Got my full support, and an incredible story really. I hope he does a job.
Bows and Gallen don't have any previous of bringing in bodies for bodies sake, so they must think he's got something about him. Strikes me as the type of personality that will fight for us when we need it, and that's exactly what we need in the run in.
Parker to score a header in front of the away end to send us up at the pikey's on the penultimate day of the season? Here's hoping.
Looks decent on the goal reel. Quick, powerful, good in the air and a strong shot on him. Ive got a good feeling about this fella, despite never having heard of him before! . COYA
He could be this season's Joe Anyinsah or Danny N'Guessan (who were both ok).
Got my full support, and an incredible story really. I hope he does a job.
Bows and Gallen don't have any previous of bringing in bodies for bodies sake, so they must think he's got something about him. Strikes me as the type of personality that will fight for us when we need it, and that's exactly what we need in the run in.
Parker to score a header in front of the away end to send us up at the pikey's on the penultimate day of the season? Here's hoping.
I’m pretty sure he’ll be desperate to succeed with us for all sorts of reasons, and will want to reward Gallen for the faith he’s showed in him.
I dont know much about Luton but I doubt very much if they have the training facilities and academy set up that we have,their stadium is half the size of ours and therefore I am sure our running costs are much more than theirs.With regards blaming boycotters for lack of signings,of course crowd levels affect losses at the club,but my point is if you were in Rolands place would you sanction outlay on players if you were hated and ridiculed even on your own doorstep,he openly wants rid of the club,and if anyone thinks he is going to spend more than necessarry to keep it going they are in cuckoo land.
The essence of this post is that Roland is ruining the club because he is isn’t worshipped at Charlton. You appear to be saying that the protesters and boycotters should love and praise Roland despite the fact that within days of his arrival he sacked an extremely popular manager, sold probably the best and most popular player we then had, and foisted a useless, lying and lazy CEO on the club. At his leisure in the years since he that arrival he has overseen a relegation with the club and achieving it’s 2nd lowest league position in eighty-five years.
I expect that you think that this country should have embraced Nazism and spared itself that pesky war.
From memory Josh cooked 14 chips, chickpeas, and a lovely home made Antiguan sauce with Almonds served with a sweet and sour vegetarian pudding which was Slovenia sweet and Serbian bitter with Belgium waffles or Deep fried mars bar for afters.
Looks decent on the goal reel. Quick, powerful, good in the air and a strong shot on him. Ive got a good feeling about this fella, despite never having heard of him before! . COYA
He could be this season's Joe Anyinsah or Danny N'Guessan (who were both ok).
@Simonsen Indeed! Both Anyinsah and N'guessan were decent. Not the most glamorous signings but they were definately effective. I look forward to seeing this lad in action....before i slag him off!
Never heard of him so won't judge till Ive seen him play, but hard to get exited when everybody looking for promotion has improved their squad, we clearly haven't.
What a prick Rolly is, a rich prick, but a prick nonetheless.
JOSH PARKER’S story is so nuts, the fact he went from playing for Red Star Belgrade to working in a coffee shop two years later is not the most bonkers part of it.
The winger, now at Gillingham, blazed a trail by becoming the only English-born footballer to play in Slovenia and then Serbia.
But the latter move turned into a nightmare which involved a legal fight over breach of contract.
During that time Parker claims he:
Secretly recorded his manager contradicting club chiefs to build a case against Red Star. Missed out on a megabucks move to China because the mother of his son refused to travel there prior to a long-standing custody battle. Was forced to train on his own in the DARK for three months without even being allowed to kick a football. Snubbed doctor’s advice to take antidepressants after climbing the walls with boredom in a ramshackle Belgrade hotel which was “worse than prison”.
Parker, who has also appeared on TV show Come Dine With Me, said: “Many people have told me that my story would make a good book.”
The 28-year-old began his career at QPR where he was given his debut by Neil Warnock, who he comes face-to-face with today when Gills host Cardiff in the FA Cup third round.
But due to what Parker labels “the politics of football”, his career in England stalled as he was released by Oxford in 2013.
It left him unemployed, relying on loans from his mum and looking after his baby son.
He found a way back into the game by joining Domzale in Slovenia, despite having never heard of the country before his 2013 move.
There he fell out with “crazy” boss Stevan Mojsilovic, whose madcap training ideas included tying players’ hands together with rope for shuttle runs and doing hurdles and 40-minute sprints at 9am on the day of night games. Mojsilovic was axed and Parker shone under his replacement, earning interest from Red Star, Swiss side Grasshoppers and Sturm Graz of Austria.
He says he also had an offer from Beijing worth £360,000 a year after tax, but was forced to turn it down when son Cairo’s mum refused to travel there due to a court fight over visiting rights.
Instead, Parker opted for Serbian giants Red Star in 2015. But he was caught cold by the intense scrutiny, starting with 30 paparazzi snapping him at the airport, and by fans who hammered him when he failed to score.
His form dipped and tensions rose when the club refused to allow Parker to travel home after his nan died.
Following a short loan spell at Aberdeen, he returned to Belgrade but refused to cut short the 2½ years left on his deal without a pay-off, so Red Star left him to rot.
Parker claimed: “They said, ‘We can make things really hard for you, we’ll make you suffer’. From that point on, for three months, I didn’t touch a football.
“They made me come in every day but I wasn’t allowed to socialise or train with the team.
“We’d train at night but I was on a separate pitch on my own, where the floodlights were off, with no balls, no equipment and no coach. I’d run around in circles in the dark.”
The Slough-born wideman roomed alone in the antiquated hotel the club used, with no internet and no TV.
For entertainment he would walk to a nearby shopping centre but not buy anything as his wages were often several months late.
He explained: “It was the hardest time of my life. I lost loads of weight, I started going through anxiety and depression. I’d nothing to stimulate me.
“It was worse than prison. I was without my family and the friends I did have I wasn’t allowed to talk to.”
He started keeping a video diary of his isolated existence before secretly recording his coach — using a phone hidden in a football boot — claiming he could not pick him due to the club’s hierarchy.
Parker used the recordings, plus hundreds of documents he kept, for a case he took to Fifa claiming breach of contract after terminating his deal.
Red Star counter-sued for a whopping £1.8million.
The 1991 Champions League winners would not release his international transfer papers, meaning he was forced out of the game between June 2016 and February 2017.
Parker, who received online death threats at the time, added: “I was in a bad way. I went to the doctors and they were trying to prescribe me medication for depression and anxiety and even asking me if I’d thought about suicide.
“I didn’t take the medicine as I’m a vegan and don’t believe in it. I was thinking, ‘How am I going to pay back two million euros? You might as well dig my grave now and put me in it’.”
During his eight-month hiatus he worked at a hip hop-styled cafe his old youth coach Tony Thompson set up in Willesden Green, west London.
He would open up at 6am and serve the same coffee, no matter whether the order was for a latte or a flat white, just in different sized cups.
Eventually he began training for non-league Wealdstone, when his transfer papers came through, and soon after he joined Gills.
On December 1, 2017, he got news he had won his case against Red Star and was due six-figure compensation.
The Antigua and Barbuda captain wanted to weep with joy.
Yet he claims he is still to see a penny, suggesting this crazy story is not quite over.
Right, I can’t wait to see him play now after reading that. Very much want to see him do well.
He grows on me too, along side all the other stuff I managed to pick in middle age.
That is an incredible story. You could imagine the uproar if an employee was treated like that in the UK. I’ve a feeling he’ll be brilliant for us, he’ll be played in his favoured position, alongside a player that will supply him good chances. He also now has the chance to win silverware. Given his story, and the chance he’s been given, I’d think he’ll work his fecking socks off for us and become a fans favourite.
Once, we were 4th in the league and a player called Parker left us in the January transfer window. We ended the season a few places lower. Today, we are 4th in the league and a player called Parker has joined us in the January transfer window, so naturally it follows we will end the season a few places higher.
I dont know much about Luton but I doubt very much if they have the training facilities and academy set up that we have,their stadium is half the size of ours and therefore I am sure our running costs are much more than theirs.With regards blaming boycotters for lack of signings,of course crowd levels affect losses at the club,but my point is if you were in Rolands place would you sanction outlay on players if you were hated and ridiculed even on your own doorstep,he openly wants rid of the club,and if anyone thinks he is going to spend more than necessarry to keep it going they are in cuckoo land.
I think they are having a new 23,poo stadium being built
I dont know much about Luton but I doubt very much if they have the training facilities and academy set up that we have,their stadium is half the size of ours and therefore I am sure our running costs are much more than theirs.With regards blaming boycotters for lack of signings,of course crowd levels affect losses at the club,but my point is if you were in Rolands place would you sanction outlay on players if you were hated and ridiculed even on your own doorstep,he openly wants rid of the club,and if anyone thinks he is going to spend more than necessarry to keep it going they are in cuckoo land.
I think they are having a new 23,poo stadium being built
When asked, at this morning's press conference, if Parker would make his debut tomorrow, Bowyer said: “It’s a possibility. We’ve got training this morning and we’ll look at where he is.”
From the story and the interview I have to say I quite like this bloke. Absolutely no idea whether he’s any good of course but at least he seems like a character with something about him.
Okay, so the the general vibe I'm getting from comments from Gills fans is he's probably better than Ajose, not as good as Grant. If that;s the case it could have gone worse, but definitely could have gone better.
A lot may hinge on just how much fitness/form we are able to squeeze out of Igor. My gut feeling is he Igor is not going to significantly impact our season and losing Grant will mean we ultimately fall short of the automatics, but maybe 5 goals from Parker, a couple from Igor and five or six spread around the likes of Williams, Reeves, Cullen and Fosu (extra to what they should be scoring anyway) will be enough to at least replace the goals Grant has potentially taken with him to Huddersfield. The bigger issue might be losing Grant's pace and the way that pushed defences deeper and gave Taylor and our midfield space to operate in, but Gallen seems to suggest Parker can offer some of that so it's watch this pace I guess.
Comments
Bows and Gallen don't have any previous of bringing in bodies for bodies sake, so they must think he's got something about him. Strikes me as the type of personality that will fight for us when we need it, and that's exactly what we need in the run in.
Parker to score a header in front of the away end to send us up at the pikey's on the penultimate day of the season? Here's hoping.
I expect that you think that this country should have embraced Nazism and spared itself that pesky war.
What a prick Rolly is, a rich prick, but a prick nonetheless.
I’ve a feeling he’ll be brilliant for us, he’ll be played in his favoured position, alongside a player that will supply him good chances. He also now has the chance to win silverware. Given his story, and the chance he’s been given, I’d think he’ll work his fecking socks off for us and become a fans favourite.
https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5c5429a437cc5/bowyer-on-vetokeles-return-to-fitness-parkers-debut-and-hackett-fairchilds-opportunity
A lot may hinge on just how much fitness/form we are able to squeeze out of Igor. My gut feeling is he Igor is not going to significantly impact our season and losing Grant will mean we ultimately fall short of the automatics, but maybe 5 goals from Parker, a couple from Igor and five or six spread around the likes of Williams, Reeves, Cullen and Fosu (extra to what they should be scoring anyway) will be enough to at least replace the goals Grant has potentially taken with him to Huddersfield. The bigger issue might be losing Grant's pace and the way that pushed defences deeper and gave Taylor and our midfield space to operate in, but Gallen seems to suggest Parker can offer some of that so it's watch this pace I guess.
Rarely a dull day in SE7 at the moment.
COYR!!!
Good luck Josh, have some fun playing football for us.