The owners have done their job given the level of spend. The question is has NJ spent the money wisely. I am not sure if spending in excess of 2 million for Oloafe and JRC for our fourth striker and our 5th midfielder makes a lot of sense when that money could have been spent on upgrading a starting position. There were plenty of experienced reserves on a free.
The owners have done their job given the level of spend. The question is has NJ spent the money wisely. I am not sure if spending in excess of 2 million for Oloafe and JRC for our fourth striker and our 5th midfielder makes a lot of sense when that money could have been spent on upgrading a starting position. There were plenty of experienced reserves on a free.
The owners have done their job given the level of spend. The question is has NJ spent the money wisely. I am not sure if spending in excess of 2 million for Oloafe and JRC for our fourth striker and our 5th midfielder makes a lot of sense when that money could have been spent on upgrading a starting position. There were plenty of experienced reserves on a free.
The talk on here before the window opened was mainly about us operating with a bottom 6 transfer budget. We actually ended up with a top 6 net transfer budget. Couldn’t have asked for anything more from the owners. It’s now up to the players to deliver.
The talk on here before the window opened was mainly about us operating with a bottom 6 transfer budget. We actually ended up with a top 6 net transfer budget. Couldn’t have asked for anything more from the owners. It’s now up to the players to deliver.
In terms of transfer fees yes, but that's not the whole story. We could have used our budget to sign free or cheaper transfers, but with higher wages and signing on fees.
I'm sure our wages budget will be bottom 6, maybe bottom 4.
The talk on here before the window opened was mainly about us operating with a bottom 6 transfer budget. We actually ended up with a top 6 net transfer budget. Couldn’t have asked for anything more from the owners. It’s now up to the players to deliver.
In terms of transfer fees yes, but that's not the whole story. We could have used our budget to sign free or cheaper transfers, but with higher wages and signing on fees.
I'm sure our wages budget will be bottom 6, maybe bottom 4.
Surely the free or cheaper transfers are free or cheaper for a reason though? Chucking money at wages doesn't mean they're better than those for a fee
Have we done enough be competitive? What position do you think we should have done more with?
Interested in everyone’s views
Good window:
Will remain optimistic, never expected us to bring in anyone like Knibbs. Cherry picking the 'best of League One' - New fresh faces, which is good, rather than ex Charlton.
Bad window:
Would of like more signings for competition purposes. Not overly fussed about Fofana though, chuffed we beat Celtic to the signature (will bookmark for January). Not overly excited about this Charlton Town team that is being formed (but if it works it works).
Have we done enough be competitive?
Seeing signs, but need to translate that to results on the pitch, but that's not surprising. We just over a week to integrate what we have now.
What position do you think we should have done more with?
I trust Nathan. A Josh Edwards backup would have been nice, or Famewo (to create more competition within this squad).
I remember after the Crawley game when all the frustration came to a head it was basically accepted on here that we'd had a poor couple of windows and signed subpar players. The keepers weren't up to it, Gillesphey wasn't good enough, Coventry was much worse than Dobson, Berry and Docherty were busted flushes, Godden as a replacement for May was a disaster. We'd only signed Jones' old mates and almost every player we'd signed wasn't good enough. The only players who generally got away without too much criticism were Edwards and Alex Mitchell. Right after that though the team changed how it was playing and suddenly all these players gelled and looked like new men. Now people are upset that Gillesphey has been dropped for a new player, there's people calling for Mannion to come back into the team, Coventry was the player's POTY and Godden outscored May on his way to becoming a fan favourite. No-one batted an eyelid when Mitchell was moved on though. Jones teams take time to get up to speed and new players need a bit of time and patience to settle in, 4 games in against established Championship and recently relegated Premier League teams is too early to tell.
Given that when we got promoted even after Small left before any signings came in the general consensus was that only Jones, Coventry, Edwards and Campbell would be good enough for this level.
We have to put that into context the whole squad needed and still does to a degree, a revamp. So the 4 mentioned above plus 10 signings in plus others like Leaburn, Godden, Gillesphey etc who can all hopefully have a real go at keeping us up.
As a whole, this transfer window in terms of number of signings, money spent and planning looks to be up there with our best summer windows ever surpassing summer spends from most of the Premier League years.
Happy to re-visit this thread at the end of the season similar to how the Nathan Jones thread was looked back upon but I would say the club have probably given us the best chance of survival regardless of where we finish. We still need to upgrade areas of the team but hopefully this comes in time along with staying up in this division first and foremost.
The talk on here before the window opened was mainly about us operating with a bottom 6 transfer budget. We actually ended up with a top 6 net transfer budget. Couldn’t have asked for anything more from the owners. It’s now up to the players to deliver.
In terms of transfer fees yes, but that's not the whole story. We could have used our budget to sign free or cheaper transfers, but with higher wages and signing on fees.
I'm sure our wages budget will be bottom 6, maybe bottom 4.
Surely the free or cheaper transfers are free or cheaper for a reason though? Chucking money at wages doesn't mean they're better than those for a fee
Free players are often player who run their contract down. Like Small. Or indeed Bell and Carey.
Cheaper players could be because of their age. Keiffer Moore was cheaper than Charlie Kelman for example, but would be on way higher wages than we could pay. Or they might have a release clause. Wrexham (again) got Ryan Hardie for a bargain £700k, but I bet his wages are good.
As I've also said a few times, a lot of Docherty's work is the unseen stuff, the shape he tries to hold in midfield, showing for the ball, endlessly tracking and pressing his man, engaging with players off the ball at set pieces, organising and leading the team. Most of these things don't show up on Opta stats and sofa score
Respectfully there will be League 2 players that can do that, you need more.
He doesn't get into a single other Championship starting XI, and even a fair few sides wouldn't have him on their bench. It's the harsh truth.
No one can deny his commitment, but to not bring in a Championship quality 8 has been disappointing.
Docherty has already shown he is capable of playing well at this level, was motm against Leicester for me. I agree though that he is unlikely to play well consistently at this level, and the big concern is his quality on the ball. I think off the ball he is fine which means he’s absolutely fine for certain games, like the Leicester game, where we are going to have less of the ball.
I think there are two hopes here though, one is that Costello shows that he is the championship quality upgrade we need there. I think he’s going to be better on the ball, from what I’ve seen he looks tidy enough, haven’t seen enough yet to really judge overall though. And the other hope is that Knibbs gets a go in that role, particularly for home games we expect to win.
He has shown glimpses Doch, but he should be on the bench helping us see out games, not starting imo.
I can't fault his work rates at all, and he has to be the fittest player at the club, he just has poor passing range and isn't the best on the ball.
Costello has looked really unimpressive so far when I have seen him, and I have a bit of a biased view from the Blackburn fans, hoping he can show more.
I would like to see Carey partnered with Cov and push Knibbs further forward, from everything I have seen so far Carey could play as a centre midfielder, although Knibbs may be more suited to it right now. Either way, our midfield concerns me, it's mostly chasing other players down and getting rid of the ball.
We can't go all season not controlling the game in this league, especially at home, just asking for trouble
I liked it overall but I wish we'd found a way to spend the Kelman fee on Galbraith and a different profile of forward. (Yes I know Galbraith didn't want to come and it wasn't about the fee)
I'm very happy with the progress, think they'll be more to come once the manager and coaches get into the players what they want. We're moving in the right direction, at a pace that's manageable for the club.
I'm very happy with the progress, think they'll be more to come once the manager and coaches get into the players what they want. We're moving in the right direction, at a pace that's manageable for the club.
I liked it overall but I wish we'd found a way to spend the Kelman fee on Galbraith and a different profile of forward. (Yes I know Galbraith didn't want to come and it wasn't about the fee)
I love seeing Callum be negative about a player, he's finally be dragged down into the pits with the rest of us
I think the window was decent, and undoubtedly we’ve spent more money than we have in a very long time. But keeping us up was always going to be a very tall task given where we were starting from. I said before the start of the season that I thought we’d be relegated and I still think, despite a decent window, that is still a very strong possibility.
I've been pleasantly pleased by who we've managed to land in this window. I think the squad has been upgraded well and will be good enough to do what the plan is, which is to stay in the Championship. It always takes time to bed in a new group of players and this time round a slow start won't hurt the 'stay here' plan. If we were looking to be right up there then this start wouldn't have been so good but as the next window happens and the next etc. we'll certainly be looking for an upgrade each time. By the time we get to the window next summer our squad will be further upgraded and we will be stronger than now anyway, meaning our start to next season won't be so slow and then when the even newer players are added....... pow! And so on and so on until we get to the Premier. Simples!
9/10 for me - the club and NJ have done really well. One slight issue is the lack of a creative midfielder, so I hope we pick up an out of contract player [ex premier league/Championship] to boost that area.
I am still worried about our strike force. Will Godden be the same player we have seen previously…..I am 50/50 with that? Will Myles improve after his long layoff, he doesn’t seem quite up to top form thus far? The failure to land the fella from Chelsea was very disappointing. Am I right in saying they are blaming us for not completing the paperwork in time…..has there been any confirmation about that and whether that is true or not?
I am still worried about our strike force. Will Godden be the same player we have seen previously…..I am 50/50 with that? Will Myles improve after his long layoff, he doesn’t seem quite up to top form thus far? The failure to land the fella from Chelsea was very disappointing. Am I right in saying they are blaming us for not completing the paperwork in time…..has there been any confirmation about that and whether that is true or not?
Nothing confirmed yet but apparently the knee injury he picked up last season has still been a problem which may have been a reason for the delay rather than getting something completed instantly
I am still worried about our strike force. Will Godden be the same player we have seen previously…..I am 50/50 with that? Will Myles improve after his long layoff, he doesn’t seem quite up to top form thus far? The failure to land the fella from Chelsea was very disappointing. Am I right in saying they are blaming us for not completing the paperwork in time…..has there been any confirmation about that and whether that is true or not?
Nothing confirmed yet but apparently the knee injury he picked up last season has still been a problem which may have been a reason for the delay rather than getting something completed instantly
Do you do medicals for loan moves? I assumed that, whilst still under contract the insurance coverage etc for the player would remain with the parent club.
The amount we spent must have been a surprise to pretty much every fan, but you soon realise we’ve got used to owners being unable or unwilling to spend, and this is normal just to compete at this level. We had to catch up, we managed to get promoted with subs who weren’t good or fit enough to start games in L1. That had to change and it has.
The owners have backed NJ, we’ve given it a real go, and the players fit into our system and style.
It’s far too early to say which of them are good signings. It might even take 4/5/6 months before some really get going, as we saw last season.
I’ve said a few times before that we shouldn’t write off JRC improving the midfield, it’s too early to judge based on a few cameos so far. I’ve been updating the squad list and I had forgotten JRC joined on a 4 year deal - he wasn’t signed for a big fee, so that suggests the club rate him and see him as an important player.
I’ve seen the odd negative comment across social media about the money we’ve spent and asking why these new signings aren’t in the team yet. I think NJ purposely chose not to throw in all our new signings at once, it’s a lot to ask for them all to gel, understand the system and get results straight away. He’s also putting faith in players like TC who need that, and in his captain in Docherty - it would look odd to get promoted and drop him straight away.
I have no doubt this team will evolve and our best eleven will look different by the end of the season, and maybe even our formation and playing style. Some players will surprise us, and hopefully very few disappoint us.
We’ve also held on to our best players. That won’t happen every window, but if we establish ourselves at that level, when that time comes we should only be selling our stars for big fees, which should fund further investment in the squad.
Excited to see how our recruitment evolves in future windows. Cawley suggested in one of his pods (I think) that he could see us breaking our transfer record if we stay up. Hopefully we start looking abroad as well as continuing to sign some of the best players from lower divisions. I’m sure we’ll keep topping up with experience to ensure we always have those leaders to guide the younger players too.
I am still worried about our strike force. Will Godden be the same player we have seen previously…..I am 50/50 with that? Will Myles improve after his long layoff, he doesn’t seem quite up to top form thus far? The failure to land the fella from Chelsea was very disappointing. Am I right in saying they are blaming us for not completing the paperwork in time…..has there been any confirmation about that and whether that is true or not?
Nothing confirmed yet but apparently the knee injury he picked up last season has still been a problem which may have been a reason for the delay rather than getting something completed instantly
Do you do medicals for loan moves? I assumed that, whilst still under contract the insurance coverage etc for the player would remain with the parent club.
good question and something i was wondering on Monday night - i have concerns if i'm honest that Apter may be too easy to snuff out of games due to his size - was hoping fofana may have added a bit of pace and power which i think has been the thing we've lacked the most this season so far.
The objective after the playoff win was to stay in the Championship.
The gulf between the second and third tier is growing, and we don’t have the backing you see at Wrexham and Brum.
Our best signing of the summer was the contract extension for NJ. In NJ we have a manager that is fiercely competitive, driven and will always put a Charlton team out that reflects him.
Are we guaranteed survival - no, but tue players we have brought in mean that we can compete in every game.
Bree, Burke, Bell and Kam add to a very well driven and organised defence.
Once the attacking players click, get their first goals, and have a slice of luck, I can see us going on a decent run that will push us towards mid table.
We all want to see Kelman grab his first goals, but I’m also hoping that if we can keep Miles fit, the league will see the player that all Charlton fans know is in there!
Agree with @Scoham; boring as it is to say it, it's too early to say who has or has not been a good signing and who, from the remaining members of last season's squad, will make successfully step up to Championship football.
What I would say is, what more, realistically, did anyone expect the club to do towards trying to transform the team into a Championship-competitive squad? I don't think they could have done a lot more. The investment in terms of fees, and I would assume wages too, has been more than reasonable. We've added players to the first XI, made the squad deeper, and the squad looks balanced with no obvious serious gaps. Perhaps the only slight disappointment, for me, was not hanging onto Small as I think he would have had something to offer as something different/cover/competition on both flanks.
Nathan Jones seems very happy with our business, which is encouraging in itself. Time will tell if it keeps us in the Championship, but I'm pretty confident, based on the first four games, that we will, at the very least, be right in the fight and in no way whipping boys. In NJ's words, we've given it a go, and that's all we can reasonably expect as fans.
Comments
How's your job going, since you've replaced Pep?
NJ expects his teams to compete with intensity.
He has brought in players to continue doing that.
Rule 2:
The team is greater than it's sum of parts.
There no stars.
Temper your expectations.
Give this team time to gel.
The talk on here before the window opened was mainly about us operating with a bottom 6 transfer budget. We actually ended up with a top 6 net transfer budget. Couldn’t have asked for anything more from the owners. It’s now up to the players to deliver.
I'm sure our wages budget will be bottom 6, maybe bottom 4.
Will remain optimistic, never expected us to bring in anyone like Knibbs. Cherry picking the 'best of League One' - New fresh faces, which is good, rather than ex Charlton.
Bad window:
Would of like more signings for competition purposes. Not overly fussed about Fofana though, chuffed we beat Celtic to the signature (will bookmark for January). Not overly excited about this Charlton Town team that is being formed (but if it works it works).
Have we done enough be competitive?
Seeing signs, but need to translate that to results on the pitch, but that's not surprising. We just over a week to integrate what we have now.
What position do you think we should have done more with?
I trust Nathan. A Josh Edwards backup would have been nice, or Famewo (to create more competition within this squad).
We have to put that into context the whole squad needed and still does to a degree, a revamp. So the 4 mentioned above plus 10 signings in plus others like Leaburn, Godden, Gillesphey etc who can all hopefully have a real go at keeping us up.
As a whole, this transfer window in terms of number of signings, money spent and planning looks to be up there with our best summer windows ever surpassing summer spends from most of the Premier League years.
Happy to re-visit this thread at the end of the season similar to how the Nathan Jones thread was looked back upon but I would say the club have probably given us the best chance of survival regardless of where we finish. We still need to upgrade areas of the team but hopefully this comes in time along with staying up in this division first and foremost.
Cheaper players could be because of their age. Keiffer Moore was cheaper than Charlie Kelman for example, but would be on way higher wages than we could pay. Or they might have a release clause. Wrexham (again) got Ryan Hardie for a bargain £700k, but I bet his wages are good.
I can't fault his work rates at all, and he has to be the fittest player at the club, he just has poor passing range and isn't the best on the ball.
Costello has looked really unimpressive so far when I have seen him, and I have a bit of a biased view from the Blackburn fans, hoping he can show more.
I would like to see Carey partnered with Cov and push Knibbs further forward, from everything I have seen so far Carey could play as a centre midfielder, although Knibbs may be more suited to it right now. Either way, our midfield concerns me, it's mostly chasing other players down and getting rid of the ball.
We can't go all season not controlling the game in this league, especially at home, just asking for trouble
Firstly, there are Free Agent players available - the Geoff Bennett type, etc ..... we may pick up cover or take a cheap gamble.
Secondly, there's a second window in January.
Any gaps could be plugged then.
Oxford hull and Sheffield weds to go down.
the goals will come I’m sure.
It always takes time to bed in a new group of players and this time round a slow start won't hurt the 'stay here' plan. If we were looking to be right up there then this start wouldn't have been so good but as the next window happens and the next etc. we'll certainly be looking for an upgrade each time.
By the time we get to the window next summer our squad will be further upgraded and we will be stronger than now anyway, meaning our start to next season won't be so slow and then when the even newer players are added....... pow!
And so on and so on until we get to the Premier.
Simples!
Will Godden be the same player we have seen previously…..I am 50/50 with that?
Will Myles improve after his long layoff, he doesn’t seem quite up to top form thus far?
The failure to land the fella from Chelsea was very disappointing.
Am I right in saying they are blaming us for not completing the paperwork in time…..has there been any confirmation about that and whether that is true or not?
The owners have backed NJ, we’ve given it a real go, and the players fit into our system and style.
It’s far too early to say which of them are good signings. It might even take 4/5/6 months before some really get going, as we saw last season.
I’ve said a few times before that we shouldn’t write off JRC improving the midfield, it’s too early to judge based on a few cameos so far. I’ve been updating the squad list and I had forgotten JRC joined on a 4 year deal - he wasn’t signed for a big fee, so that suggests the club rate him and see him as an important player.
I’ve seen the odd negative comment across social media about the money we’ve spent and asking why these new signings aren’t in the team yet. I think NJ purposely chose not to throw in all our new signings at once, it’s a lot to ask for them all to gel, understand the system and get results straight away. He’s also putting faith in players like TC who need that, and in his captain in Docherty - it would look odd to get promoted and drop him straight away.
I have no doubt this team will evolve and our best eleven will look different by the end of the season, and maybe even our formation and playing style. Some players will surprise us, and hopefully very few disappoint us.
We’ve also held on to our best players. That won’t happen every window, but if we establish ourselves at that level, when that time comes we should only be selling our stars for big fees, which should fund further investment in the squad.
Excited to see how our recruitment evolves in future windows. Cawley suggested in one of his pods (I think) that he could see us breaking our transfer record if we stay up. Hopefully we start looking abroad as well as continuing to sign some of the best players from lower divisions. I’m sure we’ll keep topping up with experience to ensure we always have those leaders to guide the younger players too.
The objective after the playoff win was to stay in the Championship.
Our best signing of the summer was the contract extension for NJ. In NJ we have a manager that is fiercely competitive, driven and will always put a Charlton team out that reflects him.
Once the attacking players click, get their first goals, and have a slice of luck, I can see us going on a decent run that will push us towards mid table.
What I would say is, what more, realistically, did anyone expect the club to do towards trying to transform the team into a Championship-competitive squad? I don't think they could have done a lot more. The investment in terms of fees, and I would assume wages too, has been more than reasonable. We've added players to the first XI, made the squad deeper, and the squad looks balanced with no obvious serious gaps. Perhaps the only slight disappointment, for me, was not hanging onto Small as I think he would have had something to offer as something different/cover/competition on both flanks.
Nathan Jones seems very happy with our business, which is encouraging in itself. Time will tell if it keeps us in the Championship, but I'm pretty confident, based on the first four games, that we will, at the very least, be right in the fight and in no way whipping boys. In NJ's words, we've given it a go, and that's all we can reasonably expect as fans.