Anyone who watches and listens to Slade in this video and still says he is a yes man, is obviously not thinking straight.
Slade is quite scathing that Diarra & Lennon's injuries are historic & they were ignored over the close season.
The players weren't even given a date to return ffs.
Pretty much everything Slade has said and done so far, is top notch and I agree that we need to wait to get in the right players, rather than panic and get in some lesser players.
I'm optimistic that he will have us challenging this season and Slade and the players have my 100% backing.
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
I'm not sure any manager has that power any more, Slade being in charge of incoming players is a great start though!
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
No it's not, as long as he retains who he wants. We need to be realistic.
In truth he should have been signed 18 months ago when he moved to Wigan from Leeds.
He was precisely the type of leader we desperately needed then instead of drafting in Onyewu and Johnson as "sticking plasters" when having "released" Morrisson Bikey then completely lost the plot.
Whether this type of signing exhibits a true change of direction by the executive remains to be seen. This "flurry" of activity at this stage, so late in the day, suggests a measure of "internal negotiation" has been ongoing. Whether Mr Slade has had to threaten a nuclear option of walking away if he did not see some intent to support him would be pure conjecture.
In all honesty providing the support continues to be shown in the coming weeks then for the moment that is all that matters. As I have suggested elsewhere 6 weeks in the scheme of things is a very short time in the life of a football club.
As of now, for whatever reason, most probably because of internal politics we are still well behind where we need to be.
This has however been a crucial week in establishing a spine for the team with Rudd and Pearce. The earlier addition of Crofts in the long term absences of Diarra and Kashi (for now these two are an irrelevance) was also important and with the even earlier signing of Novak we have the basics in place.
It is not enough but it is a start.
I suggest Mr Slade is indeed very worthy of our support.
A hope-giving interview but the historical stuff about Diarra and Lennon injuries and whole planning for pre-season is appalling - I thought Diarra was playing through pain barrier late last season and now he's suffering for it. Just confirms the shambles we suspected behind the scenes until Slade's arrival.
I very much doubt we'll ever see either Diarra or Kashi in the first team again. I don't think either are what Slade is about and as one is getting on and the other is worth something I can see both leaving in January probably on loan. If they are not fit by January then I doubt either will trouble the scorer before May.
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
No it's not, as long as he retains who he wants. We need to be realistic.
So it's OK if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players as long as he can retain who he wants. Gotcha.
Anyone who watches and listens to Slade in this video and still says he is a yes man, is obviously not thinking straight.
Slade is quite scathing that Diarra & Lennon's injuries are historic & they were ignored over the close season.
The players weren't even given a date to return ffs.
Pretty much everything Slade has said and done so far, is top notch and I agree that we need to wait to get in the right players, rather than panic and get in some lesser players.
I'm optimistic that he will have us challenging this season and Slade and the players have my 100% backing.
Slade is showing very clearly, to anyone willing to see, the importance of having a strong, competent and knowledgeable person leading the playing side of the club.
We saw it from Curbs, we saw it from Powell and, hopefully, we are now seeing it from Slade - get the right man managing in the right way and all the other things somewhat fall into place from there. As much as CEO's, Chairmen etc. have pivotal roles to play (not least appointing the manager), the first team manager is the real leader of a club and he is able to set the tone for the attitude of the whole organisation.
I'd like more players in by now, but I've been impressed with who we have signed and believe it is Slade driving those decisions. It also sounds like he is thinking about the big picture and fixing, or at least trying to fix, more than just the quality of the players in the team. Lets hope results back up the early good impressions; I hope fans are patient with him though because I am expecting a slow start but we look to have potential to build and improve as the team settles in and gels.
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
No it's not, as long as he retains who he wants. We need to be realistic.
Are you suggesting he didn't want to retain Gudmundson, Cousins or Pope? If you continually sell off your best players, you go one way, down. Which is precisely what we have been doing for the past ten years. To build a better team you need to retain your better players and then add to them. Given our relegation, I accept it may have been impossible to keep the first two. But sooner or later a manager has to make a stand and say "no, enough is enough, I'm trying to build a team here and I need these players to stay".
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
No it's not, as long as he retains who he wants. We need to be realistic.
Are you suggesting he didn't want to retain Gudmundson, Cousins or Pope? If you continually sell off your best players, you go one way, down. Which is precisely what we have been doing for the past ten years. To build a better team you need to retain your better players and then add to them. Given our relegation, I accept it may have been impossible to keep the first two. But sooner or later a manager has to make a stand and say "no, enough is enough, I'm trying to build a team here and I need these players to stay".
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
No it's not, as long as he retains who he wants. We need to be realistic.
So it's OK if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players as long as he can retain who he wants. Gotcha.
You need to be realistic. A team relegated to League 1 was always going to lose JBG, Makienok, Watt, Reza, Sarr, Vetokele, Cousins, Henderson, Bergditch, Fanni, Suk Young, Motta, Sanogo & Poyet (plus others).
I should have had a bet if you think any of these were ever going to stay.
Any relegated club would have lost them players be it through the player wanting to leave, or the wages being too high etc etc.
I'm not defending RD/KM in the slightest, but you can't fly in the face of common sense.
Now, if they start getting rid of the players Slade has just signed then that's another matter.
As for queensland suggesting Slade didn't want JBG or Cousins to stay, it's rather irrelevant.
As if someone that's just played in the Euros & has offers from a Prem side is going to want to stay, leave off.
Likewise Cousins, twice POTY and Brighton come in and offer him a load more money and an escape and you think he wanted to stay ?
Like I say we need to be realistic here. It's the real world, not football manager.
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
No it's not, as long as he retains who he wants. We need to be realistic.
Are you suggesting he didn't want to retain Gudmundson, Cousins or Pope? If you continually sell off your best players, you go one way, down. Which is precisely what we have been doing for the past ten years. To build a better team you need to retain your better players and then add to them. Given our relegation, I accept it may have been impossible to keep the first two. But sooner or later a manager has to make a stand and say "no, enough is enough, I'm trying to build a team here and I need these players to stay".
If you were a current CAFC player and you got an offer from almost any other club in the world would you not be tempted to get away from the absolute shambles that is CAFC?
I like what I hear, but if he is powerless to stop the sale of our best players, it is meaningless. Sounds to me that Taxiera and Harriet will be next out the door.
No it's not, as long as he retains who he wants. We need to be realistic.
Are you suggesting he didn't want to retain Gudmundson, Cousins or Pope? If you continually sell off your best players, you go one way, down. Which is precisely what we have been doing for the past ten years. To build a better team you need to retain your better players and then add to them. Given our relegation, I accept it may have been impossible to keep the first two. But sooner or later a manager has to make a stand and say "no, enough is enough, I'm trying to build a team here and I need these players to stay".
If you were a current CAFC player and you got an offer from almost any other club in the world would you not be tempted to get away from the absolute shambles that is CAFC?
He doesn't have many cliches and he sounds much more intelligent than the average football manager. He also seems completely oblivious to upsetting the management with some of his comments.
So, the season is upon us and we have the usual mix of long term injuries to our better players (Diarra, Kashi, Bauer) and a manager who openly admits we're four players short.
How fucking depressing.
Offset by the fact we do have a proper manager who seems to be fighting his corner with the board, who really don't want to make these signings.
Which in turn, is offset by the fact we don't have a decent owner & CEO who will not allow him to be a 'proper manager'.
But what will RS do when he realises he has got an inadequate squad and cant achieve the goal he has been publicly set? Will he resign in fury over how he has been treated and show the owner and CEO up for what they really are? or will he carry on treading water, taking his salary....?
Only time will tell.
Well he is already winning the battle to sign players he wants, so point 1 is void. He has publically acknowledge the task is tougher than expected, so he is already trying to rectify that... Which makes the comment about just here picking up a salary harsh on him.
Point 1 isn't void. Who says he is signing the players he wants? He will say that about anyone that he is given. He's a 'yes' man. Only a 'yes' man would have taken the job on in the first place. Which is why others ran a mile when they were linked with the job.
We are just seeing a different spin on what's going on, which is fantastic PR work (my wife is a PR director in London - many of their clients are EPL clubs). The end result is what RD and KM want, but it's just dressed up to look as though Slade is in charge and calling the shots. He isn't. But good PR can make it appear that way.
Who is choosing the players then ? Who is this expert on English players ? The Belgian laptop guys or Meire ?
I thought KM said recently that RS has final say on the players that the (keyboard ?) scouts find. Who knows what the search criteria are though !
So you also think that Belgians are choosing Ajose, Holmes, Novak, Rudd & Pearce ?
We don't know, of course. But if the magnificent keyboard scouts can persuade RD that they can repeat their inspirational selections of European based players in Britain then why wouldn't he listen ?
So, the season is upon us and we have the usual mix of long term injuries to our better players (Diarra, Kashi, Bauer) and a manager who openly admits we're four players short.
How fucking depressing.
Offset by the fact we do have a proper manager who seems to be fighting his corner with the board, who really don't want to make these signings.
Which in turn, is offset by the fact we don't have a decent owner & CEO who will not allow him to be a 'proper manager'.
But what will RS do when he realises he has got an inadequate squad and cant achieve the goal he has been publicly set? Will he resign in fury over how he has been treated and show the owner and CEO up for what they really are? or will he carry on treading water, taking his salary....?
Only time will tell.
Well he is already winning the battle to sign players he wants, so point 1 is void. He has publically acknowledge the task is tougher than expected, so he is already trying to rectify that... Which makes the comment about just here picking up a salary harsh on him.
Point 1 isn't void. Who says he is signing the players he wants? He will say that about anyone that he is given. He's a 'yes' man. Only a 'yes' man would have taken the job on in the first place. Which is why others ran a mile when they were linked with the job.
We are just seeing a different spin on what's going on, which is fantastic PR work (my wife is a PR director in London - many of their clients are EPL clubs). The end result is what RD and KM want, but it's just dressed up to look as though Slade is in charge and calling the shots. He isn't. But good PR can make it appear that way.
Ah my bad, I thought we had stopped signing network shite and were slowly picking up proven UK based quality for this level. If that's spin then I'm happy to fall into the trap of thinking things are slowly changing here in terms of recruitment
Slowly being the key word, season starts on Saturday and we're FOUR players short. How many games has our keeper had with the CB's? None? Oh, that's promising.
If it's also true that players had no date to return from pre-season and injured players were essentially ignored, then our club is a bigger joke than anyone could have imagined.
Better late than never, I'm just bored of this place being like suicide watch and am trying to see the positives. Yes we are 3/4 short heading into the weekend of the first game, but I'd rather wait if need be to get the players we actually need, than have had a full squad of network tripe 3 weeks ago. If the window shuts and we are still 3 players down then il happily admit I'm wrong
So, the season is upon us and we have the usual mix of long term injuries to our better players (Diarra, Kashi, Bauer) and a manager who openly admits we're four players short.
How fucking depressing.
Offset by the fact we do have a proper manager who seems to be fighting his corner with the board, who really don't want to make these signings.
Which in turn, is offset by the fact we don't have a decent owner & CEO who will not allow him to be a 'proper manager'.
But what will RS do when he realises he has got an inadequate squad and cant achieve the goal he has been publicly set? Will he resign in fury over how he has been treated and show the owner and CEO up for what they really are? or will he carry on treading water, taking his salary....?
Only time will tell.
Well he is already winning the battle to sign players he wants, so point 1 is void. He has publically acknowledge the task is tougher than expected, so he is already trying to rectify that... Which makes the comment about just here picking up a salary harsh on him.
Point 1 isn't void. Who says he is signing the players he wants? He will say that about anyone that he is given. He's a 'yes' man. Only a 'yes' man would have taken the job on in the first place. Which is why others ran a mile when they were linked with the job.
We are just seeing a different spin on what's going on, which is fantastic PR work (my wife is a PR director in London - many of their clients are EPL clubs). The end result is what RD and KM want, but it's just dressed up to look as though Slade is in charge and calling the shots. He isn't. But good PR can make it appear that way.
Who is choosing the players then ? Who is this expert on English players ? The Belgian laptop guys or Meire ?
I thought KM said recently that RS has final say on the players that the (keyboard ?) scouts find. Who knows what the search criteria are though !
So you also think that Belgians are choosing Ajose, Holmes, Novak, Rudd & Pearce ?
We don't know, of course. But if the magnificent keyboard scouts can persuade RD that they can repeat their inspirational selections of European based players in Britain then why wouldn't he listen ?
Because we have now employed Steve Head as Chief Scout ?
He doesn't have many cliches and he sounds much more intelligent than the average football manager. He also seems completely oblivious to upsetting the management with some of his comments.
It is very refreshing.
Not sure I'd want to watch him take a shower, but I take your point.
So, the season is upon us and we have the usual mix of long term injuries to our better players (Diarra, Kashi, Bauer) and a manager who openly admits we're four players short.
How fucking depressing.
Offset by the fact we do have a proper manager who seems to be fighting his corner with the board, who really don't want to make these signings.
Which in turn, is offset by the fact we don't have a decent owner & CEO who will not allow him to be a 'proper manager'.
But what will RS do when he realises he has got an inadequate squad and cant achieve the goal he has been publicly set? Will he resign in fury over how he has been treated and show the owner and CEO up for what they really are? or will he carry on treading water, taking his salary....?
Only time will tell.
Well he is already winning the battle to sign players he wants, so point 1 is void. He has publically acknowledge the task is tougher than expected, so he is already trying to rectify that... Which makes the comment about just here picking up a salary harsh on him.
Point 1 isn't void. Who says he is signing the players he wants? He will say that about anyone that he is given. He's a 'yes' man. Only a 'yes' man would have taken the job on in the first place. Which is why others ran a mile when they were linked with the job.
We are just seeing a different spin on what's going on, which is fantastic PR work (my wife is a PR director in London - many of their clients are EPL clubs). The end result is what RD and KM want, but it's just dressed up to look as though Slade is in charge and calling the shots. He isn't. But good PR can make it appear that way.
Who is choosing the players then ? Who is this expert on English players ? The Belgian laptop guys or Meire ?
I thought KM said recently that RS has final say on the players that the (keyboard ?) scouts find. Who knows what the search criteria are though !
So you also think that Belgians are choosing Ajose, Holmes, Novak, Rudd & Pearce ?
We don't know, of course. But if the magnificent keyboard scouts can persuade RD that they can repeat their inspirational selections of European based players in Britain then why wouldn't he listen ?
Because we have now employed Steve Head as Head of Recruitment ?
.... who reports to KM, I believe ? Surely, if RS and Head worked together there would be no need for RS to select from a list presented to him, unless KM has other players to add to Head's list ?
An excellent interview and it's very encouraging that we've at long, long last got a proper manager.
Russell was far more upbeat and punchy than in his post-match interview last Saturday, which was positively hangdog in comparison. I think we can reasonably infer - particularly given his interview after the Orient game, where he clearly set out his stall - that he has successfully locked horns with KM and RD on player recruitment and that the signings of Rudd and Pearce (with another "two-thirds there") are tangible evidence of that. Let's hope so.
We still have a long way to go, especially in central midfield, and I desperately hope that we can retain Lookman and Harriott. There are, however, some encouraging signs and this has been a good few days.
I particularly enjoyed Russell's withering assessment of the shambolic absence of injury aftercare and post-season fitness programmes at the club. Given that Jose Riga resigned immediately after the Burnley match on 7 May and the club doctor had left in March, who might be responsible for these egregious omissions ?
Comments
Slade is quite scathing that Diarra & Lennon's injuries are historic & they were ignored over the close season.
The players weren't even given a date to return ffs.
Pretty much everything Slade has said and done so far, is top notch and I agree that we need to wait to get in the right players, rather than panic and get in some lesser players.
I'm optimistic that he will have us challenging this season and Slade and the players have my 100% backing.
How refreshing to have a proper manager again! He came across a lot more confident and assured than the last video I watched.
And I watched it on my iPhone @Greenie
We'll continue to do it off it.
(if it's true)
In truth he should have been signed 18 months ago when he moved to Wigan from Leeds.
He was precisely the type of leader we desperately needed then instead of drafting in Onyewu and Johnson as "sticking plasters" when having "released" Morrisson Bikey then completely lost the plot.
Whether this type of signing exhibits a true change of direction by the executive remains to be seen. This "flurry" of activity at this stage, so late in the day, suggests a measure of "internal negotiation" has been ongoing. Whether Mr Slade has had to threaten a nuclear option of walking away if he did not see some intent to support him would be pure conjecture.
In all honesty providing the support continues to be shown in the coming weeks then for the moment that is all that matters. As I have suggested elsewhere 6 weeks in the scheme of things is a very short time in the life of a football club.
As of now, for whatever reason, most probably because of internal politics we are still well behind where we need to be.
This has however been a crucial week in establishing a spine for the team with Rudd and Pearce. The earlier addition of Crofts in the long term absences of Diarra and Kashi (for now these two are an irrelevance) was also important and with the even earlier signing of Novak we have the basics in place.
It is not enough but it is a start.
I suggest Mr Slade is indeed very worthy of our support.
We saw it from Curbs, we saw it from Powell and, hopefully, we are now seeing it from Slade - get the right man managing in the right way and all the other things somewhat fall into place from there. As much as CEO's, Chairmen etc. have pivotal roles to play (not least appointing the manager), the first team manager is the real leader of a club and he is able to set the tone for the attitude of the whole organisation.
I'd like more players in by now, but I've been impressed with who we have signed and believe it is Slade driving those decisions. It also sounds like he is thinking about the big picture and fixing, or at least trying to fix, more than just the quality of the players in the team. Lets hope results back up the early good impressions; I hope fans are patient with him though because I am expecting a slow start but we look to have potential to build and improve as the team settles in and gels.
I should have had a bet if you think any of these were ever going to stay.
Any relegated club would have lost them players be it through the player wanting to leave, or the wages being too high etc etc.
I'm not defending RD/KM in the slightest, but you can't fly in the face of common sense.
Now, if they start getting rid of the players Slade has just signed then that's another matter.
As for queensland suggesting Slade didn't want JBG or Cousins to stay, it's rather irrelevant.
As if someone that's just played in the Euros & has offers from a Prem side is going to want to stay, leave off.
Likewise Cousins, twice POTY and Brighton come in and offer him a load more money and an escape and you think he wanted to stay ?
Like I say we need to be realistic here. It's the real world, not football manager.
He doesn't have many cliches and he sounds much more intelligent than the average football manager. He also seems completely oblivious to upsetting the management with some of his comments.
It is very refreshing.
Better late than never, I'm just bored of this place being like suicide watch and am trying to see the positives. Yes we are 3/4 short heading into the weekend of the first game, but I'd rather wait if need be to get the players we actually need, than have had a full squad of network tripe 3 weeks ago. If the window shuts and we are still 3 players down then il happily admit I'm wrong
http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/charlton-athletic-chief-scout-appointment-steve-head-3125202.aspx
Russell was far more upbeat and punchy than in his post-match interview last Saturday, which was positively hangdog in comparison. I think we can reasonably infer - particularly given his interview after the Orient game, where he clearly set out his stall - that he has successfully locked horns with KM and RD on player recruitment and that the signings of Rudd and Pearce (with another "two-thirds there") are tangible evidence of that. Let's hope so.
We still have a long way to go, especially in central midfield, and I desperately hope that we can retain Lookman and Harriott. There are, however, some encouraging signs and this has been a good few days.
I particularly enjoyed Russell's withering assessment of the shambolic absence of injury aftercare and post-season fitness programmes at the club. Given that Jose Riga resigned immediately after the Burnley match on 7 May and the club doctor had left in March, who might be responsible for these egregious omissions ?
Any ideas, Katrien ?