Genuinely gutted and £775K just doesn't seem enough. We have already spent £290K of it and have raised more money in transfers than we have spent in the two transfer windows these guys have owned us so far so I don't expect us to spend the rest of it. Good luck Alfie.
The deal if Birmingham get promoted will be 1 mill plus , 800,000 plus add ons
Letting Dobson go was reasonable but now letting May go is ripping out any spine the team had. Convinces me that the owners happy enough for us to be a 3rd div (league1) team.
We not let him go we rejected bids for him but once he handed in a transfer request what can the club do , his family has already moved away …
Those of you swallowing this "wants to be closer to his family" line, please help me understand the following:
- 12 months ago, Alfie May was a Cheltenham player. Where were his family living then? In Cheltenham, or Doncaster? - Didn't he want to be " close to his family" when he agreed to join Charlton? Because wherever they were living, he was going to be fairly far away from them when signing for us. - Didn't he only quite recently buy a house near us? Why would you do that, if your family want to stay in Doncaster and you are on a two year contract?
Well?
It's entirely plausible. "I'm going to be earning loads more money, let's move down south and give it a try".
Sounds like they did and his wife ultimately wasn't happy. He also mentioned in the video that one of his kids is about to start secondary school and didn't get into any of their first 3 choices, so maybe that was the final straw for his wife? Also if you're going to make a move then to do it now before the child starts a new school in September makes sense.
And on top of that, i suspect doubling his wages probably helps as well.
Gutted he's gone as felt a proper Charlton cult hero in the making a got us as a local lad. Big connection with the fanbase which has been a rarity with the conveyor belt of shirkers and non entities pulling on the shirt last few years.
Shame not in Jones plans as would have liked him to stay but the video explanation gives some clarity on the move and whilst it's probably influenced to a degree by the lack of favor he felt since Jones arrived his family reasons and fact he put in a request give some balance to the speculation he was being forced out/ moved on.
Hopefully Godden can add a lot to the squad and give us a successful season in this new chapter under Jones.
All the best Alfie, proper player and comes across as a top bloke.
Selling Alfie May might be a big mistake. It’s most definitely a huge gamble. But I wish him all the best. His time at Charlton was short but very sweet.
He obviously liked it here, as near to where he grew up, but as we all know, family comes first and if your wife and kids aren't happy, you won't be for long either. Football is just a job and a short career, even shorter when you are 31 today.
I wish him nothing but the best (aside from the 180 minutes against us!), fee wise it doesn't seem like a bad deal.
Whilst very different in my career I've had a few options to work elsewhere, America, Bermuda and Zurich (and Birmingham!). I never did as for the family it wasn't right, I very nearly took the Zurich job, but knew deep down that it wouldn't last and the wife would be back home within 6 months, I did the Birmingham job for a while, commuting and staying away, that's no fun!
Thanks for keeping us up. I won’t wish you all the best as it’s the blues & after they threw bricks at our kids coaches they can get to feck. However, I do hope your family are happy.
I dunno, I'll happily wish him the golden boot 2 years running if their defence turns out to be as porous as ours was last season.
Can someone please tell me where all these “Jones doesn’t rate Alfie” “Jones and Alfie don’t get on” “Alfie wasn’t guaranteed to start every match” have come from?
Is it all based on Alfie being subbed a few times at the back end of the season? Where is all the evidence, because I think I must of missed it all?
I’ll say it again in the Charlton lounges my mate who coached in local youth football years back spoke to Alfie who recognised him, this was just a few weeks after Jones arrived .
Alfie said Jones isn’t keen on me and I’ve tried to talk to him but he doesn’t want to have the conversation a few weeks later at the Carlisle game and Alfie was man of the match in the lounges , him and mate spoke again and he basically said it’s still the same Jones not keen on him .
Cheers for that insight,respect is what is required.
If anyone here has worked for a manager that doesn’t see eye to eye with you it’s not a good feeling. Everyone takes those work feelings home with them.
Doesn’t matter what you achieve you are not wanted. Alfie respect mate ,we know we will be on the receiving end of something special as you will be as well,when you visit The Valley in August.
Really think everyone needs to draw a line on it now.
It’s pretty obvious there is not just one reason behind this move, but the club are not gonna put out a video with X-factor sad story piano music with Alfie saying your manager don’t fancy me.
Alfie’s a good lad. He’s moved clubs a number of times, doesn’t burn bridges and knows how to end it on good terms with both clubs and fans. We saw it when we played Cheltenham and we’ll see it again this season.
It’s football, players move on, clubs want to move players on.
It’s hard for a number of fans to understand why a manager isn’t the biggest fan of a 30-goal a season striker but it’s one of those we simply have to wait a few months to see whether it was justified or bonkers.
People losing their shit over this is laughable, it's Alfie May, we have lost proper players in the past . He handed a transfer request that is enough for me, he didn't want to be at Charlton, end of, we move on and get players who do want to be at Charlton
Really think everyone needs to draw a line on it now.
It’s pretty obvious there is not just one reason behind this move, but the club are not gonna put out a video with X-factor sad story piano music with Alfie saying your manager don’t fancy me.
Alfie’s a good lad. He’s moved clubs a number of times, doesn’t burn bridges and knows how to end it on good terms with both clubs and fans. We saw it when we played Cheltenham and we’ll see it again this season.
It’s football, players move on, clubs want to move players on.
It’s hard for a number of fans to understand why a manager isn’t the biggest fan of a 30-goal a season striker but it’s one of those we simply have to wait a few months to see whether it was justified or bonkers.
Thanks Alfie for the memories of last season. Nice heart felt video, can see it was a tough decision... Number of factors in his decision, and clearly he wanted to go.. And that would have been family, and also Jones as well.
Alfie May scores goals Without his goals last year we probably would have been relegated Big decision by the club to let him go One I still can't agree with
I.hope I'm proven wrong
This is obviously true. But the reason we needed his goals so badly was because nobody else was really chipping in. CBT finished as our second highest goal scorer (8 goals) and he left in January. Other than that Kanu got 6, Leaburn got 3 and the remaining of the goals were 1's and 2's from the rest of the players, which really isn't good enough. If Jones can put together a squad that gets many more team goals overall, the loss of May will not be as bad as you think. Of course, if that doesn't happen and the team fail to score enough goals in the coming season, he is going to get a lot of flak.
177 miles from the Valley to Doncaster 77 miles from Birmingham to Doncaster
Good luck Alfie, NJ better had got this right.
Surely that’s no longer hanging over him, May wanted a move and even handed in a transfer request to get it through.
we can’t hang NJ for not making a player stay when they don’t want to be here
Genuinely can't believe the amount of people falling for this spin.
Why was May subbed off most games before the end of the season and fans were already speaking about him being replaced over the summer if it were purely May's choice?
What a bizarre take.
Why would the club put out May requested a transfer if he didnt ? it would be so demonstrably false. I mean jesus, there were people here who were able to confirm he moved out of his house a week ago, you think it wouldnt be hard to find out he hadnt requested a transfer ?
The truth probably comes down to him being subbed off in some matches where he just wasn't having an impact and NJ took decisions which kept us in the league, now its entirely plausible NJ may not have had him playing every minute of every game next season, which at 32 and out of contract (next season) would hamper Alfies career prospects as its unlikely he would have the same goal return, therefore less offers. Also Birmingham have made a great offer, closer to his wifes family and he has decided that tips it andput the request to strike whilst the irons hot.
Yet again. May was the only reason NJ won any games last season.
Every win May scored. Everytime May was subbed we didn't win.
I believe May handed in a transfer request yes, but after being outright told and shown that he wasn't wanted and the club were actively seeking his replacement. So he wanted to go and move sooner rather than just waiting out the inevitable.
Jones wanted May gone regardless of May's decision-making and trying to frame it as purely May's choice is spin.
May was not the only reason NJ won any games because other players scored too ? Make it make sense. Also my point was the decision NJ made kept us up not that we won games ? we also picked up a lot of draws thats neither here nor there.
So answer the other point, if the club did that it would be so easily known ? literally last week NJ was singing his praises.
Also last point you cant see at any point why a 31 year old footballer player would want to move for much more money ? thats doesnt make sense to you ? not everything is a conspiracy.
So why were we linked to 2 other strikers?
NJ singing his praises like I'm sure he would for any squad member. Any manager outside of Bowyer would do the same, especially when trying to bump up a transfer fee. Why make it look like you want him gone? That lowers his value.
Christ wept this shouldn't need explaining. We were linked with two other strikers because it turns out a full robust squad that has depth is usually a pretty good sign of a squad pushing to achieve things. We literally had to recall a lad from a load at a conference team last season and your asking why we are looking at strikers ?
Yes perhaps he was saying that but i sincerely doubt Birmingham or Huddersfield are naive enough to go, -"wow NJ just gave an interview singing the praises of May, stick another 0 n our bid lads", thats not how negotiations work the price would largely be set by May's stellar season last season.
Now please answer the question you ignored, ill paste below from my previous message -
Also last point you cant see at any point why a 31 year old footballer player would want to move for much more money ? thats doesn't make sense to you ? not everything is a conspiracy.
Because he was out of the door anyway. So if he's wanted by top clubs in the League (because he's a quality player), why wouldn't he accept their offer?
If Jones wanted May he would still be here.
Thats a great answer to a question im not asking. Try again. You can't believe he was in the plans for next season (ok maybe not playing every minute) but has decided to go for much more money as a 31 year old ?
Also dont ignore the other points i made ? You see why we are after more strikers as opposed to relying on May, Kanu (who i like but is green), an ever injured Aneke and an ever injured Leaburn ?
You really think May will turn down the contract for much more money to stay here ? seriously ?
I think May would've stayed yes if he felt like he was a valued member of the squad next season pushing for promotion. Next season is a different story with his contract but that's next season not this one.
If our strike force was May, Leaburn, Kanu and Aneke I don't believe we would have signed multiple strikers. Perhaps one to compliment Leaburn but that's all. The fact we were looking at multiple points to them offloading someone. I wonder who.
What when he is 32 and out of contract ? you think he would just go "ok im sure this mega life changing offer will be on the table next summer when im another year the wrong side of 30".
Thats not the point !!! our strike force wasnt those four though, answer the actual point not what you want it to be. We had one established striker for most of the season that was May, Kanu was recalled from a loan at conference level. Aneke cant be relied upon we know that, there are questions about Leaburns fitness. Also ignoring moving someone on ? He released Wickham and sent back Ladapo.
According to you Kermorgant walked out on us because he accepted a Bournemouth contract for more money. It can be possible a player is made to feel unwelcome and finds himself a good contract because he is a very good footballer. This year or next, Alfie May would have no trouble finding a good contract, he's a quality player with multiple seasons of 20+ goals.
Our strike force for next season was May, Leaburn, Aneke and Kanu. You can claim we only had 'one established striker' but we are paying the wages for 4 professional strikers. There's zero way we're signing 2-3 strikers and paying 7 strikers wages on our books.
Read the first 50 pages and why people were worried about us losing May. It wasn't about his family or the money. I'll leave it at that.
ah mate come on, Its cute you thought you had a point but just accept defeat and move on. Dont just make stuff up, where have i ever said that about Kermogant ? We are talking about May. Yes sorry you are right May would of 100% got the same contract next season because result are always guaranteed in football we all know that, in fact its silly he could of stayed here another season then maybe get an offer from Man City. You really think he has the same worth and length of contract offered next summer ?
oh now its three strikers not just two, keep moving the goal posts. it would be six with the two you originally quoted which is the exact number of strikers we had at the end of last season with Ladapo and Wickham. Also worth pointing out Kanu and Leaburn wouldnt be on great money either as they are still on their first pro contacts. Now repeat that so we know you understood it.
Good too see you leave it mate, probably best you hit the hay.
30+ year old player feels unwanted and is getting pushed out but is a quality operator in their league.
Finds themselves more money because teams, fighting for promotion, are desperate for their signature.
Player asks for a transfer. Club happily accepts and already has players lined up to replace them. (Polish Pete/Godden).
Don't see the similarities?
But yeah May left for family/money/he's old/the delights of Birmingham.
Pretending we'd have ended up with 6 strikers if Leaburn wasn't out for the entire year is cute spin though.
Like I said before, go back and read the first 50 pages. Seems you've got time on your hands.
Lol moving the goal posts again, you literally said theres no way we would have six strikers on the books and we did. It's not spin its literally what happened ? you could even argue more than six if you include Lualua, Casey and MBick ?
I cant be bothered to speak to someone with a clear agenda, actually read the points made and don't just make your own ones up to respond too.
Really think everyone needs to draw a line on it now.
It’s pretty obvious there is not just one reason behind this move, but the club are not gonna put out a video with X-factor sad story piano music with Alfie saying your manager don’t fancy me.
Alfie’s a good lad. He’s moved clubs a number of times, doesn’t burn bridges and knows how to end it on good terms with both clubs and fans. We saw it when we played Cheltenham and we’ll see it again this season.
It’s football, players move on, clubs want to move players on.
It’s hard for a number of fans to understand why a manager isn’t the biggest fan of a 30-goal a season striker but it’s one of those we simply have to wait a few months to see whether it was justified or bonkers.
But why put anything out at all? It looks to me like Alfie went out of his way to get this out. If he felt he was being forced out then why would he agree to do it?
Really think everyone needs to draw a line on it now.
It’s pretty obvious there is not just one reason behind this move, but the club are not gonna put out a video with X-factor sad story piano music with Alfie saying your manager don’t fancy me.
Alfie’s a good lad. He’s moved clubs a number of times, doesn’t burn bridges and knows how to end it on good terms with both clubs and fans. We saw it when we played Cheltenham and we’ll see it again this season.
It’s football, players move on, clubs want to move players on.
It’s hard for a number of fans to understand why a manager isn’t the biggest fan of a 30-goal a season striker but it’s one of those we simply have to wait a few months to see whether it was justified or bonkers.
But why put anything out at all? It looks to me like Alfie went out of his way to get this out. If he felt he was being forced out then why would he agree to do it?
Because people always want to find a story that isn't there, he could have stayed and made himself undropable but he wanted to leave and handed a transfer request in , but people want it to be he was forced out.
I'll be completely honest, I'm not that gutted. Harder to bond with players when the team and season in general is so shite. I'd rather have goals from across the team. The only thing that bugs me: surely we could have asked for a higher fee. Read somewhere that Birmingham have a budget of £20m? Surely we could have started at £2-3m for the league's top scorer. We signed Ajose for £500k ffs!
Really think everyone needs to draw a line on it now.
It’s pretty obvious there is not just one reason behind this move, but the club are not gonna put out a video with X-factor sad story piano music with Alfie saying your manager don’t fancy me.
Alfie’s a good lad. He’s moved clubs a number of times, doesn’t burn bridges and knows how to end it on good terms with both clubs and fans. We saw it when we played Cheltenham and we’ll see it again this season.
It’s football, players move on, clubs want to move players on.
It’s hard for a number of fans to understand why a manager isn’t the biggest fan of a 30-goal a season striker but it’s one of those we simply have to wait a few months to see whether it was justified or bonkers.
But why put anything out at all? It looks to me like Alfie went out of his way to get this out. If he felt he was being forced out then why would he agree to do it?
Because people always want to find a story that isn't there, he could have stayed and made himself undropable but he wanted to leave and handed a transfer request in , but people want it to be he was forced out.
As AFKA says, it's clearly multiple reasons, but up there near the top is that he wanted to be close to his family, they had moved back to Doncaster whilst Alfie was still with us and training.
I'll be completely honest, I'm not that gutted. Harder to bond with players when the team and season in general is so shite. I'd rather have goals from across the team. The only thing that bugs me: surely we could have asked for a higher fee. Read somewhere that Birmingham have a budget of £20m? Surely we could have started at £3m for the league's top scorer. We signed Arose for £500k ffs!
a 31 year old that had never played above this level and you wanted £3m?
One more thing about the so-called "comms" around this saga.
If you are an overseas (real or virtual) Addick and therefore a Charlton TV regular you won't have failed to notice that when Jones took over he was not available for interview on CTV with the same regularity as all the other managers were. It was obvious that this was something he'd insisted on. At the time I was OK with it because frankly in the latter stages of Appleton you'd rather pull out a wisdom tooth than watch some of his interviews. But there was, I thought, a certain arrogance to NJ's refusal to make himself available as the others did.
NJ might think that this is all part of the "manager, not coach", big statement, which again has its merits, especially if it stops the over-reach of unaccountable people like Andy Scott. But he'd also do well to remember that it isn't down to God that's he here. He's here because 10-15,000 people are willing to pay good money to help make this football club successful. In the week leading up to the first game he'll need to give an interview for them, which must include a frank and honest assessment of the squad and dealings, including why he let May go. If he hides behind the "Alfie wanted to be closer to his family" line, then, to put it mildly, that will be a very bad look. If he has a clear vision for how he wants to set up, it should be clear enough for us fans to understand it when he explains it to us. And equally it would be clear whether or not May could fit into that set-up. If NJ thinks May couldn't, or wouldn't, he should have the bollocks to come out and say so.
What’s with the insistence that we must force words out of certain people’s mouths otherwise they are painted as some kind of villain?
Everyone knows Jones didn’t fancy Alfie and that that was one of the factors at play. We don’t need to drag over old ground in a press conference four weeks from now when we can all read between the lines anyway.
As an aside, I don’t remember too many times at all where Jones didn’t appear in pre or post match interviews with Charlton TV.
Oh come off it. You surely cannot pretend that not wishing to hang on to the League's top goalscorer, knowing that the budget isn't unlimited and there are so many other positions requiring upgrade, isn't a surprising call.
Now it may turn out to be a good call. But personally, I'd like to understand more about how the manager I help to pay for , thinks about football. Maybe because I'm less confident than you of my understanding of modern football strategy and tactics. So I'm more than willing to listen to the professionals who are ready to educate me. Is that so outrageous a request?
If you want, you can have your own stab at explaining why, in footballing terms Jones "doesn't fancy" him. What does that mean? What does he not do, that Jones expects from him? What is the set-up exactly, that Jones wants to build, that he is less suited for than other players whose primary role is to score goals (and do it frequently at this level or even above)? But before you do, maybe consider what Curbs might say if you ran it past him. Because if you're a regular CTV-watcher you know that Curbs was as baffled as me and a lot of others as to why Jones "didn't fancy" him. Right now, a favourite Curbs phrase is ringing in my head. "Looking at this team, where are the goals coming from? " And that, more than anything, is what worries me about this.
As to your aside, before NJ all managers did an exclusive interview for CTV both pre and post match. Jones immediately abolished the pre. and we made do with a recording of the Thursday general presser. Like I said, I could accept as reasonable NJ view that there was duplication which didn't add much. He also skipped at least one post-match though, without any explanation. At the time, I was willing to take it at face value. Now, rightly or wrongly, I'm re-visiting that.
My concern, which may be unfounded, is that May is off simply because of a "clash of personalities". If so, I don't think managers at this level can get away with that. Maybe at full back, (Danny Mills was kind of a case in point, and also very good business) but not in the position where available talent is most scarce. If you are the England manager you don't get to keep Harry Kane on the subs bench simply because he might have disagreed with your idea of how you wanted to set up. You find a way to work around the disagreement. Same imperative applies to a 3rd division manager who has a track record at the club of less than six playing months.
I'll be completely honest, I'm not that gutted. Harder to bond with players when the team and season in general is so shite. I'd rather have goals from across the team. The only thing that bugs me: surely we could have asked for a higher fee. Read somewhere that Birmingham have a budget of £20m? Surely we could have started at £3m for the league's top scorer. We signed Arose for £500k ffs!
a 31 year old that had never played above this level and you wanted £3m?
£1m is about right IMO.
Yes, because apparently 'we don't need to sell.' And I didn't say take £3m. Make that your asking price, of course with room to bring it down, and maybe along the way entice a little bidding war with Hudds - but definitely end higher than £775k (which is what he was sold for - not £1m.) These are two clubs that are not in any way strapped for cash and will pay to get out of this league. In the end we sold a goal machine for £275k more than we paid for Nicky Ajose.* Unfortunately this is the culture at CAFC - overpay and undersell.
*Having done some research, apparently it was £800k. Good grief.
People losing their shit over this is laughable, it's Alfie May, we have lost proper players in the past . He handed a transfer request that is enough for me, he didn't want to be at Charlton, end of, we move on and get players who do want to be at Charlton
This .. Charlton Athletic Football Club will always be a fixture. Players come and go. Alfie is just one of those players that have come and gone. We move on … up the Addicks
Comments
Sounds like they did and his wife ultimately wasn't happy. He also mentioned in the video that one of his kids is about to start secondary school and didn't get into any of their first 3 choices, so maybe that was the final straw for his wife? Also if you're going to make a move then to do it now before the child starts a new school in September makes sense.
And on top of that, i suspect doubling his wages probably helps as well.
Shame not in Jones plans as would have liked him to stay but the video explanation gives some clarity on the move and whilst it's probably influenced to a degree by the lack of favor he felt since Jones arrived his family reasons and fact he put in a request give some balance to the speculation he was being forced out/ moved on.
Hopefully Godden can add a lot to the squad and give us a successful season in this new chapter under Jones.
All the best Alfie, proper player and comes across as a top bloke.
He obviously liked it here, as near to where he grew up, but as we all know, family comes first and if your wife and kids aren't happy, you won't be for long either. Football is just a job and a short career, even shorter when you are 31 today.
I wish him nothing but the best (aside from the 180 minutes against us!), fee wise it doesn't seem like a bad deal.
Whilst very different in my career I've had a few options to work elsewhere, America, Bermuda and Zurich (and Birmingham!). I never did as for the family it wasn't right, I very nearly took the Zurich job, but knew deep down that it wouldn't last and the wife would be back home within 6 months, I did the Birmingham job for a while, commuting and staying away, that's no fun!
If anyone here has worked for a manager that doesn’t see eye to eye with you it’s not a good feeling. Everyone takes those work feelings home with them.
Doesn’t matter what you achieve you are not wanted. Alfie respect mate ,we know we will be on the receiving end of something special as you will be as well,when you visit The Valley in August.
It’s hard for a number of fans to understand why a manager isn’t the biggest fan of a 30-goal a season striker but it’s one of those we simply have to wait a few months to see whether it was justified or bonkers.
https://x.com/richcawleyslp/status/1808413513401950238?s=46&t=A-w3Eq0EWWpjMxring904Q
Congratulations on making it to stage 5.
May’s goals kept us up last year, so i hope that Godden does at least as well as Alfie.
As Alfie wanted to go, we had no real choice but to sell, but the club needs to show ambition by making the squad much stronger.
Does anyone know if Miles will be fit for the start of the season and will we be likely to keep him?
Goodbye Alfie amd welcome Matt
Kanu scored 6
Leaburn scored 3
Aneke scored 2
Tedic scored 2
Mbick scored 1
Ladapo scored 1
Wickham scored 1
To be honest that's fewer than I thought from our other "Strikers"
If we can get the senior strikers scoring along these lines:
Godden 15
Kanu 10
Leaburn 10
Aneke 8
and the supporting acts from the academy getting 2-3 each we can't really say we won't have improved up front.
If we get Ahadme I can see that being another 10+, at the cost of one/some of the others.
Thank you and good luck Alfie.
I cant be bothered to speak to someone with a clear agenda, actually read the points made and don't just make your own ones up to respond too.
It looks to me like Alfie went out of his way to get this out. If he felt he was being forced out then why would he agree to do it?
Because people always want to find a story that isn't there, he could have stayed and made himself undropable but he wanted to leave and handed a transfer request in , but people want it to be he was forced out.
£1m is about right IMO.
Now it may turn out to be a good call. But personally, I'd like to understand more about how the manager I help to pay for , thinks about football. Maybe because I'm less confident than you of my understanding of modern football strategy and tactics. So I'm more than willing to listen to the professionals who are ready to educate me. Is that so outrageous a request?
If you want, you can have your own stab at explaining why, in footballing terms Jones "doesn't fancy" him. What does that mean? What does he not do, that Jones expects from him? What is the set-up exactly, that Jones wants to build, that he is less suited for than other players whose primary role is to score goals (and do it frequently at this level or even above)? But before you do, maybe consider what Curbs might say if you ran it past him. Because if you're a regular CTV-watcher you know that Curbs was as baffled as me and a lot of others as to why Jones "didn't fancy" him. Right now, a favourite Curbs phrase is ringing in my head. "Looking at this team, where are the goals coming from? " And that, more than anything, is what worries me about this.
As to your aside, before NJ all managers did an exclusive interview for CTV both pre and post match. Jones immediately abolished the pre. and we made do with a recording of the Thursday general presser. Like I said, I could accept as reasonable NJ view that there was duplication which didn't add much. He also skipped at least one post-match though, without any explanation. At the time, I was willing to take it at face value. Now, rightly or wrongly, I'm re-visiting that.
My concern, which may be unfounded, is that May is off simply because of a "clash of personalities". If so, I don't think managers at this level can get away with that. Maybe at full back, (Danny Mills was kind of a case in point, and also very good business) but not in the position where available talent is most scarce. If you are the England manager you don't get to keep Harry Kane on the subs bench simply because he might have disagreed with your idea of how you wanted to set up. You find a way to work around the disagreement. Same imperative applies to a 3rd division manager who has a track record at the club of less than six playing months.
*Having done some research, apparently it was £800k. Good grief.