You know that careless talk costs lives. Well, this is kinda how today feels. Confused? OK, in a move that surprises many yet surprises nobody at the same time, JH is about to be sold for a lot of money to another club, medical permitting. Except that the fee is between £4m and £5m and the club in question is Charlton Athletic. Hardly the Champions League stage he was expecting, though Charlton are (for this season at least) higher in the divisions than we are.
The deal, should it happen, is not expected to go through until Monday, so he’ll have Forest to prove himself (assuming he plays, funny things “injuries”). In return, we’ll probably be getting a Charlton player called Lisbie (or Lesbo, can’t remember), who’s very quick up front and has a major shot on him. Which is handy.
So, what does this all mean? Well, it certainly means that we’ve given up our promotion push this season, though many would say (not me, honest) that is no bad thing. It also now seems to suggest that “It’s time for part 2 of the mass cull, TB, this time I think some sacred cows need to be slayed….“, as pointed out on here earlier this week.
Want proof? OK, according to W&WW, about 5 major players are about to be axed because they’re either “past it” or “not doing enough” – one is even considered to be a “troublemaker”, though not JH. I wonder who the five players are? I think I can gather who, I’m sure you’ve got at least 3. The emphasis now clearly seems to be on youth, together with some much more reliable older heads, and having seen our young breed this season playing with enthusiasm, skill and a desire to win not seen for a long time, I for one welcome it.
This won’t help the paranoid Womble one bit, and of course we’ve got the usual quotes. You’ve heard them, “lack of ambition”, “asset stripping”, blah de blah de blah. Honestly, I swear there is a special phrase book available which gives off these quotes. The sale of JH will be symbolic to many people, just as signing him was, but this time round there doesn’t seem to be the mass suicide going about. Maybe it’s because the sale was going to happen anyway, and with public knowledge of our £4m debt, we all know who was going to go.
But another reason may be JH’s recent lethargic performances. It would be somewhat ironic that the last game that JH could well play saw him at his lumbering, unfit and dare I say it uncommitted worst. How many good games can you honestly recall JH having? 5 at the most, out of a 2 year spell. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now : how much longer can we wait for JH to get fully fit and fully motivated? The answer is now becoming very clear – too damn long.
In a way, I suppose you ought to feel sorry for JH – six to eight weeks ago, he was on the verge of earning double at Rangers with Euro football to boot. Now? Assuming he’s fit, he’ll now be playing for a team likely to fight relegation earning less than what he gets at WFC. JH is supposed to be pissed off by being sold, although I wouldn’t like to say it’s because he gets carte blanche to do what the fuck he likes at WFC and get well paid for it. However, if he’s now being moved sideways because he’s not doing enough then really he only has himself to blame.
Certainly the Drillo story could have far reaching consequences, if true, which may speed up his exit even quicker. As my Fulham report shows, major changes need to be made, and thank fuck TB is making the most dramatic change of all. I honestly believe that if/when he goes, WFC will start picking up again.
Of course, he could fail the medical……..