Reading Goonerhaters thread about player ratings got me thinking about Parky's dealings in the transfer market. Regardless of the pros and cons of the rest of his Management I think he has done pretty well with transfers considering how potless we are:
Failures
Spring - Nothing against him but we just didn't need another squad CM when we got him, a waste of resources
A. Sodje - I've missed the two games where he has played well by all acounts, have been disapointed with him generally.
McKenzie - A gamble that backfired
Decent signings
Richardson - Competent FB at this level
Mooney - Not the greatest but better than what we had available and has got a few goals
S. Sodje - ok CB, had his moments but also has had some good games
Llera - Had a couple of shocking games but is ok backup
Successes
Burton - Is absolutely vital to us now.
Reid - Has given the side balance and chipped in with a couple of vital goals.
Dailly - Has done well, could have done with a few more rests.
Add Forster who looks like he will do well for us and the fact that he has managed to plug the constantly reappearing hole at left back and overall I think this is one area he is in credit on.
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Comments
Bad: Llera, Spring, A Sodje, McKenzie
Indifferent: Mooney (can see why people like him, but also why they do not), S Sodje (again some good some bad).
Jury out: Forster, Fry, Jackson (could have been very good imho), Borrowdale, Warner
Omosuzi - ultimately good
Goalkeeper whose name I forget - poor
Done Okay So Far: Dailly, A Sodje, Mooney, Jackson
Good Signings: Burton, Reid, Richardson
and he wont be able to pay the higher wages that we clearly pay , i bet dailly didn't come cheap and the hidden signing on fees for the frees are easily forgotten ... warner jumped ship from millwall as soon as we out bid them on the wages front
2 poor games and he becomes a poor signing.
I think people forget the context of the time last season when Spring was signed.
We had long term injuries with both ZZ and Racon injured (look how our team performance changed as soon as they were back in the team, just 3 defeats in 15 games).
Ambrose had just returned from an unsuccessful loan period, and was expected to be shipped straight out again - if only for someone else to pay his wage we could no longer afford.
It was the January transfer window and we were totally adrift at the bottom of the league, already relegation certainties.
We had virtually no money.
Tell me,exactly which ambitious quality players were praying that Charlton would come in and sign them?
I'll tell you ..... just Matt Spring!
2 poor games and he becomes a poor signing.[/quote]
Open your eyes, if you can't see it yet then god knows.
I really like Mooney, but have recognised before and in the past his presence is something we needed to improve upon. When you look at Millwall it's a great shame we didn't sniff out league one players who are very effective at this level in Schofield and Trotter.
Sodje brothers..... Like Akpo, never have liked Sam Sodje on account of his mebership in the AWOL team. Both are not disasters but due to one's injury and one's positioning, they're failures in my eyes - Akpo is/was worth the risk.
Unsure on Kyle Reid, but at the moment Parky has got a success there.
Richardson has been very good. I like Spring a lot but he has the weaknesses that every midfielder we have has apart from Bailey and Semedo.
Personal opinion, but I felt that randolph was good enough to play and Ikeme toook a long time to be match fit and by then he was off again and Robbie was fit. if Ikeme had comein match ready then it would have been a good signing.
Then you have Llera who is doing what he was signed for, playing when needed and happy to fight for his place. We could have never afford 3 centre backs that all expected to be regulars and had wages to match.
Having said that both Spring and McKenzie must be considered failures purely because in both cases they have rarely played any games and their influence over the course of the season has been zero.
The best signing so far has been Burton without him we would be looking at a mid table position at best. It's his struggle with injury over the last 3 months which has coincided with our downturn in form.
Another positive is that none of these signings saddles us with any additional long term debt as most are on one to two year contracts.
As far as I see it, his signings are as follows:
Failures:
Spring - may have been signed when the club was going backwards and had to do something - but now hardly makes the bench and when he has played (a handful of games) then he reminds me of Bryan Hughes.......the "shadow".... as he will run around alot but not touch the ball. Should have been shipped out by now to save the wages that could have been spent elsewhere .
MacKenzie - Injury prone. Joined us with an injury and has carried on all season. When he has made an appearance he has looked lively, but still only scored 1 goal. Another waste of wages.
A Sodje - brillant 2nd half at Yeovil in appalling conditions and at which point i thought we had something. On his own admission he said he only took shots that day as the wind was in his favour.Since then he has been going backwards - with Millwall being his nadir. Brentford away he started upfront with Dickson and was completly outshone by a bloke who is now loaned out..........on that showing the wrong player is still here. No pace & No arial ability.
Decent signings:
Mooney - I think he has been unfairly castigated by a large section of the fans - esp away at Southend. Don't blame him for the cupped ear gesture the other week. Not my favourite forward but does give 100% which is more than some loanees weve had.
Successes:
S. Sodje - will give 110% for the cause - may be a bit rash & prone to a sending off, but what was worse v Swindon ; his tackle or Burton's two silly yellows?
Richardson -a great right back and although not in the Johnny H category yet he is far better than many rights back we have had in this division or the championship.
Dailly - great positioning and reads the game so well. without him we would not be 5th this season.
LLera - has had his bad moments (away at colchester & millwall) but overall a plus in the side. a great left foot and we have declined since we stopped using it to ping 50 yard passess to Sam.
Burton - need him in the team as he is the only player who can hold the ball up and then spread the play - not a great striker & wont get you 20+ goals a season, but our top goal scorer to date and so must be seen as a good "free" signing
Reid - best player we have at the moment and if he had played all season then surely a contender for POTS - god knows why Parky played him wide right against Millwall and currently our best hope of a goal. Jut hope we can kep him next season but I'm sure he is destined for the championship or higher.
The rest - Ikeme & Omosuzi ok but nothing more. Forster - too early to say. Jonnie Jackson - hope we sign him next season.......better than Youga imho.
thoughts..........
Don't agree Richardson is great, though he's more reliable than many right backs we have had. Compared to the right backs in the last few seasons, Cranie couldn't attack, Murty was too injury prone, he's better than Butterfield going forward, better than Yassin defensively with probably a better cross. Halford's in the Prem but I never really liked him, too often look for the long ball, Richardson is at least comfortable running with the ball, even if he doesn't always get it right. He makes a few mistakes defensively and going forward, but at least he offers something in both areas and works hard, I doubt we'd have found better.
Reid I'm not convinced he's our best player, I don't think we can properly judge him based on half a season. Players can often play well for half a season until you see what they're really like. He's good for his few attributes rather than a great all round game, like a lot of wingers are. With Sam off form he's now the player we look to to create or score a goal. Sam will probably create more but Reid clearly much more of a goalscorer than Sam.
Jackson I'd want to see more of, he is a central midfielder remember not naturally a full back. In this league at least, when on form Youga's pace and power can offer more.
Akpo's not lightening quick but he has a bit of pace doesn't he? We've had much slower strikers than him in the last few years.
Spring's a decent player, but wasn't what we needed at the time - and going forward.
I don't think Wright would have done much worse than Spring, but Parky probably wanted some experience in there and we don't know how Wright's attitude was, or how he trained, probably reasons that weren't just ability that meant he didn't get more games. That said, whenever I've seen him, he's done ok but never pushes on or tries to do that bit more. Same from first team games, pre-season friendlies and one reserve game I saw. Might be a good player one day but at the moment and a year ago, he wasn't and isn't better than what we had/have.
Which Reid is doing when played on the left, and Parky said he wanted him in the summer but he chose Sheff Utd.
I was wrong on Spring liked him from a youngster, but his best periods were next to a fit Nicholls and Gavin Mahon at Watford. I should have stuck to my guns and backed the thought that we needed Gavin Mahon; but Pardew was way too stupid to think he needed a tackling midfielder.... as was Boothroyd at the time. Still I was wrong about Spring and should have known his 'mercurial' nature wasn't the one to kick Ambrose, ZZ and Sam up the backside.
What do people think on the Llera and S Sodje debate? Personally I'd generally prefer Llera against the Stockports of this world and Sam Sodje against more robust or willing teams like Millwall and Colchester; unless it's 4-5-1 then bring on Llera.
I'm glad Reid's worked out, but I just look at his game and don't think he has enough in him to assist at any decent level. I wouldn't want him permanently, long term I think he'll be a fader. If Sam was a metronome at creating chances in this league and the champ, then they're a great combination of measured good ball and Darren 'Forrest' Huckerby head-down stand-a-skelter.
That's actually a really good point about Llera v Sodje. When there's no real threat Llera's passing is useful, he's also generally just more comfortable with the ball. With Sodje he's more suited to those high tempo games, and gives us a bit more aggression and pace at the back. I wouldn't be comfortable with either at championship level, in fact i'm not sure about any of our defenders if we go up. Improving the midfield could help them quite a bit though.
Some say Sam should be doing what Reid does, but I prefer them being different types of wingers. We really could do with Sam back to his best for the run in, at this level they'd cause loads of problems if they were both playing well. With Forster there's now another option up front and we still have Shelvey to bring in. If we can get Bailey and Burton there should be plenty of goals in this team.