Hi, I'm new to the site, so I thought I'd start with a decent first post (well second, my first was about giving the new lass on Countdown a good seeing to, but I digress).
This charade of potential survival has gone too far. We now have no option but to prepare ourselves for League 1 football, and what the consequences of this are, however we can start planning for this now, and it is important we do so. I have supported loaning players in this season, as opposed to last season. Last season the introduction of Leroy Lita and Lee Cook disrupted the sides momentum, this year, we had no momentum, unfortunately the loanees were unable to kick start this. However we have to look at the fact we have little or,looking at the lack of cash spent in the transfer window, no money. First on the agenda is getting shot of them. Kandol, Murty, Soares, Ward. Some have been better than others, some haven’t had the opportunity to make a difference, but we can’t afford to pay contracts for other peoples players.
Secondly we need to have a clear out of the side, dramatically. I have drawn up a comprehensive list of the players that will not be necessary in League 1 next season. Good or not, we can not afford to keep hold of these players and the more time we have to get rid of them the better.
• Weaver
• Youga
• Bailey
• Holland
• Zheng Zhi
• Hudson
• Gray
• Todorov
• Dickson
• McLeod
• Ambrose
• Varney
We then need to recall our players, bar the aforementioned Varney & McLeod, from loan (Sinclair, Christensen). We require no money to be spent in the up-coming summer transfer window; we need to keep every penny we have, if there is any at all.
This leaves us with a squad of 24 players plus players from the Academy, enough to see us through to the end of the season and our inevitable relegation. We spend no money in the transfer window, we go into League 1 simply with the talent we have.
Thirdly there is the debacle of who will lead the side. Having little cash to spend leaves us with little option but to look for a suitable candidate, either from the lower leagues, or already within a coaching position. I personally feel that Mark Kinsella, who has worked with a majority of the players that will become this “new squad” in the reserve team. It's then simply up to him to return the captains armband to it's rightful owner, Matt Holland. He will obviously be a strong player in League 1, and although some of you may disagree with this, I feel that if we do go down, he may be hard to keep hold of. However, he seems passionate about the club and I feel giving him this duty should keep him here.
As supporters we have been far to demanding of immediate success, and granted we should have had it, but now is the time to stop, assess the situation, and do what is best for the club. We can’t throw money at trying to achieve survival, because if gamble doesn’t come off then we have left ourselves in an even worse state, a state that could inevitably destroy the club we all love. Unlike a lot of fans, I trust our board to make the right decisions.
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Comments
But don't take me seriously. No one else does ....... lol
Surely Dickson will stay though, and possibly Bailey and Youga? None of them will be on huge wages. Pretty much agree the rest will go though, and probably a few more might such as Yassin, Racon and Semedo.
Has Parkinson realised if we down we need to keep Dickson? Kind of feel now he's realised players like Burton won't get the goals, and it'll be hard to replace Dickson next season, who is proven in League One.
Holland I just don't see where he fits into the team as a regular any more. We have better central midfielders than him, and he probably won't play at centre back unless we have no other option.
I don't like the idea of Kinsella taking over personally, he'll just carry on from the last few years as the assistant manager taking over and doing no better than the original manager. Someone from completely outside the club, if they are the right man for the job, could sort out the squad and the club as a whole.
Have to point out that Varney has already gone and we tried to get Christensen to agree to terminate his contract, so he's going to be staying out on loan.
The second question is one of balance, we need a decent striker and Dickson should be told that in League One that he's going to get a regular starting gig. The good news is that he was a success at this level with Gillingham. The question is who to play alongside him, Gray I think will go, the club tried to loan him out but it didn't happen, Burton was brought in when Varney left but hasn't done anything that makes me think he'll contribute any more than the odd goal/assist, Todorov will leave as he's past it.
In midfield we need to get our priorities right - we have Ambrose (out of contract this year) ZZ (also out of contract) plus Shelvey, Racon, Semedo, Spring, Bailey and Holland chasing two central CM slots, so I'd expect at least two if not three of that number to leave. Presumably Holland as he's longest in the tooth, and ZZ as I can't see him playing in tier three, and if Ambrose stays it'll be because he accepts a new deal on what I assume will be vastly reduced wages, so I think he'll be off. But we need a left and perhaps a right winger, as we only have Sam to offer width. Maybe the out of contract Keith Gillespie could be given a contract?
At left back there is Youga or Basey so perhaps that is settled. At CB we'll have Fortune, Hudson and therefore need a back up.
At RB in theory there is Moo2, but its clear that he and Parky don't get along and as he has a couple of years on his contract he'll be sold and a cheaper option can be brought in.
Lastly currently we have three keepers with Elliott and Randolph both capable of starting, and competing with each other, therefore I'd release Weaver, which would get one of the higher earners off the wage bill.
• Youga - think he'd be good in league 1
• Bailey - as above not on big wages either
• Holland - Why get rid? His contract runs out anyway i believe
• Zheng Zhi - Agree too costly sell for £2 million if poss - more like £500k though
• Hudson - Partly agree though he is only on 6k which is high for league 1 but normal in chumpionship
• Gray - Agree big wages and doesn't move enough
• Todorov - Agree he could do well in that league but injuries permitting
• Dickson - Disagree - He wont be on big wages and excelled in league 1
• McLeod - as above
• Ambrose - Agree wages are way to high
• Varney - DISAGREE He's gone already...
Good post otherwise....
Oh and hello and welcome by the way.
With you SID.
I love you Oggy, even if everyone else hates you : - )
Couldn't say it betta myself
we are where we are cos we've been shit, but we can still get out of it, although not the highest chance in the world, there is still a chance
Its no wonder the club is where it is, no1 from fans to the players believes we can win a game no matter stay up.
Iv got news for everyone YES WE CAN
Thanks, Scruffle - exactly what I've been banging the drum about.
It's not about being 'Realistic' in November or even 'Defeatist' in February.
As Curbs said in interview yesterday, we still have a clear chance - collectively we have to decide as a club if we want it bad enough. And though it's not the fans fault that we're bottom of the League, we still play our part for good or bad.
Despite how poor we've been, I can't believe everybody has given up with 15 games to go.
That's a third of the season left to play for, for Chrissakes!
Worse teams than ours have got out of similar situations before.
But the club collectively has got to want to do badly enough.
And it least give it their best shot.
Can we please stop suggesting selling the likes of Bailey, ZZ, Dickson etc or we'll be in the Conference before we know it.
Zheng's contract is up so we won't get anything for him.
Hudson £6k? Obviously no on really knows how much the players are earning, but Pardew said he wouldn't have signed Hudson if he knew how little money we had. There was also all the talk of how we offered him much more than Palace did.
Good point on Zheng, Sorry about that...
And as for Huds I heard he was on £6k a week for us from my bottle of Ketchup so maybe an unreliable source
He might well be, but a lot of that will be his signing on fee spread over the duration of his contract. It would have been pretty hefty as he came on a free.
I don't like Youga as a player, he scares me whenever the ball comes near him, I always feel he is a ticking time bomb, as for Bailey, it will depend on the size of his contract, if he is on smaller wages than the Gray's and Weaver's then he could be a very capable player, as he has already proved in League 1.
For Dickson the reason I put him there was a different matter. He doesn't want to play for the club anymore, and I can understand why, if we get him playing over the next 16 games then maybe we could have a chance of keeping hold of him, same goes for McLeod. As for his partner, I feel Burton will be a more than capable player to play up top with Dickson. He's aggressive, he can head a ball, he's good back to goal and he has a bit up top, in League One he could prove to be an excellent player, remember he scored 15+ goals in the Premier League, and you don't lose that goal-hunting mentality.
I know planning for relegation when there is that glimmer of hope sounds terribly defeatist, I don't go into ever game we play with the attitude that it is a forgone conclusion like a handful of fans I know, however we have to be realistic about our position, or risk throwing everything we love so dearly away.
COME ON YOU ADDICKS!!!
In his own words, he'll stay if he plays. Which he better because he's obviously the best striker we have. Outrageous that he hasn't played until now and does nothing for my faith in Parkinson's judgement.
Yep Dickson also said he wants to become a Charlton legend in the same way Mendonca and Bent are for their goalscoring records.
It would have been ridiculous to sell him either in January or the summer while we're looking for a striker to take us back up. We know he'll score goals in League One, we just need the right team around him.
I agree about Burton, as a player he's decent enough, he's just never going to be a regular goalscorer. As long as we have other options so they don't become complacent they'll be good players in League One.
Jollyrobin excellent 1st post re blonde lass much preferred to this one, but good fun nonetheless.
It was very considerate of you to present your comprehensive list for next season. I am sure a certain person on this thread will be happy to ensure the powers at The Valley receive their copy.
Do we need to get rid of theses players to save money now or at the end of the season?
Additionally to save time for the year after in Div2 (4), could you perhaps provide us with a comprehensive futures list of players to get shot of so we can create a cost cutting budget in advance.
Enjoyed your post all the same always worth a debate to give up or not give up that is the question.
I love you Oggy, even if everyone else hates you : - )[/quote]
I think you are bloody brilliant too oggy!
Thanks. That's two out of 20,000 then!