Not been a signing for over a month. The No1 shirt is still vacant going into the 2nd week of the season & we have a number of players surplus to requirements who we cant shift.
And to cap it all there is no hint of a transfer rumour.
Are you still here!? I thought you were quitting this place?
.weve done the majority of the signings. The end of the window always has a flurry of movement.
Chill your beans out!
Lol, you forgot to mention one win (away) no goals conceded, not interested in Carabo cups Golfie, when you moan with reason, you make a lot of sense, otherwise it's not much more than a whinge. As Swisdom points out,give it time. .
Got to be honest, I am somewhat underwhelmed so far. We have bought in 7 new players after finishing in our worst league position for 96 years last season and losing 3 of our best players in CBT, May and Dobson. To put that into perspective Bolton who narrowly missed promotion have bought in 8 players so more than us. Yes, I know we bought in 7 in January, but 3 (Ward, Bakinson, Fiorini) have gone and one (Gillesphy) just isn't that good. NJ said this summer would be a huge rebuild as he wanted the squad in a position where we would only tinker in future windows; it doesn't feel like that when we have bought in less than most other teams in L1 have. Meanwhile Small, Mitchell, Jones and Leaburn are in the final 12 months of their contracts and we are stuck with a number of players we don't want. The squad for me looks ok and workmanlike but severely lacking in real quality. I hope to be proved wrong.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned on here but there’s a rumour going around that Charlton and Wrexham are sniffing around our Tom Bradshaw
Would be surprised if he didn't go to Wrexham tbh. Not sure we've really got the need for another striker really - before we signed Ahadme I could see Bradshaw being a good option for sure but not now.
Moving Taylor on is likely more to do with the fact that we can't shift Fraser but we still need to improve the midfield/other areas. I'm sure Jones would rather shift Fraser than Taylor but there (unsurprisingly) seems to be no takers for Fraser.
More likely to be interest in Taylor which would then open up budget to strengthen the squad whilst still having Fraser on the books.
There are takers for Fraser but they can’t compete with the wages we pay and that’s in the Scottish Premiership
Sounds like the Scots have us over a barrel - make low ball offers and then wait until the last moment when we have to get rid of a disaffected player. Given the games being played I'd be tempted to make him go to Torquay United on a loan for next to nothing.
And how exactly would you make him do that ?
Aren't employees required to do what they are told anymore? Alternatively, we could offer to release him from his overly generous contract - it isnt as though he has offered much in return for his rather large salary. in the rest of the world no one would be quite so generous/polite to a n9n performing employee earning as much as is reported.
No, they are required to do what is in their contract of employment, which in Fraser's case is to be available to play football for Charlton Athletic.
Not Torquay or anyone else unless he agrees.
IMHO it's a three way game of poker. Clubs will take him but only if we pay some of his wages, we are asking for X% but the other clubs are only offering Y%.
Meanwhile, I suspect that Fraser would take a payoff ala Charlie Kirk but again we might be offering X and he's is holding out for Y, as is his right.
He was given a contract and is entitled to see it out just as we are entitled to hold on to any players registration unless another club offers us the fee we want
There is an implied term about performance standards in any contract of employment - has Fraser really been performing to the expected level of ability? Strikes me as an ideal candidate for statutory redundancy pay. Footballers are clearly not subject to the same standards as the rest of us.
There is always a balance to be struck between employer and employee and in general I would argue that the pendulum had swung too far in favour of the employer in recent years, but with footballers earning getting on for a reported near £500k per year in the case of Fraser the balance is clearly wrong. Fraser signed the initial lucrative contract and if he doesn't want to fulfil it and move to Scotland with his family it seems wrong that he should expect to be paid out in full.
Yes, Fraser signed the contract but so did the club so it binds both parties.
That's what contracts are.
I don’t see much willingness on Fraser's part to be bound to his contractual commitments.
Which part of his contract has he broken? He hasn't downed tools, he's still training, he went to Slovenia for the summer camp, he's not refusing to play, he just isn't being picked.
Imagine the boot was on the other foot and Alfie May had said in the summer "you signed me as part of a promotion push, I scored the goals but the rest of the team wasn't good enough therefore I'm ripping up my contract and am moving to Birmingham for no fee".
That is what you are arguing for.
That's why club's sign players on long contracts; to protect that investment. It's why players sign long contracts; to protect their earnings.
Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't but the contract is the contract.
If we don't want him we can pay him off. If Fraser is so desperate to go he can ask to be released for no fee (as Small was) to find another club. Right now, neither side has reached that point.
By 30 August, deadline day, that might have changed.
To be fair, contracts mean bugger all these days, if it suits a player or a club. And no, Fraser hasn't downed tools but he has hardly busted a gut for the shirt, which should be expected as part of his contract, unless he has a 'Strolling allowed' clause?
There are many metrics to assess a player as to his commitment and “worth”. How does he train, measured fitness levels and goals, timekeeping, attitude and yes performance. Only the last two are relatively subjective and would be difficult to prove or use in any type of club disciplinary or looking at the nonsense elsewhere on this thread about breach of contract. I agree it hasn’t worked out for Fraser in the way we all, including the club and player had hoped. This disappointing state of affairs can and will be replicated at every club up and down the country in all divisions. The club, fans and player know this and the fact that he’d now like a move to Scotland or that the club are actively seeking to move him on has no bearing on his signed contract which as far as I can tell is being met in full by both club and player. I hope it is resolved before deadline for everyone concerned but please let’s stop the absolute bollox about contract breaches.
I agree. Every transfer is, to a greater or lesser extent, a gamble and, unfortunately, the vast majority of ours in recent years have failed and we continue to pay the price. Clubs try and build in some protection for themselves with provisions as to the number of appearances etc. but there is absolutely no basis for implying terms as to a player’s subjective level of performance.
The courts are reluctant to imply a contractual terms unless (1) it is so obvious that it goes without saying (the ‘officious bystander’ test); or (2) it is necessary in order to give business efficacy to the contract (the ‘business efficacy’ test). Neither could conceivably apply in this scenario - if it were not so, the contractual position in football would be even more chaotic than it is now. Can you imagine sitting down with a prospective player and his agent and trying to incorporate such a term into his contract ! I expect it would be met with the riposte: “ok, if I do better than expected, I can walk away from my contract and sign for a bigger club on more lucrative terms”.
Let’s hope that some sort of compromise can be agreed before the window shuts but it looks like it will be a very heavily subsidised loan deal.
Got to be honest, I am somewhat underwhelmed so far. We have bought in 7 new players after finishing in our worst league position for 96 years last season and losing 3 of our best players in CBT, May and Dobson. To put that into perspective Bolton who narrowly missed promotion have bought in 8 players so more than us. NJ said this summer would be a huge rebuild as he wanted the squad in a position where we would only tinker in future windows; it doesn't feel like that when we have bought in less than most other teams in L1 have. Meanwhile Small, Mitchell, Jones and Leaburn are in the final 12 months of their contracts and we are stuck with a number of players we don't want. The squad for me looks ok and workmanlike but severely lacking in real quality. I hope to be proved wrong.
It looks like only two of Bolton’s new signings started last week. Two of them don’t even have Wikipedia pages so assume our ‘project’ signings.
I think it’s pretty pointless comparing if we have improved or not compared to other teams based purely on numbers of players purchased.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned on here but there’s a rumour going around that Charlton and Wrexham are sniffing around our Tom Bradshaw
He's Welsh, grew up in Shrewsbury (an hours drive from Wrexham) and they need a striker more than we do
On the latest South London Football podcast, Richard Cawley mentioned that Wrexham had been linked but thought it very unlikely that Bradshaw would move, as he was probably Neil Harris’ first choice striker at present.
No mention of any Charlton interest and, in any event, we have other positional priorities, provided we can move some players out.
Got to be honest, I am somewhat underwhelmed so far. We have bought in 7 new players after finishing in our worst league position for 96 years last season and losing 3 of our best players in CBT, May and Dobson. To put that into perspective Bolton who narrowly missed promotion have bought in 8 players so more than us. Yes, I know we bought in 7 in January, but 3 (Ward, Bakinson, Fiorini) have gone and one (Gillesphy) just isn't that good. NJ said this summer would be a huge rebuild as he wanted the squad in a position where we would only tinker in future windows; it doesn't feel like that when we have bought in less than most other teams in L1 have. Meanwhile Small, Mitchell, Jones and Leaburn are in the final 12 months of their contracts and we are stuck with a number of players we don't want. The squad for me looks ok and workmanlike but severely lacking in real quality. I hope to be proved wrong.
Tend to agree with this but cautiously optimistic that Jones knows what he’s doing and by the behind the scenes stuff that’s gone on.
Got to be honest, I am somewhat underwhelmed so far. We have bought in 7 new players after finishing in our worst league position for 96 years last season and losing 3 of our best players in CBT, May and Dobson. To put that into perspective Bolton who narrowly missed promotion have bought in 8 players so more than us. Yes, I know we bought in 7 in January, but 3 (Ward, Bakinson, Fiorini) have gone and one (Gillesphy) just isn't that good. NJ said this summer would be a huge rebuild as he wanted the squad in a position where we would only tinker in future windows; it doesn't feel like that when we have bought in less than most other teams in L1 have. Meanwhile Small, Mitchell, Jones and Leaburn are in the final 12 months of their contracts and we are stuck with a number of players we don't want. The squad for me looks ok and workmanlike but severely lacking in real quality. I hope to be proved wrong.
Not far from my thinking. I was expecting a bigger squad churn than we have had. Still a couple of weeks to go so that will hopefully change but at the moment I still think we are three or four short of where we need to be.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned on here but there’s a rumour going around that Charlton and Wrexham are sniffing around our Tom Bradshaw
He's Welsh, grew up in Shrewsbury (an hours drive from Wrexham) and they need a striker more than we do
Get the logic but the same was true of May. I’ve heard Bradshaw wants to stay local because of family and that’s why he’s hesitant to go Wrexham. Still don’t think we’ll sign him unless we lose Leaburn which is highly unlikely or get him on loan and loan Kanu out.
Got to be honest, I am somewhat underwhelmed so far. We have bought in 7 new players after finishing in our worst league position for 96 years last season and losing 3 of our best players in CBT, May and Dobson. To put that into perspective Bolton who narrowly missed promotion have bought in 8 players so more than us. Yes, I know we bought in 7 in January, but 3 (Ward, Bakinson, Fiorini) have gone and one (Gillesphy) just isn't that good. NJ said this summer would be a huge rebuild as he wanted the squad in a position where we would only tinker in future windows; it doesn't feel like that when we have bought in less than most other teams in L1 have. Meanwhile Small, Mitchell, Jones and Leaburn are in the final 12 months of their contracts and we are stuck with a number of players we don't want. The squad for me looks ok and workmanlike but severely lacking in real quality. I hope to be proved wrong.
i think this is a very narrow way of looking at it. Worth pointing out I think that of our three 'best' players, only one of them was a signing people were actually excited about. CBT was a player we got for free from L2 Tranmere on a short term deal and Dobson was an unwanted player from Sunderland who couldn't cut it there. Dobson was also completely at sea for the first few games and only played when the manager changed. We signed some players last season who Jones is already making better use of like Lloyd Jones and Gillesphey, Coventry and Ramsay and integrating into the first team after a weird initial transition under two or three different managers and we're bringing through the likes of Campbell, Kanu and Anderson as more mature experienced players as time goes on. It's not all just number of signings, there's plenty of people on here worrying about where Zach Mitchell's pathway to the first team is because players are blocking him. The most important thing of all is that we sign the right players for how we're playing; Ahadme and Godden are the strikers Jones wants for how he plays and Docherty and Berry are his choices in midfield. Our best players this season might be ones who surprise us
Another good thing about the good start is that it makes us more attractive to potential players and to higher ranked clubs looking to loan out players.
“Nathan Jones is hoping that he will be cleared to make more additions to his Charlton Athletic squad even if they are not able to trim the playing squad as much as desired.”
Fleck is a free agent indeed , would be an interesting one - plenty of experience at Championship and above but a fair few injuries too.
Speaking of Scottish midfielders , I wonder if NJ could go back to Luton for Allan Campbell? I know Luton have a bit of an injury crisis so maybe one for late in the window.
Fleck is a free agent indeed , would be an interesting one - plenty of experience at Championship and above but a fair few injuries too.
Speaking of Scottish midfielders , I wonder if NJ could go back to Luton for Allan Campbell? I know Luton have a bit of an injury crisis so maybe one for late in the window.
My source was a random stranger so maybe nothing in it , but I thought it was worth sharing.
Comments
To put that into perspective Bolton who narrowly missed promotion have bought in 8 players so more than us.
Yes, I know we bought in 7 in January, but 3 (Ward, Bakinson, Fiorini) have gone and one (Gillesphy) just isn't that good.
NJ said this summer would be a huge rebuild as he wanted the squad in a position where we would only tinker in future windows; it doesn't feel like that when we have bought in less than most other teams in L1 have.
Meanwhile Small, Mitchell, Jones and Leaburn are in the final 12 months of their contracts and we are stuck with a number of players we don't want.
The squad for me looks ok and workmanlike but severely lacking in real quality.
I hope to be proved wrong.
Would be surprised if he didn't go to Wrexham tbh. Not sure we've really got the need for another striker really - before we signed Ahadme I could see Bradshaw being a good option for sure but not now.
The courts are reluctant to imply a contractual terms unless (1) it is so obvious that it goes without saying (the ‘officious bystander’ test); or (2) it is necessary in order to give business efficacy to the contract (the ‘business efficacy’ test). Neither could conceivably apply in this scenario - if it were not so, the contractual position in football would be even more chaotic than it is now. Can you imagine sitting down with a prospective player and his agent and trying to incorporate such a term into his contract ! I expect it would be met with the riposte: “ok, if I do better than expected, I can walk away from my contract and sign for a bigger club on more lucrative terms”.
Let’s hope that some sort of compromise can be agreed before the window shuts but it looks like it will be a very heavily subsidised loan deal.
I think it’s pretty pointless comparing if we have improved or not compared to other teams based purely on numbers of players purchased.
"Joe Gomez not in the matchday squad today. He's looking at options in the final two weeks of the summer transfer window".
Could potentially be some money coming our way?
The owners were definitely there. Even Donald Trump in a Democrat blue cap as disguise.
Apparently he is currently a free agent.
Speaking of Scottish midfielders , I wonder if NJ could go back to Luton for Allan Campbell? I know Luton have a bit of an injury crisis so maybe one for late in the window.
Trump AND Joe Biden at The Valley today and sat in the DB? We really are going up in the world...