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.
6 comments:
My gut reaction would be to keep Francis. He had a poor season all told, but I do believe he has something to offer the greater squad. Not least of all, his size and strength is handy in this division (one observation of those players we've signed so far is there doesn't appear too many players of 6ft +, which I think is a must in this division).
I saw him play for Southend against us 2 seasons back at Roots Hall and he looked a decent player who was playing below his standard, particularly where set pieces were concerned. Perhaps his problem is consistency or a crisis of confidence.
If Francis can sort out any sort of deal with Bournemouth then CP has to move him on. SF proved to be knowhere nearly good enough for 3rd division football last season. Quibbling over 10 or 20k on the fee is silly especially in view of the many hundreds of thousands shelled out already. He only played as much last term because of Solly's injuries. Being tallish and occasionally useful going forward don't vaguely make up for his defensive ineptitude and inability to read the game. I never doubted his efforts he simply doesn't have the skills and keeping him as deadwood on the payroll would be daft.
Thats total crap about Francis only playing as much as he did because of Solly's injuries. He made 38 apps for us last year and I think people were giving him a bit of a hard time even when he deserved credit. We should bring in a new right back, leave Francis for cover and get rid of Solly. He just isnt good enough, plus he is too small. At the first game of last season Bournemouth pin-pointed Solly as being the weak link in the team that game and were knocking balls over his head all day long. Keep Francis!
That's also total crap about Solly. He's a good young player that has barely started 15 games for the club.
I know it wont happen, but I'm in the keep Francis offload Solly camp.
I accept Francis didn't cover himself in glory at times last season, but I think he's better than that.
I'm not sure what people see in Solly, apart from he's a trier !
Solly is perfectly adequate for cover in league 1. I'm sure Francis would be on too high a wage to keep as backup.
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