I think during our peak decade of recruitment from about 2006-2016 - when we got guys like Lennon, Bale, Modric, Berbatov, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Dembele, etc - we were one of the more modern, better run clubs with the most sophisticated recruitment strategy. We started using data and hiring sporting directors before 90% of clubs in the league and Levy was actually ahead of the curve.
Now we're the opposite. Clubs like Brighton, Brentford, Palace and Bournemouth are identifying and signing the guys we used to sign. That leaves us in this weird limbo: we don't offer top wages to get the very best players, and we're being outflanked by smarter, smaller clubs at signing up-coming talent.
We either need to act like a big club and start offering proper wages to attract the best talent, or we need to get a lot smarter and not rely on dickheads like Lange to identify the right younger talent with clear pathways to minutes. No more of this opportunistic bollocks or signing second rate cast-offs.