Jayden Stockley (Ed. Page 12- 15/6 - SIGNED on permanent deal)

We need to find a team in January whom, instead of having only true football people in their recruitment team, have a stats based black box, created by someone with really good excel skills.  A system where they are looking for players whom have been excellent in the last but are maybe now a little forgotten so available for the bargain price of £500K. They can then polish them up and sell at a profit.  I wonder what clubs could fit the mould.

I owe @Chunes a bit of an apology. Last week we were talking about how much better the team would be without Stockley, I said better, he said much, much better (or something to that effect).

After seeing how we lined up from the start on Saturday, the lengths we have to go to to play two up front with Stockley is ridiculous. It's clear Garner doesn't trust him up from on his own, which, you have to say after the way we started the season, is fair enough. I just thought that Garner might try Stockley up front in a 3-4-3 for 60 minutes until he could bring on Chuks. But having to stick to 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 to accommodate for Stockley is harming the team as a whole, and I suspect keeping Garner from lining up the way he wants to from the start. 

It just begs the question why we didn't try to move him on in the summer (to be fair, maybe we tried and failed). We all knew this was going to be an issue. We all knew Chuks can't consistently play 60 minutes, let alone 90. So why did we start the season with Stockley, Aneke, and Miles as our three forwards? As I've said many times, it's not necessarily that I blame us for not having more forwards, it's that I blame us for the forwards that we do have. Stockley cost a fee and is rumored to be on decent wages (which, again might be why he wasn't moved on). We all know the issues with Chuks (and we all know that when fit, he's mustard for 30 minutes). So why did 1) make those investments, and 2) continue with them, namely Stockley, when we knew there would be issues with the way we want to play?

A lot of people bemoaned us not signing a striker, myself included. But a lot also seemed to feel like Thomas was cheap/skint because we were one light up front. And that's not the issue, the issue is the expensive players we have. We have one of the few mobile, technically gifted, goalscoring center forwards in the league, he just can't start games.

I don't really know where we go from here apart from trying to move Stockley on in January (presumably at a decent loss) and trying to sign another mobile striker, Bonne again perhaps? Hope that Miles is able to come back strong and that maybe we can get Chuks to a point where he can play 60 minutes (that should not be counted on) once per week? 

To be fair to Stockley, when he's played up front with another center forward, and even with Kirk, he looks very decent. Like, this isn't his fault, he can't magically be faster, run in behind, or even have Chuks' touch (he can work on his touch, which isn't the best but also isn't as awful as some make it out to be). 

Our squad has both too many, and too few, center forwards.

Covered End said:

CAFCBourne said:

Poor to a man Kirk, Rak, Fraser, morgan, thomas. I don't get how he is the major part of it when you could pick any of them out.

We scored because with the introduction of CBT and CA provided pace to get beyond them.  When played in a front two I believe JS would be effective trouble is we are trying to find a makeshift partner for him.

Exactly CA & CBT provided pace & movement to get beyond them.
Stockley is barely more mobile than Nelson's Colunm.
Stockley has my sympathy, he obviously has a big fitness problem and it's probably his hip/back.

I've long wondered about this: from my understanding (and having sciatica myself), a pinched nerve doesn't usually go away without serious intervention, it just tends to get better and worse. I don't know how much it's affecting him, and he's not particularly mobile to begin with, but it's an interesting question.

Rather than carrying something, I'd say he's playing with huge concern that something could happen out the blue like last season.

I can understand it as it's human nature, but once again, crap planning and understanding of the physio/welfare side of things from our Club.

I think there must be an element of all the reasons stated for his form this season. Whatever it is the fact remains that when he runs he might as well be in a barrel of treacle! Players are trying to play him through but he wants it to feet all the time as I suspect he knows that an average 5cyear old would beat him in a foot race. It's a shame because I really like him as a bloke and I'm sure he must be totally frustrated

2 goals in 19. 1 pen. Likely to be career defining now.

th0rryy said:

Honestly, I wonder if there's more to this - I just feel that any form he did have has completely fallen off a cliff. Either he's not there physically or mentally, but it hurts us so much. We probably have to keep picking him, because we don't have any other option not to, really. Such a mess. BG might end up throwing more kids in out of desperation.

I like the lad when he speaks, but f*** me, he's not adding much more than a body on the pitch. He just ends up in the pocket of every defender of this league and losing every battle. Real shame.

I think he has a chronic back injury that he is playing through. Let’s face it we haven’t got any other options that can play 70 plus mins at the moment. 

stonemuse said:

https://www.charltonafc.com/news/jayden-stockley-handed-three-match-ban

What did he do? 

cafcsinger said:

Exactly what you want from your captain, although ironically despite all our injury problems we are a better team without him. We must take the hit and sell him in January imo

Bloke is an absolute div. Christ knows why he got the armband.

Though having said that I will enjoy not having to watch him play.

He's got more threads than Primani!