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Talking Point 🗣️
Where have they been hiding Joe Rankin-Costello?
Nathan Jones’ 6th summer signing, he arrived from Blackburn just in time to join the summer tour to Slovenia, and was signed for a fee said to be £750,000.
A box to box midfielder would be on my Addicks’ January shopping list, but maybe we already had one tucked away in the closet.
I know two games is a very small sample to judge someone, and Nathan Jones watches him everyday, but he was my MoW in both the last two games, and he impressed with his energy when he came on at Birmingham.
So, why haven’t we seen him. We won’t know, but also it should be about the now and not the past.
Jones pursued him through the early summer, got the club to spend money, and made him a 4-year contract offer.
Every player settles differently, Joe is a Lancashire boy and has spent his whole life playing nearby. I believe he is married, but Jones provides a tough initiation.
Jones is very demanding and pushes physicality hard, and of course you either buy in or you don’t. It is why he tends to re-sign players that he trusts. I’m not saying Joe did not buy-in, but in any job sometimes it takes time to click. He also had a minor injury before the season began, and of course we had a tremendous start.
At Blackburn it looked to me like his utility may have been his undoing. Add that to the merry-go-round of managers. Jones has called him a midfielder from the start, even though fans had been calling for him to be the next try-out at wing-back.
Jones said that he trains the way he plays, and I loved that he compared him to Pele yesterday. Man-management is so important, and it is a squad game.
Rankin-Costello has good Championship pedigree, and opportunity now beckons for the 26-year old.
Yesterday in the responses to your review of the game ‘Mike’ reported how NJ was persistently questioned as to why JRC had not appeared previously in the first eleven prior to Pompey away..
To say he fumbled and mumbled puts it politely ……………..
Well, only Jones and Rankin-Costello will know. I haven’t seen him persistently questioned but I’m not in the know.
Maybe he should also comment on why he persists starting Campbell and why the likes of Apter, Oloafe and Knibbs barely get a look in despite spending for us a lot of money.
Agree Alan, I’ve been saying that for months.
Agree on Apter particularly. Bree has been awful for a few weeks now, Apter deserves his chance.
Totally agree CA Apter was even according to NJ at the time, was one of the main stars, until Bree arrived and suddenly he has mostly just be left on the bench!
Yet Bree has been dreadful for quite a few games now but continues to be in the team, but as I have always implied, NJ just continues to play his previous old trusted players no matter how poor they play and at present unfortunately it doesn’t look like changing!