Thetownend.com

Signing today

http://www.southlondon-today.co.uk/Sport.cfm?id=26967&headline=Exclusive%3A

According to the south london news.

A signing with lower league experience, just what people were after.

5' 7 though so I guess he'll play with Risser generally...anyone else think PdC might be looking at three central midfielders in a continental style two deep/one forward formation? Seems a good reason for hoarding central midfielders.

PDC says he wants to play 4-4-2...

I would be over the moon with this if it gets finalised etc.  A superb signing for L2 - in fact I am very suriprised he has even considered L2!

A three year deal? Everyone elese has got just two.

Because he is a quality player, get him tied down for longer?

Great signing, L1 standard player in his prime.

Doesn't seem to leave much room for Jedward Ferry though  :(

Not trying to be clever, and this is a genuine question, but given I don't pay too much attention to other teams, why are you so pleased?

Has he? Surely he'll be flexible though. A good positive signing in McCormack but wouldn't like to think its the end for Ferry just yet. I know he's lost his way a little but we all know he's good enough...

On the 21st July 2011, McCormack signed with League Two Side Swindon Town

someones jumping the gun a bit on wiki

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/9151843.McCormack_travelling_for_Town_talks/

I think the fact that Ferry is still here (when so many others have left) says something.  If PDC was certain he wanted rid, Ferry would have gone by now.  I would love to see him stay and do well with us next season.

On the downside we now have 2 'aaaalan's

I believe Ferry has wanted a move away from Swindon all pre-season but no offers have been forthcoming.

Hopefully this one goes better than the last big name, experienced Irish midfielder we signed to a three year deal...

A crueller man would post some of the quotes from the Gareth Whalley thread...




Oh, hindsight, thou art a cruel bitch

and that assumption is based on what?

Not necessarily. We paid a good fee for Ferry and if he was to go on a permanent deal then they'd want to recoup it - and given how the last year's gone for him, I can't see too many clubs being keen to spend 6 figures on him. I can forsee a Benyon-esque loan for him though.

I believe this to be bollocks.

If we hadn't got rid of Sheehan and O'Brien it would have been very confusing this season!!

completely agree. why would he want a move away. Like benyon he could easily have found another club to go on loan too.

Just trolling

Hadn't thought of that.  We'll see, I suppose.

but last season was not Ferry's doing. he just wasn't used because for some reason Wilson & Hart prefered that gypo cun.t.

Ferry is a good player and i think he still has a role to play at the club.

Ferry off to Bournemouth apparantly although nothing confirmed just stuff coming from Bournemouth end

Oh. I know nothing of him, but, more importantly, I'm now worried about Ferry.

Would imagine that with McCormack signing there could be 3 if not 4 players in front of him, if thats the case he might not want to benchwarm for another season

Although we all love Ferry and know he has the ability, maybe his style of play doesn't fit into how di Canio wants to play

you've been reading the rumours site haven't you?

21 Jul 2011 11:18:54
 the cherries are about to sign Swindon midfielder simon Ferry for a fee around 175k
 
Bournemouth are not willing to meet Swindons valuation of 250k but a deal could still be done.

No it's not it's stuff you have read on football rumours.I have seen you posting on it.

Read the Bournemouth forums it's on their too.  I've just tweeted Gary Rose to see if there is any truth to this rumour

Makes sense for Ferry, he needs games. A real shame if he goes.

**If true** I'm wondering whether he wanted out or the club did. If the latter then unless its for non-football reasons I think its a big mistake. If the former then the club had no choice I suppose, just like Austin.

someone just tweet him and ask the question. i don't know his twatter account

Not sure if he's on there any more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9Hc204XVNA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9Hc204XVNA)

Done sent him a twitter few mins ago but he may take a while to respond as he has quite a few pending questions on their

I am actually quite gutted that Ferry could be going - in fact, more than any player in years. Until this thread, I was convinced he'd be a real force in our team next season.

My feelings exactly.

Because hes one player I have actually seen play and I think hes a very good player and a great signing for us.

Not trying to be clever either, but I don't know what other reason there can be?  Especially as I know nothing about most of our other signings.

twitter account has been taken down...i think

Cool.  That works for me. :)

You really think he is going to discuss such matters on twitter. Would like to think he is slightly more professional than that.

Yet we still haven't signed a Steve to go with the Allaaaans

Cant we just call the Algerian Steve?

He always used to reply to fans on there and have a bit of banter with them aswell. He and Cuthbert got me into The Scheme on BBC Scotland which was epic. He hasn't been on there for about a month now I think. Haven't checked to see if he's still on there.

Hope he stays anyway.

One of the current STFC players is my mate's girlfriend's brother. (A 'sauce', I know).

The player himself has said Ferry and Caddis both wanted moves away this summer.

From PDC's summer comments, it seems obvious he rates Caddis, but not sure if he does Ferry.

Like the sound of Alan Mccormack.

Could be the attacking midfielder we have been crying out for for so long.

I think hes got some leadership qualities about him too.

Could he finally be the replacement for John Moncur?

And experience is one thing he possesses

made me think of spaceballs

"I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate"

I still miss him.

[url width=233 height=320]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/04/13/article-1263139-091E0ABC000005DC-322_233x320.jpg[/url]

A Southend fan I know rates him. A Charlton fan I know doesn't.

Southend fan - "A real tryer, good fitness levels and great experience to have within a squad"

Charlton fan - "Tbf he does try hard, he might be alright in League Two. he does try but he bottles it when it comes to tackles, cant pass to save his life and runs around like a headless chicken"


Can't really judge him on the few times I've seen him play against us but I would rather we kept Ferry.

And rightly so.

Must have been bloody annoying playing in a shirt that big.

Indeed. Doesn't sound the best and I was sceptical when I was told Ferry was on his way last week, but we will see. With today's signing, there doesn't seem to be any place for him, so seems to be adding up for me.

Two interesting takes on McCormack. One from PNE and one from Southend

http://www.pne-online.net/forum/showthread.php?8287-Alan-McCormack

http://www.shrimperzone.com/vb/showthread.php?67158-Alan-McCormack

Too many central midfielders, if this comes off then 1 will have to go.

Never heard of him, is he any good?

I can see Ferry going on a season long loan to a League 1 side.

Charlton are delighted to have got rid of him. Similar reaction to when Prutton moved on.

Not totally convinced by this signing TBH.

Charlton fans seem delighted with his departure.

Having said this, Charlton's whole team last season was a complete failure,

so it could be that there fans just have bad feelings towards them all.

Well TBF as long as he puts in 100% effort and committment in for us then i could'nt give a toss.

Welcome in advance, Alan.

That PNE thread is 4 years old. Sarfend fans seemed to imply that he was good before injury. We'll have to wait and see I suppose.

Off the Charlton forum

"Neither are bad players per se. Both did well at Southend (they turned down a 150k bid for Francis a few months before he signed for us). So what changed when they got to The Valley? Maybe, just maybe, it's the fault of our fitness guy. I've no evidence for that, but we have just sacked him and replaced him with Southend's fitness guy (ie the bloke who had McCormack and Francis playing well). I'd suggest if you wanted to boo/criticise anyone last season, you should have picked on the fitness guy."

Sound familiar??  :)

Southend fans seem to say that he was a bit of an arse. Always seen out drinking and being a disruptive influence in the changing rooms. Lets hope he has grown up a bit. At 5 ft 7, sounds very similar to Ferry.

Maybe this will convince Ferry to stay then, another drinking partner  ;)

http://forum.charltonlife.com/discussion/42223/mcoxo-departs

They don't seem too devastated do they?

The McOxo thing was due to him tweeting :

"S**t game. S**t result but just gettin ready to eat at oxo tower, london so slightly cheered me up"

after a dismal display. I guess we all get a little sensitive when our team plays badly.
-------

Sounds like his inconsistancy could be down to the drink.

I think that Oxo thing was actually after we beat them 4-2 at the Valley and he was tweeting about how great the wine was at that restaurant.

hhaha, didn't realise that was after our last moment of hope from last season.

We played so well that game :( Shame Charlie used it as a shop window.

The ONLY highlight....

i really thought it was going to be a turning point of last season to pull us out of the shit. As tans would quote "bottling cunts"

Charlton's standards had dropped to a bottom half L1 side by that game. We played well, but Charlton were the same as us, a shadow of the team they had 8 months before.

To be fair, I've been to the Oxo Tower for a meal and it was proper nice, so I imagine it would have cheered him up.
On the basis that Timlin is being seen a bit more as a left sided player, allowing one of our central midfielders the license to get forward more than in the past few seasons, there would seem to be space in the squad.  Correct me if i am wrong, but that would now make it 8 midfielders outside of youth/recent youth players in the squad, assuming Caddis is a right back.

if one of the midfielders was to go, i reckon it'd be ferry. PDC likes timlin...

i'm not too fussed whether the charlton fans like mccormack or not. If he plays well for us then that's all that matters.

I mean look at Michael Pook. Not great for us but decent for... oh.

Moves for McCormack and Esajas not going to be officially completed until tomorrow according to Gary Rose.

Charlton fans still haven't come to terms with their tumble down the football league.  They see themselves as bigger and better than the other L1 teams therefore as far as I'm concerned, no-one will be good enough for them.

On that basis I don't think we need worry until we've seen this fella play in a Town shirt.

That's true, and some players faces just don't fit with some clubs. Its the Southend fans comments in addition to the Charlton fans that gives a slight concern.

But as Juddie said, "If he plays well for us then that's all that matters."

It’s the way of the football fan though, unless a player has conducted themselves in a perfect manner (eg. Coxy) then as soon as they leave they were the biggest C U Next Tuesday going despite how they played on the pitch.

But if he acts like a big time Charlie then di Canio will knock him down a peg or two

Why is a lot of competition bad? If Ferry works hard and grabs his chance then he'll be in the starting line-up on merit. If someone has better form they deserve the place instead.

It was only a problem last year because those playing ahead of Ferry were in terrible form. If Di Canio is going to start having favourites then that's more of a concern as it would contradict his other statements/quotes.

Competition is good.

Too much competition is bad due to  a) unnecessary "wasting" of wages better spent elsewhere b) demotivated bit-part players.

Obviously the minute we decide to sell a midfielder to address the balance, we'll then get a midfielder injury crisis.

A Charlton supporting friend said:

'He was shite for us. League 2 his level though.He did well at southend,but couldn't make the step up. Had a few ok games towards the end of last season,when he was fighting for a contract renewal.'

I don't share the excitment of others, as i have no recollection of him being good (or bad) in any Charlton games i've seen. nice and experienced at a higher level though.

He played for Southend who were in league 1 and the championship so he didn't have to step up & he still had a year left

Correct. TEFer's mate in talking bollocks shocker.

Interesting one. Maybe PDC sees Timlin as a LM this season and not a CM? Either that or Ferry is off. Not getting great reviews from charlton fans but let's be honest we did the same with Prutton. It could just be that he didn't fit in there. And we must remember that we are in league 2 now. Signing a player who played 20 games plus in league 1 last season can't be too bad.

Quite happy with this as a probable signing, I only remember him playing once and that was for Southend away at Cheltenham (Father in Law goes to Whaddon Road a few times a year so dragged me along with him once) and he played pretty well - set up a great goal for someone, I think it might have been for Theo Robinson...  :hmmm:

It would be sad to see Ferry go on the back of this though, you've got to ask why? Maybe he is too lazy in training and too much of a joker (as hinted by Phil King) so I can't imagine PDC liking him much!!

You do have to wonder about Ferry sometimes. Maybe there was a reason Wilson and Hart left him out.

He smells.

Exactly IOB, I remember Phil King saying on the radio once that whilst all the Town players in the starting eleven were doing their group warm up drills, Ferry (a sub for the game) was busying himself trying to pull the shorts down of several players...

Shame if he goes, as he's got such a talent.

If Simon Ferry leaves i am going to slit my wrists. Vertically

I couldn't give a toss if he stays or goes. If we could get our money back or near to it then no problem for me if he leaves. Because he didn't play much last year he hasn't been tarred with same brush as others. When he did play, he didn't really impress. He's got a real talent but its up to him whether he pisses around or uses it.

You have to wonder if Simon Ferry takes his job seriously enough.

I certainly get the impression that Di Canio wonders that.

Here's a crazy thought... Perhaps Di Canio wants players to fight for their place? All the surviving players from that squad have to work hard.

If Ferry isn't up for it then he will go. If he's up for it then he'll need to adjust to the Di Canio regime. The fact that he, Caddis and Ritchie are still here suggests that they are prepared to compete because they could have all walked post-Wray discussions in May.

A lot a assumptions are being made.

How could they have walked? They were all contracted. If they were to go we would have to wait for the right price.

Lucas is also under contract, and he's basically walked.

We didn't pay fee for Lucas unlike the others.

Prutton? McGovern? Benyon? Lucas? Rose? Of course they could have left if they wanted to.

Ritchie and Caddis would have commanded fees but if they said "I don't want to be here" then the club, this summer, would have certainly been more willing to adhere to their wishes.

Not convinced. Bloody stupid to terminate a contract of a player we paid 100k+ for a season before.

We would have cashed in. We allowed a signing from the last transfer window go out on loan for a season because he didn't fancy going back down to L2. Luckily for Benyon that his hometown club were interested.

Exactly my thoughts too Rich

I'll be happy if that's all it is. But he was already fighting for his place with Risser, Smith and Timlin. Not sure what another midfielder adds in terms of competition, it was already tough.

Theres competition and theres too many unhappy players.

To be honest, Im getting a bit pissed off reading other fans reviews of McCormack. Every thread has dozens of references to him on the booze. The bloke needs to sort himself out and realise he needs to improve his reputation.

It's a free signing and if he doesn't get his act together then Paolo will show him the door in no time.

I've not read any comments from the club regarding the player.

Obviously talks have happened but I hope there isn't a meltdown if McCormack opts for a move elsewhere.

3 year contract I believe. If Paolo shows him the door then he will have plenty of time and money to drink.

Apparently agreed terms with the club yesterday so must be a paperwork thing.  Gary Rose seems to think Esajas & McCormack deal will complete tomorrow

Always thought McCormack was a good player when he's played against us in the past.

Got a Charlton Athletic view on Alan McCormack - http://thewashbag.com/2011/07/22/a-charlton-athletic-view-on-new-signing-alan-mccormack/

Not the most insightful or positive view on one of our new signings I've recieved so far this summer. Hopefully Alan will prove Charlton fans wrong...

'I could appreciate his work rate, and he does not hide when things get difficult' sounds good to me.

Albeit one of the only positives in a largely negative post.

However you have got to remember they have been used to some brilliant central midfielders at the Valley. I.e Parker, Holland, Kinsella, Bailey.

Interesting article.  And decent site.

I think the fact that even Pook seems decent enough for League 2 means we shouldn't be too worried. It's if and when we rise up the league will it really matter.

This guy sounds class.

He would've fitted brilliantly with last seasons squad then, him and Prutton would've made the perfect wasteful partnership....

Its all about confidence, if PDC gets the player playing with his head up and no fear of consequences he'll be a fine player...

Am i missing something?

He hasnt signed yet has he?

Charlton fans expectations of players will be a great deal higher than ours, im not concerned in the slightest about their somewhat negative reviews of him.

Agreed.

Come on chaps fans views of leaving players are nearly always negative.
I mean when Paynter left for Leeds most was saying he was shit and good riddance conveniently forgeting the fact he had notched over twenty goals and many assists :)

Very good signing and probably our best so far in my umble.

....did anyone say that Leef?

Yep...........me :D
Wasn't happy at the timing of his departure and was pissed off,the point i am making adje is that the Charlton fans are no different to most fans when a player leaves,i mean the amount of shite Austin recieved when he left astounded me to be honest.

Think a lot of that was the way he went about it

Agree.  He didn't handle himself at all well towards the end which was a shame really because on the pitch he made hell of a difference.

100%. Had he gone about it like Cox and Parkin he'd have had the 'good luck and thanks' response from the fans.

Have to agree,didn't do himself many favours.

Point i am making is that the Charlton fans rather dim view of him is the norm in most cases of out going players these days.
Should imagine they are somewhat suprised he has joined us,he was a regular before Powell took charge.

I wish he'd had more. To start with I wasn't that bothered, you know, everyone deserves the chance to move and play at a higher level and all that. I was even a little pleased for him. But as time went on after he'd moved, and he avoided mentioning us at all costs and gave us no thanks upon leaving, I grew to hate him.

I loved that bird from Corrie and I think many others did too, but the manner in which he left and then the total lack of respect he showed us once he'd left, showed him for the cunt I later learned he in fact was. The bloke is a complete and utter arsehole of the highest order. I like Mooney more, by a massive margin. (Thinking about it, I can't think of a player I feel more hatred towards.) :D

Hatred towards more than John McGinlay?? :D

Gary Rose has tweeted deals won't complete until next week.  He also reckons PDC is looking for a tall striker to complete his team

every time charlie scored a goal in that quality season, i fucking loved it. and all i wanted from him was to score goals, couldn't give a flying fuck if he's a prick (which was half the reason we all liked him anyway) or doesn't namedrop us in an interview

I was pretty disgusted by it all, and Austin was probably the main reason I joined up on here singing his praises about how well he would do, which he did but it left a bitter taste in the mouth in the end. At least I'm still here ;)

Fucking bang on Barry.

Heh! heh!



Bang On Barry 8)



You could write editorials for The Sun under that name 8)

Agreed, however in this case I've seen enough quotes from Charlton and Southend fans that were from way before he left them.
----
A Southend fans view yesterday was "Good luck, a quality player on his day, a liability on his worst".

Hopefully PDC can get the bad days to be few and far between

I reckon i could put 99% of league 2 players names here and say , a quality player on his day, a liability on his worst.

Not a pop at you Batch just a few people in general recently seem to have totally forgoten what league we are in and are half expecting a team of week in week out performers.

No, that's a fair comment too. If they were consistently brilliant they'd play at a higher level!

Saying he didn't "name drop" is belittling the facts somewhat. What he showed was intentional disrespect pure and simple.

Edit: Sorry, for trying to derail the thread!

Ban this c unt

No mention at all of the club that decided to take a chance and give him his big break, it was as if STFC didn't exist. As Barry said 'Intentional Disrespect'

No, itll have to be the sunday sun

From a Saaaaaaaaarfend forum...


I like him already, sounds like small angry man. 


http://www.shrimperzone.com/vb/showthread.php?34177-The-Alan-McCormack-Problem


 

In balance a couple of the replies...

Sounds like a player IF managed correctly could be a real asset.  I’m quite pleased we have signed an angry Englishman, as much as love an unknown foreign player who could turn out be the next Pele a bit of grit is always reassuring especially in League Two. 

I have a feeling we won’t be winning any fair play wards next season but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

He's Irish... but I see your point and it's a good one

One wonders whether this chap is talking to other clubs.

Thought it looked a real nothing sort of signing but reading the last few replies, he sounds ace. Also much younger than I thought he was.

Roll on the new season.

That was a bit of a fuck up.

Anyway, angry Irish men are just as good.

So. Question. Once McCormack and Easyjet sign, I make that 12 (count them, TWELVE) signings for the summer (and counting). Can anyone else remember this many signings during the close season? I think we signed 11 when Karen's old man was in charge and we must have signed a fair few before the 20003/4 Smoking Chimp/Mooney/Igoe/SSP season. This has to be a record though.

I have no idea. What I do find inredible is the fact that Rovers have signed even more! (15 in so far according to our OS... and only one out...can't be right?!)

15 in is right. But they've got rid of as many as we have.

Lecs, Rose, Sheehan, Cuthbert, JPM, JD, Prick, Peri, are just a few of the departures taht I can think of.....8 off the top, we have to replace them at some point or another...

I think people are well aware that if players leave, other players have to come in to replace them. But thanks for trying to help.

So....is this bloke cycling to the County Ground? He's been traveling for a couple of days now!

Wonder whether this signing will actually happen?

Also wonder whether this signing will have a bearing on whether Esejes will be signed?

Prutton, Dossevi and O'Brien all out. Benyon out on loan.

Lucas somewhere other than here

Austin and Morrison last  January

I live in Charlton country. Lads I know are a little sorry to see him go. Full of heart and battle. A decent addition to the squad by all accounts.

More competition for Ferry so he's now an enemy of mine

Spoke to a Charlton fan and he reckons hes a poor mas Nicky Bailey. That'll do for me.

Does a poor man's Nicky Bailey only get half the height on his penalties?

Haha hope so. What a way to finish your career with Charlton!

For those wondering what's going on with his signing, he is training with the squad at the open day, so that's a pretty positive indicator!

As is Esijas or whatever his Goddamn name is :nod:

It's clearly just a delay in paperwork. Must be the same problem for both as Esajas still isn't confirmed and he's a free agent so shouldn't be any issues with Charlton releasing McCormack either.

could we have paid a fee for charlton to release him from his contract? did we do that with cuthbert or Aob?

His contract was cancelled by 'mutual consent', meaning Charlton wanted to get rid of him and he equally wanted out. Basically they released him without having to pay him off because he already had another club (us) lined up, so no fee, either to the player or for the player, was necessary. Both Cuthbert and O'brien were out-of-contract with us, therefore free to talk to other clubs, or for us to tell them where to go.

Alan McCormack has tweeted "Finally done and sited on the dotted line"

Guess he means signed on the dotted line

no he said it right.

he's like superman and burnt his signature onto the paper with his eyes

cue: spit coffee!

Asked him what his favourite cheese was and got a reply:

@AlessioBianco red Leicester for every day cheese and prob Camembert for after dinner.  :D

Saw that - made me chuckle!

Camembert... good choice.

I honestly thought he thought we were taking the piss and wasn't going to reply! I know, Lucien excellent choice, he knows his cheese's!  :clap:

Officially official:

http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10341~2401126,00.html

The cheese question made his rind up for him.

That has to be the cheesiest pun i have ever read.

Whey out of order.

The overuse of puns on here really grates on my nerves.

Puns au gratin?