Reading between the lines.

A point lost. There can be little claim that Charlton deserved a win yesterday, and when Reading broke up the other end and finished with great aplomb, a win became two goals and therefore impossible to achieve. A point though was attainable and if we had shown some of the confidence Danny Williams possessed it could have been so different.

As usual the final ball lacked not just quality but substance. Charlton attacked time and time again during the first half but struggled with too familiar predictability to find any killer instinct or threatening edge when approaching the Reading area. This was all a far cry from the euphoria of Tuesday night and the trip to Elland Road.

At Leeds, admittedly like Forest a club in turmoil and free fall, Charlton gained an encouraging three points due to first, a sublime first goal for the club from Dave (Iranian Reza Ghoochannejhad), no doubt in the process ruining the club's goal of the season event as a competition in one foul swoop, and then secondly the spirit lifting penalty save from Ben Hamer at the death. Hamer would once again perform heroics as he spectacularly saved a Reading shot in the first half whilst still level, yet Reza found his reward for Tuesday as a place on the bench. Any real chance of carrying the winning momentum forward from Leeds was always going to come to an abrupt halt upon discovery of our sole attacking threat being Simon Church. The chances of him scoring against his former club mirrored my own at picking the winner in The Grand National.

When Reza did get his opportunity from the bench he snatched at his chances and showed little of the composure on display at Leeds. His fellow substitutes showed little more, Obika looking a shadow of the player we saw last time around and as for Manchester United's Davide Petrucci, you have to ask yourself why we would at this late stage of a season take on board somebody who looks out of his depth and far from match ready. It was his mistake which led to the fateful Reading break, an unfortunate assist although he cannot be blamed for them going on to actually put the ball in the net. We can see the team are tired from their twice weekly routine, but surely the squad is big enough to not warrant such mediocre loan signings? Andy Hughes, Mark Gower? Where are they when they could do the job. Even Danny Hollands down at Portsmouth has as much to offer at the moment as young Petrucci.

Back at The Bunch of Grapes we concluded that  José Riga must have already decided which games he can get the required number of points from and will attack those while aiming for damage limitation in the others. It was obvious that the game at Derby County, a place Millwall saw success whilst we were at Sheffield, was not seen as a point hauling match, the same applies for yesterday even though for periods you'd be hard pushed to tell whether it was Reading or Charlton in sixth or twenty first. This is a dangerous game to play with possibly catastrophic consequences, helped less still by Millwall and Yeovil picking up unlikely victories once again to keep the pressure on.

There has been plenty of discussion on how Riga's points total fares against Powell's and I don't intend to keep harping back to 'the good old days' but I'd be more inspired by this head coach if I believed he set out to win every game. Deep down I don't suppose we'll see him next season, I think he may well only be here for the short term to maneuver this particular ship of Duchâtelet's onto the owners preferred course before setting sail next season with a more permanent member of his admiralty at the helm. Riga I believe could be seen as Roland's troubleshooter and will move from ship to ship deploying lifeboats as he sees fit.

With no disrespect to Yeovil, never would I have conceived such a fixture as we have this coming Tuesday could be viewed with nervous apprehension. I can only assume (and pray) Riga sees this match as a point gaining exercise otherwise as I leave for the Lake District on Friday it won't be for the week of relaxation I envisaged but another week of stress, disbelief and upset.

I'll pack a life jacket.

Only Charlton could park the bus on a double yellow

It could have been a great day for football. The new look Charlton, full of fresh faces and tongue twisting names headed north to Wigan in an effort to kick start our season whilst I, stuck down south, had a choice of either Sutton United or Horley Town to visit thus quenching my thirst for some non league football.

Torrential rain last night soon put paid to any hopes I entertained for some live action, not for the first time this year meaning radio commentary from the DW Stadium would have to suffice; three minutes in I was almost convinced I'd had the best decision made for me.

It was an exciting and brave looking starting eleven, if not expected or conformist. Diego Poyet made a well earned debut alongside keeper Yohann Thuram-Ulien, full back Loïc Négo and striker Reza Ghoochannejhad. It would be none of these that would grab the headlines mind, more so a certain striker that I believe scored his first goal in thirteen outings today, Marvin Sodall.

I'm not his biggest fan as you know, but I was as happy as anybody when he put the Addicks in front right at the start of the match.Skipper Johnnie Jackson split the defence open and put through Sodall who coolly finished to give the travelling supporters fresh hope after the huge disappointment of transfer deadline day.

Moments later Rhoys Wiggins' afternoon came to an abrupt end after a collision so another youngster, Harry Lennon was called upon to play a large part of the game.

Charlton had a great chance to double their lead when Reza Ghoochannejhad's volley hit the crossbar. The Iranian pleasing club shop staff and parents alike by choosing to have his Christian name above the number eight on the back of his shirt.

We know all about nail biting closing moments at Charlton, but does any other club drag that anxiety out for over twenty minutes with such regularity? Never good at defending a single goal lead Charlton 'parked the bus' very early in the second half, bolstered by two defensive substitutions from Chris Powell and then tried tried to soak up unbelievable pressure from the home side. The chronic strain on our goal was always going to reap reward but it happened twice in the last two minutes to snatch a rather deserved bounty from the visitors. Firstly as they followed our lead and carved through our defence, then shortly afterwards showing the need for a free kick specialist as they converted the direct set play.

Those in attendance blamed the tactics and the substitutions, those listening on the radio did the same. It's not as if it's the first time Powell has been chastised for his poor use of the bench. Now I'm still right behind our manager, I still believe he's got what it takes to pull us out of this grievous position and save our season, but then I'm biased and I feel like I know the man as a close friend.

It begs the question, if it wasn't Powell, or more chiefly a Charlton legend at the helm would we be so understanding and so patient? Certainly if it was someone of Alan Pardew's ilk, we'd be stood outside The Valley with placards by now demanding the board address the situation before we finally sink without trace. How does our Roland view Chris Powell? Not with the same love and loyalty as sixteen odd thousand supporters, that's for certain. He'd definately be aware of the history, but he won't know Powell like we do, to Roland Chris Powell may just appear as a better dressed version of Iain Dowie. Add that we've heard the deep respect doesn't seem to flow the other way either and the term 'pressure cooker' springs to mind.

The Belgian may have seen some cup success but he's witnessed three out of three league defeats since acquiring the business. Next Saturday's visit of Birmingham may be vital to the club for more than one reason, providing of course that our pitch is somewhere near playable. Has anyone thought to look at it over the past two weeks?

On the bright side, every week something somewhere in the footballing world never fails to put a smile on our despondent faces. As Russell Howard would say, it's not all doom and gloom. Today, making his Barnsley debut, Emmanuel Frimpong lasted just thirty minutes before picking up his second yellow and getting his marching orders. I don't think I've enjoyed a footballers misfortune so much since the days of Tomas Brolin.

Kermorgant pictured this afternoon in his Bournemouth shirt, a disastrous two minutes in Wigan, I said a week ago that dark days lay ahead, I didn't expect two of them to come in such quick succession.

Euphoria to Despair

Forty eight hours of happiness, then it's back to the gloom. A cup victory followed by an encouraging fifth round  draw has soon been forgotten as league form and club politics have once again hit the headlines.

Last night's trip to fellow relegation threatened Doncaster Rovers proved to be more of a washout than the first meeting of the clubs at The Valley late last year. This time however Doncaster's three goals all counted and it wasn't a sign for the referee to bring proceedings to a premature halt.

An uninspired performance, after the first goal Charlton rolled over and conceded defeat and now, nearly twenty four hours later you get the feeling the club have done the same off the pitch as well as on it.

At the final whistle Yann Kermorgant waved and clapped the visiting supporters with more than a hint of finality about it, today it seems certain a reported half million deal has been agreed with AFC Bournemouth. The Frenchman is certainly knocking on, he isn't a twenty goal a season forward and on the face of it it's not a wholly bad piece of business; if we had strength to replace him. These kind of deals could cost a lot more than five hundred thousand in the long run; what price can you put on relegation? The other interesting fact is that it appears this is the doing of  Roland Duchâtelet and not the wishes of the player or even Chris Powell who appears to have been told of the news as Kermorgant boarded the coast bound train.

How much influence does our new owner have with player selection? It now seems he decides who goes as well as who arrives. Anıl Koç is a young player who has arrived this week from Standard Liege, Duchâtelet's flagship team. A youngster, Powell admits his six months here will be spent in the under 21's; useful to our relegation avoidance plan then. Today we signed on a three and a half year deal Loïc Négo, a full back from Hungarian side Újpest; another European member of Duchâtelet's footballing empire. No matter how good this lad may be, the circumstances surrounding his arrival could possibly tarnish his time here.

Simeon Jackson's name has been banded around with the usual carefree January transfer rumours but I'm expecting a more likely announcement to be that of Reza Ghoochannejhad joining the club. Also a striker but this lad has the advantage of his registration being held by a certain Standard Liege. Remember how we all pointed our fingers at Watford as they became the Udinese reserve team?

We are also aware of Dale Stephens probable departure, Brighton seem very keen and there are suggestions Michael Morrison could also be attracting serious admirers; Celtic are known to have been watching him. Roland has probably already got a replacement or two lined up and will inform Chris Powell just as their plane is touching down on our green and pleasant land.

When Duchâtelet first arrived it is known that Powell put new contracts very high up the agenda,  followed closely by a playable pitch. The first point seems to have been somewhat overlooked, the second addressed too late to save the Barnsley game and fortunately for us we've just had to host the one cup match since. 

You just have to wonder how long the gaffer will sit there and take it. On the other hand, you have to wonder after last night's debacle how long a Belgian football club owner famed for his turn over of managers will also sit there and take it. Either way we have to brace ourselves, I foresee darker days lay ahead.