Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

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Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by poppyfield » Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:09 pm

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:25 pm

So it begins ....... Fulham again.
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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Darlo_Pete » Thu Mar 15, 2018 12:29 am

At least Fulham did us proud when they bought Dan Burns from us, so I'd be more than happy if they take their interest forward.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by real_darlo_85 » Thu Mar 15, 2018 6:56 am

theoriginalfatcat wrote:So it begins ....... Fulham again.
Got to expect it more often from now on. As TW eluded to when he first joined the club it is now about developing young players and moving them on for a decent fee, hopefully, being reinvested to strengthen the squad gradually - it's all part of consolidation and laying the right foundations to go for a promotion push.
"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Darlo_Pete » Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:42 am

Fulham's interest would be more worrying, if we didn't have more than adequate replacements, but fortunately with Vaulks emergence, we have some very good players to take up any slack if and when Heaton moves on to a bigger club.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by lo36789 » Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:18 am

This can only be positive.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by jjljks » Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:23 am

It is something we will have to get used to. Fulham probably registering their interest ahead of the V9 academy 'showcase' and chancing their luck with a cheeky bid in advance. Just hope TW has commercial skills to match his footballing ones!

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by al_quaker » Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:43 am

No real surprise - hope there's a couple of clubs sniffing around and we can start a bidding war! And also hope if any deal is to be done we get plenty of clauses put in.

While of course it'd be disappointing from a playing point of view to lose a good player heading into next season when we'll be (presumably) aiming for a top 7 finish, if we can get a decent wedge of cash and a bit of a reputation for getting talented young players back into the FL, then that'd be very beneficial in the short to medium term

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Comfortably_numb » Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:24 am

well done Josh Heaton - the lad has knuckled down and earned the interest. Obvs hoping we can get serious cash for him - give our fans a breather from the fund raising. but also demonstrates to prospective players that we're a club that can further their careers.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by don'tbuythesun » Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:28 am

National North to the Premier League (maybe!)-thats a hell of a leap.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Allan Quatermain » Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:44 am

don'tbuythesun wrote:National North to the Premier League (maybe!)-thats a hell of a leap.
A move to Fulham with a one season loan back would be excellent if it could be arranged!
Alun's promise to the fans: “I’ll make sure I’ll bring players in that are value for money and I want players that want to play for Darlington Football Club, want to progress and move up the league and show the fans that passion.”

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by en passant » Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:34 am

I'm sorry to say that I do not share in all the upbeat speculation that seems to be attending both Heaton and Wheatley. For one, we still have the issue of making sure we survive in the NLN this season and the job isn't quite done yet, so getting some of our most consistent and youthful players heads turned by future prospects isn't helping keeping focus on getting the points we need.

Second I was getting quite excited by next season with a better blooded but still youthful side that might have enough about it to appear in the top half of the league and get somewhere down the track to a good cup run or two, which would be great for getting a bit of forward momentum in engaging with the lost and future fan base the club is trying to engage with.

Thirdly I'm not sure that this is quite the best time to cash in our chips if a bigger or wealthier club should come in with a deal. Looking at it from their point of view we have one or two players who have plenty of potential but are largely untested over a decent period of time, and if an offer were to be made it would surely be lower on the basis of that untested potential than it might be if the players had sustained their form over at least another full season at this level.

Whilst it would be most helpful to get money in from another source other than the fans I would think that it wouldn't harm the overall good for the club to have all these prospects hold off for another year.

I know that given the financial constraints of where we find ourselves this may not be possible, but I would hate to think that we could lose out on the makings of a very good team only to grab at a pittance of cash, and, even worse, help the cause of another full time club with more money at our level. How would we feel if for a few thousand in our hand we had to watch some of present squad coming back to run rings around us next season playing for someone else.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by PierremontQuaker03 » Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:46 am

en passant wrote:I'm sorry to say that I do not share in all the upbeat speculation that seems to be attending both Heaton and Wheatley. For one, we still have the issue of making sure we survive in the NLN this season and the job isn't quite done yet, so getting some of our most consistent and youthful players heads turned by future prospects isn't helping keeping focus on getting the points we need.

Second I was getting quite excited by next season with a better blooded but still youthful side that might have enough about it to appear in the top half of the league and get somewhere down the track to a good cup run or two, which would be great for getting a bit of forward momentum in engaging with the lost and future fan base the club is trying to engage with.

Thirdly I'm not sure that this is quite the best time to cash in our chips if a bigger or wealthier club should come in with a deal. Looking at it from their point of view we have one or two players who have plenty of potential but are largely untested over a decent period of time, and if an offer were to be made it would surely be lower on the basis of that untested potential than it might be if the players had sustained their form over at least another full season at this level.

Whilst it would be most helpful to get money in from another source other than the fans I would think that it wouldn't harm the overall good for the club to have all these prospects hold off for another year.

I know that given the financial constraints of where we find ourselves this may not be possible, but I would hate to think that we could lose out on the makings of a very good team only to grab at a pittance of cash, and, even worse, help the cause of another full time club with more money at our level. How would we feel if for a few thousand in our hand we had to watch some of present squad coming back to run rings around us next season playing for someone else.
You make some very valid points, but you have answered your own question in the last paragraph. The financial constraints means that we will always be a selling club, however we can still buy from smaller clubs than ours. The key to our success is looking at the numbers that get released from Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough Academy and other large clubs in the north of England - no different to when we were in League two to be honest. Yes we need a good group of experienced players as well.
This league is similar to other leagues at the lower level, like League 2. Chucking loads of money does not guarantee success, look at York, we have gained more points than them recently with a very youthful and inexperienced team.
Going back to Heaton, the main thing is with him is that he keeps his focus. Just because he has played well the last 10 games does not mean Fulham will sign him. He has to play well consistently over a season.
Tommy Wright will be continuously looking at players, if Heaton goes then Im sure he will have several replacements he is scouting.
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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by en passant » Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:27 am

PierremontQuaker03 wrote:
en passant wrote:I'm sorry to say that I do not share in all the upbeat speculation that seems to be attending both Heaton and Wheatley. For one, we still have the issue of making sure we survive in the NLN this season and the job isn't quite done yet, so getting some of our most consistent and youthful players heads turned by future prospects isn't helping keeping focus on getting the points we need.

Second I was getting quite excited by next season with a better blooded but still youthful side that might have enough about it to appear in the top half of the league and get somewhere down the track to a good cup run or two, which would be great for getting a bit of forward momentum in engaging with the lost and future fan base the club is trying to engage with.

Thirdly I'm not sure that this is quite the best time to cash in our chips if a bigger or wealthier club should come in with a deal. Looking at it from their point of view we have one or two players who have plenty of potential but are largely untested over a decent period of time, and if an offer were to be made it would surely be lower on the basis of that untested potential than it might be if the players had sustained their form over at least another full season at this level.

Whilst it would be most helpful to get money in from another source other than the fans I would think that it wouldn't harm the overall good for the club to have all these prospects hold off for another year.

I know that given the financial constraints of where we find ourselves this may not be possible, but I would hate to think that we could lose out on the makings of a very good team only to grab at a pittance of cash, and, even worse, help the cause of another full time club with more money at our level. How would we feel if for a few thousand in our hand we had to watch some of present squad coming back to run rings around us next season playing for someone else.
You make some very valid points, but you have answered your own question in the last paragraph. The financial constraints means that we will always be a selling club, however we can still buy from smaller clubs than ours. The key to our success is looking at the numbers that get released from Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough Academy and other large clubs in the north of England - no different to when we were in League two to be honest. Yes we need a good group of experienced players as well.
This league is similar to other leagues at the lower level, like League 2. Chucking loads of money does not guarantee success, look at York, we have gained more points than them recently with a very youthful and inexperienced team.
Going back to Heaton, the main thing is with him is that he keeps his focus. Just because he has played well the last 10 games does not mean Fulham will sign him. He has to play well consistently over a season.
Tommy Wright will be continuously looking at players, if Heaton goes then Im sure he will have several replacements he is scouting.
Agreed we may not have that many options. I think what I disagreed with most in some of the earlier speculation is the assumption that, because we rate Heaton and Wheatley highly, that other clubs will fall over themselves to offer us bucketfuls of cash for them. I think we are getting carried away if we think that their value, as seen from the Championship, is anywhere near what some fans are hoping. Whilst I don't have any doubt that ultimately we will have sell to survive, I just hope that we do it at the right time to to maximise the balance between maintaining a watchable team and satisfying the bank manager.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Darlo_Pete » Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:49 am

I believe that we are a selling club, but our financial position is such that we don't have to accept any offers that undervalue players that are at the club straight away. We can afford to wait and hopefully get the best possible deal for the club and player.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:49 am

en passant wrote: I'm sorry to say that I do not share in all the upbeat speculation that seems to be attending both Heaton and Wheatley. For one, we still have the issue of making sure we survive in the NLN this season and the job isn't quite done yet, so getting some of our most consistent and youthful players heads turned by future prospects isn't helping keeping focus on getting the points we need.

You raise a good point! The one about the job not being quite done.

It's a funny place this forum. During our recent bad run, lots of posts on here were predicting doom, apocalypse and relegation - but now we've reaped some points and played better this seems to have been forgotten. However, we are not safe yet and there are still games to play and problems to overcome.

We can't stop other clubs sniffing around our talented young players as this is what happens in football, all we can hope for is that any subsequent deals are well thought out and professionally handled.
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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by MKDarlo » Thu Mar 15, 2018 12:21 pm

Good news for the lad and hopefully good news for the club. A decent offer and we will sell - we have no other choice.

I assume he is under contract unlike Wheatley who is under contract but then might not be!

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Vodka_Vic » Thu Mar 15, 2018 12:31 pm

The key is getting good enough replacements. Tamworth have not replaced Styche - FCUM haven't replaced Gilchrist - both are in freefall.

Older fans may remember replacing Currie with Clayton - 14 months later we were non-league.

Vaulks, though does the job for me. If we did get a decent amount of money though, I hope some would at least be allocated back into the budget rather than 100% infrastructure to avoid such things happening.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by dickdarlington » Thu Mar 15, 2018 12:32 pm

en passant wrote: ...
Agreed, valid points. It's never great to lose your players, and it's a risk. But the bottom line must always be the winner if we're going to evade the buckets again.

The fact that these lads have been noticed is directly linked to our improvement. If they weren't putting in the performances, they wouldn't be on the radar, but equally we'd be second bottom right now because of it. Hobsons choice.

I look at selling to FL clubs as a positive. Especially one higher up. It can only strengthen our position when it comes to attracting new players. Come to us, and we'll help you on your way.

Any deal done would surely be similar to the Burn/Smith ones. Part now, part on first team, part x number of games, part sell on. It could take a few years to materialise it's full potential. However it protects both sides, as it's as much a risk for a FL club to pick an unknown youngster, as it is for us to have to keep finding replacements.

Finally, any deal couldn't be done until the summer due to the transfer window, so we have him until the end of the season anyway. And this gives Wright the chance to search for a replacement. If it's agreed now, in principle, the management have an extra two months to start looking around.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by biccynana » Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:12 pm

real_darlo_85 wrote:
theoriginalfatcat wrote:So it begins ....... Fulham again.
Got to expect it more often from now on. As TW eluded to when he first joined the club it is now about developing young players and moving them on for a decent fee, hopefully, being reinvested to strengthen the squad gradually - it's all part of consolidation and laying the right foundations to go for a promotion push.
It's a model that seems to be working at Accrington, on course for promotion from League 2. As their manager says:
We can’t pay riches but what we can do is give them opportunities. We are not signing players on one-year deals any more, so we can protect the club's interests as well. For me it’s the perfect model if you can get it right: we sign players who are hungry, develop them, they give you two good years and then you move them on. They get a lot more money and we get a few bob.
The article, https://www.theguardian.com/football/fo ... hn-coleman, also says they operate on 15k a week.

Out of interest, what do we reckon DFC's weekly budget is?

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Neil Johnson » Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:49 pm

Darlo wouldn't want to start the next campaign with Heaton & Wheatley and then lose them at some unknown point mid season. It would be better to have advance warning of any departures, to both recruit and maintain a balanced squad.

I hope that DFC will obtain lucrative sell-on clauses, as our ownership now doesn't want all of the maximum money up front, so it can be flitted away to an offshore bank account, or car boot, before the owner jumps ship.

Decent Fees and far better sell on clause sums would be great for the clubs balance sheet and the club's longer term prospects.

Prospective players seeing Darlo developing players for far bigger clubs is a plus for recruitment and could go some way to convincing more of the local population that Darlo is back, but with better management.

There is a danger of Darlo following the Ramsbotton lost player saga, so lets not sell too many of the jewels.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by notgnilrad » Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:24 pm

Neil Johnson wrote:Darlo wouldn't want to start the next campaign with Heaton & Wheatley and then lose them at some unknown point mid season. It would be better to have advance warning of any departures, to both recruit and maintain a balanced squad.

I hope that DFC will obtain lucrative sell-on clauses, as our ownership now doesn't want all of the maximum money up front, so it can be flitted away to an offshore bank account, or car boot, before the owner jumps ship.

Decent Fees and far better sell on clause sums would be great for the clubs balance sheet and the club's longer term prospects.

Prospective players seeing Darlo developing players for far bigger clubs is a plus for recruitment and could go some way to convincing more of the local population that Darlo is back, but with better management.

There is a danger of Darlo following the Ramsbotton lost player saga, so lets not sell too many of the jewels.

What the hell does that mean?

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Emdubya » Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:31 pm

notgnilrad wrote:
Neil Johnson wrote:Darlo wouldn't want to start the next campaign with Heaton & Wheatley and then lose them at some unknown point mid season. It would be better to have advance warning of any departures, to both recruit and maintain a balanced squad.

I hope that DFC will obtain lucrative sell-on clauses, as our ownership now doesn't want all of the maximum money up front, so it can be flitted away to an offshore bank account, or car boot, before the owner jumps ship.

Decent Fees and far better sell on clause sums would be great for the clubs balance sheet and the club's longer term prospects.

Prospective players seeing Darlo developing players for far bigger clubs is a plus for recruitment and could go some way to convincing more of the local population that Darlo is back, but with better management.

There is a danger of Darlo following the Ramsbotton lost player saga, so lets not sell too many of the jewels.

What the hell does that mean?
I think(hope)he’s on about past owners but with this fella you never know.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by lo36789 » Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:41 pm

Neil Johnson wrote:There is a danger of Darlo following the Ramsbotton lost player saga[
I'm almost shocked Hollywood hasn't signed it up to a trilogy such was the saga

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by AndyPark » Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:00 pm

I know that there's a Fulham supporter who lives in Darlington and regularly attends our games.

Just maybe people are getting 2+2 and getting 5.

It doesn't take much to knock up an article on some website we've never heard of.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by Darlo_CR » Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:17 pm

AndyPark wrote:I know that there's a Fulham supporter who lives in Darlington and regularly attends our games.

Just maybe people are getting 2+2 and getting 5.

It doesn't take much to knock up an article on some website we've never heard of.
I think he’s someone different, the scout has a Fulham jacket and is normally taking notes.

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by jjljks » Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:01 am

Neil Johnson wrote:Darlo wouldn't want to start the next campaign with Heaton & Wheatley and then lose them at some unknown point mid season. It would be better to have advance warning of any departures, to both recruit and maintain a balanced squad.

I hope that DFC will obtain lucrative sell-on clauses, as our ownership now doesn't want all of the maximum money up front, so it can be flitted away to an offshore bank account, or car boot, before the owner jumps ship.

Decent Fees and far better sell on clause sums would be great for the clubs balance sheet and the club's longer term prospects.

Prospective players seeing Darlo developing players for far bigger clubs is a plus for recruitment and could go some way to convincing more of the local population that Darlo is back, but with better management.

There is a danger of Darlo following the Ramsbotton lost player saga, so lets not sell too many of the jewels.
Johnno, I was with you all the way until "flitting away to offshore bank accounts". Back onside with you and "decent sell-on clauses", even developing players for bigger clubs but completely blown away by the Rammy lost player saga. :wtf:

Is there a new competition on match days to walk up to strangers and claim a £5 beer voucher by correctly unmasking the Fulham scout? ;)

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by tezza » Fri Mar 16, 2018 9:46 am

Emdubya wrote:
notgnilrad wrote:
Neil Johnson wrote:Darlo wouldn't want to start the next campaign with Heaton & Wheatley and then lose them at some unknown point mid season. It would be better to have advance warning of any departures, to both recruit and maintain a balanced squad.

I hope that DFC will obtain lucrative sell-on clauses, as our ownership now doesn't want all of the maximum money up front, so it can be flitted away to an offshore bank account, or car boot, before the owner jumps ship.

Decent Fees and far better sell on clause sums would be great for the clubs balance sheet and the club's longer term prospects.

Prospective players seeing Darlo developing players for far bigger clubs is a plus for recruitment and could go some way to convincing more of the local population that Darlo is back, but with better management.

There is a danger of Darlo following the Ramsbotton lost player saga, so lets not sell too many of the jewels.

What the hell does that mean?
I think(hope)he’s on about past owners but with this fella you never know.
I think his thinking goes something like "a bird in the bush is worth two in the hand" lets have no vulgar responses ...

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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:31 am

Neil Johnson wrote:There is a danger of Darlo following the Ramsbotton lost player saga, so lets not sell too many of the jewels.
This puzzles me too - what does it mean?
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Re: Josh Heaton Fulham show interest

Post by banktopp » Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:45 am

Didn't Ramsbottom's managers and half their team leave for Salford in 2015

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