Yep, well done. Signed some players from our own academy : - )
Of which Harriott, Solly and Cousins are future Premier League material. Cousins and Harriott for me have had that 'new signing' impact when brought into the team.
If we stay up and consolidate this year by making hardly any signings (and therefore helping the club financially) it should be seen as a major success.
Am I being cynical here but is the reason we are giving three year contracts to our younger players because we can ask for a higher fee when they leave? Bringing up young players and selling them to a Premiership club seems to be one of the only ways we can make money.
The number of players we have lost over the years at this stage for next to nothing, keep it up Martin.
Hopefully next time a player has the chance to move on they look at these players getting a chance in the first team, proving themselves and being rewarded with longer term contracts. They might also consider what happened to Sean McGinty. Shelvey and Jenkinson left after breaking into the first team and were better for it.
Going to be interesting to see where this group are in 3/4 years compared to players that left at 15/16 such as McGinty and Kasey Palmer.
Or Semi Ajayi who signed for Arsenal after only being offered a 6 month deal.
Of course it is good news that Cousins has signed and doesn't matter if that is only to secure a fee, either way we win.
But some people are going over the top with praise for an action that should be standard, ie signing up your own young players, rather than as it is being portrayed here as a minor miracle of negotiation.
Or Semi Ajayi who signed for Arsenal after only being offered a 6 month deal.
Of course it is good news that Cousins has signed and doesn't matter if that is only to secure a fee, either way we win.
But some people are going over the top with praise for an action that should be standard, ie signing up your own young players, rather than as it is being portrayed here as a minor miracle of negotiation.
Semi ajayi turned turned down by brentford after leaving us
Or Semi Ajayi who signed for Arsenal after only being offered a 6 month deal.
Of course it is good news that Cousins has signed and doesn't matter if that is only to secure a fee, either way we win.
But some people are going over the top with praise for an action that should be standard, ie signing up your own young players, rather than as it is being portrayed here as a minor miracle of negotiation.
Semi ajayi turned turned down by brentford after leaving us
What relevance is it that he was turned down by Brentford? You don't know why Brentford turned him down.The fact is that Semi has been one of our best players for the U16s and U18s and deserved more than a Six month contract. I think Arsenal are a pretty good judge of a player and they gave him two years. Semi has all the attributes to be a good centre half, pace, power, good in the tackle and in the air. His distribution is not brilliant but that can be improved and Arsenal is just the right place to improve. I am really disappointed he is not still with us, because he is just what we need.
As well as Ajayi also the goalkeeper Ryan Huddart who joined Arsenal last year. Of course it works both ways, we replaced him with a Bulgarian youth international, and there was an article linked on here the other day that mentioned us signing 2 players from AFC Wimbledon.
As well as Ajayi also the goalkeeper Ryan Huddart who joined Arsenal last year. Of course it works both ways, we replaced him with a Bulgarian youth international, and there was an article linked on here the other day that mentioned us signing 2 players from AFC Wimbledon.
We cant keep every youngster... Maybe the guys who work with these kids every day felt that Lennon / Gomez werent too far behind Ajayi so didnt want to give the latter a longer deal if it didnt work out.
And since we offered that deal Lennon has been travelling with the first team, had Ajayi signed that 6-month deal (or longer) would it have been him travelling to the games in place of Lennon?
Or Semi Ajayi who signed for Arsenal after only being offered a 6 month deal.
Of course it is good news that Cousins has signed and doesn't matter if that is only to secure a fee, either way we win.
But some people are going over the top with praise for an action that should be standard, ie signing up your own young players, rather than as it is being portrayed here as a minor miracle of negotiation.
Who are you to say people are being over the top with praise?
Getting our players signed up to long term deals has been one of the biggest concerns for many on here over the past few months, considering how many are out of contract in the Summer.
We don't have any money to go out and buy players from other clubs, so retaining what we've got has got to be the focus.
I have no doubt that there would have been Premiership clubs sniffing around those players, so if people want to send praise the board's way, then they've every right to.
It's a good thing that we're hearing from Martin Prothero at last, hopefully we'll hear more regularly from him.
I can't help thinking, though, that the whole article reeks of self-justification. I'd rather read what he's actually achieved rather than a job description. For example, given his claimed player recruitment responsibility, I think he's got a lot to answer for with what Powell has at his disposal this season. Tell us why our "comprehensive dossier of players" failed to avoid us being left with only one senior striker at the club just days before the season started.
Another worry is that it's one thing talking daily with Powell and regularly with other staff members - that might take up one or two hours a day in your part time role - but the activities arising from those conversations surely demand full time attention. As I understand it Prothero is engaged on a 2 days a week basis? Maybe it's more, but it might explain a lot about why things are taking so long to do.
Such as contracts, for example. Not necessarily a bad tactic to be negotiating contracts when the window is closed, but Fuller's interview in the week was poignant for me in that he seemed to be saying the owners - and by implication their appointments, i.e. Prothero - had failed to grasp how good the team that finished the season actually was. Was this because they were absent? Do they recognise the risk in failing to agree contracts with the right players? Realistically how achievable is doing so from a part time role with all the other things in his remit?
Still, if it's true that Prothero is providing a damper to TJ's excesses when it comes to Powell then that's definitely a plus for me.
It's a good thing that we're hearing from Martin Prothero at last, hopefully we'll hear more regularly from him.
I can't help thinking, though, that the whole article reeks of self-justification. I'd rather read what he's actually achieved rather than a job description. For example, given his claimed player recruitment responsibility, I think he's got a lot to answer for with what Powell has at his disposal this season. Tell us why our "comprehensive dossier of players" failed to avoid us being left with only one senior striker at the club just days before the season started.
Another worry is that it's one thing talking daily with Powell and regularly with other staff members - that might take up one or two hours a day in your part time role - but the activities arising from those conversations surely demand full time attention. As I understand it Prothero is engaged on a 2 days a week basis? Maybe it's more, but it might explain a lot about why things are taking so long to do.
Such as contracts, for example. Not necessarily a bad tactic to be negotiating contracts when the window is closed, but Fuller's interview in the week was poignant for me in that he seemed to be saying the owners - and by implication their appointments, i.e. Prothero - had failed to grasp how good the team that finished the season actually was. Was this because they were absent? Do they recognise the risk in failing to agree contracts with the right players? Realistically how achievable is doing so from a part time role with all the other things in his remit?
Still, if it's true that Prothero is providing a damper to TJ's excesses when it comes to Powell then that's definitely a plus for me.
It may be a P/T job because although he meets with Chrissy, he only has to say, 'sorry we've got no money to do any of that'. and the job is done and dusted.
It's a good thing that we're hearing from Martin Prothero at last, hopefully we'll hear more regularly from him.
I can't help thinking, though, that the whole article reeks of self-justification. I'd rather read what he's actually achieved rather than a job description. For example, given his claimed player recruitment responsibility, I think he's got a lot to answer for with what Powell has at his disposal this season. Tell us why our "comprehensive dossier of players" failed to avoid us being left with only one senior striker at the club just days before the season started.
Another worry is that it's one thing talking daily with Powell and regularly with other staff members - that might take up one or two hours a day in your part time role - but the activities arising from those conversations surely demand full time attention. As I understand it Prothero is engaged on a 2 days a week basis? Maybe it's more, but it might explain a lot about why things are taking so long to do.
Such as contracts, for example. Not necessarily a bad tactic to be negotiating contracts when the window is closed, but Fuller's interview in the week was poignant for me in that he seemed to be saying the owners - and by implication their appointments, i.e. Prothero - had failed to grasp how good the team that finished the season actually was. Was this because they were absent? Do they recognise the risk in failing to agree contracts with the right players? Realistically how achievable is doing so from a part time role with all the other things in his remit?
Still, if it's true that Prothero is providing a damper to TJ's excesses when it comes to Powell then that's definitely a plus for me.
That's a very good critique, full of questions which could be put to him face to face at a Q&A, and which can only be answered by him or another Board Director.
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feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
If we stay up and consolidate this year by making hardly any signings (and therefore helping the club financially) it should be seen as a major success.
The number of players we have lost over the years at this stage for next to nothing, keep it up Martin.
These are hopefully good solid foundation signings for the next few years, but equally securing saleable assets if necessary.
Going to be interesting to see where this group are in 3/4 years compared to players that left at 15/16 such as McGinty and Kasey Palmer.
Of course it is good news that Cousins has signed and doesn't matter if that is only to secure a fee, either way we win.
But some people are going over the top with praise for an action that should be standard, ie signing up your own young players, rather than as it is being portrayed here as a minor miracle of negotiation.
I am really disappointed he is not still with us, because he is just what we need.
Would love to see the amount of threads on here if Jordan had turned the contract down....
And since we offered that deal Lennon has been travelling with the first team, had Ajayi signed that 6-month deal (or longer) would it have been him travelling to the games in place of Lennon?
Getting our players signed up to long term deals has been one of the biggest concerns for many on here over the past few months, considering how many are out of contract in the Summer.
We don't have any money to go out and buy players from other clubs, so retaining what we've got has got to be the focus.
I have no doubt that there would have been Premiership clubs sniffing around those players, so if people want to send praise the board's way, then they've every right to.
I can't help thinking, though, that the whole article reeks of self-justification. I'd rather read what he's actually achieved rather than a job description. For example, given his claimed player recruitment responsibility, I think he's got a lot to answer for with what Powell has at his disposal this season. Tell us why our "comprehensive dossier of players" failed to avoid us being left with only one senior striker at the club just days before the season started.
Another worry is that it's one thing talking daily with Powell and regularly with other staff members - that might take up one or two hours a day in your part time role - but the activities arising from those conversations surely demand full time attention. As I understand it Prothero is engaged on a 2 days a week basis? Maybe it's more, but it might explain a lot about why things are taking so long to do.
Such as contracts, for example. Not necessarily a bad tactic to be negotiating contracts when the window is closed, but Fuller's interview in the week was poignant for me in that he seemed to be saying the owners - and by implication their appointments, i.e. Prothero - had failed to grasp how good the team that finished the season actually was. Was this because they were absent? Do they recognise the risk in failing to agree contracts with the right players? Realistically how achievable is doing so from a part time role with all the other things in his remit?
Still, if it's true that Prothero is providing a damper to TJ's excesses when it comes to Powell then that's definitely a plus for me.