If TS is serious about promotion, he will not sell our most outstanding player. Not only has he been our most consistent performer this season but he has a huge influence on the field and has become the crowd favourite imo. Keep George and build add to the quality around him.
I remain very pessimistic about our ability to keep him in the summer. I think a Championship side will come in for him and with a year left on his deal he'll be gone. He's just been too good for people not to notice.
I was always an admirer of Dobson and repeatedly said I could see a good player in there. In terms of Clare, I was less generous but that was because I didn't think he gave us what we needed in midfield. I always acknowledged his work rate. Now Jacko has found a place for Clare, I like him in that position.
A few games into the season many fans derided both Dobson and Clare (who has also shown his qualities and while playing out of position) and were cited as prime examples of the shambolic recruitment.
Now some are worried Dobson isn't on a long enough contract and we might lose him.
Premature evaluation perhaps
Personally, I hope Dobson and Clare are two of our midfield trio next season with JFC and we buy three tall, mobile centre halves, (I think Famewo will be one) a wing back/winger or two and a Karlan Grant style striker.
Who those other five/six players are I don't know but I think Steve Gallen, who has worked wonders when left alone to do his job, does.
Not sure Deje, Bakrin, Ness, Kanu and the rest of the brilliant U18s are ready yet but Henry might.
I fear a lot of the U23s will move on along with Kirk and Davison.
And there are the older players like Watson, Souare and Gunter who won't be renewed if at all possible. I hope that includes Matthews.
Pearce has made a case to be retained but the squad cap of 21 or 22 means the old custom of keeping a senior player for coaching and the odd game just isn't viable or is a big risk.
I can’t see Fraser being back up or Jackson moving Clare to midfield. Clare’s not had many good games in midfield when he’s played there.
Famewo being dropped for Purrington suggests to me he’s not coming back. A few on here had heard that was the case. I expect Jackson wants his wide CBs to be composed on the ball, it’s one of the reasons he’s stuck with Clare for so long even when natural CBs are fit.
Who are you concerned will leave from the u23s? Very few seem to be anywhere near the first team, the u18s look to be far more promising.
With the squad cap in place it makes sense to move Davison and Kirk on rather than take a chance on either coming good for us.
Give him a new deal ASAP. You can’t keep churning every season and hoping to find gems. He is one so throw the kitchen sink at a new contract. The spine of this team should be Stockley, Dobson, Lavelle and MacG.
Two of those have missed large chunks of the season. That can’t happen again if we’re to have any sort of success next season.
Give him a new deal ASAP. You can’t keep churning every season and hoping to find gems. He is one so throw the kitchen sink at a new contract. The spine of this team should be Stockley, Dobson, Lavelle and MacG.
Two of those have missed large chunks of the season. That can’t happen again if we’re to have any sort of success next season.
Macca still has a bit to do for me... Really hope that Maynard-Brewer gets equal opportunities over the course of the pre-season friendlies - Otherwise agree with the other three.
A few games into the season many fans derided both Dobson and Clare (who has also shown his qualities and while playing out of position) and were cited as prime examples of the shambolic recruitment.
Now some are worried Dobson isn't on a long enough contract and we might lose him.
Premature evaluation perhaps
Personally, I hope Dobson and Clare are two of our midfield trio next season with JFC and we buy three tall, mobile centre halves, (I think Famewo will be one) a wing back/winger or two and a Karlan Grant style striker.
Who those other five/six players are I don't know but I think Steve Gallen, who has worked wonders when left alone to do his job, does.
Not sure Deje, Bakrin, Ness, Kanu and the rest of the brilliant U18s are ready yet but Henry might.
I fear a lot of the U23s will move on along with Kirk and Davison.
And there are the older players like Watson, Souare and Gunter who won't be renewed if at all possible. I hope that includes Matthews.
Pearce has made a case to be retained but the squad cap of 21 or 22 means the old custom of keeping a senior player for coaching and the odd game just isn't viable or is a big risk.
I can’t see Fraser being back up or Jackson moving Clare to midfield. Clare’s not had many good games in midfield when he’s played there.
Famewo being dropped for Purrington suggests to me he’s not coming back. A few on here had heard that was the case. I expect Jackson wants his wide CBs to be composed on the ball, it’s one of the reasons he’s stuck with Clare for so long even when natural CBs are fit.
Who are you concerned will leave from the u23s? Very few seem to be anywhere near the first team, the u18s look to be far more promising.
With the squad cap in place it makes sense to move Davison and Kirk on rather than take a chance on either coming good for us.
Clare had as many good games in midfield as Dobson under Adkins IMHO . I thought both were harshly judged by many fans. Dobson has had the chance to redeem his reputation in the middle but Clare hasn't.
Clare has shown he is defensively more than capable and he has more pace and better finishing than George in my view
As for Fraser, for me he has to get ahead of JFC and so far he's not shown much in a red shirt but that might change.
I said "I fear" as I never like to celebrate young players being let go but none have stood out other than perhaps Davison at Swindon. The current U18s will fill the U23s next season I hope.
I think Famewo is a better player than we've seen this year. He's young, local and probably a free transfer. He's not perfect but if we play three at the back then we need five or six CBs as cover for injuries and suspensions. I'm not sure we'll get five or six better than Famewo when we only have Lavelle under contract next year and Deje, Bakrin and Ness perhaps not ready.
A few games into the season many fans derided both Dobson and Clare (who has also shown his qualities and while playing out of position) and were cited as prime examples of the shambolic recruitment.
Now some are worried Dobson isn't on a long enough contract and we might lose him.
Premature evaluation perhaps
Personally, I hope Dobson and Clare are two of our midfield trio next season with JFC and we buy three tall, mobile centre halves, (I think Famewo will be one) a wing back/winger or two and a Karlan Grant style striker.
Who those other five/six players are I don't know but I think Steve Gallen, who has worked wonders when left alone to do his job, does.
Not sure Deje, Bakrin, Ness, Kanu and the rest of the brilliant U18s are ready yet but Henry might.
I fear a lot of the U23s will move on along with Kirk and Davison.
And there are the older players like Watson, Souare and Gunter who won't be renewed if at all possible. I hope that includes Matthews.
Pearce has made a case to be retained but the squad cap of 21 or 22 means the old custom of keeping a senior player for coaching and the odd game just isn't viable or is a big risk.
I can’t see Fraser being back up or Jackson moving Clare to midfield. Clare’s not had many good games in midfield when he’s played there.
Famewo being dropped for Purrington suggests to me he’s not coming back. A few on here had heard that was the case. I expect Jackson wants his wide CBs to be composed on the ball, it’s one of the reasons he’s stuck with Clare for so long even when natural CBs are fit.
Who are you concerned will leave from the u23s? Very few seem to be anywhere near the first team, the u18s look to be far more promising.
With the squad cap in place it makes sense to move Davison and Kirk on rather than take a chance on either coming good for us.
Clare had as many good games in midfield as Dobson under Adkins IMHO . I thought both were harshly judged by many fans. Dobson has had the chance to redeem his reputation in the middle but Clare hasn't.
Clare has shown he is defensively more than capable and he has more pace and better finishing than George in my view
As for Fraser, for me he has to get ahead of JFC and so far he's not shown much in a red shirt but that might change.
I said "I fear" as I never like to celebrate young players being let go but none have stood out other than perhaps Davison at Swindon. The current U18s will fill the U23s next season I hope.
I think Famewo is a better player than we've seen this year. He's young, local and probably a free transfer. He's not perfect but if we play three at the back then we need five or six CBs as cover for injuries and suspensions. I'm not sure we'll get five or six better than Famewo when we only have Lavelle under contract next year and Deje, Bakrin and Ness perhaps not ready.
Dobson looked very good in preseason and against Wednesday. Clare looked OK. IMO.
The problem, as I see it, is/was we signed decent to very good league 1 players last summer (bar Arter and Souare and that wouldn't have mattered as much) but we didn't sign the right players for the right roles. That's been exaggerated by a quite radical change in system.
The problem with our midfield over two seasons is bar two spells of half a dozen games we have never had all the right players playing in their best roles. One of the reasons we miss JFC so much is he is the only one that can play in different roles.
If you designed a player to play in the role Dobson has played since Jackson has been manager you would end up with Dobson. If you did the same with the RCB role, you would come up with something very similar to Clare. But that's not the role we signed either of them for. No matter how subtle the difference is. It's different enough.
The same is true, at least in part, for Lee, Kirk, Leko, Famewo, Lavelle and I would even include Stockley. It was also true of Fraser at Ipswich.
We aren't the only team to ever sign a player for one role and them fail, yet become very good in a different one. Remember Liverpool (when they first started stat based recruitment) signed Jordan Henderson as a right winger.
Dobson is a holding midfielder. If he was injured you would probably put Clare there. But Clare is not the right sort of player to be one of the other two. Whether the ones in there are, we can debate but ideally you are going to need goals from the two playing in front of Clare. Dobson scoring is a bonus. He isn't in the side to do that.
Dobson is a holding midfielder. If he was injured you would probably put Clare there. But Clare is not the right sort of player to be one of the other two. Whether the ones in there are, we can debate but ideally you are going to need goals from the two playing in front of Clare. Dobson scoring is a bonus. He isn't in the side to do that.
If it was for only a few games, I’d put JFC in there. Has the experience, nous, positional sense to not let us down for a short stretch. I do think we would miss his attacking contributions so wouldn’t want to rely on him playing there often.
The idea of Clare in the centre of the park still worries me. He’s got a decent turn of pace but I’m still not convinced he’s got the best football brain… bit of a Gilbey-type in that sense. Runs around a lot and looks busy but liable to being out of position and giving away silly fouls.
Dobson is a holding midfielder. If he was injured you would probably put Clare there. But Clare is not the right sort of player to be one of the other two. Whether the ones in there are, we can debate but ideally you are going to need goals from the two playing in front of Clare. Dobson scoring is a bonus. He isn't in the side to do that.
If it was for only a few games, I’d put JFC in there. Has the experience, nous, positional sense to not let us down for a short stretch. I do think we would miss his attacking contributions so wouldn’t want to rely on him playing there often.
The idea of Clare in the centre of the park still worries me. He’s got a decent turn of pace but I’m still not convinced he’s got the best football brain… bit of a Gilbey-type in that sense. Runs around a lot and looks busy but liable to being out of position and giving away silly fouls.
Yet has been generally defensively sound at centre back. No reason to think he won't also shine in a five man midfield as Dobson did.
His height is also an asset if you have three big centre backs behind him
I wouldn't play Clare in Dobson's position if Dobson is fit. We do have to have options. Charlton in recent years have too often found themselves in situations where they don't have good options to deal with injuries.
The majority of the time he’s been fine although there have been some bad lapses in concentration that were occasionally punished… Bolton away comes to mind in particular as one of those.
My concern would be that he is far more likely to be caught out playing the way he does when he’s in the midfield. But maybe I’m wrong. It’s not a bad idea to try him there for a few games this month if Jackson is seriously considering it for next season.
George needs to be offered a handsome pay rise and minimum 1 year extension if we are not to risk him being poached away by a higher ranked club in cahoots with his grasping "agent"
A few games into the season many fans derided both Dobson and Clare (who has also shown his qualities and while playing out of position) and were cited as prime examples of the shambolic recruitment.
Now some are worried Dobson isn't on a long enough contract and we might lose him.
Premature evaluation perhaps
Personally, I hope Dobson and Clare are two of our midfield trio next season with JFC and we buy three tall, mobile centre halves, (I think Famewo will be one) a wing back/winger or two and a Karlan Grant style striker.
Who those other five/six players are I don't know but I think Steve Gallen, who has worked wonders when left alone to do his job, does.
Not sure Deje, Bakrin, Ness, Kanu and the rest of the brilliant U18s are ready yet but Henry might.
I fear a lot of the U23s will move on along with Kirk and Davison.
And there are the older players like Watson, Souare and Gunter who won't be renewed if at all possible. I hope that includes Matthews.
Pearce has made a case to be retained but the squad cap of 21 or 22 means the old custom of keeping a senior player for coaching and the odd game just isn't viable or is a big risk.
"Personally, I hope Dobson and Clare are two of our midfield trio next season with JFC"...
There's unfortunately not enough goals in that midfield, something we have been complaining about all season!
And also, no place for Fraser who rightly or wrongly is considered a 'marquee signing' despite not being utilised properly or the team being setup in anyway to capitalise on his strengths.
Need to get a 2 year extension as soon as possible. I can see him playing in the Championship with better players around him some point soon. He's been the only player performing his job to a high standard all season. Gilbey, Lee, Morgan all going missing at will.
Give him a new deal ASAP. You can’t keep churning every season and hoping to find gems. He is one so throw the kitchen sink at a new contract. The spine of this team should be Stockley, Dobson, Lavelle and MacG.
Two of those have missed large chunks of the season. That can’t happen again if we’re to have any sort of success next season.
Macca still has a bit to do for me... Really hope that Maynard-Brewer gets equal opportunities over the course of the pre-season friendlies - Otherwise agree with the other three.
Any inside or outside knowledge about his contract situation?
Allegedly had a long term contract offered months ago. Gallen confirmed though that we have a one year option so he isnt entering his final year either way.
Any inside or outside knowledge about his contract situation?
Allegedly had a long term contract offered months ago. Gallen confirmed though that we have a one year option so he isnt entering his final year either way.
Comments
Keep George and build add to the quality around him.
Famewo being dropped for Purrington suggests to me he’s not coming back. A few on here had heard that was the case. I expect Jackson wants his wide CBs to be composed on the ball, it’s one of the reasons he’s stuck with Clare for so long even when natural CBs are fit.
Who are you concerned will leave from the u23s? Very few seem to be anywhere near the first team, the u18s look to be far more promising.
With the squad cap in place it makes sense to move Davison and Kirk on rather than take a chance on either coming good for us.
.
I thought both were harshly judged by many fans. Dobson has had the chance to redeem his reputation in the middle but Clare hasn't.
Clare has shown he is defensively more than capable and he has more pace and better finishing than George in my view
As for Fraser, for me he has to get ahead of JFC and so far he's not shown much in a red shirt but that might change.
I said "I fear" as I never like to celebrate young players being let go but none have stood out other than perhaps Davison at Swindon. The current U18s will fill the U23s next season I hope.
I think Famewo is a better player than we've seen this year. He's young, local and probably a free transfer. He's not perfect but if we play three at the back then we need five or six CBs as cover for injuries and suspensions. I'm not sure we'll get five or six better than Famewo when we only have Lavelle under contract next year and Deje, Bakrin and Ness perhaps not ready.
Four Wing backs
Six Centre mids
Five forwards
That's 21 plus keepers and the youth.
The problem, as I see it, is/was we signed decent to very good league 1 players last summer (bar Arter and Souare and that wouldn't have mattered as much) but we didn't sign the right players for the right roles. That's been exaggerated by a quite radical change in system.
The problem with our midfield over two seasons is bar two spells of half a dozen games we have never had all the right players playing in their best roles. One of the reasons we miss JFC so much is he is the only one that can play in different roles.
If you designed a player to play in the role Dobson has played since Jackson has been manager you would end up with Dobson. If you did the same with the RCB role, you would come up with something very similar to Clare. But that's not the role we signed either of them for. No matter how subtle the difference is. It's different enough.
The same is true, at least in part, for Lee, Kirk, Leko, Famewo, Lavelle and I would even include Stockley. It was also true of Fraser at Ipswich.
We aren't the only team to ever sign a player for one role and them fail, yet become very good in a different one. Remember Liverpool (when they first started stat based recruitment) signed Jordan Henderson as a right winger.
The idea of Clare in the centre of the park still worries me. He’s got a decent turn of pace but I’m still not convinced he’s got the best football brain… bit of a Gilbey-type in that sense. Runs around a lot and looks busy but liable to being out of position and giving away silly fouls.
His height is also an asset if you have three big centre backs behind him
My concern would be that he is far more likely to be caught out playing the way he does when he’s in the midfield. But maybe I’m wrong. It’s not a bad idea to try him there for a few games this month if Jackson is seriously considering it for next season.
There's unfortunately not enough goals in that midfield, something we have been complaining about all season!
And also, no place for Fraser who rightly or wrongly is considered a 'marquee signing' despite not being utilised properly or the team being setup in anyway to capitalise on his strengths.
Sadly.
Let MacG and AMB battle it out in pre season.
https://www.charltonafc.com/video/player/0_3n3r6j9k
Similar voice.