Can they just let us know who they're trying to sign now please?
I dont care if it doesnt go ahead or not... I mean it doesnt matter if its not a secret, as no other club can sneak in and sign him
I honestly doubt we have much competition for the players we are in for.
Unless their recruitment team also have a fetish for crocked and bit part players.
Let's face it, we can't compete with championship clubs or top end league one clubs for money or status. With league one we are probably top 6 on choice. Let's face it, we cleared out some of our unwanted players, and we signed 2 unwanted players for a couple of months.
January window has been more about not selling our jewels. Is that showing ambition?
Mate, we have a top4 budget by their own admission. We have also been told of their wealth and their ambition to get this club promoted.
I don't believe hanging on to players is ambitious, as they're under contract. Signing Lloyd Jones was a massive positive, fair play. But respectfully, as a Charlton fan, I have much higher hopes than us competing with Wycombe for the signature of a player already on our books.
I don't care about any players that left, they're all pants (excluding Terry Taylor), fair play for managing to get rid. That still doesn't change the fact those are all signings sanctioned by the same board.
Let's see who this last player is anyway, could change the field.
They do have
Personally I'm glad the owners are not being stupid and throwing money at it because it's not necessarily guaranteed to get you promoted, if they go steady enough and we get top 10 this year that's an achievement on last year then we can aim for promotion next year when Birmingham and likely Wrexham or Huddersfield will be gone, if we happen to get play offs this season that's a massive added bonus.
Sorry but that's a load of tosh. This season is the first in the last 3 that we've actually got a change of the play offs. What's the point of wasting that chance because Birmingham & Wrexham are in the division. What happens next season when Luton & Stoke are in it instead ? Wait another season ? Strike while the iron is hot. But no, let’s just be happy that we'll finish 10th so an improvement on last season.
That’s all great but no-one’s actually explained why that means anything like what you’ve said it means. Still waiting for the club statement that says we’re packing up for the year.
Last time we got promoted out of this division we replaced Karlan Grant with Josh Parker - and our results actually improved.
”Strike while the iron is hot … don’t waste a chance of top six” = “satisfy my whiny desires for today and sod whether it makes sense tomorrow”
2+2=5 ? That improvement was nothing to do with Josh Parker. He played 10 games and made no impression in 9 of them and half decent in the final.(Winning that free kick )He scored Zero goals. Karlan Grant would've ripped up League 1 over the last 4 months as Cullen, Bielik, and Aribo all kept improving as the season progressed. Bielik was getting scores of 5 in the 1st part of that season when he struggled at 1st at CB before having some excellent games in midfield and was sublime in the two 4-0 wins towards the business end when he scored a cracker. Other than the Final, Sarr was much better in the 2nd part of that play off winning season and Purrington and Dijksteel were both steady and strong as the season progressed.
Grant and Taylor would've both scored over 20, plus assists and I will go to my grave believing we would have grabbed the automatic last spot. Our only striker was Lyle Taylor baby on his own before he became persona non grata. Both young Davison and Parker were far short of being League 1 strikers. Honest players but poor at that level.
That argument I have heard before and as some one who saw many games that Parker played including that bad miss in front of the Covered end he was an honest but 2nd rate footballer who was Steve Gallen's 6th choice on his list of 5 !
If anyone believes that Josh Parker was anywhere near the player that Grant was then Football analysis isn't for you.
Callum, I like your optimism when the grumpy old men are in full swing but that statement in bold hides so many things I saw at the time.
???
I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said. We actively weakened ourselves that window - and our results improved. That was the point I was making.
Callum, i only got on my soapbox because I have heard others say that about the Parker/Grant switch but once again if it wasn't for you and a few others, CL would drown as most on this website are drowning not waving after 5 seasons in League 1.
You have the US of A optimism 😀 compared to the isolated over populated GB who are bereft of spirit ☹️and this tiny islands place in the world.
Ex Premier club like Cafc stuck with a management wanting to take the long path when many supporters want it yesterday is a major collision.
I agree with Blackpool72' if we can become a Championship club again then I would be content.
I’m happy with the 2 players we’ve brought in but even those were done in the 11th hour of a long window. Why we leave it all to the last minute baffles me and it has resulted in us missing out on a type of player that we needed. That has to be put down to Methven and the boys for that approach. Or is it all about Nathan Jones?
With my rose tinted glasses I believe we will make the playoffs but you can’t disguise the fact that this window hasn’t been handled very well.
That smacks of a cost cutting exercise, and a missed opportunity to push on.
We are still good enough to make the pay-offs, but that would depend on avoiding injuries to key players between now and the end of the season. We will need to be incredibly lucky to avoid injuries. Jones and Coventry are key to defence and midfield and I don't think we have adequate cover for either of them, so fingers crossed.
All the departures leave the squad a bit thin on the ground.
The big positives are the new contract for Lloyd Jones (massive positive) and not losing TC, Small and Leaburn.
No idea how good or not Gilbert or Mullofkintyre will be but I’d say that one comes with little experience and the other with less than glowing reviews. They seem to me to be spot on Charlton signings that we’ve seen come and go over recent seasons. If I’m honest I’m less than impressed and certainly don’t feel these two will tip us over the edge into genuine promotion contenders. I posted many times on this thread that we shouldn’t get excited or our hopes up and took quite a few lols for the trouble. I have little hesitation in saying the summer will be rinse and repeat. No confidence that we’re moving forward. Clubs treading water and as far as I can see going nowhere.
Don’t like what you are saying about the club,but I have to agree with you . Treading water and going nowhere. Best players will be on the move at end of season.
That smacks of a cost cutting exercise, and a missed opportunity to push on.
We are still good enough to make the pay-offs, but that would depend on avoiding injuries to key players between now and the end of the season. We will need to be incredibly lucky to avoid injuries. Jones and Coventry are key to defence and midfield and I don't think we have adequate cover for either of them, so fingers crossed.
All the departures leave the squad a bit thin on the ground.
The big positives are the new contract for Lloyd Jones (massive positive) and not losing TC, Small and Leaburn.
All the departures had minimal game time anyways, they’re not a massive loss imo, we could have done with one more midfielder but it is what it is.
Jones clearly laid out his plans for the squad which was a slim squad with less numbers. He has fulfilled that getting rid of most of the deadwood.
It’ll be very easy with hindsight to say this worked or didn’t work but it is what it is.
Very much looks like we failed to land our main targets & as the day went on we got to the desperate stage of Charlie ringing his Oxford chums & past employers for a favour (but Owen Dale opted to go up north & we left it to late with the Sunderland winger).
Everyone knew that we needed cover for TC & Small & the SMT have failed to deliver.
Hopefully we get lucky with injuries as it will be hard to keep up with the likes of Brum, Wycombe, Wrexham, Huddersfield, Stockport & Bolton who have all invested well (this season) & brought in top L1 players.
No idea how good or not Gilbert or Mullofkintyre will be but I’d say that one comes with little experience and the other with less than glowing reviews. They seem to me to be spot on Charlton signings that we’ve seen come and go over recent seasons. If I’m honest I’m less than impressed and certainly don’t feel these two will tip us over the edge into genuine promotion contenders. I posted many times on this thread that we shouldn’t get excited or our hopes up and took quite a few lols for the trouble. I have little hesitation in saying the summer will be rinse and repeat. No confidence that we’re moving forward. Clubs treading water and as far as I can see going nowhere.
Don’t like what you are saying about the club,but I have to agree with you . Treading water and going nowhere. Best players will be on the move at end of season.
This will happen every season until we get lucky and get promoted . The only positive is that we might actually get a bit of money for Leaburn and I think he could replaced and other additions could be brought in with the same money .
Very much looks like we failed to land our main targets & as the day went on we got to the desperate stage of Charlie ringing his Oxford chums & past employers for a favour (but Owen Dale opted to go up north & we left it to late with the Sunderland winger).
Everyone knew that we needed cover for TC & Small & the SMT have failed to deliver.
Hopefully we get lucky with injuries as it will be hard to keep up with the likes of Brum, Wycombe, Wrexham, Huddersfield, Stockport & Bolton who have all invested well (this season) & brought in top L1 players.
Can we use the money saved in transfers to give small a new contract?
Quite possibly.
But if the club came out and said that "look, we've signed Small and L Jones to new deals thanks to trimming the squad elsewhere" there would be screams of "cost cutting, why aren't the owners investing".
I have many doubts over the SMT and the running of the club but the constant "everything is shit and anything that happens is a negative" is wearisome.
Even winning games is a negative for some as we only "scraped" those wins with late goals or a one goal margin. But the other side, when we lose by the odd goal or late on aren't "narrow" or unfortunate defeats but disasters which prove everything is still shit.
I'll be interested to hear who we actually were interested in. There was a rumour about Dale and some nonsense post on here saying it was done, there was lots of noise about Tovide off a random kid's Twitter post, and then a lot of noise about us running out of time to get Bennette from more respectable local journalists on Twitter. We heard nothing about McIntyre at all though. It would be interesting to separate the false rumours from the reality.
I'll be interested to hear who we actually were interested in. There was a rumour about Dale and some nonsense post on here saying it was done, there was lots of noise about Tovide off a random kid's Twitter post, and then a lot of noise about us running out of time to get Bennette from more respectable local journalists on Twitter. We heard nothing about McIntyre at all though. It would be interesting to separate the false rumours from the reality.
The info the Saturday before last that i received was a championship permanent midfielder and a loan - apparently we tried to sign Gilbert on a perm but Middlesborough wouldn't sell. So, its possible that we got the 2 we were after ?? That doesn't quite tie up with statements about improving our attacking options however unless there was a change of focus after yet another Gillesphey mistake??
Maybe because we didn't receive an 'offer we couldn't refuse' for any of our 'attacking stars', we dropped the pacey winger type and switched to a defender, whatever we may think our priorities should have been. Who knows? i don't.
For me, I'm happy (ish) with what we did, I just would have preferred to have done more of it and done it earlier ideally. Cover/competition at LCB and a player who can cover a few attacking roles were positions that needed filling and have been filled, the jury is still out on quality but we'll have to wait and see.
It seems that one or more of NJ, the SMT or the Ownership have decided to gamble on our fitness and injury list not being an issue and trying to make do until the end of the season. Its not the choice I would make personally but for now we have to just wait and see.
Regardless of whether we missed our primary target and went for the Sunderland kid, why did we leave it all so bloody late?
My favourite type of post on deadline day.
Nathan Jones last night, was sat at home, feet up watching Chelsea vs West Ham thinking to himself "I'm sure there was something I was supposed to do this month."
Noni Madueke picks up on the ball and runs down the wing.
"Crap! That's it, a winger! I needed a winger! Let's ring Charlie boy and see if we can sort this in an hour."
I'll be interested to hear who we actually were interested in. There was a rumour about Dale and some nonsense post on here saying it was done, there was lots of noise about Tovide off a random kid's Twitter post, and then a lot of noise about us running out of time to get Bennette from more respectable local journalists on Twitter. We heard nothing about McIntyre at all though. It would be interesting to separate the false rumours from the reality.
The info the Saturday before last that i received was a championship permanent midfielder and a loan - apparently we tried to sign Gilbert on a perm but Middlesborough wouldn't sell. So, its possible that we got the 2 we were after ?? That doesn't quite tie up with statements about improving our attacking options however unless there was a change of focus after yet another Gillesphey mistake??
Was REG expected to leave though, and on a perm too, so no subsidised wages either? I imaging a combination of an offer for REG and the latest Gillesphey howler made a new CB essential. Maybe they had planned 2 new players, and REG going made this 3?
Bennette clearly was a last minute target, as Sunderland would have been happy to loan him to us 4 weeks ago if we had wanted him then. Whoever it was we wanted presumably fell through for some reason.
It's interesting that we haven't had any "end of window" articles yet on the OS.
Scott has probably written and re written the end of window article many times - can only use the word streamline so many times and you can't really say 'turf out the chaff we've accumulated'
Regardless of whether we missed our primary target and went for the Sunderland kid, why did we leave it all so bloody late?
My favourite type of post on deadline day.
Nathan Jones last night, was sat at home, feet up watching Chelsea vs West Ham thinking to himself "I'm sure there was something I was supposed to do this month."
Noni Madueke picks up on the ball and runs down the wing.
"Crap! That's it, a winger! I needed a winger! Let's ring Charlie boy and see if we can sort this in an hour."
My favourite type of smug reply.
My point was that a winger seems to have been identified but our technical director/head of recruitment failed to land one in a 4 week transfer window.
I’d rather have not known about the Sunderland lad tbh.
If we’d identified for a month window we needed a cover wide player and the best option we could do is at 10.55 try and get a lad who since March 2023 has seen just 9 mins of league football and 79 mins of EFL cup action, then that seems pretty disastrous to me.
It's not been an impressive window, but I'm not convinced it needed to be. We have lost no-one that is important to the run we've been on since the Crawley debacle, we have gained in the one area we agreed we needed. If we maintain our form we will hit the playoffs, and I see no reason we'll go back to the dross we saw for months at the start of the season. We're never going to catch automatics. I'm angry at why it took so long to get it right this season, but as critical as I am of Jones over that, I'm equally impressed that the recent run we've looked more capable of creating a play off challenging side than anything since Bowyer. Success now looks like play-offs. Win, and we need to invest in the summer to survive. Lose, or miss out, and we need to invest to have a full season against an inevitably weaker League One. Either way, I'd say the summer is the time to build. Anything done in January would've been a stop gap at best, and I repeat: lost no one I care about losing, looks like we've filled the gap that needs filling. Just need some luck with injuries.
What an incredibly reasonable post. Can’t disagree with any of it.
Can we use the money saved in transfers to give small a new contract?
Quite possibly.
But if the club came out and said that "look, we've signed Small and L Jones to new deals thanks to trimming the squad elsewhere" there would be screams of "cost cutting, why aren't the owners investing".
I have many doubts over the SMT and the running of the club but the constant "everything is shit and anything that happens is a negative" is wearisome.
Even winning games is a negative for some as we only "scraped" those wins with late goals or a one goal margin. But the other side, when we lose by the odd goal or late on aren't "narrow" or unfortunate defeats but disasters which prove everything is still shit.
I’d rather have not known about the Sunderland lad tbh.
If we’d identified for a month window we needed a cover wide player and the best option we could do is at 10.55 try and get a lad who since March 2023 has seen just 9 mins of league football and 79 mins of EFL cup action, then that seems pretty disastrous to me.
I think it’s about framing - fans might think cover in wide areas was a must this window, but did the club see it the same way?
Given that the only player we seem to have been chasing for any length of time in the window was Gilbert, that says to me that the only area the club considered was a MUST strengthen was attacking/creative midfield.
Comments
Callum, i only got on my soapbox because I have heard others say that about the Parker/Grant switch but once again if it wasn't for you and a few others, CL would drown as most on this website are drowning not waving after 5 seasons in League 1.
You have the US of A optimism 😀 compared to the isolated over populated GB who are bereft of spirit ☹️and this tiny islands place in the world.
Ex Premier club like Cafc stuck with a management wanting to take the long path when many supporters want it yesterday is a major collision.
I agree with Blackpool72' if we can become a Championship club again then I would be content.
We are still good enough to make the pay-offs, but that would depend on avoiding injuries to key players between now and the end of the season. We will need to be incredibly lucky to avoid injuries. Jones and Coventry are key to defence and midfield and I don't think we have adequate cover for either of them, so fingers crossed.
All the departures leave the squad a bit thin on the ground.
The big positives are the new contract for Lloyd Jones (massive positive) and not losing TC, Small and Leaburn.
Best players will be on the move at end of season.
Jones clearly laid out his plans for the squad which was a slim squad with less numbers. He has fulfilled that getting rid of most of the deadwood.
It’ll be very easy with hindsight to say this worked or didn’t work but it is what it is.
Everyone knew that we needed cover for TC & Small & the SMT have failed to deliver.
Hopefully we get lucky with injuries as it will be hard to keep up with the likes of Brum, Wycombe, Wrexham, Huddersfield, Stockport & Bolton who have all invested well (this season) & brought in top L1 players.
keep the majority fit for the rest of the season and we'll nail a play off spot
But if the club came out and said that "look, we've signed Small and L Jones to new deals thanks to trimming the squad elsewhere" there would be screams of "cost cutting, why aren't the owners investing".
I have many doubts over the SMT and the running of the club but the constant "everything is shit and anything that happens is a negative" is wearisome.
Even winning games is a negative for some as we only "scraped" those wins with late goals or a one goal margin. But the other side, when we lose by the odd goal or late on aren't "narrow" or unfortunate defeats but disasters which prove everything is still shit.
It seems that one or more of NJ, the SMT or the Ownership have decided to gamble on our fitness and injury list not being an issue and trying to make do until the end of the season. Its not the choice I would make personally but for now we have to just wait and see.
My favourite type of post on deadline day.
Nathan Jones last night, was sat at home, feet up watching Chelsea vs West Ham thinking to himself "I'm sure there was something I was supposed to do this month."
Noni Madueke picks up on the ball and runs down the wing.
"Crap! That's it, a winger! I needed a winger! Let's ring Charlie boy and see if we can sort this in an hour."
Bennette clearly was a last minute target, as Sunderland would have been happy to loan him to us 4 weeks ago if we had wanted him then. Whoever it was we wanted presumably fell through for some reason.
It's interesting that we haven't had any "end of window" articles yet on the OS.
My point was that a winger seems to have been identified but our technical director/head of recruitment failed to land one in a 4 week transfer window.
Cannot wait till the next one...
(Some will need to switch their irony detector on)
Given that the only player we seem to have been chasing for any length of time in the window was Gilbert, that says to me that the only area the club considered was a MUST strengthen was attacking/creative midfield.
Incompetence comes to mind.