Many Miles Have I Travelled....

f**k all games have I seen !

The late Brian Rix ( one for the teenagers eh ! ) would have had to go some way to top this one.

All week and especially in the last couple of days we've had " assurances " that this game was on. Clearly it was never going to be or at least was in considerable doubt and I, and many others, have every right in being mightily pi**ed off with our club.

As every detail surrounding this episode of shame start to unravel it looks increasingly pathetic. Even the aftermath is being poorly managed. The only real information seems to be emanating from Barnsley F.C., a club and whose fans deserve our every sympathy. 

It's now 4.55pm and I've just checked the club's website and it's all very matter of fact on how the referee decided to call it off. Not even the merest hint of an apology for our fans let alone the majority of Tykes' fans who will have travelled a considerable distance and at some expense.

Many of our own fans will have travelled some way and at great expense. For myself I have wasted at least £40 on petrol, I could add the additional £10 spent on breakfast for myself and my lad at the excellent York Cafe. It was good as it always is but 75 miles is a long way to travel for it. This is not to mention a wasted day.

Further ridicule and embarrassment is assured as delicious irony has dictated that Clem and Co from the Football League Show were on hand to witness events. Should make great viewing later on, please excuse me if I don't stay up for that !

I did write a couple of weeks ago that I and many others will, like watching the team itself, be travelling more in hope than expectation in respect of actually seeing a game.

Certainly one can blame the previous regime for the lack of expenditure that has led to us having such a poor pitch. However, it can't be blamed for the appalling manner in which this game was approached.

A few questions..................

Why did no one at the club as a matter of course get a local ref to inspect the pitch yesterday ?

Why was the offer of today's ref to come and inspect yesterday and / or this morning not accepted by the club ?

Why wasn't it seemingly clear to anyone that there might be some doubt as to whether the game would go ahead ?

Why wasn't news of the pitch inspection released earlier ? I'm led to believe Danny Wilson was informed at 11.35am ?

Why was it that twitter was the first source of information with details not going on the club website until much later ? 

Why did the club via the official site all but guarantee that the game would go ahead save for further rain ?

Why is all the information coming from Barnsley F.C. ?

Why is the club not being upfront about its shortcomings and is attempting to lay all the blame on the referee ? This is far from a repeat of the Andy D'Urso scenario.

Will the club be reimbursing the expenses of the fans from both teams or offering some kind of compensation ( I'm not holding my breath ) ?

If this were any other industry or walk of life we'd expect or perhaps even be entitled to a full apology and financial recompense. We can all be pretty sure that won't be happening unless Roland is more of a philanthropist than some would have us believe.

This game will now move to midweek. Personally that makes it difficult for me to attend. It means further financial loss to me if I do go and at the same time I'll be letting down some kids at my school as I run two after school clubs on Tuesdays.

Every season I increasingly question the value of buying a season ticket. Days like today make one question one's financial sanity !

As you may have gathered I'm not totally HP at the moment. However you look at it this is a shameful day for our club and I can find nothing to defend it from the flack that will undoubtedly come its way.

No doubt the F.A. and the League will be investigating matters as 3 games on the trot have now been called off aside from the Doncaster one. Let's hope it's Hercule doing the investigating and that he's sympathetic to his fellow countryman.

Just to underline what a bad day it is the announcer on Sky has, instead of saying that Charlton v Barnsley was postponed, just said " Charlton nil ".............perhaps it's a default setting but in every way " Charlton Nil " sums it all up !

Dazzler

Milton Keynes resident and Barnsley fan - Darren Gough

There seems to have been more to talk about over the last few days when we haven't played than when we do...........it's a funny old game !

Finally it seems our boys may get to play a home game in 2014 for the third time of asking. Ironically with our new regime the only thing to be under cover has been the pitch.......and a good thing too ! Crafty folk these Belgians, it must be " ze little grey cells " but they seem to have been able to secure a cover for the pitch. So much for the waffle, the only hot air has been put to good effect to help dry out our quagmire of a pitch....giggity, giggity, giggity.

Our opponents on Saturday are Barnsley and one famous Tyke is Darren Gough, who like me, resides in Milton Keynes. Darren if you want a lift down on Saturday let me know. I'm sure Darren would be good company and have plenty to say on England's wretched performance down under.

Given our respective positions this is the classic 6 pointer. Chris O'Grady poses a real threat and I bet Sheffield Wednesday wish he was still their player.

As far as we're concerned our striking and goalscoring options are even more limited than the last time we kicked a ball in anger. Sordell is out for a few weeks not that he played much before the injury of course. Cameron Stewart has moved on to Leeds on loan with the view to a permanent deal that will almost certainly complete one would have thought.

Stewart is a quality player who will no doubt be a big success for Leeds and a big miss for us. I don't hold with the inverted winger idea and would have preferred to see him play on the right all the time. I'd like to see Harriott come back into the side but if he does and on the left as a natural left winger, then it'll confuse the hell out of me !

Obika has gone to Brighton so that particular door has slammed shut. One would hope that Smith might get a chance soon although it won't be in the cup sadly given his outing for the Dons earlier in the competition.

Rumours abound of offers for a few of our most significant players and I hope we are able to resist although the current lack of contracts gives little confidence in that scenario. I know the January window doesn't close for a while yet but if there isn't some transfer activity of an inward direction soon then I fear the worst. That statement needs qualifying in that if we're buying or loaning players then they need to be of decent championship quality. I'm not impressed with the Liege personnel who've come in although I'm happy to have those fears allayed. However, I fail to see the need for a third keeper unless one of the current incumbents is off somewhere.

It's probably too early to judge Roland although I'm getting twitchy and would like to see or hear something positive from him to give me cause for optimism. I guess that by 1st February we'll have clear idea on whether we're heading for survival or a return to League 1 and if it'll be under Sir Chris.  

Another big effort is needed on Saturday as is a positive approach, we really need those 3 points. Never mind hitting Dazzler's boys for six again, a one nil win will do for me.

Come On You Reds !

Off And On ?

It would seem that Roland has, appropriately for a Phlegmish speaker, now coughed up.

Happy new year to everyone !

It would appear and come as no surprise to even the poorest poor man's Mystic Meg that tomorrow's cup game against Oxford will be called off. Perhaps that's a blessing in disguise if it allows for the pitch to be in proper nick for the upcoming league game against Barnsley.

It looked very poor for the Wednesday game and the subsequent rain with more to come today won't have helped at all. Unless things change by way of investment in pitch protection and / or improvement the trepidation that accompanies most of my trips to the Valley will intensify. 

I am in two minds about going to the game knowing that we haven't performed in the cup for years and will no doubt field a weaker side. However, that is balanced against a sighting of those on the fringes whilst I recall the excellent performance by the " B team " in the league cup earlier this season. An early decision will help.

Whilst the match may be off, everything would suggest that the takeover is very much on, if not complete. Views on our new owner vary, however, the proof of the pudding etc. At age 67 one would assume that Roland is not in it for the long haul. It can only be hoped that he leaves us in a better state than he find us. If he is to do so then he'll need to dip into his pockets because without investment in the team and the aforementioned pitch that is unlikely to happen.

Stability is a priority along with the need to secure Championship status. The first things on the agenda for Roland are renewed contracts for Sir Chris and the most significant players. A need to get fresh players in, on loan will suffice for now. Chris Powell has a good record with loanees, his use of Sordell aside. Finally and by no means least, pitch improvement.

We may have seen the last of Sordell and Stewart. If so, that is a shame. For me both players were not utilised to best effect. Stewart is a player with lots of ability and promise. In addition, he always looked better on the right. Our persistent use of him on the left was a waste.

Sordell was never given enough opportunity and has been harshly treated by a small minority of fans. That he didn't get an opportunity during our poorest run of games whilst others were firing blanks is a criminal waste. If he had a bad attitude, and there's no evidence for that, then why was he on the bench ? He lacked confidence, sure but only by playing games can you get that back. I'm sure we'll see him flourish away from the Valley should he depart.

All eyes for now are on the weather and even it the game survives today's 11am inspection, I feel it'll remain in doubt right upto kick off tomorrow if there's any amount of rain.

Should the game proceed then let's hope we can get through and draw someone decent at home ( Everton remain my choice ) in the 4th round.

Come On You reds !

Happy New Year !

Personally, I'm glad to be saying goodbye to 2013, it's not been a great year.

Hopefully, 2014 will see an upturn in the fortunes of the club at least although as I type, that seems increasingly less likely. Who knows ? There have been so many false dawns perhaps one of them will transform into reality.

Thank you for stopping by over the year and taking time to read my stuff. Even bigger thanks if you've taken time out to post a comment ( Boro and Leeds fans excepted ! ). Thankfully we don't all see things the same way otherwise there'd be little to discuss and comment on.

One thing we can all agree on the common love of our great club that for most of us is in our blood and has passed through the generations. For all its faults, Charlton Athletic Football Club continues to bring friends and families alike together. For the most part it has some decent, honourable and remarkable associated with it. It's a club to be proud of !

Thanks as always to Ketts for hosting me on Doctor Kish. Thanks too, to the East Stand posse for our half time chats.

My gratitude to others who blog. We are fortunate to have a variety of quality blogs each giving varying views on the goings on in SE7.

Enjoy yourselves tonight whatever you are doing. I've got some Landlord to enjoy later.

Any kind of result for our boys tomorrow will be a good end to the festive period and start to 2014.

Come On You Reds !

Copy and Paste

I could do the old C & P and save myself some time. As others have said, we didn't want for effort or commitment yesterday and certainly deserved something from the game against a surprisingly poor Derby side.

In all honesty, we never stood a chance with the way we were set up. Sordell must have given up wondering what he has to do to get a start. If we were going to start 4-4-1-1 then he'd ( and few others come to that ) would have been a good bet to play in the hole. He didn't of course and got the customary 5 minutes at the end as part of a 3 man attack.

Yet again Stewart was forced to play on the left whilst a less effective right winger, Green, was selected for that berth. I simply fail to understand that. As I've said, ad infinitum, you must play your best players in their best position. Stewart would get a place in the vast majority of championship sides but doesn't get to play in his proper place.

Given the recent amount of games played in the last 3 weeks or so you'd have thought the squad might have been used to better effect but despite that and the poor results it's been pretty samey. Pritchard hasn't even been on the bench of late and suddenly gets a start and in THAT position !

We should have taken a positive approach and gone 4-4-2 with Harriott on the left and Stewart on the right. I don't say that with the benefit of hindsight either.

Even having started how we did the changes should and could have been made. I'd have done that after 30 minutes or half time even.........sadly it didn't happen.

Our target man, Yann, was often to be seen defending deep into out half and on occasion winning the ball in out own area. How were we going to counter attack with him so deep ?

The ref was awful and we didn't get any luck and the major decisions went against us but as I said we didn't stand a chance the way we set up.

Sir Chris has to learn from all this. I appreciate that we don't have the prospect of any fresh blood but we do have in our squad players capable of achieving a result. However, to do so we must use them to good effect.

Our options are further limited next week as Sordell isn't eligible but even if he were, he'd only get 5 minutes at best eh ?

We can't feel sorry for ourselves, we must keep soldiering on as hard as that may seem.

Come On You Reds !

 

Ram Raid ?

Sir Chris in his Derby days

Given the way things have gone for our beloved club in the last few weeks it is entirely in keeping with recent events that the fixture computer threw up Derby as our next opponents. They are in a fine run of form in total contrast to ourselves. We would appear to be lambs to the slaughter.

Still there's no point in bleating about it and it's certainly no time to be sheepish. Father Powell needs to look after his flock and even though they walk through the darkest Valley, they will fear no evil.

In keeping with the biblical references, Jiminez and Slater have been seeking false " profits " in apparently asking what appears to be too high a price for our club. 

It all points to Saturday and the Rams compounding our misery. Their fortunes have been on the up since McLaren took over. Despite most people's memory of McLaren being that of a failed England manager ( and let's face it he should never have been given the job ), the brolly and the laughable Dutch accent, he is a top class coach. Since his departure from the England job he has gained further club success and knowledge whilst mostly working abroad. He is one of the top English club managers, make no mistake about that.

Skip is out and so Chris Powell has to decide who should come in to replace him. Of late the only place you could see Bradley Pritchard in December is on the calendar in my kitchen. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a Lazarus ( of Bethany not Paul the ex-Addick ) like recovery.

My preference is for Harriott to return on the left. I fear we may see Green return on the right with Stewart playing on the left again. Stewart should play on the right despite his stunning strike last week. All credit to Alnwick for the assist. He seems to further cement his place in the with each passing game. Hamer really does face a tough task to get back in. 

I assume that Chris Solly will be returned to a starting berth at right back. 

I've given up hope of seeing Sordell start up front with Yann. It will of course be Church and Yann starting. 

Whatever happens on Saturday, I hope that we are positive and use the subs wisely. I trust that if we are ahead we use all our nous to ensure that we hold on to what we have and see ourselves over the line. It's a tough ask but we must all get behind the team, get a long overdue bit of luck, give them support and then perhaps our prayers will be answered. Amen to that eh ?

Come On You Reds !

Any Answers ?

Answers Please !

In some quarters Tuesday's win was greeted with some over-hype of the performance. Let's be honest Donny were very poor and whilst we played quite well, it wasn't anything to get carried away with. However, some did...........Ipswich were always going to be a tough nut to crack.

Our sluggish start was in stark contrast to Town's frenetic approach and appropriately, rabbits in headlights springs to mind. It was clear that it was only a matter of time before they'd score.

At least going behind galvanised us into action and some sort of response. Sadly that came to mean the old approach of banging long balls up front. I thought Yann would need a neck-brace at half time given he spent the first 45 minutes straining to head the ball every couple of minutes.

Alnwick had already shown his pedigree with three or four splendid saves prior to us going behind. His distribution and communication were again first class. Ben distributes the ball quickly and accurately and looks a very tidy keeper. Hamer may struggle to get back in on the first two viewings of Alnwick.

The referee yesterday did nothing to help our cause and has seemingly never heard of " advantage " as he wasted many opportunities to play it, never did and in each case it worked against us. I wasn't impressed.

Clearly Sir Chris had words at half time as a more determined approach was evident. However, we never really troubled Town. When we did create something we didn't have players in the box to take advantage.

Now then, to the answers required....................on Tuesday when cruising to victory and faced with a busy schedule why didn't we get Sordell on for a decent run out ( preferably partnering Yann ) ? Why didn't Harriott get on and give Jackson a rest ? This would have given us a chance to prepare for a possible formation against yesterday's opponents.

Answers required from yesterday....................having said that Skip was never going to play on the left again, why was he doing just that ? Got away with it against Rovers but not yesterday. Skip's preference to come inside gave us no width.

Why wasn't Harriott not even on the bench ? I'm not aware of an injury. I'd have started him in place of Skip.

Why did we throw Pigott and Green on ? 1. Pigott hasn't Sordell's experience and is very samey as Church. 2. Green came on and played on the right forcing our best right sided midfielder, Stewart, to move across to the left ! I've never been a fan of playing your better players out of position and it was clear from Tuesday that Stewart is much better on the right. 3. Sordell offers something different aside from Joe getting on before him was a slap in the face. 4. In the absence of Harriott why not get Evina on and play him wide left ? 

Sordell came on with @ 5 minutes to go to play as part of 3 up front.......what was he expected to do ? I can't imagine that was practised on the training ground beforehand ! I'm as aware as anyone that Marvin's not pulling up any trees but he deserves more of a chance, he's not going to get any better by getting the odd few minutes and when he does get on we're nearly always chasing a lost cause. That's why some decent time on Tuesday would have helped.

I ask these questions because it seems that many aren't. I love Sir Chris and let me be clear that I've always wanted him as our manager and want him to stay as I think, long term he'll be great. However, I'm confused by some of the selections, approach and use of subs by the management team.

I don't think we always give ourselves the best chance to get something from games on occasions. 

We now face two tough away games that were made harder in light of results on Friday evening and yesterday. The latter of which no one saw coming !

We really need Sir Chris to make the best of his powers of motivation to get something in the week ahead.