I've read a fair number of posts saying stuff along the lines of this.
If the board knew he was going (maybe even wanted him to go - another thread maybe!) and didn't release the funds for him to improve or replace, then is it really all down to Curbishley?
Marcus Bent hasn't worked out at all - we paid too much for him and he doesn't give a t**s about our club, but was that the best Curbishley could buy given what was available to him? He did get us a very good player with the same surname if you remember!
So Dowie was given a shed load (by our standards) of cash to get us back on track and what of those signings have been a success?
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We lost, for various reasons, players of the quality of Rufus, Fish (quality in his prime), Jensen, Parker, DiCanio, Kiely and others....
We brought in the likes of El Karkouri, Hughes, Holland (harsh, but he has never been that good for us despite a great attitude), Marcus Bent, Jeffers, Spector, Myhre....
Just look at the CCC or Premiership rejects who went elsewhere who we SHOULD have got: Ashton, Cahill, Sidwell, Lescott, Dawson to name but a few.
He DID leave us with a terrible squad and Dowie was not the man to strengthen it, truth is we were lucky to not be fighting the drop last season too.
But I'll ask my own: Does it really matter?
I believe that Curbs never really got things right after Parker and then DiCanio went.
I think that up to that point, we were improving, year on year and European aspirations were clear. This mean't that potential signings were able to view us in a positive light.
He brought in Murphy on the back of that profile but he failed to inspire during that season and we struggled to make headway. Our strike force needed livening up and at the end of that season, Baby Bent was signed. He then set about trying to liven up the midfield and signed Smertin on loan.
That plan worked out well at the start. Murphy was on the verge of an England recall, Smertin and Russia were going for World Cup qualification and they were playing well. With Kish also playing well and Baby Bent getting the goals, optimism was high.
Then in the space of weeks, Murphy failed to get an England recall. Russia failed to qualify and both players form dipped significantly and results went pear shaped. We suddenly lost our lustre as potential euro qualifiers and this led to those players discontent.
By the January window, both had gone. Curbs was desperate to sign somebody to liven things up and he brought in Big Bent. It was a gamble and it didn't pay off.
The season fizzled out and, but for the good start, we might have been staring at relegation.
The squad at the end of the season was significantly worse than the one at the start.
Those are largely the facts, the question I think is could Curbs have left us with a better squad, given the financial constraints upon him?
1. Players brought in. - with the exception of Marcus Bent and for much of the time Rommedahl , pretty much all of the remaining squad which he purchased have been effective players even if over time they faded (JJ, Bartlett for example). Many criticise the failure to get rid of these players and sign alternatives but those who do, do not live in the real world where contracts are signed and players loss of form does not mean you can chuck them out.
2. Home grown talent. - by the end of Curbs reign, the only home grown player regularly playing was Fortune. For me, this was the biggest disappointment of Curbs latter years. I believe that he lost focus on this area because he spread himself too thinly, being both head coach, chief scout and team manager. Was that entirely his fault? No the board should perhaps have recognised this and helped him to manage these roles more effectively. Curbs was cautious and thus reluctant to pick "untried" players throughout his managerial time at Charlton unless he was forced to by squad depletion. This was a weakness in his approach but understandable given the way he had built the team through the dark times.
3. Use of resources - getting Baby Bent for a smallish fee, Herm for a small fee, plus Sir Chris are examples of his spotting of a player. Rowett, Big Bent, and Romm are example of money, arguably not best spent. I think you have to conclude that over his time he brought in quality players on a much lower budget than most of his contemporaries.
In the final analysis it's hard to argue that the squad was not weak, but also hard to see how anybody could have done any better with the resources. Sometimes you just have to accept that people did the best job they could but the best was not enough. So it is with Curbs. (and indeed with Pards since he came).
It seemed to me to be a scattered theme in threads about this season, so I thought it might make a thread on its own. You could apply your statement to football in general if the real truth be told!
He was prepared to see out his existing contract but The Board, Richard Murray, whoever decided that he should leave immediately.
I'm not going to express an opinion here as to whether that was the right or wrong decision.
However it is an undeniable FACT that nobody knows what squad changes Curbishley would have made had he stayed because he wasn't given the opportunity!!
That is why it irritates me that people whinge about the sh** squad Curbs left us with. Curbs was never allowed to see out his contract and finish the job. It is therefore wrong and unfair to lay any blame at his door for the events of this season.
Excellent summary Bing.
£5m for Boa Morte fr starters