The issue is that O'Connell was vice captain, has looked good (played on weaker side remember) and could have been the Innis replacement in a phased approach come end of season.
What good is it for us fans to say 350k is good? You're not going to see it reploughed into the team...as illustrated by a last minute failed loan (for a player who has hardly played), with no replacement lined up.
The January window is to fill the weak spots in your team. We too often bring in players from a very weak position, who end up a waste of money, are unfit and therefore likely to get injured.
Cold light of day. Holden hinted at the triming of the squad at least once so this should not have been a surprise. Also previous talk of the attitude/application/atmosphere in the squad being a bit negative . Perhaps some of the characters who have moved on are part of this problem that Holden and Garner saw.
Won't know how good the incoming players are until at least a few games so holding judgement.
It does show how low we now are as a club though. I am now just hoping to stay in League one, what a day to be alive.
Negatives: 1. I’ve been calling for more athleticism in midfield, and our new key signing is only 5‘7“. Fraser, Dobson and Kilkenny are arguably vulnerable against some of L1’s more physical sides.
2. O’Connell was one of our best centre backs, - although if a player really wants to leave, there’s arguably not a lot you can do about it. An injury to Ness or Inniss (and it’s just a matter of time) will leave us exposed at the back. Hector may be a decent replacement, but he’s not fit apparently.
3. Jayesimi is a decent option at wingback, and hasn’t been replaced.
4. We are definitely light up top with only Leaburn, Bonne, and Aneke. An injury to Bonne or Leaburn leaves us exposed, as Kanu may not be ready for men’s football. This is less of a problem if we stick to 433.
Positives: 1. We’ve had a clear out. Although as fans we’d rather have a large squad than a small one it’s undeniable that ours was bloated and full of (sometimes expensive) dead wood. It isn’t now. 2. Kilkenny is supposed to be pretty decent, comfortable playing at a higher level. If he’s a step up from Morgan, that can only benefit the team.
Hmm, I thought the positives list would be longer.
Treble Chance: 1. Hector is a complete unknown to many of us. It’s just possible he’s got a couple of good years left in him? ‘He has played 177 Championship matches in a nomadic career which has taken him from the Hellenic League right the way up to England’s top tier… He had previously been a huge hit for the Owls, winning their Player of the Season award in 2018-19.’ So I’m not writing him off yet. 2. Kane and Penney are total unknowns to most of us. Will wait and see how they get on. 3. I personally quite like Bonne who’s a bit more street-wise than many of our players. Has plenty of energy. Not putting him in the positives column because he needs to prove himself at this stage.
4. There are probably going to be opportunities for younger players to show what they can do, although this can be beneficial to some players, confidence sapping for others. Henry, Kanu, Mitchell and perhaps others could get minutes, maybe others too, if we stay clear of the relegation zone. Hopefully that prove to be a good thing.
Overall it’s not really the window we were dreaming of. Too many unknowns, too little cover in key positions. It certainly wouldn’t be any good if we were in with a shout of the playoffs.
Much hinges on whether there is or isn’t a billionaire behind the takeover bid. It seems unlikely, although I’m not sure it’s impacted on the window, as Sandgaard is still paying the bills.
DJ as been replaced by Campbell .. how many times as DJ even been on the bench compared to Campbell
The players we have recruited have all played at a higher level and are out of contract at the end of the season. They will all need to impress to get a contract with their current Club, with us, or with another Club. That should be good for us. Several managers have made reference to underlying issues within the squad and a hint that some are not trying as hard as they could. Hopefully we have cleansed that. The balance of the squad looks a lot better and overall I am happy with the window. My only “but” is that we really did need another striker.
AMB - Very good, but injury prone. Could be a top keeper. Ness - Inexperienced but lots of potential. Egbo - Injured/injury prone, but looked decent when fit. Morgan - Very inconsistent/not very good. CBT - Very inconsistent/not very good. Only USP is speed. Rest of his game is poor. Leaburn - Inexperienced but lots of potential. Fraser - Key player Dobbo - Key player Kanu - Inexperienced
Good enough to try to compete with Bolton But we'd still lose... probably - Definitely
We need 10 players as good, but probably better than the above to get promoted next year.
Totally agree @supaclive - need a major rebuild again. AMB, Ness, Fraser, Dobson and Leaburn the only ones I would definitely want to keep for next year.
Tyreece Campbell is in my opinion a much better footballer than DJ, but he is still very young and young players can be inconsistent and a lot of variables can come into play. Actually I would suggest the Tyreece is on a par with JRS, might end up as better than him as well. I think about the progression of Lookman to get some hope about how Tyreece might progress. There are other decent youngsters too coming through, which is why I think the very last cut should be to the academy. Can you imaging letting Avory go but retaining Keohane? Unthinkable.
One of the biggest pluses for me is we still have Holden for the rest of this season.
I feel very onfident he has the ability to get the best out of the squad he has been left with. It will be interesting to see how he goes about this and if the owners (whoever they may be) decide to keep with him after his contract ends.
The club desparately needs stability and IMO he is a man with the right leadership qualities to have a great influence on this.
The Volte-face yesterday evening when it was O'Connell and not Lavelle going to Wrexham was quite something to witness. I felt like a padre trying to comfort the bereaved last night.
Dean Holden's honeymoon is over with many Charlton folk as he has owned the dealings yesterday. Brave of him but I think he a genuine guy and hope he can keep this new streamlined 23 man squad in mid table. I agree that's a low bar but this summer really is the now or never moment for Cafc.
Michael Hector is a massive Gamble and will definitely be a total disaster or a cult hero. I know the former is favourite but for once it would be good if a punt on a wild card was top trumps 🤞
Anyone who thinks TS has been our saviour needs their bumps felt. Said it before but RD was the better owner out of the 2. At least he brought in players.....and some were even quality like JBG,Bulot, Watt, Holmes......
Just hope we have enough points with that 3 game winning run for us not to get dragged back into a relegation fight. We have learnt nothing from the summer, still are so lightweight upfront. An injury to Leaburn doesn't bear thinking about. But that's all ok because we shipped out Kirk,DJ & Lavelle who will all be back in the summer.
The players we have recruited have all played at a higher level and are out of contract at the end of the season. They will all need to impress to get a contract with their current Club, with us, or with another Club. That should be good for us. Several managers have made reference to underlying issues within the squad and a hint that some are not trying as hard as they could. Hopefully we have cleansed that. The balance of the squad looks a lot better and overall I am happy with the window. My only “but” is that we really did need another striker.
I think happy is a stretch. We're short of a winger and a striker definitely. Striker numbers are ok, but when Aneke is one of the three it's an issue.
Interview with Scott when he arrived: “I’ve been promised there’s funds to bring players in”
I can't get my head around why some of our supporters still take what the people involved with this club say at face value, after everything we've been through - that Scott bloke being a case in point.
I don't know why people suddenly started seeing Holden as some bastion of honesty just because he's got a few points on the board - and now they can't believe his pitiful words re O'Connell's departure.
He took a job at a basket case club being run by Thomas Sandgaard - a clueless narcissistic failure.
I'm afraid being pessimmistic is being realistic - look at the vermin infesting the directors box recently.
Does that make EOC the second player that Gallen has turned a profit on in his 4-5 years at the club? The only other I can think of is Bonne. Only counting players he has bought in and then moved on (IE not youth or players here before him).
Tyreece Campbell is in my opinion a much better footballer than DJ, but he is still very young and young players can be inconsistent and a lot of variables can come into play. Actually I would suggest the Tyreece is on a par with JRS, might end up as better than him as well. I think about the progression of Lookman to get some hope about how Tyreece might progress. There are other decent youngsters too coming through, which is why I think the very last cut should be to the academy. Can you imaging letting Avory go but retaining Keohane? Unthinkable.
From what I've seen Campbell isn't even close to being as good as Rak-Sakyi. The difference in ball control and balance is vast imo.
Reeks a bit of a desperate short-termism. A fudge. We finally filled a couple of important gaps that we should have got right in the summer and we have cut out a few cankers, some of which will regrow in the summer. So far so good. Not sure the incomings were brought in with the future in mind, but should keep us bubbling over. Whoever is running the show in the summer, yet again a complete overhaul is required. If it is still Tommy, expect another clusterfuck and 4000 ST's sold.
Tyreece Campbell is in my opinion a much better footballer than DJ, but he is still very young and young players can be inconsistent and a lot of variables can come into play. Actually I would suggest the Tyreece is on a par with JRS, might end up as better than him as well. I think about the progression of Lookman to get some hope about how Tyreece might progress. There are other decent youngsters too coming through, which is why I think the very last cut should be to the academy. Can you imaging letting Avory go but retaining Keohane? Unthinkable.
I'm not sure if you've seen any games but putting Campbell on a par with JRS is ludicrous.
Anyone who thinks TS has been our saviour needs their bumps felt. Said it before but RD was the better owner out of the 2. At least he brought in players.....and some were even quality like JBG,Bulot, Watt, Holmes......
Just hope we have enough points with that 3 game winning run for us not to get dragged back into a relegation fight. We have learnt nothing from the summer, still are so lightweight upfront. An injury to Leaburn doesn't bear thinking about. But that's all ok because we shipped out Kirk,DJ & Lavelle who will all be back in the summer.
Gah !
RD separated the club from its assets, refuses to be reasonable around the sale of the assets, has put off a number of decent sounding purchasers by moving goal posts and sold us for a £ to Southall/Number who I would wager he knew were wrongun's given his snide comment of "enjoy it whilst it lasts".
He was the worst owner this club has ever had and remains the key and biggest threat to our long term existence. Whilst he was here he shrunk and destroyed our fan base with his brand of "it doesn't matter if you win" football. His best period in charge was when he had lost all interest and left it to Bowyer to run. That says it all.
TS is a wealthy fool with a delusional opinion of his talents who now wants to get out.
When you actually weigh up the standard of those players we’ve needed to move on, it makes you ask yourself questions about our scouting and recruitment. Slightly unfair re O’Connell and Stockley but the amount of players we sign that are not good enough even for league One is quite high.
True to a point, but Mac, Lavelle, McGrandles, Kirk and Stockley all went to League 1 sides, albeit to teams in the relegation scrap. O'Connell went to a side who pay like a top League 1 side. It's only JFC and DJ who dropped down a level.
I think people get too hung up about "the level". Once your not going to play championship or tournament international football (which none of our cast offs are going to do) lots of other things come into it. Mainly money and location.
Is there any more kudos playing for Morecambe in league 1 than Bradford in league 2?
I would wager that JFC, Gilbey and EOC will enjoy the second half of the season more than the Burton 3. For example.
CBT has constant niggles and injury issues. Which means Campbell and Rak-Sakyi having to play every minute of every game.
Unless Leaburn goes out on the wing. But then we only have Bonne up front. And Chuks, but can't count on him.
Once again stretched thin.
I'd imagine Payne will feature down the wing, possibly Penney or Sess too. I'm not condoning it, we're a winger short but we do have a few options there.
Anyone who thinks TS has been our saviour needs their bumps felt. Said it before but RD was the better owner out of the 2. At least he brought in players.....and some were even quality like JBG,Bulot, Watt, Holmes......
Just hope we have enough points with that 3 game winning run for us not to get dragged back into a relegation fight. We have learnt nothing from the summer, still are so lightweight upfront. An injury to Leaburn doesn't bear thinking about. But that's all ok because we shipped out Kirk,DJ & Lavelle who will all be back in the summer.
Gah !
I think u are missing the point here. Why keep paying Kirk, DJ & Lavelle when they clearly aren't good enough? I would rather have a youngster in if we have an injury.
Comments
The January window is to fill the weak spots in your team. We too often bring in players from a very weak position, who end up a waste of money, are unfit and therefore likely to get injured.
Several managers have made reference to underlying issues within the squad and a hint that some are not trying as hard as they could. Hopefully we have cleansed that.
The balance of the squad looks a lot better and overall I am happy with the window. My only “but” is that we really did need another striker.
I'm guessing MS has programmed in the following parameters - giving each category his own fine values.
Was once a good player - Can he recapture past glories?
Hasn't played much lately - We'll get him up to speed during the rest of the season
Not wanted by parent club - What are they thinking?
Injury prone - Yeah, but his luck has gotta change.
Not wanted by anyone else - Their loss
Disciplinary and attitude problems? - We can change that probably / possibly / maybe.
Youngster not deemed ready by parent club - We'll give him a go.
Actually I would suggest the Tyreece is on a par with JRS, might end up as better than him as well.
I think about the progression of Lookman to get some hope about how Tyreece might progress.
There are other decent youngsters too coming through, which is why I think the very last cut should be to the academy. Can you imaging letting Avory go but retaining Keohane? Unthinkable.
I feel very onfident he has the ability to get the best out of the squad he has been left with. It will be interesting to see how he goes about this and if the owners (whoever they may be) decide to keep with him after his contract ends.
The club desparately needs stability and IMO he is a man with the right leadership qualities to have a great influence on this.
I felt like a padre trying to comfort the bereaved last night.
Dean Holden's honeymoon is over with many Charlton folk as he has owned the dealings yesterday. Brave of him but I think he a genuine guy and hope he can keep this new streamlined 23 man squad in mid table. I agree that's a low bar but this summer really is the now or never moment for Cafc.
Michael Hector is a massive Gamble and will definitely be a total disaster or a cult hero. I know the former is favourite but for once it would be good if a punt on a wild card was top trumps 🤞
Just hope we have enough points with that 3 game winning run for us not to get dragged back into a relegation fight. We have learnt nothing from the summer, still are so lightweight upfront. An injury to Leaburn doesn't bear thinking about. But that's all ok because we shipped out Kirk,DJ & Lavelle who will all be back in the summer.
Gah !
I don't know why people suddenly started seeing Holden as some bastion of honesty just because he's got a few points on the board - and now they can't believe his pitiful words re O'Connell's departure.
He took a job at a basket case club being run by Thomas Sandgaard - a clueless narcissistic failure.
I'm afraid being pessimmistic is being realistic - look at the vermin infesting the directors box recently.
We finally filled a couple of important gaps that we should have got right in the summer and we have cut out a few cankers, some of which will regrow in the summer. So far so good.
Not sure the incomings were brought in with the future in mind, but should keep us bubbling over.
Whoever is running the show in the summer, yet again a complete overhaul is required.
If it is still Tommy, expect another clusterfuck and 4000 ST's sold.
RD separated the club from its assets, refuses to be reasonable around the sale of the assets, has put off a number of decent sounding purchasers by moving goal posts and sold us for a £ to Southall/Number who I would wager he knew were wrongun's given his snide comment of "enjoy it whilst it lasts".
He was the worst owner this club has ever had and remains the key and biggest threat to our long term existence. Whilst he was here he shrunk and destroyed our fan base with his brand of "it doesn't matter if you win" football. His best period in charge was when he had lost all interest and left it to Bowyer to run. That says it all.
TS is a wealthy fool with a delusional opinion of his talents who now wants to get out.
RD was and remains the worst owner. End of.
Is there any more kudos playing for Morecambe in league 1 than Bradford in league 2?
I would wager that JFC, Gilbey and EOC will enjoy the second half of the season more than the Burton 3. For example.
CBT has constant niggles and injury issues. Which means Campbell and Rak-Sakyi having to play every minute of every game if he goes out.
Or Leaburn could go out on the wing. But then we only have Bonne up front.
Or we switch to a 3-5-2. But once again, we've only got 2 and a 1/2 strikers.
Once again stretched thin.
Lockyer left ona free. Pretty sure same for Bogle. Williams we may have got a tiny fee for.
So Williams tiny profit
EOG £350k