Yeovil highlighted

Usual please. Words I uttered to the chap in the off license as I bought my Polish lager for the train journey and words which embodied my hopes for the evening's footballing entertainment ahead of me; the now traditional one nil Tuesday night victory would suit me fine. As I sank deeper into the lager on a train which dragged its heels stopping at every outpost from Croydon to London Bridge, my nerves were starting to be replaced by frustration as kick off loomed closer. It would be skittish at best watching the edgy six pointer, but the not knowing what was happening as I waited for a connection would certainly chip away at me resolve. There was nothing for it, I was going to have to, more than once, hold onto my hat and break into a jog.

I ventured through the turnstile just a couple of minutes into the game, little did I know then that the sprint across platforms at London Bridge would be so worthwhile. Our goal was scored in the ninth minute, I'd have missed it. One nil with eighty to go, the usual and with plenty of time to spare.

It would appear a complete lottery as to who José Riga picks to start up front. Reza scored at Leeds then was dropped for Reading. Church was up front for Reading then absent last night. My guess is hat number one contains formations whilst hat number two accommodates the names, Riga then asks a couple of ball boys to pick at random. Last night it was formation 'two up front' and players Reza and Sodall. No bonus ball.

Charlton commenced battle against a Yeovil side whose kit was far more dazzling than their silky touch on the ball, and backed by a good few hundred that had made the midweek trip from Somerset. Possibly the most important game for both sides so far this season, it certainly started with a flourish. Astrit Ajdarević became the second member of 'the Duchâtelet six' to open his account with us as a superb strike from well outside the area beat everybody and surprised us all with the early goal. We just needed to hang on in there and show the visitors why we have such an impressive  'goals against' column next to our name. With Lawrie Wilson missing, Solly of course long term, it fell to Michael Morrison to play in the right back berth and allowing Wood to come into the middle to partner Dervite. Perhaps this accounted in some way for the shambolic defending that would ensue. Two minutes later Yeovil played the ball out of their area and passed it effortlessly up to our own culminating with the ball nestling in the back of the net. The most telling pass of the lot split the defence open on our right hand side between Morrison and his centre half...

The first half continued in much the same vein. We attacked without danger, so did Yeovil, but our defence made it appear more threatening. A half time beer was needed, this football lark wasn't at all as relaxing a pastime as some people would have you believe. We needed to sharpen up at the back if we were to hold onto this point, Yeovil were in the habit of two goals a game and we weren't due another one until Saturday at the earliest. Our surprise then, whilst releasing the pint we'd just supped was more bewilderment as the roof came off with whoops and cheers. We raced up the stairs (this running lark was becoming habitual) to discover Dorian Dervite had headed home from a corner. Did it matter I'd missed a goal? Not at all as, especially for the latecomers, Sodall of all people added a third two minutes later to send us into dreamland. A deft flick from Poyet released Reza down the right, his cross was parried by the keeper and Sodall was quickest to the rebound. In fact our Marvin would treat us to the best performance of his spell here, tricking his way past defenders. 'Same old Sordell, taking the p**s' sang I!

A fourth goal would have really killed them off but it wasn't to come, instead we dithered and reverted to suicidal defending to give Yeovil a lifeline with a gift of a goal. There was still fifteen nail biting minutes to go. It was all too much for one steward who endured the wrath of one Yeovil player as he kicked the ball away from him. This along with five substitutions (including a welcome return for Leon Cort) resulted in five agonizing minutes of stoppage time. When the referee finally called a halt to proceedings the relief was staggering, it felt like safety was assured but of course it isn't. For Yeovil though I think that could be that.

Two songs from the Covered End were poignant last night. Diego Poyet had another man of the match performance, he proved once again that he's head and shoulders above everyone else on the park and this on his nineteenth birthday too. Finally he was rewarded with a song, 'he's better than Gus' although we soon changed that to 'he's better than us'. The other song that echoed around The Valley hailed the management of José Riga. Now to upset the 'move on' brigade but I still refuse to verbally parade a man who I not only believe to be an interim manager, but who also encapsulates the Duchâtelet theory of maneuvering the club away from independence and into the 'fold'.

Don't misjudge my loyalty. I was immensely proud of the team last night and delighted with the win. There was plenty of Charlton spirit on show from the players. However a club tie and a few wins does not instill that spirit into a man in just a calendar month. We may well go on to survive to play Championship football again next season, although there's still plenty of hard work on the pitch to be done, but in the long run there remains a far bigger and graver danger which ultimately could test that spirit in each and every one of us.

One happy Addick

I may well be the only Charlton supporter to have come away from a match this weekend with a smile across my face. It's been an infuriating few days for the Addicks without doubt.

After a poor match against Ipswich last weekend, Chris Powell's side had two important away matches, against sides with varying fortunes yet neither a formality.

On Tuesday Simon Church returned to his former club Reading with a hope (as former players do) of haunting their previous employers and showing the home supporters exactly what they're missing. The Royals needn't have worried, he evidently left his scoring boots at home as did the rest of the squad. In Church's defence, he did have a seemingly good shout for a penalty turned down after being brought to ground minutes before the hosts scored up the other end.

It proved to be too little, Charlton rallied and pressured for the last twenty minutes or so as they consistently seem to, yet the final penetration (again regularly) eluded them. Reading's unbeaten home form remained intact even though they failed to impress, a similar scenario to QPR. These relegated sides from the Premier League either don't seem capable or don't deem it necessary to produce anything more than the bare minimum required to see off their visitors from SE7.

So after the win against Doncaster, Charlton once again found themselves just above the drop zone and facing what was a pre-Christmas six pointer at Huish Park. Yeovil Town would be going into this match in the form of their lives beating both Watford and Blackpool in their last two outings; what back in July would have seemed a certain three points was now looking a formidable task. If our goal shy strike force were to forget those boots again we would certainly require some assistance from the ranks behind them.

Fortunately for Charlton our midfield had been briefed. Cameron Stewart, a future Premier League starlet, wasn't afraid to run at his opponent and scored our first goal in just over four hours of football with a spectacular effort having collected the ball in his own half. Skipper Johnnie Jackson made it two just before the interval settling Charlton hearts down to an unorthodox relaxed pace. I caught news of this at a clubhouse bar many miles from the West Country but my half time pint slipped down much the easier for it.

The second half had a crazy five minute spell when Charlton snatched our content and expansive temperaments back, screwed them up, jumped up and down on them before tossing them into Armitage Shanks and flushing. Yeovil of course had a part to play but, seriously, how could you do this to us Charlton?

A Yeovil ball into the box, seemingly harmless, caught Michael Morrison on the arm and the centre half beat his own goalkeeper. This was unfortunate, Andy Hughes bullying their player off the ball and conceding a penalty four minutes later was just careless. A 2-0 lead wiped away in an instant but worse was still to come. Johnnie Jackson lunged into a tackle in the middle of the park and, having watched it three or four times now, deservedly received a straight red. From being comfortable and in control Charlton had managed to gift the home side a point and had to cling on by their fingernails in the final minutes as to not lose the one they still possessed.

The immediate future doesn't look too good for Chris Powell, high flying Derby visit next and they really do seem to be the divisions on form club at the moment. When you genuinely need a break of some sort, the fixture list always has a habit of 'putting the boot in'.

So why was I still smiling at five o'clock Saturday afternoon. Well I'd decided to catch some level nine football and joined about thirty other hardened folk to watch Horley Town entertain Mole Valley SCR in the Combined Counties League. Horley, my local side find themselves in a similar precarious position in their division as Charlton do in theirs; three points equally as vital for The Clarets as they were for The Addicks.

Mole Valley SCR come from Cobham but originate from Carshalton, the SCR standing for Sutton Common Road. In Carshalton they were known simply as SCR followed by the name Plough or Grapes depending on which public house was sponsoring them. When they started playing Saturday football it changed to simply SCR for they wanted to lose the pub team identity. Yesterday they took to the pitch in a rather fetching pink and purple number which was set off by the pleasing admission of any sponsors name. Unfortunately for them though it gave them a park team look.

Horley, under the caretaker leadership of club legend Anthony Jupp, were soon behind, the visitors running through a sleepy home rear guard in the second minute to score. Ten minutes into the match and Horley led 2-1, their number 10 showing great composure as twice he slotted he ball home; I felt a goal fest was on the cards as I hugged my Bovril.

Horley battled well, their work rate was superb, but tempers started to flair as the game progressed. With every Town attack, the Mole Valley manager took a step nearer an early grave. As animated and vocal as any boss I've ever witnessed we cruelly 'joked' about running a book as to which minute he'd suffer a coronary.

Horley eventually ran out 3-2 winners although they missed a couple of real chances to put the game to bed late on. It was however a vast improvement to the performances I'd previously witnessed there this season, unlike Charlton goals are never hard to come by at this level - at either end!

One thing that always cheers me watching Horley is the ability to hear every word uttered on the pitch. As a Horley midfielder was upended upon entering the opposition's half the referee gave the correct decision and awarded a free kick. The lad picking himself up off the ground shouted out to the official "In all honesty ref I think I'd have gone on to score there" as a ripple of laughter echoed not only on the terrace but on the field of play too.

The referee had a good game, his use of the advantage rule led to Horley's third goal and certainly showed up the decision by a certain man in black a week ago at The Valley. Chatting to a chap with a clipboard next to me, I discovered this gent was also a referee and was this young lads mentor making notes on his performance. When was the last time you went to a game and got such an in depth discussion on the match officials performance? I didn't dare admit to this chap what I've told some of those officials to go and do in the past.

So I left The New Defence having seen a team perform when they really needed to, hard graft that paid dividends, wasn't always pretty but was exactly what the boss demanded. It may well be a long hard season for the team but nobody could ask any more from them; and they can proudly tell their colleagues the same on Monday when they return to their day jobs. Whilst they're doing that hopefully Chris Powell is putting his strikers on a regime of shooting practice.

7up

Seven games to go. As much as I've enjoyed this season, i can't wait for it to end now. Everything had been better than we could have dreamed of............... and then we entered March.
All sides have little off spells guaranteed, but why do Charlton always wait until the home straight?Chris Powell knows this all too well from his playing days.

On BBC's (regional) Late Kick Off programme Monday night he showed little sign of worry though. His appearance wasn't just to make new converts to his large fan club, but also to tell all of the south east how this month has been just a minor blip, and how his team have the strength to finish the job.
Mark Bright alongside him was quick to mention how the fifteen point gap has been reduced to eight. I wonder sometimes why Brighty who is so obviously Palace through and through ever signed for Charlton.

It was a refreshing change to watch this very Palace biased programme hardly mention the boys from SE25 at all. I'm sure somebody at Auntie Beeb will have had words and things will return to normal next week.

Since my last post we've seen a great victory against form side Yeovil at The Valley, followed by Saturday's defeat at the hands of promotion rivals Huddersfield. Oh, and a Kent Senior cup defeat to Dartford.
That of course was a Charlton eleven and was therefore an excellent exercise whilst we wait for a much needed reserve league. I'm told Alonso played but I'm not taking it for gospel until i see photos!

Yeovil saw the Charlton debut for Millwall loanee Dany N'Guessan. Seven minutes in, he kept up a tradition of debut goals by scoring from out wide when his cross found the back of the net.
The boss had deemed it time to change things around in an attempt to get back to winning ways.
Matt Taylor who had had a couple of shaky moments of late dropped to the bench allowing Leon Cort to start alongside Michael Morrison. I'd be quite happy to see these two continue for the rest of the run in, Cort has always impressed when I've seen him.

Wright-Phillips and Russell put the game to bed but it was Yann Kermorgant who shone. His involvement in Russell's last minute third was both controlled and stunning. This was a combined effort and a goal of the season contender.

A knock earlier in that game meant the big French striker would miss the trip to the Galpharm in West Yorkshire. Step up Paul Hayes. Recalled from Wycombe Wanderers, the striker had been on a rich vein of form for the Chairboys scoring, i believe, six in six and walked straight into the starting eleven on Saturday.

Not even the most poetic of writers could dress this up as a good clean contest. Tackles flew in, two of which by Antony Kay niggled Powell so much he felt the need to mention it again on Monday night.
Jordan Rhodes added to his impressive goals tally with a penalty on the quarter of an hour. This was conceded by Darel Russell who had, it's fair to say, a far worse game that the Tuesday before. He was sent off for a retaliation after Kay's second appalling tackle (the first on Scott Wagstaff) on the hour. Agreed, a retaliation is a big no no, but this was on a repeat offender who shouldn't have been on the pitch anyway.

That is all water under the bridge. There are twenty one points available and it's not just ourselves who find it hard to cross the finishing line. Leyton Orient come to SE7 Saturday and we'll be keen on revenge after our visit to Brisbane Road on new years eve. We played that one for nearly the whole ninety minutes with ten men when Ben Hamer was sent off for handling outside his area. Never will revenge taste so sweet especially after Sheffield United's hammering of Jonstones Paint Trophy winners Chesterfield tonight, we need three points more than ever.

If we needed an excuse, or even a dedication, for a win then lets do it Saturday for club director Richard Murray. Recovering today from a minor stroke, the former chairman is Charlton through and through. He has done more for our club than I can put into words and we owe it to him to make his full recovery as stress free as possible. It's still ours for the taking.

Come on you reds!

iBelieve

We've all seen the joke, apple's new must have gadget for women, iRon. If I bought an iron for my wife i doubt I'd get a single brownie point, three would be out the question.

Charlton had the Iron Saturday and came back to London with not just a useful point, but with something far more important, an end to a very short losing streak before it became a habit.

The Addicks may have only picked up one point from the last possible nine but they are still nine points clear of the two steel city sides.
Needless to say the negativity around certain sections of the support is up to it's normal level but I'm not getting sucked in. No sir, our destiny is still in our own hands and i believe we've got enough backbone to not only get automatic promotion, but lift the silverware as well. There, I've said it.

Back to Scunthorpe and an early goal for Bradley Wright-Phillips, number twenty for the season, after work on the right from Scott Wagstaff saw the six hundred travelling Londoners put the nightmare of Notts County well and truly behind them.
Scunthorpe however battled on and drew level from the penalty spot halfway through the first half. The Iron are one of those sides you really don't want to be playing at this stage of the season as they are battling for their lives down the bottom.

Another tricky opponent is Yeovil Town, Tuesday's visitors to The Valley. That could go either way, but on our day we could put four or five past them, wouldn't that get things back on track a treat!
They are on a little bit of a roll at the moment and i was surprised to see they had moved up to twelfth in the table, i honestly thought they were in the bottom six. Unbeaten in March they have won four and drawn one, just our luck to meet them now. I'll settle for a 1-0 in retrospect!

Looking at the remaining nine games, there isn't really an easy fixture among them. A lot of the sides are either fighting to survive or pushing for the play offs. Every game now will be the most important one of the season, starting with Tuesday.

It's six months though since any other club has led League One. Charlton aren't going to let that mantle slip away without a fight. Full of this belief, i got around to sending my season ticket application form off this week. I can't think of a better way to spend £240 than on the ups and downs that is Charlton Athletic football club.

Promotion, league titles, relegation, all these things suddenly became very very small yesterday unfortunately with news of Fabrice Muamba suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch for Bolton Wanderers in their cup tie at White Hart Lane.
Needless to say my prayers are, like the rest of the football world, with him and his family. It's a shame it takes something like this to happen for the rest of the world to see all football fans aren't hooligan thugs. I absolutely love supporters of all sides joining together in a footballing family to send their love and prayers, not to mention hearing both sets of fans at games up and down the country singing Fabrice's name.

Get well soon son.

Festive travels

Boxing day and new year. Great days in the football calendar whoever you support. For the Addicks it was a couple of away games and the chance to improve on our already impressive record on the road.

Yeovil on Boxing day was always a blip in the fixture computer. The road was the only option for hardened travellers, but how they were rewarded. Twice coming from behind, Charlton stole the points in injury time thanks to the very deserving Danny Green.
I was spending Christmas in Tunbridge Wells with family in a house that has possibly the worst wi-fi I've ever used. For me even the twitter updates were few and far between.
Unavailable for that one, i knew the next fixture was one i would have to see from home on the bench, Leyton Orient new years eve. At least the start of 2012 would see me available for the first two outings of the year!

Before the trip to East London though, we had transfer rumours appearing from every source regarding Paul Benson. It would appear that in January he will be heading west to Swindon Town in a deal that sees Paulo Di Canio's best buddy Leon Clarke coming our way.
I wish Benno the world of luck at Swindon, he's a real 'heart on the sleeve' player who has done Charlton a great service. He is not though a championship striker and I'm guessing Chris Powell is thinking long term with his efforts to unload the former Dagger.
Leon Clarke is now famous for that bust up. He is experienced though and is certainly on form with his recent displays at Chesterfield, who are of course bottom of the league.
It's still a possibility that Bradley Wright-Phillips could be off to pastures new in January and the gaffer needs to bolster that area just in case, but i doubt many scouts will have the greatest review of our number 10 if based solely on recent outings!

Brisbane Road then and Leyton Orient. I've always had a little soft spot for the Orient going back to the days of John Chiedozie and the 'braces' kit. Living in the shadow of another East London side, I've always had the impression of a hard working club both on and off the pitch.

New years eve 2011 wasn't however going to be one Ben Hamer and Charlton Athletic will want to remember.
I thought with the Huddersfield win that the TV camera jinx was over but Sky had other ideas. I should have known better with so many former Charlton faces on display that someone was going to come back and haunt us! At least it wasn't Mooney!
Kevin Lisbie, Matthew Spring, (both of whom i have great respect for) and the very odd looking Dave Mooney (spit) all started against an addicks side that saw the welcomed return of skipper Johnnie Jackson.

I've poured the first of many beers for the night settled down comfortably and I'm ready for a display of quality football. Five minutes later and the night is in disarray.
Ben Hamer has come charging out his area and made contact with the ball on his chest. It was close to his arm, close enough for the ref to give him a straight red, but it seemed to me to be panic goalkeeping very early on. I expect us to start a little more assured than that.
So John Sullivan got 85 minutes more than he expected, and you had to feel for Scott Wagstaff who made way for him. A rare start nipped very much in the bud.
Sullivan didn't have the best of performances. it's got to be hard to come on after five as i would expect you're not mentally quite prepared for it. Even so, there were a couple of occasions where he seemed to flap a little.

Orient, it's fair to say, dominated the first half. In many respects we could think ourselves lucky to only be one goal behind at the break.
Matthew Spring scored it after a deflection from Matt Talyor leaving Sullivan, off his line, no chance.
The very impressive Jimmy Smith could have made it two later had his effort not be ruled off side. Very harsh, yes, but then so was the sending off!

And that was it really. For the last ten minutes Charlton looked like they may have been able to snatch something from the game but it never materialised. The twelve, sorry, eleven men of Leyton Orient were too much for the ten of Charlton. It's our second defeat of the season (both 0-1 away), and a boost for the Sheffield clubs who have us now back in their sights.

Monday however is another day (and another year) and Brentford at The Valley is the opportunity to send a message out to anyone thinking we've taken our foot off the gas.

Happy new year, come on you reds!!!

Day Tripper

We all know how busy Christmas time is. A hectic twenty four days of planning, shopping and drinking before one day of total excess, not to mention a packed festive season of sport.

Like everybody else, my pre Christmas run-in is no different. A church carol service and nativity, three family birthday parties, a church group Christmas meal, whilst not forgetting the busiest time of year for delivering people's groceries. How i managed to book a day off amongst this for a real 'old school' booze cruise to Calais still baffles me, but book it (and enjoy it) i did.

The P&O ferry was a real bargain price, and surprise, costing only a pony (£25) for a return ticket for the car. Heidi's parents booked the trip and took us along with my sister in law. That's five pound a head, you don't need to buy much beer to save that!
As it turned out the beer was actually cheaper on the boat although wine, (and more importantly) port were stupidly cheap in the supermarkets.
I saved more than my fiver in one swoop with the lack of VAT on a bottle of perfume for the wife. At twenty percent nowadays, that's almost a tenner to put towards some liquid refreshment.

We didn't go just for the beer though. Arriving in France mid morning and not leaving until the evening, we did get to make a day of it, explore the town and enjoy the local cuisine.
By local cuisine, read French steak house chain. Buffalo Grill is as American as you can imagine in all but location and language, but man they serve a beautiful steak. They cater for your ears as well by playing both kinds of music inside. Country AND Western. For all i know, The Good 'Ol Boys may well be the house band!

I'd forgotten how much fun a booze cruise could be and didn't realize that, this day and age, it was still a financially worthwhile option. Looking in the fridge at some gorgeous cheeses and meats though, and I'd happily make this a regular festive event on our calendar.
I did suffer the following day with a stomach upset but i believe that bug was there beforehand and the details of which are not for describing here!

So now we are ready for Christmas. I finished work today, Heidi finished the present wrapping, and the coffee table is full of boxes of chocolate. The only thing missing is a boxing day football ticket.
In fairness, even if it wasn't Yeovil away, I'd still struggle to get away from a large family gathering to attend a game. For me it will have to be Brentford on the second followed by the trip to Craven Cottage.

In between this we do of course have that trip to Leyton Orient on New Years Eve. How wonderful would it be to have six more points on the board before the year ends, especially after the 'dissapointment' of two draws on the spin!
Oldham Athletic's visit to The Valley on the 17th coincided with my boss having the day off to attend one of his Christmas functions, resulting in me having to work all day and missing out on the Rose of Denmark and the CAFC twitter crowds Christmas drink. I'm reliably informed it had it's fair share of casualties!

The game itself won't be remembered for much. In short, the ref was once again awful, Darel Russell scored his first goal for the club and Yann Kermorgant cut his head and played with bandages wrapped around it.
The Frenchmans injury reminded me not of Terry Butcher, like most, but of Stuart Balmer. An almost iconic vision of 'Sweaty' wearing (what i have to admit to being one of my favourites), at Fratton Park, the white green and purple away shirt we wore whilst borrowing the colours of Wimbledon Lawn Tennis club. That was of course in the days before you had to change your shirt if you had the smallest drop of blood on it.

It just leaves me then to bid you all a very merry Christmas and to leave you with a question. Below is a Feyenoord sticker i spotted on the homeward leg in the loo of the ferry. Those decent chaps on twitter have translated it to 'bastions of censorship'. Does anybody know the relevance of this? I'm guessing the supporters feel the club have kept something quiet!

Have a very happy and peaceful Christmas! God bless.

Wy combe away with the points

All through my childhood and teens, Wycombe Wanderers were great rivals of my non league heroes, Sutton United. It stems back to the Chairboys time in the Isthmian League, we were two of the big fish fish in that smallish pond.

Wycombe of course have outgrown the non league pyramid and, along with Yeovil Town, have become one of the real success stories of automatic promotion between the old fourth division and the Gola league. Or GM Vauxhall Conference as it was known when Wycombe won it.

They have become in the past few years a little bit like a lower league West Bromwich Albion, a yo-yo side. True to form, this season is already looking like it's going to be an uphill battle for them to hold on to their League One status. All the makings of a banana skin for the addicks then!

Charlton however took the lead after only six minutes when Yann Kermorgant's spectacular overhead effort bounced back off the upright for Bradley Wright-Phillips to latch on to. No better way to steady the nerves than an early goal.
The striker, who is far superior than his brother if you speak to anyone from SE7, then reached double figures for the season when he found the bottom corner after receiving the perfect pass from Danny Hollands just before the interval.

Charlton wouldn't be Charlton if we didn't make things a tad nervy as the second forty five progressed. Wycombe pulled a goal back just pass the hour when Stuart Beavon netted after Ben Hamer had denied the home side twice in quick succession.

The final whistle was music to the ears of the travelling support as there were a few worrying moments in the latter stages of the game but the Londoners held on to take a very valuable three points on the road. Another tough trip follows on Saturday when we visit the monkey hangers of Hartlepool. Tonight is a great platform to mount that challenge on.

Huddersfield dropped a couple of points at Scunthorpe meaning Charlton are now three points clear at the top and five clear of the blue half of Sheffield in third.
A clear bit of daylight which is very welcome looking at the fixtures we have in November!

Chris Powell has certainly built a team that has bonded well and gelled on the field. I expect the board at Leicester are ruing the day they let him leave, now they've axed Sven Goran Eriksson.

As the twitter hashtag goes.................................#chrissypowellsredandwhitearmy