Reidy ! Reidy !

                                 Let's hope our boys can make a monkey out of Reid P tomorrow

Every week we hear " Reidy ! Rediy ! " before our manager finally sees sense and brings on the great man. Tomorrow we may hear it from all corners of the ground as the " Home " fans chant their manager's name. Let's hope not though as the singing for our Reidy on its own would suggest the Addicks were on top with him having delivered another peach of a cross !

I took in my first Charlton paint pot trohpy game on Tuesday and my initial apathy disappated when I saw that both teams had named strong sides. Overlooking the first few minutes during which we conceded one of the worst goals ever ( blimey that's saying something ! ) we did well I thought.

Why Parky didn't start with Fortune and Dailly at the back I don't know as it was an ideal situation to try out the pairing. Doherty of late has been giving me childhood flashbacks and I half expect to hear Kent Walton's voice saying " greetings grapple fans " as Doherty attempts to wrestle another striker to the floor. He had a bloody go on Tuesday night ! Jackie Pallo sans hair !

At last Martin played in behind a lone striker who can hold the ball up for him. Sadly I think tomorrow Benson may return and Martin will be benched. Lee has received some criticism from some quarters but for me he is a class act and one of the few quality players we have. He has the ability to do things most of the rest in our side can't. He doesn't lack for effort either and keeps going. Where he played Tuesday is his best position for us, I hope he's back there soon and behind Abbott or Sodje.

Benson doesn't do it for me at all but I won't mind if he can prove me wrong, just can't see it though. Wagstaff will no doubt start as his goals have been a revelation and he is top scorer. He remains inconsistent and mostly ineffectual for me and I firmly believe the term " impact sub " was invented for him.  
               
I assume the wardrobe will keep his place in defence.............how long do we have to wait for Solly to return !

Can you believe that Plymouth are without 3 players on international duty. Imagine us having 3 players good enough to play international football ? Imagine us without 3 of our best ? We would no doubt get a hiding, whether we can inflict that on Argyle remains a mystery that will only be finally answered at 4.55pm tomorrow.

Let's hope that when that final whistle goes our Pete will again be feeling " grey ".......................

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

Come On You Reds !

MK Dons Part 2

A rarely seen tin of Johnstone's paint

I've often wondered what some companies and organisations get out of sponsoring various sporting events. Some are more high profile than others of course but some are so insignificant that you wonder if it's worth the outlay of cash.

The paint pot trophy must be a case in point. I'll confess to not being a diy enthusiast.......quite the opposite in fact. However, I've never seen a tin of Johnstone's in any diy store and neither has anyone I've ever asked about it. Even if I did see one and I was looking to buy paint I'd probably go for a pot of dulux over the aforementioned.........I don't know if it's any good.

I guess that the sponsorship must give Johnstone's some sort of return perhaps they secured the Forth Bridge conract on the back of it.....who knows.

All this mindless speculation is an attempt to avoid thinking too much about tomorrow night's high octane encounter with MK Dons and yes, I've got a ticket and yes, I'm going. Quite how many fellow Addicks will be there is anyone's guess. I think I might be part of Charlton's lowest ever away following. To be honest if I didn't live up here I wouldn't bother. However, I do and at £6 a ticket I thought I'd give it a go although I suspect I may come away thinking that's one evening I'll not get back again !

I don't care too much about whether we win, last week's league game was far more important. It does though give Parky a chance to experiment and do some wacky things. Perhaps he might start with Reid ! Perhaps he might not play the underperforming Benson and Wagstaff. Perhaps he might omit Francis. Perhaps he might play Martin in behind a lone striker who can win flick ons, hold up the ball and lay the ball of for him.

One can but hope. Let's hope that these two games watching from the stands will enable Parky to see the things that we lesser mortals can see from the comfort of our seats week in, week out.

If he does and he changes things and we start winning and in style maybe I'll go out and paint the town red...........not with a tin of Johnstone's though of course !

Come On You Reds !

The B's

The day started well with a comfortable journey from Milton Keynes Central station to Kew Bridge. Cross the road to the Waggon and Horses ( note that waggon is a variant spelling of wagon according to my dictionary ). This is an excellent pub with good food and a toothsome pint of London Pride. I'd recommend it for future visits to Brentford however, the landlady confirmed it's to be knocked down in December as a new pub is to be built by the river.................bo***cks ( b number 1 ) !

A leisurely stroll to the ground, programme purchased ( obviously Brentford are a wealthy club as the programme has a laminated cover, something we can't afford apparently ! ) squeezed our way onto the terracing. Good show of Addicks in good voice....all rather splendid........then the ref blew his whistle for kick off........bu**er !

Francis gave an immediate demonstration of his impressionist skills........it was bedroom furniture........" today I'm mostly being a wardrobe " and a heavy old oak one at that and riddled with woodworm too. Weston had little difficulty in skipping past him to get in an early rasping shot.......a portent of things to come.....bother !

Not long after goal number one arrived sadly scored by Alexander who in my opinion should have booked for winding up Addicks fans with his celebration. He joined by a Father Christmas look-a-like in the home stand who really ought to have known better. Last year's Bees fan, " you're not fit to be a dad " was lurking sheepishly at the back of the stand this year and was probably glad to this loon getting all the attention....bas**rds.

Like buses goal number two wasn't far behind as the Addicks continued to look clueless........bl**dy hell !

Mercifully half time came and only getting an extra pound in my change in error at the snack bar gave any remote cause to feel anything other than thoroughly pi**ed off !

Parky then made changes and had the sort of side he should have started with. How Wagstafff kept his place is beyond me. How Francis stayed on I'll never know. Why Fry was subbed is a mystery as he was playing ok and nothing got past him. Reid clearly should have started and Parky is the only connected with Charlton that doesn't seem to understand that. Benson is clearly not the answer and increasingly seems like a poor man's Luke Varney.........lots of running but too lightweight to do anything what so ever......blimey !

Nice guy though Parky is I'm afraid his time is nearly up unless something dramatic changes. We have the players to do so much better, they need better guidance than they're getting now. I know we can't afford to sack him so why not change his job title and make Kinsella the boss. 

It's still a mystery to me why when we don't have any money we have an assistant manager and a coach ? I'd like to know how those roles are defined !

All in all it's not looking good. At least there's the relief of the paint pot trophy on Tuesday. I wonder if Parky will try 3-5-2 although who to leave out of the previous back four is a real tester eh ?

Time to make like my blood group......

Proof that I still have a copy of the programme from my first Brentford game. I'm guessing the price of the programme has changed but has colour reached wast London yet ?

and Bee positive ! Of late I've not been happy with Parky's selections, formations and where he's playing certain players........e.g. Wagstaff on the left, Benson as the lone striker etc. After last Saturday I was seething but have taken Michael Winner's advice and calmed down.  

I'm endebted to Nelson from the excellent Views from an Iberian Valley blog for enlighteing me that our last win at Griffin Park was in 1980. I was there for that one and recall it as an important win during that promotion season. One always went into games with a feeling of optimism with Walsh and Elliott in the team.

I'll be there again today for one of my few away games this season. Aside from thinking you'd be hard pushed to keep track of the game given the saturation coverage of the Ryder Cup ( is the entire staff of BBC sport plus Nicky Campbell there I wonder ? ) the lure of a ground with a pub in each corner has proved too much ! If they lads can match the level of effort they showed on Tuesday and add some better passing and crossing then this a game we really ought to win.

I never make predictions as they can backfire and make one look silly so...............I'm going to say 2-1 to us today.

Come On You Reds !

Is this a dagger which I see before me ?

Shush ! Don't mention the Scottish Play by name !

Shakespeare walks into a pub. The landlord says " you're Bard ! "

Not so much a dagger as eleven of them today as we seek a return to winning ways. Last week I proffered that Parky tends to stick pretty much the same team week in, week out............I was way off the mark there folks.......how unusual I hear you cry.

However, my assertion that he doesn't include players when they're confident or just had a good game was correct. For me last week's team changes were a nonsense save for a couple of. He may have thought giving Worner another go in goal was a boost to his confidence and that Daniels needed more time to work with the defence but he is never going to have a much easier game than last week to blood Daniels.

Joe came on and scored from wide right in the previous game so Parky then decides it's best to play him up front. Fry did little wrong the week before and then found himself dropped as the gaffer felt we needed Llera's allegedly, greater physical presence.

Parky must sort all this and dare I say ( again ) his latest acquisitions aren't looking all that. I prefer Solly ( when fit ) to Francis, Racon to McCormack and Benson and Abbott aren't really cutting the mustard............strikers are expected to score goals aren't they ?

Racon and Semedo do look the best central pairing and fair enough, at least that part of the equation seems ok. Martin appears capable of scoring us some goals and add to that his creativity and overall ability it surely warrants a free role behind one or two of our stirkers...probably Abbott as the single stirker if fit.

Parky needs to be more flexible, certainly at home and adopting a different formation should be part of that. 4-5-1 at present would be best when away and I'd suggest 3-5-2 which is very workable at home. No reason why leaving Francis out of a back 3 would do much harm.

That would leave Jackson free to come to replace Reid on the left if he's fading in the second half as he often does. I've still to be convinced by Wagstaff as a consistent performer and for me Joe should start on the right.

My team today in going 3-5-2 would be :-

Daniels, Llera, Doherty, Fry, Reid, Racon, Semedo, Anyinsah, Martin, Benson and Abbott.

Whatever team Phil picks let's hope they finally " gel " as it appears that Labour will have elected a new leader before they do and that's taken over 4 months although it seems longer !

This is another game we should win for many reasons not least because the Daggers played midweek but as ever with Charlton it won't be that simple. Let's hope the lads can get the 3 points and that our strikers finally get scoring.

Come On You Reds !

Tranmere Away

John Barnes as he'd most like to be remembered

John Barnes as he'd least like to be remembered

Last season we recorded an emphatic 4-0 win away to the Tranmere, a number of factors suggest that a repeat today is highly unlikely. Gone is John Barnes whose career as a footballer is in stark contrast to his subsequent attempts at management and er tv presenter............not his finest hour !

In addition, and overlooking the loss of several of our better players from last season, the lads aren't playing well. Not sure how long we have to wait for them to gel but let's hope they do so soon.

Les Parry ( another physio who seems to know a bit about managing a football team if not healthy eating ) has come in and did a splendid job in saving them from relegation last season. I quite like Les, aside from the admiration I have for what he did for Tranmere last term, he sounds a jolly decent chap with a good sense of humour. Not that a sense of humour is a pre-requisite of course. I view Curbs as a legend but I doubt he had 'em wetting themselves every week.

As ever we retain a pretty good defence and let's hope young Daniels ( I say young but every player is young to me in the same way that policemen are too these days ) fits in well. I'd retain Doherty and Fry in the middle as they didn't do too much wrong last week.

In midfield McCormack doesn't deserve to start and Racon does if we want a modicum of creativity. Joe needs to start on the right and Reid on the left. Martin should play behind a lone stirker as I feel that's going to prove his best position and you should make good use of your better players. I'd go for Abbott as the lone man.

I don't think Parky will do much of that as he tends to stick with pretty much the same side week in week out. I'd like to think he's aware of the need to tinker though. I get frustrated by his habit of not playing players when they are full of confidence. It's happened with Solly and Racon already this season of ones that I can think of instantly.

I hopeful but not confident of a win. Let's hope Parky does the right thing, gets the team up for it and we can come away with the 3 points.

I watched the Saints beat Bath last night in a great game at Franklins Gardens. Today, finances prevent me from making the trip to Tranmere but I have free ticket to see MK Dons v Rochdale. It'll be interesting to see our upcoming opponents in both league and paint pot. They seem to be on a roll at the moment.

Let's pray for an Addicks victory to keep us in the shake up at the top of the league.

Come On You Reds !

Knott's County

God's chosen county - the only one good enough for the best wicketkeeper / batsman ever.

What a wonderful weekend ! It started on Friday evening with a reunion of the 1970 Kent CCC championship winning side. What a remarkable team not least because as of 1st July 1970 they were bottom of the championship and just over over two months later on September 11th they were champions !

Most of my sporting heroes, let alone the finest cricketers the world has ever seen, were there. Meeting the likes of Denness, Shepherd, Ealham, Graham, Johnson, Chris Cowdrey, Underwood and the great Alan Knott was fantastic.

This was an unforgettable evening with many great stories and reminisces from those players. All had time for everyone. It was all put together wonderfully well with great attention to detail and all credit to Kent for that. It doesn't seem that their success is likely to repeated in the near future but like Charlton we live in hope.

This was followed by a win for the Addicks on Saturday afternoon and I'd have settled for that before kick off. As has been noted by others it wasn't great and the first half was as poor as I've witnessed for many a year. Given my support of Charlton for many, many years that really is saying something !

The introduction of Racon saw an improvement but to be honest it still wasn't great. I was disappinted to see Reid so tucked in during the first forty five and assume that this was under orders. God, or rather Parky, knows why........on so many occasions he clearly should have got wider to receive the ball.

Parky has some thinking to do still. We still have no natural goalscorer and I'm sure many of us could write down our favoured starting eleven and there'd be few matching ones. There seems no decent pairing of any two strikers and one can't help but think that a formation change would help.

Part of the problem at present is that 3 big signings are not that convincing.......McCormack, Benson and Francis aren't pulling up any trees for me and their places are far from secure.

I feel Martin is being wasted. Clearly he is more skillful than just just about anyone else in the side and one of the few likely sparks of creativity. I'd suggest playing him just behind a lone striker in a 4-5-1 as this may see him at his best. 

With two seemingly easier fixtures coming up I hope that Parky can get it right and that the team starts to gel. It needs to happen soon or we'll be losing ground that we're not equipped to recover which is a shame when so many teams are similarly failing to find any consistency.