Patrick Bauer - Aug 2025 signed a 1yr contract with AFC Wimbledon (p19)
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Just back from pub in Walmer Bridge. What mansions that then? Decent takeaway and two pubs but that’s it. As for being like Blackheath think more like Blackfen6
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Redhenry said:As others have said not a huge loss, he can be replaced, Aribo can't.
IMO he can, obviously good in League 1 but not exceptionally good, for me, mid table Championship at best, would I like to keep him ? Of course but not as good as he thinks he is, flatters to deceive.
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Grant was going to be easy to replace.
Remind me how that went.10 -
This thread is rubbish. How come we don’t know how big his pay rise was??0
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Losing players to Huddersfield and Preston? Let's not forget the mighty Brentford.4
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Turned out we didnt need him in the end.Henry Irving said:Grant was going to be easy to replace.
Remind me how that went.
We may not have been promoted had he been replaced. Besides, Parker was fine.7 -
Preston's a crap hole, but on 6k a week he won't need to live in a former council terrace house. Parts of Cheshire and Lancashire are very nice indeed, and Manchester is close by. I'm sure he'll be just fine.MuttleyCAFC said:Has he seen Preston? He might get a bit of a shock. Or maybe just relieved it isn't Blackburn!
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golfaddick said:What grates me (only mildly mind) is that we are losing players to teams like Huddersfield & Preston.
That’s football I’m afraid. I’m sure over the years the likes of Norwich, QPR and Ipswich have said the same about us when we were pinching their up and coming talentWeegie Addick said:Losing players to Huddersfield and Preston? Let's not forget the mighty Brentford.6 -
We got promoted! It went relatively well.Henry Irving said:Grant was going to be easy to replace.
Remind me how that went.4 -
And if you're making a direct comparison to Preston, the Woolwich Road is hardly salubrious!Exiled_Addick said:
Preston's a crap hole, but on 6k a week he won't need to live in a former council terrace house. Parts of Cheshire and Lancashire are very nice indeed, and Manchester is close by. I'm sure he'll be just fine.MuttleyCAFC said:Has he seen Preston? He might get a bit of a shock. Or maybe just relieved it isn't Blackburn!1 - Sponsored links:
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Despite Grant leaving not because of........MuttleyCAFC said:
We got promoted! It went relatively well.Henry Irving said:Grant was going to be easy to replace.
Remind me how that went.4 -
Actually, when you think about it, you can see the Thames Barrier from some parts of teh ground, You have Greenwhich Park nearby, You have the O2 and the cable cars, an Imax cinema, an Ikea and new shops at eateries springing up all the time. The Anchor and Hope pub overlooks the Thames and sells traditional seafood - I can't think of many more pleasant places around a ground as we have. I do love my Whelks though and they are not as easy to find as they used to be.1
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I did attached to put in an A4 frame along with my match ticket. It looks nice on the wall and a good reminder of Bauer's last kick for us.0
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Its okay.
Wasn't Bauer another Driesden flop?0 -
As AKFA said above, that's football and things working in cycles.Weegie Addick said:Losing players to Huddersfield and Preston? Let's not forget the mighty Brentford.
I'm sure decent championship clubs don't like losing their best players to Bournemouth.
5 years ago Wolves were in league one but are now snapping up some of Portugal's best young players.
Crystal Palace who were in administration in 2010, and in the championship as recently as 2013, now have a right back whose current market value is more than our entire club.6 -
Any of us can strip down to our underpants and research players in our bedroom and find a few of those turn out decent.0
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That is what scouts do.Simonsen said:Richard J said:Its okay.
Wasn't Bauer another Driesden flop?
I'm sure there was a story at the time that we were scouting another player but saw Bauer in the same game, so made a bid for him.
I am no fan of Driesden and am sick of the decline of the club. Gallen has proved that domestic knowledge is invaluable in our situation.
In particular I found Driesden's twitter exchanges with the Peterborough Chairman laughable.
That said I think we need to acknowledge that some of his recommendations have worked out well. Every manager / scout makes mistakes. Even Curbs, Lennie and SCP brought in some duds.
As well as the BFG, Igor was effective until hit by injury. Likewise Kashi. It also appears that Naby might turn out okay.
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Yes......and all 3 of those clubs are in the Premier League. Preston are not & aren't likely to be either. Neither are they "sleeping giants" and I reckon our average attendance this coming season will be on par if not higher than theirs.Chris_from_Sidcup said:
As AKFA said above, that's football and things working in cycles.Weegie Addick said:Losing players to Huddersfield and Preston? Let's not forget the mighty Brentford.
I'm sure decent championship clubs don't like losing their best players to Bournemouth.
5 years ago Wolves were in league one but are now snapping up some of Portugal's best young players.
Crystal Palace who were in administration in 2010, and in the championship as recently as 2013, now have a right back whose current market value is more than our entire club.
Out of contract & leave on a free. Fine. But at least go somewhere with some history or are "on the up".2 - Sponsored links:
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Why arent Preston likely to be in the Premier League? - Anything can happen in this Division; i.e. realistically neither Norwich or Sheff Utd would have been in the top six favourites for promotion last seasongolfaddick said:
Yes......and all 3 of those clubs are in the Premier League. Preston are not & aren't likely to be either. Neither are they "sleeping giants" and I reckon our average attendance this coming season will be on par if not higher than theirs.Chris_from_Sidcup said:
As AKFA said above, that's football and things working in cycles.Weegie Addick said:Losing players to Huddersfield and Preston? Let's not forget the mighty Brentford.
I'm sure decent championship clubs don't like losing their best players to Bournemouth.
5 years ago Wolves were in league one but are now snapping up some of Portugal's best young players.
Crystal Palace who were in administration in 2010, and in the championship as recently as 2013, now have a right back whose current market value is more than our entire club.
Out of contract & leave on a free. Fine. But at least go somewhere with some history or are "on the up".
What he's saying though is that unless your in the top six Football will always evolve and change where teams are, one day you'll have Bournemouth being able to buy top players the next time you'll potentially have someone like Charlton... Yes its difficult to accept because when we grow up we're used to seeing the likes of Bournemouth as a Second or Third Division team but promotion / relegation will always mean that wont remain the status quo0 -
AFKABartram said:golfaddick said:What grates me (only mildly mind) is that we are losing players to teams like Huddersfield & Preston.
That’s football I’m afraid. I’m sure over the years the likes of Norwich, QPR and Ipswich have said the same about us when we were pinching their up and coming talentWeegie Addick said:Losing players to Huddersfield and Preston? Let's not forget the mighty Brentford.
Exactly. I know a few Orient fans that are pretty pissed at us pinching their striker for such a tiny amount.0 -
And gets Millwall away first game up.0
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For the four years of his Addicks' service I have been the BFG's home shirt sponsor. The cost of this arrangement is not small, the Club getting the benefit. The value to the sponsor is modest but you get to meet your player at an end of season dinner and you are presented with a signed shirt. That's about it, but no-one is forced to do it at gunpoint, are they?I never regretted this rather tenuous association with PB5 - on the contrary I became very proud of the fact. I don't do social media stuff but Patrick was willing to give me his email address, and over the years we have had a steady and entirely private correspondence.In Germany, that land of philosophers, they have a saying: Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei - Everything has an end, only the sausage has two. Well, now my sponsorship has come to an end. So it goes.Patrick assures me my emails will continue to be welcome, and of course he has a very strong bond with German Addicks. Business as usual, then. Players come and go, the fans remain. Amazingly, at the brilliant kebab shop eaTurkish on the lower road the German Addicks are rather better known than the BFG even though Patrick is a regular customer. Kebab man - you're German, aren't you? PB5 - yes. Kebab man - do you know these guys [shows phone]? PB5 - yes [does likewise].We've never discussed his departure. I don't have that right. However, in recent times my every other email has contained words to the effect that it is for the player to determine his own career path and it would be wrong for fans to intrude, but-please-don't-go-we-want-you-to-stay-but-if-you-really-must-go-just-not-to-*******-Millwall-ok?Pat has firmly settled in the area and it would be no surprise if the family home remains in London SE, along with a sizeable piece of his heart. But an athlete's career is brief and uncertain, and if his market value rises he may get few other chances to exploit his talents. And he must go where his salary is paid.(One of the most admirable features of the boys of 18/19 is that they never held back, shirked a tackle or gave less than 110%, even though contracts were ticking down and an untimely late-season injury would be catastrophic. Becoming a free agent when injured - anyone give a thought to the likes of Leon Best, poor devil?)So, we never spoke about his contract and its inexorable depletion. At the start of the season he briefly went public to say that he would not be signing a new deal. This I firmly believe to be the result of what he considered a lack of respect in the club's negotiations. Basically, they didn't seem interested.Patrick is a normal bloke. He recently became a proud Dad. I have always found him courteous, friendly, loyal, reliable and rather serious. He knew great personal tragedy as a boy (see his Wiki page). Also, it is no mere stereotype that Germans covet orderliness, punctuality, efficiency, honesty and the value of contracts and agreements. These are regarded as important principles, not just words, and incidentally ones in the past for which CAFC was known and admired. Patrick has been a true stalwart during some pretty sombre and difficult times at our club. (Remarkably enough, his little daughter was born on exactly the long-expected due date, 17 May, the day of the POSF home leg, and sufficiently early in the afternoon to enable her (somewhat distracted) Dad to play that evening against Donny. That's real punctuality!!)And he has become a wanted man. I have seen eight clubs' names mentioned and doubtless there have been more. His contract has been allowed to expire just as his market value has swiftly risen. Of course he would not be leaving if Charlton's and the market's figures were reasonably close. Out of interest I would rather like to know what minimum gap would be considered acceptable.And this disparagement of his chosen club - so he's gone to PNE not PSG. Sadly our club has drifted for too many years and in London terms alone nowadays we are just a dot in Brentford's rear-view mirror. Nothing wrong with Preston, respectable and progressive. I'm afraid we've got some catching up to do.All just my opinion, of course.42 -
A few people looking down their noses at Preston need to take a reality check.
Charlton have been in league one for three seasons and are a shambles in the boardroom.
One Wembley win and some think we're Billy Big Bollocks.
Proud Preston are a decent club, well run, progressive and planning ahead. And they have a far more impressive history, albeit some of it from the century before last.
They were able and willing to offer Bauer what he considered a better package than we were willing to.
Come next Wednesday, when the Aussie/US/India takeover is confirmed, maybe we'll be able and willing to do offer more but till then let's not think we're something special when we're not.33 -
Agreed, looking at the stability in their squad and lack of "names" it reminds me of us in the 90s.Henry Irving said:A few people looking down their noses at Preston need to take a reality check.
Charlton have been in league one for three seasons and are a shambles in the boardroom.
One Wembley win and some think we're Billy Big Bollocks.
Proud Preston are a decent club, well run, progressive and planning ahead. And they have a far more impressive history, albeit some of it from the century before last.
They were able and willing to offer Bauer what he considered a better package than we were willing to.
Come next Wednesday, when the Aussie/US/India takeover is confirmed, maybe we'll be able and willing to do offer more but till then let's not think we're something special when we're not.
Their butter pies are still horrible though0 -
Some excellent comments GHF and HI. I was about to apologise ladies and gentlemen for struggling to recognise the society in which some of you live.
What is this loyalty of which you speak? If you are at work today look around you and tell me how many of your work colleagues would not entertain moving company for better pay, better respect, better security and better working conditions. If you work in a contract environment how many of your contract colleagues will be working on securing their next contract months before their current contract expires.
There is no financial equivalence between "long term" salaried and a contracted employee environment.
I was very fortunate to have survived and succeeded as a salaried employee working in an industry which during the 1990s threw 500k people out of work. Loyal employees many who had worked hard for decades were ruthlessly axed. In the last half of the decade I was always the oldest employee in the room.
In the US after 9/11 working for a sister company of one of the Airlines whose planes were attacked and whose staff died, where the whole community came together as never before, the company within 2 weeks laid off 300 contractors. In 2 months over 500 permanent staff were gone. I knew several single parents who had worked for the company for decades who were just dumped out of the door, days before Christmas.
Loyalty "you are having a larff".
Professional football is a highly competitive industry. How many thousands of players across the industry, many with real talent, fall by the wayside every year?
Under this administration (since 2013/14 season) this club has churned through 9 very nearly 10 managerial changes and 183 full professional and loan player contracts.
So whether it is Grant, Bauer or Aribo can we please park this nonsense about it just being about the money?
Money is of course important. These are professional sportsmen who have a very short career, and few opportunities to earn enough money to prepare for/ ease the rest of their life, support their family etc., The days of the loyal ex pro walking off, with maybe a testimonial, into the sunset to the joys of running the local pub or newsagent no longer exist. Cue Clive Mendonca working nightshifts on a local car production line.
However beyond the money, it is about job satisfaction, it is about the working environment, the clubhouse management, the clubhouse personnel, their quality and their ability to compete, the club culture, the club infrastructure.
In truth, if any of you moved jobs, probably all of the elements you would consider for yourself.
When will some connect to the reality;
- this club currently has at best 10 or 11 senior professionals
- just 3 have any notable Championship experience
- 7 of the players who finished the play off final are gone or likely going.
- to secure replacements to live and work in London on who knows what length of contract this very message board suggests we are offering £2.5k a week!
- our manager was nearly gone - he now has a 12 month contract.
- he has just watched the lunacy of a Manager who has secured a 63%. win ratio in 2019 have to fight to get a contract 2 weeks before his current contract expired.
- the release of another insane statement will have again writ large the nature of our club across the entire industry.
- structurally beyond the clubhouse the club resembles the Marie Celeste
- as of today we face a guaranteed relegation battle, if relegated Bauer is back playing League One football.
- it is the definition of instability. Bauer has had to live and work with this nonsense every working day for 4 yrs.
- as Lyle Taylor eloquently positioned it to his Manager how the **** did you get us promoted
Life comes with few guarantees but I defy you to take the risk of the uncertainty of a further season or two with us on say £5k per week contract, playing for an under resourced clubhouse management and staff, on the off chance a better offer MAY COME along, while assuming you are able to continue to develop your skills, ability and experience, injury free, against an on the table guaranteed £7.5k per week 3yrs contract which with signing & appearance bonuses and overall benefits will net you close to £1.5mn.
As an overseas resident who will at some point return to Germany add in the cost of living differential of 35/40% between the Manchester/ Preston area and London and you may better understand the decision. To maintain the same standard of living every £2.5k spent in Preston would cost you £4624 in London. If he owns the Chislehurst property he could rent it out at 2.5 times the rental he would pay in Preston.
If he believes his Championship and potential PL prospects are better secured in Preston and sees at least the ambition of competing at the top of the table for the next 3yrs and believes he can contribute to such ambition tell me how he is wrong. Alex Neil is a very decent Manager while Hemmings has proven a solid owner. PNE is a very normal club with normal ambitions. No hidden or alternative agenda, no eccentric, obsessive or draconian demands re squad construct.
The club we support operates in a competitive challenging industry. We are either able to compete or we are not. I tire of this endless poor us complex, its not our fault, its the EFL, its the industry, its the players, its their agents, their Mum or their Dad.
These challenges come with the territory. They are the same for everybody. To a greater or lesser degree they have been part & parcel of the industry for decades. You either know what your are doing or you do not. You are either a winner or a loser. You are not going to win on every occasion but it is where industry knowledge, expertise and experience comes into play. Crucially if you are going to employ industry experience then it is to your advantage to support and empower it.
The club had the opportunity to invest in both Grant and Aribo, before last season started, to protect their own interests. The club had the further opportunity to invest in Bauer.
Each player fulfilled the terms of their contract and each contributed to the success of the season.
The club in each case chose not to protect its interests. It has only itself to blame.
For a business model supposedly about developing players for the betterment of the club someone seriously seems to have their wires crossed. If you are not prepared to invest in your mainstream strategy then you have nowhere to go.
As of today we have a development squad of 22/23 players, if including Aoucheria and Bonne, 7 of whom have just joined from other clubs with 5 just promoted from the Academy. It is where Avory, Euell and Co will need to earn their money in support of Gallen and Bowyer. If you have the correct structure, decision point criteria and investment funding it is where you protect your interests.
Grant, Bauer have gone and likely Aribo will move on. We move on.
I greatly appreciate Messrs Bowyer, Gallen and Jackson accepting the significant challenge of starting again. In truth they deserved better. In the current circumstances we will all need to respect the challenges they and the new players will face and be very patient indeed.
I wish them every good fortune in their endeavours.
I thank Patrick Bauer for his contribution to the club and wish him every success in the future - just not against us. He was a proper professional and proper defender.
It was a real pleasure to see him wear our shirt.
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Exactly, if the state of the area came into consideration he would never have signed for us would he, areas around the valley are hardly enticing to live in.Exiled_Addick said:
Preston's a crap hole, but on 6k a week he won't need to live in a former council terrace house. Parts of Cheshire and Lancashire are very nice indeed, and Manchester is close by. I'm sure he'll be just fine.MuttleyCAFC said:Has he seen Preston? He might get a bit of a shock. Or maybe just relieved it isn't Blackburn!0 -
"Everything has an end, only the sausage has two."
I have never heard that one before. Thanks GHF. Enjoyed your post.
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Further to Grapevine's post, most of our youngsters are out of contract next year.0
