Who are you! Who are you?

Well its done, for the time being talk of takeover  is kicked into touch and we can focus on the action on the pitch.

For some the fly in the ointment is who exactly now owns us, because it does not appear as if Jiminez and Slater do.  Addicks Championship Diary covers these two in detail.  A number of addicks fans have had the takeover euphoria dampened by the lack of knowledge of who the people are who have invested their hard earned sheckles into the club, but you have to counter this with the fact that we are now solvent the ever on going threat of administration is gone for the foreseeable future and that the management of the club continues to be overseen at least by the existing management in Murray and Kavanagh, plus fans favourite Peter "Reg" Varney, who has effectively steered this bus in to the end of its journey.

Now the hard work begins for the new management and for the fans.  We need to give them time to settle be clear about what they want to do and then implement it. In time we may see this as a fantastic move, alternatively it may just be a stay of execution, but that is for future judgement.  The immediate as ever is what concerns us the fans.

It has been implied that January will see new funds made available to Parkie and they will be considering his requirements.  This is a big make or break time for Parkie, he will be relieved that Murray is at the helm,or at least close to it, as he has always retained his support.  However he needs to be very careful about his recruitment plans not just who he brings in but how that effects the current squad.  One of Parkies successes has been to forge a strong team spirit - the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Bringing players in on higher wages when some of the current squad took drops in wages will cause problems, so there is a delicate tight rope to walk. 

Suddenly we no longer have to shop for players in Aldi and whilst Harrods may still remain a dream, Sainsbury's does appear to be an option.  Jimminez may give us contacts that Parkie does not have as we bring players in from clubs above us as oppossed to the likes of benson from below.

Jimminez maybe the clue to our ownership, as it was during the Zabeel purchase that he left Newcastle to broker the deal between them and Charlton.  Zabeel were notably uncomfortable with the publicity surrounding their bid, so it would not be surprising if they were behind this having hidden their identity behind a swiss based company.

A word of praise for Richard Murray who could have allowed us to go into administration but has fought hard   to retain our solvency.  On balance Murrays tenure has been temendous for Charlotn, sadly marred by the last few years, since he politely showed Curbs the door.  He has paid heavily for the subsequent mistakes but I hope that this will sweeten the bitter pill.

Here is to a successful New Year!

  

A cruel December

We thought after a strong November that the gelling of the squad was complete and the platform for promotion had ben built, but the curse of the Manager of the Month award, the winter weather and poor form has seen us drop out of the JPT Trophy and fail to match a result from the previous season.

So we finish the year one point down on where we were agaisnt the similar opposition last season in a league that is distinctly ordinary compared to last season with a better balanced side but reduced quality.

January is going to be a critical month, the next two games generated just one point last season, so there is a chance to catch up.  Swindon was the notorious game where we had two players sent off but Llerra came in with a last minute equaliser, one of those games that can be pointed to as points lost that would have put us into the automatics, we were so dominant before the second sending off.

As I talk rumours are that the takeover will be complete today and that will herald a new era for the club, whether it will herald new players time will only tell.  I would like to see a strong central midfielder to come in, someone with Championship experience if not Premiership, a midfield Christian Dailly, a striker.  I'd be happy to see Llerra or Fortune to be released or even both of them and a new player brought in.

For those of you old enough to remember, we need someone to come in who will galvanise our promotion campaign as did Jim Melrose all thsoe years ago in the mid '80's.

Happy New Year

readers and may 2011 be a return to championship fortunes for the Addicks 



 

Lets see in five years

If everything has gone to plan then the 24th will be the end of Rchard Murray's ownership and literally the baton will be passed on to new owners.  The only thing near to a guarantee is that not every body will be happy on the fans side of the fence.

I am amazed that there has not been a sniff of who is behind Peter "Reg " Varney.  Sightings of Dennis Wise at the Valley maybe a clue, although it may have just been a youth player being mistaken.

I was speaking to a fellow supporter this morning who wanted it to be anyone but Wise and this led to a brief chat and a realisation that whoever is the new custodian of our  obsession, they won't be good enough and that we cannot judge them on reputation alone  but on their actions and those actions over a reasonable period of time.

Takeovers are notorious for ending in tears, I was at Hillsborough when an American was hailed as their saviour only a few years ago and of course they barely avoided a winding up order before Miljan Mandic came in to buy them on the cheap, another club he has beem assoicated with are Portsmouth, which he sold on only for Rednap and the new succession of owners bankrupted them and there is Chelsea where bates sold on to Abramovich in a friendly sale only now to take every opportunity to slate the current ownership, take note Richard Murray.

Richard Murray has done everything possible within the context of our recent past to make Charlton saleable in a reasonable condition and kept us out of administration.  This is so different from  his early Charlton involvement when he was raising money not to save the club but to fund the flames and momentum of success.  Success to establish the valley, once Richard Alwen had got us there,  success of winning the playoff final and success of returning to the Premier and staying there for so long.  The last few years it has simply been a success to stay afloat.

Whoever is in charge tomorrow has big shoes to fill and there will be accusations of "lack of investment in the team", but we will now have business men running the club with their wallet and not their heart, unless they are charlton, accusations that they are not true charlton, accusations that they are foreign and do not understand the game (reference Sam Allardyce), accusations that they are British / local and don't have enough money and accusations that they are Dennis Wise / Peter Risdale.

Whoever Santa brings us on Christmas Eve we cannot judge their worth to the club for maybe years to come because its not what they do this week, its what they do in the coming years the stability, order and success that will count.

One final point, Santa brought us a present on Christmas Eve before and we applauded and thought our dreams had come true.  That present had a smile like a cheshire cat and by the time we were able to look back on his legacy our club was broke, in more ways than one.  This time Santa we are looking for a present that may not match our Christmas list like before but has longevity and lasting quality that will do what it says on the tin.

The irony for two managers

Its Charlton managers day today.  Former player and manager Pardew takes the reigns from Toon favourite Chris Houghton and now manages a club with true potential, but will he be able to reverse decades of under achievement? 

Meanwhile, away from the spotlight of the Premiership, beavering away is Phil Parkinson, who after Charltons 4-0 home hammering by Brighton, galvanised the team to produce an almost flawless November and he has picked up the Manager of the Monthly award.  Well done to Johnny Jackson who has won Player of the Month.

The irony of course is that as Pardew has failed, Parkinson has shown progress and built the fans confidence in his ability to deliver Championship football next season.

Parkie has had a difficult couple of years and the fact that he has survived in the Valley hot seat is almost a miracle and can be put down to Richard Murray, our outgoing Owner and Chair, who has seen someting in Parkinson that at times few others have.

Pardew left a side, after a 5-2 home defeat, disjointed, demoralised, over paid,un balanced and seemingly on course for relegation.  Parkinson failed to save the club and to this day this is held against, but performances improved and foundations laid for the first season in the third division,which eventually resulted in a failed play off campaign.

Over time Parkie has rebuilt the playing foundations of the club and his sort term reward is November Manager of the month.  Hopefully the curse of MOTM will not strike this time and we can say in a week that we continue to be present at the top of the table and are still in the FA and Johnstone paint trophy.

It is ironic that on this day Pardew is made manager of Newcastle, after failure at both Charlton and Southampton, the man that cleared up his mess at Charlton is honoured.  Of course, at Southampton on the surface with a 10 point deduction, just missing out on the play offs was not a bad performance, but taking into account the deduction Saints would still have finished below us with significantly more investment and I am sure every Geordie will be ecstatic that Pardew knows how to win the Johnstone Paint Trophy.

Well done Parkie and hats off to the power of the Pardew bullshit!!

Drinking During the Game: Alan Pardew - you've got to hand it to him

Drinking During the Game: Alan Pardew - you've got to hand it to him

In the pink for Christmas

This season's goalkeeper kits will (finally) be available in the Superstore from 10am on Sunday, mail order from next week. Shirts 39.99 adults and £29.99 kids.

I'll have five says Robbie

I'm not sure who is going to wear it, but I look forward to seeing them at the Southampton game on the 26th.

A message to the Toon!

Charlton fan here so I talk from experience. Unlike you when we were linked with Pardew we thought he was the messiah, however he was anything but. His previous chairman described him as a disease in the club (West ham) but he was Icelandic and loooked funny so we ignored him. He'd just been 4 minutes from winning the FA Cup and we sympathised as he had two world class players (Tevez and Maschirano) foisted on him. He talked the good talk, we would survive but if we did not he gave us a profile of the types of players he would bring in. We ignored the rumours of him and non footballing players issues!!

He was not the messiah and he was worse than a naughty boy. The players he brought were opposite to the profile he had suggested and were gambles, young untried from the lower leagues or foreign reserves. Luke Varney is the only one who has made his way back to the peak of foorball and it has taken him a long time, no instant solution. Who has heard of our big signings then Moutakill, McCleod, Youga, Semedo and Racon. The first was finally released in the summer not having been picked for most of his three year career and has yet to find a club, the 2nd the same and has a contract with the mighty Barnet, Youga has potential but has only shown it for 1/2 a season and is now long term injured (not pardews fault) and the last two are spearheading our promotion drive from DIVISION 3. All these players were paid over the odds, on salaries that have subsequently crippled us. So his transfer policy was awful. He readily admits to a policy of buying a quantity of players and expecting most of them to fail.

Don't expect him to admit he has been wrong, he won't its the players fault, the fans fault (Don't ever clap a returning player when he is introduced before the match), he may even blame it on the seating arrangements at the ground (I kid you not)the boards fault, never his and when you get round to sacking him because he has run your club into the ground (starting a season with 3 centre backs and a plethora of midfielder) he will have written into his contract a massive payoff to be paid within a month to compensate him for his incompetence (We had to sell Varney to pay for it). We made mistakes having already made the mistake of employing him, I hope you don't. My final word is I hope he tries to tap up Andy Carolls girlfriend, 'cause I would love to see him take on Duncan Fergusons clone child.

Assuming Pardew does go through you will have had him and Dowie in your ranks the architects of our demise, you should have gone for Curbs, dour and boring he would still have done a great job for you.

Good Luck
(First posted on BBC 606)