Lee Power !

Lee, Lee, Lee Bowyer !

No, not the ex-Norwich loanee ! There's only one Lee and he's been named thrice !

Bowyer contiues to impress with what he says, how he acts and how his team plays. If he can keep this up then I may have to just keep posting pics of him and get one for my bedside cabinet !

The team clearly carried on yesterday from where it left off on Saturday and then some ! Another two early goals settled any possible nerves and the lads went on to add another two.

Despite the oppo not providing the greatest test it must be said that all season we have struggled to put away the most modest opponents. That a Plymouth team that we comfortably beat 2-0 last time out overcame Southend 4-0 is a good indication of how far we've come in a few days.

Unsurprisingly Bowyer named an unchanged starting eleven and they didn't disappoint. It was good to see a resurrgent Reeves score and apprently with his head for the first time. Fosu looked to be on fire and as reported it should and could have been a lot more.

The football and team spirit has moved on a great deal with the players performing with a great deal of self-belief and freedom to express themselves.

It seems likely that barring any injuries Bowyer is set to name the same starting eleven again on Monday. Fresh from completing out first double of the season against the Cobblers we could do the same against the Millers.

Only one win in 5 league games in March sees Rotherham arrive at The Valley in poor form. Should that form continue then they would be in danger of dropping out of the play-off places.

I think a vast majority of us recognised that we had one of the best squads in this division. However, until last week it was lacking organisation and a formation to maximise its potential. Now it seems to be or close to be doing just that.

These last two games have left us wondering what might be. Certainly if we can get into the play-offs then I don't think we need fear any team especially if Wigan and Blackburn take the top two places as seems likely.

I know we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves however, as we know teams that come in to the playoffs on form tend to come through. It would be both astonishing and wonderful if we could do that. A lot of water needs to pass under the bridge before that happens of course. 

On Monday the Bowyer bandwagon rolls on and it'll be interesting to see if we can keep it going. Like the last two games it's another must win game and one that could see us return to a play-off spot should we win and Scunthorpe and Plymouth draw. It's hard to see Peterborough losing to Northampton at home.

Come On You Reds !

A New Dawn Part 1

The new manager who has made a good start.

I think it's fair to say that since I last got out the old laptop to blog things in S.E. 7 have moved on a bit. I haven't bothered for a while as my frustration with Robinson meant I was focused on him and expressed the same views. 

I will say before I move on that I always felt he wasn't right for our club and said so upon his appointment. Some have expressed a right man at the wrong time opinion. Not for me. Anyway he is now gone and it's time to look forward.

I had my doubts as to Lee Bowyer as a coach as I felt he lacked experience. The same for Jacko too as both are relative novices in that respect. That is not to say that I felt in the long term they wouldn't come good.

I think they had a problem whilst working for Robinson. Both men owe their opportunity to him and that I guess made it difficult to express a contrary view to the manager's plans. I'm not sure Robinson would have listened anyway.

To date I have to say that as caretaked manager I'm greatly impressed by Bowyer. He has said the right things and conducted himself in a suitable way. 

There could be shades of the Curbishly / Gritt partnership when ultimately Richard Murray made Curbs the main man when everyone though it ought to go to Gritt. That, of course, prove to be one of Murray's more astute decisions.

It would be great if the same proves to be the case with Bowyer and I appreciate that Skip turned down the chance. I think he was right to do so.

If a week is a long time in politics then in Charlton related football it's nearly an enterntity ! There was a stark contrast in almost every aspect of the game against Fleetwood and yesterday's versus Plymouth.

The atmosphere for a start so much better and more positive and a feeling that everyone was totally behind the new management team. If this proposed takeover goes through next week it'd be great to see loads of fans returning and for the ground to more full than of late. 

The football was so much better as the desire to get the ball forward quicker was blatantly evident. Gone was the tippy-tappy sideways and backwards football the typified our season to date.

The players were committed and showed great desire. Most of them would have been out on their feet at the end. For me, I never felt that a decent Plymouth side would score not even in those dying moments.

The defence was more cohesive and we didn't have a lack of height that we have when Da Silva and Solly play. Therefore, we defended set pieces in particular in a better fashion.

Throughout the season we have seen our players bullied and lacking a physical edge. Not yesterday as we stood up for oursleves. Despite the ref being poor in a way it was good to see him feel he had to speak to Pearce about our approach.

The mood for the afternoon was set early on with Page's wonder strike. How good was that ? I'm opting to overlook his attempt to repeat the feet a few minutes later. Suffice to say it ended up just wide of the goal!

Amos made a superb save before Zyro got the second goal. He pushed the shot onto the post and his reaction in jumping up and giving a huge fist-pump spoke volumes about the spirit in Bowyer's team.

Our second was a superb bullet header from Zyro and we were off up on our feet again celebrating!

I can't fault any player for their performance yesterday. Reeves probably had his best game for us. JFC was full of running and made some great tackles. Pearce and Bauer gave it their all and were superb.

Ajose was a striker reborn and deserved a goal for his efforts. I could go on as there were good displays acroos the whole team.

Clearly Bowyer has had an immediate impact. Remember he was missing the same players as the previous manager plus Konsa and Magennis too. Yet he got a largely 4-4-2 formation to work and involving players like Aribo and Dijksteel who were largely overlooked by Robinson.

The players left the field to a fully deserved standing ovation. Amongst other things I really didn't miss yesterday was the post match huddle and lap of honour. The players and manager acknowledged the crowd and left the field with their minds focused on the next game. 

Bowyer has a few nice selection headaches. Anyone who started yesterday will feel aggrieved if they don't start against the Cobblers.

The play-offs remain a possibility and if we can maintain the standard set yesterday then why not ?

If the takeover completes next week then the new dawn really is here and we can all start to look forward and be really positive about the club's future. It'll be a long way back but the hope will be there!

Come On You Reds !   

The Things You Say.....*

All looking good ahead of tomorrow's pitch inspection. This picture was taken at 2.45pm..................

6 months ago !

In pure football terms Saturday would appear to be a good time to Wimbledon. In meteorological terms it’s certainly not and it's unlikely the game will be played.

All the blame can be put on The Beast from The East and this time, the beast’s not called Roland !

The Dons had a good January but February has not been kind to them. They’ve played 7 games , winning only 1, losing 5 with one draw. Their form otherwise has been inconsistent at best and explains why they are towards the bottom of the league.

Our form has been a little better but not what you’d expect for a club with our squad and play-off aspirations. The injuries to JDS and Kashi will hardly help our cause but no one other than Robinson apologists would argue that we ought to be in a much better position. That anyone is blind to his short-comings that are increasingly exposed with each passing game is a mystery to me. It's not just DHL who are failing to deliver.

Robinson may have improved morale to a degree and be a slight improvement on the previous recent incumbents ( that's not saying a lot ) but we need someone who’s tactically astute and can motivate and organise players appropriately. In short, we need more than a cheerleader !

The manager made a long winded statement ( no, really ! ) praising virtually everyone connected with the club. Unbelievable was the oft repeated word. The same word he used to describe Shrewsbury after he watched them play before setting us up for a right old drubbing last Saturday.

The injury to JDS has implications beyond the mere fact the he won't be available for the next few games. It does mean that when we face Plymouth we won't be able to postpone the game due to having 3 or more international call ups. 

That means the unthinkable and not playing Josh Magennis. Robinson will potentially have to think of another way of playing or at the very least try someone else up front. I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out.

It could be amusing if not effective given that on Saturday he opted to move Aribo to left back on Saturday when JDS went off. There were many options available that were far more appropriate but the manager chose to ignore them all. On that basis replacing the ever-present Magennis should er.......interesting. What masterstroke can he come up with for that one !

Today's aforementioned clarion call was an odd move even for Robinson. Praise on the one hand for all and sundry whilst stating that Bowyer and Jackson don't have much experience in the role. A tough 12 months or so for him but how much has he learned and we're in a much better place.....he's been having lessons from La Meire it seems !

This is new territory for Robinson as he is seemingly getting his excuses in very early. It's not my fault guvnor, honest !

If The Addicks are to scrape into the playoffs we'll need a large percentage of wins from our remaining games. It all seemed highly unlikely before Saturday's potential postponement with further fixture congestion and injury loss. It appears even more unlikely now.

Unless the manager has a footballing road to Damascus moment it's really not going to happen and I wonder, with teams around us hitting form, just how low down the league we will go before season end.

Come On You Reds !

* with apologies to EMF