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The definitive ex-player news thread

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  • Actually that’s wrong isn’t it, I’m forgetting about Anis’s transfer.

    it would be second ahead of what we received for Uche.

  • If you're including sell-on fees, which you seem to be, you're also forgetting what we got when Jordon Ibe went from Liverpool to Bournemouth which is the biggest we've ever received by miles

  • How much did we get for Ibe all in? Thought we not only got about 750k up front but a huge sell on when he went to Bournemouth too?

  • Yes that’s true, although never sure how much we ended up getting for Ibe.

    Whatever it was, it was worth about ten times more as it stopped us going bust.

  • I recall Gareth saying that we got a fee for Al Hamadi, as well as a sell-on clause. Have I misremembered? I also recall Gareth saying in that same interview that he liked him, but it was understandable that he wanted too go for the chance to play first team football.

  • The player let go/playing for Maidenhead/on the bench is always better than the players on the pitch...

  • A few ITKs (including a random chap I bumped into in Scotland who claimed to be linked with their founders) put it higher, partly explaining why he hasn't gone already.

  • edited December 2023


    Far be it from me to blow my own trumpet or say I told you so (I jest of course) but I do recall that we had a difference of opinion a year or so ago about Al-Hamdi’s potential.

    I had watched the match (on TV or laptop, can’t recall) on 29 December 2022 at Home Park when Gareth Ainsworth selected a starting eleven that included five or six fringe players as part of the pre-planned player rotation process during the congested Christmas/New Year fixture programme.

    The “reserves” played unexpectedly well and, arguably, were unlucky to lose 1-0. Dan Scarr scored the winning goal. He would, wouldn’t he.

    In the (objectively judged?) player ratings, Ali Al-Hamadi came fourth after Mike Cooper, Niall Ennis and Dan Scarr, all now plying their trade in the Championship.

    As others have said, Al-Hamadi was given too few opportunities to prove himself while he was here. If, as one or two have suggested, that was because he was seen as “untrainable” that is an interesting possibility and would be seen by some as a positive virtue. I’ll always remember what Gareth Ainsworth told me a good few years ago about Jordon Ibe. He said you couldn’t coach such a precocious talent. Interesting to view that comment in the context of what seemed to be happening to Anis Mehmeti whilst Nigel Pearson was in charge at Bristol City.

    There is no questioning that Al-Hamadi has done brilliantly since he moved to Wimbledon but he is so far unproven at League 1 level or above. If he remains fit and performs well against Ipswich in the third round of the FA Cup as they (Ipswich!) edge towards the Premier League, his value will be further enhanced. If he scores a hat-trick……,, Don’t be silly.

    PS Sam Vokes was a used substitute at Home Park last December. He and Jason McCarthy occupied the 29th and 30th places respectively in the player ratings.

  • I thought with AAH (and my old posts would back me up) that he was getting in positions but snatching at any shot opportunity, and that he would improve and play within himself once he tucked the first league goal away. Alas, he never did.

    I would guess that a L2 striker would get at least 60% of his goal tally in L1, so if AAH gets 20 in L2, I would guess he could get 12 or so in L1.

  • If only it were that simple, @Shev.

    We tend to forget how young he is (21) and, looking at him last night, he seemed stronger, taller and quicker than when he left us.

  • Let's face it if he got five goals he would threaten our golden boot trophy.

  • I can’t honestly remember the conversation you refer to @micra but then I sometimes struggle now to remember a conversation last week let alone a year ago.

    I was at Home Park that night and remember many aspects clearly not least the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as TJ lay on the ground. I don’t remember AAH impressing overly and don’t remember many being surprised or overly upset when he left.

    in hindsight my judgement and far more importantly Gareth’s judgement may have been wrong. Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing.

    All irrelevant now of course. He is long gone. What matters is those who play for us now. In truth we felt light attacking wise in the summer and that weakness has come to pass. Somehow we have to find a way through it.

  • Adam Hinshelwood's son, Jack, becomes the youngest player to score in the PL so far this season.

  • Saw Stewart Castledine's son is on the bench for Chelsea too.

    18 years old.

    Castledine senior a mere 50. Probably thought he was older as he retired so young (29) He played about 60games in his entire career!

    (Yes I've been at the stats)

  • Retired just after signing permanently with us. Very occasionally named on teamsheets due to some kind of odd sponsorship agreement perhaps, rumoured not to have touched the ball for three years.

  • I was so excited when he signed for us the second time around.

    Only my displeasure when we signed Akinfenwa is more embarrassing to recall

  • Paul Smyth said something along the lines of "It's nice to play for a manager who wants to play football." It doesn't read quite as harsh in the context of the overall interview (he is perhaps enthusing more about Cifuentes than deliberately digging out Ainsworth) but it still does not come across well towards the man who took him from L2 to the Champo against the wishes of many QPR fans. Perhaps a little "I'll always be grateful to the old gaffer for seeing my potential and bringing me here," would have been a diplomatic add on.

  • Craig Woodman, who had still been turning out for his home town club, Tiverton retired two weeks ago three weeks short of his 41st birthday.

  • Yesterday's news is tomorrows chip paper or something like that.

    The style argument is a little more understandable when you're getting battered every week. Players and fans can get behind wasting minutes, sticking to rigid patterns and running non stop if it's successful. If not people will ask why not concentrate on naive old simple things like passing, crossing and shooting. In reality they never bought into anything he was suggesting and he couldn't stop them being awful so suggesting his chosen style really had any impact is probably overdoing it. Time will tell if the new guy is a genius or just had a bit more impact and/ or luck.

  • Al - Hamadi has scored another goal.

  • He's pretty much the best striker in that division right now

  • I didn't think much of it when he left (did many people?), but I'm praying we have a buyback option now!

  • Imagine if we had snuck a 100k buy back in when they've turned down offers over a million! Would be hilarious.

  • We've got a huge sell on percentage so he needs to keep up the good work and go for a fortune. Scoring goals on telly never hurts. Not that it matters if Rob wasn't just talking to the drains people at half time and Georgian billions will rain down next Tuesday.


  • And for those people who (naïvely in my opinion) think Matt Bloomfield’s problems relate largely to his chosen players not being good enough to play the way he wants them to, his managerial career should take off stratospherically following the January window.

  • If fanzines were still a thing we’d definitely have one called ‘Al-Hamadi Scored Again.’

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