Considering the form of JBG and the fact his contract runs out end of next season I can see us losing him in the summer.
I guess if we are going to sell it should be on our terms, so getting players signed up for 3-4 years (particularly youngsters like Gomez and Cousins) is key. That way we'll at least get some decent fees that can be reinvested.
Currently we're utilising a number of free transfers (which I'm happy with) but given the quality of the top champ teams and lower prem we'll need to spend if we want to move past a certain point. That may require the gamble of a couple of high value sales to finance the push. If that's the case I dont have an issue.
Enjoyable piece WW. Since RD has stated that he wants his clubs to stand on their own feet I'd imagine there will one or two unpalatable sales (as there have always been). What his wealth should really guarantee is that those sales are made only when it suits his plan (what ever that is!) or, silly idea this, the club. If a substantial fee for one player who can be reasonably replaced allows strengthening throughout the squad then it can be positive. EG. had Poyet not peed off without signing a contract we might have been able to strengthen well when the time came, albeit with RD's consent.
Right now we're probably all beginning to look up rather than down, and dream of where this team might progress to with one or two additions but sadly there are still likely to be departures to balance the books. Let's hope the replacements when they come are all as well-judged as Johnson, Eagles, and Watt appear to be. That way, progress can still be made, albeit gradually.
Every player has a price. The important thing is to have players on decent contracts and be financially secure so that we get a decent price. Losing Parker was a disaster for the team, but we got a decent price whereas losing Robert Lee to Newcastle for £700k was a very poor deal. This works for most clubs. Two of Forest's players, for example, were sold to Newcastle before the start of the season (and loaned back), Ipswich sold Cresswell to West Ham etc
As others have said, every club is a selling club with the exception of maybe one or two in Spain, but now we can be a selling club that can play hardball and get the best deal. For Parker we got a good financial deal, but we gave in to player power and finacial power and the timing (deadline day). Two weeks earlier and we should have been able to bring in a couple of players who would have negated the loss of Parker and maintained momentum. The sale of Lee was a great deal because it meant we could pay the bills at the end of the week, but stank financially because Lee was worth more.
Duchatalet will ensure we are a selling club as it is the only way his model can work, even if we get to the Prem (I believe) but as a stubborn old git, he will manage the timing and get the best price.
Every player has a price. The important thing is to have players on decent contracts and be financially secure so that we get a decent price. Losing Parker was a disaster for the team, but we got a decent price whereas losing Robert Lee to Newcastle for £700k was a very poor deal. This works for most clubs. Two of Forest's players, for example, were sold to Newcastle before the start of the season (and loaned back), Ipswich sold Cresswell to West Ham etc
This. Charlton drive me mad with the low fees we get for our young players and then Palace go and get silly money for Zaha.
Every player has a price. The important thing is to have players on decent contracts and be financially secure so that we get a decent price. Losing Parker was a disaster for the team, but we got a decent price whereas losing Robert Lee to Newcastle for £700k was a very poor deal. This works for most clubs. Two of Forest's players, for example, were sold to Newcastle before the start of the season (and loaned back), Ipswich sold Cresswell to West Ham etc
This. Charlton drive me mad with the low fees we get for our young players and then Palace go and get silly money for Zaha.
As others have said, every club is a selling club with the exception of maybe one or two in Spain, but now we can be a selling club that can play hardball and get the best deal. For Parker we got a good financial deal, but we gave in to player power and finacial power and the timing (deadline day). Two weeks earlier and we should have been able to bring in a couple of players who would have negated the loss of Parker and maintained momentum. The sale of Lee was a great deal because it meant we could pay the bills at the end of the week, but stank financially because Lee was worth more.
Duchatalet will ensure we are a selling club as it is the only way his model can work, even if we get to the Prem (I believe) but as a stubborn old git, he will manage the timing and get the best price.
I broadly agree but I still think there is a major disconnect between his advisers/experts and the reality of what Charlton need both in players to keep and to let go.
Yes, we've now signed experienced at this level and in this country players such as Eagles and Johnson (Diarra to a lesser extent) but on short deals.
Is that a realisation that the like of Phil Chapple and Damian Matthew are at least as knowledgeable and worth listening to as his mis-firing "experts" such as Karel Faraye when scouting players to sign?
Or a trio of last minute signings as we were heading towards league one and needed something, anything, is a hurry and they were all out of contract so available and cheap. Isn't squad strengthening what the window was for?
Watt is turning out as a good, maybe great, signing but he didn't replace Reza as KM claimed at the VIP meeting. George replaced Reza and when he went back to Romania we got a player (under Bob remember) who wasn't match fit and hadn't worked out for the club that bought him (Standard).
Still a big question mark over LePoint even if he was much improved v Forest. No point going over all the others from last year although three are still on our books.
The financial stability that Roland brings is much needed, the aim to break even is admirable (even if I struggle to see how it can be achieved and we remain competitive under the new FFP guidelines).
The sharing of resources and the wider opportunities created by the network could be a game changer.
What is needed to make the break even model work is really top notch player recruitment (including via the academy) that is consistently and significantly better than those clubs with more money. That is only way we can bridge the gap.
But so far it just hasn't been anywhere good enough even if recent signings might suggest it is getting better.
One reason for that is, I suggest, that the experts with lap tops aren't at Sparrows Lane or even in England but somewhere in Belgium. Yes we live in a virtual, interconnected global village now but we're not even sure who they are or which club is their priority. Not Charlton otherwise Watt could have come in the summer. And scouting is about a lot more than stats or analysis. Personality, motivation, character, fit and fitness all come into it and you don't get that from a computer. Which is maybe why Watt is a hit here but not at Standard or at least a part of it.
Sort out the recruitment and things might just get very interesting over the next few seasons. Because we have the financial stability now to seize opportunities if they come.
Until then the bumpy ride continues. This is, remember, just a smooth part of the journey we are on right now. That can change very quickly.
theres the reality ..how miffed would we all be if/when watt is moved on in the summer ,no take up on tbh,eagles,johnson and bulot and buyens dt return ......the only thing i would add as a longstanding/suffering cafc supporter is enjoy it while it lasts because it probably wont last too long
In the article I asked whether we were going to continue to sell players as we always have throughout the years, and as Roland did at Standard Liege after Guy's successful first season.
The reality is that we probably will be, especially with the break even model in mind.
Because of this, I don't think we will be taking that step to the next level (the premier league) any time soon.
Financially viable for sure, and with the way a lot of clubs are these days we should be grateful for that.
But will consistently being midtable in the Championship see the club stagnate and supporter numbers drop?
Who knows what the future will hold. I hope my prediction isn't 100% accurate.
Charlton selling their best players is not a new concept, selling them at extremely decent prices with no silly ad ons that never happen , because they're sold before they kick in is a new concept.
Would love to have got the money that Southampton have got for their best talent, we'd probably be slushing around in the Prem with Palace by now, if we were a bit more clued up and forward thinking.
This has triggered a thought. Perhaps, it is the unknown that bothers many of us. If RD's plan was clearly to win the Premiership, we would be frustrated if in two years' time if we were only in mid-table in the Premiership. Man City fans will know what I mean. For goodness sake, it happened to us just a few years ago when expectations of Champions League seemed within our grasp. We blamed Mr Parker but it was more than that if we are honest.
Now, I see Charlton as a mid-table Championship club. Is that right? Are we lower Champ / upper League 1 - probably, if the goal is break even.
At the end of the day, we just don't know and RD is not going to tell us. He is a businessman and he took some business decisions to get us out of trouble- it's worked!
I still uncomfortable but as one octogenarian gentleman said (I may have got his age wrong) it's gonna be a bumpy old ride. If nothing else is true, that statement is spot on.
The bumps won't stop after a few very good results.
Every player has a price. The important thing is to have players on decent contracts and be financially secure so that we get a decent price. Losing Parker was a disaster for the team, but we got a decent price whereas losing Robert Lee to Newcastle for £700k was a very poor deal. This works for most clubs. Two of Forest's players, for example, were sold to Newcastle before the start of the season (and loaned back), Ipswich sold Cresswell to West Ham etc
This. Charlton drive me mad with the low fees we get for our young players and then Palace go and get silly money for Zaha.
This has triggered a thought. Perhaps, it is the unknown that bothers many of us. If RD's plan was clearly to win the Premiership, we would be frustrated if in two years' time if we were only in mid-table in the Premiership. Man City fans will know what I mean. For goodness sake, it happened to us just a few years ago when expectations of Champions League seemed within our grasp. We blamed Mr Parker but it was more than that if we are honest.
Now, I see Charlton as a mid-table Championship club. Is that right? Are we lower Champ / upper League 1 - probably, if the goal is break even.
At the end of the day, we just don't know and RD is not going to tell us. He is a businessman and he took some business decisions to get us out of trouble- it's worked!
I still uncomfortable but as one octogenarian gentleman said (I may have got his age wrong) it's gonna be a bumpy old ride. If nothing else is true, that statement is spot on.
The bumps won't stop after a few very good results.
This has triggered a thought. Perhaps, it is the unknown that bothers many of us. If RD's plan was clearly to win the Premiership, we would be frustrated if in two years' time if we were only in mid-table in the Premiership. Man City fans will know what I mean. For goodness sake, it happened to us just a few years ago when expectations of Champions League seemed within our grasp. We blamed Mr Parker but it was more than that if we are honest.
Now, I see Charlton as a mid-table Championship club. Is that right? Are we lower Champ / upper League 1 - probably, if the goal is break even.
At the end of the day, we just don't know and RD is not going to tell us. He is a businessman and he took some business decisions to get us out of trouble- it's worked!
I still uncomfortable but as one octogenarian gentleman said (I may have got his age wrong) it's gonna be a bumpy old ride. If nothing else is true, that statement is spot on.
The bumps won't stop after a few very good results.
agree it is the unknown that we are all inherently suspicious of ....at the moment the owner cant "manage our expectations" as we dont have any ..those people "with the laptops in belgium" arent scouting for players they are compiling spreadsheets for the pre season comings and goings (i fear)
we've now signed experienced at this level and in this country players such as Eagles and Johnson (Diarra to a lesser extent) but on short deals.
Is that a realisation that the like of Phil Chapple and Damian Matthew are at least as knowledgeable and worth listening to as his mis-firing "experts" such as Karel Faraye when scouting players to sign?
As others have said, every club is a selling club with the exception of maybe one or two in Spain, but now we can be a selling club that can play hardball and get the best deal. For Parker we got a good financial deal, but we gave in to player power and finacial power and the timing (deadline day). Two weeks earlier and we should have been able to bring in a couple of players who would have negated the loss of Parker and maintained momentum. The sale of Lee was a great deal because it meant we could pay the bills at the end of the week, but stank financially because Lee was worth more.
Duchatalet will ensure we are a selling club as it is the only way his model can work, even if we get to the Prem (I believe) but as a stubborn old git, he will manage the timing and get the best price.
I broadly agree but I still think there is a major disconnect between his advisers/experts and the reality of what Charlton need both in players to keep and to let go.
Yes, we've now signed experienced at this level and in this country players such as Eagles and Johnson (Diarra to a lesser extent) but on short deals.
Is that a realisation that the like of Phil Chapple and Damian Matthew are at least as knowledgeable and worth listening to as his mis-firing "experts" such as Karel Faraye when scouting players to sign?
Or a trio of last minute signings as we were heading towards league one and needed something, anything, is a hurry and they were all out of contract so available and cheap. Isn't squad strengthening what the window was for?
Watt is turning out as a good, maybe great, signing but he didn't replace Reza as KM claimed at the VIP meeting. George replaced Reza and when he went back to Romania we got a player (under Bob remember) who wasn't match fit and hadn't worked out for the club that bought him (Standard).
Still a big question mark over LePoint even if he was much improved v Forest. No point going over all the others from last year although three are still on our books.
The financial stability that Roland brings is much needed, the aim to break even is admirable (even if I struggle to see how it can be achieved and we remain competitive under the new FFP guidelines).
The sharing of resources and the wider opportunities created by the network could be a game changer.
What is needed to make the break even model work is really top notch player recruitment (including via the academy) that is consistently and significantly better than those clubs with more money. That is only way we can bridge the gap.
But so far it just hasn't been anywhere good enough even if recent signings might suggest it is getting better.
One reason for that is, I suggest, that the experts with lap tops aren't at Sparrows Lane or even in England but somewhere in Belgium. Yes we live in a virtual, interconnected global village now but we're not even sure who they are or which club is their priority. Not Charlton otherwise Watt could have come in the summer. And scouting is about a lot more than stats or analysis. Personality, motivation, character, fit and fitness all come into it and you don't get that from a computer. Which is maybe why Watt is a hit here but not at Standard or at least a part of it.
Sort out the recruitment and things might just get very interesting over the next few seasons. Because we have the financial stability now to seize opportunities if they come.
Until then the bumpy ride continues. This is, remember, just a smooth part of the journey we are on right now. That can change very quickly.
Unbelievable! Is the recruitment really so completely useless and inappropriate?
Back in the real world most fans have been watching a team which has just won four of the last five games - Three of them 3-0.
This is clearly as a result of Henderson returning and new arrivals like Watt but the rest of the front six have been here all the time. Vetokele, Buyens, Gudmundsson, Bulot and Watt make up our front six with Cousins. It is possible to argue that this is our best front six since we were relegated from the FAPL. Two of them are Liege loans and three were bought on the open market.
Some Liege players work out and some don't so best we get used to that!
Similarly they have recruited a number of central defenders on the open market and none of them look too shoddy.
I agree we don't know who is making the decisions and we don't know if there will be an attempt to break even this season with summer sales. And we don't know what the ambition and wage budget will be for next season.
But given that Liege and CAFC have both rebuilt brand new squads which are competitive I would venture that Staprix does know how to identify and land talent.
Given our new look team has been built in just two windows I would venture that they are quite good at it! A competitive squad with just £5m outlay on transfer fees.
I will add one observation and that is that it might be quite expensive to improve on what we have. FFP Loss limits have increased to £13m and the FAPL media deal is up again. There is going to be a limited pool of talent across Europe who match or better the standard of our current squad.
In summary I believe they know precisely how to execute deals to meet their ambition but they are simply not stating what the ambition is for 2015-16. This summer window will tell us everything we need to know. The recruitment has been good enough to get us to mid-table and that is a long way from bottom place just 12 months ago.
Every club bar the elite are selling clubs. But there's a difference between an opportunistic sale that is re-invested in players to move the club forward and setting a strategy of developing players to fund your personal wealth.
As others have said, every club is a selling club with the exception of maybe one or two in Spain, but now we can be a selling club that can play hardball and get the best deal. For Parker we got a good financial deal, but we gave in to player power and finacial power and the timing (deadline day). Two weeks earlier and we should have been able to bring in a couple of players who would have negated the loss of Parker and maintained momentum. The sale of Lee was a great deal because it meant we could pay the bills at the end of the week, but stank financially because Lee was worth more.
Duchatalet will ensure we are a selling club as it is the only way his model can work, even if we get to the Prem (I believe) but as a stubborn old git, he will manage the timing and get the best price.
I broadly agree but I still think there is a major disconnect between his advisers/experts and the reality of what Charlton need both in players to keep and to let go.
Yes, we've now signed experienced at this level and in this country players such as Eagles and Johnson (Diarra to a lesser extent) but on short deals.
Is that a realisation that the like of Phil Chapple and Damian Matthew are at least as knowledgeable and worth listening to as his mis-firing "experts" such as Karel Faraye when scouting players to sign?
Or a trio of last minute signings as we were heading towards league one and needed something, anything, is a hurry and they were all out of contract so available and cheap. Isn't squad strengthening what the window was for?
Watt is turning out as a good, maybe great, signing but he didn't replace Reza as KM claimed at the VIP meeting. George replaced Reza and when he went back to Romania we got a player (under Bob remember) who wasn't match fit and hadn't worked out for the club that bought him (Standard).
Still a big question mark over LePoint even if he was much improved v Forest. No point going over all the others from last year although three are still on our books.
The financial stability that Roland brings is much needed, the aim to break even is admirable (even if I struggle to see how it can be achieved and we remain competitive under the new FFP guidelines).
The sharing of resources and the wider opportunities created by the network could be a game changer.
What is needed to make the break even model work is really top notch player recruitment (including via the academy) that is consistently and significantly better than those clubs with more money. That is only way we can bridge the gap.
But so far it just hasn't been anywhere good enough even if recent signings might suggest it is getting better.
One reason for that is, I suggest, that the experts with lap tops aren't at Sparrows Lane or even in England but somewhere in Belgium. Yes we live in a virtual, interconnected global village now but we're not even sure who they are or which club is their priority. Not Charlton otherwise Watt could have come in the summer. And scouting is about a lot more than stats or analysis. Personality, motivation, character, fit and fitness all come into it and you don't get that from a computer. Which is maybe why Watt is a hit here but not at Standard or at least a part of it.
Sort out the recruitment and things might just get very interesting over the next few seasons. Because we have the financial stability now to seize opportunities if they come.
Until then the bumpy ride continues. This is, remember, just a smooth part of the journey we are on right now. That can change very quickly.
Unbelievable! Is the recruitment really so completely useless and inappropriate?
Back in the real world most fans have been watching a team which has just won four of the last five games - Three of them 3-0.
This is clearly as a result of Henderson returning and new arrivals like Watt but the rest of the front six have been here all the time. Vetokele, Buyens, Gudmundsson, Bulot and Watt make up our front six with Cousins. It is possible to argue that this is our best front six since we were relegated from the FAPL. Two of them are Liege loans and three were bought on the open market.
Some Liege players work out and some don't so best we get used to that!
Similarly they have recruited a number of central defenders on the open market and none of them look too shoddy.
I agree we don't know who is making the decisions and we don't know if there will be an attempt to break even this season with summer sales. And we don't know what the ambition and wage budget will be for next season.
But given that Liege and CAFC have both rebuilt brand new squads which are competitive I would venture that Staprix does know how to identify and land talent.
Given our new look team has been built in just two windows I would venture that they are quite good at it! A competitive squad with just £5m outlay on transfer fees.
I will add one observation and that is that it might be quite expensive to improve on what we have. FFP Loss limits have increased to £13m and the FAPL media deal is up again. There is going to be a limited pool of talent across Europe who match or better the standard of our current squad.
In summary I believe they know precisely how to execute deals to meet their ambition but they are simply not stating what the ambition is for 2015-16. This summer window will tell us everything we need to know. The recruitment has been good enough to get us to mid-table and that is a long way from bottom place just 12 months ago.
"seriously_red Member February 1 If you care about our club then I would suggest that maybe we should be despondent. And then work out what you can do about it. Some would say not much right now except wait for the wheels to fall off!
I don't need to wait ten games nor until August as the writing is on the wall.
1) We are playing the return half of the season and we've been completely found out. No number 9. Gudmundsson doesn't get to cut in and shoot or pass anymore because he is our only attacking threat and is marked / closed down every time. Nothing down the left. And Lepoint - why?!
2) It is clear now that there is no one in charge with the requisite football knowledge. Duchatelet either thinks he knows enough and/or is scared to get someone with influence and knowledge to direct things here and at Liege.
3) Nothing against players coming and going from the network but someone should have identified what we needed to start winning games and then go out and sign them FFS.
Sorry to break the news but every one of our opponents is going to think we are a soft touch from now on in. I'm not saying we have a divine right to beat Rotherham but that was poor and, as plenty have stated, devoid of any inspiration. We've now failed to beat them, Blackpool and Millwall at home. There was nothing today that we haven't seen throughout the last few months. Nothing there!
It's starting to look like Jiminez and Slater knew more about how to run the football side of the club than Duchatelet. These random signings and complete failure to improve the attacking threat after a year in charge makes Duchatelet's decision to buy the club look more weird every week.
Why sink in £20m+ to end up with this outcome one year down the road? We are 18th again which is where Riga left us in May.
But I would maintain we are in a much worse place because of the direction of travel. And last season we were able to beat clubs at the bottom. This season we are a known entity with a board who are "trying to do something a little different". That appears to ignore the fundamentals in that you need attacking threat to make chances, chances to make goals and goals win games.
And to build that takes cash, an experienced talented coach plus leadership at the club. What some have known for a while but was cruelly exposed by the Luzon appointment and the "interview on the train" is that we have no leadership at the club. Just an administrative puppet who executes the actions requested by someone playing championship manager with us in another country.
Sure this is a shift change for my commentary. But until November 2014 I could see rational decisions and progress. Now I just see an owner out of his depth who is either too arrogant and/or lacks insight to appoint a director of football / head coach who has the technical ability, gravitas and experience to make something happen.
Riga delivered and was shown the door - says it all!"
As others have said, every club is a selling club with the exception of maybe one or two in Spain, but now we can be a selling club that can play hardball and get the best deal. For Parker we got a good financial deal, but we gave in to player power and finacial power and the timing (deadline day). Two weeks earlier and we should have been able to bring in a couple of players who would have negated the loss of Parker and maintained momentum. The sale of Lee was a great deal because it meant we could pay the bills at the end of the week, but stank financially because Lee was worth more.
Duchatalet will ensure we are a selling club as it is the only way his model can work, even if we get to the Prem (I believe) but as a stubborn old git, he will manage the timing and get the best price.
I broadly agree but I still think there is a major disconnect between his advisers/experts and the reality of what Charlton need both in players to keep and to let go.
Yes, we've now signed experienced at this level and in this country players such as Eagles and Johnson (Diarra to a lesser extent) but on short deals.
Is that a realisation that the like of Phil Chapple and Damian Matthew are at least as knowledgeable and worth listening to as his mis-firing "experts" such as Karel Faraye when scouting players to sign?
Or a trio of last minute signings as we were heading towards league one and needed something, anything, is a hurry and they were all out of contract so available and cheap. Isn't squad strengthening what the window was for?
Watt is turning out as a good, maybe great, signing but he didn't replace Reza as KM claimed at the VIP meeting. George replaced Reza and when he went back to Romania we got a player (under Bob remember) who wasn't match fit and hadn't worked out for the club that bought him (Standard).
Still a big question mark over LePoint even if he was much improved v Forest. No point going over all the others from last year although three are still on our books.
The financial stability that Roland brings is much needed, the aim to break even is admirable (even if I struggle to see how it can be achieved and we remain competitive under the new FFP guidelines).
The sharing of resources and the wider opportunities created by the network could be a game changer.
What is needed to make the break even model work is really top notch player recruitment (including via the academy) that is consistently and significantly better than those clubs with more money. That is only way we can bridge the gap.
But so far it just hasn't been anywhere good enough even if recent signings might suggest it is getting better.
One reason for that is, I suggest, that the experts with lap tops aren't at Sparrows Lane or even in England but somewhere in Belgium. Yes we live in a virtual, interconnected global village now but we're not even sure who they are or which club is their priority. Not Charlton otherwise Watt could have come in the summer. And scouting is about a lot more than stats or analysis. Personality, motivation, character, fit and fitness all come into it and you don't get that from a computer. Which is maybe why Watt is a hit here but not at Standard or at least a part of it.
Sort out the recruitment and things might just get very interesting over the next few seasons. Because we have the financial stability now to seize opportunities if they come.
Until then the bumpy ride continues. This is, remember, just a smooth part of the journey we are on right now. That can change very quickly.
Unbelievable! Is the recruitment really so completely useless and inappropriate?
Back in the real world most fans have been watching a team which has just won four of the last five games - Three of them 3-0.
This is clearly as a result of Henderson returning and new arrivals like Watt but the rest of the front six have been here all the time. Vetokele, Buyens, Gudmundsson, Bulot and Watt make up our front six with Cousins. It is possible to argue that this is our best front six since we were relegated from the FAPL. Two of them are Liege loans and three were bought on the open market.
Some Liege players work out and some don't so best we get used to that!
Similarly they have recruited a number of central defenders on the open market and none of them look too shoddy.
I agree we don't know who is making the decisions and we don't know if there will be an attempt to break even this season with summer sales. And we don't know what the ambition and wage budget will be for next season.
But given that Liege and CAFC have both rebuilt brand new squads which are competitive I would venture that Staprix does know how to identify and land talent.
Given our new look team has been built in just two windows I would venture that they are quite good at it! A competitive squad with just £5m outlay on transfer fees.
I will add one observation and that is that it might be quite expensive to improve on what we have. FFP Loss limits have increased to £13m and the FAPL media deal is up again. There is going to be a limited pool of talent across Europe who match or better the standard of our current squad.
In summary I believe they know precisely how to execute deals to meet their ambition but they are simply not stating what the ambition is for 2015-16. This summer window will tell us everything we need to know. The recruitment has been good enough to get us to mid-table and that is a long way from bottom place just 12 months ago.
Let's see what the squad looks like in August!
A question SR. How many players have been recruited to Charlton in the time since RD purchased the club, and of those how many are appearing regularly in our current first team?
Every club in this country, bar Utd, City and Chelsea are selling clubs.
Chelsea are a selling club really though. They're obsessed with staying within Financial Fair Play so they're making sure they sell players to buy. If they really wanted a player then sure, they wouldn't worry, but Cuadrado only came in once Chelsea were sure they were selling on Schurrle and moving on Salah for enough money to cover the outlay. Fabregas and Costa were brought in off the back of the sales of Luiz, De Bruyne, Ba and Lukaku. They've spent £118,000,000 but taken in £107,000,000. That's a deficit of only £11 million which is Redknapp levels of wheeler dealing.
Comments
But a good article though.
I guess if we are going to sell it should be on our terms, so getting players signed up for 3-4 years (particularly youngsters like Gomez and Cousins) is key. That way we'll at least get some decent fees that can be reinvested.
Currently we're utilising a number of free transfers (which I'm happy with) but given the quality of the top champ teams and lower prem we'll need to spend if we want to move past a certain point. That may require the gamble of a couple of high value sales to finance the push. If that's the case I dont have an issue.
Right now we're probably all beginning to look up rather than down, and dream of where this team might progress to with one or two additions but sadly there are still likely to be departures to balance the books. Let's hope the replacements when they come are all as well-judged as Johnson, Eagles, and Watt appear to be. That way, progress can still be made, albeit gradually.
This works for most clubs. Two of Forest's players, for example, were sold to Newcastle before the start of the season (and loaned back), Ipswich sold Cresswell to West Ham etc
Duchatalet will ensure we are a selling club as it is the only way his model can work, even if we get to the Prem (I believe) but as a stubborn old git, he will manage the timing and get the best price.
Yes, we've now signed experienced at this level and in this country players such as Eagles and Johnson (Diarra to a lesser extent) but on short deals.
Is that a realisation that the like of Phil Chapple and Damian Matthew are at least as knowledgeable and worth listening to as his mis-firing "experts" such as Karel Faraye when scouting players to sign?
Or a trio of last minute signings as we were heading towards league one and needed something, anything, is a hurry and they were all out of contract so available and cheap. Isn't squad strengthening what the window was for?
Watt is turning out as a good, maybe great, signing but he didn't replace Reza as KM claimed at the VIP meeting. George replaced Reza and when he went back to Romania we got a player (under Bob remember) who wasn't match fit and hadn't worked out for the club that bought him (Standard).
Still a big question mark over LePoint even if he was much improved v Forest. No point going over all the others from last year although three are still on our books.
The financial stability that Roland brings is much needed, the aim to break even is admirable (even if I struggle to see how it can be achieved and we remain competitive under the new FFP guidelines).
The sharing of resources and the wider opportunities created by the network could be a game changer.
What is needed to make the break even model work is really top notch player recruitment (including via the academy) that is consistently and significantly better than those clubs with more money. That is only way we can bridge the gap.
But so far it just hasn't been anywhere good enough even if recent signings might suggest it is getting better.
One reason for that is, I suggest, that the experts with lap tops aren't at Sparrows Lane or even in England but somewhere in Belgium. Yes we live in a virtual, interconnected global village now but we're not even sure who they are or which club is their priority. Not Charlton otherwise Watt could have come in the summer. And scouting is about a lot more than stats or analysis. Personality, motivation, character, fit and fitness all come into it and you don't get that from a computer. Which is maybe why Watt is a hit here but not at Standard or at least a part of it.
Sort out the recruitment and things might just get very interesting over the next few seasons. Because we have the financial stability now to seize opportunities if they come.
Until then the bumpy ride continues. This is, remember, just a smooth part of the journey we are on right now. That can change very quickly.
In the article I asked whether we were going to continue to sell players as we always have throughout the years, and as Roland did at Standard Liege after Guy's successful first season.
The reality is that we probably will be, especially with the break even model in mind.
Because of this, I don't think we will be taking that step to the next level (the premier league) any time soon.
Financially viable for sure, and with the way a lot of clubs are these days we should be grateful for that.
But will consistently being midtable in the Championship see the club stagnate and supporter numbers drop?
Who knows what the future will hold. I hope my prediction isn't 100% accurate.
Would love to have got the money that Southampton have got for their best talent, we'd probably be slushing around in the Prem with Palace by now, if we were a bit more clued up and forward thinking.
Now, I see Charlton as a mid-table Championship club. Is that right? Are we lower Champ / upper League 1 - probably, if the goal is break even.
At the end of the day, we just don't know and RD is not going to tell us. He is a businessman and he took some business decisions to get us out of trouble- it's worked!
I still uncomfortable but as one octogenarian gentleman said (I may have got his age wrong) it's gonna be a bumpy old ride. If nothing else is true, that statement is spot on.
The bumps won't stop after a few very good results.
Phew, I think I've got away with it!
: - )
Back in the real world most fans have been watching a team which has just won four of the last five games - Three of them 3-0.
This is clearly as a result of Henderson returning and new arrivals like Watt but the rest of the front six have been here all the time.
Vetokele, Buyens, Gudmundsson, Bulot and Watt make up our front six with Cousins. It is possible to argue that this is our best front six since we were relegated from the FAPL. Two of them are Liege loans and three were bought on the open market.
Some Liege players work out and some don't so best we get used to that!
Similarly they have recruited a number of central defenders on the open market and none of them look too shoddy.
I agree we don't know who is making the decisions and we don't know if there will be an attempt to break even this season with summer sales.
And we don't know what the ambition and wage budget will be for next season.
But given that Liege and CAFC have both rebuilt brand new squads which are competitive I would venture that Staprix does know how to identify and land talent.
Given our new look team has been built in just two windows I would venture that they are quite good at it! A competitive squad with just £5m outlay on transfer fees.
I will add one observation and that is that it might be quite expensive to improve on what we have. FFP Loss limits have increased to £13m and the FAPL media deal is up again. There is going to be a limited pool of talent across Europe who match or better the standard of our current squad.
In summary I believe they know precisely how to execute deals to meet their ambition but they are simply not stating what the ambition is for 2015-16. This summer window will tell us everything we need to know. The recruitment has been good enough to get us to mid-table and that is a long way from bottom place just 12 months ago.
Let's see what the squad looks like in August!
"seriously_red Member
February 1
If you care about our club then I would suggest that maybe we should be despondent. And then work out what you can do about it. Some would say not much right now except wait for the wheels to fall off!
I don't need to wait ten games nor until August as the writing is on the wall.
1) We are playing the return half of the season and we've been completely found out.
No number 9. Gudmundsson doesn't get to cut in and shoot or pass anymore because he is our only attacking threat and is marked / closed down every time. Nothing down the left. And Lepoint - why?!
2) It is clear now that there is no one in charge with the requisite football knowledge. Duchatelet either thinks he knows enough and/or is scared to get someone with influence and knowledge to direct things here and at Liege.
3) Nothing against players coming and going from the network but someone should have identified what we needed to start winning games and then go out and sign them FFS.
Sorry to break the news but every one of our opponents is going to think we are a soft touch from now on in. I'm not saying we have a divine right to beat Rotherham but that was poor and, as plenty have stated, devoid of any inspiration. We've now failed to beat them, Blackpool and Millwall at home. There was nothing today that we haven't seen throughout the last few months. Nothing there!
It's starting to look like Jiminez and Slater knew more about how to run the football side of the club than Duchatelet. These random signings and complete failure to improve the attacking threat after a year in charge makes Duchatelet's decision to buy the club look more weird every week.
Why sink in £20m+ to end up with this outcome one year down the road? We are 18th again which is where Riga left us in May.
But I would maintain we are in a much worse place because of the direction of travel. And last season we were able to beat clubs at the bottom. This season we are a known entity with a board who are "trying to do something a little different". That appears to ignore the fundamentals in that you need attacking threat to make chances, chances to make goals and goals win games.
And to build that takes cash, an experienced talented coach plus leadership at the club. What some have known for a while but was cruelly exposed by the Luzon appointment and the "interview on the train" is that we have no leadership at the club. Just an administrative puppet who executes the actions requested by someone playing championship manager with us in another country.
Sure this is a shift change for my commentary. But until November 2014 I could see rational decisions and progress. Now I just see an owner out of his depth who is either too arrogant and/or lacks insight to appoint a director of football / head coach who has the technical ability, gravitas and experience to make something happen.
Riga delivered and was shown the door - says it all!"
Flip, flop, flip, flop, flip, flop