Despondent

GreenWithEnvy

I know that we have been and will always be a selling club, but having read various tittle tattle on here and other web-sites/social media over the last few days it does make me sad that we have players being chased by Premier League clubs which means that SCP's endeavours over the last 18 months in nurturing them have been amazing but we may never see his plans bear it's full fruit. I would love to see the fantastic team from last season go one better again and get another promotion (however fanciful that may be) but due to cash issues we may have to break the team up just as we are beginning our journey back to the high level of football we know this team are capable of.

I hate the way cash issues can destroy a dream.

Rant over... pass me the pills now please.

sam3110

Unless you have billions in the bank you will always be a selling team, look at Arsenal and Spurs. In reality you will always get people chasing your players if you're doing well, so it's a compliment and it shows Powell has done a good job. If we weren't doing well and no-one wanted our players, Powell wouldn't be here

carly burn

We sold anyone yet then?

Man up!

BlackForestReds

Last season was great, but came at a cost - a £6m loss which cannot be sustained unless we want Charlton to become mired in debt and look what happened to Leeds, Portsmouth, Rangers and many other clubs when they chased the dream but didn't bother balancing the books.

The reality is that we'll sell the odd player along the way to pay the bills. There is a positive in this - once Charlton had a reputation for bringing on talented young players, training them up and selling them on, that way we acquired the likes of Lee Bowyer and Scott Parker amongst others. If good quality youngish players see us as a stepping stone to greater things again then can only be good.

GreenWithEnvy

carly burn said:

We sold anyone yet then?

Man up!

I always turn to jelly at this time of year. I think it's worse this time as we were royally treated to decent performances from a great team and I fear the trauma of potentially losing three of the first eleven. But yeah, we haven't sold anyone yet, but it's looking likely with some of the figures being bandied about.

Actually I am a sentimental idiot and if we do sell then perhaps we can spend the cash on decent replacements, if we have time!!!!

Stebo

I think Powell would be prepared for the fact that building a successful team would bring unwanted attention from bigger teams for our better players and that one or two might be sold and I'm sure he has a list of replacements ready for when/if it happens. I'm not panicking yet.

GreenWithEnvy

Stebo said:

I think Powell would be prepared for the fact that building a successful team would bring unwanted attention from bigger teams for our better players and that one or sold might be sold and I'm sure he has a list of replacements ready for when/if it happens. I'm not panicking yet.

If we do sell let's hope that we have time to bring in decent replacements then!

GretnaGreenAddick

Yes if they are going Chrissy will already have planned who is coming in, he is to good of a manager not to have done that.

MuttleyCAFC

GreenWithEnvy said:

Stebo said:

I think Powell would be prepared for the fact that building a successful team would bring unwanted attention from bigger teams for our better players and that one or sold might be sold and I'm sure he has a list of replacements ready for when/if it happens. I'm not panicking yet.

If we do sell let's hope that we have time to bring in decent replacements then!

That is my biggest fear - last minute deals have done us a lot of damage in the past. If I was in charge I'd say to clubs bidding that if you can't make the required offer now, you won't get the player if you make it at the eleventh hour - Put up or shut up!

Saga Lout

I'm despondent too at the minute - nice to know I'm not alone.

Mortimerician

If part of his plan didn't include a contingency that some players would move on, he's not the man I thought

Kap10

Mortimerician said:

If part of his plan didn't include a contingency that some players would move on, he's not the man I thought

Thats always assuming his contingency plans and those of the owners match.

ShootersHillGuru

It's always a contingency plan to have a contingency plan IMHO.

carly burn

Just think how happy you lot are going to be on Saturday morning when nobody has left and we've bought in a couple of cheeky freebies ;-)

cafctom

It's getting towards of the transfer window where the rumor mill goes out of control. We have done a great job of keeping this team together so far. To say it has been 'destroyed' is extremely presumptuous.

If you're despondent about rumors alone then I'd suggest spending less time on Charlton Life!

PragueAddick

Kap10 said:

Mortimerician said:

If part of his plan didn't include a contingency that some players would move on, he's not the man I thought

Thats always assuming his contingency plans and those of the owners match.

This.

GreenWithEnvy

cafctom said:

It's getting towards of the transfer window where the rumor mill goes out of control. We have done a great job of keeping this team together so far. To say it has been 'destroyed' is extremely presumptuous.

If you're despondent about rumors alone then I'd suggest spending less time on Charlton Life!

But I've been addickted for years to it!

BIG_ROB

carly burn said:

We sold anyone yet then?

Man up!

100% This!

incorruptible addick

''Que sera sera''. Easier to sing than to accept, it seems!

dave85

what are you people like when real crisis time arises? i'm too busy enjoy playing at a higher level for the first time in three years, looking forward to a trip to a decent stadium like the city ground instead of tranmere or rochdale with the most popular team we have in over a decade to be despondent about transfer rumours. if solly and stephens go it isn't the end of the world. we've got through tougher times and we'll get through this.

Garrymanilow

You lot. Bloody hell. Premiership teams making bids for players means we're skint and in freefall? Regardless of the financial situation, which is only known fully to those directly involved with the club, we can't legislate for what other teams do. Man City had a bid for Dzeko (rejected). Are they spiralling into their demise. I'm despondent about the guff I've read on here today

MeebaumAzanitch

Just to console you. Parker, Shelvey, Knochesky, Boyer, Lee, Defoe. Players like them have all gone. We're still here. Charlton 'made' these players. Charlton developed these players. We can make more. I'm sure many Charlton supporters are used to these feelings. I used to think the transfer windows were a bad idea, but 'lower' league clubs and struggling clubs need to sell their players. As someone else has said on here - let's wait and see the team sheet on Saturday, we may be surprised.

Deadred

MeebaumAzanitch said:

Just to console you. Parker, Shelvey, Knochesky, Boyer, Lee, Defoe. Players like them have all gone. We're still here. Charlton 'made' these players. Charlton developed these players. We can make more. I'm sure many Charlton supporters are used to these feelings. I used to think the transfer windows were a bad idea, but 'lower' league clubs and struggling clubs need to sell their players. As someone else has said on here - let's wait and see the team sheet on Saturday, we may be surprised.

Not forgetting Bailey, Hinton, Bonds, Campbell A, Walsh P, Elliott P, Minto to name but a few even earlier shining lights.

GreenWithEnvy

Look lads, I'm not really suicidal. I have seen us go through the wringer plenty of times before and in much darker times. I just wanted to highlight that it's a shame that a team that SCP has been shaping for a season and a half (well a season really) could be broken up so soon and we may never see the true results of his vision. But you know we won League One smashing records all over the place in the process, playing sublime football at times and creating players that are being eyed up by PL clubs and I'm sure we'll be fine again this season. Just hope he stays the course with us really!!

MeebaumAzanitch

Huddersfield fans should be worried. Their mainstay appears to be off to a rival in the same division. At least our 'rumours' have our players being shipped out of the area and division. Also thanks Deadred for adding to my list, I got a bit of 'posters block'.

grumpyaddick

The bit I don't get is how these deals can go on during the season when the League competition has actually started. Even worse in the Jan window where successful smaller clubs get knobbled by their richer neighbours. Hardly a level playing field.

All transfers should be completed before the first game of the season and that's it until the following summer.

carly burn

grumpyaddick said:

The bit I don't get is how these deals can go on during the season when the League competition has actually started. Even worse in the Jan window where successful smaller clubs get knobbled by their richer neighbours. Hardly a level playing field.

All transfers should be completed before the first game of the season and that's it until the following summer.

What does Saint Christopher think about all these goings on grumps?

RodneyCharltonTrotta

I watched Moneyball at the weekend having read the book a couple of months back.

The model the Oakland A's used was completely radical in baseball but proved so successful that one of it's advocates was offered silly money by John Henry at the red sox to come in and do it there. He (Billy Beane) declined but the Red sox used the model anyway and went on to win their first world series for yonks shortly afterwards at a fraction of the cost most franchises pay to achieve it.

Henry now owns Liverpool and i imagine will be trying to implement it there.

When you see the likes of Arsenal, a massive club in my mind, having to sell their prized assets then whilst discouraging it is understandble that clubs like ourselves, and the tens of others without Man utds financial muscle will have to sell when the muslcels are flexed by those with more financial clout.

As ooh ah pointed out on here a while ago we werent concerned about fairness and socialism when we pillaged clubs with less dosh than us best players such as bournemouth and Dagenham when we assembled our monster quad of champions 12 months ago.

Its a sad reality but football is a business. In business small successful companies in certain industries get snapped up and bought out by big corporations weekly.

I dont know if we (the board) have recognised it but the moneyball model is the only really sustainable way forward for clubs in modern football. (Crudely) sell players when they are overvalued by the market and replace them with undervalued players who have potential to fit into a squad that will make a winning team.

Replace Solly with the likes of Wilson and use the money to keep afloat and develop the next generation of Sollys, Shelveys and Jenkinsons hopefully moving forwards whilst you do so.

Of course the sentimentality and romance of supporting football clubs and getting attached to players makes this tough on the fans but sustained success makes it more bearable.

PragueAddick

Rodney.
We followed the Moneyball principle when we sold Danny Mills.
For 4m.

In 1999.

Since then the Premier league has become richer by a multiple of 3.

If West Ham are going to pay 12m for Chris Solly, i will accept that our club has a well thought out moneyball based strategy.

grumpyaddick

Saint Christopher of the Powellites is mightily aggrieved and is gnashing his teeth. Tears of rage are flowing like a river onto his Saville Row suit of many colours.

Anna_Kissed

Speculation, speculation....lots of chat. Big waste of energy.
If a player receives the offer of a fantastic package from another club, he may choose to accept it.
But, other than family reasons, being hacked off for not being able to play in the first team, or greed, why would a player want to leave Charlton Athletic in 2012 ?
The honest endeavour and never-say-die spirit at this club is superb and I am very impressed by Chris Powell and his coaching team. The First XI / squad is exciting, vibrant and convincing. It is a joy to watch.
Stay here, lads. You'd be hard pressed to find better....