Nice piece Grapevine The biggest obstacle Powell faces is time, or the lack of it He has to make the new project work now How soon before RD calls into question whether the current management team has the skill set required for his brave new world
Using kids to effectively get us out of the quagmire that is the championship relegation zone is either very brave or very stupid. They do say fortune favours the brave don't they. :-(
I can't believe we have not replaced dale Stephens. I understand he is out of contract at the end of the season so any money is better than no money but why has both dale and yann turned down contracts does that tell us the something more about the owner
Grapevine - excellent post and written from a perspective of seeking to understand the new environment and challenges as seen by Roland Duchatelet. I am 100% in agreement with your assessment that "Dervite, Green, Hamer, Morrison & Wood have it all to play for" Most of these players should have a future at CAFC beyond this summer if they play well and we stay up. I am just writing an article for next weeks trust news and note that we now have thirteen players on long term deals with an average age of less than 22. I should be annoyed that you have stolen my thunder and written this up better than I have... but the thing is it is quite the reverse. Your writing (and NLA observations) point to the same thing: there is a strong guiding hand. Mistakes will get made but the emphasis is on youth, progress and value.
Clearly the challenge which everyone is worried about is staying up. One hopes that the current squad are up for that and that additions are brought in on loan to cover for injuries and deficiencies. And I hope that February results will ease the tension.
I agree with much of this and would add the following;
1. Duchatelet wants Charlton to progress whilst being financially sustainable; he is not going to "speculate to accumulate" or gamble that an expensive signing will "somehow make the difference". The implication of this is that footballing and financial decision making will be inextricably interwoven. Kermorgant could have stayed, but only on Duchatelet's terms.
2. The Manager is never going to be in control in this environment. If his relationship with Duchatelet is strong his advice will be respected, if not his position will become untenable. Either way, he'll have to accept that decisions will be taken that he doesn't like.
3. If Duchatelet is going to run his network of Clubs in an integrated way then it is simply not credible for him, personally, to be making the player resourcing, development and deployment decisions. He has neither the experience nor the time. A European Director of Football is a must. If this does not happen then it's very bad news because it implies, potentially, that we'll see random and ill-judged interventions in playing matters. Thuram may be an example, though that's pure speculation on my part.
4. In this structure each Club Manager is a coach, developer of players and motivator. Chris Powell excels at the latter, but, as you imply, may be challenged with respect to the former. In my view, for what it's worth, it would be a mistake if he left now, but its not obvious he'll fit the mould going forward.
5. The sale of Alnwick to Leyton Orient, ignoring conspiracy theories, probably tells us that Duchatelet will want to see squad size, and hence cost, managed efficiently. You simply don't need three senior goalkeepers so one had to go. From Duchatelet's perspective he's saved money, at the Group level, and given an expensive asset playing time. It's all very logical, though it would be better if such decisions were made by a professional, as above.
6. It might be argued that Chris Powell has been afforded the luxury of retaining a squad of players with too many "he might make it"s or "we might need him"s. Duchatelet is likely to be more ruthless with the likes of Jordan Cook, at one end of the career spectrum, or Andy Hughes and Mark Gower at the other. I wonder if Michael Smith would have been sold under the previous regime?
7. Player contracts have been an emotive subject this season, but Duchatelet will see them as both assets and liabilities and will not want to offer long term deals unless it makes clear economic sense. If Kermorgant's performance levels tail off, as they might given his age, then Bournemouth will be stuck with his wages, even if they were relegated and generating much lower income. These judgements are not easy, but the logic behind the decision to sell Kermorgant is not hard to understand.
8. The summer will be interesting, as you suggest. Whichever League we're in, we're likely to see significant turnover, but it will be different in nature to what happened in 2011.
9. Another factor in the contract situation has, no doubt, been the expected impact of FFP. However, in my view, that impact needs to be placed in context. Richard Murray's comment on the recent video that it ought to be possible to break even is highly misleading and, potentially, very dangerous if Duchatelet has even half bought this rhetoric. Even under FFP Clubs will be able to lose significant sums, say £7-8m p.a., allowing for "add-backs", and some owners may chose to do so. Bournemouth's may be an example. Then there are Clubs with parachute payments. The Championship will remain a very hard League to compete in and it will require outstanding management to survive it, less alone prosper, without significant financial support.
10. Duchatelet's vision, insofar as we can infer what it is, appears logical and, potentially, attractive. However, with respect to him, it is also risky and, perhaps, dangerously naive. The Club's future would be more secure if the new Owner had an experienced football man at his right hand and whose judgement and advice he trusted. Fingers crossed that Roland sees it that way too.
Comments
The biggest obstacle Powell faces is time, or the lack of it
He has to make the new project work now
How soon before RD calls into question whether the current management team has the skill set required for his brave new world
They do say fortune favours the brave don't they. :-(
I am 100% in agreement with your assessment that "Dervite, Green, Hamer, Morrison & Wood have it all to play for" Most of these players should have a future at CAFC beyond this summer if they play well and we stay up.
I am just writing an article for next weeks trust news and note that we now have thirteen players on long term deals with an average age of less than 22. I should be annoyed that you have stolen my thunder and written this up better than I have... but the thing is it is quite the reverse. Your writing (and NLA observations) point to the same thing: there is a strong guiding hand. Mistakes will get made but the emphasis is on youth, progress and value.
Clearly the challenge which everyone is worried about is staying up. One hopes that the current squad are up for that and that additions are brought in on loan to cover for injuries and deficiencies. And I hope that February results will ease the tension.
I agree with much of this and would add the following;
1. Duchatelet wants Charlton to progress whilst being financially sustainable; he is not going to "speculate to accumulate" or gamble that an expensive signing will "somehow make the difference". The implication of this is that footballing and financial decision making will be inextricably interwoven. Kermorgant could have stayed, but only on Duchatelet's terms.
2. The Manager is never going to be in control in this environment. If his relationship with Duchatelet is strong his advice will be respected, if not his position will become untenable. Either way, he'll have to accept that decisions will be taken that he doesn't like.
3. If Duchatelet is going to run his network of Clubs in an integrated way then it is simply not credible for him, personally, to be making the player resourcing, development and deployment decisions. He has neither the experience nor the time. A European Director of Football is a must. If this does not happen then it's very bad news because it implies, potentially, that we'll see random and ill-judged interventions in playing matters. Thuram may be an example, though that's pure speculation on my part.
4. In this structure each Club Manager is a coach, developer of players and motivator. Chris Powell excels at the latter, but, as you imply, may be challenged with respect to the former. In my view, for what it's worth, it would be a mistake if he left now, but its not obvious he'll fit the mould going forward.
5. The sale of Alnwick to Leyton Orient, ignoring conspiracy theories, probably tells us that Duchatelet will want to see squad size, and hence cost, managed efficiently. You simply don't need three senior goalkeepers so one had to go. From Duchatelet's perspective he's saved money, at the Group level, and given an expensive asset playing time. It's all very logical, though it would be better if such decisions were made by a professional, as above.
6. It might be argued that Chris Powell has been afforded the luxury of retaining a squad of players with too many "he might make it"s or "we might need him"s. Duchatelet is likely to be more ruthless with the likes of Jordan Cook, at one end of the career spectrum, or Andy Hughes and Mark Gower at the other. I wonder if Michael Smith would have been sold under the previous regime?
7. Player contracts have been an emotive subject this season, but Duchatelet will see them as both assets and liabilities and will not want to offer long term deals unless it makes clear economic sense. If Kermorgant's performance levels tail off, as they might given his age, then Bournemouth will be stuck with his wages, even if they were relegated and generating much lower income. These judgements are not easy, but the logic behind the decision to sell Kermorgant is not hard to understand.
8. The summer will be interesting, as you suggest. Whichever League we're in, we're likely to see significant turnover, but it will be different in nature to what happened in 2011.
9. Another factor in the contract situation has, no doubt, been the expected impact of FFP. However, in my view, that impact needs to be placed in context. Richard Murray's comment on the recent video that it ought to be possible to break even is highly misleading and, potentially, very dangerous if Duchatelet has even half bought this rhetoric. Even under FFP Clubs will be able to lose significant sums, say £7-8m p.a., allowing for "add-backs", and some owners may chose to do so. Bournemouth's may be an example. Then there are Clubs with parachute payments. The Championship will remain a very hard League to compete in and it will require outstanding management to survive it, less alone prosper, without significant financial support.
10. Duchatelet's vision, insofar as we can infer what it is, appears logical and, potentially, attractive. However, with respect to him, it is also risky and, perhaps, dangerously naive. The Club's future would be more secure if the new Owner had an experienced football man at his right hand and whose judgement and advice he trusted. Fingers crossed that Roland sees it that way too.