Nothing to see here

It's nice to know, it's nice to know you're here, now go home. Or words to that effect. We could have saved you the trouble, not to mention the money, and called this off yesterday but we thought we'd get a pitch inspection at one o'clock and inconveniently put you all out. You'll understand won't you?

Needless to say this wasn't the club's official statement. So far all we've really heard is an unconvincing 'sorry to those who made the journey to SE7', and Chris Powell stating that the 'pitch must be addressed'. As my wife so frequently says to me, 'no shit Sherlock'. Barnsley, both club and supporters, are fuming. Quite rightly so. Roland Duchâtelet wouldn't do wrong if he, having had a farcical first 'match', offered to compensate the Barnsley supporters by contributing to coach travel for the rearranged fixture.

On Thursday the club website said there were no fears ahead of the weekend's game. The dome was in place, the pitch was supposedly drying out. Gazza dries out more efficiently.

We were the only professional club to suffer. There were a small handful of level six matches to fall foul, Conference North and South, but nothing other than us above that. To say it's laughable is polite, to say it's embarrassing is accurate, to say it's a sham is truthful. If a game can't be played it can't be played, to call it off two hours before kick off is ridiculous.

Sitting in the Rose Of Denmark I heard stories relaying how the referee bounced the ball on the pitch and it just sunk. Surely it would have done the same at nine o'clock this morning, if not nine o'clock last night. Why did we have to wait until one? Could the match official have not arrived earlier and saved hundreds of people a wasted journey and some hard earned money? He, don't forget, is working, we are giving up our recreation time. I know for a fact that the club could have had a local official check the pitch yesterday and forewarn the club and the match referee.

We can laugh at Crystal Palace and Jason Puncheon's atrocious penalty miss today but they will always have the last laugh when we can't even stage a game. Could this all result in a fine? Will the midweek cup game go ahead? Could we even get docked points in the long run if things don't improve?

I'm angry, I want to defend the club but I'm so frustrated. I took my father-in-law along today to what would have been his first visit to The Valley. Instead we sat in the pub and watched Sheffield Wednesday pick up a six nil victory. That really helped. We could have gone and watched my local club Horley Town play their level nine Combined Counties League match on a pitch which in comparison to the Championship resembles a meadow. They don't have a dome, or for that matter a full time groundsman but their game went ahead.

There was a saving grace, we spent the afternoon in the pub and enjoyed a few ales with fellow bloggers Marco and Rod which believe me was a wonderful afternoon in itself. As Charlton fans we always seem to find the best in any situation.

And so we sit here listening to the pundits on the radio laughing and mocking us. The Football League Show are guaranteed to give us more than twenty seconds tonight as Claridge and co rip apart our flesh and pick at the carcass.

If only Charlton Athletic could give us faithful supporters some decent ammunition to defend ourselves...

Up And Running

All around the world people were today celebrating the start of the English football season. The FA, in conjunction with Sky, had chosen today to unleash their money making new Premier League campaign on a football hungry public willing to spend their budget on expensive TV packages and lucrative match day tickets.

I had a customer this morning in the bike shop who jubilantly remarked that football is finally back. Staggered, I casually mentioned that the real stuff started two weeks ago, he was completely oblivious. He honestly had no idea, where this chap had been hiding I really don't know, but for a fifty-odd year old man (and apparently staunch Chelsea supporter) to not know the lower divisions had already kicked off, and have no clue which division Charlton played in, I realised the brain washing of the Premier League machine was taking hold. How can someone who claims to "love his football" be so blinkered? I was, to coin a phrase, bloody angry. His motorcycle duly failed it's MOT.

Do these people think exciting football can only happen if multimillionaire footballers take to the pitch? Just look at Reading and Watford today. An end to end 3-3 draw that could easily have been 6-6, Watford did indeed find the net six times only the week before. What about the action at Oakwell today? A home team two goals up, then a spirited fightback sees the visitors claim a point. And this a fixture that saw a 6-0 away win only last season. Yes, I do have a lot of arguments with modern football, but for all the issues with TV companies, club chairman, the FA and like, supporters with their heads in the sand probably wind me up the most.

So Charlton then. Sordell was dropped, shame, Jackson was injured, and we started with a 4-3-3 formation. At half time we were a goal down, ten minutes later it was two. All the comments of  'a long hard season ahead' were fluttering around inside my head. Three played, nil points, both ourselves and Millwall were in danger of going to the fancy dress party as Denmark's Eurovision entry, propping up the entire division. Three played, and beaten by three teams that I really don't believe are good enough for a top half of the table finish, one or two of which could even find life a little harder than that. And then I hear on the radio that there are club's in the Conference that have plenty more in their bank accounts than us. It's looking like it's all over for us already, and according to the media the season is only forty five minutes old!

Football, whether top flight or not, is an intriguing game though, and fortunes can turn on their head in a matter of moments. It only takes a goal. Young midfielder Jordan Cousins was given his debut as a half time substitute, along with Leon Cort, by Chris Powell. He went on to emulate Rickie Lambert's England midweek showing by marking the occasion with a goal. Momentum was with us and eight minutes later Simon Church doubled our tally with his first league goal of the season.

A point grasped from the hands of defeat, it almost feels like we won. Our first point on the board, a little confidence instilled in the team and the impetus now to address the home performance before the visit of Doncaster Rovers next week, cue hundreds of Addicks falling back in love with their football team.

How many of you didn't even realise this type of thing happened up and down the country week in week out to real working class folk? Football is much more than a Super Sunday.

Let that be a lesson to you.

If you should ever feel an urge to pull on a Crystal Palace shirt be warned, Charlton will find out and will come to get you! Seriously though, poor old Barnsley had to don the Palace away kit on the demands of the match officials last week, and as if that wasn't embarrassing enough, they then had to endure Charlton's biggest win in forty one years the following week. How they must hate South London.

They did perhaps deserve it mind, remember those rotten Tykes did come down to SE7 in October for our 'carnival' atmosphere of 'football for a fiver' (a Charlton idea to entice a new generation of supporter to The Valley) and play us off the park ruining what would undoubtedly be some poor young lads first ever experience of Charlton Athletic.

Barnsley 0 Charlton 6 (six). It hasn't sunk in yet, I'm not convinced it ever will. Barnsley received a couple of red cards late on but don't let this influence your opinion of the result in any way. The first goal came after four minutes, the second after nineteen. This had all the hallmarks of the type of job Bolton should have done on us a couple of weeks ago. The difference was we didn't sit back content with what we had. No sir, we smelt blood and were going to give out a long overdue thrashing! Even bringing on Salim Kerkar didn't quash our appetite, the lad scoring with, I believe, his first touch.

It's great acclaim to the squad that all six goals are credited with different names. The full list is
Pritchard 4, Jackson 19, Kermorgant 48, Harriott 59, Kerkar 80, Fuller 90. Two strikers and four midfielders. It's the goals of the midfield that have perhaps put us in such a strong position now for the season finale, the captain's more than anybody. At the start of the campaign we really wondered if Johnnie Jackson had enough quality to make it at this level, now nearing the end there is no doubt whatsoever that his eleven goals have been pivotal in not only survival but the reality of a top half finish.

A certain Andy Lopata, a name many Addicks will know, made a very valid point on twitter today. We are witnessing our best form of the season and it coincides with the return of a certain Andy Hughes to the side. During our successful title campaign in League One last season our best form came with Andy at the heart of the midfield. If I'm correct his contract ends this summer. He may be 35 now but surely he deserves the offer of another year?

Back in the 60's scoring six goals in a game wasn't so rare. A 6-6 draw with Middlesbrough in October 1960, then two months later a pair of matches against Plymouth Argyle both ending 6-4, one to us and one to them. You have to go back to the 30's though to remember Charlton scoring six in successive games. To match that would mean a rout at Cardiff on Tuesday evening which would completely spoil a party. A draw against us will be enough to finally see the Bluebirds (yes, i know but I'm old fashioned) back in the top flight and alongside Swansea too. I wonder how many suits and businessmen north of the border in Glasgow will be spitting feathers in their jealousy?

I'm left with just one puzzle from today though. How on earth are the BBC going to fit six goals and two red cards into ten seconds of highlights on the Football League Show?

Oh well, it's their problem, I'll concern myself with another glass of this bubbly! Same old Charlton, taking the p**s..................

All great managers go to Elland back

Sitting high up in the stands with a panoramic view of the playing field it's easy to cast an overall opinion of how the game's panning out for both the team and the individuals. We can tell if someones performance is under par, if their link up play and distribution is missing something in its execution, or if their legs look like they're made out of lead. It's easy to tell when to bring someone off and make either that tactical switch to break down the opposition or the like for like to save somebody's afternoon from plummeting further into a personal nightmare. Isn't it?

Chris Powell has come under some criticism of late for both his tactics and his substitutions. Perhaps it's a little harder when you're stood in the technical area and fifteen to twenty thousand people are hoping you can see what they can, all few hundred different versions of it. It may even be a little harder when you're reportedly unhappy with the way your new bosses choose to run things. In knowing too many wrong decisions could ultimately cost you your job, these easy like for like decisions with twenty five minutes to play and a winger puffing like a chain smoker climbing a mountain, take a moment or two longer to debate before taking the plunge and informing the fourth official.

Once injury has wreaked havoc on your squad some options will answer themselves but how do you really know where to play someone out of position? Centre halves as emergency strikers due to an aerial prowess is a good old fashioned recipe, and nowadays more and more players are coming through with an ability to use both feet allowing the option of changing flanks, sometimes swapping back and forth during the game. Steve Brown could of course play anywhere. An old fashioned footballer that would give 110% whether in the heart of the midfield or in goal, Chris Powell would find life comfortable with eleven clones of Browny.

Since Chris assembled HIS squad last summer (his first don't forget) things have been decidedly rosy. Following on from Alan Curbishley, the last of the great Charlton managers, Powell has won silverware in the form of a league title and in doing so strengthened his claim as a Charlton legend. And this is in his first full season in charge! Tough times were always ahead of him though, it was just a matter of when. It's how he deals with those tough times that will really make or break him and consign him to being a good rather than great manager. These periods of struggle and resolve will come back time and time to taunt and tease him should he have a long and fruitful career in management, so what better place to learn your trade and be able to experiment than the comfort and relative safety of somewhere you can truly call home.

After what was a criminally poor performance at home to Barnsley we saw something different and drastic up at Leeds on Tuesday evening. Having been criticized by some for an almost pessimistic 4-5-1 at the weekend you may have expected to see a more regular 4-4-2 at Elland Road. Well i'll take my hat off to any man who predicted the 4-1-4-1 formation Powell started with.

Chris Solly went back to his usual berth on the right giving the always overlooked Cedric Evina a start at left back. Evina probably thought this day would never come around. Lawrie Wilson was able to push up on the right to a position he was always very comfortable in with Stevenage, and as his confidence grows by the game he could be tough to displace.

Again injury was to dictate as Dale Stephens pulled up with a tight hamstring during the warm up. Yet another injury headache for the gaffer who would be forgiven for starting to suspect a conspiracy. Bradley Pritchard would have to partner 'a still returning from injury' Jackson in the middle.

Rob Hulse (i had almost forgotten we'd signed him) started, back at one of his old haunts, ahead of Wright-Phillips in the lone striker role, one in which he's probably the most suited of all the strikers at the club anyway.

Behind him though, rather than a five man midfield with an attacking option playing 'in the hole', we had a flat four and defensive cover in the shape of Dorian Dervite behind them. My only view of the Frenchman had been pre season at Crawley where he played a regular centre back role and to his credit played it well. His start at Leeds was a true shock rewarded not only with commendation but also with a full debut goal.
If it wasn't for the Leeds stopper, Paddy Kenny, Charlton would have come away with all three points as time and time again he denied the Addicks who finished the game most definitely wearing their shooting boots. What a complete turn around from Saturday.

Chris Powell showed he certainly isn't going to shirk responsibility and sit back and watch the squad he has built fall apart at the seams in a lackluster attempt at survival.
On his appointment many said it a brave move to risk going back to where you have a great reputation and risk losing it should things not work out. Chris Powell rubbished that at the time, if you worry about failing you'll achieve nothing.

Tuesday was a masterstroke, who could possibly sit in the stands and doubt a man that can pull something like that out of his very stylish cap?

I knew getting up was a mistake

It would appear yesterday that i wasn't the only one struggling to put in a match winning performance. There were times during the morning when my attendance as part of the bumper crowd was in jeopardy, for i was on the road to recovery after a nasty stomach bug that had reduced me to a shivering wreck and bed bound for thirty six hours.

A nice little Charlton win was surely the perfect medicine? In honesty, i nearly turned straight back around at London Bridge and perhaps i should have. The performance on the pitch just added to my discomfort, whilst the half time pie for the best bit of three quid did it's best to completely set me back by a day or two (what was going to line my stomach for a post match pint now?).

Sorry to upset anyone who's job involves the planning of a family day out, but i'm not one for razzmatazz. Cheerleaders, goal music, opera singers, i'm only there for the football so my arrival inside the ground was nicely planned for five to three. The club obviously tried to give all the strangers value for money for their five pounds but even if i'd felt 100% i don't think i'd have gotten too carried away with it. A bumper crowd it may have been, but a large crowd lacking in atmosphere has got to be worse for the team than a small one generating plenty of support.

We started as we did at Blackpool playing with one up front. Even with five in the middle Barnsley had the better of the early stages and at times played the ball around us like it was a demonstration match. I was waiting for the ole's from the good spirited travelling support. Stephens looked like he didn't want to be out there with wayward passes and mistimed challenges while Kerkar didn't seem to have the legs to get through an hour let alone the full ninety minutes.

Don't think i'm picking these two out, we were second best for most of the match, all eleven made a mistake or two, and if Barnsley had shown the killer instinct they did at Birmingham it could have been all over before Gemma Gibbons, the local lass who won a medal in the Olympics, was paraded on the pitch at half time. I didn't see her, i was battling a rubber pie at the time.

Two changes by Chris Powell at the interval saw us start the second forty five in a far more Charlton like 4-4-2. Still we struggled. Barnsley had a little blonde haired lad, David Perkins, who was in the middle of everything. He was playing like he wanted to win, that was the difference. They also had Stephen Dawson, their number seven, who had a solid game with a strong tackle and great ball distribution. On top of this he wore plain black boots, i had total respect for this chap, well until that is he made a meal of a challenge, took forever to go off limping and was sprinting five seconds after coming back into play. Why do all the other 91 league clubs deploy this tactic?

The Barnsley goal was well finished from a very tight angle but Danny Green's mistake let them in. It looked like a slip rather than plain clumsiness but Tomasz Cywka capitalized and finished impeccably.

We had some half chances, a good penalty shout, a six man rugby scrum on the goal line where the ball went close to crossing it but nothing that looked of any real quality. Ricardo Fuller was guilty of one or two step overs too many every time he carried the ball into the box and even when we did manage to gain some kind of forward momentum the referee did his best to stop play and resume it in the opposite direction.
Fuller would make it to the final whistle but certainly was carrying a knock by the end of it. Probably the last thing the gaffer needed.

I'm always short on patience when ill, i'm sorry if this seems negative but i certainly felt negative at the time. These promotions always seem to backfire on us, but on the plus side if there was a future generation of Addick in the crowd yesterday they'll certainly know what they're letting themselves in for, and hopefully how addictive it is!

Leeds away Tuesday, i feel a little more positive when we play away this season but home form is crucial for survival. Time to roll our sleeves up, push on, and take a leaf out of the blonde lads book. Lets at least look like we want to win.
 

Pam Shriver

  

I like Barnsley. I don't think I'm being impertinent by saying they're not one of the biggest names or attractions in the Championship, they had a novelty value during their Premier League adventure but back in the second tier they exist quite contently out of the spotlight. Reminds me in some respects of a certain South London club. Spending the majority of their existence at England's second level of football, a real scare of administration and the possibility of  extinction, they even play in red and white.

If i were a northerner i might just have been a tyke. As a child my parents probably thought i was and more than likely called me one. 

Charlton have once again brought their 'football for a fiver' trick out of hibernation, as they've done frequently of late, to see bums on seats and a full Valley for a fixture that would otherwise struggle to reach the season's average. Barnsley look set to play in front of a far bigger Valley attendance than any other side this season.

It's a scheme that has received wonderful acclaim from other clubs and supporters around the country but how much of a success is it really? It generates great revenue around the ground for local eateries and public houses, not to mention the catering outlets inside The Valley plus an opportunity to sell a replica shirt or two in the Nike superstore. Let's not forget the return from the empty seats which must outweigh that lost from ticket sales from those supporters that would have come anyway and paid the full amount.

From a business point of view it's a great pitch, but how do supporters feel about it? I'm always happy to see the ground packed, but if a face I've never seen before sits next to me and starts to complain if we're not four up by half time I'm likely to get irritated.

How many faces, or more appropriately bums, will be back for the next home game? On a day when the BBC price of football survey was released, you can see how expensive top flight football in London is. If men (or women) decide Charlton is the place to bring the kids for a football day out in future then fantastic, and if it only serves to sew a seed in some young children that will go on to remember their first game and be regulars in ten or fifteen years time then that's of equal importance.

I am guilty for expecting a short term increase while in hindsight these promotions quite often aim for a long term solution, perhaps why I'm not at the forefront of cut throat business.

Someone who does have a brain for these type of initiatives is Rick Everitt. Rick had a huge part to play in the 'football for a fiver' idea, he had an immeasurable role in the now defunct fanzine 'Voice of The Valley' and spent fourteen years around the club culminating in his appointment as club development officer.

Rumors had been rife about his departure from the payroll and this week Rick confirmed on the Charlton Life forum that he had indeed been sacked.

I've always been guilty of keeping my head in the sand, hoping that through ignorance everything will turn out rosy without any need for me to worry unnecessarily. I can do this quite easily on all matters from football to finances, health to home life. It's not a good approach to take, I'm certainly not advocating it, but in the case of football Charlton make it a very easy option for us as the new owners do like to keep us in the dark.

Things are definitely chilly behind the scenes at the club, but to at what extent we are unaware. Rick said in his statement the best course of action is to keep getting behind both the team and Chris Powell. That seems like great advice to me.

We've endured an international break that contained more talking points than a women's book club meeting. Charlton youth product Jonjo Shelvey won the first of what we believe will be many England caps, the Polish comically couldn't or wouldn't shut the roof during a downpour on par to Hull's visit to SE7, and in Serbia racism raised it's ugly head during an England under 21 fixture to a level akin to 1970's Britain.

Thank goodness that's all over, lets get behind the team on Saturday as Rick suggested, all twenty odd thousand of us.

Four better for worse.

This weekend i dusted down the whistle and made the trip oop north for a wedding. I do enjoy a good wedding and the opportunity to put the best threads on and this was certainly no exception.

Tim, the groom is a childhood friend of Heidi's and yesterday it was his turn to jump the broomstick.
After leaving school he headed north for further education and never came back, much like his brothers before him. Heidi was always going to be there for the big day and although we headed up there a little worried only knowing a half dozen people between us, we left knowing a fair few more as is always the way.

We stayed at the hotel which was to host the reception, The Marriott Victoria & Albert, a five star place just up the road from Old Trafford. We drove up on the Friday so spent two nights, all paid for with Tesco clubcard vouchers. What a great feeling that was handing over these vouchers when faced with a three hundred quid bill!

Once we had found the room and unpacked, i decided a boozer and a curry house were on the agenda. Manchester's curry mile is world famous and my lamb bhuna certainly lived up to all expectations as did some of the local ale.
Manchester is a beautiful friendly city from my experience, yet according to Heidi this didn't deter me from entering full cockney mode. It seems that when I'm far from home i have a safety blanket that comes out! The London accent gets stronger and my use of rhyming slang is far more evident.
Well, you need to let these Mancunians know who's boss don't you!

Saturday and the day of the wedding. After pigging out on the complimentary fry up and having far more than i needed we sat in the bar for a quick pint before the off. We had to set the sat nav and the bar seemed by far the most sensible place to do it! Plus a little taster just to get us in the swing of the day ahead you understand. We then departed to Bury, home town of the bride.
The first thing i noticed was Gigg Lane, not quite as impressive as Old Trafford! We saw the ground driving around Bury whilst the sat nav refused to admit it was lost. The normally polite lady seemed to change her tone as i refused to take the third exit off a non existent roundabout. She also seemed insistent i drove through a pedestrianised part of the town centre!

We did eventually find the small church, parking in a cobbled side road. This was a real Coronation Street type experience which made me chuckle and helped make my trip up north complete.

I was on best behaviour throughout the weekend. The biggest achievement was not getting drunk, just a little merry, whilst nearly as impressive as that was my restraint in the church. Not once did i look at my phone to check the score during the service.

On return to the hotel we were all ushered in the bar for a glass of wine whilst some photos took place by the grand entrance. The bar just so happened to have a large screen showing sky sports news. Myself and another lad stopped dead in our tracks to check how our respective sides were doing as the second half was underway by now. I was by far and away the happier of the two as we were four up and his Barnsley side were on the receiving end of a hammering.

If Charlton are going to put four past a team (and save a penalty) you can guarantee I'm not going to be anywhere near the ground. I've been racking my brains all day and I'm sure Southampton opening day all those years ago is the last time I've seen us put a hatful past a side.

As the beers went down Barnsley cheered up a bit and turned out (along with his fiancee) to be great company, another side's results to keep half an eye out for. We agreed about many footballing issues but agreed to disagree on a certain Neil Redfearn!

The wedding reception went well and gave me many a laugh. The father of the bride speech went on and on, drifting totally off subject at one point as he started complaining about his energy bills. These northern folk can't half talk. It's just such a shame the best man couldn't. He sobbed and stumbled his way through a handful of words before giving up. We were so sympathetic on the outside yet hysterical inside. I was reminded of James Corden's character Smithy and his best man speech in Gavin & Stacey.

As if this wasn't a good enough memory to cling to from the day, the food came out and our lamb and vegetables lay on a bed of mushy peas. As a Sarf Landan boy, i felt very privileged to be treated to this delicacy and scoffed it down.

We had the traditional wedding band playing all the old favourites, but they got better and more adventurous as the evening progressed and did a wonderful cover of Pulp's Common People. The singer/bassist seemed in my slightly inebriated condition to be far too good to be playing these type of gigs.
The night was rounded off a treat when trays of bacon sarnies came out. A lovely touch that went down a treat, something to soak the beer up before retiring for the evening. I'd lost track of Barnsley a few drinks before this. I think he'd already left so i had his as well. I'm sure he'd of approved.

Today we drove past Old Trafford on our way home an hour and a half before kick off of the Manchester derby. We had already seen a fair few United supporters in the hotel who had flown in the day before for the big match all of whom had a big smile on their face. How the whole place seemed to be buzzing! I felt a little disappointed i wasn't going what with being so close, but drive past we did. On arrival home i couldn't believe my eyes as i looked up the score. How i would have liked to have seen those same faces this evening.

A good weekend then both for myself, the happy couple and all those with a love of Charlton Athletic. A great response to the defeat at Stevenage, i personally am glad to see young Chris Solly back in the starting eleven. I've only seen a handful of minutes highlights but it sounds like he had a great game as did our other full back Rhoys Wiggins. Add to that two goals for Yann the man, a beautiful finish from BWP and some comical keeping to help Danny Hollands shot from distance find the net. Hamer's penalty stop and a hard working performance from Andy Hughes in the middle in the park and it's of no surprise that every Addick woke up with a smile from ear to ear this morning.

Things are really looking good, so ladies and gentlemen would you please raise your glasses.................