Promising Start and Goodwill Evaporating

" and Smith must score... "

As poor as our start was yesterday ours was awful. For the first half hour you'd have been forgiven for thinking that we were the away side languishing at the foot of the table.

Even before Beckford scored his exquisite goal following a delicious pass from the excellent Josh Laurent former Addick Michael Smith should have put the Shakers ahead.

In a repeat of a rather famous " and Smith must score " moment Bury's version fluffed a fairly easy chance to give them the lead when faced with a virtually open goal.

It's true to say that Smith that doesn't possess too much finesse and grace but he worked bloody hard for his team yesterday and was a thorn in our side throughout. Later into the game and he sprinted way back to the half line to block one of our attacks. That sort of effort and desire was largely missing from our boys.

In the aforementioned Laurent, Bury have a very good player who broke up numerous attacks and played some really good passes. He was roundly booed by a number of our fans following several clear fouls. However, they were committed to break up our attacks and only up to the point that he got booked. It's not his fault the ref didn't book him earlier and we'd applaud any player doing that for us. 

Beckford was quality all afternoon making the most of little quality support from his team mates. As mentioned before his goal was superb. 

Despite having lost the previous two games Robinson decided that he would make only the one change to the starting eleven and that was of course forced on him with Holmes suspended.

Solly and Da Silva struggle with the height of most opposition players but the sight of Da Silva trying to mark Smith most notably from throw ins was laughable.

KAG came straight into the team although I fail to see what he has done over anyone to deserve that. given the need for more height in the back four and with Holmes missing it might have been better to play Da Silva out side and bring Konsa into the defence.

I'm sure Aribo must be wondering what he has to do or how poorly we have to play to get a chance. All Robinson's talk of rotating remains just that.

Robinson looked rather lost yesterday and he spent a fair amount of time sat down which is unusual for him. In the past he has had people like John Gorman to advise him. At present he has Skip and Bowyer. Added to which Solly really isn't ideal as a skipper no matter how good a player he is. I'm not sure it's enough.

Jackson's association and legendary status in the club make him well respected by both players and fans alike. I'm sure he's a wise head to have on the management team. Skip is taking his first steps in the management and one can't expect too much from him at this stage. He will probably make a good manager one day and hopefully with us if so.

Bowyer too has little coaching experience and has not been anywhere near the club ( nor any club as far as I can tell ) until Robinson brought him in. Bowyer had his attention on his fish farm in France.

Bowyer never played in the third tier of English football is hardly your archetypal role model. Quite what he is bringing to the party I don't know.

I've made no secret of the fact that I don't really take to Robinson. His endless interviews with much hyperbole do nothing for me. Neither does the manner in which he celebrates a victory as though we've just won the league. His one dimensional style of play allied to his apparent lack of tactical nous doesn't endear him to me either.

Roly has been blamed for not backing Robinson but whilst Robinson hasn't exactly been able to dip into a vast share of the Lookman money he has been able to recruit well. Most clubs would be more than happy to have a squad like ours.

The manager is putting a lot of faith in Marshall and Reeves turning things around to the extent that you'd be forgiven for thinking that Messi and Ronaldo were about to enter the team.  

Roland and Katrien seem to like him but since they know bugger all about football probably explains his relative longevity in the hot spot. Many more performances and results like those of the last three games and even Roly might feel the need to pull the trigger that he hasn't for a while now.

It may be that Robinson won't be situ to face his old club in November. However, that's still a  way off and in the meantime we've two away games in the space of 5 days that are taking on great significance.

Walsall secured an excellent win away to Oxford and whilst Fleetwood suffered a reverse yesterday at home it won't be easy up there.

Holmes will return on Tuesday but Pearce left on crutches yesterday and Clarke may have picked up a knock too. Perhaps one or two others will finally get a chance to impress. Let's hope it brings an upturn in fortunes.

Come On You Reds !

   

No Ricky, No Nicky

Yes, missing both players and chances !

Bury currently sit in 22nd place in League One having made an inauspicious start to the season. Even without our help the started with a home win since when they've garnered only two more points courtesy of a couple of goalless draws.

One of those points came in an away game against Rochdale. Don't be fooled into thinking that the Shakers shut up shop on the road as their last two away league games have been 5 goal thrillers in which they lost by the odd goal.

Despite losing to Fleetwood they had more shots and more possession. Imagine having more shots and more possession and losing by one goal !

I'm sure that boss Lee Clark wants to put an end to the losses. In fact, he'd probably loved to go on a long unbeaten streak no doubt featuring numerous meaningless draws whilst finishing just outside the play-offs places. Should such a thing occur perhaps we could end the run at Gigg Lane later in the season.

Despite not getting the ideal results Bury have some good players in their ranks and won't be a pushover. Given our propensity to miss many gilt edged chances even if we're winning like most of the games this season Bury will be in with a chance making for a nervy game as we need to win to get back on track.

As it is we're going to be under pressure to get a result following two disappointing performances. The task is not made any easier without the hot-headed Ricky Holmes. The name Holmes is of course synonymous with a superior intellect but there's been little clever about the way Ricky has amassed 5 yellow cards already this season. In fact had he connected with a Wigan player in a rash sliding tackle he might have been missing more games.

There's not much competition to replace Holmes with both Marshall and Reeves missing. Robinson now admits it was a mistake to play the china doll that is Reeves so soon. With a nod to our missing winger.......no sh*t Sherlock !

You'd not believe that Robinson was Ben's manager for so long previously. Indeed as I've said previously the manager took a gamble in signing him and his dodgy injury history is the reason he wasn't snapped up by a Championship side at least at there's little doubting his ability.

Robinson remains welded to his formation and apparently is unable or unwilling or both to change it come hell or high water. Even when things aren't working with his system ( I'm loathe to say Plan A as this is to suggest there's is an alternative and there really isn't ! ) he hasn't made the best use of his subs.

Dodoo unsurprisingly for a last minute.com signing really isn't pulling up any trees. We're told he's better on the wing and I wonder if he wouldn't prosper as an out and out striker. Sadly, I fear we may never find out or at least under Robinson we won't.

Effectively two of our own are missing Saturday's encounter as Nicky Ajose is ineligible for Bury and probably just as well.

Two away games follow the Bury encounter before we enter Round One of the cup. One used to fear a regular exit in Round 3 nowadays we need to achieve two cups wins just to get there.........God help us !

Let's hope that we can find some fluency and greater consistency that would see us play more than just one good half, More importantly we need to take more of those chances and greatly improve our defensive display.

Come On You Reds !

EPL at 25

Hmm..........it was tough to pick an image that sums up 25 years of the EPL !

This year we actually have a connection with the Premier League, we’re both celebrating a 25^th anniversary.

In my view not only as a Charlton fan but a total football one too I believe ours is the one more worth celebrating.

Our celebration is one that has the genuine football supporter at its heart. Sadly, the same cannot be said of the EPL’s. Some believe that the game and overall football experience has been improved by the inception of football’s elite league but I beg to differ.

Football in general is now a very different beast to that which existed 25 years and it’s not just the emergence of the EPL that has led to that. The world’s governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have made decisions which have greatly damaged the game.

Let’s examine various aspects of English football today compared to that of 1992 and see if it’s any better ( other than Charlton back in S.E.7 of course ! ).

EPL and The Football League

The EPL setting up itself as the governing body of top flight English football and eventually saw the number of teams reduce from 22 to 20 teams as we could hardly expect players to play so much football !

The aim, we’re led to believe was to improve the quality of the football. In reality many seasons down the line how many really good and memorable games are there ? Sunday saw Chelsea and Arsenal play out a pretty uninspiring goal-less draw despite the usual pre-match hype from Sky that frequently accompanies such fixtures.

In similar fashion to Charlton dropping down a division I’m not aware of a reduction in season ticket price to reflect the loss of the 2 home games ( lower quality football in our case of course ).

The Football League despite naturally having more members and “ customers “ than the EPL is very much the poor relation in every sense of the word.  

Competitiveness of the League

Given that success in the EPL is largely driven by the extent of the financial backing a club has it comes as little surprise that while 49 clubs have competed since the inception of the Premier League only six have won the title:-

Manchester United (13)

Chelsea (5)

Arsenal (3)

Manchester City (2)

Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City (1).

We are highly unlikely to ever see a repeat of Nottingham Forest’s triumph in winning the top flight having just been promoted from the second tier.

Competitiveness in Europe and World Football

Since 1992 the European Cup / Champions League has been won by :-

European Cup – Man Utd 1999 & 2008, Liverpool 2005 and Chelsea 2012.

UEFA Cup - Europa League – Liverpool 2001, Chelsea 2013 and Man Utd 2017

Not exactly dominating the scene are we when shortly before the EPL English clubs won the European Cup ( then a knock out competition ) 7 times in 8 years.

I can’t be bothered to research in any detail England’s success on the world and European stage but unless my mind is playing tricks save for some relative success at Euro ’96 it’s been pretty dire.

My apathy towards the national team is matched by that of many players. They earn so much why should they be motivated to pull on an England shirt when the real money is in the top league and / or on the European stage.

Pride in playing for your country is something that is seemingly a disappearing trait.

Managers

There are increasingly few British managers in the EPL and the opportunities for them decrease every season with the trend towards foreign managers.

Stadia

Following the move to all-seater stadia leading to a reduced capacity for most grounds has seen an increase in prices. Many clubs have left their old grounds behind and moved to newer arenas.

Some, like myself, would argue that this hasn’t necessarily improved the matchday experience. One could usually get a seat in a stand if you preferred to sit but most fans would want to stand as we mostly did when I were growing up.

Nice toilets ( to an extent ) and getting a beer, coffee or snack are all very well but the over-riding enjoyment comes from an atmosphere made on the terraces that is somewhat missing from sedentary support.

Older grounds have more character and are much more pleasurable to visit even if they aren’t easily accessible and are harder to find !

Fans

Those not of an armchair variety are the least important in the overall equation. As discussed elsewhere the price and timing and date of the game will not be in favour of the genuine supporter.

All of this very ironic given that without the live support there is no atmosphere no matter how much that has been diluted by various factors.

Transfers

Not much to say other than clearly transfer fees prices have escalated beyond belief. The revamped European competitions have added to them too. Today even a bog standard Premier League player will set you back a few million.

Finances.

There are now vast amounts of money washing around in some clubs as they have been acquired by extremely rich owners who can afford to spend millions on what are often average players.

Season ticket income sits well behind the TV and sponsors money. Despite that clubs like Arsenal charge ridiculously high prices for season tickets. Many require that if not a season ticket holder you pay to a member just to be in with a chance of getting a ticket for the less attractive games.

Some of this would be forgivable if a decent amount of money permeated its way down to league and non-league clubs but so little of it does, only relatively token amounts.

Many Prem teams ought to play in stripey shirts and wear masks as clubs like our frequently get robbed of promising young players for a relative pittance in return. As such there’s little incentive for the top teams to have academies.

Even if they do then like Chelsea they can loan them out to numerous clubs for them to progress before returning either as improved players to play for their club or to be sold on for a decent profit that they haven’t worked too hard on,

Matchday Experience

What can one say of matchday itself. Firstly, you’ll have already shelled out a decent wedge to get your ticket aside from travel costs.

If you’re lucky the game will kick off at 3pm on a Saturday although unlikely. If you’re even more lucky the game won’t have been re-arranged at the last minute after you made all manner of arrangements to ensure that you can be there.

The atmosphere is likely to be quite sterile even though you may have been handed a clapper to help generate a truly lively climate !

It’s possible that you won’t even have to go as the game will be aired somewhere and after all, one can’t overlook the armchair fan !

Are you likely to see a classic ? Maybe but I’d argue that many games don’t live up to the massive hype that Sky and others promote. Most games can be predicted to go one way due the gulf that exists between the top 6 or 7 clubs and the rest who’ll scrap for a draw or maybe an unlikely win.

In addition, law changes such as the back pass one and greater protection to keepers and other players make the game a less enjoyable spectacle to a degree.

The vast number of subs permissible is another fillip to the bigger clubs as if they needed any more help !

Cup Competitions

The domestic cup scene has taken a back seat to virtually all Prem clubs sadly this extends to those for whom survival in the league overrides the desire for a decent cup run or the need to be competitive in them.

Another kick in the teeth to the traditions of our domestic football. One used to await the cup final with baited breath, now it has become just another televised game that could take place at almost any date or time again with scant regard to true fans of the game.

Summary

In case you’re wondering………..I’m not a fan of the EPL. Whatever it’s aims only those to make the big clubs bigger and more wealthy have been achieved.

The ordinary fan of what was once the working men’s game has been priced out or totally inconvenienced for the benefit of the TV companies and their customers.

The English game isn’t improved by its existence by virtue of fewer opportunities for our own players and managers. It is a long way behind other nations and have at best been treading water whilst nations like Iceland with no real tradition or pedigree for the game or suitable facilities have overtaken us.

It’s a sad picture and unless the financial plug is pulled I don’t see things changing. That is highly unlikely of course.

I’m not sure that I’d want to see Charlton back there to be honest. The Championship would be an overall more enjoyable experience I feel.

The face of the game at the top level has greatly altered over the last 25 years. I hope I’m around in another 25 years to witness how it will have developed further. Sadly, I fear that like the last 25 years overall it won’t be for the better.  

Trouble At Gill !

Ben Drew which is what The Addicks are still lacking.

Tuesday's defeat against a good Wigan side wasn't a cause for panic and alarm. To an extent neither is yesterday's loss to the Gills although that they've been poor to date this season this second successive defeat becomes a bit of a concern.

On Tuesday Wigan closed us down quickly as they pressed well. Like most sides in League One they were bigger and more physical than us and helped by a referee who let a lot of their gamesmanship go. Nevertheless they outplayed us and deserved their win.

Whereas we were mostly in contention in the first half of what was an enjoyable 45 minutes the second half was woeful. We looked lethargic and devoid of ideas. I felt Robinson substitutions weren't good and they they made no impact on matters and in my view made us worse.

There was an argument to keep faith yesterday with the players that have served us pretty well to date. However, it wouldn't have hurt to freshen things up although I accept there isn't much room for manoeuvre. 

We seem to have a good half in virtually all games this season but rarely if ever two good halves. Allied to this the opposition are always in the game as a result of failing to take our chances.

Defensively we lack height and that will always give other teams a chance especially from set pieces. In addition, to that we haven't defended too well at times and look a bit disorganised. Yesterday's goal was a case in point.

The match stats show how much we dominated the game yet as we know the only stat that matters is goals. 

We have a thin squad and injuries and suspensions were always going to impact us at some stage. Marshall and Reeves won't be back just yet. Marshall's injury is a bot of bad luck. However, no matter how good Reeves is Robinson knew he was taking a risk in signing a player with an injury history such as his.

Next week we will be without the influential Holmes as he picked up his fifth booking already this season so at least one change will be made.

That we are short on strikers is of course entirely our own fault and why we let so many go without having lined up any replacements or at least ensuring we'd get them is naive. Doodo clearly wasn't a first choice signing but despite his lack of games in recent seasons will be under pressure to deliver simply because there's no one else. 

It's not all gloom and doom as we sit in 6th place 2 points off second place which isn't totally unacceptable of course. However, if we don't reverse this early slide next week then it looks like another dire season awaits.

I know some will cite a certain lack of funding but Robinson has been backed pretty well in the summer. It's also worth considering that many other clubs would love a squad like ours. I'm pretty sure that ours on paper at least looks better than Shrewsbury's but it's them that sit atop the league having only dropped 2 points to date !

Robinson plays only one way and this was so noticable last season. His defence then was that he didn't have the players he wanted to successfully deploy his preferred system. No such excuse now though.

There's no doubt that the football has been more enjoyable this season and much easier on the eye than a Russell Slade team, that's for sure ! However, if things aren't working then the old Plan B is needed and Robinson still seems devoid of it. This was characteristic of his final days at MK and we don't want a repeat in S.E.7.

The manager has a full week to get the lads back on track for an important game that we really need to win against lowly Bury before difficult away trips to Walsall and Fleetwood.

Finally, I hope that the Legends game is well supported today and I'm sure will be great for anyone who goes. I had a minor op yesterday that prevents me from going and I'm following the best I can via social media etc.

Come On You Reds !

Good Game ! Good Game !

Nice To Beat You ! To Beat You, Nice ! "

A reasonably comfortable win on Saturday against a poor Cobblers side who are struggling to get their season off the ground.

It’s fair to say that the eventual scoreline didn’t flatter The Addicks and was just reward for their overall performance.

Late on we ought to have had a penalty when Konsa was brought down by the keeper. I’m sure the ref would have given it greater consideration had the score been different.

I’ve not seen Amos play before but have noted many fans say that was his most assured display to date. Oh dear ! He was very hesitant in the first half with little communication with the defence.

In one instance in the first half he was called upon to make a good save that would not have been necessary had he come and claimed the ball in the first place. Hopefully he will improve but he didn’t fill me with confidence and I don’t recall Phillips being any worse at the very least.

That a below par Northampton side were still in the game with a few minutes to go is a worry. They should have been put to bed. A better side will punish our profligacy in front of goal. In addition, our last two goals arose as the Cobblers were chasing the game albeit that the fourth was a wonderful strike.

However, a win’s a win and the football was certainly easier on the eye than the fayre we saw from Mr Slade’s teams.

I am still tolerating Robinson and avoiding listening to his many interviews. I’ve decided that’s for the best ! However, I was unable to avoid his post-match celebrations which for me are over the top.

He can celebrate like that once we’ve achieved something so please save it for then.

Tonight we are away ( at least I think we are ) to Norwich in the League Cup travelling with a much changed team and I’m behind Robinson’s approach to this. It’s unlikely we’ll progress to the next round but if by some chance we should you won’t find me up at 4.30am or whatever trying to catch the draw.

A good performance and an honourable defeat would be acceptable. We have bigger fish to fry on Saturday for the second of our upcoming four consecutive away games.

Come On You Reds !

Tony, Watt A Waste

Farewell Tony.

There you have it – the enigmatic Scot has finally left the building and this time he’s not coming back. A most frustrating player who clearly needs to sort his attitude and approach almost to the extent that he ought to be asking himself if he really wants to be a professional footballer.

Tony was lucky enough to find one more saloon of the last chance variety in which to imbibe. How long he has in there remains to be seen. For a man who has reportedly suffered a lot of homesickness a move to Belgium would seem far from ideal.

However, I guess he had little choice as football league clubs are seemingly not prepared to take a chance on him.

Clearly there’s a good player in there somewhere as he showed the Valley faithful on occasions. It’s a shame and I sincerely hope that he can sort himself out make a success of his latest move.

Like a lot of what he says Robinson’s insistence that the club were aware of his impending departure and that a replacement is already lined up sounds and looks rather hollow. A bit like how he was going to sort Tony Watt.

Regular readers will know that I’m not exactly chairman of the Karl Robinson fan club. He has continued to make the silly comments and rash statements that have typified his tenure to date.

He promised 5 new signings before he went on holiday and of course they never materialised. 2 players for each position hasn’t happened either and some cases one player for a position would be a blessing !

I’m trying to avoid listening to his numerous interviews and will try to tolerate him.

Despite my aversion towards him I hope he succeeds. As a fan of the club I want him to be a success I just doubt he’s the man to take us there.

Ben Reeves is a risky signing. There’s no doubting his quality and if he stays fit then he can provide the bullets. However, clearly no Championship side wanted to take a risk on him. Keep those fingers crossed folks.

The goalkeeping position is a strange one. I do wish he’d give Phillips a chance. He doesn’t need to go out on loan when there’s nothing better in S.E.7 and he’s a good prospect.

I’m wondering why it’s taking so long with Martin assuming both parties want him at Charlton. Amos looks very much a last moment signing and hasn’t filled the Valley faithful with confidence. He was very much at fault for Plymouth’s second at the weekend.

Elsewhere Robinson seems to have recruited quite well. Clearly he needs to add a striker and a goalkeeper assuming his desire not to play the aforementioned Phillips remains.

The team has had a good pre-season and played some good football. Sadly, it doesn’t count for much when the league kicks in as Ipswich will happily testify.

A battling win over Bristol Rovers and the cup win over Exeter were followed by the defeat at Plymouth. Unfortunately, we failed to take our chances in the first half and followed it up with a disappointing second half.

The Pilgrims knew how to play us and we offered little in return. We do need to have another way of playing if Robinson’s preferred system isn’t working. It was his inflexibility that marred most the games last season.

Passing the ball around with little end result was typical of the Dons under Robinson in his last two seasons. Let’s hope it doesn’t become the hallmark of this.

When he got them promoted he had Afobe, Grigg and Dele Alli who between them they scored 47 of their 101 goals. Clearly having those 3 in any team has to help and makes it easier to implement Robinson’s way of playing.

He hasn’t got that calibre of player available at present and will do well do anything near to emulating that success. If he is to do that then the oft mentioned 20 goal a season striker will be very much needed.

Obviously it’s too early to judge how this season will pan out and it will need at least 10 games before a more informed assessment can be made.

In the meantime on Saturday we face a Northampton side that has lost all three games this season 1-0. Strangely this is their third away league game as I assume some work is being done on Sixfields.

Let’s hope the team can return to winning ways.

Come On You Reds !

You're Welcome !

I missed the start of the season as I’ve been away on my hols. We were in Orlando for 2 weeks as at the ripe old age of 57 I finally made it across the pond ! Such is my limited experience of travelling abroad that this was in fact my first venture outside Europe.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed our “ vacation “ ! The service and general friendliness of people was great. It’s easy to dismiss the “ have a nice day “ culture as a bit cheesy but I found it all very refreshing. A stark contrast to a lot of surly attitudes that one encounters on occasion here in Blighty.

It may be the land of tipping but folk do earn those tips and you don’t mind when you receive good, friendly and efficient service. 

I had no trouble adjusting to that nor the larger portions that you get in the various restaurants and diners. Probably just as well for my waistline that I had to come home.

On our return we had an internal flight from Orlando to Philadelphia. Not a particularly notable flight save for an odorous ending !

Upon starting our descent it became clear that a rather unpleasant had appeared on board. My partner immediately made me prime suspect as the frequently asked “ who cut the cheese “ was on passengers minds.

However, I was not guilty m’lud not least because one doesn’t guff on planes, trains and automobiles – one has to have standards ! Upon leaving the aircraft it became evident that there was a cat amongst the passengers and it had pooped ! Lovely ! Thank God that didn’t happen a lot earlier.

I’ve no idea why the malodorous moggy was allowed on the flight but it’s not an experience I’d like to relive anytime soon.

We did Disney and Universal parks plus Seaworld and also some waterparks. All of it was very well done and there were some superb rides and attractions.

I enjoyed them all from the rollercoasters to small rides like “ It’s a small world “ although I didn’t meet anyone I knew on that so clearly they've got that wrong !

I had envisaged long queues for a number of rides but I’m pleased to report that this wasn’t the case. Disney allow you 3 Fastpasses each day included in the price of your ticket. In addition, for other rides you can get time stamped Fastpasses to save you the queuing time.

The more exciting rides are at Universal although they to me have a more of an approach to screw you for as much money as possible. I didn’t feel that so much with Disney.

If you could marry Universal’s rides with Disney’s guest experience then you almost have the perfect park.

Anyway that’s all done now and I am looking forward to a return to the Valley once more but will I be treated to as many thrills as I have experienced recently ?