For a man who is hailed as a good businessman, letting our best players go on a free transfer is an abomination.
What exactly is the alternative? Their contracts were allowed to run down before RD got here. He can't undo that and is not able/willing to compete with Prem wages. Should we allow the players to name their own terms?
Hamer is ok and I was behind him when he was here, but he's a bang average championship goalkeeper.
I wish him well though.
Disagree, hes a top 6 Championship keeper. Also I highly doubt Leicester would come in for him aswell as others if he was bang average in Champ.
The worry now is making a good L2 keeper better than a bang average Champ keeper, or signing one off the bat... I'm hovering over the panic button when Derv goes..
But team-mate Ben Hamer has warned Poyet about leaving SE7 too soon. He said: "You can go to the Premier League too soon and find yourself on the fringes. Here he would easily play another 45-plus matches next season - that's how good he is. "I don't want to see him not even on the bench or making the squad - it would be a talent missed. He is a credit to his parents - totally down to earth and well-mannered."
In fairness to Ben, he is at a different stage in his career than Diego Poyet.
Dont like losing our better players but I suppose its best they go early in the summer so we know for certain the need to replace them rather than wait till the end of June when perhaps our potential targets may already have been snapped up
We could never compete with a 4 year contract at a Prem club. Shame no fee - and that is squarely down to the "MS and TJ clown show" - not RD's fault. Personally didn't rate him as highly as many on here. Good shot stopper but poor command of his area and distribution. Think (hope) we can do better and also think Pope could be ready. Good luck Ben (might have to move from Chislehurst...).
For a man who is hailed as a good businessman, letting our best players go on a free transfer is an abomination.
Piss poor.
Are we allowed to say anything negative yet?
If you want to blame someone for letting the contracts run down, blame Jimenez and Slater. Not RD's fault...
Although it is not RD's fault, he presumably was aware of the situation when he took over and either:
Didn't think about the repercussions (in which case he was foolish)
Didn't think other clubs would offer better deals to our players (in which case he was wrong).
Or
He didn't care because holding onto the best players is not central to his plans for CAFC.
Worrying whichever is the case.
Another explanation - that he has plans to bring in even better players - seems improbable.
Or maybe he really is a mad genius with Charlton's best interest at heart and I can't see it.
Or maybe none of the players would commit to us when we were potentially going to end up in the third division.
I'm staggered that a Premier League team has offered him a four year deal, personally. When Alnwick was in the side I wasn't keep on Hamer getting the shirt back, to be honest.
Good luck to him, and I'll be more than happy if I'm proved to be wrong, but I think he will be, relatively, easy to replace.
Hamer wasn't exactly a famous big money signing when we bought him, there are lots of decent keepers out there, many of which will be young keepers at larger clubs, fed up with not playing...
But team-mate Ben Hamer has warned Poyet about leaving SE7 too soon. He said: "You can go to the Premier League too soon and find yourself on the fringes. Here he would easily play another 45-plus matches next season - that's how good he is. "I don't want to see him not even on the bench or making the squad - it would be a talent missed. He is a credit to his parents - totally down to earth and well-mannered."
In fairness to Ben, he is at a different stage in his career than Diego Poyet.
Maybe, but he has no chance of becoming number one at Leicester unless Kasper gets injured or leaves.
Leicester City have moved to bolster their goalkeeping options with the addition of highly-rated Ben Hamer on a free transfer from Championship side Charlton Athletic. The 26-year-old shot stopper will join the Foxes once his contract expires on July 1, after which he will link up with the rest of the squad ahead of the Club’s first Premier League campaign in 10 years.
Hamer has spent the last three seasons at The Valley following an August 2011 move from Reading – the club with whom he began his career after signing as a 15-year-old. Hamer told LCFC.com after signing: "It’s fantastic to be here. It was an opportunity that was too good to turn down for me and I’m looking forward to coming on board and improving myself as a player. "There are great staff here and it’s a great set up, so once the players get back there are all the ingredients to put in a great performance in the Premier League next season. "Being involved in Premier League football has always been a dream of mine since I was a kid. It’s been a long road and to finally get the opportunity to do that was a big factor in the move. "I want to challenge myself in my career, and coming here to a big club going into the Premier League is a big opportunity for me." Under the guidance of former City man Chris Powell, Hamer flourished for the Addicks, and was one of the standout performers for the team last term, playing a key role in their survival.
The 6ft 4ins goalkeeper is an imposing and commanding figure in the penalty area, and has plenty of first team experience under his belt – over 250 league games from Crawley, Brentford, Exeter and Charlton.
Despite never appearing for Reading in the league as a youngster, Hamer wasted no time in building an impressive reputation for himself out on loan.
That started with a 45-game spell at Crawley Town during 2006/07 – during which he was named Player of the Season for the then Conference outfit.
Four separate loan spells with newly-promoted Brentford followed for Hamer, of which the 2008/09 campaign was a standout one for the Taunton-born ‘keeper.
He helped the Bees storm to the League 2 title and kept a hugely impressive 20 clean sheets along the way. Hamer missed just one match that season, and after another series of standout performances on loan at Exeter, then Charlton boss Powell swooped for his services in 2011.
The Addicks clinched the League 1 title in his first season, and the custodian has proved to be a mainstay of the Charlton team ever since – making over 120 appearances in three seasons across all competitions.
Hamer, who is a fluent German speaker having lived in the country for part of his childhood, played twice against the Foxes last season, including Charlton’s 2-1 win at the Valley.
When you consider how well Pope (according to York supporters) played while out on loan, how long do you think he would accept being a number 2?
So, if we sign a new 'keeper, and make him first choice, the likely hood is, Pope puts in a transfer request.
OR
Pope is made no 1, and given a starting birth. If he performs well, everyone's a winner. If he makes a few mistakes, he can be dropped "for his own good", and another keeper takes over
Very sorry to see him go but no way we can compete with a Prem club offering a 4 year contract with I presume a significant pay rise. Ben may well end up on the bench or worse but that will not be the way he sees it. All footballers but especially keepers have to have high self-confidence and he will be going there aiming to become their first team regular. Good luck Ben, and thanks for your time at Charlton.
You are can't blame him as I would imagine the money on offer at LCFC would be too good to turn down. Even if it does mean sitting on the bench everyweek. Disappointed that a player of his age and ability has gone on free. On his day a good championship goalkeeper. An opportunity now for Nick Pope to come in and make the number one jersey his own. Will always remember Ben being part of THAT squad that run away with League one breaking so many club records along the way. All the best Ben and thanks for the memories (especially that save down at Brighton in 2012/13 and his save at home to Watford last season-Both world class saves)
Comments
Piss poor.
Are we allowed to say anything negative yet?
I wish him well though.
The worry now is making a good L2 keeper better than a bang average Champ keeper, or signing one off the bat... I'm hovering over the panic button when Derv goes..
Didn't think about the repercussions (in which case he was foolish)
Didn't think other clubs would offer better deals to our players (in which case he was wrong).
Or
He didn't care because holding onto the best players is not central to his plans for CAFC.
Worrying whichever is the case.
Another explanation - that he has plans to bring in even better players - seems improbable.
Or maybe he really is a mad genius with Charlton's best interest at heart and I can't see it.
I'm staggered that a Premier League team has offered him a four year deal, personally. When Alnwick was in the side I wasn't keep on Hamer getting the shirt back, to be honest.
Good luck to him, and I'll be more than happy if I'm proved to be wrong, but I think he will be, relatively, easy to replace.
:- )
The 26-year-old shot stopper will join the Foxes once his contract expires on July 1, after which he will link up with the rest of the squad ahead of the Club’s first Premier League campaign in 10 years.
Hamer has spent the last three seasons at The Valley following an August 2011 move from Reading – the club with whom he began his career after signing as a 15-year-old.
Hamer told LCFC.com after signing: "It’s fantastic to be here. It was an opportunity that was too good to turn down for me and I’m looking forward to coming on board and improving myself as a player.
"There are great staff here and it’s a great set up, so once the players get back there are all the ingredients to put in a great performance in the Premier League next season.
"Being involved in Premier League football has always been a dream of mine since I was a kid. It’s been a long road and to finally get the opportunity to do that was a big factor in the move.
"I want to challenge myself in my career, and coming here to a big club going into the Premier League is a big opportunity for me."
Under the guidance of former City man Chris Powell, Hamer flourished for the Addicks, and was one of the standout performers for the team last term, playing a key role in their survival.
The 6ft 4ins goalkeeper is an imposing and commanding figure in the penalty area, and has plenty of first team experience under his belt – over 250 league games from Crawley, Brentford, Exeter and Charlton.
Despite never appearing for Reading in the league as a youngster, Hamer wasted no time in building an impressive reputation for himself out on loan.
That started with a 45-game spell at Crawley Town during 2006/07 – during which he was named Player of the Season for the then Conference outfit.
Four separate loan spells with newly-promoted Brentford followed for Hamer, of which the 2008/09 campaign was a standout one for the Taunton-born ‘keeper.
He helped the Bees storm to the League 2 title and kept a hugely impressive 20 clean sheets along the way. Hamer missed just one match that season, and after another series of standout performances on loan at Exeter, then Charlton boss Powell swooped for his services in 2011.
The Addicks clinched the League 1 title in his first season, and the custodian has proved to be a mainstay of the Charlton team ever since – making over 120 appearances in three seasons across all competitions.
Hamer, who is a fluent German speaker having lived in the country for part of his childhood, played twice against the Foxes last season, including Charlton’s 2-1 win at the Valley.
Read more at http://www.lcfc.com/news/article/220514-goalkeeper-hamer-signs-for-leicester-city-1568644.aspx#oj6KBpASEmwJubtg.99
When you consider how well Pope (according to York supporters) played while out on loan, how long do you think he would accept being a number 2?
So, if we sign a new 'keeper, and make him first choice, the likely hood is, Pope puts in a transfer request.
OR
Pope is made no 1, and given a starting birth. If he performs well, everyone's a winner. If he makes a few mistakes, he can be dropped "for his own good", and another keeper takes over
Makes perfect sense to me...
Hamer signed a better 3 year deal with Leicester.
Can't blame RD or Hamer. It is what it is.