I have an old acquaintance on Facebook who roughly every 4-5 months posts a long diatribe about what an arsehole her latest boss is and how she has handed her resignation and is looking for a new job.
I must have seen her post this about four times now and after the third one I started to wonder, are her bosses really all that bad or does the problem really lie with her?
It doesn't make sense. We are moving out a skilful no.10, who creates and scores goals at this level, presumably because we don't have anyone on the football side capable of motivating and managing him. This says as much about the quality of staff, as it does about the player. There have always been difficult maverick players in the game, but these players give you something different and can be match-winners. Look how Sir Alex handled Cantona.
This! Watt's fitness has generally been terrible this season and the back end of last. Whilst I acknowledge that this is his fault, we don't have the strong characters behind the scenes to manage him properly and deal with issues such as this. Instead it looks like we're just going to move him on instead.
Didn't he get lapped by both Cousins and Fox in the pre-season time trial? That's difficult to understand for a 21 year old striker at this level.
I haven't read every posts in this thread but I get the impression that we're in a worse position financially than we were under the last owners? You know, sending out or selling players before bringing in any replacements. Or wait, I never thought Vaz Te was actually brought in to replace Tony Watt......
Baffled by the criticism of the club in failing to motivate and get the best out of Tony Watt.
Surely if he can't be arsed to get himself fit at 21, and has already been released by two other clubs, then the warning signs are there that he has an attitude problem?
I have seen comparisons to Cantona, but surely the amount of latitude that Cantona received from Fergie, was because he had built up a serious amount of credit in the bank across a good few seasons, by winning titles etc.
Tony Watt has had one excellent two month spell for us, and done nothing much since, so not sure it is a valid comparison.
I haven't read all nine pages of this thread but if there were a few previously disgruntled fans who may have been wavering after the last two results, this move will surely reiterate to them the problems with the current board and management.
One step forward, three steps back. That's the current Charlton for you.
This is why I dislike the modern era in football so much. An old school manager would have worked on a talent like Watt, to keep him at the club and to get the best out of him. If it was down to a poor attitude, he'd be made to train with the reserves or youth team until he changed his attitude. He wouldn't be given the option of a free ticket to another rival club's first team. Players these days with the aid of their agents seem to be able to dictate the agenda to the detriment of the club and fans. Knuckle down and fight for your place Tony!
Maybe to free up wages for his replacement! On form he is a fantastic player but unfortunatley not a team player which is needed for a relegation battle. Would like to see him back at some point but its not the end of the world is it?
annoying to see him go but we've managed to win 2 on the bounce so fraye must be doing something right or they're both just flukes, Tony watt on his day can be prolific, and personally I would love to see him in the sqaud but I just rotated around, but as we know we can't carry passengers I do think loaning him out to Cardiff is fucking ridiculous but then that's Charlton now with the Belgian loony.
Let him go, he's not contributed much this season. Ok on his day he's very good but those days are few and far between.
If he can't get himself fit and motivated then why bother with him. Seems that a few managers have tried but its down to the player to sort himself out.
Not arsed about him going but this will mean once again that we are a striker short. Like everyone else I thought he just needed a good pre season and would come back fit as a fiddle and firing but he hasn't.
Just a thought but often we read about sports people being allergic to something in their diet which causes them not to be as fit as they should be so I'd like to hope that has been confirmed with Tony. In the past I'd have been happy that would've been but now I'm not so sure under the current regime .
Whatever has happened, it's not positive, it's an enforced reaction and it's the result of instability. It may well be the correct move like having to use a fire extinguisher if you set light to the fat fryer because no one was looking after it.
Seems a strange old one to send, potentially, one of our better players on loan to a possible rival in a relegation scrap...but then again I've seen stranger decisions
On his day Tony Watt is one of the most exciting players we have had in recent times, it's great to have someone who is actually not scared of dribbling past people, and I was fortunate enough to witness both his goal against Huddersfield and his Watt vs The Clock moment.
However, he has spent most of this season hobbling about and looking sorry for himself, whether that is a proper injury or more of a mental behind the scenes thing I don't know, but loaning him out now when we have SM, Lookman, KAG, Vaz Te and Reza is probably not the worst idea. What is annoying is loaning him out to a potential rival. I can only assume there were no better offers out there for him.
Seems a strange old one to send, potentially, one of our better players on loan to a possible rival in a relegation scrap...but then again I've seen stranger decisions
This is why I dislike the modern era in football so much. An old school manager would have worked on a talent like Watt, to keep him at the club and to get the best out of him. If it was down to a poor attitude, he'd be made to train with the reserves or youth team until he changed his attitude. He wouldn't be given the option of a free ticket to another rival club's first team. Players these days with the aid of their agents seem to be able to dictate the agenda to the detriment of the club and fans. Knuckle down and fight for your place Tony!
This. We give up! The war cry of modern management. You nurture young players, and try to walk them around the stumbling blocks in their lives. From saviour to unwanted troublemaker in less than twelve months says a lot about the interior workings at the club. By all means send him to Cardiff to get fir/in form. But with our set up, we're probably going to be hearing about a 'permanent transfer for an undisclosed fee' (read 'free') and another potential goalscorer vanishes. No need to change your club Tony. Get your head sorted here.
Pretty gutted about this. I said at the start of the season he has that thing you just can't teach. Very gifted with the ball at his feet and those players are very rare. When he got the ball I got excited at what might happen, there's very few that can do that.
I'm not disputing his recent form has been poor, but then the whole team looked shit. Both Solly and JBG also looked pants. For example most things JBG was trying weren't coming off, should we ship him out on loan as well. They seem to have found a shape they can respond to under the diamond, who's to say Watt couldn't have made an impact in it? Now the team has confidence again, suddenly everyone looks a little better, Watt should've been given a chance to show what he can do.
He openly said he was struggling for form, and got injured at the start of this season. Was thrown back into a mess on the pitch, and despite what many might see as ball hogging and constant dribbling, I would argue he kept coming deep to try and lose his marker and make something happen. You could see the frustration on his face at both his and the team's failings.
I always thought it looked like him and JJ got on. Watt raced over there when JJ scored the goal that got us back in the game against Fulham. Like everyone else has mentioned, something's happened somewhere to get him out. Whether it be Frayere, a dressing room bust up, whatever, you very rarely loan out (or get rid of) a new signing within 10/11 months. Especially one that has shown as much promise as TW.
These sort of decisions amplify the nonsense going on at the top of the club. A couple of wins and some decent performances aside, we are still very much a reactionary circus, waiting to showcase the next weird and but not so wonderful act.
There were rumours up at Sparrows months ago that his ability is unquestioned but he simply just can't be coached or respect any form of authority. For such a 'talented' player, Celtic couldn't wait to offload him, Leige quickly confined him to the bench and Strachan hasn't come close to picking him for a struggling Scotland squad. Can see his career being a 'what could of been' story. Grow up Tony
The fact that quite a few on here are all of a sudden defending the board on this decision supports my fear that our fanbase will never properly rock our ownership when it really comes down to it and are so easily appeased by a couple of surprise wins. Unbelievable.
None of us know the full story. I'm not the boards biggest fan. However, people are blaming the board with no backup. What if something has happened behind the scenes, which made his position at the club untenable? None of us know. And we won't know because that's between the club and the player. I know many of us are upset with the board at the mo, but IMO I don't think this was a wrong decision by the board.
When a player has done something untenable they don't get sent out on loan to a club 11 places higher than us in the league usually.
So what else could they do? Pay his contract off? That would of went down well.
Loan him to any club, a rival? That would of went down well.
If they wanted to get shot of him, the first club to take his wages should have him. For all we know, Cardiff may have been the only club to make an offer.
Just out of curiosity, so what's your thoughts on it all? The board fancied a laugh and loaned him out?
The fact that quite a few on here are all of a sudden defending the board on this decision supports my fear that our fanbase will never properly rock our ownership when it really comes down to it and are so easily appeased by a couple of surprise wins. Unbelievable.
None of us know the full story. I'm not the boards biggest fan. However, people are blaming the board with no backup. What if something has happened behind the scenes, which made his position at the club untenable? None of us know. And we won't know because that's between the club and the player. I know many of us are upset with the board at the mo, but IMO I don't think this was a wrong decision by the board.
When a player has done something untenable they don't get sent out on loan to a club 11 places higher than us in the league usually.
So what else could they do? Pay his contract off? That would of went down well.
Loan him to any club, a rival? That would of went down well.
If they wanted to get shot of him, the first club to take his wages should have him. For all we know, Cardiff may have been the only club to make an offer.
Just out of curiosity, so what's your thoughts on it all? The board fancied a laugh and loaned him out?
Or, alternatively, put some bloody work in developing a young player in need of support. They go on and on about how they want to buy in players cheap and sell them on for a profit as better players, but they're completely unwilling to make the effort with Tony, they'd rather drum him out because he's become a problem. Now if he was going round Ben Thatchering players or doing a Dani Osvaldo and threatening teammates with bricks then sure, you have no choice, but if he's just a bit of a pain in the arse who needs to do some growing up then it's ridiculous that we'd hand him over to a rival team with all the talent we know he has. Looking at the end of last season where he performed a rescue act and the start of this one he can obviously do it. If it's just fitness then send him on some laps. If it's general attitude then work on getting the best out of the individual like every other manager in every other industry has to. But no, instead of treating him like a young man who needs some developing they treat him like a piece of equipment; strip it out, sell it for parts, replace it with a different piece (and pray the other piece works. If not sod it and do the same thing again). Can't connect with a team like that
the abuse on his instagram photo is actually embarrassing, f off you Fenian C#*t numerous times on there, mostly by 16 year olds who put on a bit of snide stone island and use words they don't know what they mean.
Watt is clearly talented as his performance last season showed but his current malaise seems related to his level of fitness. It could be that he's maverick and hard to manage but there must be something which motivates him and it's this which should be being used to bring out the best in him. This means that this situation is down to management. The head coach (as he has been called) needs to manage the player himself. The owner and CEO need to manage the contract, club ethos and the long term view. Clearly we have had a number of managers who don't understand players or how to manage them and the owners, even if they are in it for the long term (as I believe the Academy investment indicates) look like they are managing the club season by season with a very unpredictable sense of direction or planning.
We get pissed off at the performance of the club - I'm certain the players do too. So is Tony Watt's stroppiness partly down to it being his only way of hitting out at management on all levels who simply fail to understand how to manage a football club?
I fear that this is a bad sign of the current times.....
It is the money that allows "talented" players to flit from one Club to another. Other examples of this, albeit on a greater stage, would be Adel Taarabt who has failed to fulfill expectations. In fact, so much so at his current club, Benfica, where he has made just the one appearance all season.
As I said before, it doesn't matter how much skill you have if you aren't prepared to use it in the right way. One assist and no goals since August for someone who is meant to be a forward are testament to that.
Watt is probably a prime example of someone who had it all too early. Scoring that goal for Celtic probably was the worst possible thing to happen to him because he probably thought he'd made it. Whereas someone like Jamie Vardy, who was released for being too small at Sheffield Wednesday, worked and worked at his game to the extent that he has risen from non League football to equalling the all time record for scoring in consecutive matches in the PL.
Or someone like our very own JJ who, having been released by Spurs at the age of 24 following just 20 appearances and numerous spells at loan, worked at the coal faces at the likes of Colchester and Notts County before proving that he was capable of being a winner and a leader with us. And even when his chances of returning to our side looked less than likely he refused to lie down and accept his lot.
And you can't tell me that Vardy or JJ are more talented footballers than Watt. It's just that those two learned to make the most of theirs.
Let's hope that Watt learns sooner rather later because otherwise he will end up another Taarabt. A financially content footballer with all the trappings of success - having achieved sweet fanny adams in the game and wasted what God gave him.
Just out of curiosity, so what's your thoughts on it all? The board fancied a laugh and loaned him out?
Or, alternatively, put some bloody work in developing a young player in need of support. They go on and on about how they want to buy in players cheap and sell them on for a profit as better players, but they're completely unwilling to make the effort with Tony, they'd rather drum him out because he's become a problem. Now if he was going round Ben Thatchering players or doing a Dani Osvaldo and threatening teammates with bricks then sure, you have no choice, but if he's just a bit of a pain in the arse who needs to do some growing up then it's ridiculous that we'd hand him over to a rival team with all the talent we know he has. Looking at the end of last season where he performed a rescue act and the start of this one he can obviously do it. If it's just fitness then send him on some laps. If it's general attitude then work on getting the best out of the individual like every other manager in every other industry has to. But no, instead of treating him like a young man who needs some developing they treat him like a piece of equipment; strip it out, sell it for parts, replace it with a different piece (and pray the other piece works. If not sod it and do the same thing again). Can't connect with a team like that
You don't think that they might have been making that effort since he arrived 9 months ago and finally they've had enough ?
But your idea about making him do some laps is a brilliant one. I'm very disappointed no-one on the coaching staff thought of that.
Don't know how many times teams, coaches have to try with players. Sometimes a player needs to take ownership of his attitude. He is a man. Take a look at yourself and figure out why you keep getting shipped out.
Comments
I must have seen her post this about four times now and after the third one I started to wonder, are her bosses really all that bad or does the problem really lie with her?
Methinks the same problem lies with Mr Watt.
Surely if he can't be arsed to get himself fit at 21, and has already been released by two other clubs, then the warning signs are there that he has an attitude problem?
I have seen comparisons to Cantona, but surely the amount of latitude that Cantona received from Fergie, was because he had built up a serious amount of credit in the bank across a good few seasons, by winning titles etc.
Tony Watt has had one excellent two month spell for us, and done nothing much since, so not sure it is a valid comparison.
One step forward, three steps back. That's the current Charlton for you.
If he can't get himself fit and motivated then why bother with him. Seems that a few managers have tried but its down to the player to sort himself out.
mean once again that we are a striker short. Like everyone else I thought he just needed a good pre season and would come back fit as a fiddle and firing but he hasn't.
Just a thought but often we read about sports people being allergic to something in their diet which causes them not to be as fit as they should be so I'd like to hope that has been confirmed with Tony. In the past I'd have been happy that would've been but now I'm not so sure under the current regime .
However, he has spent most of this season hobbling about and looking sorry for himself, whether that is a proper injury or more of a mental behind the scenes thing I don't know, but loaning him out now when we have SM, Lookman, KAG, Vaz Te and Reza is probably not the worst idea. What is annoying is loaning him out to a potential rival. I can only assume there were no better offers out there for him.
I'm not disputing his recent form has been poor, but then the whole team looked shit. Both Solly and JBG also looked pants. For example most things JBG was trying weren't coming off, should we ship him out on loan as well. They seem to have found a shape they can respond to under the diamond, who's to say Watt couldn't have made an impact in it? Now the team has confidence again, suddenly everyone looks a little better, Watt should've been given a chance to show what he can do.
He openly said he was struggling for form, and got injured at the start of this season. Was thrown back into a mess on the pitch, and despite what many might see as ball hogging and constant dribbling, I would argue he kept coming deep to try and lose his marker and make something happen. You could see the frustration on his face at both his and the team's failings.
I always thought it looked like him and JJ got on. Watt raced over there when JJ scored the goal that got us back in the game against Fulham. Like everyone else has mentioned, something's happened somewhere to get him out. Whether it be Frayere, a dressing room bust up, whatever, you very rarely loan out (or get rid of) a new signing within 10/11 months. Especially one that has shown as much promise as TW.
These sort of decisions amplify the nonsense going on at the top of the club. A couple of wins and some decent performances aside, we are still very much a reactionary circus, waiting to showcase the next weird and but not so wonderful act.
Loan him to any club, a rival? That would of went down well.
If they wanted to get shot of him, the first club to take his wages should have him. For all we know, Cardiff may have been the only club to make an offer.
Just out of curiosity, so what's your thoughts on it all? The board fancied a laugh and loaned him out?
This means that this situation is down to management. The head coach (as he has been called) needs to manage the player himself. The owner and CEO need to manage the contract, club ethos and the long term view. Clearly we have had a number of managers who don't understand players or how to manage them and the owners, even if they are in it for the long term (as I believe the Academy investment indicates) look like they are managing the club season by season with a very unpredictable sense of direction or planning.
We get pissed off at the performance of the club - I'm certain the players do too. So is Tony Watt's stroppiness partly down to it being his only way of hitting out at management on all levels who simply fail to understand how to manage a football club?
I fear that this is a bad sign of the current times.....
As I said before, it doesn't matter how much skill you have if you aren't prepared to use it in the right way. One assist and no goals since August for someone who is meant to be a forward are testament to that.
Watt is probably a prime example of someone who had it all too early. Scoring that goal for Celtic probably was the worst possible thing to happen to him because he probably thought he'd made it. Whereas someone like Jamie Vardy, who was released for being too small at Sheffield Wednesday, worked and worked at his game to the extent that he has risen from non League football to equalling the all time record for scoring in consecutive matches in the PL.
Or someone like our very own JJ who, having been released by Spurs at the age of 24 following just 20 appearances and numerous spells at loan, worked at the coal faces at the likes of Colchester and Notts County before proving that he was capable of being a winner and a leader with us. And even when his chances of returning to our side looked less than likely he refused to lie down and accept his lot.
And you can't tell me that Vardy or JJ are more talented footballers than Watt. It's just that those two learned to make the most of theirs.
Let's hope that Watt learns sooner rather later because otherwise he will end up another Taarabt. A financially content footballer with all the trappings of success - having achieved sweet fanny adams in the game and wasted what God gave him.
Just out of curiosity, so what's your thoughts on it all? The board fancied a laugh and loaned him out?
Or, alternatively, put some bloody work in developing a young player in need of support. They go on and on about how they want to buy in players cheap and sell them on for a profit as better players, but they're completely unwilling to make the effort with Tony, they'd rather drum him out because he's become a problem. Now if he was going round Ben Thatchering players or doing a Dani Osvaldo and threatening teammates with bricks then sure, you have no choice, but if he's just a bit of a pain in the arse who needs to do some growing up then it's ridiculous that we'd hand him over to a rival team with all the talent we know he has. Looking at the end of last season where he performed a rescue act and the start of this one he can obviously do it. If it's just fitness then send him on some laps. If it's general attitude then work on getting the best out of the individual like every other manager in every other industry has to. But no, instead of treating him like a young man who needs some developing they treat him like a piece of equipment; strip it out, sell it for parts, replace it with a different piece (and pray the other piece works. If not sod it and do the same thing again). Can't connect with a team like that
You don't think that they might have been making that effort since he arrived 9 months ago and finally they've had enough ?
But your idea about making him do some laps is a brilliant one. I'm very disappointed no-one on the coaching staff thought of that.