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Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder recommends changes to club's recruitment operation
CHRIS WILDER has recommended changes to Middlesbrough’s recruitment operation to ensure there is no repeat of the disappointing end to this…
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Middlesbrough: Chris Wilder calls for changes to recruitment operation
CHRIS WILDER has recommended changes to Middlesbrough’s recruitment operation to ensure there is no repeat of the disappointing end to this summer’s transfer window.
While Boro made some positive moves in the early stages of the window, the final week proved a let-down, with the club missing out on a number of targets as Wilder sought to recruit an additional attacker and a defensive midfielder. In the wake of the window closing, the Boro boss has had to enter the free-agent market to sign Massimo Luongo as cover for Jonny Howson.
The Teessiders overhauled their scouting operation earlier this month, with Chris Jones joining the club as head of scouting to work alongside head of football Kieran Scott as part of a new recruitment and talent identification team.
Further tweaks are anticipated ahead of the transfer window reopening in January, with Wilder having recommended some modifications in the wake of this summer’s events.
“I think there’s stuff that we’ll always be looking to change,” said the Boro boss, who presides over a side sitting in 22nd position in the Championship table after a disappointing start to the campaign. “We’ve talked about the transfer window, and there were some good bits, but some frustrating bits in that too.
“I think we were all a bit frustrated by it. Was it the ideal window? I think we all understand the problems that it’s presented to us. There was some stuff we couldn’t control, but maybe also some stuff we could control better.
“We will be better than that in future windows from a recruitment point of view. There are changes that are going to be made there, and changes that are going to be made in certain other parts of the football club too. It’s my job to recommend that, knowing what ‘really good’ looks like. If we can make those changes, which I’m sure we will do, then it’ll make us better going forward.”
Boro recruited ten senior players during the summer window, with the scale of the overhaul presenting difficulties that have undoubtedly affected performances in the opening month-and-a-half of the season.
Wilder admits the extent of the summer upheaval has been a challenge, although he concedes that is no excuse for the results that have left the Teessiders in the relegation zone.
“It was a big turnover of players this summer,” he said. “I thought it was possible to do that, but maybe it’s been a bit more of a struggle than I expected it to be. There were certain situations which we don’t need to keep going into. The recruitment’s not where we want it to be, but we still have to take responsibility for the results.”
With a number of proposed moves having failed to come to fruition before the window closed, Wilder concedes his squad is lacking depth in a couple of key areas.
However, he also accepts there is a need for a marked improvement when the Championship programme resumes after the international break, with Boro’s first game back pitting them against a Coventry City side currently sitting at the foot of the table with just three points from their opening seven games.
“I don’t think we’re at our strongest, and I think the club will understand that,” he said. “The depth of the squad is not where we need it to be to really like what it looks like."
“I think we all understand that, but that’s just how it is at the moment and we have to deal with it and get on with it. There’s enough talent in that group, and there’s some good players that are pushing.”
* As many posters have commented in one form or another - Chris Wilder`s "big rebuild" cannot be done by one man alone. Clearly, recruitment has been holding the club back and certainly the summer transfer window was a big let down. In his summer Media Conferences Chris was polite and diplomatic about the delay to incomings and outgoings. Many managers and coaches were on media platforms complaining about the slow movement of the transfer market. But, in several instances he appeared annoyed and frustrated when he claimed he needed more "backing" to get deals across the line. Its time the rercruitment team held its hands up and admitted it hasnt been good enough to do the job properly.
