Nothing about Charlton it just tickled my fancy!!
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Crisis, what crisis
I am sure that Pardew would respond to the accusation that Charlton are in crisis with the the above comment. Will he be able to say the same if we drop another 3 points on Saturday. To put the situation in context we are only a couple of wins away from the play off zone,but conversely we are only a few points off the relegation zone.
What is clear though is that we have, across the two seasons, only picked up 19 points out of the last 60 and this has to be seen as relegation form. Our recent results do not add much sunshine to our outlook, since Reading we have played 6 matches, won 1, drawn 1 and lost 4, scored 4 and conceded 8.
Ipswich is a crucial game and the pressure on the players will be enormous an early goal will be crucial but not a guarantee of victory as Preston, Wolves and Sheffield Wednesday has proved.
If the pressure on the players has grown then following the loss to palace, the first in 12 years, the pressure on Pardew is enormous. The pro Pardew fans cite the boards ruthless budgetary constraints, his detractors point to a team that still contains former premier league talent as well as strong and experienced Championship players i.e. Hudson, Fortune (Stoke) Gray (Voted 2nd best Championship player.
Ipswich offer flair and creativity,Lisbie will be back, the player who left us to score 3 goals against us last season and celebrated with aplomb. The saving grace is that they are equally inconsistent and this weekend they will hopefully will show their negative side.
Personally I think we are only one win away from a good side, but equally with confidence visibly draining we are not far from a bad side. We have to turn things round. Momentum is everything in football, maybe in life. As the fans begin to mumble amongst themselves a momentum builds. At the moment Pardew probably can reverse the direction of feelings amongst supporters, but it won't last and without results the fans will turn and once that happens there will be no turning back. Saturday can do a lot of good or it can become the crisis we all so fear.
What is clear though is that we have, across the two seasons, only picked up 19 points out of the last 60 and this has to be seen as relegation form. Our recent results do not add much sunshine to our outlook, since Reading we have played 6 matches, won 1, drawn 1 and lost 4, scored 4 and conceded 8.
Ipswich is a crucial game and the pressure on the players will be enormous an early goal will be crucial but not a guarantee of victory as Preston, Wolves and Sheffield Wednesday has proved.
If the pressure on the players has grown then following the loss to palace, the first in 12 years, the pressure on Pardew is enormous. The pro Pardew fans cite the boards ruthless budgetary constraints, his detractors point to a team that still contains former premier league talent as well as strong and experienced Championship players i.e. Hudson, Fortune (Stoke) Gray (Voted 2nd best Championship player.
Ipswich offer flair and creativity,Lisbie will be back, the player who left us to score 3 goals against us last season and celebrated with aplomb. The saving grace is that they are equally inconsistent and this weekend they will hopefully will show their negative side.
Personally I think we are only one win away from a good side, but equally with confidence visibly draining we are not far from a bad side. We have to turn things round. Momentum is everything in football, maybe in life. As the fans begin to mumble amongst themselves a momentum builds. At the moment Pardew probably can reverse the direction of feelings amongst supporters, but it won't last and without results the fans will turn and once that happens there will be no turning back. Saturday can do a lot of good or it can become the crisis we all so fear.
Friday, 26 September 2008
Charlton Wednesday
I have always had a problem with this fixture, especially now that I do not follow fixture lists that closely. My conversations are a bit like a Marx brothers sketch,
"You going Charlton Wednesday"
"No and its Tuesday at Palace"
"No I mean Wednesday"
"Oh are the reserves playing Wednesday?"
"No they are playing Reading" bomm boom!
Talking of Reading lets get back to that style of play tomorrow. Wednesday are unlikely to be as open as Reading or Wolves, but then they are less likely to have the potency of either of those clubs. I am sure we'll hear from Pards how clubs like Wednesday coming to the Valley are always hard to beat.
Tomorrows referee is D Whitestone. Quoting from QPR's Vital site I am less than inspired by this appointment again
"Despite his refereeing career commencing in non-league in 2003, Mr. Whitestone does lack some of the experience of the higher echelons of the football league. His superiors seem not to deem him worthy of many Championship fixtures, and when you read some of the criticism levelled at the official it is an understandable decision.
With the majority of his games being played out at non-league level, the official refereed the Conference play-off final in 2006 - a match played out between Halifax and Hereford, with the latter edging the game 3-2.
Mr. Whitestone was granted five Championship fixture in 2006/07 but some criticism was levelled at the official for losing control of the game and the players, and this has become a re-occurring theme upon criticising the referee."
In 9 games he has presented 26 yellows and 2 reds, and once again like last week he is officiating at his first Cahmpionship game of the season.
The respest campaign has taken a bit of a battering this week.
I am well in favour of the campaign, I think televised attitudes of players towards authority permeate through soiciety especially influencing kids. That said there is give and take on both sides and the FA's campaign seems to be one way, you respect us whatever and we'll continue to treat you like a bunch of wasters. I wouild have liked the young referee at Watford to have apologised publicly to the team and the fans. mistakes happen even inexplicable ones, he is going to spend the rest of his career with players suggesting to him that the ball never went near the goal when he gives a goal. The FA should have waived the rules and accepted that there was a catastrophic mistake and apologised on behalf of the officials and thanked Coppell for moffering the replay but turning it down. Instead it has all been heavy handed. Maybe when Boothroyd is exiled to the stands for his behaviour they can at least lay on a hot cup of Bovril for him!!
"You going Charlton Wednesday"
"No and its Tuesday at Palace"
"No I mean Wednesday"
"Oh are the reserves playing Wednesday?"
"No they are playing Reading" bomm boom!
Talking of Reading lets get back to that style of play tomorrow. Wednesday are unlikely to be as open as Reading or Wolves, but then they are less likely to have the potency of either of those clubs. I am sure we'll hear from Pards how clubs like Wednesday coming to the Valley are always hard to beat.
Tomorrows referee is D Whitestone. Quoting from QPR's Vital site I am less than inspired by this appointment again
"Despite his refereeing career commencing in non-league in 2003, Mr. Whitestone does lack some of the experience of the higher echelons of the football league. His superiors seem not to deem him worthy of many Championship fixtures, and when you read some of the criticism levelled at the official it is an understandable decision.
With the majority of his games being played out at non-league level, the official refereed the Conference play-off final in 2006 - a match played out between Halifax and Hereford, with the latter edging the game 3-2.
Mr. Whitestone was granted five Championship fixture in 2006/07 but some criticism was levelled at the official for losing control of the game and the players, and this has become a re-occurring theme upon criticising the referee."
In 9 games he has presented 26 yellows and 2 reds, and once again like last week he is officiating at his first Cahmpionship game of the season.
The respest campaign has taken a bit of a battering this week.
I am well in favour of the campaign, I think televised attitudes of players towards authority permeate through soiciety especially influencing kids. That said there is give and take on both sides and the FA's campaign seems to be one way, you respect us whatever and we'll continue to treat you like a bunch of wasters. I wouild have liked the young referee at Watford to have apologised publicly to the team and the fans. mistakes happen even inexplicable ones, he is going to spend the rest of his career with players suggesting to him that the ball never went near the goal when he gives a goal. The FA should have waived the rules and accepted that there was a catastrophic mistake and apologised on behalf of the officials and thanked Coppell for moffering the replay but turning it down. Instead it has all been heavy handed. Maybe when Boothroyd is exiled to the stands for his behaviour they can at least lay on a hot cup of Bovril for him!!
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
A bad day for West Ham, a bad day for Football
A loss against Watford yesterday was the least of West Hams problems, with a tribunal ruling against them in the Tevez case, two full years and in the third season since the two Argentinians came to ply their trade at Upton Park.
The ills of West ham are unimportant to me, the wider issues continue to be my concern. Two years for something to resolved that should have been done and dusted by January of the season they arrived, but the Football League, bottled it and prayed West Ham would go down, but sadly due to the efforts of one Tevez as ruled by the tribunal they did not and both ourselves and Sheffield United went down.
Had West Ham received the warranted points deduction in the season I honestly believe that we would have had a chance of sustaining our run and avoiding relegation but who knows.
We could still however, along with all other Championship clubs, suffer at the hands of the cowardice of the Football League or FA or whoever should have been in charge.
Sheffield United have claimed £30 million compensation, which I would be surprised if they received it. There claim is based on £30 mill lost revenue. As we all know every £1 of revenue has a cost, but even if they receive half that amount, representing their profit, £15 million in the Championship is a huge windfall and along with this seasons final parachute payment un balances the Championship to the detriment of other teams that have had no interest in the Tevez affair or at best suffered from it (i.e. us).
There is no fair solution to this conundrum, the answer was to have sorted the problem out when it happened not now, but we can't turn back time!
The ills of West ham are unimportant to me, the wider issues continue to be my concern. Two years for something to resolved that should have been done and dusted by January of the season they arrived, but the Football League, bottled it and prayed West Ham would go down, but sadly due to the efforts of one Tevez as ruled by the tribunal they did not and both ourselves and Sheffield United went down.
Had West Ham received the warranted points deduction in the season I honestly believe that we would have had a chance of sustaining our run and avoiding relegation but who knows.
We could still however, along with all other Championship clubs, suffer at the hands of the cowardice of the Football League or FA or whoever should have been in charge.
Sheffield United have claimed £30 million compensation, which I would be surprised if they received it. There claim is based on £30 mill lost revenue. As we all know every £1 of revenue has a cost, but even if they receive half that amount, representing their profit, £15 million in the Championship is a huge windfall and along with this seasons final parachute payment un balances the Championship to the detriment of other teams that have had no interest in the Tevez affair or at best suffered from it (i.e. us).
There is no fair solution to this conundrum, the answer was to have sorted the problem out when it happened not now, but we can't turn back time!
Saturday, 20 September 2008
Tinker Man
My heart sunk when I heard today's team. Pards had been talking about going on a run, last time we won two games in a row was last december Cardiff, followed by Ipswich. Its not that I did not expect a change, the old man of the squad Matt Holland must have been puffing a bit, three games in a week. I expected Ambrose to be in with a shout for Central Midfield, but like the Charlton Life message board, I failed to predict the change that was made.
Last season our ultimate demise was in part due to Pards tinkering with the team, Varney finally started to play well and was relegated to the bench, what that did to his confidence only he knows. Today Gray, top scorer this season,a man in form, a scorer on Tuesday was put on to the bench. Why? Because he had had a hard couple of games. Instead of preparing to take him off midway through the game, if he tired we played a formation of various 1's and 4's and whilst reports claim we should have had a penalty and eventual sub Gray had a great header saved we remained fairly ineffective.
Pards tinkering last season disrupted the team, unnecessarily and just when we started to have a settled team now, he changes one position which is looking to form the head of the spine.
I am not too keen on these tactical formations that seem to be defensively orientated when we are playing the lower teams. Preston, even Watford you can understand a 4-5-1 formation, not quite sure about a 4-4-1-1, but against Doncaster or Notts Forest Both newly promoted, it feels like we are waving the white flag to promotion already. We have to be bold and assertive against the lower teams at their places, not live in fear of defeat.
I still beleive that Pards is the man to lead us, but his inconsistency and constant tinkering worry me, at least this season he does not have such a big squad to play with.
Last season our ultimate demise was in part due to Pards tinkering with the team, Varney finally started to play well and was relegated to the bench, what that did to his confidence only he knows. Today Gray, top scorer this season,a man in form, a scorer on Tuesday was put on to the bench. Why? Because he had had a hard couple of games. Instead of preparing to take him off midway through the game, if he tired we played a formation of various 1's and 4's and whilst reports claim we should have had a penalty and eventual sub Gray had a great header saved we remained fairly ineffective.
Pards tinkering last season disrupted the team, unnecessarily and just when we started to have a settled team now, he changes one position which is looking to form the head of the spine.
I am not too keen on these tactical formations that seem to be defensively orientated when we are playing the lower teams. Preston, even Watford you can understand a 4-5-1 formation, not quite sure about a 4-4-1-1, but against Doncaster or Notts Forest Both newly promoted, it feels like we are waving the white flag to promotion already. We have to be bold and assertive against the lower teams at their places, not live in fear of defeat.
I still beleive that Pards is the man to lead us, but his inconsistency and constant tinkering worry me, at least this season he does not have such a big squad to play with.
Friday, 19 September 2008
A week is a long time in banking
The financial markets have been in turmoil over the last few days, Lehmans down, HBOS bought, possibly 40,000 jobs to go just from the HBOS / Lloyds deal, in some areas football too is in turmoil, no where worse than newcastle where Mike Ashley continues to own the Club and he will continue to do so as long as his asking price is double what interested parties are willing to pay, this despite his apparent "best interests of the club at heart" announcement. He was due to meet Dubia investors last week, heard they were only interested in paying £200 million so spent the afternoon sipping cocktails with Dennis Wise.
Dave Whelan of Wigan, a major competitior of Ashley in the commercial world has thrown his oar in mentioning that Ashley is a Spurs fans, that must have gone down well with the faithful. Maybe Ashley is holding out for some DICS who maybe interested in Liverpol at the moment in what must be the most protracted takeover in football. With people like Ashley around you cannot but feel pleased to have Murray, Chappell and Waggot around, even if waggot is a converted geordie!
The turmoil in the finance world has already hit us, much of the close season fire sale is down to funds not being raised as expected. £5 million was the figure bandied about. I am sure there are other clubs out there that are going to suffer much worse than we are, running on major debts, which investors will have to cover before they even start to build clubs. Of course the big clubs seem to be able to continue, although Liverpool have put their ground plans on hold, partly because of the politics of the Americans but also the difficulty of funding the project, no doubt if the oil DICs takeover then it will be back on track. Its the small clubs that will really suffer and anything outside the Premier League these days is a smaller club, even benefactors will be short on the ground (including Bernie Ecclestone) as their own fortunes and businesses get squeezed in the coming months.
Guests at The Valley
Last week at the Valley we had two guests, Dennis Wise, wisely staying away from St James's Park running the rule over a Wolves player and presumably not running the rule over a young Charlton player, then in the West stand Andrew Murray was suppossed to be there with his coach an Addick. Murray is not to everybodies liking, but if he was a footballer then we would admire him as a tough determined central midfielder.
News comes over from the richest Club in the world - QPR, in case you were not aware - although it could be Man City this week, for the visit of the mighty Derby County to their quaint, traditional, delapidated ground in Shepherds Bush they are looking for £40 a seat, one assumes for the privilege to watch the ugliest manager in football muster his troops you will also get from the shortest owner in football a free grand prix ticket.
Forest Away
Tomorrow we go to Nottingham for our first game against Forest since the debacle of the FA Cup in the relegation season, Pards has been saying how dissapointed he was with the team at the time and it revealed to him our weaknesses despite a mini resurrection, notably against West Ham. My recollection of the City Ground goes back to promotion under Lennie Lawrence and our first midweek away fixture in the old 1st Division, soundly beaten 4-0, I still remember how Peter Shirtliff stood out as an outstanding quality defender despite the scoreline. My other thought was why had I bought a ticket to Old Trafford for the following Saturday. I should not have doubted though, we won, our only moden day victory against Man U, Mark Stuart (a player with ability far out stripping that of Rob Lee but without the commitment and determination to develop further than Plymouth, Rochdale, Bradford City and Charlton Masters) scored and Ron Atkinson was sacked a few days later. has anyone ever worked out the number of managers who have been sacked following a defeat by Charlton, it feels like many.
How the fortunes of Charlton and Forest have ebbed and flowed since, at that historic cup match two divisions seperated the clubs and now they are on par, each probably at their natural level in the modern game.
Tomorrows referee is Karl Evans from Greater Manchester, tomorrow is his first Cahmpionship match of the season, in the games he has officiated in so far this season at lower levels (4) he has given 12 yellows and a red. In his second season as a referee, he has only ever officiated in one Championship game, so hopefully has not picked up the habit of giving soft decisions against us. He does not appear to have endeared himself to one Bradford City Blogger at the end of last season. If the standard of refereeing he has display at Bradford is anything to go by then I can see him climbing to the top of the tree in the Championship, so poor are the referees we have had this season. Wolves deservedly beat us last week, but the referee made their job so much easier for them with the incidents surrounding the penalty.
And Finally
As we enjoy our weekend, spare a thought for those out there who face unemployment and uncertainty over the coming months, some will quickly pick up new positions, others won't and the fear, there are no guarantees of final salary or redundancy payments for some whose lives are being turnhed upside down at the moment, so as we jump up and down for our team remember its just a game. Having spent much of the last 24 months scrabbling around for a settled job that seems to be culminating in me taking a recent employer to tribunal, coming close to not paying the mortgage and having to work away from home monday to fridays, I have every sympathy for those affected by recent events and wish them well.
Dave Whelan of Wigan, a major competitior of Ashley in the commercial world has thrown his oar in mentioning that Ashley is a Spurs fans, that must have gone down well with the faithful. Maybe Ashley is holding out for some DICS who maybe interested in Liverpol at the moment in what must be the most protracted takeover in football. With people like Ashley around you cannot but feel pleased to have Murray, Chappell and Waggot around, even if waggot is a converted geordie!
The turmoil in the finance world has already hit us, much of the close season fire sale is down to funds not being raised as expected. £5 million was the figure bandied about. I am sure there are other clubs out there that are going to suffer much worse than we are, running on major debts, which investors will have to cover before they even start to build clubs. Of course the big clubs seem to be able to continue, although Liverpool have put their ground plans on hold, partly because of the politics of the Americans but also the difficulty of funding the project, no doubt if the oil DICs takeover then it will be back on track. Its the small clubs that will really suffer and anything outside the Premier League these days is a smaller club, even benefactors will be short on the ground (including Bernie Ecclestone) as their own fortunes and businesses get squeezed in the coming months.
Guests at The Valley
Last week at the Valley we had two guests, Dennis Wise, wisely staying away from St James's Park running the rule over a Wolves player and presumably not running the rule over a young Charlton player, then in the West stand Andrew Murray was suppossed to be there with his coach an Addick. Murray is not to everybodies liking, but if he was a footballer then we would admire him as a tough determined central midfielder.
News comes over from the richest Club in the world - QPR, in case you were not aware - although it could be Man City this week, for the visit of the mighty Derby County to their quaint, traditional, delapidated ground in Shepherds Bush they are looking for £40 a seat, one assumes for the privilege to watch the ugliest manager in football muster his troops you will also get from the shortest owner in football a free grand prix ticket.
Forest Away
Tomorrow we go to Nottingham for our first game against Forest since the debacle of the FA Cup in the relegation season, Pards has been saying how dissapointed he was with the team at the time and it revealed to him our weaknesses despite a mini resurrection, notably against West Ham. My recollection of the City Ground goes back to promotion under Lennie Lawrence and our first midweek away fixture in the old 1st Division, soundly beaten 4-0, I still remember how Peter Shirtliff stood out as an outstanding quality defender despite the scoreline. My other thought was why had I bought a ticket to Old Trafford for the following Saturday. I should not have doubted though, we won, our only moden day victory against Man U, Mark Stuart (a player with ability far out stripping that of Rob Lee but without the commitment and determination to develop further than Plymouth, Rochdale, Bradford City and Charlton Masters) scored and Ron Atkinson was sacked a few days later. has anyone ever worked out the number of managers who have been sacked following a defeat by Charlton, it feels like many.
How the fortunes of Charlton and Forest have ebbed and flowed since, at that historic cup match two divisions seperated the clubs and now they are on par, each probably at their natural level in the modern game.
Tomorrows referee is Karl Evans from Greater Manchester, tomorrow is his first Cahmpionship match of the season, in the games he has officiated in so far this season at lower levels (4) he has given 12 yellows and a red. In his second season as a referee, he has only ever officiated in one Championship game, so hopefully has not picked up the habit of giving soft decisions against us. He does not appear to have endeared himself to one Bradford City Blogger at the end of last season. If the standard of refereeing he has display at Bradford is anything to go by then I can see him climbing to the top of the tree in the Championship, so poor are the referees we have had this season. Wolves deservedly beat us last week, but the referee made their job so much easier for them with the incidents surrounding the penalty.
And Finally
As we enjoy our weekend, spare a thought for those out there who face unemployment and uncertainty over the coming months, some will quickly pick up new positions, others won't and the fear, there are no guarantees of final salary or redundancy payments for some whose lives are being turnhed upside down at the moment, so as we jump up and down for our team remember its just a game. Having spent much of the last 24 months scrabbling around for a settled job that seems to be culminating in me taking a recent employer to tribunal, coming close to not paying the mortgage and having to work away from home monday to fridays, I have every sympathy for those affected by recent events and wish them well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)