I’d definitely try and sign Hector and Sessegnon, though appreciate both could be unrealistic.
Morgan and Clare I’d probably keep (unless we sign Sessegnon then Clare can probably go). I don’t think we are going to be in a position where we can fully rebuild and sign better than them. Clare is improving at RB and Morgan is still young enough to improve. Wouldn’t be too sad to see either go though
Release Inniss, Bonne, Thomas (wouldn’t mind him as 4th/5th choice). Don’t bother signing Kane, Kilkenny and Penney
Transfer List Payne, McGrandles and all the players we loaned out in January. Outside of Leaburn, Ness and Dobson I would not be too sad to see any of the others be sold tbh but again I have doubts about whether we are going to be in a position to do the full rebuild that would be required to try and win the league
A big morning for a number of players today, with ‘we’d like to keep you’, ‘goodbye and thank you’ conversations planned.
It won’t be all one of way, with one or two having been offered or seeking better terms elsewhere, but as I said yesterday on the Takeover Thread, who we announce as staying or in negotiations will be an indicator…
A big morning for a number of players today, with ‘we’d like to keep you’, ‘goodbye and thank you’ conversations planned.
It won’t be all one of way, with one or two having been offered or seeking better terms elsewhere, but as I said yesterday on the Takeover Thread, who we announce as staying or in negotiations will be an indicator…
Interesting it’s before the last game. An attempt to give the impression the club are getting things moving at the very least.
I still think that, mainly, the OOC players, aren't really going to tell us anything about the direction of travel.
If you swap Kilkenny, Kane and Penny for the 3 senior players out on loan as the starting point.
We need "best player" replacements for Sessegnon and JRS, before we even start.
Then I always think if you replace the 5 worst, with 5 strong first team players you would have a massive improvement. The five we need to shift are Bonne, Kirk, Lavelle, McGrandles (if Holden doesn't want him) and someone else.
If we keep Inniss, Morgan et al as squad players it isn't make or break either way. I feel if you are serious about the no dick head policy your better off keeping the players you know, than gambling on cheap back ups from else where.
You need to invest in the 2 replacements for JRS and Sessegnon AND 5 for the worst players. You don't want to leave yourself too much to do, especially when you have a track record of making things worse.
To start with, I would say we do have to do some genuine strengthening and am not trying to underplay that. What I do believe is we don't have to chuck the baby out with the bath water when doing this. It has to be targeted and sensible. We shouldn't allow anger to take over and I'm sure Holden will make calculated calm decisions.
I have looked at some statsitical information from the beginning of January. Which is the fairest way IMO to judge the performance of Holden who took over a relegation threatened team. Since then we have played 22 games and we have indeed been inconsistent during that time, but if you add up the points from this period, which is a significant one in terms of our current manager, you will see we have earned 36 points from those 22 games.
Our average points per game for that period has been just over 1.6. If you multiply that figure by the 46 games in a season, it would get you just over 75 points so let's say 75 points. Now that would be short of what is needed to get into the play offs by a point or two this season but would be more than enough in most other seasons.
Again, I am not saying it is good enough, and we need to aim higher but if we improved our results by 5%, we would be touching 80 points. Now, the aim should of course be automatic promotion, but I think we are aiming from a higher height than many think we are. Is that height acceptable, no, not for us, but it is a top eight height IMO.
I think we should also factor in that the tactic for weaker teams of putting bodies behind the ball, both home and away, really did for us and whilst I think we have improved a little there, Bristol Rovers away and Accrington at home were recent games where it showed it can still be a problem. That is an area where we can get lost points back to a large degree I feel. And something Holden will be looking at I'm sure.
To start with, I would say we do have to do some genuine strengthening and am not trying to underplay that. What I do believe is we don't have to chuck the baby out with the bath water when doing this. It has to be targeted and sensible. We shouldn't allow anger to take over and I'm sure Holden will make calculated calm decisions.
I have looked at some statsitical information from the beginning of January. Which is the fairest way IMO to judge the performance of Holden who took over a relegation threatened team. Since then we have played 22 games and we have indeed been inconsistent during that time, but if you add up the points from this period, which is a significant one in terms of our current manager, you will see we have earned 36 points from those 22 games.
Our average points per game for that period has been just over 1.6. If you multiply that figure by the 46 games in a season, it would get you just over 75 points so let's say 75 points. Now that would be short of what is needed to get into the play offs by a point or two this season but would be more than enough in most other seasons.
Again, I am not saying it is good enough, and we need to aim higher but if we improved our results by 5%, we would be touching 80 points. Now, the aim should of course be automatic promotion, but I think we are aiming from a higher height than many think we are. Is that height acceptable, no, not for us, but it is a top eight height IMO.
I think we should also factor in that the tactic for weaker teams of putting bodies behind the ball, both home and away, really did for us and whilst I think we have improved a little there, Bristol Rovers away and Accrington at home were recent games where it showed it can still be a problem. That is an area where we can get lost points back to a large degree I feel. And something Holden will be looking at I'm sure.
Totally agree, I think there is a decent squad there, it clearly needs a better team though.
Look at MK Dons, from play offs to possible relegation because they lost a few of their best players in the summer. Darling, Twin and their loans weren't replaced with anything like the same quality.
I still firmly believe that 7 players is all we need, if they are good enough.
What is needed is improving the defence, midfield and attack. I expect Leaburn, if he stays to be better, so that could be a player in each sector of the right quality which is needed. Now I expect more than that and of course players don't generally stay fit so we need a decent squad and cover. We can't have games where the side looks visibly weaker on paper due to an injury or two.
There are some other factors. That is our young players. Will they step up a level or two? I think Kanu is close and Campbell has been very promising. Mitchell looks a player. I liked hearing Holden identify that we were not fit enough, that seemed to be an issue this season so it is good it has been identified. That should improve the 2nd ball issue which I think has been significant for a while now.
Out of interest, who did Powell keep hold of prior to splashing out on his new recruits?
Powell was fortunate that a lot of players were at the end of their contracts and he received the Arsenal transfer money .. around £1m ... which meant something then.
Out of interest, who did Powell keep hold of prior to splashing out on his new recruits?
Powell was fortunate that a lot of players were at the end of their contracts and he received the Arsenal transfer money .. around £1m ... which meant something then.
Jacko, Solly, Waggy, BWP- that was about it . Elliot stayed for about a month from memory
Out of interest, who did Powell keep hold of prior to splashing out on his new recruits?
Powell was fortunate that a lot of players were at the end of their contracts and he received the Arsenal transfer money .. around £1m ... which meant something then.
Jacko, Solly, Waggy, BWP- that was about it . Elliot stayed for about a month from memory
Doughty, Mambo, Benson were all around the squad for the first part of the season. Francis was there at the start but soon left, but there wasn't the transfer window there is now.
Out of interest, who did Powell keep hold of prior to splashing out on his new recruits?
Powell was fortunate that a lot of players were at the end of their contracts and he received the Arsenal transfer money .. around £1m ... which meant something then.
Jacko, Solly, Waggy, BWP- that was about it . Elliot stayed for about a month from memory
Doughty, Mambo, Benson were all around the squad for the first part of the season. Francis was there at the start but soon left, but there wasn't the transfer window there is now.
Transfer window existed back then, it was short term loans that have since stopped.
Out of interest, who did Powell keep hold of prior to splashing out on his new recruits?
Powell was fortunate that a lot of players were at the end of their contracts and he received the Arsenal transfer money .. around £1m ... which meant something then.
Jacko, Solly, Waggy, BWP- that was about it . Elliot stayed for about a month from memory
Doughty, Mambo, Benson were all around the squad for the first part of the season. Francis was there at the start but soon left, but there wasn't the transfer window there is now.
We were so bad in 10/11 we had the u12s on standby. Better than playing Pawel Abbott
I still can’t see which of the remaining players under contract are going to be our core/top players next season that will get us out this league, other than Dobson and Leaburn. AMB, Ness, Campbell and Mitchell are all promising youngsters, but it’s very hard to say Ness for example, is ready to be a promotion winning centre back. Then we have the likes of Fraser and CBT, neither strike me as consistently good enough. Egbo may fit the bill at RB, but if you take a number like 6 or 7 really good players, just getting that is going to be hard enough based on where we’re starting.
At the moment, for me, only Dobson and Leaburn fit that really good category. After that it’s unknown potential and inconsistency. You could argue a CBT or a Fraser suddenly becomes more consistent/effective with 2 or 3 more really good additions, but I can’t see it in either of them to be honest.
I really couldn’t care if I don’t see any of the out of contract players play for us again, but I think the bigger worry is who/where are the JRS’ going to come from?
I still can’t see which of the remaining players under contract are going to be our core/top players next season that will get us out this league, other than Dobson and Leaburn. AMB, Ness, Campbell and Mitchell are all promising youngsters, but it’s very hard to say Ness for example, is ready to be a promotion winning centre back. Then we have the likes of Fraser and CBT, neither strike me as consistently good enough. Egbo may fit the bill at RB, but if you take a number like 6 or 7 really good players, just getting that is going to be hard enough based on where we’re starting.
At the moment, for me, only Dobson and Leaburn fit that really good category. After that it’s unknown potential and inconsistency. You could argue a CBT or a Fraser suddenly becomes more consistent/effective with 2 or 3 more really good additions, but I can’t see it in either of them to be honest.
I really couldn’t care if I don’t see any of the out of contract players play for us again, but I think the bigger worry is who/where are the JRS’ going to come from?
Last time we went up only really the center halves and Aribo ended up being our core/best players from the year before.
Any team is as good as its midfield.The year we went up we had a choice of Cullen,Pratley.Williams,Beilic and Aribo.OK,Dobbo fills the Pratley role,Fraser possibly for Wiliams,but where do we get another Cullen,Beilic or Aribo from.
Any team is as good as its midfield.The year we went up we had a choice of Cullen,Pratley.Williams,Beilic and Aribo.OK,Dobbo fills the Pratley role,Fraser possibly for Wiliams,but where do we get another Cullen,Beilic or Aribo from.
And then you also have to replace JRS with someone who can score/assist ~25 goals. Now you can see where @Cafc43v3r ‘s (probably accurate) assessment that we’re going to need seven very good additions comes from.
Based on our recent recruitment performance I would be pretty surprised if we were able to bring in more than three very good players in one window. The state of the squad is such that it will take at least a couple of seasons to get into a competitive state.
@Swisdom probably got it bang on yesterday. We’ll sign three or four permanent deals and rely on getting lucky with three or four loans. I really don’t see that as getting us near where we want to be. For starters we need two strikers and we can’t wait until the PL teams announce their squads to fill those places. We have to be ambitious and buy. Even then, that still leaves us with holes all over the pitch. We need seven plus senior players to come in and probably three loans on top. Can’t see it.
Comments
Morgan and Clare I’d probably keep (unless we sign Sessegnon then Clare can probably go). I don’t think we are going to be in a position where we can fully rebuild and sign better than them. Clare is improving at RB and Morgan is still young enough to improve. Wouldn’t be too sad to see either go though
Release Inniss, Bonne, Thomas (wouldn’t mind him as 4th/5th choice). Don’t bother signing Kane, Kilkenny and Penney
Transfer List Payne, McGrandles and all the players we loaned out in January. Outside of Leaburn, Ness and Dobson I would not be too sad to see any of the others be sold tbh but again I have doubts about whether we are going to be in a position to do the full rebuild that would be required to try and win the league
It won’t be all one of way, with one or two having been offered or seeking better terms elsewhere, but as I said yesterday on the Takeover Thread, who we announce as staying or in negotiations will be an indicator…
If you swap Kilkenny, Kane and Penny for the 3 senior players out on loan as the starting point.
We need "best player" replacements for Sessegnon and JRS, before we even start.
Then I always think if you replace the 5 worst, with 5 strong first team players you would have a massive improvement. The five we need to shift are Bonne, Kirk, Lavelle, McGrandles (if Holden doesn't want him) and someone else.
If we keep Inniss, Morgan et al as squad players it isn't make or break either way. I feel if you are serious about the no dick head policy your better off keeping the players you know, than gambling on cheap back ups from else where.
You need to invest in the 2 replacements for JRS and Sessegnon AND 5 for the worst players. You don't want to leave yourself too much to do, especially when you have a track record of making things worse.
I have looked at some statsitical information from the beginning of January. Which is the fairest way IMO to judge the performance of Holden who took over a relegation threatened team. Since then we have played 22 games and we have indeed been inconsistent during that time, but if you add up the points from this period, which is a significant one in terms of our current manager, you will see we have earned 36 points from those 22 games.
Our average points per game for that period has been just over 1.6. If you multiply that figure by the 46 games in a season, it would get you just over 75 points so let's say 75 points. Now that would be short of what is needed to get into the play offs by a point or two this season but would be more than enough in most other seasons.
Again, I am not saying it is good enough, and we need to aim higher but if we improved our results by 5%, we would be touching 80 points. Now, the aim should of course be automatic promotion, but I think we are aiming from a higher height than many think we are. Is that height acceptable, no, not for us, but it is a top eight height IMO.
I think we should also factor in that the tactic for weaker teams of putting bodies behind the ball, both home and away, really did for us and whilst I think we have improved a little there, Bristol Rovers away and Accrington at home were recent games where it showed it can still be a problem. That is an area where we can get lost points back to a large degree I feel. And something Holden will be looking at I'm sure.
Look at MK Dons, from play offs to possible relegation because they lost a few of their best players in the summer. Darling, Twin and their loans weren't replaced with anything like the same quality.
I still firmly believe that 7 players is all we need, if they are good enough.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-retained-list-set-to-be-released-soon-following-difficult-conversations-with-departing-players-dean-holden/
I'd send him to Colchester for 6 months under Garner and see what's what.
There are some other factors. That is our young players. Will they step up a level or two? I think Kanu is close and Campbell has been very promising. Mitchell looks a player. I liked hearing Holden identify that we were not fit enough, that seemed to be an issue this season so it is good it has been identified. That should improve the 2nd ball issue which I think has been significant for a while now.
no more info than that as I didn’t get close enough to speak to him
We need about 7. But they need to be very good.
Based on our recent recruitment performance I would be pretty surprised if we were able to bring in more than three very good players in one window. The state of the squad is such that it will take at least a couple of seasons to get into a competitive state.