Review of 2008

As we head into the final couple of days of the year, it's worth looking back on what has been a frankly rubbish year which has seen the club move from a position to return to the Premiership, to rock bottom of the Championship with League One football looking almost guaranteed for next season.

I guess the warning signs were there from day one of the new year when bottom of the league Colchester came to The Valley and took away three points courtesy of a Kevin Lisbie brace. Throwing away stupid points at home was always likely to be our undoing, although we witnessed something of a purple patch in the next three home games with a thumping victory over Blackpool, a hard fought win over promotion chasing Stoke and of course that sweet mid-week win over Palace. Unfortunately, that was to be the last time we would witness a Charlton victory at The Valley until the final game of the season.

Much has been made of Andy Reid's departure in the January transfer window and opinions differ on how much this influenced the rest of our season. From my perspective, whilst our dip in form can not be enitrely attributed to the loss of the Irishman, we have certainly lacked a midfielder with similar skill, influence and direction since he left and one is left wondering if things might have been slightly different had he stayed.

In transfer terms, the new year also saw the arrival of Andy Gray as well as the start of the loan epidemic which seems to have continued since. In no particular order, through The Valley doors before the end of the season came Greg Halford, Sam Sodje, Lee Cook, Leroy Lita and (for a very short while) Scott Sinclair. It's fair to say that none of these players particularly endeared themselves to the Charlton faithful and, with the exception of a couple of Lita goals and some fairly solid performances from Sodje at the back, none of them made the telling contribution to the promotion push we were expecting.

With just three wins altogether after the Palace game until the end of the season, it's fair to say the rest of the season did not go according to plan. Particularly bad memories of that period include throwing away a two goal lead at home against Watford, a woeful defeat to Preston North End, last minute heartache against Wolves and abject performances and losses in the away games I went to at Ipswich and QPR. Our season had limped to a pathetic end, although it at least finished on a high was a resounding win over relegation threatened Coventry City and a goal and fitting send off for Chris Powell.

I remember feeling encouraged by Alan Pardew's programme notes on the final day of the season and, along with our performance that day, I was confident for the season ahead. Pardew talked about how he and the squad had learnt their lessons and that they would be coming better wiser, fitter and better prepared. Still with a season of parachute payments to come, surely nothing could go wrong in our quest to the return to the Premiership. Could it?

Err, yes. The club's financial situation was apparently more precarious than many supporters had imagined and the summer saw the departure of a number of players to lower the wage bill and recoup some of the money spent, much to Pardew's dissatisfaction. On their way out were all the previous season's loan signings, Chris Iwelumo, Paddy McCarthy, Madjid Bougherra and Jerome Thomas (a little later). It's fair to say that Zheng Zhi would also have been on his way had the right offer come in.

More worrying from my perspective, was the fact that Pardew had failed to reinforce where necessary ahead of the new season. Mark Hudson arrived from Palace, but with McCarthy going the other way and Sam Sodje heading back to Reading, we looked drastically short of cover at centre half with Jonathan Fortune the only other recognised centre back. The only other arrivals before the season kicked off were Hameur Bouazza and non-league striker Stuart Fleetwood. No sign of the influential midfielder we seemed to be crying out for.

Nevertheless, the signs appeared encouraging against Swansea City on the opening day of the season with a competent 2-0 win. Pardew looked to rectify the midfield issue with the signing of Nicky Bailey from Southend United and all of a sudden I began to feel som optimism creep back. A 1-0 loss away at Watford (not helped by Kelly Youga's sending off) was followed by a thumping 4-2 victory over Reading in front of the Sky cameras which had most Charlton fans genuinely excited about the season ahead.

That was over four months ago and as we all know, the reality is now very different. I missed the home game against Ipswich so the game against Reading was the last time I saw a Charlton victory. What has gone since has been catastrophic and ultimately leaves us our position in the Championship hanging by a thread. It's hardly worth analysing in depth the sixteen games that have passed since we last notched a vicotry, but heavy defeats to Barnsley and Sheffield United at The Valley stick out most in my mind and there can't have been any doubt that Pardew had to go.

Unfortunately, he has left us with a squad whose confidence has been shot to pieces and whose ability to perform to the standard required in this division has been called into question. Luke Varney and Darren Ambrose have left, with Martin Cranie, Deon Burton, Jay McEveley and Martyn Waghorn all arriving (and Linvoy Primus having been and gome) but as we stand it seems like we're shifting around deck chairs on the Titanic. What's more worrying is that Parkinson is now talking about the reinvigorating effect of bringing in more players in January (more).

So where to from here? For me, Parkinson is not the man to take us forward so it's worrying that he is talking about how he has 'mapped out' with Richard Murray and Steve Waggott how he wants the squad to look. I honestly believe that the squad we currently have is strong enough to compete in this division. Without necessarily challenging for a play-off spot, we should at least be sitting comfortably in mid table. As it stands we are five points adrift from safety at the bottom of the table with little sign of a way back.

Unfortunately it looks like the board has dithered too long and you are left wondering how much better our position might look if we had salvaged more than three points from the twenty four available since Pardew's departure. I understand that Parkinson was the cheapest option and so the board wanted to give him a chance, but I'm afraid the record of assistants stepping into a departed manager's shoes is poor. Ricky Sbragia is the exception that proves the rule, just ask Chris Hutchings and Tony Adams.

If the board are thinking of getting a new man in (and it looks increasingly like they might not be), then they are certainly going to have a job on their hands. With vacancies currently available at Blackpool, Derby and Nottingham Forest, all of whom are in a better position than us, there will be some competition to get their man. Whoever in charge is also going to have some difficulty attracting playing talent to the club, with League One football almost certainly on the cards for next season.

So all things considered, 2008 will go down as an annus horribilis for Charlton fans. What seemed to be such a promising year descended into a farce. I would like to say that things can't get any worse in 2009, but something tells me they just might before they can get any better. However, I can't be down beat before the year has even started. I honestly think the squad we have is good enough to stay in this division, it just needs the correct guidance and the insertion of some sorely missing confidence. Let's hope the new year brings a change in luck for the Addicks. Happy new year everybody ... come on you reds!