Yea but saying we "really only had 1 off season to buy new players" is completely false. We've been buying players every off season...some of them very expensive, some dud buys and some decent value.
I think his point was more the cap breaches cancelled out any off season recruitment. I think you are right in it's not completely true but also our recruitment in those years and subsequent years need a big asterisk, i.e. if BA knew the full cap picture, he probably doesn't sign Watmough and Foran, he probably signs some cheaper players in similar positions.
I was actually amazed at the players we have signed in that time. I can't remember any other recent signings we have lost in that time bar Watmough, Foran, Fritchard & IDG but Auva'a, Brown, Davis, Gunco, Hoffman, Jenko x 2, King, Matagi, Moses, Niukore, Scott, Smith, Taka & Vave.
Now that's got me thinking maybe the whinge collective perhaps is right given the only "front row" players BA has signed are IDG, Brown, Matagi & Vave then Evans & lesser so T-Rex. But then he are some others who have left (couple of them a little unexpectedly), O'Brien (ok not a great example), Wicks & Paulo (both a little unexpectedly and would have f**ked recruitment a little), Mossop turning to glass & P. Pauli not quite working out ... cough... despite being a bigger body cough..
I'm not trying to make excuses for BA but trying to provide some analysis for the whingers so...
During 2014 - major injury to Peats, signs IDG (Advantage BA)
EOY2014 - lose Mossop, replaces with Wicks & Alvaro (Advantage BA)
EOY2015 - lose Pauli, replaces with O'Brien (Advantage whingers)
During 2016 - lose Paulo, can't get replacement cause cap up the shit (Advantage whingers, not BAs fault),
EOY2016 - lose Wicks, replaces him & Paulo with Matagi, Brown & Vave, also signs King with IDG impending retirement, we finish 4th in 2017 (Advantage BA)
EOY2017 - O'Brien falls off face of Earth, replaces him & too an extent probably Paulo, Wicks, et al with Evans, hasn't worked out so far but clear indication of player type he was after (Advantage whingers)
As much as Glenneel wants to whine that we don't have players he wants, I reckon the players BA has signed have by and large been in a similar mould to his wants (Wicks, Vave, Evans) and that maybe BA has never been as ignorant as whingey mcwhingeface wants to believe