Charlton 1 Bolton 2

No real shame in defeat on Saturday to a decent Bolton side. However, we seemed a bit below par when compared to recent displays. There didn’t seem the same intensity we had against Barnsley for example.

Bolton are a well drilled and physical side who press well and forced several errors from our players.

The Trotters could easily have been 3 or 4 nil up at half time. Luck and excellent last ditch defending prevented it from being no more than 1-0.

Shoretire was a constant menace with bags of skills. The United loanee was a real handful.

Bolton ought to finish in at least third place. Their only Achilles heel appears to be their keeper. Trafford appears to make some dodgy decisions and his distribution looks a bit suspect.

He nearly messed up when Bonne went for the ball and ultimately got booked I felt it was a bit harsh as clumsy as the tackle was. Trafford invited that and it could have been costly.

We did well to score so soon after the break to get back into the game and one wonders how it might have been had JRS taken that near post chance that followed soon after.

Having worked so hard to stay in the game the Bolton second and ultimately the winner was a really poor goal to concede. It was error strewn and a total lack of communication cost us dear.

Holden has had an excellent start as manager and got most things right. I felt that Campbell and Leaburn were unlucky to be dropped. CBT and Bonne did little to justify their starting berths.

Dean really ought to have made changes before he did too. At least a couple of players didn’t merit staying on at half time.

CBT had a poor game where heavy touches, poor decision making and a failure to cross early enough wasted many attacks. He lacked any cutting edge on Saturday.

Penney had a poor debut and I’ll stop short using the old term used to describe a cheap comic but it did cross my mind when he opted to shoot from 40 yards late on!

I think he can be cut a bit of slack given his late arrival. He’ll have to do a lot better to convince me that he should start over a fully fit Sessingnon.

Morgan took his chance well but still fails to convince overall. In addition, I don’t get why he get to take free kicks especially when Fraser is on the pitch. We all want him to do well but the lack of consistency lets him down.

We’re into the final 2 days January and like most days concerning our club, they will be interesting.

We may see something happen with the ownership but that’s anyone’s guess. We’ve seen more nonsense trotted out in the last 48 hours.

It would seem that whatever happens in respect of those linked to date we’re in a lose-lose situation.

Sandgaard is a busted flush and the rumoured takeover mob don’t seem any better.

In respect of transfers I’m not convinced anyone will come in. If they do it’ll be a loanee or short term contract.

Kirk maybe on the way out along with Stockley. One has to feel for Kirk as things really have conspired against him. Perhaps a move would be best for him in the long run.

The same could now be said of Stockley. He has really gone down hill this season. He should never have been made captain. No striker should in my opinion but I saw little in terms of leadership from Jayden.

I think we would do well to move DJ on. I can’t recall him ever having a good game and despite all the hype around his transfer he really hasn’t cut the mustard.

Lots of water to pass under the bridge before we kick off again next Saturday. As always, we are mere bystanders and watch matters unfold from a afar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back To The Nitty Gritty

Back to earth with a bump on Saturday as we go from the glamour of Old Trafford to Barnsley at home.

Like ourselves, Barnsley once graced the Premier League albeit that they only lasted one season. Very much in similar vein though they went down with Neil “relegation” Redfern in their ranks.

One of our most expensive signings, Redfern was about as effective as Jimmy Floyd H. The less said about the pair of them the better.

This is very much a bread and butter game. The Tykes occupy a play off spot and this would have been a tough game at any time. Having just gone toe to toe with United in midweek makes it a whole lot tougher as it must have taken something out of them. Hopefully they’ve recovered well.

Never mind, seeing the lads and the great support at Old Trafford was worth it. It really served to highlight the great potential of our club. My God we’ve over achieved in the last few years when you consider the mess the club is off the pitch.

The damage done by so many useless and odious owners is incalculable. What we could have accomplished with decent investment and proper organisation we can only dream about.

Tuesday was a real shot in the arm and throw back to the glory days of the Prem or even before when gave United a bit of a scare for a while in the FA Cup.

The lads were fantastic and it was a shame we didn’t score. I’d have loved Miles to have followed in his dad’s footsteps and bagged a goal. However, one feels that it won’t be long before he does score there even thought it may not be for the Addicks!

I had to watch from afar with Stewart “research” Robson telling us that Curbs was sacked and then replaced by Pardew! Arghh!!

The more I see and hear from Holden the more impressed I am. We’ve found our selves a goodun. I think we could do really well with him but as ever he needs proper funding and support. As always you suspect that he won’t get it. We’ll see although yesterday’s signings are a small step up from the previous January windows and the last summer one where we failed to recruit a striker.

Like the potential new owners, time will tell as to whether Bonne will prove to be a good signing. At least he has a point to prove and needs to work hard to win over a number of sceptical fans.

Todd Kane was also recruited yesterday and it will be interesting to see if either or both start tomorrow. Unless there’s a need to rest any player following Tuesday or anyone due to injury it seems a bit harsh to leave anyone out.

This will be a tough game but given our recent form and newly found impetus and improved organisation under Holden I expect us to get something from the game.

For the first time in a while I’m really looking forward to a home league game.

Come On You Reds!

Happy new Year?

Happy New Year!

January is a time for fresh starts and resolutions etc. I never bother with resolutions for many reasons not least because I rarely stick to them and why wait until January to start them?

If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing immediately eh! In addition, unless you are fully committed to them then you’re wasting your time.

If only our esteemed owner, Deluded Thomas as the bible would surely dub him, had the same thoughts. Vacuous promises repeatedly made during his tenure come and go without fulfilment day after day, month after month and year after year.

I think if we gave Sandgaard another 100 years he’d not get us to the Championship let alone the Prem!

It seems incredible that over the space of some 2 years he has managed to make Roland appear not all that bad! Say what you like about Roly but even he isn’t as stupid as the banjo man! He knew he was messing with our club and made no bones about it.

Some were quicker than others to identify the flaws in our attention seeking, narcissistic owner.

As we enter this new year he is desperately trying to organise a take over and one that seemingly sees him retain 20% of the club. God help us! 0% is too much!

The not so daft Duchatalet holds all the cards in reality and is still holding out for an inflated price for the freehold of the club.

In the meantime, Sandgaard seeks investment from anyone who has a few thousands dollars and fancies a punt on a League One club that is a shadow of its former self.

As ever, us fans just have to sit back and watch events unfold and hope that one day we may get the owner or owners we deserve.

On the pitch a fine performance against Pompey saw secure our usual Fratton Park victory.

One can’t deny that Pompey weren’t very good and it proved the final straw for their owner who sacked the Cowleys yesterday. I wonder just how many managers have lost their jobs following defeat to Charlton!

However, we played well enough and more than deserved the win.

I caught some of the Radio Solent commentary at the point where Guy Whittingham announced that “ Charlton were there for the taking! “. A couple of minutes later and we took the lead.

I can’t see Guy getting any punditry work outside of Portsmouth with observations like that! Up to that point Pompey had shown nothing at all and conversely were just waiting to be picked off!

I like what I’ve seen and heard from Holden so far. He could do well but as ever any success he achieves can only be done by proper backing. Whether he gets that of course, is anyone’s guess!

Sadly, Chuks sustained another injury and this latest set back occurred during the warm up that is supposed to assist against it.

We didn’t need the benefit of hindsight to know how silly that 3 and a half deal we gave was. You have to feel for him. When fit and on his day Chuk is a quality player and one easily capable of playing well in the Championship at least.

This feels like last chance saloon for him and something needs to be done to get to the root of his problems. If not. Then he may have to call time on his career and that would be a real shame.

You may recall that Sadngaard made noises about sorting all our injury problems via the one thing he allegedly knows about. Like everything that arises form his “Midas touch” it’s turned to s**t!

Our injuries have got worse if anything with our keeper sustaining a broken finger and even that isn’t healing properly!

The ongoing uncertainty over the ownership couldn’t be happening at a worse time and Gods only knows if we’ll get any decent business done in the transfer window.

It’s hard to look past some of our better players going out the door. With each passing game Miles Leaburn will become a target for many clubs. He looks a far better bet than Mason Burstow who went for £2 million last season. A club out there will no doubt be thinking about making a move for him.

No doubt Mr Breakeven already has desires to sell!

All we have is hope and that’s all we can do as we watch whatever unfolds over the next few weeks and months. The main thing to hope for is that we at least manage to stay in League One. Relegation might well see us finished, it’s as bad as that.

I wish anyone reading this a successful New Year and let’s hope that this time next year I can be writing something more positive about our wonderful club!