Simon Francis

An article about the former Addick, now with Bournemouth, in the Sun yesterday has caused some controversy.

Written by his stepbrother, it says a move to Charlton should have worked out. It seriously did not. The fans thought he was poor and the team struggled. 'The fans always wanted me to just dive in the whole time. I always just thought, "That's thick You get sent off, it hurts the team."' One might have thought that he would have moved on by now, but it clearly still rankles.

Some Addicks argue that his performances were abject. An alternative view is that 'at the time we were crap and the atmosphere at The Valley wasn't great. Francis used to get dogs abuse at the time which to me doesn't help a player improve their game. Some players are stronger and can cope with it and will improve, some won't and live down to the abuse they are getting.'

'Francis has shown he has the ability and has moved on to better things with Bournemouth, whether he proves good enough for the premiership and Howe gets someone else in time will tell. {Somehow I doubt it]. Howe obviously knows how to get the best out of players from the lower leagues when you look at that Bournemouth side.'

Fans may get the chance to form their own view on Saturday.

Cherries have second bite at Francis

Having had an initial derisory bid rejected, Bournemouth are having a second go at landing Simon Francis: Francis

What I hear is that we want to recoup at least the £35k we paid for him given that we got him at what was arguably a knockdown price (Brentford paid £100k for him not so long ago). I think that £50k would seal the deal.

Some fans think he should be kept as he would provide cover, although he was much criticised last season. He could - sometimes - put in a good cross, but as with many of our players last season, such quality as he did have was on intermittent display and his attention to his defending duties was often questionable to say the least.

What is evident is that a major clear up of last year's squad is in progress because, with a few exceptions, they weren't up to the task of achieving promotion. The board and Chris Powell deserve some credit for biting the bullet, but don't expect instant success.

End of the pier show

Charlton have continued their practice of signing players from the Shrimpers with the acquisition of full back Simon Francis: Francis

Following the departure of Frazer Richardson, doubts had been expressed about whether Chris Solly was ready to step into the breach. His height did seem to be an issue.

Francis will cost £35k, possibly rising to £70k.