF we stayed up.

You can spend your way through the lessons, the mistakes, the learnings, IF you stay up.

Spend too much.., give yourself £20 million to find a year in EFL revenue, and you have a huge financial problem, with how PSR works.

There are consequences.

You don’t just ‘go again’ when the strategy is SO bad.

You don’t get to pretend it didn’t happen…., or pretend we are a third division club so it’s ok.

We are NOT a third division fan base, a third division history, a third division budget, or a third division club!!!

We never were.

And management hiding their failures behind that excuse is a massive red flag.

THIS is why our owners are out.

No bad thing in my view…, new investment.., but far more importantly, new strategic thinking, that makes Ashton specifically have agency for being premier league quality, or leaving.

If you’re making a mess as big as this…, after 35 years in the game.., you won’t be good enough in 6 weeks time.., or 6 years time.

And McKenna need more hubris …, he’s a huge part of the scale of failure.

As brilliant a coach as he is.., he doesn’t have the strategic skills required.

And I think that’s come as a shock to him.

As a club…, we might be counting that cost is 26/27 and 27/28 if we don’t get this season right.

We get one chance at this .., and it’s massive.

What suprises me is the amount of negativity from various subscribers on this forum, many of whom claim to have knowledge of what is going on behind the scenes at Portman Road.

When Gamechanger came in, it was always with a view to make an investment that was going to make money for the shareholders, it was very simple. It was also a five year plan to get ITFC back to the Prem which happened in 2.5.

What they have done, is invest in this club. They have probably done what is akin to open heart, life saving surgery on this club because of the lack of investment of Mr Evan’s. However, folks on here have such a negative view, it astounds me. We would not have been promoted to the EPL without the investment of this group, or the management and coaching staff. They will also probably been the first to admit when they have made mistakes and try to learn from them.

Building a scouting network, most likely from scratch is not like it is in a console game. Developing the contacts and knowledge of areas is incredibly challenging. Town used to do this well as we saw with the likes of Taricco, Paz, Guentchev and numerous other players in the past. I am sure that this was something that has been planned for a while so KMK comments are probably coming from the knowledge that this is something that is happening now, hence the fact that we’re linked to the Mexican player.

Who could blame Hutchinson if he wants to go back and play in the Prem, like Delap. Tuanzabe got to be a Premier League player in a club closer to his home, who’s holding that against him. Granted the Burgess thing was odd.

I’m no expert, I don’t have inside knowledge but I believe that the team at Portman Road now are trying to create something very special for the future and ensure the infrastructure and player pipeline will keep us at the top for a long time. I trust their expertise over my armchair knowledge.

…. darkhorse28 - your post is absolutely 100% correct - but the Hissy Fit fans of the Club choose to ignore such factual information - but it very much the situation.
Relegation completely ruined the Owners Plans - and the current situation is down to Ashton and McKenna.
Like it, or not, and deny as you wish Folks - Fantasy will not change Fact.
It is what it is.

Too many posters in here quoting opinions as facts. I have absolutely nothing against opinions including those completely opposite to mine, they are the lifeblood of this site, and if we all shared exactly the same ones, it would be very boring indeed. But, please quote opinions as just that.

See Blueboy has crawled out from under his stone again with his usual negativity. Perhaps he'll be demanding KM gets the bullet as he has done previously. As for the ridiculous diatribe from Carberry, got so tedious I didn't bother to read all his wisdom & inside knowledge. Amazing how so many know so much about how to run a football club than the professionals. I do think we have to look overseas more, we had the biggest percentage of home grown players last season, in the friendlies recently Man U & Liverpool didn't have a single British player in their starting line ups. Perhaps there should be a limit to how many can play , there is a limit to how many in the squad.

No sh*t Sherlock. I think the fans have known that for ages McK!

Cadiar ….. with his normal diatribe of non- factual delusional rubbish once again.
You probably even deny the Club is up for sale, after relegation.
It wouldn’t have been otherwise, and who was the Manager ??

Get into your Blue Tinted Heads that Gamechanger want out, because they gave all that was asked, and maybe even more - and were let down by RELEGATION !!
Why would they want out this early otherwise, and want out so soon ?
The 5 year plan went out of the window last season when defeats continued.
That was the Planchanger for you deluded folk !!

I said this last season...

Trump speak has now infected some of the regulars on here who seem confused about what is fact and what is their opinion. When posters start telling others they are deluded then they should show some composure and manners or they will just be politely ignored.

Cadiar, it's sad you criticise people who have a very different opinion to you.
How did you know my post was tedious if you didn't even read it? I did read yours and you seem to think the Premier League will change the rules so clubs can't buy numbers of players from abroad, good luck with that naive suggestion. I have no inside knowledge but I can see what has happened and so could you if you looked with both eyes open.

Two or three names I'll throw into the mix for potential striking recruitments, either right now or worth monitoring for a short while.

Shuto Machino ( Holstein Kiel ).
Arnaud Kalimuendo ( Rennes ) I believe on both Spurs and Villarreals radar, so possibly unobtainable.
Daniel Gudjohnsen ( Malmo FF ). Sheff U monitoring this one.
Santiago Castro ( Bologna ) If he's going anywhere it's more likely Premier League, but you never know.

I was going to add Damion Downs, but I see Southampton snapped him up a few days ago. Might be a very good buy for the future, by the Saints.

There are others, they are out there. Maybe we've even looked at one or more of the ones above. All depends how ambitious we are and the need to come within the usual rules, money wise.

As one of this countries well known entrepreneurs ( not me! ) is fond of saying, " The greatest risk of all is to take no risk " .

Mind you, it might be a waste of time anyway, as assuming a couple of posters above who have the inside line to the goings on behind closed doors at Portman Road, we'll probably be sold before we even get the chance to bring anyone in!

An overseas scouting network is an obvious must in the modern game. But purchasing players just for the sake of them being from overseas is not the solution. Ive lost count of the number of players brought in from abroad to bolster a squad who have flattered to deceive. Spurs could field an entire team of left footed Argentinians who transferred in, contributed nothing, then were transferred out. Look at Man utd. Half of the players they brought in are nothing more than athletes and wouldnt look out of place in the National League.

I just hope the club dont ignore our own youth and sourcing of players from this country and the british isles. Recruiting players from abroad should be rigorous and controlled rather than desperately trying to find quick fix solutions from youtube highlight reels (yes, it happens)