Jonjo Shelvey started his career at Cbarlton, but now he is heading to the UAE to manage third tier minnows, the Arabian Falcons: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clyjj2pjdypo
It is no clear whether falconry instruction comes as part of the package.
Charlton Athletic Academy graduate Jonjo Shelvey may be joining Crystal Palace. This story first appeared in the Daily Mail but is now being carried by various internet sources, no doubt copying each other. Even the august Sevenoaks Chronicle has joined the fray: Shelvey
Callum Harriott has told the Evening Standard that the club's younger players took inspiration from Jonjo Shelvey and Carl Jenkinson in their battle to avoid relegation.
Harriott said: 'I used to watch the Jonjos and Carls coming through and thought "I want to be next. I want to shine." The club's youth set up is great. They push us through and give us as much training as we need and they try and help us. It is a great club for young players.'
Charlton product Jonjo Shelvey had a hand in all four goals in Swansea's 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Liberty Stadium last night. First, he scored for the Swans then a poor back pass allowed Liverpool to equalise. Another sloppy pass put Liverpool ahead, but then he provided the assist for the equaliser. He has apologised to the fans (in English): Shelvey
One person tweeted that Shelvey had 'single handedly caused the Fantasy Football alogirithim to self-combust'.
As a result of Swansea's draw, Crystal Palace are now in the relegation places in the Premier League.
Today's Sunday Times has a feature on Jonjo Shelvey ahead of tomorrow's clash at the Liberty Stadium between Swansea City and Liverpol. The only mention of Charlton is at the beginning of the article where it is noted that 'when Shelvey swapped the homely charms of Charlton Athletic for the fluorescent glare of Anfield, he was barely 18.' Charlton were known as a selling club when I first watched them in the 1950s and it has been thus most of the time. Our best talents develop their careers elsewhere. At least we have made some money out of Shelvey which was not the case for 'Judas' Defoe.
The article notes that Shelvey was stagnating as a squad player at Liverpool. 'When we won the League Cup in 2012 and I wasn't on the bench. it hurt,' he says. 'Some people might see [the move to Swansea] as a step back but I couldn't sit on the bench and take the money.' It is a dilemma that faces many talented young players in the Premier League.
When he met Swansea manager Michael Laudrup, 'He didn't sell me the club, it wasn't about the area, it was just about playing football' and it was music to the ears of the 21-year old. He admits that he loved playing for Liverpool and that he loved the city. Abertawe is a very different place from Liverpool. When I was last there, I was interested by how many people were speaking Welsh. Everyone has to study it at school and teenagers often use it at home so that their English-speaking parents can't understand what they are talking about.
I have two nephews for whom Welsh is their first language, but I know only a few words and it is, I believe, one of the most difficult languages to learn. (Mind you, I am struggling with Portuguese which is an increasing necessity given the size of our local Portuguese-speaking community). I was joking with my now thirty something nephew recently about when he came to stay with us when he was young and blurted something out in Welsh in fear and astonishment. It was 'doggie in the house!' He was used to sheepdogs living outside.
Anyway, the people of Swansea appear to have taken Shelvey to their heart: 'In Liverpool, it was Liverpool, Everton and to some extent Tranmere, but here it's just Swansea. Everyone's a fan and they're always wanting a photo, an autograph and to wish you all the best. [Just like going to Bluewater really]. I don't mind that at all: it's something that comes with the job and it's lovely to be recognised. I love it here.'
Shelvey does his talking with his football, so he probably can do without the Welsh lessons.
Crystal Palace are interested in taking Jonjo Shelvey on a twelve month loan deal from Liverpool according to a tweet from Richard Cawley of the South London Press. However, they may have some competition.
Swansea are also working on a deal for Shelvey, the 21-year-old attacking midfielder who made 32 appearances for Brendan Rodgers's Liverpool last season. West Ham and Norwich are also said to be interested in the former Charlton youngster, who could leave Anfield for around £5 million. Now that the deal has been done with Swansea, I was pleased that we landed a six figure cash windfall.
It looks as if Swansea City have got him for £6m, but at least one Swansea City fan is not impressed: Swans
In advance of today's Merseyside derby, Jonjo Shelvey has been attracting increasing attention from the media. The article in The Independent makes an interesting comparison between his progress and that of Paul Konchesky at Liverpool: Shelvey .
There was also an article in The Times yesterday which mentioned Charlton very briefly. As The Times operates behind a pay wall, I won't post a link.
Shelvey does say in The Times interview that 'I remember looking at the directors' box at Charlton and seeing [Kenny Dalglish] in. I didn't think he was coming to watch me, but it turns out he was.' Interesting that players look to see who is in the directors' box: perhaps just those who think they might be scouted.
The Times notes 'there is a refreshing honesty about Shelvey, who is as uncompromising off the pitch as he is on it. "My dad has always brought me up to respect people, but if you have your opinion and feel you are in the right don't be afraid to say it"'.
Shelvey recalls, 'I'd gone very quickly from playing in the park with my mates to sitting next to Wayne Rooney at dinner. It's a bit weird.'
Thanks to Tom Morris for tweeting me this link to an article in The Guardian: More on Shelvey .
Developments at Charlton have attracted press comment today from the Mail on Sunday and The Independent on Sunday
The Mail article states:
Charlton fans are increasingly exasperated at how their club is being run under chairman Michael Slater — a Manchester City fan, bizarrely knocked out by Spanish police while watching his team recently — and at the influence of co-owner Tony Jimenez, a former vice-president of Newcastle.
The latest upset was a club stalwart, Rick Everitt, being sacked. When Charlton were homeless, Everitt formed the Valley Party political party [with others - Wyn] that won 15,000 votes in the 1990 elections and led to a new home. He was also behind fans’ transport initiatives and ‘Football for a Fiver’ days, the most recent being yesterday’s game against Barnsley.
Charlton say Everitt was sacked for gross misconduct, unspecified. Meanwhile, money is so tight Charlton have accepted a lower settlement on ‘add-ons’ from Jonjo Shelvey’s transfer to Liverpool.
Steve Tongue writing in the Independent on Sunday said:
Charlton Athletic supporters are pondering the irony of the club stalwart Rick Everitt being sacked this week, just as one of his initiatives produced their highest attendance of the season for yesterday's game against Barnsley.
Everitt, the club's Head of Development, was behind the "Football for a Fiver" promotion for all fans, including away supporters, as well as instigating the "Valley Express" service of coaches which were used to bring in fans from all over Kent and Sussex.
Previously editor of the influential Voice of the Valley fanzine, Everitt had been a key campaigner in bringing Charlton back to the Valley in 1992 after seven years in exile at Selhurst Park and Upton Park. The club declined to comment.'
To be fair, it is difficult to comment on matters which may subsequently enter the employment tribunal system or be subject to other legal proceedings.
One should not exaggerate the exasperation of fans: newer fans may be less concerned that long-standing ones. However, fans had become used to a very transparent regime at The Valley with a lot of fan involvement, even if some of it was rather superficial. New owners may wish to go down a different route, particularly if they are seeking new investment and some matters have to be treated as commercially confidential. But a little more explanation of what the strategic vision is might be helpful.
Former Addick Jonjo Shelvey got his England debut last year when he came on in the 66th minute for Michael Carrick in the match against international pub team San Marino. Roy Hodgson had clearly disregarded the advice of goal.com readers who thought he was the least deserving of the players called up: Shelvey
The Times this morning thought that had done well: 'Added directness to England's play. Looked a livewire in a match played at a slow pace.' He is unlikely to feature against Poland, however.
One report suggests that his appearance will trigger a 250k payment to Charlton, but I cannot confirm this. It has also been claimed that we have already received two payments of 250k based on appearances with Liverpool, but again I cannot verify this as the contract is not in the public domain.
No Championship football today, but a chance to support your local non-league team in National Non-League Day. If that is, it hasn't gone out of business this week as happened to Kettering Town and Truro City. The attraction for locally based Addicks is Bromley v. Welling
Personally I would favour a pre-qualification tournament for the European 'minnows'. It would be more meaningful for them, although clearly there would be an argument about who counts as a minnow: the likes of Andorra, San Marino and Liechtenstein clearly do, but what about Luxembourg or Malta?
Addick author Charlie Connelly wrote a fascinating book (really) about Liechtenstein's international football called Stamping Grounds which has come out in a second edition. Apparently some of the locals who turned up only came because of the opposition, regarding their own team as rubbish. I'm happy to promote Charlie as he was friends with one of our children at uni.
Fortunately the Pope appears to have dropped plans for a Vatican City side, although there is an annual competition between seminaries which is known for some tough tackling.
The Addickted were delighted to hear that Jonjo Shelvey had been called up for England. He was always a popular player at Charlton.
There has been some speculation about whether we might benefit financially. The initial fee was £1.7m but there were add ons for domestic and international appearances. I haven't been able to find any detail, but normally these are triggered by a number of appearances, e.g., fifty domestic games, rather than a single appearance. Indeed, sometimes clubs have dropped players to avoid triggering a fee. Sometimes an international call up (provided the player actually plays) can trigger a payment, but I am uncertain whether that applies here (probably not).
The Daily Mirror comments this morning, 'Shelvey's call-up is more unexpected and a bit more complicated. The midfielder has impressed in Liverpool's sluggish start to the season and was initially called up for the European under-21 Championship play-off with Serbia.'
'However, Shelvey is suspended for the first leg of the play-off so Hodgson has taken the opportunity to give him some experience with the senior squad. Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, James Milner and Tom Cleverley are all capable of playing in central midfield with Steven Gerrard suspended for Friday's game with San Marino.'
'With so many options, it would be unlikely if Shelvey made it onto the pitch and there is a chance he could go back to the under-21s for the second leg of the Serbia play-off next Tuesday.
Very much elsewhere, as Radio Scilly's mainland football correspondent, I should report that play has now started in the World's Smallest Football League. The Charty Shield tie was held on Sunday at the Garrison Field stadium between last year's champions and the runners up. After a 1-1 draw at full time it had to be decided by a penalty shoot out: Isles of Scilly
Two former Charlton players featured in yesterday's game between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield: Carl Jenkinson and Jonjo Shelvey.
Shelvey came on as a substitute in the 67th minute and, according to The Times 'made a reasonable impact', earning a score of 6. The most surprising news about Shelvey, however, is that he could be about to don the kilt after discovering that his grandmother came from Edinburgh: Shelvey
Jenkinson also got a 6 for his efforts, but is estimated to have won 70 per cent of his defensive duels.
