Zach Mitchell - Sept 2026 out for the rest of the season (p35)

fenaddick said:

Confirmed as out for the season

https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/zach-mitchell-injury-update

Swisdom said:

Devastating bad luck.  He's been dealt a crap hand with the loans too to be honest as well as his injuries.

I've watched him from when he was (underage) in the U18 - where he shone, through to u21s where he shone too.  He needed and deserved a run of games back in the L1 days but something always got in the way of that.  He's been incredibly unlucky but he is a VERY very good player.

He started with us as a midfielder but because of his tenacity, composure and reading of the game he was moved into the defence but I still believe there could be a decent midfielder in there. Successive Scottish premier league managers thought the same and fans all seemed to appreciate what he brought to their teams (Hibs fans mystified at why he wasn't playing, St Johnstone fans comparing him to all-time great of theirs).

Maybe we have outgrown him a bit but he still has massive potential - provided he returns from this setback.  He absolutely deserves another year - he's hardly going to break the bank and is worth more to us on a contract than he would be in training compensation.  But more importantly, it is the right things to do.

fenaddick said:

Radostanradical said:

Swisdom said:

Devastating bad luck.  He's been dealt a crap hand with the loans too to be honest as well as his injuries.

I've watched him from when he was (underage) in the U18 - where he shone, through to u21s where he shone too.  He needed and deserved a run of games back in the L1 days but something always got in the way of that.  He's been incredibly unlucky but he is a VERY very good player.

He started with us as a midfielder but because of his tenacity, composure and reading of the game he was moved into the defence but I still believe there could be a decent midfielder in there. Successive Scottish premier league managers thought the same and fans all seemed to appreciate what he brought to their teams (Hibs fans mystified at why he wasn't playing, St Johnstone fans comparing him to all-time great of theirs).

Maybe we have outgrown him a bit but he still has massive potential - provided he returns from this setback.  He absolutely deserves another year - he's hardly going to break the bank and is worth more to us on a contract than he would be in training compensation.  But more importantly, it is the right things to do.

I can appreciate your argument, and it's a reasoned and perfectly sensible one. While I disagree, as I've said previously, I would genuinely love to be proven wrong and see the lad go on to have a stellar career with Charlton.

That said, there is another side to consider. What happens if we extend his contract, he goes out on loan to a League One club, has an excellent season, and then decides he doesn't want to sign a further deal with us? That's a very real possibility.

Ultimately, football is a business. As supporters, we all want to see players succeed, and I have no ill will towards Mitchell whatsoever. However, the club's primary responsibility is to act in its own best interests. The idea of doing "the right thing" is admirable, but it inevitably comes second to what the club believes is the best decision for its future. In truth, players often make career decisions based on what is best for them rather than the club, and I don't think there's anything wrong with a club taking the same approach in return.

That's why, while I understand your position, I'm not convinced that offering an extension is necessarily as straightforward or risk-free as it might initially appear.

We would get more compensation in this scenario than if we just let him go for free this summer. Triggering the extension is a no brainer as well as being the right thing to do

Radostanradical said:

Addick Addict said:

Radostanradical said:

Addick Addict said:

Radostanradical said:

Swisdom said:

I hope we give him all the support he needs and maybe even another years contract.  So much potential but been horrendously unlucky 

Disagree respectfully, he has had chances and failed to take them. Yes he has bad luck with injuries but we are a championship club and he isnt going to start (or even be part of squad in all likelihood) for us next season, giving him an extra year would just be delaying the inevitable and probably damage ZM career when he could drop a level and play regular football.

Similar to Anderson in some aspects that whilst there is a player there, the club is maybe growing faster than what is best for the player.

So, just to be clear (and accepting that you do not rate him and think he's been a failure), you wouldn't take up the option of another year thereby letting Michell go on a free with zero compensation payable to the Club? Whereas giving him that extra year, allowing him to go out on loan for a net cost of next to nothing to the Club might actually result in a fee/compensation. And it's not the same as Anderson because we did receive a fee for him. 

Well, if you had actually taken the time to read what I wrote rather than immediately looking for an argument, you would have noticed that my comparison was never about the transfer fee. The comparison was about circumstance. In both cases, there is a perfectly decent player at a club that is progressing at a faster rate than they are. As a result, we are simply not in a position to provide either player with the opportunities and experience they need at what is a pivotal stage of their careers.

As for your erroneous assertion that I view ZM as a failure, that is an extraordinarily harsh characterisation, and not language I would choose to use. In fact, I would suggest being rather more careful with terms like that. He is a human being, not merely an asset to be assessed in purely transactional terms, and a little consideration from yourself for his wellbeing would not go amiss.

What I actually said is that I do not believe he is currently at the standard required for us, nor do I think that is likely to change by next season. Given that he would be out of contract in the summer, I sincerely doubt we would receive any meaningful fee for him in any case. Frankly, it would probably be better for both parties if he were allowed to move on and secure a longer-term contract elsewhere, where he can enjoy some stability and continue his development without the uncertainty that comes with being on the fringes of a club that has outgrown him.

Lyle, please do not insult the good people of Charlton Life by claiming that you give two hoots about Mitchell. When I pointed out how the Club had a duty of care in looking after Mitchell at Hibs, following the Colchester debacle, you were the one who had zero sympathy for the lad when he wasn't getting a game for Hibs. You dug yourself a massive hole then and have been on a "charm offensive" since in trying to dig yourself out of that. No one is fooled. 

You were the one who claimed, despite evidence to the contrary provided by Hibs's fans, that the now sacked David Gray, for his abject failure as a manager, knew what he was doing in not giving Mitchell a game. You said (your spelling not mine): "The fact of the matter is if he was good enough he wpuld be playing at Hibs and he isnt. I hope itbworks out but its clearly on him.to prove himself at senior level." He'd already proven himself "good enough" in his previous loan at St Johnstone and was doing so again this season until he received this seemingly horrendous injury. How great it was to see Mitchell celebrating that win over his former manager just a matter of days before Gray was sacked proving, yet again, that he was "good enough" to be playing at that level. 

Thank you for confirming, though, Lyle, that you see no value in either giving Mitchell an extension that would either lead to him proving himself or compensation to the Club if he is moved on. There is a whole ongoing thread about Patrick Casey and what level of compensation we should receive - and he's played two minutes of football above non-league level. Giving Mitchell that year's contract and another opportunity on loan, at nil cost to us, would enable us to make a final assessment on the lad and give the Club some compensation for allowing him to develop through our age group system should we decide to permit him permanently to leave in, say, January, if that is deemed right for all parties. 

Lyle, you really must try harder. But it will still never be hard enough to get me to rise to the bait again. I will do what most of the rest of the people on here do. Ignore you. Apart from giving you a "LOL" because, let's face it, most of what you write is quite amusing!!!!

Well done. "Lyle", very original. Unfortunately, originality seems in rather short supply when your entire argument consists of recycling the same tired points while conveniently ignoring the parts of my posts that prove you wrong.

You remain so fixated on what I write that you've once again resorted to misrepresenting my position, much as you did with the comparison between ZM and Anderson. Unsurprisingly, now that your mischaracterisation has been pointed out, you've decided not to address it.

As for Hibs, I stand by what I said then and I stand by it now. Managers whose jobs depend on winning football matches tend to pick the players they believe give them the best chance of doing so. If Mitchell was consistently outperforming the alternatives in training, I find it difficult to believe he would have been ignored indefinitely. You're perfectly entitled to disagree, but one win over Hibs is hardly the devastating piece of evidence you seem to think it is.

In any case, it's history. Mitchell has moved on. I would suggest you try doing the same.

Thank you, once again, for choosing to focus on spelling rather than substance. As I explained previously, I am dyslexic. Every time you make these little remarks you merely demonstrate that, when the footballing argument isn't going your way, personal digs become your fallback position. It reflects rather poorly on you. I sincerely hope none of your family or friends suffer from dyselxia, if this is how you choice to act.

On the actual point under discussion, do you genuinely believe Mitchell will be good enough to be our starting centre-back next season? Personally, I don't. That's an opinion, not a declaration of fact. I may be wrong. Unlike some people, I can accept that reasonable people can hold different views.

More broadly, you seem completely incapable of accepting that somebody can disagree with you without constructing an elaborate narrative around their motives. Not everyone who disagrees with you is acting in bad faith.

At this point, I think you'd be better served putting down the bottle, stepping away from my posts, and spending your energy elsewhere. You seem far more invested in arguing with me than I am in arguing with you. The irony is that, while accusing me of attention-seeking, you're the one repeatedly writing essays about comments I made months ago.

And let's be honest, the reason these exchanges never go anywhere is that forums provide a layer of comfort that real life does not. You happily make comments from behind a keyboard that I strongly suspect you'd never have the courage to say to my face. Fortunately for both of us, internet forums are for discussing football, not measuring who can be the most perpetually offended by somebody else's opinion.