Blimey, 17 pages about ONE signing!
We are all going to have our opinions about every single signing we make. ([i As Franklin D Roosevelt said, "There are as many opinions, as there are experts." [/i)I can understand comparisons with 2005, but the circumstances are completely different. In those days we could only start signing players in OCTOBER/NOVEMBER, after just about every decent player had been snapped up. (and those that were still available, were usually offered ridiculous contracts by the likes of London, after we had shown interest.)
This time round, we are signing players in JULY, well ahead of many of our opponents, and have the 'luxury' of choosing early from what's available. Is Ben's signing a 'risk'? Of course it is, just as most signings are. Our recruitment team have made some successful signings, this season - Pitman, Armstrong, Kay, Spencer, Wilkes, Sarsfield, Haggerty, Barlow, Emmitt, and Acton for instance. It's also fair to say that not all our signings have broken into the first team - e.g. Brown, and Govin, plus a number of re-signings from 2013. So, you win some, you lose some but, on balance, our recruitment team has got it right - as proven by the 'promising' start to the season.
However, what is absolutely important to me is that people are allowed to express their opinions on this message board. I can understand members of the BOM taking umbrage at opinions that don't coincide with theirs - especially given the 'hard-earned' and time they are pumping into our club, but my advice to them would be not to rise to the challenge of slagging off folk for expressing an honest opinion. I think it's great when the BOM use this board as a means of communicating factual information, but it unfortunately becomes awkward, when they express personal opinions - which they are just as entitled to hold, but are maybe less 'entitled' to express on a public forum. Personally, I feel it's best for them not to 'rise to the bait' and shoot down someone, who cares as much as them, but who expresses what they perceive to be a 'negative' opinion - but hey, that's just my opinion!
As for Ben, well I confess to having doubts, but am prepared to back the judgement of our recruitment team, given their recent successes, and am certainly prepared to back Ben, once he dons that cherry and white shirt, and steps over that white line on match day. ( a sentiment echoed by just about everyone else on here, who has expressed concerns at his signing)
