The thing about playing Connolly, he probably had to pick him for games and ensure he got a certain number of appearances, or ‘minutes’ as they say now, as part of the loan agreement. That’s how a lot of these deals work. Parent clubs want their players to play and this is the risk you take when you agree to that sort of commitment.
Which is why we need to be careful when adding the likes of Muniz on loan, and a potential factor in why these deals can take a long time to negotiate and complete. Someone like Steffen is easy, he’s the No1. But outfield players can be difficult, especially strikers. If they’re not doing the business but you’ve signed something saying they have to be involved then you’re screwed. Ignoring or breaking the terms of a deal can also affect future business and relationships, people in football talk to each other and know who they can trust.
Also, it’s easy to criticise the manager for picking Connolly without knowing the ins and outs. But Sporar went off a cliff after Christmas, Coburn was getting hammered on here after he started against Millwall and had a hard time, and Watmore can do 70mins max. The only real talking point is Balogun, who showed flashes here and there but nothing on a consistent basis where you thought he was a nailed on starter. That’s the reality of it IMO.
We needed strikers, we gambled on two loan players and it didn’t work. That’s the nature of gambling. We move on.
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