Review of recent weeks

Its been a while since I last wrote about my favourite topic. A trip to Florida and the start of a new job have reduced writing time. My last post was scarily prophetic, and yes, I really was there when we were really shit.

Thankfully since that game, aside from the JPT defeat to Southampton, things have certainly picked up. The form reads five wins from the last six, the other being a draw away at Yeovil where we were down to ten men, and battered the Yeovil goal for 45 minutes. The wins haven't always been spectacular, but when going for promotion perhaps more important than 5-1 wins at home, are the battling 2-1 wins away at Stockport when conditions are far from ideal.

As it was a game in the north west, I was there in the uncovered away end on Saturday. The performance wasn't the best, but not once during the game did I see anything other than a Charlton win.

The game started off with a lot of Stockport possession, but they were rather easily contained. The stats at the end of the game showed that Stockport had little goal threat, which is why they lie at the bottom of the league. Charlton could have had more goals but for some wasteful finishing and decent goalkeeping.

Sam Sodje is proving a threat in the oppositions box, and Grant Basey's delivery is perhaps the best we have seen for some time. Defensively, the partnership between Sodje and Dailly is growing stronger all the time, and Youga and Richardson, the first choice full backs have been out for a few weeks now. The midfield has been shuffled around. Nicky Bailey has been back to his best in the middle, and Scott Wagstaff is improving on the left. Semedo is a crucial part of the team, and along with Bailey is providing grit in the midfield. Not many teams will outbattle us with those two in central midfield. Up front Deon Burton is intelligent and strong, and Dave Mooney's runs are pulling defenders around. We appear to have a real goal threat running through the side at the moment, which is a real positive.

Next up is Millwall at home. For more South Easterly based Addicks, this game is very eagerly anticipated. I've never been around for a Millwall game, and not being from SE London, the only Millwall fan I've ever come across is actually a nice guy. Everyone has seen the antics in the past of Millwall fans, and its a shame that some people will miss out on the game in order to ensure the safety of their children.

Millwall currently lie 8th. The last time they were away from the Den, they lost 3-0 to Hartlepool. Same again please.

Hopefully Charlton can continue their good form and make a lot of CAFC fans even happier than they normally would be after a Charlton win.

FA Cup brings nostalgia for a time I wasn't alive

Sometimes, I feel like I’m too young to be a Charlton fan. I can’t compete with the stories of old that others can tell with the authority of being there, and living through them. I wasn’t alive when Charlton left the Valley and I doubt I had even heard of Charlton when we returned in 1992.

Yet, I feel like I would have fitted in quite well with those days. I absolutely love those black and white football photos from the past. Last Christmas, I bought my Dad a book of photos from the Daily Mail and I spent more time on Christmas Day looking through the book than he did. I think it might be because I’m a such a huge fan of football that I want to catch up on all that I’ve missed out on by not being alive.

This week is the FA Cup first round. The last time Charlton played in the first round of the FA Cup was 29 years ago against Harlow Town. The fact that I was born in Harlow is not the only reason why I would have loved to go to that game. Its games like this that supporters of the big big clubs will never experience. Arsenal fans the same age as me in their comfortable seats at the Emirates arching their neck to see a replay of their latest 30 pass goal on the big screen will have no concept of a first round tie against a non league side. Sure, they get to experience things that I haven’t (yet) like Champions League semi-finals and finals, but where would you rather be, standing on a one step terrace at a small ground in a small town, or a huge stadium in Europe watching the best players in the world?

I have seen us play in the Premier League. That was easy. Now its time for the newer Charlton fans to really earn their stripes. I’ll be going to Northwich Victoria on Sunday. Yes, it is one of the closest teams to where I am now, but I don’t think that’s the only reason I’m so looking forward to this game. Now I’ll see for myself what kind of thing older Charlton fans talk about. I’ve heard the stories about lower league mediocrity, cult players and disappointing seasons. Now I’ll get to live them. Until the last couple of seasons I’ve only really experienced success. I’ve seen geniuses like Claus Jensen and Paolo Di Canio. Players that have played for England, like Scott Parker and Darren Bent. Club legends like Chris Powell and Mark Kinsella.

I don’t know if I feel somewhat guilty that I came to Charlton at the beginning of the “glory days”. Maybe its because given that everyone I know are fans of Premier Division clubs, I feel like supporting a club in the lower leagues makes me a superior football fan. Or maybe its because I don’t feel like I properly fit in to the Charlton way. I haven’t seen enough dark times to justify the relative success that I have seen.

Now in 30 years time when Charlton are playing in the European Super League Premier 2, I’ll be able to talk to Charlton fans younger than I, and I’ll say, “I remember when we were shit. We lost against Northwich Victoria in the first round of the cup. You boys don’t know how lucky you are.” Then I can sit back with a smile on my face and think to myself, “now I’ve achieved it – I am a true Charlton supporter”.

Oldham Tomorrow...and er, Rochdale?

Onto Oldham and a key opportunity to get back to winning ways in the league. Hopefully. Following a good 4-1 win in the JPT, a few youngsters must be knocking on the door, but probably only if injuries allow.

We still have a definitive starting 11 in the current system, but unfortunately a few might be missing tomorrow. Semedo will be out again, so Spring will continue in that role which he appears to be acclimatising to. Richardson, who in my opinion has been excellent this year, is less than 50-50 according to Parkinson. Of course, we've heard similar stories this year regarding Nicky Bailey, so it wouldn't be a huge shock if Richardson lined up to take his place at 3pm tomorrow. If not though, it would appear Parky is considering either Solly to come in as a like for like replacement, or shifting Youga across to right back and drafting in Grant Basey, who by all accounts played well against Barnet. Parkinson has hinted at either change, but against Barnet withdrew Solly an hour in, and explained that this was to keep him fresh for Oldham. However, concerns about the aptitude of the Oldham left midfielder in the air seem to have surfaced, and perhaps playing an inexperienced right back who is likely to be giving away inches in height might not be the best thing for his development.

Lloyd Sam may also be out, which would mean Wagstaff coming in for a start. He took his goal extremely well on Tuesday night, and he is certainly a willing runner. Of course his game is still lacking in certain departments, but hopefully he will be able to get into the game fully from the start tomorrow. Sam Sodje will also miss out due to being on international duty. Miguel Llera will come back in, and hopefully prove the doubters wrong after what some have described as the worst performance ever seen in a Charlton shirt against Colchester.

I'll be honest, I don't know that much about Oldham. They have an excellent return of 10 points from the last 12, so must be on a high in terms of confidence, however before that they took just 6 points from a possible 21, so seem to be a side capable of the ridiculous or the sublime. Pawel Abbot appears to be the main goal threat with 4 goals to his name. Hopefully he isn't a 6 foot 4 powerhouse up against Llera. They don't seem to score many, but equally don't concede too many either, so could be a tight game, but hopefully Charlton will have too much quality.

Prediction: Charlton 2-0 Oldham

I will be at Spotland to watch Rochdale vs Barnet. Sounds like Barnet are a decent outfit and Rochdale are doing well this season. If you are really lucky I'll give you a match report of that in the near future. Hopefully we won't have to get too used to League 2 football just yet though.

Johnston's Paint Trophy

I won't be there tonight and unable to listen to the game, but I'm interested to see what line-up we'll have playing tonight.

For me, McLeod is a must to start, along with Solly at right back. Richardson has taken a few knocks, and Solly is a great young prospect. Important that we rest Shelvey, Sam and perhaps Racon for me. Maybe play Bailey in the holding role like he did in the 2nd half of the Leeds game. Don't know who would play on the left then though!

As for the weekend, going back to the Valley is a fair old stretch financially so therefore I will be making the most of a free weekend to take in a couple of games up here. First up on Saturday is likely to be Rochdale v today's JPT opponents Barnet in League Two, and then on the Sunday, I think I will take a trip to Gigg Lane to watch FC United play Stalybridge in the FA Cup! I will be taking a radio to Spotland though, in order to listen to the commentary against Oldham!

Leeds 0 - 0 Charlton

Whisper it quietly, but guess what? Leeds aren’t that good. Alright, it was very very windy, and OK, Leeds were missing a few first teamers, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Leeds seem to be a slightly better than average League One team. They have better players than most and they have a goalscorer in Beckford, but Charlton showed that they are more than a match for the supposed runaway champions.

In fact when it came to playing football, Charlton showed that they are very capable of being champions themselves. At times we were knocking it about with ease and with a little more composure around the penalty area, a win could have been possible at a ground where an away team haven’t left with all three points since Carlisle in January of this year.

The wind was the key factor in the game. For the first half of the first half, Charlton struggled to get in the game. The wind blowing towards the Charlton goal ensured that we were penned in. Leeds decided to play long ball a lot of the time, which meant instead of keeping possession, a lot of their ball went through to Elliot. The long ball worked once, when Beckford went through, but as he showed for the rest of the game, his finishing isn’t all that, and he fired wide. A couple of other occasions Leeds threatened in the first period, but only really from wind assisted set pieces or hoofs, one of which caught out Christian Dailly but luckily Beckford failed to get contact on the cross resulting from Dailly’s missed header. Elliot also made a great save from a Bradley Johnson shot. As the half went on though, Charlton got stronger. Passes started being strung together, and the excellent Frazer Richardson started to foray forwards which Leeds seemed unable to cope with. One such powerful run resulted in a good cross to Shelvey, who saw his header flash across goal and wide. He perhaps could have done better, but the signs were encouraging for the Charlton faithful. Leeds forward Luciano Becchio managed to trip over the ball towards the end of the second half and as hobbled off, Shaquille O’Neal aka Enoch Showunmi limbered up to take his place. Despite being one hell of a physical presence, Showunmi also shares the football skills as well as the frame of Shaquille O’Neal, so when the ball went into his feet, it wasn’t generally long before the Leeds move broke down.

At the end of the first half Charlton were finishing stronger and with the prospect of the wind in our favour in the second half, I for one was certainly confident that Charlton could come away with all three points.

The start of the second half did nothing to diminish that confidence. The wind was still strong, and as such the first half of the second half was similar to the first half of the first. This time though, it was Leeds who were struggling to clear their lines, and Charlton who were pressuring. Parky made the interesting decision to change Racon and Bailey around, with Bailey becoming more holding and Spring slightly more advanced. Racon was certainly effective in that role, especially considering as it was alien to him. Charlton however failed to get away many shots in on goal considering the possession we had. Better decisions from Racon could have seen Ankergren called into action but instead Leeds defenders managed to crowd him out. Our best shots were from distance from Shelvey and Spring. Leeds meanwhile managed to force a save out of Elliot from Shaq and at times had breakaway possession. McLeod was brought on for Shelvey about 15 minutes from the end and he looked dangerous. He, like Racon, managed to wriggle though a few defenders but was unable to get a shot away. His performances showed to me that given more appearances against tiring defenders, I think McLeod could be an excellent weapon. Leeds perhaps finished the game the stronger with Charlton giving away lots of free kicks in dangerous positions, but these were all defended with ease. It must be said that several of these free kicks were given slightly too easily by the referee, but I suppose that’s to be taken as standard at Elland Road.

So the game finished 0-0, and while a point away at Leeds is not to be sniffed at, I left the ground feeling frustrated that it wasn’t all three. Leeds were not particularly good, and whilst the conditions didn’t allow for good football, the good football there was on show was from Charlton.

My man of the match was Frazer Richardson, closely followed by Sam Sodje. Spring was also quite impressive. I wonder if this has anything to do with that these three are ex Leeds players? Dailly is also such a great signing. He brings real leadership to the backline, something that has been missing for the last few years. Youga is unrecognisable from the error prone left back a year ago.

All in all, a good point, but a great sign for the season to come that a few were disappointed that it was only a point. Onwards and upwards – onto Oldham. COYR.

4-4-2 v 4-4-1

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the formation and "plan B". It did occur to me to be a little strange for people to be calling for a backup plan before Colchester when we had a record of 7 wins from 9 games, with the other 2 results being draws. Not only that but against Southampton we had two goals disallowed, and against Norwich we were 2-0 up. We are one of the top scorers in the league and are widely considered (among Charlton fans at least) that we have the best midfield in the league.

Unfortunately, teams managed by Aidy Boothroyd don't allow midfields to get into games. The long ball from the big lumps at the back to the head of the big lumps up top means that the only involvement our 5 midfielders had against Colchester was looking up at the sky. Weaknesses were exposed, especially in the form of Miguel Llera who had a nightmare.

So what of Plan B? I think Parky should have changed the game sooner against Colchester, but then again, its easy to say that when you know what the final score was. When Charlton play to their strengths against average teams, we will beat them. And so far this year, we have beaten teams playing 4-5-1 whereby we have used the midfield, our biggest strength, effectively. Who is to say we had no chance of getting back into the game with a change in player performance rather than system and personnel? We do not have a big squad so changes are hard to make.

The goals that Colchester scored were down to individual errors so the loss cannot solely be put down to formation. When playing 4-4-2 later in the game it did not seem to improve the performance significantly either.

The issue we have is that we do not have a plethora of outstanding strikers. We have Burton, who has performed admirably this season, McLeod, who is short on confidence and difficult to imagine as a regular scorer, Tuna, who is young and inexperienced and also a little lightweight at the moment, and McKenzie, who could be amazing for all we know but until he gets off the treatment table, we won't see him. I do not wish to open the Dickson debate here, but him scoring 3 in 3 for Bristol Rovers makes it difficult to ignore him. He would fit well into a 4-4-2, but it would appear that Parkinson is not too keen. I am happy to trust in Parky for the time being, but every goal that Dickson scores will increase the nagging in the back of the mind.

So what next? Well, Parkinson, maybe a bit lucky in that the next game is Leeds away, so a 4-5-1 is perfectly understandable. Had the game been against Swindon at home, then there may have been more pressure on changing the system. However, we must be wary of overreacting to one negative result. The best teams do not change their system based on one result, instead they ensure that they impose their system to more effect in the next game.

We do need a plan to deal with games not going our way. We do need to see it in games. However, we must be careful to not change for change's sake. We must go into games with what is most likely to win us the game. At present this is in the form of 4-5-1, or more accurately 4-4-1-1. I think that 4-4-2 should be utilised more when we have the chance so that we are more used to playing in that system, so when the game is crying out for 4-4-2, then we have more of a chance using it effectively. However, we should not forget that this season we are in 2nd place due to the success of 4-4-1-1.

Reaction to the news

So after all the speculation for as long as anyone can remember, the prospect of a takeover in the near future has been swept off the table. In true Charlton style, those few with the financial means in their wallet and CAFC in their hearts have again stepped up when the club needs it most.

But perhaps more importantly than the £7 million that has been put into the club, the board has been restructured. There has been a lot of speculation regarding the two main men in Richard Murray and Derek Chappell, and their relationship with one another, and whilst this may be unfair, now that the shuffle has occured, fans may feel more at ease with Murray at the helm on his own. For some reason, fans did not take to Chappell, although this may because his time coincided with a terrible time on the pitch. Murray has made mistakes, but he still has the support of the majority of fans.

The decision making process has been streamlined with fewer bodies having as big a say. Hopefully this will lead to clearer decisions and better communication. Fans have already started to speculate how this restructuring is "clearing the way" for a buy out by Murray and Hatter, but time will tell how true this is. From what has been said in the past, I was of the opinion that Murray no longer felt he had the finances or the energy to continue for too much longer, and was the main reason why the club was up for sale. I don't think that the good start to the season would have revitalised him in a way that he is willing to continue for longer than he originally planned. I think therefore that the £7 million and boardroom shuffle is a short term fix, maybe banking on the club getting promoted this season, and being a more attractive prospect for buyers next season. That the club have said that no players need to be sold certainly backs this up as being the absolute aim this year.

There are other points and questions to be raised, but I will leave that to other bloggers and writers. I am far from being financially minded enough to be able to discuss them in any great detail. What is clear though, is that in the short term at least, this news is very good news, and whilst it isn't the glamourous takover that many were hoping for, we do know that the investors very much have our great club's interests at heart.