As Charlton fans wait nervously to find out who the latest Scooby-Doo villain owners are, the EFL have confirmed that the Championship season will resume on 20th June. The immediate good news is that we are going to be given a chance to fight for our Championship place and not face the ignominy of arbitrary relegation based upon our league position when Coronavirus brought a sudden halt to games in March.
No sooner has that been announced then we hear that Lyle Taylor and Chris Solly have decided that they have played their last Charlton match and won't be risking injury before their current contracts expire at the end of the month. Solly hasn't been a regular starter for awhile and arguably wouldn't have featured anyway but Lyle Taylor might have been expected to help us to victory in the crucial Hull game which is our first game after the interruption.
This is a sorry state of affairs and Charlton fans have taken to social media once again to berate Taylor and tell him just how little they think of him. I am disappointed too but it's hardly a surprise. Taylor was forced to stay on last August when we couldn't secure a last minute replacement in the transfer window and he was thereby denied a lucrative move to Brentford. He threw his toys out the pram at the time but quickly buckled down to business once he realised the decision had been taken. To his credit he scored some vital goals but it was very clear to me that there would be no holding him once his contract finished. I don't think we can really blame him for deciding to miss the last game or two. Obviously I don't expect him to be paid for June but his next move will likely be his last at 30 years of age and gives him the opportunity for really good money for arguably the first time in his career. Sure he's earned more than most of us but a largely journeyman career through the lower leagues won't have set him up for life by any means and he only really has one last chance. If he did play for us and suffered an injury, it could materially affect the rest of his life.
Chris Solly's case isn't nearly so strong. He will be 30 in January but has been on a reasonable contract at Charlton for most of his career. He may have decided he needs a move to ensure first team football but it's unlikely to be a bigger move or involve the sort of money Taylor has a chance of. Chris may not have played anyway and maybe didn't need to tell us he wasn't prepared to play to the end of his contract. After an exemplary one-club career he has managed to diminish his reputation needlessly, after a testimonial season too.
No sooner has that been announced then we hear that Lyle Taylor and Chris Solly have decided that they have played their last Charlton match and won't be risking injury before their current contracts expire at the end of the month. Solly hasn't been a regular starter for awhile and arguably wouldn't have featured anyway but Lyle Taylor might have been expected to help us to victory in the crucial Hull game which is our first game after the interruption.
This is a sorry state of affairs and Charlton fans have taken to social media once again to berate Taylor and tell him just how little they think of him. I am disappointed too but it's hardly a surprise. Taylor was forced to stay on last August when we couldn't secure a last minute replacement in the transfer window and he was thereby denied a lucrative move to Brentford. He threw his toys out the pram at the time but quickly buckled down to business once he realised the decision had been taken. To his credit he scored some vital goals but it was very clear to me that there would be no holding him once his contract finished. I don't think we can really blame him for deciding to miss the last game or two. Obviously I don't expect him to be paid for June but his next move will likely be his last at 30 years of age and gives him the opportunity for really good money for arguably the first time in his career. Sure he's earned more than most of us but a largely journeyman career through the lower leagues won't have set him up for life by any means and he only really has one last chance. If he did play for us and suffered an injury, it could materially affect the rest of his life.
Chris Solly's case isn't nearly so strong. He will be 30 in January but has been on a reasonable contract at Charlton for most of his career. He may have decided he needs a move to ensure first team football but it's unlikely to be a bigger move or involve the sort of money Taylor has a chance of. Chris may not have played anyway and maybe didn't need to tell us he wasn't prepared to play to the end of his contract. After an exemplary one-club career he has managed to diminish his reputation needlessly, after a testimonial season too.
I thought I was the only one to be more disappointed with Solly than Taylor.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I want us to desperately survive relegation, I feel so absolutely drained by the ownership fiasco that my thoughts are more focused on club survival than League survival.
PH