French Connection 2

Ah yes, I remember it well........

Having just missed out on Van Persie, Charlton have added another player of Gallic descent and it is the big name player we were promised, Dorian Dervite-Vaussoue. An anagram of that is ravenous, devious tirade ( what do you mean I've too much time on my hands ? ).

At 6ft 3in he is a tad taller than Chris Solly. Formerly of Spurs and more recently Villareal B he will probably go into the squad ahead of Saturday's trip to Birmingham. If Cort is injured then that's definite. Un ami for Yann then.

If Dorian does as well as his French counterpart then we're in for a treat !

This season it will be interesting to see how we individually and collectively we make the step up to the Championship. I'd be happy with mid-table but fear we may struggle. The addition of a striker and midfielder of decent pedigree may allay those fears and I hope it comes to pass.

I know I ought to want for us to ultimately go back up to the Prem but I have reservations about that. The cost of home matches would increase for sure as well as the cost of attending away games. To give you an example of costs, this weekend Southampton fans are having to pay £50 to watch them play City away in a game live on Sky ! Ridiculous if not scandalous ! If it were Charlton then I'd be hard pushed to justify that level of spend even leaving aside the travel costs.

It's not hard to envisage the South London trio of us, Palarse and Millwall all in the lower reaches of the table come season's end.

I hope the players are looking forward to the challenges ahead. For one or two I'd say this is a make or break season. Stephens will need to re-capture his early promise from last season as towards the end he wasn't doing it for me. 

I remain frustrated and amazed that Wagstaff is still with us. He could be good but his continued lack of physical presence ( get down the gym young man ! ) and reluctance to attack defenders and running round in circles should consign him to a place on the bench at best.

On Tuesday Hamer looked more confident and decisive than last season. He came for crosses and caught or punched with authority. I hope he continues to progress and hopefully he'll develop into a keeper of some quality.  

Like others I was shocked that Mambo was kept on. Being loaned out is fine upto a point but if he's good enough then surely he ought to play. Today's signing does nothing to make you think Sir Chris sees him that way.  

The boss himself faces the biggest test of his fledgling managerial career. Can he cope ? Yes, I believe he can as I feel he's very intelligent and quick to learn. At this stage I wouldn't want anyone else in charge of our team. 

I think we'll do well to come away with anything from Saturday's game. Brum are strongly fancied to do well this season in spite of having Lee Clark as a manager. I didn't like him at Huddersfield, going to Birmingham hasn't helped my affections towards him. Had he stayed at Hudders I don't think they'd have gone up, too many draws would have transpired I feel.

I note that the delightful Marlon King plays for the Blues and the law of sod says he's odds on to score along with Ambrose.

I fully expect our team to be that which for the most part finished the League One campaign although I wouldn't be surprised if Pritchard didn't sneak a starting place.

Good luck to all those braving the trip to a place not quite as welcoming as Carlisle ! Sing your hearts out for the lads and I hope that for all of us Addicks but you especially that we come away with something.

Come On You Reds !

  

Lawrie Versus Life

" Not a bad game for Lawrie last night Terry "

" Yes Colin but he won't be happy with that penalty, as ever, he was hoping to hit the back of the net "

Things didn't go according to plan yesterday in S.E. 7. My much awaited trip on the cable car had to be postponed as my eldest lad decided to drive. Never mind, another day for that. We did pop down to Greenwich instead and had a pleasant time wandering around there.

Of course, not beating Orient was not part of the plan for anyone connected with the Addicks. I thought for a largely second string we played some neat, tidy football for the most part. We dominated the first half with few chances for the O's as far as I can recall.

The second half saw Orient have more of the game and I guess a draw at full and extra time was about right. Penalties remain the lottery they've always been, however, Orient did take theirs much better than we did. Fair play to them.

I was disappointed that Sir Chris didn't send on some subs earlier. Smith for example could have been helped by the addition of Wright-Phillips inside the ninety instead of being replaced by him well into extra time. Smith had a good game I felt and show some nice touches and flicks.

I was impressed with new boys Kerkar and Cook. Kerkar has time on the ball, uses it well and last night played some lovely passes. Cook showed good skill and attacking intent. I was not so impressed with Wilson ( pictured below ). Lawrie was adequate but no more than that I'd say. No blame attached to him for the penalty even the Orient fans were giving Tom Daley gestures upon its award.

Sad to see Sir Chris losing his bottle and getting sent to the stand but I think we all shared his frustration at an inept referee who amongst other things hasn't heard of playing advantage let alone recognising a bad challenge ! 

Disappointing to go out as I would have hope for a big draw at home in the next round. The only plus side is that we now won't get an extra game to play midweek sometime.

It's A Funny Old Game

Primate Goalie offers advice........P.G. Tips

Here we go again then...........the new season is upon us, so soon, already !

The Olympics have just finished, summer has hardly started, there's a test match still to play and the League Cup campaign starts ahead of the league programme.....it just don't make no sense !

I'm just past the half way point of the well deserved 6 week summer break that those of us in the teaching profession are rewarded with. To date I've been on a cricket tour of North Devon, watched Team GB's women football team beat Brazil's at Wembley, visited Canterbury ( the home of cricket ) to see my beloved Kent CCC and not moved much from the sofa in between in order to catch the best of the Olympics....it's been great !

What to make of the goings on in S.E. 7 then between season end and now ? To be honest I've no idea and I sure I'm not alone. No point in fretting about things, this is Charlton and after all, nothing ever runs smooth with us does it ? 

We can be sure that before August is out there'll be a few comings and goings in terms of players and possibly in the boardroom too eh ! In my opinion we still need the striker, midfielder and central defender of decent pedigree that most of us wished for at the end of last season........let's hope.

Onto tomorrow's London derby then. I'm pleased we've drawn Orient, I quite like them although we'll have to suffer a Hearnia. Ex-players Lisbie and Mooney will make a Valley return. Last time out Mooney had a point to prove having been deemed to be surplus to requirements in S.E. 7 and he duly did so, he was as bad as we thought and remembered. It's always good to see " Young Kevin " though and as I've observed before, he's a player we let go far too early.

We really ought to win this one and a tidy draw in the next round would be most welcome. It's difficult to call the team given that Sir Chris will need to balance the need for a competitive side against the demands of Saturday's game versus Brum. I trust we'll get to see Kerkar and Cook at least, I like what I've heard about both to date. 

I'm early down to the Metropolis tomorrow and intend to take a trip on the cable car thingy........perhaps we can re-enact Where Eagles Dare ? If so, I hope it's Mooney doing the shooting.

Following all that shananigans I'm hoping to partake of a couple of fine ales and a bite to eat ahead of kick off.

It'll be good to be back in the old routine and let's hope the lads can get a win and send us all home happy !    

Nearly There

I trust that everyone is enjoying the break following a fabulous season last time out. Let's hope the sun will finally come out and stay a while. If I do have any time away it will be in Blighty and probably taking in some cricket in God's chosen county so decent weather is somewhat central to the success of that.  

Tomorrow sees the long awaited release of the Championship fixtures. These are hardly set in stone and by the time Sky has finished bu**ering around with them the best indication it'll give is what month we are likely to be playing each time.

One of the main things we'll miss about League One, record breaking wins etc. aside is a regular 3pm Saturday kick off. Games against Palarse and the Spanners are likely to be moved to Friday evening kick offs. Other fixtures may well be midday on a Sunday or somesuch.

A decent scheduling for the Blackpool away game would be appreciated but the law of sod suggests a Tuesday night in February. I assume or rather, would like to assume, that Euelltide will see us play London derbies or Watford at worst. With MK Dons failing ( again ) in the playoffs, Watford is the most local fixture for me and it's a welcome return to Peterborough, all being well......I like it there !

I'm very pleased with the one competitive fixture we do know of, that being the League Cup fixture with the O's as I've a soft spot for them. I'm not sure if it's unique but this being playing before the season kicks off is unusual and presents something of a dilemma to Sir Chris. How strong does he make the side ? He'll probably aim to strike a balance between those he sees starting on the following Saturday alongside one or two fringe players.

Given that we're not playing home friendlies due to the Olympics, does anyone know why we are allowed to play the Orient game before they've finished ? Very odd.

Of course we're all looking forward to the Championship but I will miss some aspects of League One in addition to the one I referred to earlier. For a start we can expect some ludicrous prices for some away games......exhibit A Leeds United. It's likely to be super silly up there.

The new giants of Cardiff City who've just flushed all their pride and history down the pan in selling their soul will probably raise prices as the owners look to recoup some money on their investment. Anyone else think that particular " project " will end in tears ?  Obviously the far sighted Vera Lynn does....." There'll be Bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover ".......just prior to jumping off to put an end to the despair of it all.

Whatever, whenever we play I'm looking forward to it. In the meantime any potential extended stay by the England side means we can enjoy watching John Terry repeatedly being outpaced by geriatrics and perhaps more of Wellbeck's cliche-ridden interviews !





  

Move Over Michael Fish........

One will be reigning here and here and here and here...........

London 2012

The Olympic Stadium

I, and some of my colleagues, took 45 kids to the Olympic Aquatic Centre today and quite impressive it is too, more from the inside to be honest, I'm not keen on the exterior view. 

This week has seen the 2012 School Games with school children from all the UK getting the chance to compete in some of the Olympic arenas, how good must that be to a teenager !

A 6.30am coach departure from Milton Keynes saw us arrive there at 8.55am......a long journey when one considers I usually do it to the Valley in about 75 minutes on a Saturday.

We parked in the coach park but it took a further hour walking to the Aquatic Centre, negotiating security, 45 kids plus 5 adults taking comfort breaks and then taking our seats. The swimming started at 8.45am so we missed a fair bit. Below are some pics from inside.

 We were in Row 58 ! It's quite high up don't you know !

 I so wanted to dive into the diving pool.

 I would have loved a swim in the main pool but you never know if there are any whalers about. This was taken during the 400m relay........I do so hope all the swimmers had 20p for the locker !

I was very impressed with the standard of the swimmers especially those who competed in the 1500m freestyle, 30 lengths of the pool at that pace was quite something. However, the thing that caught my and the children's imaginations the most was a wheelchair bound backstroke swimmer.........how good was he ! He came 6th out of 8 in a very strong field. He left a mark on the kids and I hope they remember his effort and what he achieved for a very long time.

In the lead upto the Olympics and courtesy of my involvement via the school I've been so impressed by the paralympians that I've met and listened too. There's no trace of self-pity or animosity, instead there's resolute good humour allied to powerful determination. Clearly they've decided not to just accept their fate but have sought out new challenges and to make the most of their talent. These are some of the most inspirational people you could ever wish to meet. It is a very, very humbling yet uplifting experience. 

Sport offers so much on so many differing levels and has the potential to change lives and not just for those at the top of their respective sport. It can do wonders for self-esteem, bring people and sometimes whole nations together. The values, especially the Olympic ones, are those that we should seek promote and instill in today's children.

I can tell you that I see evidence of those values and beliefs every day in most of the children I teach. Despite what the " popular press " might say or have you believe today's kids are by and large a decent bunch with a positive outlook and desire to do well and be the best they can be.  

I hope that the nation's children can draw inspiration from and will be enthused by both the Olympics and Paralympics because whatever your views on the rights and wrongs of what it's costing, it truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we have to hope that the legacy that Seb Coe has always sought comes to fruition.   

72 Hour Party People

Yann and Andy celebrate in front of the East Stand fans

What a ( long ) weekend. Guess we'll have to stop celebrating soon. Bank holiday Monday couldn't have come at a better time eh ! Myself and my lads were in our favourite curry house last night we got final confirmation of Solly as player of the year. Glasses were raised and the toast was to our excellent right back who's been fantastic this season.

Many players were deserving of the accolade and it's a shame but like the league itself, there can only be one winner. The football league show would have you thinking that it was The Owls who won the league by some considerable margin and not ourselves............little changes. One feels we could win the Champions League and only get a fleeting reference from the media.

Never mind. What a day Saturday was and as ever, Charlton knew how to mark the occasion. Great singers, great atmosphere and the Red Devils falling out of the sky........you've got to admire their courage and skill, how good was that ?

Before the game the Liberal Club was, like most other places, packed and we were lucky to secure some seats ahead of the main rush. An earlier than usual departure meant we were inside the ground in time to catch the pre-match entertainment. 

Upon taking our seats I was delighted to find a piece of card and the creative side of me ( no, not childish ) aided by Shepherd Neame soon had me making a plane. My eldest told how puerile I was being so I was delighted to be in increasingly good company as the afternoon progressed with the majority similarly having a go.

It was great to see Sir Chris let sentiment play a prominent part in team selection with the inclusion of Taylor but mostly Euell, another touch of class from the Gaffer.

I can't add to other bloggers in the reporting of the game other than to admit to an embarrassing ignorance of the score. Just prior to Hartlepool scoring we left to go for a comfort break and returned in total ignorance of the goal. It wasn't until 10 minutes, yes 10 minutes, into the second half when my lad remarked that there must be something wrong with the scoreboard. As the " mistake " wasn't rectified in the following few minutes we felt it prudent to ask others if we had missed a goal. Of course, we had indeed. 

Now we had consumed a few beers but not so many as to blame that entirely on our not knowing the score. Their goal couldn't have been greeted very loudly by the Smurfs and we had no particular reason to look at the big screen.  Never mind it all worked out in the end with 3 goals of the highest order and all in the wonderful second half spell. The Hartlepool consolation was well deserved. As others have observed, their fans were a credit to their club and were magnificent all day.

The post-match celebrations will live long in the memory as will the final words from Sir Chris. We have indeed got our Charlton back.

Plenty to look back on and forward to and I, like others will no doubt be blogging on that in the close season. 

It just remains for me to thank anyone who reads this blog, thank you for taking the time and your comments / thoughts are always appreciated. 

Thanks also go to Ketts from Doctor Kish for his insightful blogging and encouragement. I hope that the chip shops in the Championship are of good quality. 

Thanks to all the Charlton bloggers. There's such a good variety and thankfully of a better standard than mine and I enjoy reading the differing views and approach that the authors take to those.

As Sir Chris said enjoy the moment and we wait with great anticipation for the season ahead.     

Come On You Reds !