Come On You Reds !

The successful Solly, wearing red of course

Premier League

1st. Manchester United

Championship

1st. Southampton

League One

1st. Charlton Athletic

League Two

1st. Swindon Town

We've always known it of course..............successful teams wear red.

Come On You Reds !

Hard Slog

Players leaving the boundary Park pitch on Saturday

Obviously Saturday's vital win took a lot out of our boys. Sadly we never really got going yesterday against a side we'd realistically expect to turn over quite comfortably. However, they have proved hard to beat of late and as I said, Saturday was a draining experience.

Although the three members of the ANEM team left feeling a bit deflated after the game, I guess the saying that the result is everything is what we must hold on to. Nerves, as well as physical and mental fatigue are no doubt playing their part.

Yann was his usual self and was full of running whilst getting hacked on a frequent basis. Player of the year, Solly, again turned in a polished performance and dealt with whatever came his way. In fact, the defence as a whole was its usual efficient self and one couldn't really see Walsall scoring.

I believe that Stephens had a good game on Saturday, however, he was largely anonymous yesterday and for me isn't deserving of his place at present. Pritchard continues to impress seemingly to have more time on the ball than most. He is calm, rarely panics and makes good, simple use of the ball.

BWP had another poor game for me. No excuse of tiredness for him. He had two or three poor attempts at goal. In addition, he also seems to be caught offside all too often. He needs to work on that and generally work harder if things aren't going for him. At present N'Guessan should start ahead of him as Yann's strike partner.

The midfield remains the one problem area in the team. It shouldn't be with the players we have now. Jackson should partner Hollands ( when not suspended ) or Hughes or Pritchard in midfield with Cook left and Green / Wagstaff on the right. It appears clear to me so why we don't see it I don't know.

I was again frustrated by the use of the subs yesterday. BWP for the second home game running should have come off a lot earlier leaving Haynes to attack a tiring defence. Stephens should have been replaced by Hughes too. Sir Chris needs to appreciate and learn that as I feel we've got away with our poor employment of the subs.

I shouldn't moan really as we are in a position that all other League One teams would love to be in. It's just that we can make life so much easier for ourselves and we do need to look to next season when, if we do go up, the oppo won't be so forgiving.

Carlisle's recent faltering hasn't helped us in my view. I had hoped that they would have cemented their play-off spot by now. We travel up there next Saturday in the hope that we can keep them quiet and that nerves will get the better of them. We have played better away from home this season so let's hope another good display will bring home the 3 points. 

In reality 4 points from the remaining 4 games should be enough see us promoted automatically. I'd love it if we could seal that at home to Wycombe. I can't see either of the Sheffields losing any time soon so the title will have to wait a while longer.

The ideal scenario is promotion secured at home to Wycombe, the title away to Preston, leaving the final game at home to Hartlepool for a big celebration. However, this is Charlton Athletic F C............ !!!

   

That's Champion !

Trevor Kettle, as always making blood rather than water boil

For the third consecutive Saturday the Addicks were presented with another incompetent official. Looking at the number of cards dished out you'd assume it was a dirty game with players at each other's throats all afternoon. Look at the highlights and listen to the views of all those present and you'll soon realise that this was far from the case.

The dismissal of Wagstaff was probably the icing on the cake. One wishes he did show more aggression so when I heard he'd gone too it only served to confirm what I was reading. 

Appropriately, for the first time, I followed the game via Twitter. It was with great trepidation that I clicked on the latest tweet as each time I was fearing another booking or dismissal. There were only two that gave me any joy.........Yann's goal and the final whistle.

Surely someone should be reviewing the performance of these officials. I read early on how bad the pitch was and yet Kettle didn't seem to take that into account. Nor did he consider that it wasn't a dirty game. All he did was ruin it as a spectacle for the paying public.

Fortunately the lads put in a Champions performance and came away with the 3 points. Possibly the most important 3 points of the season. This will enhance self-belief and is a major step forward as we seek to get over the line.

We all love Sir Chris of course and his post match interviews were both emotional and dignified. No over the top ranting about Kettle but wholesome, sincere praise of " my players " and " my club ". What class, what passion, what a man !

With both the Sheffields winning this was a vital win. Victory over the Saddlers tomorrow would be another massive step towards promotion. Again it really is another must win game as Carlisle will prove to be a very tough fixture.

Walsall are battling against relegation and come to the Valley in fine form. It won't be easy. They've lost only once in their last 12 games to put themselves 4 points above the relegation zone. In Emmanuel Ledesma they possess a real goal scoring threat from midfield. The talented Argentinian bagged a brace yesterday against Chesterfield.

 I don't believe that the recent display of red cards will hurt us that much. If anything it will help force Sir Chris's hand in making the changes that he's been reluctant to make on occasion. 

Hopefully Green will be fit enough to come in and play on the right, a change I'd have made anyway. Hollands should have been rested yesterday in my view and now of course will miss the next three matches. If Skip is fit to return then he can play in central midfield alongside Hughes or Pritchard. 

I'm N'Guessan ( ho ! ho ! ) that BWP will return in place of Dany up front. I say that only because that's what I believe Sir Chris will do. If so, let's hope that Bradley is truly up for it. He always carries a goal threat but on occasion doesn't work hard enough for me. 

It would be good if Haynes is fit to return to the bench as I like the look of him and his pace will always be a threat. 

A win tomorrow would really make it a happy Easter. Let's hope the lads can deliver that before we see out the season with the remaining games mercifully being on Saturdays.

One final wish for tomorrow..........please can the powers that be find us 3 competent officials, surely there must be some.

Come On You Reds !

     

Boundary Dispute

Oldham Athletic Club Badge

Sir Patrick Moore

The drought has meant I've had to cancel my plans for colonic irrigation this weekend.....damn ! Looks like I'm not the only one disappointed as the owl and Paddy look like they could use a bit of that too.

Oop north again on Saturday then as The Addicks head into the final six games. We are saddled ( geddit ? ) with two games in three days as we face Walsall on Easter Monday. Oldham don't score many but have proved hard to beat at home. However, we really ought to win this game for the same reasons that I felt we'd overcome The O's relatively easily last Saturday. Oldham played in midweek and are not a great side despite having the erudite Dickov for a manager !

The Latics occupy 14th place in the table but do have cause for concern that they may get dragged into the relegation dogfight especially in light of their recent form. They will be battling hard for a win I've no doubt. Looks like they'll have to do that without Taylor who got injured on Tuesday. 

As for us I guess we'll see an unchanged starting eleven and probably bench too. If it were down to me I'd bring in Jackson, if fit, to play in central midfield alongside Hughes whilst dropping Hollands and Stephens. Hollands purely for the rest and Stephens because he's been poor for some time now.

For me Cook and Green or Wagstaff as the wide men. The defence remains the same. I'd have N'Guessan starting ahead of BWP. However, as I said that's me not Sir Chris and I think he'll retain the same players. 

I do hope he doesn't do that and in addition, makes better use of the subs. I keep banging on about that but sadly it doesn't seem to change. Someone does need to have a word in his shell-like. 

With Huddersfield winning in midweek it's getting very tight behind us, however, that won't matter at all as long as we keep on winning. Two wins over these next two games will go a long way to not only securing promotion but also the title.

Congratulations to Sir Tom Finney whose 90th birthday is being celebrated at Preston on Saturday. Well done to him on reaching the full ninety........let's hope there's plenty of time added on.

Well done too to all those Addicks making the long trip to Oldham. I hope you're rewarded firstly with the 3 points and secondly a good performance from our boys.

Come On You Reds !

1984 ?

I believe the tache is meant to be more Hitler than Chaplin

Well, at least now I know I have one regular reader as some poor sap in GCHQ is forced to read this just to ensure I'm not planning to put a whoopee cushion under Her Majesty or anything. They'll be monitoring for subliminal messages so I need to be careful. No mention of our aerial threat, Morrison launching the ball into the box or Green bombing down the wing.

Saturday saw a return to winning ways and in the early stages also the positive, attacking play that was the hallmark of our early season play. I thought we were going to go goal crazy but sadly the imbecile of a referee put paid to that. 

I'm not sure about BWP's penalty appeal and saw nothing wrong with Cort's " goal ". In both cases though if he felt he was correct then Brown should have booked both, surely ? The bloke seemed to love it, the worse he got the more he seemed to be enjoying himself. You can be sure he was bullied as a child.

An early goal from Wagstaff settled everyone down although a second was always going to be necessary as the anticipated avalanche of goals just didn't happen. Orient kept plugging away largely without success but Spring was always threatening to create something via his intelligent and thoughtful passing. 

Lisbie and Mooney, in particular, had games to forget. Mooney seemed out to prove a point and did so in confirming our thoughts about him........he hasn't been missed.

Yann was his typical industrious self but not as effective as usual in large part due to the close attention he received from a surprisingly at times physical Orient. With little to no protection from referee Brown this was no surprise.

The bits in between the goals were largely forgettable aside from both keepers making a couple of good saves. Rachubka made a double save with one effort from Cook who according to the BBC highlights was impersonating Solly.......really, some people will do anything to receive the player of the year award !

Late sub N'Gueussan duly dispatched Cook's quality cross to put the game beyond any doubt and to send us all home happy.

It's interesting to read various views on Cook and Wagstaff. I do believe that different standards are applied when reviewing their performances. I thought Cook did well and had a pretty good game delivering some good crosses not least for the second goal of course. Wagstaff did okay.......for him. And there's the nub of the matter.....by Wagstaff's standards. He ran a lot as always, got into a good position to score an easy goal and credit where it's due, he was there to put it away. I suspect that there's a greater weight of expectation for Cook.

I still prefer Green on the right, whilst not great and he does lack consistency, Danny is the better, more attack minded player with the ability to produce a good cross on most occasions. He also carries a threat from set pieces. 

Stephens wasn't very good again and often got in Hollands' way. Danny himself looked tired and probably needs a rest. If Skip is fit, then why not play him in his best position which is central midfield alongside Hughes or Pritchard with Cook on the left and Wagstaff or Green on the right. That gives the midfield a much improved look about it.

I remain frustrated by Sir Chris's use of the subs. BWP should have come off after at best 60 minutes. Our leading goal scoring didn't look up for it as he often does on occasions and you know it's not going to be his day. N'Guessan is clearly a good striker, will cause problems and in my view deserves a start on Saturday......I know he won't get it though.

Sir Chris was, I hope, watching Man Utd last night and he would have seen a positive and timely use of the subs from Sir Alex. 

Sir Chris is like Curbs was in the early Prem days and is remaining too loyal to some members of the team. It's not necessarily a case of dropping one or two so much giving them a rest as I suggest with Hollands.

Saturday's opponents, Oldham are playing tonight and the odd suspension or two for them would be most welcome. Again you'd like to think that they'll be a little jaded from that thus making our task a little easier come the weekend.

Six to go then and we really ought to be able to garner sufficient points from the remaining games to not only get automatic promotion but secure the title too. I think we'll all be disappointed if that doesn't happen after being top dog for so long.

The O Zone

It would appear that Chelsea and Stonehenge are most at risk from the destruction of the Ozone layer.

I must confess that alleged eroding of the ozone layer doesn't worry me too much especially if it's going to bring  the sort of good weather we've enjoyed of late. You might say I've got my priorities wrong but I'm more concerned that I'll be paying vat on my pasty. What nonsense that is ! I can only hope that the EU can come to my rescue. 

Tomorrow the O Zone, more commonly known as the East End, descends on the Valley in the hope of being the only team to do the double over us this season. I'm fairly confident that this won't be the case.

My mate Gary, aka Geezer, is an O's fan and we will be imbibing before the game. How things have changed, I recall sharing a jar or two prior to our last FA meeting and him telling me how genuinely pleased he was that the O's were playing a big club like Charlton. We were in the Prem then of course. Tomorrow should prove to be an important and decisive step to getting our fortunes back to where they were. I don't mean the Prem as such but the Championship.

Aside from be able to name just about every East European railway station, don't ask, Geezer has a good knowledge of the lower leagues. He thinks another couple of wins and draws will see Orient safe for another season. He has identified Wycombe as the only one of the bottom four that could potentially catch them although as he rightly observes Bury are in freefall and could possibly snatch a relegation spot.

I believe that their having not only played midweek but winning too means we really ought to be taking the 3 points. That win eased the pressure a little and a win at the Valley isn't as desperate as it once was.

If we are to avoid the unwanted double tomorrow then we'll need to play with confidence and freedom, oh and a half decent referee would be nice too.........they seem to be in very short supply in the third tier !

The O's have found goals hard to come by in this campaign and shouldn't come with a physical approach. For me that means that Pritchard should partner Hollands in midfield. Failing that then Hughes more than deserves his chance, we've always looked good when he's partnered Hollands as he seems to bring out the best in Danny in allowing him to get forward more and scoring too. He was almost prolific at one stage.

I'm assuming that Skip still isn't fit so who will occupy the wide positions ? Sorry but hopefully not Wagstaff. I'd give Cook a start and probably Green. Yann should return so his fellow countryman should be on the bench to come on later to make an impact. I'd like to see N'Guessan up front at some stage.

Cort ought to retain his place in defence alongside player of the season, Solly with Morrison and Wiggins.

Ideally we will find ourselves 3 or 4 goals up early into the second half and Sir Chris can experiment and also rest a few players. Mind you whatever the situation I'll not be holding my breath as I sometimes wonder if he's stuck in a pre-Peacock state of mind.......subs are not allowed ! 

A few old Charlton players return tomorrow not least amongst them " Young Kevin " who will always provide a goal threat. As I've remarked before SKL is a player we let go too early. He'd have done a good job for us in the Championship......another one of Pardew's great decisions ( he's still to refund me my money for the weekend in Blackpool - what a disaster ! ).  

I'm really looking forward to the game and trust the players get good, positive and vocal backing. It's not a time to get on their backs. They have achieved a lot this season and all the other clubs in the league would happily swap places places with us.

Come On You Reds !

Reffing Hell !

Old mutton chops - Rhodes Boyson - a lethal combination that did for Charlton yesterday

Back in the 80's the name Rhodes Boyson was very much associated with the Thatcher government of the day, in more recent times it was cause for much laughter when one recalls the interview with Ali G. Sadly Rhodes and Boyeson were no laughing matter for Addicks fans on Saturday and combined to bring about our third defeat in recent games.

For all the lavish praise heaped on Jordan Rhodes in two games against us he's only scored once and not in open play this season and not looked particularly threatening. Possibly, when facing a decent back five ( never sure why the keeper gets overlooked when the so called pundits talk of the defence ) he's not quite as good as those stats would seem to suggest. No doubt he'll be playing at higher level next season so we'll find out eh ?

I've been extremely busy of late as I'm trying to get my house on the market which has ( mercifully for you ! ) left me little time to blog. Yesterday was much the same and I was tidying and cleaning round Shangri-La occasionally glancing at the web page that had details of our game. I shut it down at half time and only later turned on the telly to find out the final score.

Without knowing all the details I assumed we'd huffed and puffed but failed to find a way through. That of course is partially true but doesn't tell the whole story. Weak and inept refereeing saw to it that we were to suffer a rare away defeat. I've not seen the challenge on Wagstaff but I've read enough of reports on blogs from those that were there and if Sir Chris is that irate then I need no further evidence, it must have been bad.

Checking on Referee Boyeson stats shows that he's very partial to giving penalties and red cards displaying a particular penchant for them in recent times. Leaving aside my obvious bias, I thought that it was a very weak penalty to give. I wouldn't be too happy if a free kick were awarded outside the box for that anywhere let alone in it. Very poor and he seemed to be very much a homer as has been alluded to elsewhere. That the man's highest refereeing achievement to date has been a handful of Championship games speaks volumes. I hope he never darkens our door again !

We surely missed Yann yesterday. He has been outstanding in so many ways this season. His two assists alone on Tuesday prove his worth to the side. Hopefully he'll be back on Saturday for the Orient. Good to see Hayes get a well merited opportunity. A more than useful player to have with us.

Russell lost it yesterday and being his second dismissal of the campaign I think that may mean a four match ban. Whatever, I doubt we will see him in what is left of this season. He will be very much regretting what he did.   

I thought Wagstaff did well on Tuesday night. No idea how he performed yesterday but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he wasn't great, he never seems to manage to perform consistently well. At least we now have Cook and N'Guessan to put pressure on our usual wide men.   

Huddersfield will almost certainly be in the play-offs but probably won't be feared by many if when playing against 10 men with a willing ref on your side you can only manage a one nil win at home. I'd be surprised if they go up. However, they can at least console themselves with the satisfaction of that unbeaten run eh ?

Another defeat then but looking at the overall shape of the team and things in general I'm not despondent. There's competition in most areas, we are, save for Easter time left with Saturday only fixtures. If Sir Chris chooses to use his squad, drop under-performing players and make subs when needed then we should be fine.

Nothing is too much wrong. We've now completed all the really tough games and we are more than capable of winning all of those remaining if we stay calm and play as we all know we can.

Sir Chris and the lads have all week to work on how we're going to gain revenge on our East London rivals and prevent them from being the only team to do the double over us this season.