Burn after Reading. Reading (A) League 1. Saturday 16th September 2023. 3pm KO

[Worthy4England]

Yeah, this fixation on JCH is daft. He doesn’t really fit our style, would likely demand sky high wages on top of a big transfer fee, and potentially has a questionable attitude.

It’s easy for fans to massively oversimplify things, but the realities of constructing a football team are presumably not that straightforward.

I assume that you think that Nlundulu & Jerome do ?

Were the only options JCH or those two?

It seems to have boiled down to that, because that's where we landed. A couple of things I would say about JCH.

There didn't seem to be a queue of Champo clubs banging the door down, given he quite clearly was touted for sale. You'd have thought them better able to muster the ante.

Despite Derby being rumoured, his most likely destination by deadline day, was back to Bristol...

This has been constructed into the options you mention (either N'lundulu/Jerome or JCH). Jerome was already on the books from Jan so wasn't part of the either/or, unless we somehow ignored the fact he was under contract.

JDB was wages only, no fee. So realistically your weighing N'lundulu's transfer fee v JCH transfer fee (reported to be £1m, although Brizzle allegedly offered 800k).

On the salary side, we could've saved N'lundulu's wage and Bods maybe, to break our wage structure. How long would Dion be happy thinking JCH was getting more than he was? I dunno.

It all feels like a nonsense argument, made up to make a point, which we can then assert would have been nailed on correct, guv, if only it had occurred...

[irie Cee Bee]

JCH scores plenty. Not very good otherwise.

[BWFC_Insane]

Yeah, this fixation on JCH is daft. He doesn’t really fit our style, would likely demand sky high wages on top of a big transfer fee, and potentially has a questionable attitude.

It’s easy for fans to massively oversimplify things, but the realities of constructing a football team are presumably not that straightforward.

That’s my point. A proven goalscorer doesn’t ‘fit the style’ but Cameron Jerome who is basically just a come on and drop into the back 3 and head balls and slow the game down striker does….I want a team with goal scorers in that excites me. That makes me feel like we have multiple options to bag a few on any given day.

We apparently only recruit non goal scoring strikers now.

It makes me laugh how people went crazy about Parkinson PLAYING ALF up top on his own when Madine was out and arguing that he had to change how we played to suit ALF. Yet will now happily churn out the nonsense line that proven goalscorer sat this level, JCH, May etc don’t ‘suit our style’. We are better off clearly with Jerome and Nlundulu. At least they suit what we are trying to do….supposedly.

[Prufrock]

I see JCH is the new Andranik. After all, he's scored <checks> two goals in eight games this season. I mean, obviously he's certain to score on Saturday, and some people are certain to take pleasure in it. But you'd think he was some sort of Poundland Haaland.

I'm not saying Evatt doesn't have a tactical plan. He does: it's to make chances by pressing high and winning the ball back (working - PPDA figures best in the division). If he thinks JCH wouldn't press to win the ball back, and that that would therefore ruin the plan, I can see his point.

As for Allardyce, he would have as many players as he was allowed to get, even if it turns out the club couldn't afford them. And then he'd play Jared Borgetti on the wing. Almost as if he was too beholden to a plan, perhaps?

Borghetti sprung immediately to mind, as did Salva Ballesta and arguably most of all Mario Jardel as strikers who were unbelievable goal scorers who couldn't get past Kevin Davies because they couldn't do "the job"

[Mar]

I see JCH is the new Andranik. After all, he's scored <checks> two goals in eight games this season. I mean, obviously he's certain to score on Saturday, and some people are certain to take pleasure in it. But you'd think he was some sort of Poundland Haaland.

I'm not saying Evatt doesn't have a tactical plan. He does: it's to make chances by pressing high and winning the ball back (working - PPDA figures best in the division). If he thinks JCH wouldn't press to win the ball back, and that that would therefore ruin the plan, I can see his point.

As for Allardyce, he would have as many players as he was allowed to get, even if it turns out the club couldn't afford them. And then he'd play Jared Borgetti on the wing. Almost as if he was too beholden to a plan, perhaps?

Borghetti sprung immediately to mind, as did Salva Ballesta and arguably most of all Mario Jardel as strikers who were unbelievable goal scorers who couldn't get past Kevin Davies because they couldn't do "the job"

Ballista had such a tough go off it that he couldn't get past SKD even when he wasn't at the club.

Still for a striker that prolific to only get 6 appearances must've been quite an issue.

[Prufrock]

Ha, I'll swap him for the much more timely Michael Bridges then.

[Worthy4England]

Yeah, this fixation on JCH is daft. He doesn’t really fit our style, would likely demand sky high wages on top of a big transfer fee, and potentially has a questionable attitude.

It’s easy for fans to massively oversimplify things, but the realities of constructing a football team are presumably not that straightforward.

That’s my point. A proven goalscorer doesn’t ‘fit the style’ but Cameron Jerome who is basically just a come on and drop into the back 3 and head balls and slow the game down striker does….I want a team with goal scorers in that excites me. That makes me feel like we have multiple options to bag a few on any given day.

We apparently only recruit non goal scoring strikers now.

It makes me laugh how people went crazy about Parkinson PLAYING ALF up top on his own when Madine was out and arguing that he had to change how we played to suit ALF. Yet will now happily churn out the nonsense line that proven goalscorer sat this level, JCH, May etc don’t ‘suit our style’. We are better off clearly with Jerome and Nlundulu. At least they suit what we are trying to do….supposedly.

I'm fairly sure there were more reasons given as to why we didn't look at JCH than "doesn't fit our style." For me, affordability is up there with the best.

There is a whole separate question around whether Evatt can construct a squad of appropriately skilled personnel to deliver the dream and maintian his "style." What I would say, and reading your posts down the years, is that you and he don't seem very close on how to go about it.

As for the Alf thing, bit hazy, but fairly sure I said something akin to hitting balls 9 feet in the air to a 5' 7" striker needed to change. That's what happens when a striker doesn't suit your style...

We didn't sign JCH. We said we couldn't afford him. Surely you'd only look at whether he'd have fit our style in any serious way had we concluded the deal might be doable?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

JCH scores plenty. Not very good otherwise.

As noted, nobody wanted him this window. Maybe they’ve all been drinking Evatt’s Kool-Aid?

Interesting to see where/if he goes in January. There may be Champo teams desperate enough to risk the money. There may be League One teams. But Posh may ask more of potential promotion rivals. They’d be daft not to, and they don’t strike me as daft.

[BWFC_Insane]

JCH scores plenty. Not very good otherwise.

As noted, nobody wanted him this window. Maybe they’ve all been drinking Evatt’s Kool-Aid?

Interesting to see where/if he goes in January. There may be Champo teams desperate enough to risk the money. There may be League One teams. But Posh may ask more of potential promotion rivals. They’d be daft not to, and they don’t strike me as daft.

Bristol Rovers wanted him….

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

JCH scores plenty. Not very good otherwise.

As noted, nobody wanted him this window. Maybe they’ve all been drinking Evatt’s Kool-Aid?

Interesting to see where/if he goes in January. There may be Champo teams desperate enough to risk the money. There may be League One teams. But Posh may ask more of potential promotion rivals. They’d be daft not to, and they don’t strike me as daft.

Bristol Rovers wanted him….

Fair point. "Nobody wanted him who'd finished above 10th place in the third tier since the formation of the Premier League." Better?

Also - if you're after character witnesses, not sure Joey Barton's your man

Point remains - if he was really worth the money MacAnthony was trying to screw, I'm sure more than one club would have offered it.

[BWFC_Insane]

JCH scores plenty. Not very good otherwise.

As noted, nobody wanted him this window. Maybe they’ve all been drinking Evatt’s Kool-Aid?

Interesting to see where/if he goes in January. There may be Champo teams desperate enough to risk the money. There may be League One teams. But Posh may ask more of potential promotion rivals. They’d be daft not to, and they don’t strike me as daft.

Bristol Rovers wanted him….

Fair point. "Nobody wanted him who'd finished above 10th place in the third tier since the formation of the Premier League." Better?

Also - if you're after character witnesses, not sure Joey Barton's your man

Point remains - if he was really worth the money MacAnthony was trying to screw, I'm sure more than one club would have offered it.

By the same token nobody wanted Charles…

I dunno I don’t think JCH is the panacea but I think it’s pretty nonsensical to suggest that the only strikers we could possibly sign in budget was JDB and Nlundulu….

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Point remains - if he was really worth the money MacAnthony was trying to screw, I'm sure more than one club would have offered it.

By the same token nobody wanted Charles…

JCH is literally on the transfer list – a list of players available for transfer which is sent to all clubs. Charles wasn't, and as soon as interest was made public, we extended his contract.

I dunno I don’t think JCH is the panacea but I think it’s pretty nonsensical to suggest that the only strikers we could possibly sign in budget was JDB and Nlundulu….

Yep, it is. So if I were you I'd stop making that false syllogism.

[Prufrock]

I think insano means when we signed him, when he was very obviously unhappy and on the move soon.

You live and die by your strikers. And of the 5 Vic is the one who's been on his current contract the longest, 8 months. So they're Evatt's players and you get judged by that.

But some things to throw in the mix:

It's still very early days. Bod might be finished but also he might be taking time to get up to speed after a long period out. I think there's a good chance he improves a lot.

Dan - hand on heart I don't think he'll come good. But he strikes me as the sort who when/if it clicks goes from looking like a donkey to being an absolute handful. He's got all the bits but he doesn't know how to use them. My biggest worry is that missing piece appears to be between the ears rather than coaching. Not holding my breath.

The CMG signing strikes me as weird. It's a lot of cash for a very good player who doesn't obviously suit what we're doing. I think he must be seen as an option in that front two in the way Shoretire was used there.

We look so light at WB. At best I think it's an ill-advised gamble we might get away with. Any even medium term injuries to those two and we look ropey. Iredale, Jones, the west brom lad I think would all be ok in a Duff/Warne type set up, but they're fundamental to what we do and I wouldn't be convinced in any of them long term. None would be disastrous, Jones played there in two games where we scored 10 goals last season, Iredale has excellent delivery, the young had seems solid, but any extended injury to the first choices puts a lot of pressure on misfiring strikers, which brings us full circle.

That said we're right in the mix. Big couple of weeks coming.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Pru: If he's saying nobody signed Dion when we signed him, then that makes even less sense because we signed him

On Dan - I think it's just been the anniversary of Thierry Henry scoring his first Arsenal goal after severeal excruciating games being hapless and lambasted. Like you I don't expect that will happen to Dan but it's a candle of hope that he'll become some sort of player - as Evatt and Markham have staked good money on. It wouldn't matter as much if Bod had been fit for purpose.

All transfers are gambles. Even taking Fernando Torres from Liverpool or Andrei Shevchenko from Milan. It's just that a lot of our gambles look like ticket-rippers right now.