Thetownend.com

Austin hands in transfer request
           

  CHARLIE Austin has formally handed in a written transfer request, the Swindon Advertiser believes.

           

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/headlines/8795923.Austin_hands_in_transfer_request/?ref=rss
           

Disappointed in Austin's behaviour in all this but shouldn't be surprised, modern footballer and all that.

I just want him to go now, despite the fact that he has been a revelation for us in the last 18 months. The fact of the matter is that he's not bigger than the club and we will be better off without him as long as we can invest the transfer fee in a goalscoring partnership.

I think its best to take a totally pragmatic approach.Charlie is clearly unhappy and wants to move,
we want new players and so lets see what deal is forthcoming.

Mr Fitton is a very,very good negotiator and he will do his best to get the best deal possible for
this club.

As you can imagine there are lots and lots of rumours already and i imagine that there will be over
the course of the next 13 days of the transfer window.

It's time to stand by our club and to give Fitton and Wilson some support.

A long time ago there used to be a chant at the County Ground.

"The TownEnd united will never be defeated". It's time we all stood together!

Would this action, if true, not lower the final transfer fee paid? Why would clubs pay a price for a clearly unhappy player.

Sell him now and get as much as possible.

Goodnight Vienna.

Fuck you Austin.

Great player but very dissapointed in his conduct, the way he is trying to force the clubs hand through the media and through the transfer request.

Now we are in the shit as he is surely gone.

I hope he fails spectacularly... yup, I'm fickle and annoyed.

It's alright, Samsung are finding us another one.

Barn doors and all that.

Fucking annoyed me this has.

But seriously, i wouldn't have minded him doing this next summer, but doing it now, unsettling the squad, wanting to leave us in the shit, forgetting all that we've done for him, i fucking hate football and footballers sometimes.

Extremely ungrateful is all I'm going to say

Haven't got the bottle Charlie? Shame. You could've left a hero in the summer but you've chosen to tarnish your reputation forever.

I still think keeping Dougie is more important to the team as a whole, but where the fuck are goals coming from now?

Little shit. Hope he realises he's going to have to put In a hell of a lot more effort than he did Saturday to succeed at a higher level & cut the whinging crap.

The only thing surprising me in this whole situation is that there are still people upset when a player shows his only loyalty is to himself.

Austin owed us nothing. Yeah we took him from non league and gave him his opportunity, but he's paid that back tenfold.

We bought him for peanuts, we'll get a decent fee for him and in the short time he was here he scored shitloads of goals.

Thanks for the memories Charlie, now lets think how we can spend the money!

Pericard and Dossevi are going to be hit together in the Hadron collider to make one super striker, a force to be reckoned with.

All I care about is Swindon getting as much money as possible.

Players come and go.

Before herthab comes to his senses and deletes this post, I thought I'd capture it. Fucking well said sir!

Sorry for diverting the hysterical over-reactions. Carry on.

Disappointed, but sadly not that surprised.

I appreciate the lad wants to do what's best for his career, but I'm not sure this is quite the way to go about doing it.

Thanks for everything you've given us Charlie, time for us all to move on.

Me too :)

People talking about a swindon legend? Ha ha, don't make me fucking laugh. He thinks he's better than he actually is, but although he's scored a shed load of goals for us, the reality is that he's been shit over the last few weeks.

He comes out and says he owes swindon and wants to give it back, but then this. Apparently he's handed it in, because he was refused the right to talk to Hull.

God I'm angry.

Nothing to see here, move along, all been done before

http://thetownend.com/index.php/topic,42140.600/topicseen.html

I am really, really disappointed in him. I had a really high opinion of Charlie and this is not the conduct I expected of him. My opinion of him has fallen through the floor.

Maybe he'd simply had enough of all the haters in the area? Who knows? I wish him luck with clenched fists and an element of disgust. Lets hope we can now shift him quick and sign some players, before he upsets the already upset applecart.

Although there's no smoke without fire and all that, I'm not going to go apoplectic about it whilst it's just newspaper speculation.

Even if it is true, I'm not going to be angry about it. I'll just be a little disappointed in the manner which the transfer is being engineered.

I'm very disappointed too. I can understand he's only ever going to look after himself, but would it really have been asking too much to stay until the end of the season so we can get our team in order? Now he's going to leave a big hole in a side thats already struggling.

He was taken on a fantastic journey last season and played at Wembley (and missed a sitter, cheers for that).

Throughout the whole thing he's said how much he's focussing on Swindon, and just trying to do well. He should know that we wouldn't hold him back and when an offer came in that suited him and the club we would happily accept. Why the hell should we accept a crappy offer from Hull (HULL?!?!) just so he can play at a higher level?

I hope he does well, but only because I want us to get a very large slice of any future transfer fee.

You heard it here from me via a friend of a friend first!!!!!!

spot on

if we were in the playoffs this wouldn't have happened, but why spend 5 months in a league 1 relegation battle when he can treble his money and play a better standard

Is 5 months really that extreme? Don't really think its too much to expect.

First of all FUCK YOU CHARLIE AUSTIN YOU ARROGANT SELF CENTRED CUNT

I hope that the egotistical cunt breaks his fucking legs in his first game.

I understand there is no loyalty in football and all that bollocks but what a swift kick in the bollocks to every Swindon Town fan, player and everyone who supported him. Fitton must be seething after this leaked out. Given the fact Fitton won’t confirm or deny makes me believe that this is true.

We gave Austin his chance. Before us he was building log cabins at £6.50 an hour or whatever it was.    Austin has spat in the face of every fan who supported him after the Wembley misses, everyone in the Town who rallied around him after the loss of his child, every child that looked up to him, his team mates and the management of STFC who took a punt on him.

You Sir are a cunt of the highest order, But you know that STFC need you more than you need STFC. Complete wrong way to go about this. Like Cox you would have got your move, Your too good for League One. I won’t pretend that you have been shit but the whining and blaming fellow team mates when you fuck up didn’t do much to endear you to some lately. You knew you could do no wrong, you could miss a mile wide or fuck up a pass and get a polite applause from the Town faithful, Pericard, Rose or Prutton do the same and there is uproar and boo’s.

Your total lack of respect for those fans who chanted your name BEFORE you even played a game for Swindon despite coming from non-league, who stood by you and supported you after the loss of your child is absolutely disgusting. Whilst I didn’t expect you to be here in February, you could have kept your fucking gob shut and just got on with it. You seem to have forgot where you came and it appears the rumours of you being a self centred arrogant twat are true.

I sincerely hope you fail and wish you no luck at all in the future. No one player is bigger than the club, we have lost good players before and will again!

SWINDON TIL I DIE 
NOTE: I have been told I take these things too seriously or personally before!

Steady on Gazza.

Do you self a favour, Gaz, and delete that post.  Pathetic over-reaction.

We all knew Charlie was going to leave.  Only difference here is that we're going to get some money this time.  In the space of 18 months, the board have completed one of the best pieces of business in the club's history.

Good luck Charlie.  I'm sure you'll do well where ever you end up.

Jesus fucking wept. Don't do yourself a coronary Gaz.

Step away from the keyboard.

Perhaps, but there is a right way and wrong way of doing things, and doing it this way has pissed off a lot of people, myself included. I know there is no loyalty and when a player says "I want to stay" etc etc he normally has his fingers crossed behind his back but like Coxy he could have just shut up did his job and go, He isnt that stupid to believe he wouldnt get a move surely? He would ahve moved on no later than the Summer, instead of continuing to bang in goals and raise his stock and interest even more so he chose to be a cunt about it.

HAve you missed an "s" somewhere?

No Dossevi only has 2

hits? They are writing songs ;) Jedward MKII?? Dessicard? Perissevi?

Would you like a gold star?

Dont worry, he will be back in a few years time, helping us re-devlop our stadium when it all goes tits up and he goes back to daddy and lays bricks  :toocool:

Well ........ Yes please!

I'd have to disagree.

Now he's handed in a request, the club won't get as much money for him. The demand is there, but we now need to let him talk. He won't play for us again as is heart isn't in it.

We all knew he was going to go, but he's a fucked us over royally because he's asked to go. What makes me angry is that he said himself that he 'owed' swindon.

Fucking spot on mate.

Oh jesus christ. I'm with Herthab. 99% of you need to get a grip, with yourselves and reality. Jesus christ

Agree, Not saying he should have signed a new contract but if he really felt he owed Swindon he could have signed a new contract to get us more money, He thinks we should accept 500K so he can play at a higher level, Fuck him, He was gagging to sign a contract as soon as he got here now he thinks "oh I am too good for Swindon", I dont think Fitton will let him go for less money as he knows there is still a demand there, sure clubs will use the transfer requeste as an excuse to get a "bargain" but Fitton will say get fucked. He isnt stupid.

Why won't we get as much for him? we still hold all the cards, just because hes handed in a request doesnt mean we have to sell him at a cut down price.

Yes he may not give it all to us performance wise from now on but fuck him, hes made his bed, let the bidding war begin.

Jermaine Beckford handed in a transfer request this time last season with Leeds. Stayed 'tilll the end of the season and scored the goals which got leeds promoted.

Wayne rooney / carlos tevez both apparently stated their desires to move on earlier in the season but are now still playing and scoring (in tevez's case) regularly.

Just because he's reportedly handed in a request doesn't mean he'll automatically be off at the first offer that comes in.

The more I think about this, the more comfortable I become.

• There are 2 weeks of the transfer window still to come.  And instead of a will he/won't he scenario, we now know what's happening.
• No danger of Charlie leaving on Jan 31st without a replacement lined up.
• With Morrison having also departed, everyone knows now that a complete rebuilding of the squad is on the cards...front to back.  We will be able to use the Charlie money where it is most needed.
• The chips are down for DW.  No excuses now.  Astute signings (x several) are a necessity.  The clock's ticking.

Should be an interesting couple of weeks.  Not because Morrison and Charlie leaving.  They're both history already.  But because of who we'll be getting in.  This had better be good.

I suspect the truth of this is, as I said around the Sky interview thing, that Charlie's being very badly advised. As others have said on the other thread, he's a young lad who's never been in this situation before so he's going to be heavily dependent on the advice of his agent. That's where any bile should be directed, not at Charlie.

Gazza, well over the top. It's not like a kiddy fiddling pop star's died or anything

But you can't deny that its likely to upset the dynamics of the squad?! Its very difficult to pick a player who has publicaly stated that he no longer wants to play for the team. Is he willing to fight for his team mates? (The ones he no longer wants to play with) How will the fans react to him?

Its just so unecessary. He could have got his dream move now or in the Summer when the right money came in and left with the best wishes of everyone. All this just creates bad feeling.

To a T Mr D. Last line's a good 'un. :D

Gazza, get a grip and delete the post and change your picture until he at least goes mate!  He is still a swindon town player at the moment whether he wants out or not!

Why is everybody getting so wound up about something we already knew and have been discussing over the past few weeks?

I have been depressed about this season for weeks and this place really does take it to another level sometimes.

Spot on Ardiles, I agree.

Always disappointing when a big player leaves, but at least it's all out in the open and now it's time to look forward, not back.

If Charlie32Austin is actually him on twitter then this is his latest post:

"What are people going on about I ain't on my way anywhere I've not long woken up!"

Yup because he was found guilty, and both people who accused him, since he died have come out and said nothing happened and one of the dad's topped themselves hmmmm...

Still a cunt how he's gone about things! :) On a serious note be interesting to see what kind of reception he gets if he still here for Tranmere....

Tip toed around the last two games like Paynter at Wembley. I said it was time to get rid after Oldham but we are probably doomed now unless Wilson pulls something out of the hat.

I wish him the best of luck and hope he doesnt end up like all the other forwards that have left........Parkin, Cox and Paynter.

Bodin on the bench for Saturday.

point 1. fully agree, he didnt want to be playing for us by the look of it.

point 2. I agree again, best of luck, we got him for peanuts and he delivered lots in return.

point 3. isn't Bodin a bit old now at 47 to get a game????? :D

Fucking hell Gaz, I see the "taking things far too seriously" hat is firmly in place this morning. You need to take up ganja, mate.

While he's a Town player wearing the red shirt, I'd hope he gets nothing but 100% support.

I'm no longer convinced by that account!

The most dissapointing thing about all this is the utter lack of class he has shown. I don't begrudge him bettering himself, but there are ways in which to do so.

This

If I actually bother to show up at the game, i wont clap him but I wont boo him.

That was my point, albeit it overdone and in a long winded way!

my thoughts exactly. Cox and Parkin both wanted a move to higher clubs but never went around handing in requests or strolling around the pitch for 90 mins sulking cos that move hasn't happend.

They rolled their sleeves up and got on with it.

Charlie boy you should have taken notice of these two and you could have left with your head held high and every single town fan wishing you well and always singing your praises.

now you are being labled a cunt by most for showing little to no respect for the team/fans who have helped progress you to where you are now.

Dissapointed

I agree. Simon Cox should be a role model to all lower league players looking to better themselves. I still follow his progress at West Brom, as if he's representing our club. Sadly, this may not be the case with Austin.

A few weeks ago I would have been upset about this, but now I'm a bit meh to be honest.

As has been said before no player is bigger than the club, and I don't want someone wearing our shirt when he doesn't want to, and his recent performances have shown me that he really doesn't have the loyalty he was talking about before.

It's a shame he has a short memory and cannot seem to remember the support he was given when he arrived, after his "Wembley bobble" and after the loss of his child amongst other things. He has been made to look very ungrateful by his actions.

Wherever he goes, he may well not be the no 1 choice striker and could spend a lot of the time warming the bench, as he is not as good as some of our other players who have left us to move on to "better things" and then not quite made the grade.

We can and will manage without him, and hopefully it won't be very long before we are singing someone else's name because they have scored goals which have helped us (dare I say it) avoid relegation this season.

Let's just hope we can get as much money as possible for him and  move on.

Cox was always honest and said, he would get on with it, do well and get his move. He was grateful for the chance, a cracking lad on and off the pitch. Austin cracking on it, not sure about off it so can't judge although a lot of stories going around.

Ofcourse it could be Rooney and Tevez Part 2 and Charlie signs a new contract today soapy tit wank

Exactly

I just want it done now, have been feeling like this for a few weeks, and it's actually pissed me off more than our crap performances.

Simon Cox can be seen at the County Ground often, he went about it the right way and departed amicably.  

can't blame austin for wanting to leave.
someone has obviously came in for him where he wants to go,and frankly we are fucking rubbish.
he's earned his move and good luck to him.
i'm more concerned about how much we'll get,how much of that will go back inot the team,and who is gonna spend it....

Not just that JJ....we need a striker and fucking quick, thats my worry!!

We do mate, and that is a worry.

Perhaps he is being badly advised by his agent, I'm not so sure I think Charlie is arogant enough to make the decision for himself in consultation with his agent, I think he has decided he does not want to be involved in a relagation fight when he could be playing championship football.

For the sake of team harmony we need to get rid of him, hopefully though Mr Fitton can get us a good deal.

You do wonder if the transfer request has been prompted by more than the Hull bid though

Most people on this board would move to a better job at a better company for a £10-£20k per year payrise.

Now imagine being offered a payrise of 5-10x what you're currently on - doing the same job, but for a company that's bigger and more successful - and your boss won't let you move.

Some of the responses on here are ridiculously childish.

Does handing in a transfer request actually mean anything nowadays, other than a public statement that the player is pissed off, wants out and to put himself in the shop window? In which case I don't see how Austin doing it changes anything.

He can't go anywhere until the club accept an offer for him and there is no pressure as he's under contract for a while. The situation has always been that if the club's valuation is met they will let him go, I presume Fitton still has the £2m figure in his head which seems pretty fair to me. So what has changed?

I'm actually glad he's done it, as it could help speed up the departure of Wilson. Don't know why anyone is getting upset, it's just the way things are and we'd all jump at the chance of a better job with a better salary. It's life, get over it people.

Not sure it was a good move for Austin himself though, demanding a transfer from the club that gave you your big break when you've only been a pro for 18 months doesn't look good and I'm not sure it will do him any favors in the long run. As others have said it's most likely an agent dangling carrots in front of him, he didn't have to listen to him though.

You are completely misreading the responses if you took the time to read the responses it's not the fact that Charlie wants to better his career or earn more money that's pissed people off it's more the way hes done it. 

Why not keep scoring goals, keep giving 100% and wait for an offer to come in that the club accept? that way he leaves here with his head held high and with most of the fans holding him in high regard. 

I honestly can't understand how this does not piss some people off? yes he's scored goals and yes we will get a fee for him but why not show some loyalty, respect and professionalism to the club that gave him his chance in professional football, without us he may still be working on building sites.

I hate it when people compare a football club to a business. A football club may theoretically be a business, but how many business get 7,000 people show up on a Saturday afternoon to watch it do its stuff?

And besides, it hasn't been stated anywhere that Fitton won't let him move, we just want the best possible price for him, which is totally understandable.

Fuck off back to building, ungrateful cunt. If someone offers you a massive chance you dont turn around and say you want to leave, tosser.

Thanks for missing that one at Wembley (dont car if it bobbled). :bye:

I doub't that very much let's not forget it was only a transfer embargo that stopped bournemouth signing him.

Rubbish. We only nicked in because Bournemouth were under embargo. He was starting to be noticed by lots of clubs.


It is a business and he's an employee. If you were making £30k a year and someone offered you £500k a year, would you take it?

Man up. Let's back Fitton to get a good price and get another couple of players in. But let's not throw a tantrum like he had a go on your girlfriend.

Fuck me some need to wind there necks in and step back from the keyboard

Please not Saints...that would fuck me off epic style.

Like townenda has said.

Its not the loyalty, but the way he has gone about it. He's shown no respect or professionalism. At the end of the day, it's the boards decision if he can talk to a club or not. They've said no, and all he's done is thrown his toys out the pram. Throwing a paddy, then saying if you're not going to let me do it, then I'll stir things up.

Yes he was always going to go, but there are ways of going.

And its a bit different to Rooney/Tevez saga. They didn't want to go to better their careers, they wanted more money.

iffy,you have it right.
i've trawled the thread and people like gazza should be embarrased.

also,anyone who thinks austin was slumming it on building sites are deluded.do you honestly think the son of a multi million pound company owner was labouring?
he wasn't...

Yeah brilliant, lets hope we lose on saturday at Rovers too. Twat

But a football club isn't the same as a regular business because a football club have fans who have an emotional stake in the club and care about the way its run, and who its 'employees' are, how they perform and conduct themselves.

If its true, the whole 'handing in a transfer request' is unecessary. Nobody expected him to stay forever, and even if he'd have left this January, he would have gone with the best wishes of most. But handing in a transfer request is just daft.

That's your problem, not his.

Take this analogy. Imagine you were seeing a girl, and it was fine, but you wanted to get a new job in a new city. You've only been seeing each other a few months, you had fun, but it was never going to last forever. The new job is amazing, your dream job. You tell the girl. The girl goes psycho, calls all your mates, camps outside your house crying, calls you names, tells you she's pregnant, scratches your car, leaves long sobbing messages on your voicemail. You're a bit embarassed by the spectacle she's making of herself and you get out quick sharp.

In this analogy, you are the girl.

So rather like some of the bed-wetting reactions on this thread then?  This is embarrassing.

Calling the handing in of a transfer request 'unecessary' doesn't exactly equate to going psycho, but I can see the point you're attempting to make.

And to play along with your analogy, I've already told my boyfriend that he can go and start his new job in the Summer, or even in a couple of weeks as long as I get enough money to find a good enough replacement, and I'll wish him well, tell all my friends how good he is in bed and that he's hung like a hippo.

Leaving the debate to one side, I'll give my opinion on this:

Fuck.

Word on the street is that Charlie only did this so he could read Gaz's meltdown with much amusement.

Why's he only got a few posts? Did he throw a moody and resign for a bit?

Yeah, he had a similar meltdown when someone taunted him about Wacko Jacko and deleted his account :D

Good job no-one's done that this time round then :)

I don't see how it is embarassing or a bed wetting reaction to feel let down at him putting in a transfer request.  No one is arguing he should want to better his career, get more money or play at a higher level it's just the way hes done it.  There is no doubt that a bid would of been tabled in January or the Summer that meets the boards valuation so I do not understand why Charlie could of waited until then rather than throw a transfer request at the board, I for one feel he owes us alot so I don't know why he could not of waited until a bid was accepted.

This has left a very sour taste in the mouth, Shows a lack of respect and is unprofessional in my opinion, Cox was a role model and was always 100% committed and never showed a lack of respect, He did it in the right way, Austin has ruined his hero status now in my opinion, He shouldn't play for us again now as he's heart's not in it, He needs shipping out a.s.a.p so we can forget about him and get someone else in.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swindon_town/9365140.stm

As I read it, somoene somewhere has said to the local paper "Charlie has handed in a transfer request". This is someone somewhere spouting off about a private matter between the Club and Charlie. Neither STFC or Charlie have come out and said "Charlie wants to do one/  I've had a gutful of this bunch of clowns, I want out" in public.

Strikers come and strikers go. We all know in our hearts that Charllie will be gone sooner rather than later. If Charlie has handed in a request, all he is doing is officialy letting the club know he does want to move.

Those of you saying he has done fuck all recently- I accept he hasn't scored for a few games but, even during the recent woeful team performances, Charlie has been putting himself about on the pitch like a mad thing. He was putting defensive challenges in against Yeovil FFS.

I have a couple of things that worry me though.
Who will replace Charlie when he does go?
Will he come back to haunt us like most ex Swindon strikers seem to and stuff a shed load of gaols past us in a cup game or during a loan spell?

Good luck Charlie and thanks for the memories.

Don't get it; why has he handed a 'transfer request in'?

Isn't that what really pissed off players do?
If it's because he thinks the club are holding him back he's misguided, he's only been playing league football for a year..!

Disappointed with the manner this has happened and that he didn't wait until the end of the season, this way he just looks like a selfish self-important twat.

Thought he was better than that...

no STFC are not stopping him from moving. they are just holding onto what they believe to be a fair evaluation for him.

Which imo is very fair. we can't sell players cheaply just because they're unhappy. Sunderland are requesting more for DB and he's handed in a request. quite frankly all a request does (in my eyes) is confirm the player wants to leave.

I was of the opinion he wouldn't last past January anyway. If we were higher up the table he might of waited until the end of the season but because of the precarious position we are currently in...so be it. Move on (for the right fee and not to Saints) and good luck to him.

I do agree that he has played his last for us and shouldn't even travel to Rovers at the weekend. He's gone get over it and move on!!!

Some comments on here are a little OTT (no names mentioned) and that's fair as it just shows what passion we have as Swindon fans. Lets take that passion into Saturday's game and get behind the boys "post Austingate".

 Transfer time I think is exciting and lets hope DW can bring in the right people for the right money.

I dont blame the lad for wanting out. Its shit here at the moment and if he can get a bucket load more cash and better conditions elsewhere then i can see why he is itching to go.

I know it was not aimed at him but "your not fit to wear the shirt" song from your own supporters does little to boost team spirit, does it. The dressing room must be an awful place to be this year. There must be a dressing room split and that would make going to work everyday shit.

Im also wondering if Austin will get boo'd at Rovers now?

Dissapointed he is going, of course i am. But pissed off, no, we could all see it coming.

Thought he would go in Jan....so meh, lets get the dosh and more importantly GET SOME CUNT WHO CAN SCORE!!

Great performances from Austin?....no fucking way....Oldham and Yeovil piss poor and i was at both.

Gutted, But surely we'll get a good price price for him. Fitton and co wont let him go for peanuts. Wounder who were going to get instead. Maybe get simon cox back on loan. .. as he's not playing much lately

Yeah and watching from the stands has been a fucking delight hasn't it.

How to undo all your good work in one simple step

fuck off Charlie.

I'm surprised that people seem to think that he was.

as a few people had said


cureton all over again.

So, what was he doing then?

I'm not, I am entitled to my opinion as much as you are. I am not pissed off that he is leaving, its the manner of how he has gone about it and shit in the face of everyone who has backed him through professional and personal bad times so yeah a but pissed off. Never expected him to be here but he could have left with our best wishes, Now I wouldn't play him (best player or not, we need to look forward without him), I just know (and hope) AF will hold out for decent money before he goes. Total lack of respect for not only the fans, but his team mates, and everyone else at Swindon Town. Throwing his toys out becuase we didnt accept a stupid bid from Hull is just a joke. He like Cox would have got his move request or not as has been stated before. Spoiled arrogant twat.

He actually shit in your face? No wonder you're pissed off.

If, and he probabbly has handed in a transfer request, we may be entitled to more money for him. Anyway, Charlie Austin is a poor man's Bryan Wade.

Was wondering that. A requested transfer means he's not entitled to a cut of the transfer fee or something doesn't it?

Seriously Gazza, you need to get a good lawyer to fight your case.  If Austin really has laid one out on your face, you'll be in line for some serious compensation.

When i read some of the comments on here i thought the world was about to end, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Charlie left/wanted to leave and good luck to him, he is a professional footballer and wants to play at a higher level and yes earn more money the majority of people on the TEF would do the same the only thing is how much will we get for him and has DW anyone lined up
 Players have always moved on
Remember the only loyalty in football are the supporters but sometimes i have my doubts
Thank you Charlie all the best for the future

If I read one more person refer to him as a 'hero' or 'legend' after just a season and a half I will hunt them down and hurt them.

Goodbye Charlie. Decent movement, good finisher but probably not got the quality, pace or fitness to hack it in the higher echelons of the Championship.

Realistically £1m+ profit for 18 months is a great bit of business.

STFC Gazza your avatar is really sad

Yes he shit in my face......  ::)

I'm another that's 'disappointed' in his transfer request. Yes we all knew he would likely go in January, just would have hoped he'd have more respect and class than to basically demand a move now just incase he doesn't get the chance until the summer.

No-one is begrudging him his move, just that going about it this way pisses people off

I'm begrudging him his move, we gave him his chance so he should be made to stay here for the rest of his career.

Very good post.

Losing Charlie does not alarm me...anyone with his strike record last season and in this pile of shit team this season was going to be snapped up.

Yes, we gave him a chance he took it, did well and now wants a crack at a higher level. Will he hack it.?...well time will tell?

The BIG ISSUE here is how much we get, how much Wilson is given and who he brings in replace him....cos all the other players so far have been piss poor for this season....

Without a striker we're doomed!

<Captain Mainwaring>Calm down Private Fraser<Captain Mainwaring>

'Wait til the summer' only makes sense if you think we've got realistic playoff chances and losing Charlie means we'll blow it.

I think we'll only have realistic playoff chances if we bring in up to 4 new faces.

It suggests that the board weren't going to spend in the transfer window (unless Charlie goes and we spend that money), but bulk up with a couple of loans. The season is pretty much over, so he figures he might as well go now. Players always go for more in Jan than in the summer, so we'll make more by selling him now.

So what's the problem? I'm more upset by the fact that the team has consistently failed to gel than by the fact that Charlie thinks the 10/11 season is over and that all told he'd rather be rich. Why wait 6 months for nothing more than the 'thanks' of fickle fans who turn on him with dodgy arguments about 'loyalty'. Even if he stayed 2 more years some fans would still call him a judas.

Like Cox you mean iffy?

I'd let go of that play off thought completely if i were you

So, if he wants to go - wait for a bid to be accepted and go.

No need to hand in a transfer request because he was going anyway.

I appreciate that it's not their style but some comments from the club wouldn't go amiss.

Thanks for the goals Charlie and good luck.

Maybe if we signed players that were needed in the summer we wouldn't be in this situation.

Do I trust Wilson to replace him? No. Lets be honest here, he had months to replace Greer and Paynter, what makes you think that he will be able to replace Austin in less than half a month?

Prove me wrong, Danny.

reflects my views exactly

Has Gazza self combusted or has somebody deleted his account?

Silly rumours website

"Charlie Austins agent had talks with Peter Lawell, whether it was for this particular player, or another of the agents players i can't confirm, but talks were held. A move to Scotland and a big club would be better than a move to a championship club that will never win anything or even compete in europe and maybe even the champions league. this could be a big lure for a promising player and the style and philosophy of Celtics football would suit. also Celtic and Swindon have done various deals in the past, so a fee plus player may be attractive to Swindon."

Some of the comments on here are completely OTT, it's not even official that he's requested it yet! (Although if he hadn't, then read this, he probably would!).

He's a footballer - we signed him for fuck all- he's been here 5 minutes and helped us reach Wembley-we'll make a fucking mint on his transfer. That's the facts.

I would share this view if we were'nt staring down the double barrels of a relegation shot gun.

As for as I can see, things are quite simple.  Austin wants to play at a higher level.  Had we gone up last year it would have been with us, if we were in the promotion or playoff places this year then maybe we convince him to stay.  Given the season we're having it's hardly surprising he wants out.

Now (and I may be wrong on this), if he requests a transfer it means we don't have to pay off the rest of his contract as I believe we would have to do if we sold him without him doing so.  Therefore, I'm not too pissed off, his actions may (if I'm right about the above) have saved us some cash.  Also, as we hold his contract, we don't have to sell to any old twatty side, but only for a deal that suits all parties (Fitton I trust on this).

Finally, we didn't discover this guy, we got lucky because Bournemouth were under a transfer embargo.  He cost us next to nothing, has scored a shed load of goals and will be sold for a bery handsome profit indeed.  It's a shame he's off but I can live with it (as long he is repalced, and we also replace Greer, Paynter and Morrison).

We've lost better players in the past and will lose better ones in the future.  He's no Duncan Shearer or Jan Fjortoft, for example.

So long Charlie, and thanks for the goals.

What is it with all the personal rumours flying around about him, the different things I have heard are unbeliveable, if even one of them was true it would be mad enough, but there are a few.

FWIW I think that it has all been handled rather poorly, if CA has submitted a transfer request then so be it theres not a lot we can do now.  Personal insults and venting anger towards the player wont matter a fuck.  As a lot younger town supporter I do believe I shed tears when we sold Don Rogers, couldn`t believe it when Peter Noble went, was frustrated and angry when big Dunc left and thought the world had ended when jan the man went.  As a club we got over it and carried on.  We WILL miss Charlie if he in fact goes, but the one thing that remains a constant is STFC the club this old fart will continue to support.

At the end of the day as has been said he was always going to go in the summer if he didn't go this month. He wants to play at a higher level and at the moment we're more likely to be playing at a lower level next season so he want's to move on. I haven't got a problem with this.

However what I am dissapointed about is the fact that potentially he has requested for his move to be fast tracked knowing full well that other teams are interested. I do wonder if an agent has twisted his arm on this one maybe to get some more serious offers in for him? Or maybe Charlie himself has simply had enough here. He doesn't get a lot of service, we're doing shite in the league and really it's not the place for him to progress in the long run. If that's how he feels then why should he wait?

I can kind of see both sides of the coin with this one. If he does move on then I wish him well. I just hope we seriously look at the squad in the next few weeks (we should be doing that anyway) because we're going to need 2 strikers (and I don't mean another Dossevi or Pericard), an exeperienced CB and a RM because JP is shite this season and doesn't look interested. Now with 250k for Morrison, 300k from the Diamandis court case and the money from any potential sale of Charlie there are no excuses not to get these players in. I really hope we're not sat here in 2 weeks time wondering why we haven't signed a replacement for Austin or a decent CB because at the moment this concerns me more than anything to do with Charlie Austin and whether he's leaving or not.

Paving a way for Celtic to make a big and becoming Hooper strike force partner.

Hooper&Austin as our attack would be amazing :soapy tit wank:

Austin wants to play at a higher standard, the SPL is shit.

Or maybe he just wants a pay cheque.

I'd like to see him at Celtic. Champions League football, watch him waltz into the England U-21's too.

From the very suspect Charlie32Austin Twitter account......

Thanks to all the Swindon fans for supporting me throughout my time at the club. However I've decided to hand in a transfer request because I feel that now is the right time to move in order to further my career. I've spoken with the chairman today & my future will be resolved over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I'm still a Swindon Town player & will continue to give 100% for the cause as I have done all season.

After one great season (helped by Paynter) how can he possibly walk into a Celtic side??!! Yes he has great potential but at this moment in time he is living on the back of that ONE season. Of course we all know he is going to leave at some point but no player is bigger than the club. Some great players have left thinking they are on to the big bucks- Billy Payntor, Lucas Jutciewicz, Rhys Evans, even Super Sam and they all probably agree that sometimes it pays to be a big fish in a 'small' pond. good luck warming the bench.

Announcing that on Twitter would make the club very happy....  :hmmm:

I hope it's fake... but I'm not that bothered.

To be honest for 90% of the games Celtic play I'd be able to play for them and score a few. Charlie would score shitloads.

Ha, has gazza been banned?

Wont be long before charlie does the moonwalk away from the CG

Probably deleted his account again.

Not been much this season? Apart from the last few games, Austin has been having another good season (Made even more difficult given the way the rest of the team have performed).

Great Players can in no way include Lukas Jukebox or Rhys Evans.

True jukebox and evans not great players but ones we have cashed in on, now cos we have an unhappy player on our books austin's fee is halved. Im annoyed cos he has only played ONE full season with us and I think he owes us more than that, I mean 18months ago he was bricklaying! He will go on strike next and then what?

We didn't cash in on Evans.

I was thinking that too, he turned down our offer of a new contract and left on a free.

He owes us fuck all.

52 starts, 36 goals.

For 50 grand, I'd say we more than got our money's worth.

Beating Leeds United at Elland Road was enough for me! He did his bit and no one can argue with that - If they do, they're a bit of a dick.

Good luck Charlie (when the inevitable happens) :bye:

Maybe im just having a bad day......Spent most of the day pitying fans of 'bigger' clubs ie Sunderland cos their star striker wants away and came home to find out ours wants to do the same! How can you give 100% when you want to leave? Look at Moyes vs Pienaar, he wouldnt allow him in the squad cos his heart werent in it but when im getting soaked and windswept at the Gasheads piece of crap stadium saturday ive got to believe that our striker is gonna be full of passion? I know the club is bigger than the player and I will always support them im just depressed!!

I totally agree.

The stats don't even tell the full tale do they?

Of all the games he started last season he hardly ever played the full 90 minutes of games because of his fitness.

I would think that goals to minutes ratio would be much higher than that probably almost 1 goal every 90 minutes that he played, so just about a goal a game.

He doesnt owe us anything at all, if we hadent taken the "risk" with him there were a few other clubs, Bournemouth included, that would have taken the same risk.

This. It's just the waiting for the death knoll I can't stand.

If anyone else says something like "We gave him his chance, he owes us" again i might throw the laptop against the wall.

He is the best £50k we have ever spent and he has repayed us 10 times over and if anyone owes anything is us who owe him a big thank you.

Yes thank-you for unsettling the club now we are in the shit! Contracts dont mean a thing, it must be so frustrating for the chairmen and managers when this happens! Of course he is a massive talent and ive enjoyed watching him bit he is still a young lad orchestrating a move out of the club we love! Can the players not wait? Leave in May as a hero!

The reality is contracts haven't mean't much in modern football for a few years.  Charlie has done what 100 players have done before and 100 more will do to us in the future.  The only difference is that he has gone to press which i imagine he has now realised was a mistake.

I still say there's an agent/advisor stirring all this, rather than it being directly instigated by Charlie himself. The timing of today's revelation in particular is bloody awful, seems calculated to cause maximum damage.

Alas, I don't think there's any doubt that an advisor has instigated this.

And a particularly shit one at that, who specialises in very bad advice. Oh shit! Diamandis must be Charlie's agent!

Some very good posts on this...with every emotion being shown.
To be honest he really didn't need to hand in a request...for that he will lose lots of Brownie points with Town fans....but that wont worry him.
The Town taught him how to conduct himself on how to be a profesional football player...he is doing what the modern football player does these days.
The Town and Poole will benefit with cash.....just sad we cant hold on to a hero these days.

welshred
Good work :)

The only problem is (to stretch this analogy to breaking point), your ex already knows he's hung like a hippo, and that he's kept you happy 32 of the 56 times you've been together. He doesn't need to keep his psycho-ex happy so she'll tell everyone. He needs to start banging supermodels.

Well no real surprise apart from the way that things appear to have been instigated from the Austin camp.  I'm really disappointed that he clearly has very little regard for the club and a silly move on his part really, as now he's going to leave under a black cloud.

He won’t be remembered as a legend, he’s not done enough here to warrant that tag.   Who will honestly remember his contribution in 10 years time.  Yes, he’s scored goals, but he wasn’t part of a promotion winning team or saved us from relegation like plenty of others I could name.  We survived when we lost them and we’ll survive without Austin .  The fame and attention seems to have gone to his head a bit lately and he needs to be a bit careful when he moves on.  I think he’ll find it far tougher elsewhere and his behaviour off the pitch might not be tolerated so lightly as it has been here.

Major concern is that we may now sell him for less than Fitton & Co were holding out for.  He’s obviously not going to pull a Swindon shirt on again, so are we just going to offload him to the next interested party to avoid further disruption?  I hope not, let him sweat until the last day of the transfer window if it means more money for the club.  In the meantime, let’s see some bloody action this week and get the players in that are needed to try and come out of this mess of a season with some credibility. 

I heard that CA is a Mormon. Best to get rid.

A largely depressing season after so much positive happened last year!

I thought Austin would stay until the end of the year and leave in the summer if we didn't get promoted but given the season we've had i can see why he has expressed a desire to leave now. Worth highlighting though that this is still rumour isn't it? Neither the club nor player have confirmed it yet.

Morrisons departure doesn't really bother me, made a little money and for my money cuthbert is the better player.

Players leave, it happens, it always will. What bothers me this year is we've not built on anything this season. After last years performance we should surely have been able to attract a couple more players of the Douglas/lucas/greer ilk that had such influence last year? We've instead invested quite heavily in young players. We need more experience! We must strengthen this window, yeah Ritchie has signed (another typical wilson player - small/technically good) but thats not what we need really is it!

I've very disillusioned at the moment and for most of this season. We're going backward. I trust Wilson, i think he's a good manager, and i hope he brings in what is necessary this window. If we finish where we are currently and avoid relegation, have we actually improved in the two years he's been here? we need progress, and thats not it. We know his targets this year, playoffs/3rd round fa cup and paint trophy final, he hit two last year and looks like hitting none this year.  

imo he was always going to leave in the transfer window if we weren't pushing for promotion so although some might see it as leaving us in the shit, we've had more than enough time(2-3 months) to prepare for this. Lets just hope the powers that be predicted this and have something in the pipeline that'll give us something positive to post about.....5 new signings as a start would do :-D
by the way, I personally dont give a fuck whether he is allegedly a coke head, top shagger, big time charlie...the boy done good for us and maybe a few of our current squad could learn a few things from him ;-)

My only worry is that we still have to receive a bid that we deem acceptable, or else we've got a disaffected player on our hands for the rest of the season. We're all hoping for around £2million, but out of the known bids for him (Millwall and Hull), neither have been over £800k or so. I think Millwall bid £600k and then upped it to £800k with their second offer?! It just seems to me (being Mr. Negative) that other clubs have a far different value in mind than we do. £1.2million is alot of difference to make up in negotiations. If we split the difference we're only at £1.4million.

Bottom line I just hope it gets resolved ASAP and that it's not a 31 January job leaving us in the shit.

I'd like to thank this thread for pushing me over the edge to go buy the couple of bottles of wine I wanted but was resisting. Thanks Thread!

That my wed wine dwinking fwiend is a great idea, thanks.

I am internet high fiving you right now. Well maybe not a high five, they're a bit gay. Maybe a sexy internet smile.

I predict plenty of wine as this will no doubt be a prolonged affair  :)

I'm not going to sober up until the Charlie situation is resolved. Or I've ran out of money.

Is it not worth a punt on Ward now?

I doubt its him. The picture in the background is of the clubs official twitter. I doubt Charlie Austin would use the same one as the club.

Im off, fuck you would of been better.....

Hope he puts in a shift at Rovers IF he plays.

It seems Charlie agrees.

http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/NewsHome/0,,10341,00.html