I thought Yann had not been sold for football reasons ,but the fact that with the backing of their rich benefactor Bournemouth made him an offer he couldn't refuse and had given him a 2 and a half year contract on considerably higher wages than we were offering . The fact that we also pocketed a transfer fee was sensible when he would have walked away for nothing at the end of the season . I did not condemn Yann for that . This is probably his last big contract . Like Powell he remains one of my favourite personalities of the last few years.
Why didn't we hold him to the years extension of his contract which allegedly close to being triggered ? Is it true he refused to play to ensure this did not happen? Like with the other debate about Powell V Roland I do not find it productive to brand people as liars . I just believe that we need to look at the different perspectives and understand that they all have an angle and like to present the facts to make themselves look good.
I have always taken the view that if this is purely about football then letting him leave him was stupid , but if we were becoming involved in a wage bargaining contest then unfortunately Bournemouth were always going to have deeper pockets . In a similar way I think Ricardo Fuller would have still been useful as a squad member / impact sub over the last two seasons from what I have seen on TV highlights I reckon the Spanners would already be down had it not been for his cameos , but his wage demands did not match our budget .
I thought Yann had not been sold for football reasons ,but the fact that with the backing of their rich benefactor Bournemouth made him an offer he couldn't refuse and had given him a 2 and a half year contract on considerably higher wages than we were offering . The fact that we also pocketed a transfer fee was sensible when he would have walked away for nothing at the end of the season . I did not condemn Yann for that . This is probably his last big contract . Like Powell he remains one of my favourite personalities of the last few years.
Why didn't we hold him to the years extension of his contract which allegedly close to being triggered ? Is it true he refused to play to ensure this did not happen? Like with the other debate about Powell V Roland I do not find it productive to brand people as liars . I just believe that we need to look at the different perspectives and understand that they all have an angle and like to present the facts to make themselves look good.
I have always taken the view that if this is purely about football then letting him leave him was stupid , but if we were becoming involved in a wage bargaining contest then unfortunately Bournemouth were always going to have deeper pockets . In a similar way I think Ricardo Fuller would have still been useful as a squad member / impact sub over the last two seasons from what I have seen on TV highlights I reckon the Spanners would already be down had it not been for his cameos , but his wage demands did not match our budget .
Yann was on about £8.5k a week. He wanted a contract that ran until 2016 and an increase that recognised his contribution - the figure £10k has been mentioned. My understanding is that he was offered neither. The club's use of "two year contract" is ambiguous, possibly deliberately so. Yann was very keen to stay, but not on any terms. I believe the extension clause existed and was in his favour, i.e. guaranteed him another year, but I am not clear if it bound him, as opposed to just the club. It may have, which would underpin the story about the Huddersfield Cup game, but I have personally never heard that story directly from within the club or any otherwise well-placed source. Those very close to Yann denied it.
Chris Powell's input that RD had a view Yann wasn't good enough is news to me, but given the source I have to take it seriously (as a factor, but not as a valid opinion).
Airman, the figures you said Yann was on 8.5k a week makes sense to me.
The only person i had spoken to was a dad of a development player. that was why i knew Fuller had a much bigger contract than anyone else, all be it for just one year.
Also a chance meeting with an ex board member who was still in the know. Said i was far too high when i said the figure Yann was after was 15k a week . So 10K sounds about right.
Airman, the figures you said Yann was on 8.5k a week makes sense to me.
The only person i had spoken to was a dad of a development player. that was why i knew Fuller had a much bigger contract than anyone else, all be it for just one year.
Also a chance meeting with an ex board member who was still in the know. Said i was far too high when i said the figure Yann was after was 15k a week . So 10K sounds about right.
Yes, Fuller had been on a lot more than Kermorgant.
If we still had Kermit we prob wouldnt have Watt. IMO we're better off with Watt who is a better footballer. So I'm glad he is playing elsewhere. Now where did I put that tin hat?
Imagine if we did have them both. Watt is a very different player to Yann so I don't know if I'd say he's a better footballer. Yann is stronger, better in the air and I think a more intelligent user of the ball. Yann has the ability to play a first time chipped ball that most footballers would need a minute to think about attempting. He's a free kick specialist and he's capable of some incredible goals. Watt on the other hand is a small, stocky power and pace machine, incredibly direct with his play, a strong finisher and very willing to play others around him in. I think the two would compliment each other really well. I've made myself sad.
No need for a hold up man if you play to feet moving forwards....
Better to have 3/4 Champ quality strikers though that ideally all offer something different. Yann is more than just a strong target man that's good in the air, he has ability on the ball as well.
I thought Yann had not been sold for football reasons ,but the fact that with the backing of their rich benefactor Bournemouth made him an offer he couldn't refuse and had given him a 2 and a half year contract on considerably higher wages than we were offering . The fact that we also pocketed a transfer fee was sensible when he would have walked away for nothing at the end of the season . I did not condemn Yann for that . This is probably his last big contract . Like Powell he remains one of my favourite personalities of the last few years.
Why didn't we hold him to the years extension of his contract which allegedly close to being triggered ? Is it true he refused to play to ensure this did not happen? Like with the other debate about Powell V Roland I do not find it productive to brand people as liars . I just believe that we need to look at the different perspectives and understand that they all have an angle and like to present the facts to make themselves look good.
I have always taken the view that if this is purely about football then letting him leave him was stupid , but if we were becoming involved in a wage bargaining contest then unfortunately Bournemouth were always going to have deeper pockets . In a similar way I think Ricardo Fuller would have still been useful as a squad member / impact sub over the last two seasons from what I have seen on TV highlights I reckon the Spanners would already be down had it not been for his cameos , but his wage demands did not match our budget .
Yann was on about £8.5k a week. He wanted a contract that ran until 2016 and an increase that recognised his contribution - the figure £10k has been mentioned. My understanding is that he was offered neither. The club's use of "two year contract" is ambiguous, possibly deliberately so. Yann was very keen to stay, but not on any terms. I believe the extension clause existed and was in his favour, i.e. guaranteed him another year, but I am not clear if it bound him, as opposed to just the club. It may have, which would underpin the story about the Huddersfield Cup game, but I have personally never heard that story directly from within the club or any otherwise well-placed source. Those very close to Yann denied it.
Chris Powell's input that RD had a view Yann wasn't good enough is news to me, but given the source I have to take it seriously (as a factor, but not as a valid opinion).
I suspect you might be right about two years against the two and a half years he got with the Cherries.
Have you got any idea how much money Bournemouth offered him?
No need for a hold up man if you play to feet moving forwards....
You can't just play the one way thou. Away from home when you are under pressure, You do need a target man and a good header of the ball. Will say again you need 4 strikers at this level, and perm any 2 from 4 so they don't get burnt out before the end of the season. Good coaches have a plan A, B and C
Luzon has been spot on since the second half against Norwich.
I thought Yann had not been sold for football reasons ,but the fact that with the backing of their rich benefactor Bournemouth made him an offer he couldn't refuse and had given him a 2 and a half year contract on considerably higher wages than we were offering . The fact that we also pocketed a transfer fee was sensible when he would have walked away for nothing at the end of the season . I did not condemn Yann for that . This is probably his last big contract . Like Powell he remains one of my favourite personalities of the last few years.
Why didn't we hold him to the years extension of his contract which allegedly close to being triggered ? Is it true he refused to play to ensure this did not happen? Like with the other debate about Powell V Roland I do not find it productive to brand people as liars . I just believe that we need to look at the different perspectives and understand that they all have an angle and like to present the facts to make themselves look good.
I have always taken the view that if this is purely about football then letting him leave him was stupid , but if we were becoming involved in a wage bargaining contest then unfortunately Bournemouth were always going to have deeper pockets . In a similar way I think Ricardo Fuller would have still been useful as a squad member / impact sub over the last two seasons from what I have seen on TV highlights I reckon the Spanners would already be down had it not been for his cameos , but his wage demands did not match our budget .
Yann was on about £8.5k a week. He wanted a contract that ran until 2016 and an increase that recognised his contribution - the figure £10k has been mentioned. My understanding is that he was offered neither. The club's use of "two year contract" is ambiguous, possibly deliberately so. Yann was very keen to stay, but not on any terms. I believe the extension clause existed and was in his favour, i.e. guaranteed him another year, but I am not clear if it bound him, as opposed to just the club. It may have, which would underpin the story about the Huddersfield Cup game, but I have personally never heard that story directly from within the club or any otherwise well-placed source. Those very close to Yann denied it.
Chris Powell's input that RD had a view Yann wasn't good enough is news to me, but given the source I have to take it seriously (as a factor, but not as a valid opinion).
I suspect you might be right about two years against the two and a half years he got with the Cherries.
Have you got any idea how much money Bournemouth offered him?
No, but I do believe he would have taken less at Charlton if he had been offered a reasonable increase and 2.5 years.
I thought Yann had not been sold for football reasons ,but the fact that with the backing of their rich benefactor Bournemouth made him an offer he couldn't refuse and had given him a 2 and a half year contract on considerably higher wages than we were offering . The fact that we also pocketed a transfer fee was sensible when he would have walked away for nothing at the end of the season . I did not condemn Yann for that . This is probably his last big contract . Like Powell he remains one of my favourite personalities of the last few years.
Why didn't we hold him to the years extension of his contract which allegedly close to being triggered ? Is it true he refused to play to ensure this did not happen? Like with the other debate about Powell V Roland I do not find it productive to brand people as liars . I just believe that we need to look at the different perspectives and understand that they all have an angle and like to present the facts to make themselves look good.
I have always taken the view that if this is purely about football then letting him leave him was stupid , but if we were becoming involved in a wage bargaining contest then unfortunately Bournemouth were always going to have deeper pockets . In a similar way I think Ricardo Fuller would have still been useful as a squad member / impact sub over the last two seasons from what I have seen on TV highlights I reckon the Spanners would already be down had it not been for his cameos , but his wage demands did not match our budget .
Yann was on about £8.5k a week. He wanted a contract that ran until 2016 and an increase that recognised his contribution - the figure £10k has been mentioned. My understanding is that he was offered neither. The club's use of "two year contract" is ambiguous, possibly deliberately so. Yann was very keen to stay, but not on any terms. I believe the extension clause existed and was in his favour, i.e. guaranteed him another year, but I am not clear if it bound him, as opposed to just the club. It may have, which would underpin the story about the Huddersfield Cup game, but I have personally never heard that story directly from within the club or any otherwise well-placed source. Those very close to Yann denied it.
Chris Powell's input that RD had a view Yann wasn't good enough is news to me, but given the source I have to take it seriously (as a factor, but not as a valid opinion).
I suspect you might be right about two years against the two and a half years he got with the Cherries.
Have you got any idea how much money Bournemouth offered him?
No, but I do believe he would have taken less at Charlton if he had been offered a reasonable increase and 2.5 years.
Thanks .
So we still do not know the other part of the equation .
As I said before both sides could be telling the truth from their own viewpoint with lots of spin involved.
No need for a hold up man if you play to feet moving forwards....
Exactly. Yann is a top quality player and he would get into our current team with ease. BUT, I'm not sure we need a like-for-like replacement for him anymore with the style of football Luzon likes to play.
No need for a hold up man if you play to feet moving forwards....
Exactly. Yann is a top quality player and he would get into our current team with ease. BUT, I'm not sure we need a like-for-like replacement for him anymore with the style of football Luzon likes to play.
Really? I disagree. It appears to me that the longer he is way from us the better Yann was......
No need for a hold up man if you play to feet moving forwards....
Exactly. Yann is a top quality player and he would get into our current team with ease. BUT, I'm not sure we need a like-for-like replacement for him anymore with the style of football Luzon likes to play.
Really? I disagree. It appears to me that the longer he is way from us the better Yann was......
Well maybe he is? He's now scoring and creating goals for a better team than us and could well be a Premier League player next season. Do you honestly think he wouldn't add quality to this team?
No need for a hold up man if you play to feet moving forwards....
Exactly. Yann is a top quality player and he would get into our current team with ease. BUT, I'm not sure we need a like-for-like replacement for him anymore with the style of football Luzon likes to play.
Really? I disagree. It appears to me that the longer he is way from us the better Yann was......
Well maybe he is? He's now scoring and creating goals for a better team than us and could well be a Premier League player next season. Do you honestly think he wouldn't add quality to this team?
That wasn't what I was referencing with my comment, it was the statement that he would get into our current team with ease. He wouldn't. FWIW, I think Yann was a good player for us, no more no less. The way some go on they are making out that he was some sort of footballing god. My memory tells me that when Yann played we mostly played hoofball up to him, thats how Powell saw him, as a ball winner. I understand that Eddie Howe has him playing deeper using his strength and good feet. SO, either Chris Powell didn't know how to play him, Eddies Howe does or Yann is now Yanniel Messi. ;o)
No need for a hold up man if you play to feet moving forwards....
Exactly. Yann is a top quality player and he would get into our current team with ease. BUT, I'm not sure we need a like-for-like replacement for him anymore with the style of football Luzon likes to play.
Really? I disagree. It appears to me that the longer he is way from us the better Yann was......
Well maybe he is? He's now scoring and creating goals for a better team than us and could well be a Premier League player next season. Do you honestly think he wouldn't add quality to this team?
That wasn't what I was referencing with my comment, it was the statement that he would get into our current team with ease. He wouldn't. FWIW, I think Yann was a good player for us, no more no less. The way some go on they are making out that he was some sort of footballing god. My memory tells me that when Yann played we mostly played hoofball up to him, thats how Powell saw him, as a ball winner. I understand that Eddie Howe has him playing deeper using his strength and good feet. SO, either Chris Powell didn't know how to play him, Eddies Howe does or Yann is now Yanniel Messi. ;o)
It's certainly true that our football became more direct when Yann replaces Paul Hayes, as it became very easy to aim long balls up at Yann, whereas with our current front 4, they reply on pace and movement. 2 of Watt's goals have both been from runs from outside the box, as defenders can't cope with his directness once he's running with the ball
No need for a hold up man if you play to feet moving forwards....
Exactly. Yann is a top quality player and he would get into our current team with ease. BUT, I'm not sure we need a like-for-like replacement for him anymore with the style of football Luzon likes to play.
Really? I disagree. It appears to me that the longer he is way from us the better Yann was......
That's always the way Greenie. I have wanted a mobile 23 year old who is good in the air and can hold the ball up away from home so we are not under constant pressure. we have some great attacking players now but a year down the line we still don't have the plan B striker. Other than Igor ,no other forward we tried have been able to head the ball. my way of playing is to feet, but the option of a bullet header in the box is fine as well.
We could bump the thread(s) from last season if that helps?! No one has come up with a credible rebuttal to the fact that Kermorgant refused to play the final game or two which would trigger an automatic contract extension. Some were even in denial such a clause existed in his contract until I pointed out that the source was Kermorgant himself at Eltham Addicks around September / October 2013.
The most incredible claim is that somehow Kermorgant was being loyal to Chris Powell! And yet he signed for another club when we were in the middle of a relegation battle.
Whatever the history, he's gone, we stayed up and we are now in a completely different place. For sure the club need to sign a replacement this January because Tucudean clearly wasn't good enough for that role. And we did and now look at our front six - smoking hot!
A lot of people have had a lot to say about M.Duchatelet over this and other matters. They like to dissect events and decisions of their choice without any reference to the bigger picture. We were a bottom six club then and we are now top half (just) with a younger, better squad than 12 months ago.
There are still changes to make before we are a real challenger for the top six but the vast majority of today's squad will be around in 2015-16.
Incidentally @PragueAddick was going to clear this matter up. At the time he impugned the integrity of NLA by stating "I choose not to believe you" which basically translates in the heat of the moment as you're a lying c***!
I won't reveal NLA s sources but those paying attention will recall who he might know at the club. Furthermore I and others were briefed by someone completely different with the same basic statements.
Bottom line is that we are in a better place now. We might well be a better team with Bournemouths reserve striker on our books but I doubt we would be a better club. Listing all of the decisions and changes made in the last 12 months is repetitive. The main thing is that we have a better team for roughly the same budgetted losses as per recent statements by David Joyes. This simply could not be achieved by acceding to the pay / contract demands of Hamer, Dervite and Kermorgant. They were part of a bottom six squad and any new owner was never going to be particularly impressed with the squad as a whole. Even a year later some believe we should have built on last season's squad rather than showing them the door.
As I've posted before we have a better younger squad precisely because everyone over 24 from the 2012-14 squad was allowed to let their contract run down. This created space in the budget to bring in Vetokele, Gudmundsson, Buyens and Bulot. I'm sure these players did not come cheap but two of them have a resale value far exceeding Kermorgant.
Anyone still going on about if only they did this or hadn't done that is completely missing the point! The squad was going nowhere and someone new took a view that they would like to build on the academy players and a handful of older players like Jackson, Solly and Wiggins.
One year later we've just seen three 3-0 wins out of four games. For me that's fairly conclusive that Staprix know what they are doing regarding our squad. That won't stop some banging on about Koc, Nego, Thuram and Kermorgant nor reinventing how vital Stephens was to the club! But all of that at this stage is just divisive. Focusing on events that can't and won't change instead of looking forwards and wondering what the squad will look like for August.
We could bump the thread(s) from last season if that helps?! No one has come up with a credible rebuttal to the fact that Kermorgant refused to play the final game or two which would trigger an automatic contract extension. Some were even in denial such a clause existed in his contract until I pointed out that the source was Kermorgant himself at Eltham Addicks around September / October 2013.
The most incredible claim is that somehow Kermorgant was being loyal to Chris Powell! And yet he signed for another club when we were in the middle of a relegation battle.
Whatever the history, he's gone, we stayed up and we are now in a completely different place. For sure the club need to sign a replacement this January because Tucudean clearly wasn't good enough for that role. And we did and now look at our front six - smoking hot!
A lot of people have had a lot to say about M.Duchatelet over this and other matters. They like to dissect events and decisions of their choice without any reference to the bigger picture. We were a bottom six club then and we are now top half (just) with a younger, better squad than 12 months ago.
There are still changes to make before we are a real challenger for the top six but the vast majority of today's squad will be around in 2015-16.
Incidentally @PragueAddick was going to clear this matter up. At the time he impugned the integrity of NLA by stating "I choose not to believe you" which basically translates in the heat of the moment as you're a lying c***!
I won't reveal NLA s sources but those paying attention will recall who he might know at the club. Furthermore I and others were briefed by someone completely different with the same basic statements.
Bottom line is that we are in a better place now. We might well be a better team with Bournemouths reserve striker on our books but I doubt we would be a better club. Listing all of the decisions and changes made in the last 12 months is repetitive. The main thing is that we have a better team for roughly the same budgetted losses as per recent statements by David Joyes. This simply could not be achieved by acceding to the pay / contract demands of Hamer, Dervite and Kermorgant. They were part of a bottom six squad and any new owner was never going to be particularly impressed with the squad as a whole. Even a year later some believe we should have built on last season's squad rather than showing them the door.
As I've posted before we have a better younger squad precisely because everyone over 24 from the 2012-14 squad was allowed to let their contract run down. This created space in the budget to bring in Vetokele, Gudmundsson, Buyens and Bulot. I'm sure these players did not come cheap but two of them have a resale value far exceeding Kermorgant.
Anyone still going on about if only they did this or hadn't done that is completely missing the point! The squad was going nowhere and someone new took a view that they would like to build on the academy players and a handful of older players like Jackson, Solly and Wiggins.
One year later we've just seen three 3-0 wins out of four games. For me that's fairly conclusive that Staprix know what they are doing regarding our squad. That won't stop some banging on about Koc, Nego, Thuram and Kermorgant nor reinventing how vital Stephens was to the club! But all of that at this stage is just divisive. Focusing on events that can't and won't change instead of looking forwards and wondering what the squad will look like for August.
You could have summarised this post in two little words, you know ;-)
One year later we've just seen three 3-0 wins out of four games. For me that's fairly conclusive that Staprix know what they are doing regarding our squad. That won't stop some banging on about Koc, Nego, Thuram and Kermorgant nor reinventing how vital Stephens was to the club! But all of that at this stage is just divisive. Focusing on events that can't and won't change instead of looking forwards and wondering what the squad will look like for August.
Or Etheridge, Dmitrovic and Lepoint . . . Johnson and Watt have made an impact, Diarra and Eagles may. However, we have a number of players on short deals, including three of the last four named, whereas of the ones we have signed on long deals four have already gone and a fifth looks a very dubious signing. So I am not sure that "Staprix know what they are doing" is a rounded judgement just because we have won three games out of four.
That's a lot of transfer fees and agents payments effectively going straight on to the outstanding debt, now being charged by Staprix at 3 per cent. That bills not falling due just yet, but it may eventually.
Lol at anyone suggesting we couldn't use a player like Yann. Even if he'd never played for us before, if we signed him tomorrow, based purely on his form for Bournemouth this season, most people on here would be nursing semis for a week. He's on a similar level to Igor and Watt but a different sort of player. He'd be an extremely valuable squad member and someone who could change the way we are playing either from the start or from the bench depending on what the manager wanted to use as tactical plan A. But he's gone and there's no way he's coming back and now we have strikers who actually look like strikers playing in his place I feel like I'm at least getting close to letting him go. I'll still always have very fond memories of him though.
As for the idea that 3 wins suddenly proves Roland & Co know exactly what they are doing and always have... well, let's put it this way - that line of evidence certainly wouldn't stand up in court.
The hopeful optimist in me would like to think that the seemingly well judged signings of Watt, Johnson, Eagles and Diarra, all either British or with English league experience and, all but one, non-network players, is a sign that the network is finally getting to grips with what this club needs to succeed in its league.
The cynic in me worries the fact they were mostly short term deals done after the transfer deadline, and, at least partially, after the fans' fairly ugly reaction to the Norwich game suggest that they might be short term fixes brought in to allow us to revert to a more conventional approach to staying in the division, and that they will not be retained in the summer and we will instead go back to being sent young European players largely from within the network.
Scenario A seems more likely to me and the recent events have bought the Rolandista a little bit more time from me, and I suspect a few other people, but let's not kid ourselves that these recent result change everything.
The cynic in me suggests that the club want the Luzon appointment to work and they want to max season ticket sales and that's why we've seen the arrival of Diarra, Johnson and Eagles in quick succession. They are backing the coach to succeed but some just want to see that as another conspiracy!
Three wins in four is early days for sure but those wins have been emphatic and we have seen our front six really perform - let's see how we play vs Forest who are very hungry to break into the top group.
As for instability and short term deals? Someone is having a laugh! At the back Henderson, Solly, Wiggins and Bikey are all on long term deals. Ben Haim is up for renewal this summer. Gomez has another 18 months?
With our front six we have Buyens and Bulot on one year loans from Liege (the evil network!) and long term deals for Cousins, Vetokele and Watt. Gudmundson who was signed as a free agent has another 18 months to go. So if Bulot (and Buyens?) can be persuaded to stay and nobody is sold we have the same front six next season with maybe Wilson and Eagles on the bench if they too are signed again. So a winning team of whom most will reappear in August.
And remember this is just 12 months after our defeat away at Bramall Lane when we also went bottom of the league.
Yes, others have signed too - for next year I think Dmitrovic might make a decent reserve keeper and as for Lepoint - he will be at St Truiden in a couple of months! Now where have Koc, Nego, Piotr and Thuram got to?!
The cynic in me suggests that the club want the Luzon appointment to work and they want to max season ticket sales and that's why we've seen the arrival of Diarra, Johnson and Eagles in quick succession. They are backing the coach to succeed but some just want to see that as another conspiracy!
Three wins in four is early days for sure but those wins have been emphatic and we have seen our front six really perform - let's see how we play vs Forest who are very hungry to break into the top group.
As for instability and short term deals? Someone is having a laugh! At the back Henderson, Solly, Wiggins and Bikey are all on long term deals. Ben Haim is up for renewal this summer. Gomez has another 18 months?
With our front six we have Buyens and Bulot on one year loans from Liege (the evil network!) and long term deals for Cousins, Vetokele and Watt. Gudmundson who was signed as a free agent has another 18 months to go. So if Bulot (and Buyens?) can be persuaded to stay and nobody is sold we have the same front six next season with maybe Wilson and Eagles on the bench if they too are signed again. So a winning team of whom most will reappear in August.
And remember this is just 12 months after our defeat away at Bramall Lane when we also went bottom of the league.
Yes, others have signed too - for next year I think Dmitrovic might make a decent reserve keeper and as for Lepoint - he will be at St Truiden in a couple of months! Now where have Koc, Nego, Piotr and Thuram got to?!
£1m (?) on the Charlton debt at 3 per cent to support St Trinians?
The hopeful optimist in me would like to think that the seemingly well judged signings of Watt, Johnson, Eagles and Diarra, all either British or with English league experience and, all but one, non-network players, is a sign that the network is finally getting to grips with what this club needs to succeed in its league.
The cynic in me worries the fact they were mostly short term deals done after the transfer deadline, and, at least partially, after the fans' fairly ugly reaction to the Norwich game suggest that they might be short term fixes brought in to allow us to revert to a more conventional approach to staying in the division, and that they will not be retained in the summer and we will instead go back to being sent young European players largely from within the network.
Looks like the optimist is on dodgy ground due to them being signed outside the window and therefore could only be English league based.
Comments
JBG----------------------Bulot
---------------Yann
----------Watt - Igor
On a serious note, it looks good but would prefer to go more balanced so a proper 4-3-3 in...
Gudmundsson - Cousins - Bulot
Watt - Kermorgant - Vetokele
Trouble is its very attacking and puts pressure on the Defence
I thought Yann had not been sold for football reasons ,but the fact that with the backing of their rich benefactor Bournemouth made him an offer he couldn't refuse and had given him a 2 and a half year contract on considerably higher wages than we were offering . The fact that we also pocketed a transfer fee was sensible when he would have walked away for nothing at the end of the season . I did not condemn Yann for that . This is probably his last big contract . Like Powell he remains one of my favourite personalities of the last few years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25983604
Why didn't we hold him to the years extension of his contract which allegedly close to being triggered ? Is it true he refused to play to ensure this did not happen? Like with the other debate about Powell V Roland I do not find it productive to brand people as liars . I just believe that we need to look at the different perspectives and understand that they all have an angle and like to present the facts to make themselves look good.
I have always taken the view that if this is purely about football then letting him leave him was stupid , but if we were becoming involved in a wage bargaining contest then unfortunately Bournemouth were always going to have deeper pockets . In a similar way I think Ricardo Fuller would have still been useful as a squad member / impact sub over the last two seasons from what I have seen on TV highlights I reckon the Spanners would already be down had it not been for his cameos , but his wage demands did not match our budget .
Not good enough for the Prem.
Chris Powell's input that RD had a view Yann wasn't good enough is news to me, but given the source I have to take it seriously (as a factor, but not as a valid opinion).
The only person i had spoken to was a dad of a development player.
that was why i knew Fuller had a much bigger contract than anyone else,
all be it for just one year.
Also a chance meeting with an ex board member who was still in the know.
Said i was far too high when i said the figure Yann was after was 15k a week .
So 10K sounds about right.
Have you got any idea how much money Bournemouth offered him?
Away from home when you are under pressure,
You do need a target man and a good header of the ball.
Will say again you need 4 strikers at this level,
and perm any 2 from 4 so they don't get burnt out before the end of the season.
Good coaches have a plan A, B and C
Luzon has been spot on since the second half against Norwich.
So we still do not know the other part of the equation .
As I said before both sides could be telling the truth from their own viewpoint with lots of spin involved.
Can we just let this go?
Our main strikers have a massive advantage over Yann.
It's called over 10 years age difference!
Unless you think they're not Championship standard, of course.
And then we have Eagles, and the emergence of Ahearne -Grant.
Hey! Let's get Killer out of retirement...
FWIW, I think Yann was a good player for us, no more no less. The way some go on they are making out that he was some sort of footballing god.
My memory tells me that when Yann played we mostly played hoofball up to him, thats how Powell saw him, as a ball winner. I understand that Eddie Howe has him playing deeper using his strength and good feet. SO, either Chris Powell didn't know how to play him, Eddies Howe does or Yann is now Yanniel Messi. ;o)
I have wanted a mobile 23 year old who is good in the air and can hold the ball up away from home so we are not under constant pressure. we have some great attacking players now but a year down the line we still don't have the plan B striker. Other than Igor ,no other forward we tried have been able
to head the ball.
my way of playing is to feet, but the option of a bullet header in the box is fine as well.
Some were even in denial such a clause existed in his contract until I pointed out that the source was Kermorgant himself at Eltham Addicks around September / October 2013.
The most incredible claim is that somehow Kermorgant was being loyal to Chris Powell! And yet he signed for another club when we were in the middle of a relegation battle.
Whatever the history, he's gone, we stayed up and we are now in a completely different place. For sure the club need to sign a replacement this January because Tucudean clearly wasn't good enough for that role. And we did and now look at our front six - smoking hot!
A lot of people have had a lot to say about M.Duchatelet over this and other matters. They like to dissect events and decisions of their choice without any reference to the bigger picture. We were a bottom six club then and we are now top half (just) with a younger, better squad than 12 months ago.
There are still changes to make before we are a real challenger for the top six but the vast majority of today's squad will be around in 2015-16.
Incidentally @PragueAddick was going to clear this matter up. At the time he impugned the integrity of NLA by stating "I choose not to believe you" which basically translates in the heat of the moment as you're a lying c***!
I won't reveal NLA s sources but those paying attention will recall who he might know at the club. Furthermore I and others were briefed by someone completely different with the same basic statements.
Bottom line is that we are in a better place now. We might well be a better team with Bournemouths reserve striker on our books but I doubt we would be a better club. Listing all of the decisions and changes made in the last 12 months is repetitive. The main thing is that we have a better team for roughly the same budgetted losses as per recent statements by David Joyes. This simply could not be achieved by acceding to the pay / contract demands of Hamer, Dervite and Kermorgant. They were part of a bottom six squad and any new owner was never going to be particularly impressed with the squad as a whole. Even a year later some believe we should have built on last season's squad rather than showing them the door.
As I've posted before we have a better younger squad precisely because everyone over 24 from the 2012-14 squad was allowed to let their contract run down. This created space in the budget to bring in Vetokele, Gudmundsson, Buyens and Bulot. I'm sure these players did not come cheap but two of them have a resale value far exceeding Kermorgant.
Anyone still going on about if only they did this or hadn't done that is completely missing the point! The squad was going nowhere and someone new took a view that they would like to build on the academy players and a handful of older players like Jackson, Solly and Wiggins.
One year later we've just seen three 3-0 wins out of four games. For me that's fairly conclusive that Staprix know what they are doing regarding our squad. That won't stop some banging on about Koc, Nego, Thuram and Kermorgant nor reinventing how vital Stephens was to the club! But all of that at this stage is just divisive. Focusing on events that can't and won't change instead of looking forwards and wondering what the squad will look like for August.
will the real seriously red please stand up
That's a lot of transfer fees and agents payments effectively going straight on to the outstanding debt, now being charged by Staprix at 3 per cent. That bills not falling due just yet, but it may eventually.
As for the idea that 3 wins suddenly proves Roland & Co know exactly what they are doing and always have... well, let's put it this way - that line of evidence certainly wouldn't stand up in court.
The hopeful optimist in me would like to think that the seemingly well judged signings of Watt, Johnson, Eagles and Diarra, all either British or with English league experience and, all but one, non-network players, is a sign that the network is finally getting to grips with what this club needs to succeed in its league.
The cynic in me worries the fact they were mostly short term deals done after the transfer deadline, and, at least partially, after the fans' fairly ugly reaction to the Norwich game suggest that they might be short term fixes brought in to allow us to revert to a more conventional approach to staying in the division, and that they will not be retained in the summer and we will instead go back to being sent young European players largely from within the network.
Scenario A seems more likely to me and the recent events have bought the Rolandista a little bit more time from me, and I suspect a few other people, but let's not kid ourselves that these recent result change everything.
Three wins in four is early days for sure but those wins have been emphatic and we have seen our front six really perform - let's see how we play vs Forest who are very hungry to break into the top group.
As for instability and short term deals? Someone is having a laugh! At the back Henderson, Solly, Wiggins and Bikey are all on long term deals. Ben Haim is up for renewal this summer. Gomez has another 18 months?
With our front six we have Buyens and Bulot on one year loans from Liege (the evil network!) and long term deals for Cousins, Vetokele and Watt. Gudmundson who was signed as a free agent has another 18 months to go. So if Bulot (and Buyens?) can be persuaded to stay and nobody is sold we have the same front six next season with maybe Wilson and Eagles on the bench if they too are signed again. So a winning team of whom most will reappear in August.
And remember this is just 12 months after our defeat away at Bramall Lane when we also went bottom of the league.
Yes, others have signed too - for next year I think Dmitrovic might make a decent reserve keeper and as for Lepoint - he will be at St Truiden in a couple of months! Now where have Koc, Nego, Piotr and Thuram got to?!