Morrison, Dervite and Hamer are good Championship players no more, no less. It would be great if we could hang on to these players. But without knowing who is coming in to replace them, I can't make a decision about whether we are going to be better or worse off without them. Whether we like it or not we have to be patient and wait to see where we are at the beginning of the Season.
Roland's tenure so far doesn't have the feel of a 'quick buck' operation we saw so clearly with our last landlords. Investment in the pitch and the academy clearly shows someone who is willing to consider the future of the club beyond their own bank balance. Signs are good IMO
Those two investments are speculating to accumulate, he HAS to invest in the pitch and investing in the academy is to produce goods to sell on - hence his break even or make a profit stance on owning a football club. It's all about what WE see as football FANS of Charlton Athletic, I don't visit the academy every day, I support our first team foremost.
Lol I actually think its 100 % the other way around.
Bricks and mortar in a business that isnt property development is the least speculative item on a balance sheet.
whereas buying better players in the hope of better results is the paradigm of spec to acc in a football context.
First up I'd like to apologise to Yann897 for losing my rag yesterday.
I just got cheesed off with him naming other posters for their "constant negativity", when he has "constant positivity" and I was trying to prove that some of it was misplaced, by what he had previously said.
Anyway, the truth is, that I feel pretty much everyone, are making very valid points, whichever "guess" they are making.
To my mind RD (his advisors) have made up their mind, who they want to keep & they have been signed up, apart from Poyet (not RD's fault).
I believe they think they can replace Morrison, Hamer & Dervite with players of better value/ability.
Young players will be less expesive on the wage bill (much like most businesses) and RD obviously thinks that's the way to go & that is why the Academy is being invested in.
The crux of the matter is the calibre of player, that will be replacing almost the entire squad, bar Solly, Wiggins, Jackson, Cousins & Wilson.
Will he be getting in better, the same, or worse players ?
We are presuming he is looking to pay lower wages, or certainly not higher.
Can he get in better players from abroad on wages that fit this criteria ?
Come January 2015, if the FL stick to their guns, there should be many Championship clubs banned from recruiting players, until their finances comply with FFP. On current trends, it's possible that many clubs may not be able to recruit for some considerable time.
This could give CAFC and others that are complying, an opportunity, to recruit players, that need to be offloaded.
We should be in a stronger positon in the coming years.
However, where will be starting from ?
Will we be a strong Championship club, or will we be in Division 1 with the likes of Peterboro & Yeovil, who also tried to stay profitable ?
With the ball at his feet or a striker running at him, Morrison often looks like Bambi on Ice.
People are spinning how good these exiting players are to meet their anti-board/network/Roland agenda.
Until Riga came in we were basically junk last season. I am pretty sure a number of teams fans will be amazed we stayed up as I lost count of the times I read on oppo boards that we were the worst team they'd seen.
I don't buy all this "the spine has been ripped out of the team" crap.
Powell completely rebuilt in the league one champions season why can't it be done again? Perhaps the same people think it can't be done without Powell - another agenda.Just because the players coming in aren't from the anti roland brigades list doesn't mean they won't be decent.
The board have admitted they fucked it up in January. Takes balls to say that. I'll pass judgement at the end of September when the window closes. Some of you had better stock up on adult nappies as you are clearly going to be pissing yourselves constantly for the next few months.
With the ball at his feet or a striker running at him, Morrison often looks like Bambi on Ice.
People are spinning how good these exiting players are to meet their anti-board/network/Roland agenda.
Until Riga came in we were basically junk last season. I am pretty sure a number of teams fans will be amazed we stayed up as I lost count of the times I read on oppo boards that we were the worst team they'd seen.
I don't buy all this "the spine has been ripped out of the team" crap.
Powell completely rebuilt in the league one champions season why can't it be done again? Perhaps the same people think it can't be done without Powell - another agenda.Just because the players coming in aren't from the anti roland brigades list doesn't mean they won't be decent.
The board have admitted they fucked it up in January. Takes balls to say that. I'll pass judgement at the end of September when the window closes. Some of you had better stock up on adult nappies as you are clearly going to be pissing yourselves constantly for the next few months.
Agree with everyone word. Can anyone see Morrison playing in the premier? Average championship CB although i will admit he does give 100% which is a good quality.
With the ball at his feet or a striker running at him, Morrison often looks like Bambi on Ice.
People are spinning how good these exiting players are to meet their anti-board/network/Roland agenda.
Until Riga came in we were basically junk last season. I am pretty sure a number of teams fans will be amazed we stayed up as I lost count of the times I read on oppo boards that we were the worst team they'd seen.
I don't buy all this "the spine has been ripped out of the team" crap.
Powell completely rebuilt in the league one champions season why can't it be done again? Perhaps the same people think it can't be done without Powell - another agenda.Just because the players coming in aren't from the anti roland brigades list doesn't mean they won't be decent.
The board have admitted they fucked it up in January. Takes balls to say that. I'll pass judgement at the end of September when the window closes. Some of you had better stock up on adult nappies as you are clearly going to be pissing yourselves constantly for the next few months.
+1 to all of this. This much vaunted, apparently play-off worthy spine of players has only had ONE consistently good season as a whole - and that was in League One. CP got on a very good run of form the first season back in the Championship but until March that season, we were also-rans at the very best, looking over our collective shoulders at worst - these are NOT players who have proven they would get into a promotion-challenging team. They are good enough to stay up pretty comfortably, no more than that - thinking they are irreplaceable is foolish.
We still haven't heard anything about what RD and the Minions are planning transfer-wise, which worries me slightly BUT we most certainly have not heard tales of local businesses going unpaid, or staff going without wages, or players whose pay is in arrears, like we had last year. I have always maintained that RD has had a plan from the very beginning, and that the whole club will rise and fall based on this scheme's success. Until we have some idea of what the plan is, I won't be making any judgments.
I am not expecting to have heard of many of the new players, but that means nothing to me - all anyone knew of Kermorgant was that penalty, after all.
Yes, Powell rebuilt successfully, but he only had BWP & Jackson that were decent.
It wasn't really a gamble. It was a no brainer.
We don't even know who the coach is yet, that will totally rebuild our squad.
Coach is irrelevant. He won't be signing anyone.
I agree.
What I meant was, it's not so easy for supporters to be happy and contented, that we will build a new and improved squad and all will be much improved, when we don't even know who the coach is or who is doing the recruiting.
The first season back in the Championship we were playing with a 15% chance of relegation for much of the season and last year it was 30-45%. This was not a league 1 squad nor was it a top 8 Championship squad. We now have the chance to jettison all of those players that remain from the League 1 champions who are not good enough to take us to the next level. Some fans are exagerating their sense of crisis by elevating the likes of Morrison to a shoe in for a top three championship defence! Personally I am more concerned about signing Gomez and Poyet as they represent the long term future of the club. Let's see how good our first XI looks on paper at the end of June before rushing to push any panic buttons!
The first season back in the Championship we were playing with a 15% chance of relegation for much of the season and last year it was 30-45%. This was not a league 1 squad nor was it a top 8 Championship squad. We now have the chance to jettison all of those players that remain from the League 1 champions who are not good enough to take us to the next level. Some fans are exagerating their sense of crisis by elevating the likes of Morrison to a shoe in for a top three championship defence! Personally I am more concerned about signing Gomez and Poyet as they represent the long term future of the club. Let's see how good our first XI looks on paper at the end of June before rushing to push any panic buttons!
Are Thuram, Nego, PP, Reza, 60 min man AA all fit to play comfortably in the Championship? Obviously not.. that's why the panic buttons are being pushed. Losing players is tolerable, but we need to be sure of what we are replacing them with. Reza is the best Iranian footballer by a long stretch, he is not finding it easy in the Championship... it takes so much time to adapt to the game over here for most players, we haven't got that time if we are replacing our experienced players with them. I'll judge the team when I see the team, however.
The first season back in the Championship we were playing with a 15% chance of relegation for much of the season and last year it was 30-45%. This was not a league 1 squad nor was it a top 8 Championship squad. We now have the chance to jettison all of those players that remain from the League 1 champions who are not good enough to take us to the next level. Some fans are exagerating their sense of crisis by elevating the likes of Morrison to a shoe in for a top three championship defence! Personally I am more concerned about signing Gomez and Poyet as they represent the long term future of the club. Let's see how good our first XI looks on paper at the end of June before rushing to push any panic buttons!
Are Thuram, Nego, PP, Reza, 60 min man AA all fit to play comfortably in the Championship? Obviously not.. that's why the panic buttons are being pushed. Losing players is tolerable, but we need to be sure of what we are replacing them with. Reza is the best Iranian footballer by a long stretch, he is not finding it easy in the Championship... it takes so much time to adapt to the game over here for most players, we haven't got that time if we are replacing our experienced players with them. I'll judge the team when I see the team, however.
Those players were brought in quickly, towards the end of the window.
The board have admitted they got it wrong. Lets see if they've learnt their lesson and understand the quality needed. No need to push to panic buttons unless the same mistakes are made twice.
The first season back in the Championship we were playing with a 15% chance of relegation for much of the season and last year it was 30-45%.
Are you an accountant? Genuinely, how do you come up with those numbers?
Used to be! Then I moved into catastrophe risk modelling for reinsurance - you know earthquake, hurricane and all things Charlton Lol. Sportsclubstats.com has been my guide and the percentages it produces are often close to the bookies odds. It's not pro nor anti CAFC and has no view on Duchatelet! I know how bad it felt last season as I have been at every home game for a few years now. I distinctly recall the odds moving to 50% while we were going out of the cup in Sheffield. And then gently improving as we went through that WLWL sequence under Riga.
The first season back in the Championship we were playing with a 15% chance of relegation for much of the season and last year it was 30-45%. This was not a league 1 squad nor was it a top 8 Championship squad. We now have the chance to jettison all of those players that remain from the League 1 champions who are not good enough to take us to the next level. Some fans are exagerating their sense of crisis by elevating the likes of Morrison to a shoe in for a top three championship defence! Personally I am more concerned about signing Gomez and Poyet as they represent the long term future of the club. Let's see how good our first XI looks on paper at the end of June before rushing to push any panic buttons!
Are Thuram, Nego, PP, Reza, 60 min man AA all fit to play comfortably in the Championship? Obviously not.. that's why the panic buttons are being pushed. Losing players is tolerable, but we need to be sure of what we are replacing them with. Reza is the best Iranian footballer by a long stretch, he is not finding it easy in the Championship... it takes so much time to adapt to the game over here for most players, we haven't got that time if we are replacing our experienced players with them. I'll judge the team when I see the team, however.
Those players were brought in quickly, towards the end of the window.
The board have admitted they got it wrong. Lets see if they've learnt their lesson and understand the quality needed. No need to push to panic buttons unless the same mistakes are made twice.
I agree. but the takeover was in the offing for a while, they were viewing our team weeks or months before they had signed on the dotted line, they seem very professional in most matters so you'd hope they were prepared with player quality. I personally don't trust a lot of these players being pushed to us, the reason is quite glaringly obvious, they're here as they are not good enough elsewhere (not us signing them off the back of good form like other teams) and they are untested, not even AA convinced me totally, class player but not suited to a season of it.
FFS after all that's happened this week it's only football!
Some really do need to shift their prioritys!
All of your posts seem strangely alike... perhaps you need to shift your priorities and stop telling others to do so? Just a thought.. :-)
Yep possibly, I just get fed up with the negativity from the alleged supporters on here, RD has done such a lot for CAFC so far and the bottom line is RD 's decisions kept us in the Championship, that is the reality, but still the moaning bastards pour their negative shit all over this site, so excuse me if I can see the positives and others can't. We are dealing with speculative transfers at the moment on 3 players who two seasons ago were League 1, and because they may move on the moaners start pouring their poison on a bloke who is putting his own money into the club, and just because we haven't been told who we are buying and why we are selling (yet). Shameful.
FFS after all that's happened this week it's only football!
Some really do need to shift their prioritys!
All of your posts seem strangely alike... perhaps you need to shift your priorities and stop telling others to do so? Just a thought.. :-)
Yep possibly, I just get fed up with the negativity from the alleged supporters on here, RD has done such a lot for CAFC so far and the bottom line is RD 's decisions kept us in the Championship, that is the reality, but still the moaning bastards pour their negative shit all over this site, so excuse me if I can see the positives and others can't. We are dealing with speculative transfers at the moment on 3 players who two seasons ago were League 1, and because they may move on the moaners start pouring their poison on a bloke who is putting his own money into the club, and just because we haven't been told who we are buying and why we are selling (yet). Shameful.
When you say that RD has done such a lot, he hasn't done anything outside and beyond what any chairman should do.
FFS after all that's happened this week it's only football!
Some really do need to shift their prioritys!
All of your posts seem strangely alike... perhaps you need to shift your priorities and stop telling others to do so? Just a thought.. :-)
Yep possibly, I just get fed up with the negativity from the alleged supporters on here, RD has done such a lot for CAFC so far and the bottom line is RD 's decisions kept us in the Championship, that is the reality, but still the moaning bastards pour their negative shit all over this site, so excuse me if I can see the positives and others can't. We are dealing with speculative transfers at the moment on 3 players who two seasons ago were League 1, and because they may move on the moaners start pouring their poison on a bloke who is putting his own money into the club, and just because we haven't been told who we are buying and why we are selling (yet). Shameful.
When you say that RD has done such a lot, he hasn't done anything outside and beyond what any chairman should do.
So considerably more than the previous clowns did in the 18 months leading up to the takeover then?
Yet he still gets pelters from a vociferous section of fans.
Its bollocks to be honest. Those slagging him off have made their minds up that his model is shit and won't work, simply because they don't like it.
He isn't perfect and has/will make mistakes. He has admitted to some already.
For me he is still well in credit and I am happy to wait and see how things pan out before condemning/lauding him completely.
The outcry over player departures is narrow minded and rooted in an anti-RD agenda which is fuelled primarily by the Powell sacking. To be quite frank it is embarassing reading post after post of whining bollocks when there are 3 months of the transfer window left and the season hasn't officially ended.
RD paid 14m of his own money to ensure all you bleating weirdo's still have something to fret over. You'd do well to remember that.
Will renewing Morrison, Devite & Hamer provide good value? They are in a powerful negotiating position so will command top money at this point of the transfer window as well as long contracts. Will they improve as players in the next 3 years, probably. Will they increase in value in the next three years, probably not, particularly in comparison to players like Harry Lennon. Give him a 4 year deal and two seasons in he'll be worth decent money as long as he develops into a player of similar abilities to DD and MM. Pope has had a good season out on loan, in a similar way is it better investing playing time with him than renewing Hamer?
The one I don't get is Poyet. Even at inflated wages he can only appreciate in value. He was aparently canny when he signed his first contract, with reports he was too expensive to play under the old regime. Prehaps he is being equally cute with this one and its taking a long time to get over the line.
FFS after all that's happened this week it's only football!
Some really do need to shift their prioritys!
All of your posts seem strangely alike... perhaps you need to shift your priorities and stop telling others to do so? Just a thought.. :-)
Yep possibly, I just get fed up with the negativity from the alleged supporters on here, RD has done such a lot for CAFC so far and the bottom line is RD 's decisions kept us in the Championship, that is the reality, but still the moaning bastards pour their negative shit all over this site, so excuse me if I can see the positives and others can't. We are dealing with speculative transfers at the moment on 3 players who two seasons ago were League 1, and because they may move on the moaners start pouring their poison on a bloke who is putting his own money into the club, and just because we haven't been told who we are buying and why we are selling (yet). Shameful.
When you say that RD has done such a lot, he hasn't done anything outside and beyond what any chairman should do.
But that isn't enough for many! He isn't going to announce the precise plan to the paying fans but I am 100% sure he will have agreed plans and targets with the management... Talking of which perhaps we get a head coach for 2014/15 soon who can do some of the talking. The silence is not deafening just yet but give it time... Basically there are thousands of fans out there who at some point had a Season ticket but not part of the 8,500. If Duchatelet and the rest paint the right picture over the next three months then all those £250 tickets might sell?
I am not ( yet ) enjoying Roland Duchatelet ownership at Charlton. So far it is a big pain in the neck/ass. I am still looking for definite signs of totally positive contract / player commitment on the pitch. Apart from the deafening club silence, the end of season dealings / noises are mirroring the January window.
I know, I know, the next 2 to 3 months will tell for sure (that is for the happy clappy Duchatelistas).
The world cup can't start soon enough.
RD made a mistake with the in comings in January, but Katrien has admitted they under estimated the championship. I can forgive that, even rich people make mistakes.
He got it right with Rigas appointment. We survived. We are building a new training complex, the pitch is having money spent on it.
I think peoples emotional attachment to the players/manager that's left is seriously clouding their judgement.
Can I just make it clear that I have no 'emotional attachment' to Michael Morrison. I do however believe that he is a player who would have held down a regular place in the Leicester or Burnley sides, and he is young, not much older than Chris Solly. If I am right in my assessment, then he will not be cheap to replace, let alone to find someone who is actually an improvement.
Furthermore if Hamer goes, and the other first choice centre back, that is the spine gone. (The spine is already broken at the top end). It is difficult to quickly rebuild a team when that happens. It might be more cost effective to pay Morrison and Hamer competitive salaries than to seek better replacement on the open market. Maybe the network has the answer, but we have already seen that Thuram is not the answer.
I don't see any reason why I should not worry about this scenario, or express it on this forum. That is what a forum is for.
Well said. There is being negative for the sake of it and making a reasoned argument as to why you are concerned, whilst accepting things can change. How people like myself who have taken this stance can be accused of being panickers and unduly negative is beyond me. Maybe some of us need evidence to justify our faith and others are willing to give it blindly.
It is depressing how intolerant and insulting some / many of the Duchatelistas are to anyone who dares questions Rolands strategy and competence. Not everyone has to be as credulous or agree with the Duchatelista view. Insulting and misrepresenting those that don’t share that faith is out of order.
Support of Roland is not the litmus test of being a Charlton supporter.
The idea that all those who are sceptical of Roland is rooted in Chris Powell being fired is so wide of the mark that the shot is into the East stand.
Half Glass Full (9.08am) was superb. Some of the others here are at the other end of the scale.
It is depressing how intolerant and insulting some / many of the Duchatelistas are to anyone who dares questions Rolands strategy and competence. Not everyone has to be as credulous or agree with the Duchatelista view. Insulting and misrepresenting those that don’t share that faith is out of order.
Support of Roland is not the litmus test of being a Charlton supporter.
The idea that all those who are sceptical of Roland is rooted in Chris Powell being fired is so wide of the mark that the shot is into the East stand.
Half Glass Full (9.08am) was superb. Some of the others here are at the other end of the scale.
I think you are being way off the mark to be honest, no one is proclaiming Roland to be the messiah but what he has done for the club has been ok so far. Us Duchatelistas as you say (ha!) will give Roland time over the summer to sort out the playing staff and are not be jumping to conclusions and slitting wrists on May the bloody 16th before even the playoffs have finished.
It is depressing how intolerant and insulting some / many of the Duchatelistas are to anyone who dares questions Rolands strategy and competence. Not everyone has to be as credulous or agree with the Duchatelista view. Insulting and misrepresenting those that don’t share that faith is out of order.
Support of Roland is not the litmus test of being a Charlton supporter.
The idea that all those who are sceptical of Roland is rooted in Chris Powell being fired is so wide of the mark that the shot is into the East stand.
Half Glass Full (9.08am) was superb. Some of the others here are at the other end of the scale.
I think you are being way off the mark to be honest, no one is proclaiming Roland to be the messiah but what he has done for the club has been ok so far. Us Duchatelistas as you say (ha!) will give Roland time over the summer to sort out the playing staff and are not be jumping to conclusions and slitting wrists on May the bloody 16th before even the playoffs have finished.
The thing is, I don't believe in God. But if I saw some evidence to suggest he existed, I wouldn't have a problem believing in him from then on. I don't rule out not recieving that evidence, but need it first. That is me and it is pretty much my position with RD at the moment. I want it all to be great as much as the next fan, but am calling it as I am seeing it. Others may be more willing to assume that because the owner (or KM) has accepted the quality of the Championship was misjudged, that the sort of signings (that we have seen absolutely no evidence of to date) will start flooding in. This may well happen, but I need to see one or two before I believe it will happen, or even expect it to happen. At the moment I am expecting them to be rubbish signings because that is what I have largely seen from this owner.
I don't like the way some people dismiss Chrissy too quickly either, It is now history - I accept that - but Chrissy showed himself to be a very effective and astute manager and all the issues this season were down to him not getting the backing he needed. Ok, you can compare Riga's record with Chrissy's - but you can also comapre Chrissy's with Chrissy's at different stages and seasons.
I don't have an agenda because of Chrissy though. Chrissy had to go, because he could not sign up to the owner's football strategy. This was not a workable dynamic for a club seeking to avoid relegation. I accept that. I can see how that strategy could work. But I can also see how it can fail. The fact that Chrissy couldn't sign up to it does concern me as I value his judgement. I don't know who currently is making the judgments on our transfers in and out.
It seems to me though, that the club survived more in spite of the transfer activity than because of it. Yes, appointing Riga was a positive. Riga is a hero in my eyes and I'd love him to be manager next season, but the players who did the business for us were largely there already!
Comments
Bricks and mortar in a business that isnt property development is the least speculative item on a balance sheet.
whereas buying better players in the hope of better results is the paradigm of spec to acc in a football context.
I just got cheesed off with him naming other posters for their "constant negativity", when he has "constant positivity" and I was trying to prove that some of it was misplaced, by what he had previously said.
Anyway, the truth is, that I feel pretty much everyone, are making very valid points, whichever "guess" they are making.
To my mind RD (his advisors) have made up their mind, who they want to keep & they have been signed up, apart from Poyet (not RD's fault).
I believe they think they can replace Morrison, Hamer & Dervite with players of better value/ability.
Young players will be less expesive on the wage bill (much like most businesses) and RD obviously thinks that's the way to go & that is why the Academy is being invested in.
The crux of the matter is the calibre of player, that will be replacing almost the entire squad, bar Solly, Wiggins, Jackson, Cousins & Wilson.
Will he be getting in better, the same, or worse players ?
We are presuming he is looking to pay lower wages, or certainly not higher.
Can he get in better players from abroad on wages that fit this criteria ?
Come January 2015, if the FL stick to their guns, there should be many Championship clubs banned from recruiting players, until their finances comply with FFP. On current trends, it's possible that many clubs may not be able to recruit for some considerable time.
This could give CAFC and others that are complying, an opportunity, to recruit players, that need to be offloaded.
We should be in a stronger positon in the coming years.
However, where will be starting from ?
Will we be a strong Championship club, or will we be in Division 1 with the likes of Peterboro & Yeovil, who also tried to stay profitable ?
People are spinning how good these exiting players are to meet their anti-board/network/Roland agenda.
Until Riga came in we were basically junk last season. I am pretty sure a number of teams fans will be amazed we stayed up as I lost count of the times I read on oppo boards that we were the worst team they'd seen.
I don't buy all this "the spine has been ripped out of the team" crap.
Powell completely rebuilt in the league one champions season why can't it be done again? Perhaps the same people think it can't be done without Powell - another agenda.Just because the players coming in aren't from the anti roland brigades list doesn't mean they won't be decent.
The board have admitted they fucked it up in January. Takes balls to say that. I'll pass judgement at the end of September when the window closes. Some of you had better stock up on adult nappies as you are clearly going to be pissing yourselves constantly for the next few months.
Can anyone see Morrison playing in the premier? Average championship CB although i will admit he does give 100% which is a good quality.
Yes, Powell rebuilt successfully, but he only had BWP & Jackson that were decent.
It wasn't really a gamble. It was a no brainer.
We don't even know who the coach is yet, that will totally rebuild our squad.
We still haven't heard anything about what RD and the Minions are planning transfer-wise, which worries me slightly BUT we most certainly have not heard tales of local businesses going unpaid, or staff going without wages, or players whose pay is in arrears, like we had last year. I have always maintained that RD has had a plan from the very beginning, and that the whole club will rise and fall based on this scheme's success. Until we have some idea of what the plan is, I won't be making any judgments.
I am not expecting to have heard of many of the new players, but that means nothing to me - all anyone knew of Kermorgant was that penalty, after all.
What I meant was, it's not so easy for supporters to be happy and contented, that we will build a new and improved squad and all will be much improved, when we don't even know who the coach is or who is doing the recruiting.
We now have the chance to jettison all of those players that remain from the League 1 champions who are not good enough to take us to the next level.
Some fans are exagerating their sense of crisis by elevating the likes of Morrison to a shoe in for a top three championship defence!
Personally I am more concerned about signing Gomez and Poyet as they represent the long term future of the club.
Let's see how good our first XI looks on paper at the end of June before rushing to push any panic buttons!
The board have admitted they got it wrong. Lets see if they've learnt their lesson and understand the quality needed. No need to push to panic buttons unless the same mistakes are made twice.
Sportsclubstats.com has been my guide and the percentages it produces are often close to the bookies odds. It's not pro nor anti CAFC and has no view on Duchatelet!
I know how bad it felt last season as I have been at every home game for a few years now. I distinctly recall the odds moving to 50% while we were going out of the cup in Sheffield. And then gently improving as we went through that WLWL sequence under Riga.
We are dealing with speculative transfers at the moment on 3 players who two seasons ago were League 1, and because they may move on the moaners start pouring their poison on a bloke who is putting his own money into the club, and just because we haven't been told who we are buying and why we are selling (yet).
Shameful.
Yet he still gets pelters from a vociferous section of fans.
Its bollocks to be honest. Those slagging him off have made their minds up that his model is shit and won't work, simply because they don't like it.
He isn't perfect and has/will make mistakes. He has admitted to some already.
For me he is still well in credit and I am happy to wait and see how things pan out before condemning/lauding him completely.
The outcry over player departures is narrow minded and rooted in an anti-RD agenda which is fuelled primarily by the Powell sacking. To be quite frank it is embarassing reading post after post of whining bollocks when there are 3 months of the transfer window left and the season hasn't officially ended.
RD paid 14m of his own money to ensure all you bleating weirdo's still have something to fret over. You'd do well to remember that.
Will renewing Morrison, Devite & Hamer provide good value? They are in a powerful negotiating position so will command top money at this point of the transfer window as well as long contracts. Will they improve as players in the next 3 years, probably. Will they increase in value in the next three years, probably not, particularly in comparison to players like Harry Lennon. Give him a 4 year deal and two seasons in he'll be worth decent money as long as he develops into a player of similar abilities to DD and MM. Pope has had a good season out on loan, in a similar way is it better investing playing time with him than renewing Hamer?
The one I don't get is Poyet. Even at inflated wages he can only appreciate in value. He was aparently canny when he signed his first contract, with reports he was too expensive to play under the old regime. Prehaps he is being equally cute with this one and its taking a long time to get over the line.
The silence is not deafening just yet but give it time...
Basically there are thousands of fans out there who at some point had a Season ticket but not part of the 8,500. If Duchatelet and the rest paint the right picture over the next three months then all those £250 tickets might sell?
Support of Roland is not the litmus test of being a Charlton supporter.
The idea that all those who are sceptical of Roland is rooted in Chris Powell being fired is so wide of the mark that the shot is into the East stand.
Half Glass Full (9.08am) was superb. Some of the others here are at the other end of the scale.
Us Duchatelistas as you say (ha!) will give Roland time over the summer to sort out the playing staff and are not be jumping to conclusions and slitting wrists on May the bloody 16th before even the playoffs have finished.
I don't like the way some people dismiss Chrissy too quickly either, It is now history - I accept that - but Chrissy showed himself to be a very effective and astute manager and all the issues this season were down to him not getting the backing he needed. Ok, you can compare Riga's record with Chrissy's - but you can also comapre Chrissy's with Chrissy's at different stages and seasons.
I don't have an agenda because of Chrissy though. Chrissy had to go, because he could not sign up to the owner's football strategy. This was not a workable dynamic for a club seeking to avoid relegation. I accept that. I can see how that strategy could work. But I can also see how it can fail. The fact that Chrissy couldn't sign up to it does concern me as I value his judgement. I don't know who currently is making the judgments on our transfers in and out.
It seems to me though, that the club survived more in spite of the transfer activity than because of it. Yes, appointing Riga was a positive. Riga is a hero in my eyes and I'd love him to be manager next season, but the players who did the business for us were largely there already!