I feel that I should be hugely disappointed but I'm in more of a 'concerned' camp.
Of the two obvious gaps central defence is the biggest risk. If something happens to O'Connell then we are in shit - Inniss and Lavelle as pair feels clumsy in this system and we all know Ryan's injury weaknesses. That leaves youngsters - Elerewe, Ness and, maybe, Bakrin. All very promising players and I suspect Ness would be the first choice given Elerewe's loan. I think he could well swim rather than sink but the position is an clear risk.
With the sole striker position there is still a risk but I feel there are more options. There is little doubt in my mind that Leaburn is ready - if I were Garner I'd be considering starting him ahead of Stockley in any event. Not only is Leaburn a physical beast, he has proved he knows where the goal is but, above all, it is clear that he is a very intelligent footballer adapting his game as the match develops. Stockley, whilst not ideal, is nowhere near as bad as some make out, even in this system. Aneke may or may not stay fit and, failing that, I think Payne would be a good choice as a false 9. Not ready to start yet but Kanu on the bench wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. So more options than with central defence and I'm glad we didn't get Bonne.
Not sure what Macauley's laughing at, QPR fans don't want him either. 3 goals in 37.
Ipswich didn’t bust a gut to get him back either. If he had joined it would have been only because he was available and we missed out on all our other targets. It’s definitely down to money being tight. I doubt we’re in financial trouble but we’re sadly year on year dropping into the middle pack of league one clubs. I genuinely think Garner is a talented coach and going places but he won’t stick around long if we show nothing in terms of ambition.
I am personally glad that we didnt sign Bonne, I dont believe he is better than what we have. I also think that the January window will be the real test of TS's ambition If Leaburn continues his metoric rise then there may be bids, if we are in or around the play off places then any such bid being accepted would end any notion of TS seeing Charlton as a long term project.
If that Twitter post from Bonne is genuine then it's probably for the best that he didn't sign. We would have been paying a wage for someone that wouldn't have been putting in any effort.
I've always back Sandgaard, but the end of this window has done me. He hasn't got the resources, god knows what would happen if we got to the championship.
For us to compete properly, he needs to sell.
to who?
i think we are at least in a safe pair of hands with TS at the moment.
"Safe" in what sense? I think too many people believe what he says when he talks about breaking even. Nobody with any understanding of the club's finances thinks that is remotely achievable year on year. In fact, you don't even need to understand the finances - his five-year ambition, his predictions last season, his idea that he can fill The Valley in L1, his claim that he was about to achieve Category One status, the due diligence he claimed to have done on the NFT sponsor, have all been exposed. Why would anyone believe his latest line?
I would agree that Sandgaard is an upgrade on ESI and Duchatelet, has some positive personal qualities, and that the team is more interesting to watch and likely to do better than last season, but there is a big hole in the project and it is his credibility. It isn't going to work financially and for that reason the club is far from "safe", albeit it's a slow motion car crash this time.
The end game will be someone buying Duchatelet out, in my opinion. It won't be Thomas.
I’m taking this seasons team over last seasons 8 days a week.
But that 21/22 team didn't reflect the squad available, as Clare and Dobson had been dropped by Adkins, while Stockley and Purrington were injured, and Davison and Pearce were still available plus Leko. CBT and Inniss are missing from both teams
I'd suggest that the 22/23 squad has slightly more quality, but that the 21/22 squad has more depth
There has been some positives to this summer transfer window. Some very decent players were signed who fit a system, while others who didn’t were moved on.
But why say we’re not going to leave it to the last minute, then do exactly that for the crucial last two pieces of the jigsaw?
It’s especially galling when you consider the extra money we got for former players like Pope moving on.
I know, I know, Thomas is shelling out on running costs. But he’ll be doing that next summer too. He had some extra money this summer, but didn’t use it. All the other signings were free transfers. Spending £500k on a striker or a centre back would have made a big difference to our chances.
That’s the biggest disappointment imo. But it seems cost cutting is the mantra from now on.
So…we need to back Garner and the team and hope they can swerve an injury crisis and stay on course for the play offs. COYRs.
On wednesday night we saw how good some of our youngsters are.As long as we dont get a mass of injuries to senior players,these lads can step in and play alongside and will not look out of place.Would Bonne score more goals than Leaburn this year,would a journeyman CB be better cover than Ness.Henry looks as though he is waiting for that opportunity of a run in the team.Used correctly these lads will do the job ,no panic from me over the non signings.
I agree but is Ness ready to play a dozen games in league one?
Henry is a real prospect but is he yet strong enough? And remember how he gave the ball away on Wednesday.
Gillingham were terrible, the kids won't face many sides that poor.
And we already have a mass of injuries CBT Sessegnon McGrandles Aneke Egbo Inniss
All out
The answer your question is I dont know if they will be good enough,but the only way to find out is on the pitch.Henry is not so urgent as we have midfield cover,but I still think he grows in confidence every time I see him ,also he can shoot from distance which is something we are lacking.Ness probably could not play 12 games on the spin,but I think maybe a short run alongside,one of the regulars ,he would be ok.My one point I will stick by,is that I prefer an 18 year old Leaburn to Bonne.
I reckon TS is short of money for us. Events like getting rid of people indicate this. Ben Garner has to play the hand he’s got. If Garner isn’t positive about that then he should leave. The remaining question is if there is anybody with the resources to take over the club. I doubt there is anybody, so maybe the choice is the situation we have now or no club at all.
Personally I have felt uplifted by the U21 game on Tuesday, and the silly buggers cup game on Wednesday, and the transfer window shenanigans will not diminish that feeling. Provided we still continue to play well and get actual results it is easy to enjoy this season, starting with trying to follow the progress of our U21’s at Barnsley at 2pm this afternoon. Tomorrow at Bolton is a must win and not a day for miserable excuses. The spectre at the feast is not whether we signed anybody yesterday, but potential and actual injuries.
I definitely think the club is short of money. I’d expect some movement in come January but I get the impression we’ll be selling too and I don’t mean a couple of fringe players.
Most of best players will have 6 month left on their contracts in January. No one's going to be paying significant sums for them at that point.
Does that mean we won’t sell then ?
It means that buying clubs will offer fees so low that they won't come close to offsetting our losses and the players themselves will probably refuse to leave knowing that they can negotiate substantial signing bonuses and higher wages by waiting the season out. If the club was going to sell without having it's pants pulled down then yesterday was the last real opportunity.
I've always back Sandgaard, but the end of this window has done me. He hasn't got the resources, god knows what would happen if we got to the championship.
For us to compete properly, he needs to sell.
to who?
i think we are at least in a safe pair of hands with TS at the moment.
"Safe" in what sense? I think too many people believe what he says when he talks about breaking even. Nobody with any understanding of the club's finances thinks that is remotely achievable year on year. In fact, you don't even need to understand the finances - his five-year ambition, his predictions last season, his idea that he can fill The Valley in L1, his claim that he was about to achieve Category One status, the due diligence he claimed to have done on the NFT sponsor, have all been exposed. Why would anyone believe his latest line?
I would agree that Sandgaard is an upgrade on ESI and Duchatelet, has some positive personal qualities, and that the team is more interesting to watch and likely to do better than last season, but there is a big hole in the project and it is his credibility. It isn't going to work financially and for that reason the club is far from "safe", albeit it's a slow motion car crash this time.
The end game will be someone buying Duchatelet out, in my opinion. It won't be Thomas.
I agree that Sandgaard has completely underestimated the task and and is making it up as he goes along, but what has Sandgaard got to sell bar a failing football club.
If someone buys duchatalet out, I can't see it being easy to do with the madness of him and even someone with serious wealth in the billions would have find it hard negotiating it with him or even contacting him.
Which is why I think were more likely to end up with crooks.
I will be happy if we can see this season out with good football and figure out who works in this system, improve on the squad and go again next season with a real chance of autos (as I believe this league could look weaker next year round)
however, my concern is we fail in the play offs or just miss out, we lose our key players and Ben Garner is approached by a championship side and goes, I imagine in his contract it will read somewhere any offers for him must be listened to, wouldn’t surprise me based on his ambition.
Then we really are back to square one, right now things are promising so it would be a shame
Sometimes we are a bit better and louder as fans when angry, positive energy and all that. I'll be singing loudly on Saturday's at 3pm.....from a laptop vpn!
So in our squad we still have DJ, who was about to go out on loan, until it was cancelled at 10:59pm, so he'll be unhappy.
Plus we presumably still have JFC as well, unless we cancelled his contract. Will he be allowed to play in the league now, as clearly there was something odd going on?
I've always back Sandgaard, but the end of this window has done me. He hasn't got the resources, god knows what would happen if we got to the championship.
For us to compete properly, he needs to sell.
to who?
i think we are at least in a safe pair of hands with TS at the moment.
"Safe" in what sense? I think too many people believe what he says when he talks about breaking even. Nobody with any understanding of the club's finances thinks that is remotely achievable year on year. In fact, you don't even need to understand the finances - his five-year ambition, his predictions last season, his idea that he can fill The Valley in L1, his claim that he was about to achieve Category One status, the due diligence he claimed to have done on the NFT sponsor, have all been exposed. Why would anyone believe his latest line?
I would agree that Sandgaard is an upgrade on ESI and Duchatelet, has some positive personal qualities, and that the team is more interesting to watch and likely to do better than last season, but there is a big hole in the project and it is his credibility. It isn't going to work financially and for that reason the club is far from "safe", albeit it's a slow motion car crash this time.
The end game will be someone buying Duchatelet out, in my opinion. It won't be Thomas.
Have you met any? It's an objective driving decision making, but I don't know of anyone who thinks it's achievable in L1.
I've always back Sandgaard, but the end of this window has done me. He hasn't got the resources, god knows what would happen if we got to the championship.
For us to compete properly, he needs to sell.
to who?
i think we are at least in a safe pair of hands with TS at the moment.
"Safe" in what sense? I think too many people believe what he says when he talks about breaking even. Nobody with any understanding of the club's finances thinks that is remotely achievable year on year. In fact, you don't even need to understand the finances - his five-year ambition, his predictions last season, his idea that he can fill The Valley in L1, his claim that he was about to achieve Category One status, the due diligence he claimed to have done on the NFT sponsor, have all been exposed. Why would anyone believe his latest line?
I would agree that Sandgaard is an upgrade on ESI and Duchatelet, has some positive personal qualities, and that the team is more interesting to watch and likely to do better than last season, but there is a big hole in the project and it is his credibility. It isn't going to work financially and for that reason the club is far from "safe", albeit it's a slow motion car crash this time.
The end game will be someone buying Duchatelet out, in my opinion. It won't be Thomas.
I agree that Sandgaard has completely underestimated the task and and is making it up as he goes along, but what has Sandgaard got to sell bar a failing football club.
If someone buys duchatalet out, I can't see it being easy to do with the madness of him and even someone with serious wealth in the billions would have find it hard negotiating it with him or even contacting him.
Which is why I think were more likely to end up with crooks.
I agree he has little or nothing to sell. He is using his revenue projections to argue otherwise, but they are nonsense. He may be able to survive with windfall transfer profits for a while, but it's not sustainable.
He could get lucky with Ben Garner or his successor, as Roland did, and get back in the Championship, which would help. But I still think are some very wealthy people around who may fancy a London-based club with a stadium equipped to host Premier League football and manage to sort Roland out with a deal based on the latter.
Would Sandgaard sell to crooks? I think better of him than that, but it may depend how desperate he gets.
If that Twitter post from Bonne is genuine then it's probably for the best that he didn't sign. We would have been paying a wage for someone that wouldn't have been putting in any effort.
I've always back Sandgaard, but the end of this window has done me. He hasn't got the resources, god knows what would happen if we got to the championship.
For us to compete properly, he needs to sell.
to who?
i think we are at least in a safe pair of hands with TS at the moment.
"Safe" in what sense? I think too many people believe what he says when he talks about breaking even. Nobody with any understanding of the club's finances thinks that is remotely achievable year on year. In fact, you don't even need to understand the finances - his five-year ambition, his predictions last season, his idea that he can fill The Valley in L1, his claim that he was about to achieve Category One status, the due diligence he claimed to have done on the NFT sponsor, have all been exposed. Why would anyone believe his latest line?
I would agree that Sandgaard is an upgrade on ESI and Duchatelet, has some positive personal qualities, and that the team is more interesting to watch and likely to do better than last season, but there is a big hole in the project and it is his credibility. It isn't going to work financially and for that reason the club is far from "safe", albeit it's a slow motion car crash this time.
The end game will be someone buying Duchatelet out, in my opinion. It won't be Thomas.
There are three types of fan at the moment and I will rank them in order of importance to the future of the club. I have held this view for quite some time but appreciate it is not a popular one. I shall start with the least important fans. These are the ones that are Charlton through and through and would watch us every week in the national league. They would be the most important if there was enough of them but there isn't and as they will eat whatever shit they are given, why bother giving them anything decent.
Then you have the next most important. Charlton fans who may be a bit disillusioned in recent years and are no longer season ticket holders and um and ah about whether to attend a game or not. They are and always will be Charlton fans though. They are the next most important as they can make the crowds and revenues more decent but probably not enough ultimately. You can of course take a leaf out of a certain poster's book and call them all traitors and you know whats but that won't get them back. Good winning football and optimism for the future after so many knock backs will do that.
Then you have the most important fans of all. These are potential and fickle fans who need persuading Charlton is their club. The demographics in our catchment area is a positive and suggests there is something to unlock, but you need a key to unlock it. And a plan.
Of course this isn't fair on the true die hard fans but it that doesn't make it untrue IMO. There will always be a few thousand turning up and watching us play Barnet in the National League. But the club has to grow, not shrink. It is already in a place where it is too big to be viable and it either has to get out of that place or shrink appropriately. Which it is gradually doing from what I can see.
I guess it boils down to what kind of owner we want / have. Wednesday are falling over themselves at the moment with 11 signings and a first team squad where 21 have played championship or higher. All of that comes at a cost, not one that is sustainable for the club or owner.
If TS plan is to put out a competitive team, then it is crucial for him and fans to be realistic as to what our aims should look like.
Are we now a mid-table 3rd tier club trying to punch above its financial weight?
Don't like Bonne , never have , a complete twat who is nicking a living. Thank fuck the useless prick didn't sign .
Nicking a living is harsh. He was plucked for too much too soon from Charlton and The Championship was too big a leap for him to bridge. He’s now on decent money with only league one clubs interested. What’s he to do ?
On wednesday night we saw how good some of our youngsters are.As long as we dont get a mass of injuries to senior players,these lads can step in and play alongside and will not look out of place.Would Bonne score more goals than Leaburn this year,would a journeyman CB be better cover than Ness.Henry looks as though he is waiting for that opportunity of a run in the team.Used correctly these lads will do the job ,no panic from me over the non signings.
Probably come across as sarcasm because the majority are nursing deadline day hangovers but I’m with you on this 👍🏻
We have 5 out already and the season barely started. I love watching the young players develop, but having a good game against a 4th level team team's semi reserve team is not the same as playing Sheff Wednesday. The only player from the youth team who has really established hinself in the first team in the past few years is Morgan. It is a very big ask to step up from youth to first team level. Wishful thinking will not cover the basic fact that Sandgaard has decided not to invest in the team any more. As he himself said, he wants to save money not invest it. Very few businesses of any type succeed for very long with that approach.
I've always back Sandgaard, but the end of this window has done me. He hasn't got the resources, god knows what would happen if we got to the championship.
For us to compete properly, he needs to sell.
to who?
i think we are at least in a safe pair of hands with TS at the moment.
"Safe" in what sense? I think too many people believe what he says when he talks about breaking even. Nobody with any understanding of the club's finances thinks that is remotely achievable year on year. In fact, you don't even need to understand the finances - his five-year ambition, his predictions last season, his idea that he can fill The Valley in L1, his claim that he was about to achieve Category One status, the due diligence he claimed to have done on the NFT sponsor, have all been exposed. Why would anyone believe his latest line?
I would agree that Sandgaard is an upgrade on ESI and Duchatelet, has some positive personal qualities, and that the team is more interesting to watch and likely to do better than last season, but there is a big hole in the project and it is his credibility. It isn't going to work financially and for that reason the club is far from "safe", albeit it's a slow motion car crash this time.
The end game will be someone buying Duchatelet out, in my opinion. It won't be Thomas.
safe as in we aren't in any immediate danger of going under with chancers and con men taking as much as they can out of the club as quick as they can.
Comments
Of the two obvious gaps central defence is the biggest risk. If something happens to O'Connell then we are in shit - Inniss and Lavelle as pair feels clumsy in this system and we all know Ryan's injury weaknesses. That leaves youngsters - Elerewe, Ness and, maybe, Bakrin. All very promising players and I suspect Ness would be the first choice given Elerewe's loan. I think he could well swim rather than sink but the position is an clear risk.
With the sole striker position there is still a risk but I feel there are more options. There is little doubt in my mind that Leaburn is ready - if I were Garner I'd be considering starting him ahead of Stockley in any event. Not only is Leaburn a physical beast, he has proved he knows where the goal is but, above all, it is clear that he is a very intelligent footballer adapting his game as the match develops. Stockley, whilst not ideal, is nowhere near as bad as some make out, even in this system. Aneke may or may not stay fit and, failing that, I think Payne would be a good choice as a false 9. Not ready to start yet but Kanu on the bench wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. So more options than with central defence and I'm glad we didn't get Bonne.
I would agree that Sandgaard is an upgrade on ESI and Duchatelet, has some positive personal qualities, and that the team is more interesting to watch and likely to do better than last season, but there is a big hole in the project and it is his credibility. It isn't going to work financially and for that reason the club is far from "safe", albeit it's a slow motion car crash this time.
The end game will be someone buying Duchatelet out, in my opinion. It won't be Thomas.
I'd suggest that the 22/23 squad has slightly more quality, but that the 21/22 squad has more depth
Fuck him.
If someone buys duchatalet out, I can't see it being easy to do with the madness of him and even someone with serious wealth in the billions would have find it hard negotiating it with him or even contacting him.
Which is why I think were more likely to end up with crooks.
however, my concern is we fail in the play offs or just miss out, we lose our key players and Ben Garner is approached by a championship side and goes, I imagine in his contract it will read somewhere any offers for him must be listened to, wouldn’t surprise me based on his ambition.
This thread could be used as a clinical psychology case study.
Plus we presumably still have JFC as well, unless we cancelled his contract. Will he be allowed to play in the league now, as clearly there was something odd going on?
He could get lucky with Ben Garner or his successor, as Roland did, and get back in the Championship, which would help. But I still think are some very wealthy people around who may fancy a London-based club with a stadium equipped to host Premier League football and manage to sort Roland out with a deal based on the latter.
Would Sandgaard sell to crooks? I think better of him than that, but it may depend how desperate he gets.
Then you have the next most important. Charlton fans who may be a bit disillusioned in recent years and are no longer season ticket holders and um and ah about whether to attend a game or not. They are and always will be Charlton fans though. They are the next most important as they can make the crowds and revenues more decent but probably not enough ultimately. You can of course take a leaf out of a certain poster's book and call them all traitors and you know whats but that won't get them back. Good winning football and optimism for the future after so many knock backs will do that.
Then you have the most important fans of all. These are potential and fickle fans who need persuading Charlton is their club. The demographics in our catchment area is a positive and suggests there is something to unlock, but you need a key to unlock it. And a plan.
Of course this isn't fair on the true die hard fans but it that doesn't make it untrue IMO. There will always be a few thousand turning up and watching us play Barnet in the National League. But the club has to grow, not shrink. It is already in a place where it is too big to be viable and it either has to get out of that place or shrink appropriately. Which it is gradually doing from what I can see.
If TS plan is to put out a competitive team, then it is crucial for him and fans to be realistic as to what our aims should look like.
Are we now a mid-table 3rd tier club trying to punch above its financial weight?
Famous Chinese proverb...if you give it to a young footballer on social media don't cry when young footballer returns it.
Hilarious grown men abusing people online or in the stands then spleen shitting when they get a bit of needle back.