You know more about these things than me, but I am interested as to why you say that. Perhaps you could expand on it in this separate thread? I don't know who is responsible for scouting players and making decisions but we seem to have got a lot right, looking at our league position after minimal nett outlay. Some of the ones we got right recently: Hamer, Pope, Taylor, Morrison, Cort, Devite, Evina, Pritchard, Stephens, Kermorgant, Wiggins, Michael Smith (some of these wonderful singings, others not, but we would at least recoup our outlay on all them). BWP (might not recoup our outlay but we have more than got our moneysworth even if he leaves on a free). Subverted through injuries: Hughes, Fuller, Haynes Not worth signing: Kerkar, Cook, Bover, Green (but we will only lose serious money on Green) Farcical signing: Alonso (but not a disaster if on "pay for play" contract) Not worth borrowing: Johnsson, Frimpong Just about worth borrowing to fill a temporary need: Hulse, Seaborne Jury still out on Button and loanees Gower and Obika Who have I forgotten? Don't have time to do research and my memory left my brain about the same year Curbs left Charlton, but at a quick glance it looks a pretty successful record considering our minimal resources. You only have to look at the many richer clubs below us in the table to see how easily recruitments can misfire (or remember Pardew). I hope someone will chip in with some info on how scouting is organized and how decisions are made. For example, last season I thought the Good Doctor's signings were his strongest card, and made up for his failings at team management. But maybe he shouldn't take much credit for the good signings. I really don't know how these things work at Charlton. We all surmised that Alonso was foisted on him but maybe that isn't true.
Sorry Eddie but I don't have any inside info either. Actually I'm pretty pleased with the quality of kids we get, so that part of the scouting system is fine, as we can see from the way Chelsea have nicked the very talented Casey Palmer. Palmer played a blinder against them in the Youth Cup, and we know what happens to players who play a blinder against Chelsea, so maybe we should have kept him under wraps. There isn't any info on the OS so I assume the chief Scout is still Phil Chapple, who was in that position during the pardew era. However it is the manager who is judged in the end by the success of his signings, and you can't fault The Doctor for the squad he built with the Jenkinson money, especially because most of the succesful signings were players he knew from experience. My problem recently has been signing loan players who are no better, if that, than what we've got. There seems to have been a particular problem over many years with players signed from abroad(Sorondo, Pouso, Christensen, Bover, Alonso and now Rouamba). So maybe the scouting system is a bit of a curate's egg!
Bit harsh to include Rouamba there as he hasn't been a problem or a disappointment yet, see how much game time and how he has played at the end of the season.
Thanks Billy. I don't think we disagree. Losing Palmer is painful, but the rich clubs can do as they like. There is no defence and little, if any, compensation. The only hope is to get your club into the Premiership and your u21 team into the Barclays u21. They will still nick your best players, but at least you get some compensation. I hope Rouamba hasn't become a problem yet! He may get a run out tonight against Ipswich. If he gets sent off and loses us the match, and with it the league title, then he will be a problem. Although Bover is Spanish, I wouldn't say that he was "signed from abroad". He had been playing and living in this country for two years so I imagine our UK scouts were responsible. Good player, could do well in the US but, like Kerkar, not suited to the rough and tumble of the Football League. I have forgotten what happened with Sorondo. I only saw him twice with Charlton and once with Palace and he looked good. Was his stay cut short through injury or for other reasons?
Why's Charlton never scouting (and recruting) players from the Dutch Eredivisie? Skillfull , young and talented players all over for a good price! Anyone who knows why there're no dutchmen at Charlton nowadays?
Good question. The Dutch know how to develop young players as witness the success of their national side from a country with a relatively small population and their export of top players to the best leagues around Europe. And the culture and climate are similar. Not like coming from Asia, Latin America or Africa, so they should settle quicker. Most Dutch speak adequate English and many speak excellent English. And a quick trip home from City Airport to see family and friends if they have a couple of games off. Maybe its the memory of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink which is deterring us?
Hasselbaink had a great career but at Charlton he wasn't the striker he used to be. Not that many other Dutch players have played for Charlton unfortunately. Some very good players at this moment in the Eredivisie that would be good for Charlton. There are some better talents than I've listed out but they would (unfortunately) never go to Charlton (to talented already, to expensive). Almost all the players in the list are Dutch! The players I've selected would like to play for Charlton, I'm sure! ADO Den Haag (ADO) Tjaronn Chery Ajax (AJA) Mitchell Dijks AZ (AZ) Nick Viergever FC Groningen (GRO) Virgil van Dijk FC Twente (TWE) Leroy Fer FC Utrecht (UTR) Mike van der Hoorn / Jens Toornstra Feyenoord (FEY) Ruben Schaken Heracles Almelo (HER) Lerin Duarte NAC Breda (NAC) Nemanja Gudelj NEC (NEC) Navarone Foor PEC Zwolle (ZWO) None (Maybe Wiljan Pluim) PSV (PSV) Jurgen Locadia / Memphis Depay RKC Waalwijk Florian Jozefzoon Roda JC Kerkrade (RJC) Sanharib Malki sc Heerenveen (HEE) Rajiv van la Parra Vitesse (VIT) Marco van Ginkel VVV-Venlo (VVV) None (Maybe Bryan van Linssen) Willem II (WIL) None, no.. absolutely none.
OK, send the list to CP and tell him I approve signing all of them. A bit insulted there is no-one from Willem II. That is my Dutch team. In the 1960s I worked in London and my boss was Dutch. He was separated from his Dutch wife and missed her a lot. She was a ballerina with the Dutch National Ballet but also the voice of the Speaking Clock for the Dutch phone service, so he used to dial up for the time each day. When she finally came to London she got me interested in Willem II. They were in the Eerste Divisie all that time, I think. It wasn't that JFH was way past his best. We have had plenty of those and can forgive them if they do their best. In his case pocketing his salary was just a cynical scam. He was just insulting the club and its supporters. Possibly the most unpopular player ever on our books. Compare and contrast!
Some very good reasons given by eddie to back you up, a good call. Always seems to be plenty of good Danish players too. An AckAck style list there, no offence, it's interesting. For top quality cheap players, I'm finding the move into Moldova (Rouamba, Sow) interesting. I was thinking about it this morning. Countries like Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Montenegro must be doing something right. All very small, all punching above their weight in international football. I think it would be well worth looking at players in the leagues of Slavic countries. Plus bringing through more players from the academy. 5 games left this season. From the one match I saw, I'd consider giving Azeez, Fox, and Ajayi a chance. Not necessarily all at once.
Ha, nice story but Willem II is crap. They have some nice supporters and a nice stadium (cap. approx. 12.000) but the football is awful. Anyway, maybe we'll see a dutchman play for Charlton in the next few years: let's hope so!
The difference in the scouting these days is we have to rely on a lot of freelancers. My friend is a scout and when he opens his wallet he has business cards for Charlton, QPR, Brentford and Watford (though he has rare dealings with them now). So an example is that as QPR are placed higher and with more money, and players he finds he will offer to them first. So any potential gems may well be offered by him and other agents to the bigger fish first and we are then left to fight it out for a player who's been missed or ones that are deemed not good enough by clubs higher up the ladder. I told a story on the old 606 before about him offering us a player from Benin who we decided to not sign and go for Matt Spring instead and the former is now in one of the top divisions in one of Europes leagues (though this was several years back so may well have moved on). The Moldova thing I have no clue about. Not sure if it's a fact we have scouts being active out there, or whether one of our existing scouts has a new contact and players are being offered directly to us. From CP's quotes about DVD's, I think its the latter.
A lot of the knowledge of overseas players and the scouting for Foreign players went when Jeff Vetera left the club.
I think the business plan changed and Vetere was no longer required by the club, the original plan was to find cheap players from abroad and give them some experience with Charlton then sell them on for a profit. With Cash withdrawing his chequebook I think that plan was no longer available to us.
