If we aren't interested in Bauer because of 'age' and then go ahead and sign Caulker. That will tell you everything you need to know about this mob.
I disagree.
ness is struggling and Thomas isn't good enough as third choice.
sometimes you need a 6 month fix to see you through the season and then get a young target that fits the mould in the summer. Caulker is more than capable of being that third choice cover short term and is better and has played a lot higher than ness/thomas has and will. I think Mitchell will be used more next year, therefore, a short term replacement will work.
if caulker was given a 2.5 year deal then I would agree with you.
Have you actually been watching the past few games mate? ……
If the club have been bigging up this window and talking about how "January should be an exciting time for Charlton fans", how they want players who will make an "immediate impact", plus not relying on loans, only to bring in a bunch of squad players, you'd have to question why they would bother making those statements in the first place. They could easily play down what was possible in Jan and lower fan expectations.
If the club have been bigging up this window and talking about how "January should be an exciting time for Charlton fans", how they want players who will make an "immediate impact", plus not relying on loans, only to bring in a bunch of squad players, you'd have to question why they would bother making those statements in the first place. They could easily play down what was possible in Jan and lower fan expectations.
To be fair have the club done that or has it just been Appleton, as I speculated that it was Appleton venting some frustration because he is not expecting much to be done to improve our squad by the decision makers, maybe trying to put pressure on them.
If the club have been bigging up this window and talking about how "January should be an exciting time for Charlton fans", how they want players who will make an "immediate impact", plus not relying on loans, only to bring in a bunch of squad players, you'd have to question why they would bother making those statements in the first place. They could easily play down what was possible in Jan and lower fan expectations.
To be fair have the club done that or has it just been Appleton, as I speculated that it was Appleton venting some frustration because he is not expecting much to be done to improve our squad by the decision makers, maybe trying to put pressure on them.
The first quote is from Appleton, the rest is from the club via Cawley.
I'm sure every Charlton supporter posting to this forum would want us to get promoted asap. Other distinctions seem meaningless to me unless you believe fan attitudes are to blame for where we find ourselves as a club.
I still don't quite understand why so many of us fall for the 'if he can stay/get fit...' argument. This has been wheeled out for the last few windows with the inevitable outcome.
I'm sure every Charlton supporter posting to this forum would want us to get promoted asap. Other distinctions seem meaningless to me unless you believe fan attitudes are to blame for where we find ourselves as a club.
Obviously the vast majority of the blame belongs to the players and those who have signed them in the last few years but I do feel a growing number of fans who are happy to accept us being a mediocre league one club do not help.
Losing mentality behind the scenes, on the pitch and increasingly among the fanbase.
See people being upset we did not keep Clare, Morgan & Innis in the summer, being happy we kept Thomas & Hector.
Rose tinting us signing players with recent injury woes or bringing in yet more young players on loan despite our squad already having too many of our own academy players in it.
The warnings were all there, we have not been unlucky.
Maybe Caulker will be a brilliant signing, I hope he is, as I want to be wrong but to me he has Thomas/Hector written all over him, bang average, able to do a job but without the ability or desire to get our club back on a strong long term footing again.
It's all over for Caulker, he's officially a poor player, our official vlogger & hence voice of authority has declared it so.
Some players at 31 have 7 years left. Some at 31 are Arter. You absolutely don't know until you see them given a run (okay, Joe Ledley needed 45 minutes). Centre-backs can usually go on a bit longer than forwards. Hector, apparently finished after a few early-season errors, is now playing well and looking dominant. Who's to say someone who had a longer top-level career than him, who left his last club because they weren't paying him, can't do likewise?
One thing I can guarantee, like absolutely fucking rock-solid guarantee, is that if Caulker gets fit enough to sign, he'll be a better player than that Piergianni lump you're obsessed with
Bit of a weird first paragraph if I'm honest. I've been vlogging for 4 months and calling Charlton or potential Chartlon signings shit for 20 odd years so not sure what the correlation is there?
Looking dominant? Hector? This is why these owners get such a free ride. Must be the easiest fan base in the EFL to please. A bloke who's been beyond mediocre for 15+ games, puts in a peformance against very dubious opposition and he's been looking dominant? You do realise we haven't kept a clean sheet for 6 games on the spin right?
You can't guarantee that at all though. They're just words. The reality is, that player is one of the best defenders in this league and is a captain of a side that are better than us, yet you're creaming your pants every other day over Michael Hector, who can't even keep a clean sheet. You both have one thing in common there I suppose, maybe that's where the affinity comes from 😂
If we aren't interested in Bauer because of 'age' and then go ahead and sign Caulker. That will tell you everything you need to know about this mob.
I disagree.
ness is struggling and Thomas isn't good enough as third choice.
sometimes you need a 6 month fix to see you through the season and then get a young target that fits the mould in the summer. Caulker is more than capable of being that third choice cover short term and is better and has played a lot higher than ness/thomas has and will. I think Mitchell will be used more next year, therefore, a short term replacement will work.
if caulker was given a 2.5 year deal then I would agree with you.
Have you actually been watching the past few games mate? Thomas has come in to the team and replaced Jones adequately. We don't need someone like Caulker when we have Thomas. We already need to replace Hector, so we currently have 0 Charlton centre backs made for the future, but we want a bloke who we can't say for sure can replace our current centre back choices? We need THE man for THE job, not a bloke to cover a crack.
How are we still this content with mediocrity? It actually drives me nuts.
Why does no one seem to be angry or bothered that every year we sign the same type of players? There's literally 0 thought into how we recruit players.
Out of all our best 3 current players, one was recommended by our ex owners clueless son? One basically done the groundwork himself to get signed and I'm not going to give them credit for finding the best striker in the league.
I would genuinely love to see how our recruitment team operates, who they're watching, what their meetings are like. It must be abysmal
Yes, I have seen Thomas in the last two games and I've also seen him about 20 other times which has given me enough data to come to the conclusion that Thomas is a car crash waiting to happen which is why most of his games played in his career have been for Woking and Wimbledon.
im not content with mediocrity. I am a realist though.
who are we going to get in January that will be a long term fixture in the team?
we need to repair the leaking roof now and then replace the roof in the summer.
caulker would be a better repair than ness and thomas.
He has been deployed as a make shift left back. When he has played centre back the last couple of games, he has looked no different to Hector. Both OK defenders at this level but we need better.
We don't need to repair the leaking roof, as we are in literally no danger of going down, what's the point in spending wages on a potentially, slightly better, older defender to secure mid table? We are probably going to do that regardless.
We need players to come in and be better, you can't say you're not content with mediocrity and then say you wouldn't mind a washed up journey man in the same post to 'fix a leak'?
If we aren't interested in Bauer because of 'age' and then go ahead and sign Caulker. That will tell you everything you need to know about this mob.
I disagree.
ness is struggling and Thomas isn't good enough as third choice.
sometimes you need a 6 month fix to see you through the season and then get a young target that fits the mould in the summer. Caulker is more than capable of being that third choice cover short term and is better and has played a lot higher than ness/thomas has and will. I think Mitchell will be used more next year, therefore, a short term replacement will work.
if caulker was given a 2.5 year deal then I would agree with you.
Have you actually been watching the past few games mate? Thomas has come in to the team and replaced Jones adequately. We don't need someone like Caulker when we have Thomas. We already need to replace Hector, so we currently have 0 Charlton centre backs made for the future, but we want a bloke who we can't say for sure can replace our current centre back choices? We need THE man for THE job, not a bloke to cover a crack.
How are we still this content with mediocrity? It actually drives me nuts.
Why does no one seem to be angry or bothered that every year we sign the same type of players? There's literally 0 thought into how we recruit players.
Out of all our best 3 current players, one was recommended by our ex owners clueless son? One basically done the groundwork himself to get signed and I'm not going to give them credit for finding the best striker in the league.
I would genuinely love to see how our recruitment team operates, who they're watching, what their meetings are like. It must be abysmal
Yes, I have seen Thomas in the last two games and I've also seen him about 20 other times which has given me enough data to come to the conclusion that Thomas is a car crash waiting to happen which is why most of his games played in his career have been for Woking and Wimbledon.
im not content with mediocrity. I am a realist though.
who are we going to get in January that will be a long term fixture in the team?
we need to repair the leaking roof now and then replace the roof in the summer.
caulker would be a better repair than ness and thomas.
He has been deployed as a make shift left back. When he has played centre back the last couple of games, he has looked no different to Hector. Both OK defenders at this level but we need better.
We don't need to repair the leaking roof, as we are in literally no danger of going down, what's the point in spending wages on a potentially, slightly better, older defender to secure mid table? We are probably going to do that regardless.
We need players to come in and be better, you can't say you're not content with mediocrity and then say you wouldn't mind a washed up journey man in the same post to 'fix a leak'?
Hector has been on a different level to Thomas the last few games. Thomas has done ok, he should have dealt with the Cambridge corner goal but other than that has done a job. But Hector has been very good. There is a clear difference in ability between the 2 of them, do you ignore all work a centre back does with the ball at his feet? Hector is a better defender than Thomas but on the ball he’s another level
We need a centre back that is at least as good as Jones and Hector, so that we don’t have to drop to the level of Thomas/Ness when there is an injury.
Caleb Taylor has been mentioned, a good signing imo but probably won’t be able to bring him in until late in the window as WBA will lose Ajayi to AFCON so won’t want to lose another CB. If Jones is back this week then we can probably afford to wait if he is our first choice target
I'm sure every Charlton supporter posting to this forum would want us to get promoted asap. Other distinctions seem meaningless to me unless you believe fan attitudes are to blame for where we find ourselves as a club.
Obviously the vast majority of the blame belongs to the players and those who have signed them in the last few years but I do feel a growing number of fans who are happy to accept us being a mediocre league one club do not help.
Losing mentality behind the scenes, on the pitch and increasingly among the fanbase.
See people being upset we did not keep Clare, Morgan & Innis in the summer, being happy we kept Thomas & Hector.
Rose tinting us signing players with recent injury woes or bringing in yet more young players on loan despite our squad already having too many of our own academy players in it.
The warnings were all there, we have not been unlucky.
Maybe Caulker will be a brilliant signing, I hope he is, as I want to be wrong but to me he has Thomas/Hector written all over him, bang average, able to do a job but without the ability or desire to get our club back on a strong long term footing again.
I don't believe we have any fans who are 'happy' to accept mediocre league 1 status, but do 'accept' it's the reality at the moment. I still don't see how that is holding us back and what those fans can do to change it.
Whether I think a player would be a good signing or not is irrelevant, so if he signs and flops, it's not on me as a fan is it?
I will say I view January as a quick fix window to repair problems experienced during the season, the summer one a more forward looking rebuild.
January is notoriously tough to get the tip top players. You end up paying over the odds for players who arent worth that! You can sneak a bargain in if there leaving in the summer.
Certain free players shouldn't be sniffed at though, if they have the talent but need fitness then why not? It would be amazing to sign players for the long term and that they come in fit as a butchers dog but you don't always get what you want. That is more a summer window kind of thing!
We will just have to wait and see what happens but to those calling people deluded because the idea of Caulker an okay signing need to have a word with themselves if they think all the leagues best players from rival teams are coming our way, which seems to be the impression i'm getting.
No point quick fixing anything in January, as we are not going to get relegated and if they do not significantly improve the quality of our squad no chance of getting promoted either, so might as well stick with what we currently have, save the money for the summer if the decision makers are throwing in the towel for the 23/24 campaign.
If we aren't interested in Bauer because of 'age' and then go ahead and sign Caulker. That will tell you everything you need to know about this mob.
Does it? Doesn't it more tell you absolutely nothing? There's a rumour Caulker is training with us, nothing to say we're signing him yet, but if we are then there's a world of difference between getting in a player on trial, seeing what level he's up to and then offering him a contract based on him being a free player and getting in a player on loan who has no upside. There's very little usefulness to be got out of having Bauer on loan for 6 months and then sending him away again having built up his fitness a bit for Preston. Caulker hasn't played since May 2023 and he's still played more games than Bauer in the last two seasons. We saw with Hector last season that if you can get in a free agent who's been out of the game for a bit you can sometimes find yourself able to afford a player you otherwise wouldn't have had access to and then keep him on for the next season. I've no idea what Caulker's level is, he's had some fairly substantial mental health issues that have taken him down from a Premier League player and one time England international to a player out of the game but if he can get to anywhere like where he was then he's definitely a decent possibility for L1 football this season and next. Age as a significant factor varies based on the context. I've no issue with us picking up Caulker on low money and then keeping him on next season if he looks any good but us getting in Bauer temporarily while covering a large proportion of his reported £9,000 a week salary would be a chump move that limits our ability to get in more significant players within whatever the budget may be. We need to sign at least two centre backs this window. We've got Hector and Jones, with Jones currently injured. Thomas is an ok stand-in but Ness needs to go out on loan. I have absolutely no confidence in him having a run in the team and we've had to bring Deji back from a positive loan to cover because we apparently think that little of Abankwah. I'm hopeful we'll sign a proper first team CB but we'll also need another to cover for Jones being out and hopefully Ness and Deji getting loans. At his age Bauer is a bad loan, but Caulker isn't necessarily a bad free signing if he's up to it. I don't think it tells you anything much about the owners other than they don't fancy over-spending on Bauer and apparently (hopefully) are able to identify targets outside of the 'played for Charlton within my recent memory' shortlist that makes up the entirety of our fans' thinking.
See as I've said to RonnieMoore.
If you believe he would be a good signing and not the exact type of problem we have had for a number of years, then I don't know what to say. Be careful when you receive private phone calls when someone is claiming you've been in an accident I suppose?
There is no such thing as a 'free' signing. He would still be a paid player, there would be other fees involved and then when it inevitably doesn't work, like all the other guff we have signed, it's another poor player in the CAFC history books.
There are plenty of young and upcoming centre backs in this league and the league below, there are also centre backs of his age who have been playing non-stop for numerous seasons and probably better bets.
If Caulker is the level of player we are looking at, I'm genuinely just going to start losing hope. This club is just groundhog day, doesn't matter who owns it. Guff signing after guff signing and there's always the same lines.
'Could do a job' 'could fill a gap' 'good cover' 'he was good 10 years ago before x amount of injuries'
The thing is nothing in this weirdly condescending response is relevant to what I said. I'm aware that you have to pay players money, I have noticed that, but there's a difference between loaning a player who is on a salary that is substantially higher than what we pay and needing to subsidise it and offering a contract to a player who has been out of contract since May 2023. There will be vastly different amounts being floated there and this is why Bauer and Caulker aren't comparable signings, which is what we were talking about. I never even said I think Caulker would be a good signing, I was just responding to you inferring a great deal about our owners based on an unattached player apparently training with us. If Caulker is the top end of what we're looking at then I'll also be annoyed, but there's been nothing to indicate that has there? It's very early in the day to start tantrumming that we're only going to sign Caulker when we don't even know if he's training for fitness or if we're genuinely interested. As I said above, hopefully we'll pick up a proper first team centre back to compete with Hector and Jones and ideally be so good he replaces one of them. After that we might have Thomas and Caulker, which would give us 5 options for 3 spaces. If Caulker is finished then no harm done, if he's actually rebuilding and is a good player again then great, we benefit for a small portion of our budget. More importantly Ness and Deji can get some game time out on loan and hopefully improve. I don't really know how you've spooled a player training with us into some great lamenting about the death of Charlton but have fun with it or whatever.
If we aren't interested in Bauer because of 'age' and then go ahead and sign Caulker. That will tell you everything you need to know about this mob.
I disagree.
ness is struggling and Thomas isn't good enough as third choice.
sometimes you need a 6 month fix to see you through the season and then get a young target that fits the mould in the summer. Caulker is more than capable of being that third choice cover short term and is better and has played a lot higher than ness/thomas has and will. I think Mitchell will be used more next year, therefore, a short term replacement will work.
if caulker was given a 2.5 year deal then I would agree with you.
Have you actually been watching the past few games mate? Thomas has come in to the team and replaced Jones adequately. We don't need someone like Caulker when we have Thomas. We already need to replace Hector, so we currently have 0 Charlton centre backs made for the future, but we want a bloke who we can't say for sure can replace our current centre back choices? We need THE man for THE job, not a bloke to cover a crack.
How are we still this content with mediocrity? It actually drives me nuts.
Why does no one seem to be angry or bothered that every year we sign the same type of players? There's literally 0 thought into how we recruit players.
Out of all our best 3 current players, one was recommended by our ex owners clueless son? One basically done the groundwork himself to get signed and I'm not going to give them credit for finding the best striker in the league.
I would genuinely love to see how our recruitment team operates, who they're watching, what their meetings are like. It must be abysmal
Yes, I have seen Thomas in the last two games and I've also seen him about 20 other times which has given me enough data to come to the conclusion that Thomas is a car crash waiting to happen which is why most of his games played in his career have been for Woking and Wimbledon.
im not content with mediocrity. I am a realist though.
who are we going to get in January that will be a long term fixture in the team?
we need to repair the leaking roof now and then replace the roof in the summer.
caulker would be a better repair than ness and thomas.
He has been deployed as a make shift left back. When he has played centre back the last couple of games, he has looked no different to Hector. Both OK defenders at this level but we need better.
We don't need to repair the leaking roof, as we are in literally no danger of going down, what's the point in spending wages on a potentially, slightly better, older defender to secure mid table? We are probably going to do that regardless.
We need players to come in and be better, you can't say you're not content with mediocrity and then say you wouldn't mind a washed up journey man in the same post to 'fix a leak'?
Hector has been on a different level to Thomas the last few games. Thomas has done ok, he should have dealt with the Cambridge corner goal but other than that has done a job. But Hector has been very good. There is a clear difference in ability between the 2 of them, do you ignore all work a centre back does with the ball at his feet? Hector is a better defender than Thomas but on the ball he’s another level
We need a centre back that is at least as good as Jones and Hector, so that we don’t have to drop to the level of Thomas/Ness when there is an injury.
Caleb Taylor has been mentioned, a good signing imo but probably won’t be able to bring him in until late in the window as WBA will lose Ajayi to AFCON so won’t want to lose another CB. If Jones is back this week then we can probably afford to wait if he is our first choice target
It's all over for Caulker, he's officially a poor player, our official vlogger & hence voice of authority has declared it so.
Some players at 31 have 7 years left. Some at 31 are Arter. You absolutely don't know until you see them given a run (okay, Joe Ledley needed 45 minutes). Centre-backs can usually go on a bit longer than forwards. Hector, apparently finished after a few early-season errors, is now playing well and looking dominant. Who's to say someone who had a longer top-level career than him, who left his last club because they weren't paying him, can't do likewise?
One thing I can guarantee, like absolutely fucking rock-solid guarantee, is that if Caulker gets fit enough to sign, he'll be a better player than that Piergianni lump you're obsessed with
Bit of a weird first paragraph if I'm honest. I've been vlogging for 4 months and calling Charlton or potential Chartlon signings shit for 20 odd years so not sure what the correlation is there?
Looking dominant? Hector? This is why these owners get such a free ride. Must be the easiest fan base in the EFL to please. A bloke who's been beyond mediocre for 15+ games, puts in a peformance against very dubious opposition and he's been looking dominant? You do realise we haven't kept a clean sheet for 6 games on the spin right?
You can't guarantee that at all though. They're just words. The reality is, that player is one of the best defenders in this league and is a captain of a side that are better than us, yet you're creaming your pants every other day over Michael Hector, who can't even keep a clean sheet. You both have one thing in common there I suppose, maybe that's where the affinity comes from 😂
Sorry for being boring and repetitive, but I think he’s played pretty well for the last six or seven games, and is learning to keep it simple and hoof the ball when required, rather than fiddle about with it. Not many players get MotM three times in a row on the Players Marks thread, no matter which sides we were playing against. I just believe in giving credit where credit is due when a player improves. And we are a pretty average L1 side with a pretty timid midfield who, with the exception of Dobson, do little defensively. That’s a major part of why we can’t keep clean sheets. It’s a bit simplistic to pin all of the blame on the back four, when defending is, and should be, a team effort. Dobson, aided by the ref, cost us two points on Saturday. Had that been Hector or Thomas there would probably have been a meltdown. Just my opinion of course, and I’m not saying we can’t get a better back four.
No point quick fixing anything in January, as we are not going to get relegated and if they do not significantly improve the quality of our squad no chance of getting promoted either, so might as well stick with what we currently have, save the money for the summer if the decision makers are throwing in the towel for the 23/24 campaign.
Still don't see how fans stopping excusing mediocrity (if any actually do) is going make a difference, but I'll leave it there. Let's hope we get some more points on the board soon.
If we aren't interested in Bauer because of 'age' and then go ahead and sign Caulker. That will tell you everything you need to know about this mob.
I disagree.
ness is struggling and Thomas isn't good enough as third choice.
sometimes you need a 6 month fix to see you through the season and then get a young target that fits the mould in the summer. Caulker is more than capable of being that third choice cover short term and is better and has played a lot higher than ness/thomas has and will. I think Mitchell will be used more next year, therefore, a short term replacement will work.
if caulker was given a 2.5 year deal then I would agree with you.
Have you actually been watching the past few games mate? Thomas has come in to the team and replaced Jones adequately. We don't need someone like Caulker when we have Thomas. We already need to replace Hector, so we currently have 0 Charlton centre backs made for the future, but we want a bloke who we can't say for sure can replace our current centre back choices? We need THE man for THE job, not a bloke to cover a crack.
How are we still this content with mediocrity? It actually drives me nuts.
Why does no one seem to be angry or bothered that every year we sign the same type of players? There's literally 0 thought into how we recruit players.
Out of all our best 3 current players, one was recommended by our ex owners clueless son? One basically done the groundwork himself to get signed and I'm not going to give them credit for finding the best striker in the league.
I would genuinely love to see how our recruitment team operates, who they're watching, what their meetings are like. It must be abysmal
Yes, I have seen Thomas in the last two games and I've also seen him about 20 other times which has given me enough data to come to the conclusion that Thomas is a car crash waiting to happen which is why most of his games played in his career have been for Woking and Wimbledon.
im not content with mediocrity. I am a realist though.
who are we going to get in January that will be a long term fixture in the team?
we need to repair the leaking roof now and then replace the roof in the summer.
caulker would be a better repair than ness and thomas.
He has been deployed as a make shift left back. When he has played centre back the last couple of games, he has looked no different to Hector. Both OK defenders at this level but we need better.
We don't need to repair the leaking roof, as we are in literally no danger of going down, what's the point in spending wages on a potentially, slightly better, older defender to secure mid table? We are probably going to do that regardless.
We need players to come in and be better, you can't say you're not content with mediocrity and then say you wouldn't mind a washed up journey man in the same post to 'fix a leak'?
Hector has been on a different level to Thomas the last few games. Thomas has done ok, he should have dealt with the Cambridge corner goal but other than that has done a job. But Hector has been very good. There is a clear difference in ability between the 2 of them, do you ignore all work a centre back does with the ball at his feet? Hector is a better defender than Thomas but on the ball he’s another level
We need a centre back that is at least as good as Jones and Hector, so that we don’t have to drop to the level of Thomas/Ness when there is an injury.
Caleb Taylor has been mentioned, a good signing imo but probably won’t be able to bring him in until late in the window as WBA will lose Ajayi to AFCON so won’t want to lose another CB. If Jones is back this week then we can probably afford to wait if he is our first choice target
Different level?!
Can a mod please spoiler attached images:
Maybe judge with your eyes not the who scored ratings😂 they mean nothing, I can go on FotMob and Hector is better than Thomas in both games.
How are whoscored picking up Thomas costing us a goal against Cambridge? They aren’t.
Pass accuracy means nothing, Hector passes more forwards/long so is more likely to lose the ball.
Thomas won 4/11 aerial duels, 4 out of 11!!! Hector won 1/1 and also won all his ground duels. Presenting that as 4v1 is ridiculous. Looks like Barnsley were targeting Thomas because they know he’s shit
You present these stats as if they mean something, but the only thing they tell me is that you don’t know/understand how to use these stats. Ask any fan who doesn’t have Hector-hate glasses on and they will tell you that Hector has been our best player recently and Thomas is bang average
I'm far from a Hector fan but he's been good the last few games and better than Thomas, who's done an ok job. Maybe we'd have been closer to the playoffs had he fancied turning up from the get go.
I'm far from a Hector fan but he's been good the last few games and better than Thomas, who's done an ok job. Maybe we'd have been closer to the playoffs had he fancied turning up from the get go.
Agree. Deserves his last 3 MOM awards. For the other 17 games he's been very poor to very average. That's far from an acceptable ratio.
We’ve had a shocking few signings in Jan in recent years, Aneke, Fraser and Mansfield spring to mind. The Spurs youngster, can’t even remember his name, Juan Castillo or whatever his name was. To be honest, given our track record, I’d be surprised if we come out of Jan with Dobson and CBT still here. I can’t see how we’re gonna bring in anyone of notable quality in Jan
Loads of people have already said this, but maybe we should have a Transfer Rumours thread, and a separate Transfer/Recruitment Discussions thread?
The latter would be useful for discussing opposing teams’ players who catch the eye during the course of the season, as well as players from other leagues who might be available.
We’ve had a shocking few signings in Jan in recent years, Aneke, Fraser and Mansfield spring to mind. The Spurs youngster, can’t even remember his name, Juan Castillo or whatever his name was. To be honest, given our track record, I’d be surprised if we come out of Jan with Dobson and CBT still here. I can’t see how we’re gonna bring in anyone of notable quality in Jan
If we aren't interested in Bauer because of 'age' and then go ahead and sign Caulker. That will tell you everything you need to know about this mob.
I disagree.
ness is struggling and Thomas isn't good enough as third choice.
sometimes you need a 6 month fix to see you through the season and then get a young target that fits the mould in the summer. Caulker is more than capable of being that third choice cover short term and is better and has played a lot higher than ness/thomas has and will. I think Mitchell will be used more next year, therefore, a short term replacement will work.
if caulker was given a 2.5 year deal then I would agree with you.
Have you actually been watching the past few games mate? Thomas has come in to the team and replaced Jones adequately. We don't need someone like Caulker when we have Thomas. We already need to replace Hector, so we currently have 0 Charlton centre backs made for the future, but we want a bloke who we can't say for sure can replace our current centre back choices? We need THE man for THE job, not a bloke to cover a crack.
How are we still this content with mediocrity? It actually drives me nuts.
Why does no one seem to be angry or bothered that every year we sign the same type of players? There's literally 0 thought into how we recruit players.
Out of all our best 3 current players, one was recommended by our ex owners clueless son? One basically done the groundwork himself to get signed and I'm not going to give them credit for finding the best striker in the league.
I would genuinely love to see how our recruitment team operates, who they're watching, what their meetings are like. It must be abysmal
Yes, I have seen Thomas in the last two games and I've also seen him about 20 other times which has given me enough data to come to the conclusion that Thomas is a car crash waiting to happen which is why most of his games played in his career have been for Woking and Wimbledon.
im not content with mediocrity. I am a realist though.
who are we going to get in January that will be a long term fixture in the team?
we need to repair the leaking roof now and then replace the roof in the summer.
caulker would be a better repair than ness and thomas.
He has been deployed as a make shift left back. When he has played centre back the last couple of games, he has looked no different to Hector. Both OK defenders at this level but we need better.
We don't need to repair the leaking roof, as we are in literally no danger of going down, what's the point in spending wages on a potentially, slightly better, older defender to secure mid table? We are probably going to do that regardless.
We need players to come in and be better, you can't say you're not content with mediocrity and then say you wouldn't mind a washed up journey man in the same post to 'fix a leak'?
Hector has been on a different level to Thomas the last few games. Thomas has done ok, he should have dealt with the Cambridge corner goal but other than that has done a job. But Hector has been very good. There is a clear difference in ability between the 2 of them, do you ignore all work a centre back does with the ball at his feet? Hector is a better defender than Thomas but on the ball he’s another level
We need a centre back that is at least as good as Jones and Hector, so that we don’t have to drop to the level of Thomas/Ness when there is an injury.
Caleb Taylor has been mentioned, a good signing imo but probably won’t be able to bring him in until late in the window as WBA will lose Ajayi to AFCON so won’t want to lose another CB. If Jones is back this week then we can probably afford to wait if he is our first choice target
Different level?!
Can a mod please spoiler attached images:
Maybe judge with your eyes not the who scored ratings😂 they mean nothing, I can go on FotMob and Hector is better than Thomas in both games.
How are whoscored picking up Thomas costing us a goal against Cambridge? They aren’t.
Pass accuracy means nothing, Hector passes more forwards/long so is more likely to lose the ball.
Thomas won 4/11 aerial duels, 4 out of 11!!! Hector won 1/1 and also won all his ground duels. Presenting that as 4v1 is ridiculous. Looks like Barnsley were targeting Thomas because they know he’s shit
You present these stats as if they mean something, but the only thing they tell me is that you don’t know/understand how to use these stats. Ask any fan who doesn’t have Hector-hate glasses on and they will tell you that Hector has been our best player recently and Thomas is bang average
The cognitive dissonance of the bloke who says he doesn't believe there's any value in xG presenting stats from whoscored as a gotcha is blowing out all my synapses
Braziliance - your continued use of "who scored" is not only boring but does not give a true reflection as pointed out by NabySarr although I admit that I do use some of those stats in the Statbank but only as I can't find another source.
I'm far from a Hector fan but he's been good the last few games and better than Thomas, who's done an ok job. Maybe we'd have been closer to the playoffs had he fancied turning up from the get go.
If you're judging only from 3 game windows then Albie Morgan was a quality player.
You have to judge the whole season and outside of this brief form Hector has been average at best.
We’ve had a shocking few signings in Jan in recent years, Aneke, Fraser and Mansfield spring to mind. The Spurs youngster, can’t even remember his name, Juan Castillo or whatever his name was. To be honest, given our track record, I’d be surprised if we come out of Jan with Dobson and CBT still here. I can’t see how we’re gonna bring in anyone of notable quality in Jan
Fraser is not a shocking signing.
Of course he is. He’s been flapping around pirouetting since he got here. The majority of his game is pointing to where other players should be, whilst looking about 10 yards off the pace. We were mugged off. I was quite optimistic when we got him, but as time goes by, he’s the epitome of every thing that’s been wrong with our transfer policy in recent years
Comments
Losing mentality behind the scenes, on the pitch and increasingly among the fanbase.
See people being upset we did not keep Clare, Morgan & Innis in the summer, being happy we kept Thomas & Hector.
Rose tinting us signing players with recent injury woes or bringing in yet more young players on loan despite our squad already having too many of our own academy players in it.
The warnings were all there, we have not been unlucky.
Maybe Caulker will be a brilliant signing, I hope he is, as I want to be wrong but to me he has Thomas/Hector written all over him, bang average, able to do a job but without the ability or desire to get our club back on a strong long term footing again.
Looking dominant? Hector? This is why these owners get such a free ride. Must be the easiest fan base in the EFL to please. A bloke who's been beyond mediocre for 15+ games, puts in a peformance against very dubious opposition and he's been looking dominant? You do realise we haven't kept a clean sheet for 6 games on the spin right?
You can't guarantee that at all though. They're just words. The reality is, that player is one of the best defenders in this league and is a captain of a side that are better than us, yet you're creaming your pants every other day over Michael Hector, who can't even keep a clean sheet. You both have one thing in common there I suppose, maybe that's where the affinity comes from 😂
We don't need to repair the leaking roof, as we are in literally no danger of going down, what's the point in spending wages on a potentially, slightly better, older defender to secure mid table? We are probably going to do that regardless.
We need players to come in and be better, you can't say you're not content with mediocrity and then say you wouldn't mind a washed up journey man in the same post to 'fix a leak'?
We need a centre back that is at least as good as Jones and Hector, so that we don’t have to drop to the level of Thomas/Ness when there is an injury.
Whether I think a player would be a good signing or not is irrelevant, so if he signs and flops, it's not on me as a fan is it?
I will say I view January as a quick fix window to repair problems experienced during the season, the summer one a more forward looking rebuild.
Certain free players shouldn't be sniffed at though, if they have the talent but need fitness then why not? It would be amazing to sign players for the long term and that they come in fit as a butchers dog but you don't always get what you want. That is more a summer window kind of thing!
We will just have to wait and see what happens but to those calling people deluded because the idea of Caulker an okay signing need to have a word with themselves if they think all the leagues best players from rival teams are coming our way, which seems to be the impression i'm getting.
Can a mod please spoiler attached images:
And we are a pretty average L1 side with a pretty timid midfield who, with the exception of Dobson, do little defensively. That’s a major part of why we can’t keep clean sheets. It’s a bit simplistic to pin all of the blame on the back four, when defending is, and should be, a team effort. Dobson, aided by the ref, cost us two points on Saturday. Had that been Hector or Thomas there would probably have been a meltdown. Just my opinion of course, and I’m not saying we can’t get a better back four.
Apologies for clogging the thread.
The exact sort of player we shouldn't be signing.
Hopefully it's just a 'keeping fit while looking for a club' deal and not a January signing.
You have to judge the whole season and outside of this brief form Hector has been average at best.