In all our posts before, during and after the Watford match, Harriott was not so much as mentioned. No-one suggested including him in the team, or queried why he wasn't. Three weeks back there would have been a dozen posts on that topic. Obviously Harriott-mania has waned. Have the Harriott fanboys now switched their attention to Cousins as the new Messiah? The Good Doctor said that Harriott should only be played in short runs of matches, then kept on picking him. Maybe he is now taking his own advice. I for one will be glad if the spotlight is taken off Harriott for a bit to allow this very young player to develop at his own pace. With Sordell and now Stewart available perhaps that will now happen. But for slipping under the radar, Jordan Cook really takes the prize. He is the invisible man of Charlton Athletic. Obviously no-one ever suggests giving him a run in the first team, and when he makes a rare appearance for the stiffs or u21s he is hardly mentioned. In all the discussions about who would leave or be loaned out, his name rarely surfaced. He is so low-profile I just had to check in case he had actually been loaned out and I had suffered a memory lapse, but no. If Harriott is back playing for the u21s for a bit, Cook is even less likely to play as his only advantage was that we have no other left-winger. He is not one of those players we love to deride, like Jonsson or Clarke, or even a Marmite player like Green or Pritchard. He is just insipid. I think he is not good enough to play in the top divisions and not robust enough to play in the lower divisions. I would give him the same advice as Kerkar, to play on the Continent where things are not so physical (or maybe the US in Cook's case).
Funnily enough I was just wondering the same thing about the Harriotts. I'll be at the under-21's tomorrow, and expect him to be given a run-out. It has seemed to me that he has had problems with the step-up in the standard of defenders he has faced, and his confidence is not quite what it was in the U-21's. That's why IMO he has had a tendency to fade in the last quarter, not physical tiredness. A lot of his best moments in the U-21's came in the last quarter, because he'd never stop trying something new, no matter if things hadn't been coming off for him. His stamina really is very good. I'm afraid Jordan Cook reminds me of me when I played and I'll say no more.
I would never call you an insipid poster, Billy, but you might try posting on the Continent or the US.
Harriott doesn't suit the 3-5-2 that we are currently playing. Given that our squad is thinner than an Ethiopian with ring worm, you can be sure he will be getting plenty of games soon.
It has to be horses for courses, the Harriotts are nowehere near defensively disciplined enough to play the wing back role. I am glad in a way as I feel he hadnt had the impact he had when he burst onto the scene last season and think it is a good thing he is withdrawn from the limelight for a while. As far as Jordan Cook goes, the only reason I could see he was not loaned out while we played 442 was in case something happened to the harriotts, now with a change in system and Stewart in the building as well we may see him loaned out now the loan window is open. Having said that I thought Cook had a good game against Oxford, one of only two occasions I have seen him play.
Think as Vol said - a change in formation has forced Harriott out. A few games back in the under 21's won't hurt his development.
Well, he isn't starting or on the bench against Millwall. They are just kicking off. Pope; Osborne, Holmes-Dennis, Fox, Feely; Jordan, Poyet, Munns, Daniel; Cook, Azeez. subs: Phillips, Gomez, Muldoon, Sho-Silva, Ahearne-Grant.
Finished 0-0, Cook played 90minutes. It's quite disappointing for me to see Pope relegated back to no.3 'keeper after he was talking in the program about life as no.2. It was quite a scrappy game under difficult conditions, although when Muldoon replaced Daniel in midfield our midfield did function better. Pity Muldoon wasn't on in the first-half when we got 2 free-kicks in Muldoon's favourite position. Biggest plus for me was Sho-Silva, who was a late sub. 2 very good runs, and crosses, the second to Azeez who inexplicably stopped running just before he crossed it. I'm afraid Azeez seems to have gone backwards. Feely looked solid, don't know why things didn't work out for him at Carlisle. 0-0 a fair result/
Im guessing it just gave Pope a bit of game time to help put him out there in the loan window a bit more... Hopefully we'll see a League One or Two club come in for him over the coming weeks to give him some proper league experience
I think they made a perminant signing and somebody came back from injury. No reflection just a wages thing.
I hope so, not just for him, but for Dillon Phillips, who may well make a bit of a name for himself over the next season. I know in most people's opinion we needed another goalie but not mine. If Alnwick is better than Hamer that will prove me wrong!
Not in mine either, but only because if we needed one we could easily borrow one. There are dozens of goalkeepers at the Alnwick/Button/Sullivan standard who are third, or even fourth, choices and who would only too glad of a chance to show what they can do, and clubs have special dispensation to borrow keepers even when the loan window is shut. Still, I am happy enough to welcome Alnwick if he is not costing us too much.
I know for a fact that Pope is very highly rated within the Club, but he needs a lot of game time. I think they will send him out on loan to a League Two side, with the agreement that he gets 15-20 games under his belt. I certainly feel that signing an experienced back up to Hamer was essential, given the Quiffed One's shaky start to the season. When we go away to places like Leeds and QPR, would you really be confident seeing Nick Pope in goal ?
I was told about a year ago that Pope was highly rated in the club, and if that is still the case it's surprising that he wasn't given a bit of time in the League Cup. Maybe it's a confidence issue- he is very vocal (in a positive way), and maybe he doesn't yet have the confidence to bellow at the likes of Morrison and Cort the way he does at,say, Fox and Feely!
In recent seasons he has been successful, firstly through a long-running partnership with Sho-Silva, then more recently playing off Pigott (or sometimes off Smith or off both). Although his age advantage means Cook can hold his own at u21 level ability-wise, he was a new and very different sort of partner for Azeez and could explain the latter looking off-colour. Youngsters don't always develop in steady increments, maybe due to body changes or maybe they haven't learned patience. I remember a couple who watched our u21s last season doubting whether Cousins was going to make the grade after looking the next big thing through the junior levels. He is well back on track. Now Azeez and maybe Fox are having the same questions asked. Maybe they will come though it. The funny one is Ajayi. Now playing (and scoring) for Arsenal u21s alongside Frimpong. Arsenal seem one of the least likely clubs to take our rejects.
I usually prefer to talk about youngsters who are going forwards, not backwards, so here is a name I predict will go forwards this year- Ollie Muldoon.
