Finally, finally, we have some firm news over player contracts, and not just the rumour mill that has been in overload-mode over recent weeks.
The official website has confirmed that Matt Holland, Darren Randolph, Zheng Zhi (left) and Jonathan Fortune are all to be offered new deals at The Valley, and I support the offer to each of them. Whether they take the money on offer which, in almost every case, is likely to be less than they were previously paid is open to conjecture, but I hope the salaries on offer are sufficient to see them all sign new deals. I hope they do, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see ZiZi go elsewhere, and Randoph consider his future in SE7 too. Holland and Forch are two of our longest serving players, so hopefully that loyalty is being rewarded somehow, and they will stick around the club.
Less fortunate are the players who are not being given another chance, and once more, I have to support all of the decisions. We can wave a collective goodbye to Harry Arter, Darren Ambrose, Svetoslav Todorov, Nicky Weaver, Aswad Thomas and Rashid Yussuff, and wish them well in their future careers. With rumours that Ambrose, Arter, and Thomas have all agreed deals elsewhere, their names are not a surprise to be missing from the wish-to-be-retained list. I suppose that there is a slight possibility that Weaver, Todorov and Yussuff could be back at The Valley come August, but if they have failed to find a suitable offer anywhere else, then anything that Charlton may put on the table will be well short of even their current wage. Also off, and no surprise here, is Josh Wright, and the wording in the official statement make sit clear that he will not be missed.
When you think about it, all of the players being release have given little to Charlton over the years they have been in the squad; some have offered more than others, but none will go down in history as a success, and for that, they can firmly blame themselves.
Discussions, as rumoured, over new signings are also ongoing, so maybe there is some smoke behind the fire that has linked the Addicks with Llera, Clarke, Small and some others?
Labels: Charlton
# posted by Pedro45 : 10:54 am
