Looking on the bright side of life

There is no firm news on the Charlie Kirk saga, although Sheffield United are now interested and he would surely prefer a Championship club with a chance of returning to the top flight to another year or more in League One.   Indeed, this has been a story throughout the summer, players we have targeted going to the Championship.

A final judgment about the transfer window cannot be made until it ends.  I would expect some Premier League loans to come in before then, as they have in previous years.  Some fans object that we are developing players for other clubs, but as long as we benefit I don't see that it matters.   Loan players have a point to prove to boost their careers and the best ones such as Conor Gallagher have been very good.

The squad does lack sufficient depth.   However, there is no point in signing players who wouldn't fit in or demand too much in wages.   As an analysis in the latest Voice of the Valley showed Charlton have lost substantial sums of money for the last decade, apart from one year when we did well out of player trading.  Thomas Sandgaard has had to pump in considerable sums of money to steady the ship.

Like many incoming owners, he under estimated how competitive English football can be, not least in League One.  I think he was unwise to talk about the Premier League in five years, a statement ridiculed by Millwall supporter Rod Liddle this week in the Sunday Times.   I doubt whether Charlton will ever play in the top flight again and getting into the Championship, a justifiable aspiration, is going to take time and patience.

When fans start talking about 'ambition', it generally means someone else spending money on their behalf. I am not going to pay for players, beyond my season ticket, and I doubt whether others are willing or able to.

It is also not that straightforward 'buying a team'.   Ipswich have been splashing the cash, but they struggled to draw 2-2 at home against mighty Morecambe on Saturday.  From what I saw they wee a team of strangers.   At least Charlton have a good team spirit and I am hopeful that players like Albie Morgan have potential to progress this season.