From Russell Milton, Head of Recruitment at Cheltenham on What’s it all about Alfie May
Surely if this is true about being under contract for another 2yrs then it's very unlikely to happen. If we did buy him out then would it be value for money ? Plenty of others available without a fee?
It is true. He has one year but Cheltenham hold an extension option for a second year. So he will cost.
I don't pay a lot of attention to footy outside Charlton but paying £200K+ for a near 30yr old journeyman feels a little Stockley-esq to me.
Of course, if he comes in and scores 20+ for us and we go up then he is worth it, but if not he has zero re-sale value.
Dean Holden will have to play the hand he is dealt or leave for pastures new. The players return today, above I have speculated about what our team looks like at the moment. Harsh though it might seem, my expectation is the equivalent of two points per game on average because why hope for less? I am not interested in comparisons with others, hard luck stories or excuses. It might be an unrealistic stance to take, but what is always realistic is that it is 11v11. We overcame a tough Brighton and Hove Albion team last season when “on paper” we shouldn’t have. Every fixture could well carry that expectation, the players are paid well, are looked after and we turn up in large or small numbers to give them backing. I am assuming we are where we are, owned by Mr Sandgaard into the foreseeable future. I am sick of speculation, sick of expecting the next two weeks being crucial sick of dreaming about signings. When everyone on the football side arrives at Sparrows Lane this morning and they look into the eyes of each other sod being defeatist, sod the maybes and the if only’s, sod feeling sorry for ourselves, but do what it takes to accumulate shed loads of points with the resources we have right now. Or what? Surrender? Give up? Run away?
Yep, players back tomorrow, not a new face in the building. That will encourage them that we will be making a bid for the top six. Struggle to have a five a side kick about.
The thing is though, I remember the summer following our promotion to the championship under Bowyer. Up until the last week before the start of the season, we were complete threadbare and had made next to no signings. We then had a late surge after Cullen returned and for the first third of the season, looked a very consistent top end championship team!
Not really sure why MS would care so much about signing May, particularly when Holden is not keen.
why isn't Holden keen I wonder? Don't think we could do any better on our normal budget unless Dean has been promised substantial funds once the takeover goes through.
I suppose any delay in signings and what type of forwards we may be interested in could be on hold until Roddy Methven see's what sort of offers we get for Leaburn and how much he can pocket.
So frustrating, League 1 this year is so much weaker with Ipswich, Plymouth and Shef Wed going up. And with points deductions being handed out to teams you’d expect to be up there. But just seems like this takeover saga is holding us back.
I'm guessing the fact we've heard nothing about Hector means he's offski?
Or he’s holding on to see if the takeover goes through soon as that might change what we can offer him? Might have an offer that only works for him if it goes through.
Alfie May and Peterborough doesn’t add up. JCH is going of course but their owner buys for the future good young players who could be sold on, that’s not Alfie May.
Cawley has said we haven’t bid for May, and Dubai has said Holden doesn’t want him (or words to that affect) So based on that, if true, how are Gillingham beating us to his signature ?
The longer this drags on (not signing may) I think this is right. I reckon may was a Martin sandgaard target (easy to scout and recommend as he scored 20 in this league) and Holden isn't keen
This is the one!
But given how lacking we are up front, then if true i'd certainly question why Holden wouldn't be interested in a striker who's scored 43 goals in the last 2 seasons in this league.
Only possible reason is that he's been told to wait until the takeover is done and we'll look to sign someone better.
He is looking at better, and players that have different attributes.
We are already starting to fall behind. It’s hard to be optimistic if another mid table season is on the horizon what next?
we don’t even know if the new owners are here for the short term, long term, or wanting to somehow make a quick buck (though in our current position extremely unlikely)
it’s a concerning time again for CAFC I can’t actually remember the last time we had a decent summer of signings? Bowyer promotion season? Powells promotion season?
Cawley has said we haven’t bid for May, and Dubai has said Holden doesn’t want him (or words to that affect) So based on that, if true, how are Gillingham beating us to his signature ?
The longer this drags on (not signing may) I think this is right. I reckon may was a Martin sandgaard target (easy to scout and recommend as he scored 20 in this league) and Holden isn't keen
This is the one!
But given how lacking we are up front, then if true i'd certainly question why Holden wouldn't be interested in a striker who's scored 43 goals in the last 2 seasons in this league.
Only possible reason is that he's been told to wait until the takeover is done and we'll look to sign someone better.
He is looking at better, and players that have different attributes.
We are already starting to fall behind. It’s hard to be optimistic if another mid table season is on the horizon what next?
we don’t even know if the new owners are here for the short term, long term, or wanting to somehow make a quick buck (though in our current position extremely unlikely)
it’s a concerning time again for CAFC I can’t actually remember the last time we had a decent summer of signings? Bowyer promotion season? Powells promotion season?
have they changed the window closing to this weekend ? Christ sake there two months before the window shuts most of the deals like always will happen in the last week or two as teams see how their season starts , there will be a flurry in 1st July only because contracts end … there be a lot of teams not releasing players until they have a replacement. Bonus for us is the takeover in the next 2/3 weeks ready for the last month of the window and wanting to make their mark with good signings
Yep, players back tomorrow, not a new face in the building. That will encourage them that we will be making a bid for the top six. Struggle to have a five a side kick about.
The thing is though, I remember the summer following our promotion to the championship under Bowyer. Up until the last week before the start of the season, we were complete threadbare and had made next to no signings. We then had a late surge after Cullen returned and for the first third of the season, looked a very consistent top end championship team!
I think we just need to calm down a bit.
It was a bit easier that season as the championship window shut weeks before league 1. So players like Cullen that may have got a late-window championship move in a normal window had to move to league 1.
Loans always happen late in the window so we aren’t falling behind on those. Permanent signings are what we are missing out on at the moment
Dean Holden will have to play the hand he is dealt or leave for pastures new. The players return today, above I have speculated about what our team looks like at the moment. Harsh though it might seem, my expectation is the equivalent of two points per game on average because why hope for less? I am not interested in comparisons with others, hard luck stories or excuses. It might be an unrealistic stance to take, but what is always realistic is that it is 11v11. We overcame a tough Brighton and Hove Albion team last season when “on paper” we shouldn’t have. Every fixture could well carry that expectation, the players are paid well, are looked after and we turn up in large or small numbers to give them backing. I am assuming we are where we are, owned by Mr Sandgaard into the foreseeable future. I am sick of speculation, sick of expecting the next two weeks being crucial sick of dreaming about signings. When everyone on the football side arrives at Sparrows Lane this morning and they look into the eyes of each other sod being defeatist, sod the maybes and the if only’s, sod feeling sorry for ourselves, but do what it takes to accumulate shed loads of points with the resources we have right now. Or what? Surrender? Give up? Run away?
It’s all good in theory Seth, but that squad going in this morning is poor, there’s no two ways about it. All the motivation and commitment in the world won’t change that. And there will be some, like Fraser who have reached a point in their career where success and honours are unlikely, so for him, having a 6k a week contract until 2025 offers little motivation to go above and beyond.
Between now and the deadline is critical. I think we have to accept we might not start strongly, but there are a lot of points to play for over the season, and you can go on runs from Xmas and still have a shout of promotion. But we need quality, and we need about 7/8 in terms of quality. Massive ask from where we are now
Dean Holden will have to play the hand he is dealt or leave for pastures new. The players return today, above I have speculated about what our team looks like at the moment. Harsh though it might seem, my expectation is the equivalent of two points per game on average because why hope for less? I am not interested in comparisons with others, hard luck stories or excuses. It might be an unrealistic stance to take, but what is always realistic is that it is 11v11. We overcame a tough Brighton and Hove Albion team last season when “on paper” we shouldn’t have. Every fixture could well carry that expectation, the players are paid well, are looked after and we turn up in large or small numbers to give them backing. I am assuming we are where we are, owned by Mr Sandgaard into the foreseeable future. I am sick of speculation, sick of expecting the next two weeks being crucial sick of dreaming about signings. When everyone on the football side arrives at Sparrows Lane this morning and they look into the eyes of each other sod being defeatist, sod the maybes and the if only’s, sod feeling sorry for ourselves, but do what it takes to accumulate shed loads of points with the resources we have right now. Or what? Surrender? Give up? Run away?
It’s all good in theory Seth, but that squad going in this morning is poor, there’s no two ways about it. All the motivation and commitment in the world won’t change that. And there will be some, like Fraser who have reached a point in their career where success and honours are unlikely, so for him, having a 6k a week contract until 2025 offers little motivation to go above and beyond.
Between now and the deadline is critical. I think we have to accept we might not start strongly, but there are a lot of points to play for over the season, and you can go on runs from Xmas and still have a shout of promotion. But we need quality, and we need about 7/8 in terms of quality. Massive ask from where we are now
I think my overall point is that if we don’t get what we want or need we make the best of what we have. I get your point about Fraser, but if I were manager and detected a kind of just cruising along from him I would drop him…play Henry, or Karoy Anderson, or McGrandles. We may be crap next season but I want to go down fighting not surrendering. In the past, notably with Peeters, and Robinson, they have given up when they didn’t get the pressies promised. I expect Dean Holden to soldier on manfully and positively whatever the season throws at him.
Championship quality players are usually going to demand championship wages.
That’s the thing. We could sign all out of contract players, not paying a fee at all and still have a very strong squad. That requires paying attractive wages. We won’t get players like Hector and Dack giving us the time of day if we’re paying peanuts.
I think it's possible to get too bogged down in the 'no new signings in by the first day back, it's a disaster' way of thinking. I know we have more to do than most teams but it's not like every other team will have a massive number of new faces coming through the door on the first day back. Barnsley have signed no-one, Blackpool only have Albie. Derby and Bolton have moved quickly but they've clearly gone fairly big on free transfer wages and even then it's mostly keepers. Teams have identified free players to pick up but I'd say very few if any of them were players we specifically were/should have been looking at. There's nothing that's happened that makes me feel like we've massively missed out (I've never been convinced by Scully as a necessary signing) yet.
This rumours thread is already the worst ever because it's entirely speculation about whether we will sign players rather than who we might sign based on the lack of information we have in the current situation, but we should try and avoid getting dragged too deep into the misery based on the more arbitrary milestones, it'll just drive us insane. We know the situation we're in and it's clear the squad needs a fairly substantial rebuild anyway, it's not us not having any players in by 30th June that will kill us, it's not having a really competitive 16/17 players by September who we can build on next season that will.
Just feels like a big ask to try and sign the calibre and amount of players we're going to need to be competitive when we haven't come straight out the gates with signings for the first day back.
Comments
It is true. He has one year but Cheltenham hold an extension option for a second year. So he will cost.
I don't pay a lot of attention to footy outside Charlton but paying £200K+ for a near 30yr old journeyman feels a little Stockley-esq to me.
Of course, if he comes in and scores 20+ for us and we go up then he is worth it, but if not he has zero re-sale value.
The players return today, above I have speculated about what our team looks like at the moment.
Harsh though it might seem, my expectation is the equivalent of two points per game on average because why hope for less?
I am not interested in comparisons with others, hard luck stories or excuses. It might be an unrealistic stance to take, but what is always realistic is that it is 11v11.
We overcame a tough Brighton and Hove Albion team last season when “on paper” we shouldn’t have. Every fixture could well carry that expectation, the players are paid well, are looked after and we turn up in large or small numbers to give them backing.
I am assuming we are where we are, owned by Mr Sandgaard into the foreseeable future. I am sick of speculation, sick of expecting the next two weeks being crucial sick of dreaming about signings.
When everyone on the football side arrives at Sparrows Lane this morning and they look into the eyes of each other sod being defeatist, sod the maybes and the if only’s, sod feeling sorry for ourselves, but do what it takes to accumulate shed loads of points with the resources we have right now.
Or what?
Surrender? Give up? Run away?
I suppose any delay in signings and what type of forwards we may be interested in could be on hold until Roddy Methven see's what sort of offers we get for Leaburn and how much he can pocket.
if another mid table season is on the horizon what next?
we don’t even know if the new owners are here for the short term, long term, or wanting to somehow make a quick buck (though in our current position extremely unlikely)
it’s a concerning time again for CAFC I can’t actually remember the last time we had a decent summer of signings? Bowyer promotion season? Powells promotion season?
I get your point about Fraser, but if I were manager and detected a kind of just cruising along from him I would drop him…play Henry, or Karoy Anderson, or McGrandles.
We may be crap next season but I want to go down fighting not surrendering.
In the past, notably with Peeters, and Robinson, they have given up when they didn’t get the pressies promised. I expect Dean Holden to soldier on manfully and positively whatever the season throws at him.