THE season is now over and Keith Curle was right to state that the players aren’t good enough, no Oldham side has consistently performed at the needed level for a long time.

He then, however, went on to talk about the players letting the club down, and that logic is extremely flawed.

Yes, the players aren’t good enough, but there’s a reason for that and it’s directly linked to the club hierarchy.

If season after season the recruitment falls short of the mark and players fail to perform then it’s worth taking a look at the person who is in charge of recruiting players – the sporting director.

Things seemed to have improved slightly this season compared to last, but yet again the failings of the sporting director were evident after the campaign had culminated

Dylan Bahamboula has been the Lemsagams’ greatest find but the number who have failed to impress vastly outweighs those whose transfers have worked out.

Something needs to change next season if improvements are to be seen; doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome is a pointless endeavour.

Attempting to get players on the cheap who can later be sold on for a profit is a good business model on paper, but doesn’t work in practice.

There’s a reason English football isn’t as attractive of an investment as it used to be and that’s the fact that it’s extremely difficult to make a profit.

As passion projects, sure, clubs can be successful, but business ventures are playing at a game where the vast majority lose.

The bare minimum should be a change in recruitment policy.

The days of unknown players from lower leagues should be gone and instead those with experience in the EFL should be chosen – there’s a reason Conor McAleny has excelled.

I had said at the beginning that I would give the Lemsagams three years to get a structure in place before making any call that is too hasty. That time is now up and the problems are as clear as day.

Time and time again, managers have been swiftly moved on – why shouldn’t the same apply to sporting directors? If the person in charge of a role isn’t good enough at doing their job then somebody else should come in.

The modern club model has become the

predominant one as it often works, Brentford are one of the best examples of this, but it relies on a successful hierarchy.

This hasn’t happened and needs to be fixed.