Excellent decision. The Club got too excited when they signed Stockley by appointing him captain. Sadly, it was foreseen that he would be a beast at this level but it's not quite worked out.
Less moaning, more application seems to be the polite message here.
Brilliant decision. Have not been impressed with Stockleys "leadership" on view on the pitch or his constant flouncing, whining and appealing interspersed with an unwillingness to regularly defend from the centre circle.
Right decision in my book. Dobson encapsulates everything in a captain, and importantly he is currently one of the first names on the team sheet.
I also wouldn’t say he is as ‘quiet’ as some may think he is.
On the other hand I can see that some have and will use this news as more ammo to put the boot in on Stockley which is just weird.
There is clearly something about him as a character to have him made captain by 2/3 different managers in the first place, and outside of Charlton games on some podcasts I’ve heard he has been on - he comes across very well. If he stays*, we will see by his performances whether he has ‘taken the news badly’ or not.
Funny enough when he came on against Peterborough, I thought he actually looked like he was beginning to perform like the Stockley of old.
*I think if it’s possible it would be right for him to move on as it’s clearly not working out here anymore.
Excellent decision. The Club got too excited when they signed Stockley by appointing him captain. Sadly, it was foreseen that he would be a beast at this level but it's not quite worked out.
Less moaning, more application seems to be the polite message here.
Whilst he may not have become a "beast" he would have been a good player if his back/hip/whatever-it-is injury hadn't flared up last year as it's obvious it's still impeding his style of play, he doesn't have the mobility or jumping capability that he had before.
At the risk of going all "amateur psychologist" I wouldn't be surprised if the constant arm-waving and berating of team-mates on the pitch when Stockers doesn't get a pass to the exact blade of grass or air space as he wants is as much aimed at himself as he's frustrated at not being able to do the things on the pitch that he could before the injury.
Unfortunately that isn't a good look for the captain so, brutal as it may seem, it's probably the right decision.
I do feel a bit for Stockley. I think he has chronic injury problems and it wouldn't surprise me if his relatively patchy fitness record has had an influence on this decision. Equally, when as captain you're there as a bridge between players and staff in many ways, this switch up has ramifications behind the scenes.
I would like to know how Stockley feels. I agree with this as a decision, and think Dobson will be a great skipper, but the dressing room response is also really crucial here
Yes, very well put. This may look good to us on the outside from a purely footballing decision, but there are potential changing room ramifications. It feels savage, as someone else said, and I'm not entirely sure it needed to be done and done so publically.
I think the obvious thing to ask is: is this a way of trying to get Stockley out the door in January? If so, it's a good way of saying Stockley isn't wanted anymore. If not, or if a move doesn't get done, then you risk having an expensive, disgruntled player who is a leader in the dressing room.
Also, I agree with Paddy that I think Stockley has a chronic back/hip/pinched nerve issue that is plaguing him. Obviously he wasn't a great fit for Garner's system, but he's just looked so off the pace so many times this season. Thinking back to this time last year, he was far more mobile and dynamic in addition to being a goal threat. Obviously we know he's better with a partner, but he didn't consistently look this bad under Adkins when playing up front on his own.
Last thing, if Holden drops Stockley and/or if Stockley gets sold and then we go to a two up front system, I'm going to pull my hair out (with the caveat of he's injured and won't be the same without major rest or surgery--but then I don't know that he'd pass a medical). Holden clearly wants to play more direct, which should suit a fit Stockley.
I don't know, like everything at this club this just feels like the result of a lack of joined up thinking.
We’re at our lowest point as a club. Something drastic needs to happen and I’d rather Holden tries to change things than continue this god awful slide towards relegation. I don’t really care too much about changing room ramifications as this is the same changing room that has been badly letting this club and its supporters down. Change is needed and this, I hope, is the first of many.
Yeah I don't really buy the whole "lowest ebb" thing given that we've been close to Administration twice in the last decade. I think a lot of what CAST does is great, but using that phrasing with all that we've been through was, I believe, a mistake and puts more emphasis on how we're playing and not as much on the fact that the club still exists. But that's neither here nor there.
There are a lot of ways to "shake things up." I think this is one of the easiest. But a fractured dressing room, one not listening to the manager, is a great way to get relegated too. I cannot believe that Stockley doesn't ha W friends and allies in that dressing room, what if they're put off by this and check out? Never say "things can't get worse," because as we've seen time and again, they can.
There are a lot of things I hope Golden does in addition to this, at which point we probably won't really remember this as a big deal. I just think it's a bold move not just doing it, but doing it so publicly.
I mean I totally agree with the decision, but it's a pretty savage thing to do. It's like coming in, demoting your 2nd in command, and promoting someone else in the team to take their place. It may be correct, but it's still a brutal thing to do midway through the season. Should be just as much a reflection on how Stockley is viewed, as putting down a marker for how important Dobson is considered to the team and club.
We are in a potential relegation scrap and fair play to Holden for recognising a potential issue and making a tough call like this!
he'll certainly lead by example .. i m o a captain should be like a Bobby Moore or Roy Keane, two very different personalities but both had the total respect of their teammates. The theory that the captain is merely a figurehead is bollocks, at the very least he should try to ensure that the manager's wishes are carried out on the field .. go for it Dobbo
Manager Dean Holden has confirmed that George Dobson will now wear the captain’s armband.
Jayden Stockley has skippered the Addicks so far this season but the new gaffer explained at his pre-Oxford United press conference that midfielder Dobson will now be taking over the duty.
Holden said: “George is the new captain. I made that decision and spoke to Jayden prior to the game [against Peterborough United]. Obviously as a striker Jayden is essentially judged on scoring goals and creating goals, working hard for the team and being a brilliant teammate. He doesn’t necessarily need the armband for that.
“For me it’s about him focusing on what he can bring to the team as a forward player, really concentrating on that and not having to worry too much about other things away from that. It’s as much of a release for Jayden as it is for Dobbo.
“Dobbo’s a captain-type. He’s not going to perform any differently with the armband on his sleeve but for me he encompasses everything that a Charlton Athletic player is so that’s the reason.
“George is a player I worked with at Walsall a long time ago now,” added Holden. “I know exactly what he’s about as a character and as a person. He’s infectious, he’s 100 per cent in every training session, every game and that can’t be doubted at all.
“There are a number of other players as well that could have taken the armband but I just felt that George was the right option.”
Good call. Always thought midfielders for captain, strikers need to give less of a shit about team-mates.
Will be interesting to see if it affects Stockley as a positive. I was captain of my Sunday League team for a season and didn't suit it, felt I needed to make an effort to talk to the refs more/lead etc. Just got booked a lot and didn't really work.
Maybe Stockley's arm waving and nonsense will go and he will simply concentrate on his game.
Will be interesting to see if it affects Stockley as a positive. I was captain of my Sunday League team for a season and didn't suit it, felt I needed to make an effort to talk to the refs more/lead etc. Just got booked a lot and didn't really work.
Maybe Stockley's arm waving and nonsense will go and he will simply concentrate on his game.
and his diving in challenges. (Most refs seem well aware that he does it.)
No brainer of a decision - the area of the team that needs the most major surgery this window is the strikeforce - once that's sorted, all other departments will get a boost and Stockley is part of the problem, not the solution. I think playing kanu the other day is also part of that - if he'd come in and hand a blinder, he may have been seen as part of the solution but i reckon he'll go out on loan. They should now bring in a ready made strike partnership with Leaburn on bench and if stockley doesn't move on, he can be a bit part. Have to take chucks out of the equation completely. The only player who's place shouldn't be under threat is Dobbo.
Not only was it the right decision, it was a very bold decision. Holden strikes me as being a bit more of the traditional hard nosed manager than Garner, Adkins and JJ, without the psycho aspects of Bowyer. In our present circumstances I think he might be just the job.
Comments
Less moaning, more application seems to be the polite message here.
Have not been impressed with Stockleys "leadership" on view on the pitch or his constant flouncing, whining and appealing interspersed with an unwillingness to regularly defend from the centre circle.
Stockley has proved to be a poor captain.
I'd like to think players would prefer to be led by a leader.
On the other hand I can see that some have and will use this news as more ammo to put the boot in on Stockley which is just weird.
There is clearly something about him as a character to have him made captain by 2/3 different managers in the first place, and outside of Charlton games on some podcasts I’ve heard he has been on - he comes across very well. If he stays*, we will see by his performances whether he has ‘taken the news badly’ or not.
Funny enough when he came on against Peterborough, I thought he actually looked like he was beginning to perform like the Stockley of old.
*I think if it’s possible it would be right for him to move on as it’s clearly not working out here anymore.
At the risk of going all "amateur psychologist" I wouldn't be surprised if the constant arm-waving and berating of team-mates on the pitch when Stockers doesn't get a pass to the exact blade of grass or air space as he wants is as much aimed at himself as he's frustrated at not being able to do the things on the pitch that he could before the injury.
Unfortunately that isn't a good look for the captain so, brutal as it may seem, it's probably the right decision.
There are a lot of ways to "shake things up." I think this is one of the easiest. But a fractured dressing room, one not listening to the manager, is a great way to get relegated too. I cannot believe that Stockley doesn't ha W friends and allies in that dressing room, what if they're put off by this and check out? Never say "things can't get worse," because as we've seen time and again, they can.
There are a lot of things I hope Golden does in addition to this, at which point we probably won't really remember this as a big deal. I just think it's a bold move not just doing it, but doing it so publicly.
We really do specialise in U-turn decision making of late! Probably inspired from top-down culture of late!
I'll get me coat ...
Will be interesting to see if it affects Stockley as a positive. I was captain of my Sunday League team for a season and didn't suit it, felt I needed to make an effort to talk to the refs more/lead etc. Just got booked a lot and didn't really work.
Maybe Stockley's arm waving and nonsense will go and he will simply concentrate on his game.