Not Good

This is the view Addicks fans had on Saturday. As you can see the team didn't turn up.

A day that started brightly turned to mush not long after the referee sounded the first whistle.

A sunny day, cheap rail travel and having not visited Gigg Lane before meant I was anticipating a good day. That the Swan and Cemetery pub ( well it seemed appropriate given our opponents ) the place of pre-match imbibing lived up to expectation only served to enhance the mood.

Upon arrival at the ground we entered at the same time as the piper who was heartily playing " Valley Floyd Road ". Charlton fans were in good voice and gave the team great vocal support from the off.

Sadly the players gave the impression that they'd only just met and playing like strangers did little to threaten the Bury keeper. The result was that The Shakers had a comfortable afternoon and Cameron for them was particularly impressive.

Despite that they carried little threat really and the needless penalty turned the game which otherwise would probably have petered out into a draw. However, we shot ourselves in the foot in defending set pieces to carry on from where we left off last season.

I've never been a great fan of Fox but he didn't have bad game but still got some undeserved stick from some quarters. Subsequently I've read that some have written off Ajose and Novak. What ? Based on 90 minutes off a terrible game where our midfield was a mess.

Ajose is never going to get much change out of your average centre half if balls are banged up in the air to him. I'm certain he needs better service than that !

Novak didn't look great but I'm not going to write him off on the basis of just 90 minutes.

Whatever your view of Roger I didn't think he did that badly. I know he he's not been good since his return to S.E. 7 but like Fox he got abuse as some won't allow him any benefit. That of course seems unlikely following that it seems he had a go at some fans after the final whistle.

It was an awful display and it only served to highlight how desperate we are to improve the quality of this team by adding decent players with experience of this level. Should they already be in place ? Perhaps but a number of factors hamper Mr Slade not least the ownership of course. 

I agree with his view that there's little point in getting players in just to boost numbers. He's right that he should be getting the players he wants and those that really want to come.

That the transfer windows closes after the season starts continues to be a nonsense but there it is. As ever the trickle down effect of the Prem clubs sorting their squads and subsequently deciding who to sell and send out on loan also plays a part.

The good support that the team got form the start somewhat fell apart as the second half progressed. There was an unnecessary flare was thrown on the pitch after 5 minutes. Why ? What was the point of that ?

Then we were treated to several renditions of The Addams Family song. I know we have a dearth of songs but is that the best we can do ? I thought we'd left that nonsense behind.

" Your ground's too big for you ! " also rang out. Hmm.........I think we might hear that at The Valley a few times this season. Perhaps we were being ironic.........

Anger at both the referee and scoreline led some to make their way to the edge of the pitch in a menacing manner. One of our finest did get on the pitch and ran over to the Bury fans. He was soon on his way out.

Post match and it kicked off outside too. All totally unnecessary and all brought about by our fans. As my lad observed " it's not Bury's fault that we're s**t ! ". Very true.

I fear that some " fans " feel that the dispute with Roland is an excuse to behave how they like. It isn't and CARD has always stated that protests etc should be legal and peaceful. 

If the trend towards this behaviour continues then there will no doubt be sanctions. One of these may well be a restriction on away fans so it's somewhat counter-productive in a season in which a number of fans will only be attending away games.

Aside from that I don't want to be associated with that and it damages our reputation. It makes one feel even more removed from our club at a time when connection to it is severely tested already.

All in all it made a bad day even more depressing. To make matters worse I couldn't get a post-match beer near the ground as a direct result of the actions of some of our boys ! 

Let's hope things are better on and off the pitch at Cheltenham tonight. Mr Slade got a few things wrong on Saturday. Hopefully he can put that right this evening. I'd go with the strongest team he can play. We need a good performance never mind result. 

I'm hoping to be in a better mood come 10pm tonight.

Come On You Reds !