Paolo Monteiro and Dorian Smith are the latest victims of tight budget constraints at Sparrows Lane. Centre half Monteiro was brought in on a free transfer from a Romanian side, while midfielder Smith was one of Charlton's acquisitions from the non-league ranks. Both played for the reserves last season, while Smith also continued to turn out for Tooting and Mitcham in the Ryman League Division 1 south.
The number of fringe players who were on the books last season had to be reduced. Whether we are any nearer knowing what our best starting sixteen is remains to be seen.
8 comments:
Wyn, I must admit I struggle to understand the rationale behind these types of signings. Surely if they could be declared 'not good enough' in just a few months, they could have been declared 'not good enough' after a 2-week trial, without needing to add them to the payroll?
NYA is completely correct .
I worry that Pards has the mentality of a bloke who continually tries to find the 100-1winner , the bloke who goes along the beach with his metal detector each weekend. Fleetwood being the next prime example
The view in the club is that these are seen as 'punts' with Fleetwood a better bet than most. When you think about the Marcus Bent taxi meter is reportedly costing us 25k a week.
Chaps, all this gives the distinct impression that there is no plan and we are drifting. Everyone knows that midfield is the problem area yet there is no action plan to address this. It is already too late. No wonder only 13,000 have renewed season tickets
I think there is a genuine logic to these low cost, speculative signings. Moreover, it also makes sense to be "brutal" and cut them once it is clear that the player won't make the grade. However, this strategy will only work if those involved, i.e. manager plus scouts, have good judgement about players and manage to pick the occassional winner. My concern is that Pardew's signings, interesting and attractive though a number of them have looked, have so far failed to deliver value for money. Has he has one real winner yet?
I am in favour of the general strategy of buying a handful of cheap 'options'(I wrote about this after the Fleetwood deal).
However releasing players after just a few months (and no first team exposure) undermines the strategy and/or questions the original acquisition.
Is Pards asked enough hard questions by the Board before adding yet more players to the payroll?
When we had the bloggers' meeting with Richard Murray, he fully recognised the need to strengthen central midfield. The problem is finding the right player at an affordable price (including wages).
anonymous asks has there been one winner. Dickson may yet to havemade an impact but a transfer now would generate income and profit.
The club have identified central midfield and defence as key target areas for transfers, but they ned to clear out before they can buy, with Bent and Faye,between them commanding £50k per week they are priorities to sell, but who will buy?
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