I feel gutted for him getting a 3 game suspension.
Yes it was stupid and unprofessional to lamp the bloke after the whistle but I thought he had an excellent match and really seems to have grown in confidence since the arrival of Sodje.
I know for a lot of fans he is one of the scapegoats but I have a lot of time for Jon. He has often played through serious injury and has never publicly thrown his toys when dropped from the team unlike others we could name.
He showed loyalty in deciding to fight for his place rather than take the move to Stoke which was just as well with Diawara chasing the dollar and Paddy lacking the necessary quality.
He is a proper Charlton player and it is a great shame the positive momentum he has built up over the season has been lost even if it is his own fault.
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2. Not sure he stayed out of loyalty - more likely to be due to the Prem contract Dowie had given him.
Agree he has been playing well with Sodje, which is why I am so angry with him for losing it.
Inexcusable and unprofessional.
Maybe he just wanted some time off for Chrimbo
I have a friend who was a semi-pro and he used to make sure a couple of weeks before Christmas he picked up a booking that meant he had to miss the Christmas game.
Perhaps Fortune stayed because he has a nice big comfortable pay cheque here - agree that he has been good with Sodje. Hopefully Bougherra will too.
Was it any worse than Danny Mills wrestling the guy to the floor ? Which everyone found hilarious and gave a big cheer to ?
Both as bad as each other - I certainly didn't cheer Mills - he was very lucky to get away with it. He's treading a fine line between winding up the oppo and getting himself in a lot of trouble. Just like Thatcher, there will be a moment when he lets us down badly at a crucial time, I fear. Sorry to be Mrs Sensible.
Good post Len - I used to work with John Fortunes best mate and he always told me that John was really grateful by the professionalism and the way he had genrally been treated at Charlton. Of course money has a lot to do with players decisions, but then that's a major part of any work related issues you have. I for one have never thought of him as the greatest player but he does a job and as you say it seems as if him and sodje are getting it together and after a worrying start and a couple of blips we could we way worse off in goals against.
Anyone who has played competitive football at any level knows that 'losing it' with an opponent costs not only you your place in the team & a fine, but impacts on your team's next matches also.
As has been said, Jon Fortune needed to apply some self discipline & professionalism here. I'm sure Pards has already told him just that - but the deed is done now. And hopefully the lesson learned.
Having said that, I've always had a lot of respect for him. Charlton youth team product (striker alongside Derek Hales' son in those days!), Forts has always been a great club player. Under-rated by most, who are quick to pick up on any error or hestitancy, he rarely gets the credit due for doing much of the covering & grunt work in defence.
The fact that he's been in and around the first team for many seasons now shows that he's always been valued by management.
Jon seems a nice guy - I just think everybody is a bit surprised that he was the one that saw the red mist.
And judging by what he said to NLAddick, no one is more surprised than Forts himself!
He lost the plot for a moment on Saturday, he's been fined and banned. Can't recall any other time he has reacted like that. He made a mistake, but he is unlikely to do it again in a hurry, so let's give him a break eh.
I would also agree with other posts on here about him, I met him a few years back, and he seemed a decent bloke, with no apparent big time attitude, just a Charlton player you could respect.
Saturday was just one of those things, we all have those days - mine manifested itself when i threw a hole punch at the office wall. His biggest penalty will be the loss of his 1st team place and the chance Bhougherra has of getting in over three matches.