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Connor Wickham joins on a short term deal

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  • Thank god we signed him because without that physical presence up front for the last 20 minutes it could have been a different result 
  • On top of what he can provide on the pitch it must be useful for Kanu (and Miles if Wickham stays longer) to see another type of striker and get advice. We often focus on getting advice from those who have really succeeded but it can be helpful to get advice from those who have taken a different path too
  • Was laughing at the Palace song n'all. Seems to have a bit about him and looked good today. A good signing out of nowhere.
  • RobRob
    edited March 10
    I said it on the post match thread (because I’d forgotten this one existed). I think it was a master stroke of NJ to bring him in. He looked class today. Perfect in the Chuk’s mould.
  • PaddyP17 said:
    I didn't think he looked at all match ready. There were some GREAT touches including the flick on for the third, and a moment where he did one of their CBs with his feet to play a probing ball, but he looked quite lethargic and not able to help out defensively at points. But he's a good footballer and you can tell he has great instincts.

    Jury still well out for me.
    Exactly how I saw it, although considering the season he’s had I’d say that was pretty good. 
  • edited March 11
    JamesSeed said:
    PaddyP17 said:
    I didn't think he looked at all match ready. There were some GREAT touches including the flick on for the third, and a moment where he did one of their CBs with his feet to play a probing ball, but he looked quite lethargic and not able to help out defensively at points. But he's a good footballer and you can tell he has great instincts.

    Jury still well out for me.
    Jesus. 
    Unfortunately James, we tried to get Jesus on loan from the Arsenal but he is still a big part of their plans.


    We have Kanu and May to run around like terriers and score goals, Connor Wickham's role is to be a big target man, holding the ball up or flicking the ball on for one of the terriers to run on to.

    Just like yesterday 👏
  • Chunes said:
    He's injury prone, isn't he? I thought he looked really good but not sure about a longer contract, purely on the basis of his injury record. 
    Everyone is injury prone, you'll never be able to sign a player who wont be at risk of injury
  • It was a good cameo, but it’s premature to talk about next season after 25 minutes against bottom of league one and specifically Sam Lavelle.

    Theres definite promise, but we’ll soon be in the luxurious position of having nothing to play for and planning for next season early. So no rush to decide.
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  • edited March 10
    IF and it's a big IF, Leaburn has a good pre season, doesn't get clogged by a Welling CB, doesn't get sold because of his potential between the various injuries he's had over the last 18 months, then the experienced Wickham is really just a two month stop gap.

    Disappointing 2nd season for Miles because of the injury in the first 'friendly' of the season and then the injury that curtailed him from the last 5 months of the season.

    I would love to see Leaburn stay another season fit and be part of our strike force with May, Kanu and A.N Other plus Chuks (8 games from bench) and work with Nathan.
     
    For a big guy, hopefully Miles can boss the CB's when he returns as that wasn't always the case over the last two seasons when he was available. I'm sure he has been doing gym work so he has the extra strength befitting  of a 6ft 5in man.
  • I think with Miles, due to the injury, even if he is sold it would be a loan situation back to us. I cant see someone spending a load of money to then experiment on his fitness in their U21s.

    So hoping it works in our favour for a another season 
  • It's a good decision. I think our fanbase is just slightly broken from their hopes and expectations.

    This is a good short term signing, but I understand the fans general concern about the volume of injuries we can offer a player, let alone one with a record of them

    Initial excitement about Camara, Chuks, Leaburn, Ramsay, Ladapo have had to be managed (burst) due to injuries and fitness issues. 
  • edited March 10
    PaddyP17 said:
    I didn't think he looked at all match ready. There were some GREAT touches including the flick on for the third, and a moment where he did one of their CBs with his feet to play a probing ball, but he looked quite lethargic and not able to help out defensively at points. But he's a good footballer and you can tell he has great instincts.

    Jury still well out for me.
    Exactly how I saw it, although considering the season he’s had I’d say that was pretty good. 
    Yeah, I feel as if my post comes across a little harsher than I meant it.

    I mean he was on for not very long ,and there was some good stuff, and a lot of times where he just looked... slow, even for someone who hasn't played all season and is getting up to scratch. If he continues to be used as an impact sub then that's probably fine, and hopefully he can continue to make contributions, and my jury will return a positive verdict.

    But, like, Sam Lavelle was good for his first couple appearances in a Charlton shirt. I don't think it is unfair to point out that 1) a player who isn't match ready isn't match ready; 2) you can tell he's got skill; and 3) I've not seen enough of him to judge yet.
  • Passes the height test.
  • Thought he did well in his short cameo.  It's a small thing but when the ball was lumped up to him, he got his space, then took a look to see where the runner was going, then headed into his path on 2-3 occasions.  Most of our strikers in recent years just jump and flick without really looking at where.

    If he can prove his fitness over the rest of this season he certainly has the talent.  A strike force of Wickham, May, Kanu, Leaburn and Aneke should be excellent at this level (subject to injury/availability).  Casey and M'bick as emergency back up or loaned out.
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  • edited March 10
    Thought he did well in his short cameo.  It's a small thing but when the ball was lumped up to him, he got his space, then took a look to see where the runner was going, then headed into his path on 2-3 occasions.  Most of our strikers in recent years just jump and flick without really looking at where.

    If he can prove his fitness over the rest of this season he certainly has the talent.  A strike force of Wickham, May, Kanu, Leaburn and Aneke should be excellent at this level (subject to injury/availability).  Casey and M'bick as emergency back up or loaned out.
    I dont think thats enough with question marks over Leaburn and Anekes fitness. Agree with assessment Wickham did look like he hadnt played for a while but showed the obvious talent which made him lauded in seasons gone by.

    Personally i think we need one more striker, wouldnt nessacarily mind casey getting a chance as it may keep him here longer as the big boys have already started circling. I think keeping Kanu might be a struggle in  summer but at least his signed a long term contract so might put bigger teams off.

    In terms of signing wickham longer term, i trust Jones to make the right call which after previous seasons feels quute good to actually trust the manager.
  • It was a promising debut, he adds something we don’t have to the squad that we don’t have (with Chuks out) and he contributed to the win.

    It’s going to be interesting to see how he performs in the remaining games.

    He could potentially win another deal, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong pointing out the concern is his fitness record. Before he signed I said next season we need another physical striker rather than Ladapo signing permanently - but with Aneke’s and Leaburn’s injury records it needed to be someone who’s fitness we could rely on (accepting any player could get injured).

    I read the comments about negativity in the player marks thread, at the time all I could see was one mentioning his lack of pace. Seems a bit of an overreaction, I was expecting to have read an overly negative view of his performance rather than a positive comment pointing out the player has an obvious weakness.

    I hope he does well but also hope the club are considering various options and are in no rush to offer him a longer deal - there will be players out there with similar strengths who could be better signings in the longer term. It’s up to Wickham to prove he’s a better bet than any of them over the remaining games.
  • I liked the look of him - looked confident, knew what he was doing and willing to try a few things - a big lad up top -  exactly what we've needed above anything else for ages - looks like he could do with running a few pounds off but no surprises there - looks a very promising addition to me  
  • CW clearly miles off anything like fit but he bought in to what was required of him put himself about albeit slowly and made his telling contribution 
    Savagely showed up Ladapo for the cynical grifter he is: he’s much fitter than CW has played recently yet in his 13 minute cameo never broke into a run made one solitary challenge drifting about to no actual effect 
    He needed to be chasing defenders protecting our slender lead but he chose not to
    Shameful and idiotic in equal measure 
    If FL gave an atom of a shit we wouldn’t have needed to sign CW
  • Thought he looked decent in his time on the pitch. Could be an asset over the remaining few weeks of the season. No need to expend too much of your energies considering whether we’ll sign him up for next season, there will be myriad factors that will influence that.
  • PaddyP17 said:
    I didn't think he looked at all match ready. There were some GREAT touches including the flick on for the third, and a moment where he did one of their CBs with his feet to play a probing ball, but he looked quite lethargic and not able to help out defensively at points. But he's a good footballer and you can tell he has great instincts.

    Jury still well out for me.
    He's played one game.
  • UEAAddick said:
    PaddyP17 said:
    I didn't think he looked at all match ready. There were some GREAT touches including the flick on for the third, and a moment where he did one of their CBs with his feet to play a probing ball, but he looked quite lethargic and not able to help out defensively at points. But he's a good footballer and you can tell he has great instincts.

    Jury still well out for me.
    He's played one game.
    20 mins of it
  • UEAAddick said:
    PaddyP17 said:
    I didn't think he looked at all match ready. There were some GREAT touches including the flick on for the third, and a moment where he did one of their CBs with his feet to play a probing ball, but he looked quite lethargic and not able to help out defensively at points. But he's a good footballer and you can tell he has great instincts.

    Jury still well out for me.
    He's played one game.
    I mean, this is my point and why the jury is still out!
  • Yes, he’s just played twenty minutes, and I don’t agree at all with the assessment ‘Wickham did look like he hadn't played for a while’. I was expecting him to look rusty, bu he really didn’t. But clearly he’ll get (even) sharper (and fitter) with more minutes, and that for me, is an exciting prospect. 
    I don’t think we know if he’s injury prone, or just been unlucky with injuries, do we? Obviously we have to hope he’s not another Chuks. 
  • I really liked the fact he was big and strong and could hold the ball up really well, looks like the perfect parner for May. You can also see he has a proper footballing brain, something a lot of league 1 players lack. If he can stay fit he would be a very good addition for next season, but I am sure that is a big if.
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