Catching Up ...

As Kelvin mentioned in the Wednesday match report, I've been on holiday for the past couple of weeks sampling the insanity of Las Vegas, as well as the somewhat calmer surroundings of the Californian coast, so please excuse me for the lack of updates to the blog. I flew out the day after the Sheffield Wednesday game and was frankly too annoyed to write a report before I left of a match which is best forgotten. I subsequently made a conscious effort not to follow the football whilst I was away for fear of dampening my mood during my time off. Inevitably news of the Palace result reached me however, although I managed to deal with this with the help of about ten pints. I was in a slightly happier place when I heard we got a much needed win over Ipswich, albeit courtesy of an own goal.

Since I got back I've spent a fair amount of time reading and digesting reports and comments on the blogs of these two games, and it hasn't been encouraging reading. Confused team selections and formations, abject performances and surfacing doubts about whether Pardew is the right man for the job seem to be the prevalent themes. For my part, it is difficult to comment having not been at the past two games but the Sheffield Wednesday game alone was enough to raise some serious concerns. I made a conscious effort at the start of the season to take a positive approach to the club this season, but watching Wednesday dance through our defence twice in the space of five minutes was in itself enough to overturn any kind of self enforced optimism.

I think it is fair to say that Pardew realises he walking a tightrope right now. As much as I want to believe he is the man to take us forward, I'm afraid his record to date suggests otherwise. Whilst I don't hold him accountable for our relegation a couple of seasons ago, there were certainly games at the end of the season (draws against Reading and Sheffield United spring to mind) which left you wondering what might have been. Since then his Championship record has been average and his signings have been largely unsuccessful. For me, he talks the talk very well but has not been able to walk the walk. Reading his interviews and programme notes, I always get the impression he has the situation under control and that he has a master plan to take us back to the Premiership. Unfortunately, results have suggested otherwise and I think it is inevitable that questions are now being asked.

Of course, events off the field have taken on greater significance in the past few days. I was back in the country when news broke of the 'indicative offer' from Zabeel Investments. I was slumped on the sofa enjoying a cup of tea when Mark Bright popped up on the sports section of the London news with details of the potential deal. I had to quickly swap the tea for something stronger to try and believe what I was hearing and subsequent reading around this has been fascinating. Like most of the blogs, I am approaching this with cautious optimism. I won't allow myself to get too carried away until everything has been signed, sealed and delivered, and I would be extremely surprised if there was not a complication or two.

In an added twist (particularly for this blog), I read this on the Guardian website today. It seems ridiculous and is a very outside possibility, but Kelvin and I could soon find ourselves supporting clubs owned by the same people. I suggested to him today that this should mean that players are allowed to interchange freely between us and Liverpool. For example, we give them Darren Ambrose and Jon Fortune for the season, they give us Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard. Sounds fair … doesn't it?!

Charlton 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday *sigh*

Football is a 90 minute game. It requires 90 minutes of concentration and at the top level (which includes the Championship), lapses in concentration are generally exposed and momentum can be gained and/or lost in a matter of seconds (or goals).

With Richard away sampling the delights of Las Vegas this week (oh how the other half live hey!! :) – I thought I’d provide the match review for our match against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

A work colleague is a Wednesday fan and his face on Monday morning said it all. He’d expected nothing and came away with an early Christmas present. If I’m honest, I thought this match was a given. I thought that we’d enjoy a victory and thought it would be comprehensive as well. Sadly, I was wrong.

Charlton started the match well and were dominant in significant chunks of the first 45 minutes of play, but as we’ve experienced all too often this season, dominance does not win games. Goals do.

Charlton welcomed back the dred-locked veteran Linvoy Primus who rejoined Charlton from Portsmouth and was making his first appearance for the Addicks in over 15 years and within the first ten minutes, he’d nearly put the Addicks in front with a lovely header. Instead, it was striker Luke Varney who put Charlton in front on 20 minutes. Varney was again in the mixer when he hit the post on 25 minutes, but strike partner Andy Gray was unable to turn the ball into the net from the rebound.

It seemed as though Charlton were cruising to many but as the end of the first half approached in two minutes of madness, Sheffield Wednesday not only equalized, but also took the lead. Wednesday’s first goal came from Wade Small who must have called on divine intervention as the red shirts parted and after seeing off a tackle from Mark Hudson fired home thanks in part to the post that helped guide the ball into the net. Wednesday’s second came two minutes later courtesy of Marcus Tudgay as he danced into the Charlton half and was given FAR FAR too much time before he fired home to put the visitors 2 up on the stroke of half time.

Conceding before half time is a huge blow at the best of times, conceding two goals within the last 5 minutes of the half is just self destruction and if I’m brutally honest, its happened far too much this season. I’m finding it hard to pinpoint the cause, but I do think that something needs to be done at the back, in the middle and up front, because it is just not working. Is rotating the team the right thing to do? I’m not so sure. I think the important thing is getting a team settled to allow them to bed in… the problem however, is that I don’t think Pard’s knows what his best team is. I think he left it too late to get this decided. In my opinion, the first few preseason games are about giving everyone a run around and giving the young lads some experience, but for the last few games, it’s about getting the team to settle down and build a mutual confidence in each other, something which I don’t think our players currently have.

Palace (a), Ipswich (h), Cardiff (a) and Bristol City (h) await in our next 4 matches and unless the team find this mutual confidence, we are going to struggle to get what we deserve from these matches. I’m confident that the team will come good, just hope that the players have this confidence and that they understand that they are a top side in this division and that they should be fighting for promotion.

So a bit of a rallying call…. COME ON BOYS…. YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN THESE GAMES, YOU JUST NEED TO BELIEVE IT AND HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ABILITY!

Fleetwood's off, Fortune's injured, I'm confused

It's always a good idea to check the official website before writing a match preview, something which I forgot to do yesterday when writing the Wednesday preview (admittedly after a couple of beers). What you think you know can be completely turned on it's head by the club's communication department or a few words from Alan.

As it turns out, Primus isn't fit to play, Jon Fortune won't be either for the next six weeks, Martin Cranie will be though, Jose Semedo will probably get a game ahead of Yassin, and Zheng Zhi is still 'feeling his way back' (more).

So what to make of all this? Firstly, it looks as though our lack of cover in central is going to be exposed rather sooner than anybody would have liked. It doesn't really help when you bring in a loan player for cover who isn't fit in the first place. According to Pardew, Linvoy Primus still has 'a long way to go' but has 'an outside chance of being ready for Palace. What?! He is either fit or he isn't fit, and if he isn't then the Palace game is no time to bring him back. It will be interesting to see how Cranie plays at centre half tomorrow (if he does indeed start there ahead of Semedo and Youga). Having stated that this is his preffered position I am hoping for good things.

With regards to the Moutaouakil situation, I'm really not sure what he has to do to get a game. I, along with many others, have been saying for some time that we want to see him play but I don't think I can say anything about this that hasn't been said before. Just play him Pards! One suspects that Pardew indifference to bringing Zheng Zhi back probably has something to do with holding him back for the Palace game.

Stuart Fleetwood's one month loan move to Cheltenham (more) could be taken one of two ways. Either he has joined the 'not as good as we thought' category (Dean Sinclair) or he really is just being given the chance at some first team football in the hope he'll be more ready for the Charlton first XI (Chris Dickson). It looks to be the latter fortunately, with Pardew recognising that he has been scoring freely in the reserves.

So all in all, we're nowhere near where I thought we were less than 24 hours ago. No change there then.

Sheffield Wednesday Preview

It's a return to the Valley after a fortnight away with a visit from Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. Like Charlton, the Owls have endured a mixed start to the season, with wins over Burnley and Watford tempered by heavy losses to Wolves and Reading. They're just a point behind the Addicks in the league and will be looking to build on a solid draw against Ipswich when they come calling at the weekend.

Charlton return home with four points out of six from their travels. I guess this can not be considered a bad return but reading the report from Forest, I can't help but feel this could have been a maximum return had we showed a bit more attacking endeavour. Once again Pardew's tinkering ways came to the fore and Andy Gray was dropped in favour of Grant Basey to provide a more packed midfield. As our top scorer, and having scored in the previous game (against Doncaster), I was surprised that Pardew sacrificed the Scot. Even more surprising was the decision to include Grant Basey in a holding midfield role, when surely Jose Semedo would have been a preferable and more experienced option. Why we lined up so negatively against a team with such a poor defensive record in the first place remains even more baffling.

The game gave more cause for concern with injuries to both Jonathan Fortune and Martin Cranie. Our already limited defensive options look like they are being stretched already and leaves Pardew with some interesting decisions when naming his team for Saturday. Providing that those two remain out of the equation, I expect Yassin Moutaouakil to make the return to right back that many of the Addickted have been craving. That would leave Hudson to try and strike up a partnership in central defence with Linvoy Primus, with Kelly Youga continuing at left back.

I can't see Pardew being so negative as to stick with the 4-1-4-1 formation he deployed against Forest and expect a return to 4-4-2. With that in mind, I imagine he will stick with the quartet of Sam, Holland, Bailey and Bouazza. There is a case for the return of Zheng Zhi and one that I would fully advocate, if only to give Matt Holland a break. But Pardew is clearly happy with the work the senior midfielder has put in so far and I don't think he will be dropped. Ambrose still doesn't seem to be getting a look in with the starting XI and Semedo is likely to see his frustration mount as he watches on from the bench.

With Andy Gray once again partnering Luke Varney up font, I expect us to line up as follows: Weaver; Moutaouakil, Hudson, Primus, Youga; Sam, Bailey, Holland, Bouazza; Gray, Varney. Subs: Elliot, Basey, Semedo, Ambrose, Dickson.

I have a suspicion that is likely to be completely wrong however, as Cranie may be fit to start and Pardew may choose to give Zheng a place on the bench. Last year's home tie against Wednesday was a cracker with the now departed Chris grabbing a brace in a 3-2 victory. I'm not expecting to see a repeat of that but I do hope we can show a bit of the attacking flair that sadly seems to have gone missing after the Reading game. Like the Royals, Wednesday will be playing in blue and white stipes (albeit vertical) so let's hope that jogs a few players memories.

Nottingham Forest Preview

The Charlton roadshow rolls into Nottingham tomorrow for a match against the last of the three promoted sides we have yet to play. Nottingham Forest got a great result to kick off their season, securing a 0-0 draw against a Reading side who had come to the Championship from the opposite direction. However, with the exception of a 3-2 victory over Watford at the City Ground, things have gone pretty much downhill from there. With the opposition second from bottom having only secured 4 points from six games, we really should be looking for a maximum return from this game.

However, this is Charlton we're talking about and our last visit here was a complete catastrophe. The 2-0 loss (to a team two tiers below us at the time) and abject performance aside, perhaps the most humiliating aspect was Talal El Karkouri's repeated foul throws which the Match of the Day team took great delight in repeating and laughing at that Saturday evening. It was a low point in a bad season and Pardew will surely want to make sure some dignity is restored with a solid performance tomorrow.

A 1-0 midweek victory at Doncaster was more than most were expecting and it would be great to add to the away tally before heading back to the Valley next Saturday. A record of three wins and three losses from six games looks to have set the tone for our form this season though and given our record of turning in rubbish performances on the back of impressive ones, it's not surprising that most of the Addickted are being realistic in their expectations for this game.

In terms of team selection, it's difficult to see how Pardew could justify any changes and I fully expect him to start with the same XI that took the field against Wolves and at Doncaster. We are told by the official website (more) that Zheng Zhi is still not fit to play and part, and also that the ludicrous Linvoy Primus situation has taken another twist with the big man returning to the physio bench at Portsmouth for treatment on an injured knee (although not the same knee that was originally injured if that makes things any less farcical). Todorov could be fit to take his place on the bench, presumably at the expense of Chris Dickson, which would be a bit harsh on the latter if you ask me as he has hardly been given an opportunity to show what he can do.

Anyway, this is the team I'm expecting: Weaver; Cranie, Hudson, Fortune, Youga; Sam, Bailey, Holland, Bouazza; Gray, Varney. Subs: Elliot, Semedo, Basey, Ambrose, Dickson.

I was at university in Nottingham and would have loved to have made the trip back tomorrow, but unfortunately I had already made commitments prior to the fixture list being published (I should have known better). The City Ground has a great setting on the river, although I do remember having bottles thrown at me last time I went to a match there as I walked to the ground through the infamous Meadows area. If you're going, watch your heads and enjoy the game.

A Gray Day

I had a rubbish day yesterday and was fully expecting Charlton to compound my misery by failing to get anything out of the game at Doncaster. So I was cheered up no end when the news came through of an improbable 1-0 victory for the Addicks. As I found myself jumping around the front room punching the air, I was reminded just how much Charlton's results can influence my mood. A bad day didn't seem so bad after all courtesy of eleven men in a white shirt. Thanks lads.

The initial euphoria (heightened by a win for Liverpool to keep Kelvin happy) was tempered slightly by reports of the performance. By all accounts we sat back and soaked up way too much pressure, as highlighted by the 14-1 corner count. It sounds like Doncaster played neat and attractive football which we defended resolutely against, without creating anything of note ourselves. However, if nothing else it's pleasing that we a) kept a clean sheet and b) did not let another 1-0 lead slip through our fingers.

After a disappointing game on Saturday, it was good to see Andy Gray get back on the score sheet and also pleaseing that it was Jonathan Fortune, another who was not at his best against Wolves, that provided the ball from a free kick. It was unsurprising to learn from Dave Peeps (more) that it was Mark Hudson and Nicky Bailey who were once again the stand out performers in the team. The importance of these two players is evident, and will be doubly so if one of them should get injured. Let's hope that this result gives the team the confidence they need to play a slightly more expansive game against Forest on Saturday and come away with three more points.

Doncaster Rovers Preview

The first mid-week league fixture of the season and a tricky trip to Doncaster Rovers and their spanking new Keepmoat Stadium. I've hardly had a chance to gather my thoughts from Saturday to be honest, but hopefully the players have and are focused on this game because we need some kind of result here to avoid looking down at the wrong end of the table. Most journalists have written us off for even a place in the play-offs now, so if we are to prove them wrong then we need to start picking up points in games such as this.

Doncaster, like fellow promoted side Swansea, have made a solid start to the season and are sitting one point ahead of the Addicks with wins over Derby and Coventry, and a very respectable 1-0 defeat to Birmingham at the weekend. Sean O'Driscoll seems to have got the measure of this division and I'm sure mid-week games at home are where they will be looking to pick up some crucial points this season.

In his interview after the Wolves game, Pardew recognised the superiority of the opposition but also expressed his disappointment to the players' reaction to the visitors' goal. Throwing away 1-0 leads in successive games is not clever and he'll certainly be looking for better tonight. I really do think that we need to establish a settled starting XI and to that end, whilst I don't agree with the selections he currently has, I would like to see him stick with the same side that turned out on Saturday. However, he said he has "some thinking to do" and I don't think he can resist the urge to make at least one change.

The most obvious candidate to drop to the bench would be Lloyd Sam who did not have a great game against Wolves and could easily make way for Darren Ambrose on the right. Elsewhere, I don't really think that Kelly Youga did enough on Saturday to show that the left back spot is his, so there is a chance Grant Basey could reclaim the spot. The one player I would like to see return, Zheng Zhi, has been ruled out with a bruised foot but I do think he should be restored to the side as soon as possible. Elsewhere, I'm not sure there is a great case for changing things around although Fortune certainly needs to have a decent game if he wants to retain his place, with Primus knocking at the door.

All things considered, I would expect the following team to start this evening: Weaver; Cranie, Hudson, Fortune, Youga; Ambrose, Bailey, Holland, Bouazza; Gray, Varney. Subs: Elliot, Primus, Basey, Sam, Dickson.

Pardew has often stressed that this side is 'still learning'. So, after two failed attempts, let's hope they've already learnt how to pick up points away from home.

Charlton 1-3 Wolves

Oh dear. And the afternoon had started so well! Nicky Bailey's thumping volley less than five minutes in (reminiscent of Robin Van Persie's effort a couple of seasons ago) had raised expectations of another Reading-esque performance, but unfortunately Charlton were nowhere near that level on Saturday. Credit where credit is due however, Wolves looked like a very good side and well worth their early season position at the top of the table. They simply didn't give up, eventually breaking us down to get all three points.

I'm not going to go into the match in detail as plenty of blogs already have excellent reports up. It's fair to say though, that we were lucky to go in at half time still in front. After the goal went in, we seemed to look in control for the next twenty minutes before letting it slide away. The warning signs were there when the half time whistle blew, although had we gone two in front then it may have been a different story. Yet we never showed any degree of attacking flair after the break. I didn't really see Bailey's challenge which gave away the penalty, but once that went in it was always going to be a case of 'when' rather than 'if' the men in gold stole in for the points.

There were a number of disappointing Charlton performances on Saturday. Weaver was at fault for at least one of their goals and his distribution was poor throughout the game. In defence, I thought that Youga looked like a headless chicken, Fortune looked slow and awkward, and Cranie gave a performance which did nothing to suggest he is a better option at right back than Yassin. Disappointing. Only Hudson had a decent match and he looks to be captain dependable.

Our midfield never really seemed to get going unfortunately. Nicky Bailey's goal was sublime and, despite giving away the penalty, he had another superb game. He was all over the pitch, although he seemed to be harshly penalised too often by the referee when making tackles on the edge of our area. Holland had a fairly indifferent game and, calamity free kick efforts aside, did nothing of note. On the wings, Bouazza had a great first half and showed he isn't afraid to have a go at goal, but unfortunately he faded in the second and became a virtual passenger. Lloyd Sam had a very frustrating game, his forays down the right all too often ending in nothing. Up front, Gray was practically anonymous and Varney didn't have a much better game.

I must say, I continue to find some of Pardew's decision making very baffling. For example, why have Linvoy Primus on the bench if, by his own admission, 'he needs a bit more work'? Why wait so late to bring in Chris Dickson when Andy Gray had had such a poor game? Why replace Sam with Basey and not Ambrose, forcing Bouazza to switch to the right and upset the balance even more? If I was Jose Semedo or Yassin Moutaouakil I'd be getting seriously pissed off if I wasn't even making the bench and Pardew needs to have a long think about how he is going to balance the side and keep everybody happy.

Defeat was a disappointment but we now have two matches in the space of week to try and put things right. Away matches against Doncaster Rovers and Nottingham Forest are tricky fixtures though and will give us some indication as to whether this team has it in them to compete in this division this season. We need something out of both of them though or else already diminished expectation levels will be pushing a new low.

Wolves Preview

A tricky game awaits tomorrow as Mick McCarthy and his table topping Wolves side come to the Valley. Whilst early season form shouldn't be read into too much, the men in gold are unbeaten, free scoring and bound to be a stiff test for this Charlton team. Memories of this fixture last season are probably best forgotten, their late late winner pretty much signalling the end of any play off ambitions we harboured. With a team containing the likes of Michael Kightly, David Jones, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and, of course, Chris Iwelumo, it's fair to say that our defence will be in for another busy afternoon.

With only one enforced change to the team that performed so convincingly against Reading, the defeat at Preston can't be regarded as anything other than a disappointment. The thinness of our squad was highlighted by the fact that Nicky Bailey, who performed so admirably in the middle of the park against Reading, was forced to move to the right in Lloyd Sam's absence. I'm not sure one change should have disrupted the side so much though and it suggests we may be in for more of the 'hot and cold' form that we experienced last season.

Despite the disappointment a fortnight ago, I hope that Pardew resists the temptation to tinker with the side. This was a tendency which, by his own admission, put a large dent in our promotion hopes last time round. I am in agreement with Chicago Addick (more) regarding the right back position and do think that Yassin Moutaouakil should continue. However, the general feeling seems to be that new boy Martin Cranie will get a start at the expense of the Frenchman. I haven't seen Cranie play so will reserve judgement, but I'm sceptical as to whether he can combine as effectively with Lloyd Sam as Yassin does.

Elsewhere in the side, Pardew has stated that Jonathan Fortune will be playing, so with him partnering Mark Hudson that only leaves the left back position up for grabs. I expect Kelly Youga to be reinstated for this game, and to be honest it's difficult to choose between him and Grant Basey right now. There is a bigger dilemma in midfield than I was expecting with no less than eight players seemingly in contention: Sam, Ambrose, Bailey, Holland, Shelvey, Bouazza, Semedo and Zhi.

Given the imbalance in the side at Deepdale, Lloyd Sam can expect to be restored and I can't see Bouazza being changed on the left. So that leaves five players and two spaces. Bailey will presumably continue so the only question remains whether Pardew will continue to partner him with Matt Holland. I imagine the answer to this is 'yes'. Whilst I can understand this, I would really love to see the return of Zheng Zhi although do not expect given that he is not even mentioned in the match preview on the official club site (more) . It would be nice to know why. Is he still recovering from the Olympics? Is he injured? I know there are mixed opinions on ZZ, but personally I think he's a great player and needs to be used in games like this.

Anyway, with Luke Varney and Andy Gray starting up front again, I expect Pards to line them up as follows: Weaver; Cranie, Hudson, Fortune, Youga; Sam, Bailey, Holland, Bouazza; Gray, Varney. Subs: Elliot, Moutaouakil, Semedo, Ambrose, Dickson.

This game appears to be full of goals so will probably end up a 0-0 draw. I'm looking forward to it though and will be interesting to see the side we put out and the way we perform. Come on you Reds.

Well ... that was a bit of a surprise wasn't it??

I didn't watch the England match last night, instead I decided to ride my motorcycle from my office out by Heathrow Airport through London (via Clapham to meet up with another mate) out to the Essex Arena.

Yes, Essex does have an arena ... well, sort of. We got lost and ended up riding through Grays (which I must admit was a pretty rough area) until we found the most randomly located Internet Cafe I've ever seen on a dimly lit road off an industrial estate which was full of people chatting and "gaming" online ... funny as ...

"Why on earth would you ride 40 miles in the evening through rush hour to go to Grays?", I hear you ask. Well the answer is simple. We went to watch the Lakeside Hammers take on the Bell Vue Aces in one of the final rounds of the 2008 British Elite Speedway League. The whole night resembled a night at the dogs although much louder and more dangerous (well except for the hare at the dogs, but it's only up north they still use live hares).

It turned out to be a smashing night - I know this isn't football related, but since I passed my test in April, I've done 7,000 miles on the bike and too be honest, I'm enjoying it more than footie ... which is mental, but true! The Hammers battered their opponents and it now looks like the league is theirs for the taking, with Ipswich slipping up at opponents Poole last night.

I watched extended highlights of the match last night when I got in though and it looked interesting. I do wonder though, what would have happened had England not scored the first goal. In all though it was a good performance from the younger side and I thought that Heskey did a great job up front. Although he didn't look like scoring, he did his job and held the ball up well. I'd thought the score would be 2-1 last night in favour of the home side, so the actual result was a suprise and it should take the pressure off England when the two sides meet at Wembley. That does however presume that England do not slip up in Kiev or Khazakstan, which given the performance in Andorra is a distinct possibility.

I've got to echo what Richard said in his post though, it just really doesn't bother me the whole England melarky. I dont see how anyone who supports Chelsea week in and week out can suddenly cheer Theo Walcott or Wayne Rooney just because he has a white shirt on. For me, if you are not wearing the red of my team then you're not my team. I've nothing against people who love Ingerland and who go home and away to support them, but I just couldn't do it.