I have been quiet over this one for several weeks now as i live 10 miles from Reading.....and have a few neighbours/workmates who are Reading season ticket holders....all i will say is in my opinion is jerome thomas mark 2...either great or crap...desperate signing in my view hope i am wrong. BTW...their opinion is when his mood is right a good player but too many passenger games...welcome to the Valley
their opinion is when his mood is right a good player but too many passenger games...welcome to the Valley
Perhaps the kick up the arse is what he needs? There are loads of talented footballers out there who - like Jerome Thomas coast a bit thinking that they've got it made. Suddenly they find themselves struggling for a contract and like Jerome Thomas it makes them realise that they need to add a bit of graft to that talent. He went to West Brom and revitalised his career maybe/hopefully we can do the same for Simon Church.
Well Folks, another season is nearly upon us and another year of trying to 'compete' with Teams awash with Premiership and foreign money (oh and a a Club from Serie a).
Anyway, Simon Church, sorry to bring some 'doom and gloom' to this thread, however he had a loan spell with us last season and was quite simply diabolical. I was really excited when he came in as always rated him. Seriously, he contributed nothing, zip. It was beyond a joke he was that bad. There is a however though!. We played him in a role that was more a left-wing come front Man and for me, he needs to play down the middle as an out and out striker so in essence I think we played him out of position.
If you play him in a similar role to the one we did, you are in trouble!. If you play him where he should be then you may just get the best out of him.
Hope this post is of interest and good luck for the season (Forest away then QPR at home for us, nice easy start!!!) and we will be doing our annual Charlton trip this season, one of my favourite away days!.
Hope this post is of interest and good luck for the season (Forest away then QPR at home for us, nice easy start!!!)
Get the tough games out the way early on...personally I'd rather play QPR early doors before they've settled down and adjusted to life back in the Championship.
Fortunately we don't need to play Church in an attacking left side - we have Callum Harriott and John Jackson who are more naturally gifted in that role and Yann Kermorgant who tends to play a tad deeper and does the creative stuff. We just need a couple of goal scorers/goal poachers to convert the chances and in Church and Sordell we have two players at least on paper who can do that.
I think he'll start most games on the bench and then come on for the last 15-20 minutes or so, but the key to whether he'll be successful or not is down to whether he knuckles down, trains hard and gets fit and takes his opportunities.
Not sure why I think it but I have Church down as a "channel runner". Is that in fact what those better placed to know think of him or have I got it wrong.
Well Folks, another season is nearly upon us and another year of trying to 'compete' with Teams awash with Premiership and foreign money (oh and a a Club from Serie a).
Anyway, Simon Church, sorry to bring some 'doom and gloom' to this thread, however he had a loan spell with us last season and was quite simply diabolical. I was really excited when he came in as always rated him. Seriously, he contributed nothing, zip. It was beyond a joke he was that bad. There is a however though!. We played him in a role that was more a left-wing come front Man and for me, he needs to play down the middle as an out and out striker so in essence I think we played him out of position.
If you play him in a similar role to the one we did, you are in trouble!. If you play him where he should be then you may just get the best out of him.
Hope this post is of interest and good luck for the season (Forest away then QPR at home for us, nice easy start!!!) and we will be doing our annual Charlton trip this season, one of my favourite away days!.
When he came to you he wasn't exactly match fit, he hadn't played in the team all season long (except one outing in the league cup). That makes a big difference, added to that being played "out of position" as you say may have contributed. I'm not sure your rather direct style of football suits either, not a dig just an honest opinion.
Welcome Ledds based, he sounds like another David Mooney , 6 goals a season striker , keep our expectations low , and wait to be amazed/ proved wrong.
I'm going to support him , purely because of the fact he'll be pulling on a Charlton jersey , & lets face it how ever old you are , who on here what not want to do that?
Well Folks, re responses to my initial mail. He wasn't match fit when he arrived with us and never got any nearer (or better) with matches under his belt (he was that bad to the point we were getting really concerned at the prospect of the club extending his loan or even worse, buying him, thankfully neither happened). However, being a loan Player is not the same as signing a Player so it's not 'apples and apples' and as stated, we did not appear to be playing him in the wright way / position.
If you play him straight down the middle, I am sure he will be useful and sincerely hope he is for you (apart from against us of course).
Re long ball, not fair and accurate that. We play with width and wingers / wing back (Jack Hunt best in the division to the point we are unlikely to keep him, Swansea apparently already sniffing round him for £3m). When Alan Lee came off the bench, yes we were prone to lumping long balls up to him late in games when chasing a result.
Well Folks, re responses to my initial mail. He wasn't match fit when he arrived with us and never got any nearer (or better) with matches under his belt (he was that bad to the point we were getting really concerned at the prospect of the club extending his loan or even worse, buying him, thankfully neither happened). However, being a loan Player is not the same as signing a Player so it's not 'apples and apples' and as stated, we did not appear to be playing him in the wright way / position.
If you play him straight down the middle, I am sure he will be useful and sincerely hope he is for you (apart from against us of course).
Re long ball, not fair and accurate that. We play with width and wingers / wing back (Jack Hunt best in the division to the point we are unlikely to keep him, Swansea apparently already sniffing round him for £3m). When Alan Lee came off the bench, yes we were prone to lumping long balls up to him late in games when chasing a result.
It really wasn't meant as a slur mate and direct is not the same as long ball. I'm sure you do have some talented players.
On another subject, what is the financial/debt situation at Town? I know you have a Town fan as a backer but how much does he actually contribute?
Well Folks, re responses to my initial mail. He wasn't match fit when he arrived with us and never got any nearer (or better) with matches under his belt (he was that bad to the point we were getting really concerned at the prospect of the club extending his loan or even worse, buying him, thankfully neither happened). However, being a loan Player is not the same as signing a Player so it's not 'apples and apples' and as stated, we did not appear to be playing him in the wright way / position.
If you play him straight down the middle, I am sure he will be useful and sincerely hope he is for you (apart from against us of course).
Re long ball, not fair and accurate that. We play with width and wingers / wing back (Jack Hunt best in the division to the point we are unlikely to keep him, Swansea apparently already sniffing round him for £3m). When Alan Lee came off the bench, yes we were prone to lumping long balls up to him late in games when chasing a result.
It really wasn't meant as a slur mate and direct is not the same as long ball. I'm sure you do have some talented players.
On another subject, what is the financial/debt situation at Town? I know you have a Town fan as a backer but how much does he actually contribute?
No worries Mate. Our Chairman is a local Lad, made his money selling cards out of the back of a van (that then became the card factory chain of shops which he sold for millions).
Has been bankrolling the Club for the last few seasons, Lee Clark choosing to relieve him of most of it (most of it wasteful). Has reigned it in a bit though, think Clark signing 44 Players (including loans) in his two and a half years taught him a hard lesson.
We are in good shape, we don't pay big wages and look to bring Players in on free / loan where we can (Vaughan aside). Our Chairman has repeatedly stated we will operate within the guidelines of 'fair play' and for a club of our size, we were never going to be able to sign the likes of Beckford who was on £45k a week at Leicester (thus him going to Bolton on the back of their Premiership parachute money).
What about you Guys?, on sound financial footing?. Also, how was Church on Saturday?.
Yeah, aint you heard, we're minted. In fact, if all the directors had a whip round, we might even be able to afford a whole packet of the extra strong variety.
As for Huddersfield playing the long ball, it's not as if we've ever done such a thing. Even when losing to Bournemoth, we carried on playing our football the Barcelona right way, silky passing 100% of the time...............................
Well Folks, re responses to my initial mail. He wasn't match fit when he arrived with us and never got any nearer (or better) with matches under his belt (he was that bad to the point we were getting really concerned at the prospect of the club extending his loan or even worse, buying him, thankfully neither happened). However, being a loan Player is not the same as signing a Player so it's not 'apples and apples' and as stated, we did not appear to be playing him in the wright way / position.
If you play him straight down the middle, I am sure he will be useful and sincerely hope he is for you (apart from against us of course).
Re long ball, not fair and accurate that. We play with width and wingers / wing back (Jack Hunt best in the division to the point we are unlikely to keep him, Swansea apparently already sniffing round him for £3m). When Alan Lee came off the bench, yes we were prone to lumping long balls up to him late in games when chasing a result.
It really wasn't meant as a slur mate and direct is not the same as long ball. I'm sure you do have some talented players.
On another subject, what is the financial/debt situation at Town? I know you have a Town fan as a backer but how much does he actually contribute?
No worries Mate. Our Chairman is a local Lad, made his money selling cards out of the back of a van (that then became the card factory chain of shops which he sold for millions).
Has been bankrolling the Club for the last few seasons, Lee Clark choosing to relieve him of most of it (most of it wasteful). Has reigned it in a bit though, think Clark signing 44 Players (including loans) in his two and a half years taught him a hard lesson.
We are in good shape, we don't pay big wages and look to bring Players in on free / loan where we can (Vaughan aside). Our Chairman has repeatedly stated we will operate within the guidelines of 'fair play' and for a club of our size, we were never going to be able to sign the likes of Beckford who was on £45k a week at Leicester (thus him going to Bolton on the back of their Premiership parachute money).
What about you Guys?, on sound financial footing?. Also, how was Church on Saturday?.
Like a lot of clubs we are moving into dark waters again although it's difficult to know exactly what's going on. We're nowhere near the worst shape but then again nowhere near the best. The money spent on players trying to save or regain our premiership status is still hurting us, albeit nowhere near as much as it was before the restructuring. That is why our supporters trust was formed, there is a good deal of discussion going on regarding our situation and how that compares to other clubs, that's why I asked.
Do you know how much money he has put in and how much of that in the form of loans?
Well Folks, re responses to my initial mail. He wasn't match fit when he arrived with us and never got any nearer (or better) with matches under his belt (he was that bad to the point we were getting really concerned at the prospect of the club extending his loan or even worse, buying him, thankfully neither happened). However, being a loan Player is not the same as signing a Player so it's not 'apples and apples' and as stated, we did not appear to be playing him in the wright way / position.
If you play him straight down the middle, I am sure he will be useful and sincerely hope he is for you (apart from against us of course).
Re long ball, not fair and accurate that. We play with width and wingers / wing back (Jack Hunt best in the division to the point we are unlikely to keep him, Swansea apparently already sniffing round him for £3m). When Alan Lee came off the bench, yes we were prone to lumping long balls up to him late in games when chasing a result.
It really wasn't meant as a slur mate and direct is not the same as long ball. I'm sure you do have some talented players.
On another subject, what is the financial/debt situation at Town? I know you have a Town fan as a backer but how much does he actually contribute?
No worries Mate. Our Chairman is a local Lad, made his money selling cards out of the back of a van (that then became the card factory chain of shops which he sold for millions).
Has been bankrolling the Club for the last few seasons, Lee Clark choosing to relieve him of most of it (most of it wasteful). Has reigned it in a bit though, think Clark signing 44 Players (including loans) in his two and a half years taught him a hard lesson.
We are in good shape, we don't pay big wages and look to bring Players in on free / loan where we can (Vaughan aside). Our Chairman has repeatedly stated we will operate within the guidelines of 'fair play' and for a club of our size, we were never going to be able to sign the likes of Beckford who was on £45k a week at Leicester (thus him going to Bolton on the back of their Premiership parachute money).
What about you Guys?, on sound financial footing?. Also, how was Church on Saturday?.
Like a lot of clubs we are moving into dark waters again although it's difficult to know exactly what's going on. We're nowhere near the worst shape but then again nowhere near the best. The money spent on players trying to save or regain our premiership status is still hurting us, albeit nowhere near as much as it was before the restructuring. That is why our supporters trust was formed, there is a good deal of discussion going on regarding our situation and how that compares to other clubs, that's why I asked.
Do you know how much money he has put in and how much of that in the form of loans?
In response, the figure is unknown, would expect circa £10m at least but that figure is pure speculation on my part. Books will have been balanced a bit with the £8m Rhodes sale (being paid in instalments).
Sounds like we are in a similar position £ wise, it is a real struggle competing against parachute payment money. Should we ever get to the Premiership, which is highly unlikely, I would hate to see us bring Players in on big wages that would only be here for the wages with the Club carrying that for seasons after relegation. It has been the scourge of many a Team relegated from the Prem.
Only a cameo on Saturday, but I have to say that everything that LBTF said rang true. Very easily knocked off the ball, on the odd occasion he was in place to receive it. Didn't look fit, or confident. Ah well, hope there's redemption for him, he certainly put the effort in.
Well Folks, re responses to my initial mail. He wasn't match fit when he arrived with us and never got any nearer (or better) with matches under his belt (he was that bad to the point we were getting really concerned at the prospect of the club extending his loan or even worse, buying him, thankfully neither happened). However, being a loan Player is not the same as signing a Player so it's not 'apples and apples' and as stated, we did not appear to be playing him in the wright way / position.
If you play him straight down the middle, I am sure he will be useful and sincerely hope he is for you (apart from against us of course).
Re long ball, not fair and accurate that. We play with width and wingers / wing back (Jack Hunt best in the division to the point we are unlikely to keep him, Swansea apparently already sniffing round him for £3m). When Alan Lee came off the bench, yes we were prone to lumping long balls up to him late in games when chasing a result.
It really wasn't meant as a slur mate and direct is not the same as long ball. I'm sure you do have some talented players.
On another subject, what is the financial/debt situation at Town? I know you have a Town fan as a backer but how much does he actually contribute?
No worries Mate. Our Chairman is a local Lad, made his money selling cards out of the back of a van (that then became the card factory chain of shops which he sold for millions).
Has been bankrolling the Club for the last few seasons, Lee Clark choosing to relieve him of most of it (most of it wasteful). Has reigned it in a bit though, think Clark signing 44 Players (including loans) in his two and a half years taught him a hard lesson.
We are in good shape, we don't pay big wages and look to bring Players in on free / loan where we can (Vaughan aside). Our Chairman has repeatedly stated we will operate within the guidelines of 'fair play' and for a club of our size, we were never going to be able to sign the likes of Beckford who was on £45k a week at Leicester (thus him going to Bolton on the back of their Premiership parachute money).
What about you Guys?, on sound financial footing?. Also, how was Church on Saturday?.
Like a lot of clubs we are moving into dark waters again although it's difficult to know exactly what's going on. We're nowhere near the worst shape but then again nowhere near the best. The money spent on players trying to save or regain our premiership status is still hurting us, albeit nowhere near as much as it was before the restructuring. That is why our supporters trust was formed, there is a good deal of discussion going on regarding our situation and how that compares to other clubs, that's why I asked.
Do you know how much money he has put in and how much of that in the form of loans?
In response, the figure is unknown, would expect circa £10m at least but that figure is pure speculation on my part. Books will have been balanced a bit with the £8m Rhodes sale (being paid in instalments).
Sounds like we are in a similar position £ wise, it is a real struggle competing against parachute payment money. Should we ever get to the Premiership, which is highly unlikely, I would hate to see us bring Players in on big wages that would only be here for the wages with the Club carrying that for seasons after relegation. It has been the scourge of many a Team relegated from the Prem.
Thanks for taking the time to come back and answer LBTF, I'm sure others on here will be interested in what you have to say too.
The trick with going up to the premiership is to build a team for promotion from the championship whilst there, not try and compete with the Manchester's of this world. Sort out any lingering financial problems and set your self up to gain promotion after relegation. That is exactly what we did under Alan Curbishley and it worked for us, the thing is if it doesn't work then you're still better off.
Comments
Perhaps the kick up the arse is what he needs? There are loads of talented footballers out there who - like Jerome Thomas coast a bit thinking that they've got it made. Suddenly they find themselves struggling for a contract and like Jerome Thomas it makes them realise that they need to add a bit of graft to that talent. He went to West Brom and revitalised his career maybe/hopefully we can do the same for Simon Church.
Anyway, Simon Church, sorry to bring some 'doom and gloom' to this thread, however he had a loan spell with us last season and was quite simply diabolical. I was really excited when he came in as always rated him. Seriously, he contributed nothing, zip. It was beyond a joke he was that bad. There is a however though!. We played him in a role that was more a left-wing come front Man and for me, he needs to play down the middle as an out and out striker so in essence I think we played him out of position.
If you play him in a similar role to the one we did, you are in trouble!. If you play him where he should be then you may just get the best out of him.
Hope this post is of interest and good luck for the season (Forest away then QPR at home for us, nice easy start!!!) and we will be doing our annual Charlton trip this season, one of my favourite away days!.
Get the tough games out the way early on...personally I'd rather play QPR early doors before they've settled down and adjusted to life back in the Championship.
Fortunately we don't need to play Church in an attacking left side - we have Callum Harriott and John Jackson who are more naturally gifted in that role and Yann Kermorgant who tends to play a tad deeper and does the creative stuff. We just need a couple of goal scorers/goal poachers to convert the chances and in Church and Sordell we have two players at least on paper who can do that.
I think he'll start most games on the bench and then come on for the last 15-20 minutes or so, but the key to whether he'll be successful or not is down to whether he knuckles down, trains hard and gets fit and takes his opportunities.
Good luck to the Terriers this season.
I'm going to support him , purely because of the fact he'll be pulling on a Charlton jersey , & lets face it how ever old you are , who on here what not want to do that?
Been speaking to some O's fans and they rave about him.
During his loan spell there he scored a brace when the O's were losing to Leeds to pull them level despite the fact they only had 10 men.
If you play him straight down the middle, I am sure he will be useful and sincerely hope he is for you (apart from against us of course).
Re long ball, not fair and accurate that. We play with width and wingers / wing back (Jack Hunt best in the division to the point we are unlikely to keep him, Swansea apparently already sniffing round him for £3m). When Alan Lee came off the bench, yes we were prone to lumping long balls up to him late in games when chasing a result.
On another subject, what is the financial/debt situation at Town? I know you have a Town fan as a backer but how much does he actually contribute?
Has been bankrolling the Club for the last few seasons, Lee Clark choosing to relieve him of most of it (most of it wasteful). Has reigned it in a bit though, think Clark signing 44 Players (including loans) in his two and a half years taught him a hard lesson.
We are in good shape, we don't pay big wages and look to bring Players in on free / loan where we can (Vaughan aside). Our Chairman has repeatedly stated we will operate within the guidelines of 'fair play' and for a club of our size, we were never going to be able to sign the likes of Beckford who was on £45k a week at Leicester (thus him going to Bolton on the back of their Premiership parachute money).
What about you Guys?, on sound financial footing?. Also, how was Church on Saturday?.
As for Huddersfield playing the long ball, it's not as if we've ever done such a thing. Even when losing to Bournemoth, we carried on playing our football the
Barcelonaright way, silky passing 100% of the time...............................Do you know how much money he has put in and how much of that in the form of loans?
Sounds like we are in a similar position £ wise, it is a real struggle competing against parachute payment money. Should we ever get to the Premiership, which is highly unlikely, I would hate to see us bring Players in on big wages that would only be here for the wages with the Club carrying that for seasons after relegation. It has been the scourge of many a Team relegated from the Prem.
The trick with going up to the premiership is to build a team for promotion from the championship whilst there, not try and compete with the Manchester's of this world. Sort out any lingering financial problems and set your self up to gain promotion after relegation. That is exactly what we did under Alan Curbishley and it worked for us, the thing is if it doesn't work then you're still better off.
NB Charlton played very "direct" on Saturday :P