We'll have to agree to disagree on Wellingham.
As for Dawes, he isn't bad. But he also isn't worth a top 20 pick. They somehow got Pick 19 for him when they should have gotten around Pick 29. Robbery.
And Daisy leaving as a free agent. Should leave a dent in the club right? No, they will be getting a top 6 pick plus Jesse White (while throwing in a couple of meaningless later picks), which is far more than what Daisy is even worth in a TRADE. It's farcical.
Oh, and in addition to Pick 6, they also still have Pick 10 this year too. 5 top 20 picks in the last 2 drafts, with guys like Swan, Pendlebury, Cloke, Beams all at the top of their game still. They've already gotten Grundy, Kennedy and Broomhead, and now look set to snare either Aish, Scharenberg, Billings or Bontempelli at pick 6, and someone like Freeman, Matt Crouch, Dom Sheed or Lennon at pick 10. Its absolutely obscene really.
If they drop out of the 8 in 2014 I'll eat my own head. 2013 was a down year (Beams injured for over half the season, Grundy only came on the scene late, Lynch was a failure, Daisy didn't play, Jolly and Hudson weren't up to it etc). Don't read too much into their elimination final loss against Port, they are still right around the mark IMO, and their youth is as good as anyone's.
Hopefully things don't work out for them because nobody wants to see them stay near the top, but the writing is clearly on the wall that they'll be a force moving forward IMO.