...'I DON'T BELIEVE IT'...

Another amazing late show from Obika and a less than average Wolves were seen off at the Valley and nineteen thousand odd of us strolled out of the Valley cheerful in the evening sunshine.

The first half was a pretty dull affair, Charlton looking the better of the two sides in possession but neither team looked anything like carving out a goal. I was kind of resigning myself to a bore draw but the bonus of another clean sheet. (Always look on the bright side!)

However in the second half the tempo did seem to liven up a bit.

I'm not all that sure about Gower. If he is with the club next season I think he will divide opinion amongst the Valley faithful. He gave the ball away cheaply with poorly picked passes on more than one occasion but then played in a couple of peachy balls. The guys had virtually no game time this season so perhaps is in need of a pre season somewhere and then some first team football.

Harriot again impressed and switched flanks well in an effort to bamboozle the Wolves full backs. Green did a good job when he came on, and gave us much more attacking emphasis once Pritchard was moved into the centre of the pitch. An area in which without both Jackson and Hughes we looked light.

I think this is an area where we will definitely need to strengthen in the close season.

I'm not quite sure what shocked me more, Obika coming on and yet again nicking a last ditch winner or the amount of added time once the full ninety had been played that was added on.

All things said another great win and three more points chalked up. What a difference a few weeks and decent run of results can make.

Location:Obika late show guarantees addicks safety...

Ever ascending...

I've been far too busy reveling in last Saturdays result, enjoying looking at the league table (first time for a long time), and generally concentrating on talking myself out of talking myself into the fact we could still squeeze into the play off's to post anything here.

Lets be honest there are far too many teams between us and and sixth place for us to sneak it with four games left. However looking at the table it would be almost as monumental an achievement for us to go on a bad run now and enough of the teams below to string a run together for us to go down.

I thought at the start of the season fourth from bottom would do me. Mid Table mediocrity would leave me well pleased, now we have the opportunity to finish in the top ten - if that were to happen i'd be 'over the moon' and would feel that with our manager giving the squad a little tweaking/strengthening in the close season we could really push on next year. (The play off's ain't going to happen - really they're not!)

So onto Cardiff City tonight. What price having your heritage stripped off by your foreign owners - the reward a place in The Premiership?

The 'Dragons' only need one point tonight to ensure promotion to the promised land, having choked so many times over recent seasons I'm sure they will go up. The question is will they have a little blip along the way (ie. tonight) before securing promotion on Saturday? With our record of unpredictable and inspired wins against promotion hopefuls and 'bigger' sides on the road this season anything really is possible. Our players will be a bit more relaxed, which I think is when they are at their best and play with the flowing tempo that they are capable of.

I'm going to plump for a 1-1 draw, the slight blip I expect for Cardiff and the result that will finally dis spell any lingering thoughts i'm having of sneaking sixth spot. But then I've been wrong before.

...theres nothing like a last gasp winner...

I'll start by saying what a great result. Forget the fact the ref seemed aware of a new rule that states you can use your hand aswell as your feet to control the ball constantly that the rest of us weren't, and the fact that despite pretty much bossing the first half- once we went one nil up the deepness with which we played completely let Leeds back into the game. I can completely understand the excellent Fuller needing to come off as he had so obviously ran out of steam. But going one up top was nearly our undoing on this occasion. Thankfully after Leeds equalised Sir Chris decided to go for it, made that one last sub reverting back to a more attacking pressure game and it paid off.

There really is nothing better than a last gasp winner. Once that final whistle goes it's like another has been scored.

One question i wonder is how different this season may have panned out had Hughes not been injured. A real unsung hero. Last season when he came in as cover for our injury ravaged midfield we not only stabilised but went on a great run. Don't get me wrong, Steven Gerrard he ain't, but he is, at this level the type of midfield dynamo that would find a place in most Championship sides.

Yan was heroic, as usual. Besides playing too deep once one nil up I really cant find to much fault with any of the players. (Perhaps with the exception of Pritchard who was good and awful in equal measure).

We are very nearly over the line. Confidence looks to be developing amongst the team again, a shame this didn't happen a month ago or we might just be vying for a play off spot now.

Once we are safe (and I think we will get there) most of this group of players will develop and enjoy a more consistent season next. Callum Harriott will mature into the real deal. Hughes could have his pinnacle season next term, if he stays fit. What we really need to find is someone to partner Yan the Man up top. Fuller, as great as he is, is just a tad past turning up week in weeks out and putting a full shift in. Not his fault, just time.

Last comment. Chris Powell is still learning his trade. His knowledge and enthusiasm will make him as a manager the complete package.

Anyone get the impression i thoroughly enjoyed going through the ringer today?

There really is nothing better than a last second winner.


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SEASON TICKETS, SEASON TICKETS, SEASON TICKETS GRRRRRR...

...The fallout from Saturdays result continues unbounded.  The main points of discussion/argument/antagonistic's are many.

'We're rubbish, why can't we win at home', 'Where is the board...they won't talk to us/keep us informed','Should I renew my season ticket - why should I renew my season ticket to watch this tripe', 'is Powell the right man for the job, why can't he motivate the players anymore' and so it goes on and on and on.

Frankly I find it all a bit bemusing. Okay, unlike most modern football clubs, we were spoilt for the best part of twenty years by having a board who were on the whole genuine supporters of the club (regularly pumping their own money into the club just to keep it on an even keel) and could see that those supporters, the ones who had stuck with it through thick and thin were indeed the lifeblood of the club.  However much of those twenty years, and much of our clubs history to be honest, Charlton were at best a modestly sized club whose media tag 'plucky Charlton' was not undeserved.

Part of the problem,well documented, was the purple patch of seven years that we spent in the Premiership, being well run, plucky and punching above our weight quite often with some success. Curbs left, money, a lot of it, was invested both in trying to push on to the next level within the top flight and then trying to get back to the promised land of The Premiership. We all know what happened next.

For some reason there seem to be a lot of Charlton supporters out there who seem to think we are a big club who based on that seven year purple patch have a divine right to be playing up there with the real big boys and be watching 'total football' week in week out. For me much of my thirty years going to watch Charlton we've generally been looking down and wincing prior to releasing a sigh of relief rather than looking up in anticipation of inevitable great things.

Whether Sir Chris is the right man for the job at this level is certainly debatable, but what other options are there? As far as renewing season tickets is concerned, the supporters of this club - present, past and future will always be around, this current board for better or for worst won't. I've already renewed and purchased  my season ticket and will be back at The Valley in the summer looking forward to another season of potential misery and joy.

Stark reality is that we have two tough games coming up immediately after the international break. If we lose both of those (the first being a dreaded home match) the deficit between us and the bottom three could have been completely surpassed and we could find ourselves right in the thick of it. Alternatively we win both and are on 53 points and effectively based on my own predictions just one more win from guaranteed safety.

Small margins!

One things for sure, there are actually as I type this 57 teams in the NPower League worst off than us!

miiiiiiiiiiiiilwaaaaaallllllll

Please shut up. What an annoying bunch of supporters?

I've not read any blogs or match reports since getting home from todays early kick off. Another capitulation against local rivals.

In the first half, to be fair to us, we looked lively and well up for it. Two glaring problems were again the link up between the midfield and strikers and Danny Haynes complete petrifaction of the immense Shittu. How someone the pace of Danny was always second to any balls put through near to Shittu i don't know. (Actually I do, he was scared of him). When Powell did finally get round to bringing Fuller on for Haynes you could see the difference in that Fuller was not in the least intimidated by the Millwall captain.

Harriott again looked like he could develop into the real deal. Wilson has reverted to being pretty useless and well out of his depth at times.

One of the most annoying things today was the reaction of the Millwall players when they did score. They actually looked like winning this derby meant an awful lot to them. And I think that defines the real difference between the two squads. Millwall kept going and going looking to carve out the win, once we went one nil down it really never looked like we were coming back.

Thoroughly depressing result and performance.

A deserved victory for our nearest rivals.


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Season defining two weeks coming up...

Before I preview tonight's vital away fixture I noticed a bit of surprising news today. Not sure if I was asleep when the promising Ruben Bover rocked up at New York Bulls in the MLS as a new signing to make his full debut a couple of nights ago. Maybe I was but I certainly don't really recall any mention of it from either the club or fellow bloggers. The only reason I even noticed was because I glimpsed someones tweet. Bizarre when we are so think on the ground on the playing side of things.

So onto to what will be, in my opinion, a critical two weeks for the clubs fortunes this season with three potential six pointers coming up. Peterborough have been on a bit of a run of good form over recent games. Over the last six matches they have averaged 1.67 points per game (versus our woeful 0.67). However as we see week in week out in this division, any one team can turn another over if they step up to the plate. Which is something that our boys really need to do tonight.

The problem is that defeat tonight won't see us plummet right into the thick of the relegation dogfight, but it will if results go against us see us head in a downwards direction and be a further knock to what is beginning to look like a team lacking or low in confidence.

I think Powell will opt for a 451 formation that has served well on some of our good away results, not sure who would be up top. Come to think of it i'm not sure whether we'll see Button retain his berth in between the sticks or whether we'll see a none complacent Hamer back in goal and back to his best.

I'm not going to outcome of the game tonight, as it's just too hard to make a judgment call on, I do however expect it to be one of those barmy midweek goal fests.

Madley being the operative word

I thought i'd waved goodbye to refereeing performances like that when i waved a fond farewell to the third division.

People often talk about football matches being lost because one side showed the other too much respect. I think today one major factor in our defeat was the amount of respect, the mincing imbecile of a ref, Madley showed to the mighty visitors.

I was sat in the East Stand for a change today, so could not see quite what happened. To me it looked like Kermo did kick/trip Halford (erstwhile known as that git!) but the way that Git leapt almost somersaulting in the air was truly laughable and extremely unmanly. What made it even more laughable was how this was deemed a dismissible offence in the face of all the Forest players diving, obstructions, body checking and general gamesmanship.

What we still shouldn't lose site of was that it was evident from the get go that the 451 formation was just not going to work against the way Forest had set themselves up.

On the day, if we're honest with ourselves, the Charlton players did have a pretty bad day at the office. What makes it particularly disappointing is that despite recent results (Leicester aside) we've not lost points through bad performances but through a bit of naivety - much of the performances have been pretty good, just not quite enough. Today, to a man, we were dreadful.

Pritchard had his worst game in a Charlton shirt. Stephens (of whom i'm not a fan) was ineffectual. Hamers communication with the defence was often non existent. Although in his defence he did pull off one or two fine saves that helped both keep our negative goal difference down and stop it becoming a really embarrassing score line.

We know this group of players, on their day, can go toe to toe with any team this division, for whatever reason, which i don't know, the players simply did not seem up for it.

Sir Chris has his work cut out between now and the Burnley game (where i will return home to the lower west). Not that Whiggins did anything overly wrong, but i'd like to see the excellent Evina back in the fold, maybe Hughes back in the side and two up top. Haynes and Fuller. I think it's also maybe time we saw Wilson back in for Waggy.

Lastly, i've never ever left The Valley prior to the final whistle. And today I still did not. But to see the many sidling out with a good fifteen minutes to go was not a happy thing to behold. Wheres peoples staying power these days!




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