Recruitment proving difficult for Linnets boss

I usually find Linnets boss Adam Lakeland’s post-match thoughts of much interest and, following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with lowly Radcliffe, that thought was no different after his thoughts on player recruitment and the difficulty to date the club and he have faced whilst trying to bring new faces to The Walks.To date, only full-back Finlay Armstrong has arrived at the club on a month’s loan from Rochdale as Lakeland strives to freshen up his squad with 16 National League North matches remaining.The manager was clearly frustrated by several things (I’ll come to those in a while) but he alluded to the fact that he was finding it difficult to attract new players due mainly to a mixture of geographical and players maybe not wanting to go into full-time football as the main reasons.Lynn’s geographical position is, obviously, one thing that can never be changed.To be brutally frank we are where we are, and have been since formation.It’s true that travel has always been a problem and has put paid to new players before they have even arrived – and cut a few stays short who did. Some players don’t mind the bind of travel and some do.I remember Ross Barrows travelling every day for training from Sheffield when the club first went full-time in Ian Culverhouse’s reign and made no fuss at all about it. The situation regarding Lynn’s full-time status making recruiting difficult is an interesting point. A few seasons ago when the club was at step 3 level and part-time I remember many of the lads had good, reliable jobs which paid well.I always got the impression that for many playing football and getting paid a decent rate to do so was a case of a little extra money for a few extra things they probably wouldn’t have had they not been playing.The commitment was just the same as it is now except the training was a couple of evenings in the week (once when there was a Tuesday evening game) and for almost all away games Saturday travel was the norm. The club turned full-time in 2020 when it gained promotion to the full National League which, I still maintain, was the right decision to take at that particular time.The strong possibilities of big crowds, including lots of travelling supporters laid some of the foundation of the idea, as well as added income from more sponsorships and an uptick of local interest. Of course, Covid arrived at totally the wrong time and we will never know how the visits of Notts County and Wrexham would have looked like in attendance figures and how home supporters inside the stadium, backing their team would have made to their performances.Alas, I digress a little but the aim at that time was to make the recruitment of better quality players easier and give the club the best possible fighting chance of staying in the league with the big boys of non-league football. It now appears that with our current financial situation players who are in full-time employment and only play part-time are less keen to give up their day jobs and become professional footballers.And it’s something I can understand.A player say, in their mid-20s, giving up a job with good prospects and security to play pro football for say, twelve seasons is a risk. Take into account wives, young children and other circumstances, including location and it’s easy to see why the club has missed out on getting some new faces into the building.The full-time/part-time debate continues to rumble around the club and refuses to be silenced. Chairman Stephen Cleeve is a supporter of the full-time model and if the Linnets were to gain promotion this season you would expect the same model and structure in place come August.Failure to gain promotion may just see a review of the current thinking, especially if Lakeland believes that full-time status is affecting his recruitment efforts negatively.Keeping with that post-match interview the Lynn boss was frustrated with a section of home support who chose to boo the referee’s full-time whistle following the 1-1 draw with Radcliffe.Lakeland felt that his players didn’t deserve such a reaction and stated it was the most noise he had heard from the home ranks all game on what was another frustrating afternoon for both players, management and supporters alike.For me, frustration is the keyword here. The booing from the supporters would have borne down to frustration, having seen their team not perform to the standards they know they are capable of.And I would also suggest Lakeland was as equally as frustrated with his players as some supporters were which in turn saw him take his frustrations out on them for booing if you get my drift!For me it’s nothing that a couple of wins cannot put right, however, I do feel that everyone on both sides of the white line does need to be rowing in the same direction.Most Linnets supporters are quite passive during games and that’s been the case now for as many years as I care to remember. They will make their voices heard when they feel they have something to cheer and get behind. For that to happen the players must give them something to get behind, a classic chicken and egg situation.I do, though, believe they have the right to make their feelings known when things aren’t going right, just as they are when the opposite occurs.Lynn will make their second visit of the season this Saturday to Curzon Ashton for a clash with a team also challenging for a play-off spot at least.It is, as well, another occasion when Adam Lakeland and his assistant Sam Walker will pit their wits against their former employers. They will both be hoping for a little revenge I’m sure following a 2-0 success for Saturday’s hosts at The Walks in September which they followed up with a 1-0 FA Cup win the following month, dumping the Linnets out of the competition for another year.In recent weeks Curzon appears to have lost a little of their early season momentum and this weekend seems as good a time as any for the trip to Manchester.They will though need to be more clinical in front of goal and make the most of more of the opportunities they have been creating. A win at a promotion rival would be just the Filip for Lakeland and his men following a difficult two weeks.