Not every player you bring in will be a success. That’s a fact.
For every Mark Kinsella, John Robinson, Clive Mendonca, Josh Cullen you will have a Ralph Milne, Simon Francis, Neil Redfearn.
Of course, I don't think anyone will argue they should be. But you've got to weight up the good signings and the bad. That's not all down to a lack of budget, just like the early part of RD's reign, we've wasted money and I can't see how Gallen is blameless.
Nowhere on this thread have I said he’s blameless on here, however is not a miracle worker or a magician. You will get players in for whatever reason don’t work out. That’s a fact
Yes, it's stating the obvious that not everybody will work out. You did say he's not the problem, which I disagree with, he's definitely part of it, the extent to which is probably unclear (certainly not the major problem). We can talk about budgets, but the budget from Sandgaard wasn't unreasonable at all until the summer.
Not every player you bring in will be a success. That’s a fact.
For every Mark Kinsella, John Robinson, Clive Mendonca, Josh Cullen you will have a Ralph Milne, Simon Francis, Neil Redfearn.
Of course, I don't think anyone will argue they should be. But you've got to weight up the good signings and the bad. That's not all down to a lack of budget, just like the early part of RD's reign, we've wasted money and I can't see how Gallen is blameless.
Nowhere on this thread have I said he’s blameless on here, however is not a miracle worker or a magician. You will get players in for whatever reason don’t work out. That’s a fact
Yes, it's stating the obvious that not everybody will work out. You did say he's not the problem, which I disagree with, he's definitely part of it, the extent to which is probably unclear (certainly not the major problem). We can talk about budgets, but the budget from Sandgaard wasn't unreasonable at all until the summer.
That’s what forums are about. We have different opinions. You have yours and I have mine.
Sandgaard , his partner and his son are the main problem in my opinion at this football club
Not every player you bring in will be a success. That’s a fact.
For every Mark Kinsella, John Robinson, Clive Mendonca, Josh Cullen you will have a Ralph Milne, Simon Francis, Neil Redfearn.
Of course, I don't think anyone will argue they should be. But you've got to weight up the good signings and the bad. That's not all down to a lack of budget, just like the early part of RD's reign, we've wasted money and I can't see how Gallen is blameless.
Nowhere on this thread have I said he’s blameless on here, however is not a miracle worker or a magician. You will get players in for whatever reason don’t work out. That’s a fact
Yes, it's stating the obvious that not everybody will work out. You did say he's not the problem, which I disagree with, he's definitely part of it, the extent to which is probably unclear (certainly not the major problem). We can talk about budgets, but the budget from Sandgaard wasn't unreasonable at all until the summer.
That’s what forums are about. We have different opinions. You have yours and I have mine.
Sandgaard , his partner and his son are the main problem in my opinion at this football club
Agreed, as I think most of us will. But this thread is specifically about Gallen, his role at the club and the job he performs (admittedly they obviously crossover).
Let’s play devils advocate here then? Gallen resigns as of today. Who replaces him or does Sandgaard let Junior take more control than he already has?
Would things improve?
No I don't think that things improve. But that doesn't mean Gallen hasn't contributed to us getting this point (where we've wasted money and stopped spending) without progression. What you're hinting about is probably correct, Martin takes on more and that certainly wouldn't be a positive.
A different question. If Sandgaard sold the club in March and a new owner came in and set the biggest budget in League 1 for next season, would you want Gallen as head of recruitment to get us promoted?
Not every player you bring in will be a success. That’s a fact.
For every Mark Kinsella, John Robinson, Clive Mendonca, Josh Cullen you will have a Ralph Milne, Simon Francis, Neil Redfearn.
Of course, I don't think anyone will argue they should be. But you've got to weight up the good signings and the bad. That's not all down to a lack of budget, just like the early part of RD's reign, we've wasted money and I can't see how Gallen is blameless.
Nowhere on this thread have I said he’s blameless on here, however is not a miracle worker or a magician. You will get players in for whatever reason don’t work out. That’s a fact
Yes, it's stating the obvious that not everybody will work out. You did say he's not the problem, which I disagree with, he's definitely part of it, the extent to which is probably unclear (certainly not the major problem). We can talk about budgets, but the budget from Sandgaard wasn't unreasonable at all until the summer.
That’s what forums are about. We have different opinions. You have yours and I have mine.
Sandgaard , his partner and his son are the main problem in my opinion at this football club
Agreed, as I think most of us will. But this thread is specifically about Gallen, his role at the club and the job he performs (admittedly they obviously crossover).
You have just answered your own question there at the end, which I agree with
Let’s play devils advocate here then? Gallen resigns as of today. Who replaces him or does Sandgaard let Junior take more control than he already has?
Would things improve?
No I don't think that things improve. But that doesn't mean Gallen hasn't contributed to us getting this point (where we've wasted money and stopped spending) without progression. What you're hinting about is probably correct, Martin takes on more and that certainly wouldn't be a positive.
A different question. If Sandgaard sold the club in March and a new owner came in and set the biggest budget in League 1 for next season, would you want Gallen as head of recruitment to get us promoted?
I would personally. His track record of getting promotion back in 2019 with Bowyer speaks volumes. People will then argue that we got relegated the following season, so that would counter act that.
I think it’s impossible to judge. The whole club both on the pitch and back of house is a shit show and the employees are without doubt to a man doing the best they can with what they’re given. Until the club is properly funded with a CEO that knows how football works with enough staff to improve things then I find it hard to find blame with anyone other than the owner.
Let’s play devils advocate here then? Gallen resigns as of today. Who replaces him or does Sandgaard let Junior take more control than he already has?
Would things improve?
No I don't think that things improve. But that doesn't mean Gallen hasn't contributed to us getting this point (where we've wasted money and stopped spending) without progression. What you're hinting about is probably correct, Martin takes on more and that certainly wouldn't be a positive.
A different question. If Sandgaard sold the club in March and a new owner came in and set the biggest budget in League 1 for next season, would you want Gallen as head of recruitment to get us promoted?
I would personally. His track record of getting promotion back in 2019 with Bowyer speaks volumes. People will then argue that we got relegated the following season, so that would counter act that.
I don't blame relegation on him. He helped bring some poor players to the club like Deji, Oztumer and the Brighton lads but that budget was non-existent. Some labelled him a miracle worker which was rubbish, a miracle worker would have signed better players irrespective of the budget, Gallen did as expected, building a league 1 side with a league 1 budget. The bigger concern has been under Sandgaard and until the summer I don't think it's fair to say we haven't spent.
Happy to agree to disagree. In my scenario above I'd certainly keep him at the club and I think his asset is his negotiation. But I'd prefer to have a new recruitment team in place with fresh ideas and leave Gallen to the latter part.
Leaving aside the job he does for good or ill, on a personal level I have always found him to be charming, articulate, and easy to communicate with. Very likeable.
At the Back to The Valley dinner last Thursday, Gallen made a specific point of coming over to the tables with the Valley Party candidates to say a personal thank you and to stress how he had worked in football for so many years but that it was such actions by the fans that made Charlton a different and special club. He didn't need to do that. In fact, no-one else did!
Obviously everyone on here can have an opinion, but without knowing all the facts, ie. A timeline of events over a period of time, judgement is not possible. Recruitment is surely a team game and without every other team member doing their bit in harmony to achieve the desired result, the actions of one person cannot really be assessed in isolation.
Some interesting comments on both sides of the argument, and as usual @ShootersHillGuru is right to say that most of us don’t have the visibility inside the club to even speculate effectively.
One non-speculative thing I would say, is that this is a business, as I am sure TS wishes us all to accept. Well in any business the buck stops at the top. Even more so if the biz is distinctly medium size and the bloke at the top gets heavily involved personally in key decisions that competitors leave to suitably qualified senior managers. And even more so if the owner brings his completely unqualified son into a senior role which clearly impacts the (apparent) role that has been assigned to Gallen.
In retrospect bringing his son in is the point when the light should have changed from flashing amber to red for me, and I’m embarrassed that I didnt face up to it, preferring to keep telling myself that he saved us from the crooks. It remains true but it is also true that the state of our squad (including its fitness, as I keep saying) is ultimately on him.
TS described him more as a negotiator didn’t he? In other words not necessarily the one identifying targets.
I think this is where his main role is now. We dont seen to have a scouting system any more & Sandgaard Junior seems to be the one identifying targets......mainly via the "black box".
Up until the summer I would have said Gallen was in credit, and with that I would include Sess & JRS as positive recruits. But taking into account the lack of a left back & letting Washington go without any decent replacements then recruitment this summer has been poor.....and getting worse. I dread to think what loans we might scrape together by Feb 1st but I doubt they will be the quality needed.
SG has done sterling work up until now & comes across as a knowledgeable & likeable bloke. To save his own skin its probably best he walks away asap.
TS said recruitment is a four way process, him, MS, SG and whoever is the manager at that given hour and if all four don't agree, then said player isn't signed.
I wonder how true that is? If big bollox Sangaard and little bollox Sandgaard both want said player. then do they push it through?
TS said recruitment is a four way process, him, MS, SG and whoever is the manager at that given hour and if all four don't agree, then said player isn't signed.
I wonder how true that is? If big bollox Sangaard and little bollox Sandgaard both want said player. then do they push it through?
Only one player comes to mind and that would be Ronnie Schwartz on an individual that may have had Sandgaard written all over it.
TS said recruitment is a four way process, him, MS, SG and whoever is the manager at that given hour and if all four don't agree, then said player isn't signed.
I wonder how true that is? If big bollox Sangaard and little bollox Sandgaard both want said player. then do they push it through?
And if all four never agree, no-one would be signed. Sometimes you might have to agree to a signing that doesn't overly appeal, or a gap just doesn't get plugged at all.
I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it’s budget. Look at the 2018/2019 team he put together.
We paid decent fees for DJ, Stockley, Kirk, Aneke, Fraser, Lavelle etc, so it's not as if we have a squad full of freebies. It's only this summer where the chequebook has gone missing
Not every player you bring in will be a success. That’s a fact.
For every Mark Kinsella, John Robinson, Clive Mendonca, Josh Cullen you will have a Ralph Milne, Simon Francis, Neil Redfearn.
Of course, I don't think anyone will argue they should be. But you've got to weight up the good signings and the bad. That's not all down to a lack of budget, just like the early part of RD's reign, we've wasted money and I can't see how Gallen is blameless.
Nowhere on this thread have I said he’s blameless on here, however is not a miracle worker or a magician. You will get players in for whatever reason don’t work out. That’s a fact
Yes, it's stating the obvious that not everybody will work out. You did say he's not the problem, which I disagree with, he's definitely part of it, the extent to which is probably unclear (certainly not the major problem). We can talk about budgets, but the budget from Sandgaard wasn't unreasonable at all until the summer.
That’s what forums are about. We have different opinions. You have yours and I have mine.
Sandgaard , his partner and his son are the main problem in my opinion at this football club
Agreed, as I think most of us will. But this thread is specifically about Gallen, his role at the club and the job he performs (admittedly they obviously crossover).
The biggest problem with commenting on how good, or not, Gallen is at his job is it is never very clear what his actual job is. Everytime any one at the club talks about recruitment Gallen's role in it comes out differently. Including when Gallen talks.
TS said recruitment is a four way process, him, MS, SG and whoever is the manager at that given hour and if all four don't agree, then said player isn't signed.
I wonder how true that is? If big bollox Sangaard and little bollox Sandgaard both want said player. then do they push it through?
No one seems to stay at the club who shows any signs of disagreeing with the owners. A four way process but a couple of voices are louder than the others.
if you sent a blind man into harrods with a million pound and said buy what you want, he wouldnt necessarily come out with decent things. If you send a man who can see into harrods with a pound , he cant afford anything but he has to still make a choice on buying something. This is Steve Gallen
His best work was when Tommy Driesen was still at the club, genuinely
I remember that first window sans Tommy and him tweeting about (i'm paraphrasing from memory) "I genuinely don't know how they are going to recruit players, Steve is excellent at the negotiating and has great contacts, but there's no one left to help identify players".
And that window was a shambles, but obviously mainly because of the Southall stuff, but since then we've had several below-par windows. This recent one has probably been our least bad, as in no real duds, but there's also no incredible bits of recruitment (apart from JRS on loan, obvs)
Not sure Martin Sandegaard is up to it. I'm not sure he could pull off the cardigan at a training ground look either.
Comments
Would things improve?
A different question. If Sandgaard sold the club in March and a new owner came in and set the biggest budget in League 1 for next season, would you want Gallen as head of recruitment to get us promoted?
Happy to agree to disagree. In my scenario above I'd certainly keep him at the club and I think his asset is his negotiation. But I'd prefer to have a new recruitment team in place with fresh ideas and leave Gallen to the latter part.
Recruitment is surely a team game and without every other team member doing their bit in harmony to achieve the desired result, the actions of one person cannot really be assessed in isolation.
In retrospect bringing his son in is the point when the light should have changed from flashing amber to red for me, and I’m embarrassed that I didnt face up to it, preferring to keep telling myself that he saved us from the crooks. It remains true but it is also true that the state of our squad (including its fitness, as I keep saying) is ultimately on him.
Up until the summer I would have said Gallen was in credit, and with that I would include Sess & JRS as positive recruits. But taking into account the lack of a left back & letting Washington go without any decent replacements then recruitment this summer has been poor.....and getting worse. I dread to think what loans we might scrape together by Feb 1st but I doubt they will be the quality needed.
SG has done sterling work up until now & comes across as a knowledgeable & likeable bloke. To save his own skin its probably best he walks away asap.
DJ, Lavelle, Kirk etc etc.
How many of his signings have we gone on to make a profit on? Bonne... Any others?
He has had to work during turmoil but so do many at L1 level and most would be delighted to have had his budget in the last 2 yrs or so.
Nice chap, hope he improves but I have doubts... If he was that good someone up the pyramid would have taken him by now.
I wonder how true that is? If big bollox Sangaard and little bollox Sandgaard both want said player. then do they push it through?
he put together.
And that window was a shambles, but obviously mainly because of the Southall stuff, but since then we've had several below-par windows. This recent one has probably been our least bad, as in no real duds, but there's also no incredible bits of recruitment (apart from JRS on loan, obvs)
Not sure Martin Sandegaard is up to it. I'm not sure he could pull off the cardigan at a training ground look either.