Charlton Athletic Online

Charlton Athletic 1 Sheffield United 1

What went wrong? This was a must win game for Charlton, but they failed, despite another thumping goal from Talal El Karouri (left). The draw leaves the club still rooted in the bottom three, and with just three matches to go, the signs are that Charlton may well find it impossible to drag themselves out of the relegation zone.

Should we be blaming anyone – fans, players, management, and/or the referee? Well that would be easy, and at times you could point fingers in any and every direction and say that what was going on wasn’t helping matters.

Some of the supporters think that games against promoted clubs are easy games, and that Charlton have an automatic right to win such fixtures. It is a patronising idea borne out of the rule/expectation that Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal must be allowed to win all their games (except when they play each other); no team can or should expect to walk out onto the pitch with the fans knowing the result is a foregone conclusion. When goals don’t come easy, as they haven’t for Charlton over recent weeks, then fans moan and complain. This has added to the nervousness around the club that the players seem to have sensed. I totally accept that this season has been a hell of a lot more interesting than any of Curbs last few in charge, but we need to play (and support) with belief that we can prevail. The noise levels from supporters are fantastic (the clackers helped again…), but we must keep it going even when the play isn’t going quite so well.

The players did look a little nervous yesterday; obviously the disappointment of last weekends loss at Goodison hurt, but they did play well, and should have been confident as that was the first defeat in seven games. The team needed to take individual responsibility, but I do think we lacked some leaders on the pitch, and maybe one reason for that was a problem with communication? It is well publicised that Zheng Zhi cannot speak English, and with the French speaking contingent at the back (El Karkouri, Diawara, and Bougherra), sometimes you really could see that some players didn’t seem to know what the other was going to do. When “Magic” came on toward the end, he really did look nervous, and would not take the ball anywhere or do anything with it (other than pass sideways) in case he looked bad. And as for his foul throw in…I know the lino took ages to flag for it (maybe he was told about it by the fourth official via his earpiece?), it was so blatant it was embarrassing.

Alan Pardew picks the team, and he does so with the intention of getting the best result possible. I really don’t like to criticise him as he has worked wonders since arriving, but yesterday I thought he probably didn’t help matters much with his selections. In defence of his actions, he hasn’t been helped by injuries in preparation, or during the matches (for instance, Big Bent and Hreidarsson went off injured in the first half against Reading thereby leaving any tactical changes almost redundant). Yesterday, he chose to play threee “wingers”, which was bold, and could have worked, but when all three are quite, shall we say, lightweight, and not known for their tackling abilities, I wonder if this was the right move? Especially so when the side you are up against are a bunch of bruisers who will battle for every ball, and deny any space and time you may want. We had to be first to the second balls, and the team just didn’t have enough energy/skill/muscle to do that. I do think that Matt Holland (or even Amdy Faye) would have been a better option in midfield than Darren Ambrose (or ZZ) if the formation Pards wanted was to be maintained. In fact, Pardew wanted to switch things around when Charlton went in front – Holland and Hreidarsson where both stripped and waiting to come on – but he chose not to. The obvious reason for this was that both times he was ready to make the changes, Charlton were defending free kicks in and around their own penalty area. Do you switch then or not – damned if you do, and damned if you don’t! In the end, Holland never did make it onto the pitch, as Pards decided (probably quite rightly) that one of his centre backs was likely to be sent off with the pressure they were being put under, and he sacrificed Diawara for Bougherra in order to save him for next week.

Alan Wiley, the referee, has had a lot of plaudits this season, but I doubt many Charlton fans think much of him now… There were eight bookings – five for Charlton – and he did struggle at times to keep a lid on the match (Do clubs still get fined if they get five bookings in a Premiership match?). It has to be said that there were no punch-ups/handbags, no bad fouls, no elbowing (even though Warnock indicated to Wiley that there had been!), but this was a game where all the actions that can be termed “Professional” came out; lots of shirt-pulling, tripping, time-wasting, and all round negative play. Hey, be honest, both sides were guilty! Wiley didn’t help matters by making a rod for his own back; once he brandished a yellow card (second minute – for deliberate handball), he had to be consistent with his actions, and I actually thought he was. Sadly, that hurt Charlton more than it hurt the Blades. When you consider that of the three cautions handed out to the away team, one was handball, one time-wasting (Kenny; right at the very end), and the other for persistent fouling, then I think Charlton were a bit mugged in that area of the game. Oh, and for all those fans sat near me who lambasted the linesman for not giving Stead off-side (above), he didn’t because he wasn’t!

OK, whinge over! It’s just the disappointment…

Rommedahl had one of his better games, and sadly nobody could get a header on target from one of the series of delightful crosses he put over in the first half (Ambrose the most guilty). Dazza was clearly not fit (maybe only 80%?), but that was nearly enough as he also came close on a couple of occasions. We still don’t know where ZZ is best, but as a midfield general it probably isn’t, as he does go to ground too easily (something noticed by Wiley…); it was a shame that we couldn’t switch him positionally with Ambrose at some stage, as he really could have caused damage playing just behind Dazza. Again, ZZ came close to scoring; he could have had a goal a game since Newcastle (and maybe should have…)!

El Karkouri (left) did shoot when we told him too, and it went in! Even though there was a slight deflection it might still have won our Goal of the Season had it not been too late to include! He also came close with a good free-kick that was obviously a benefit from work the training ground.

Carson continues to make good saves, and is now probably now a lot better keeper than he was when he arrived. It would be great to keep him if we could, but he will not be affordable to a Championship team.

Ultimately, and cruelly, one poor decision (by Ambrose in choosing to pass in the direction of Dazza rather than Rommers) may have cost the Addicks the game, as the ball went up the other end and Stead thumped in the equaliser.

Next week, we will arrive at Blackburn, and the team will be backed by well over 4,000 travelling fans. I hope that many more chose to give it a go, as it could be glorious, or it could be a swansong; I haven’t booked my ticket yet but plan to do so tomorrow. I want to be there, and I want the players to know that I and others want to see them win.

What other teams do really doesn’t matter; with teams at the bottom playing each other, we have to win a game and concentrate on getting above someone else, or maybe two, anyone will do – Fulham, Wigan, Sheffield United – I don’t care!

Charlton now have to approach the last three games as cup finals, as if they haven’t done so over the last few weeks! A win is vital, as not even three draws is likely to be enough to keep them up. With two tough away games, and another hard game at home, it is easy to say that we cannot do the impossible. But this is Charlton, and we never do things the easy way…

Will it be a Good Friday? Let’s hope so. Charlton travel north to take on Manchester City tomorrow buoyant after back-to-back wins. Now just a single point behind Sheffield United, anything but a defeat will take Charlton out of the relegation zone.

Can we do it – yes we can!

The injuries, which potentially would have hit the Addicks hard in March, are now slowly clearing up: Ben Thatcher is almost fit and could play; Hermann Hreidarsson’s knee (left) is hanging in there; Madjid Bougherra is fit again; Alexandre Song played last week, and will now be fitter still; Darren Ambrose made a cameo appearance against Wigan, and he should be fitter now; Marcus Bent played 45 minutes against Wigan with no obvious effects; and crucially, Darren Bent is being nursed through his knee problems and (touch wood) it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse.

With two games over the Easter weekend, Alan Pardew may have to be careful with some of the above players, rest players through substitutions, or give them just one game each, but he does seem to have enough cover in most positions now to cope.

City have been through a rough patch themselves in 2007, but seem to have emerged from the bad times with a couple of recent wins. Stuart Pearce was favourite to be sacked just last month, leaving him plenty of time to manage the England Under-21’s, but now seems to have settled the matter by steering City up the table a little. A defeat tomorrow though would plunge them back into the dog-fight that is developing down the bottom.

The recent winning runs by Charlton and West Ham have concertina-d the bottom of the table, and now several other clubs are anxiously looking at fixtures lists and worrying if there points total is going to be enough. Villa, Middlesboro, Fulham and Newcastle could all suffer if they have particularly bad runs (a la Charlton over the last five years or so!), but Wigan and Sheffield United are the clubs most in danger of losing out in the relegation race to one or more of the current bottom three.

All of us can ponder the fixtures, write down who we think will win each game, work out the points totals, decide if 40-points, 38-points, or even less will be enough to see Charlton (and other teams) survive. My own (overly pessimistic) view is that at least three teams will fail to get more than 35 points; that reasoning does tend to rely on a number of draws where teams involved in the battle (like Charlton and Manchester City tomorrow) meet each other, so it is flawed if teams start to win…

Hopefully, Charlton will be one of the teams that can get past that 35-point barrier; that would make me very happy!

Pards team for Eastlands?

Scott Carson
Luke Young
Talal El Karkouri
Souleymane Diawara
Hermann Hreidarsson
Alexandre Song
Matt Holland
Darren Ambrose
Jerome Thomas
Zheng Zhi
Darren Bent

Subs from – Randolph, Bougherra, Sankofa, Thatcher, Faye, Rommedahl, Bent (M), Lisbie.

My one-to-watch tomorrow is going to be Alexandre Song (left). The youngster will need to force himself onto games like this, and be combative when facing Barton etc. If we can win the midfield battle, then the victories come too (see Newcastle, Wigan, Portsmouth, etc). Song played well at Watford, but was a little off the pace last Saturday, and gave the ball away a couple of times when he shouldn’t have; now hopefully completely fit, we need the young Cameroonian to show his potential and be at his best, and hit the runs of colleagues with his accurate passes.

Pedro45’s score prediction is a banged on 0-0 draw. Both teams defences have been a lot more solid over the last month, and I just cannot see many, or any, goals coming. Much as it would be nice to see Nicky Weaver bending over to pick the ball out of the back of the net (another) four times, I’m not sure that either team will want too open a game. City would probably settle for a point, and I think Pards will too.

Mind you, the last time Charlton won any games on the bounce, the sequence was actually four games long, and wouldn’t it be fantastic to do the same once more at the back end of this season!

85 Minutes gone...it's still nil nil. The score board flashes up the scores from other Premiership games. Sheffield United have fallen behind at Bolton. A roar goes around The Valley, the crescendo building as fans and players realise that one big effort could put them right onto the coat tails of the team they are chasing. A free kick is played in to the area; red shirts fall to the ground. The referee points to the penalty spot. Dazza strokes the ball into the corner of the net and the game and three vital points are won.

This was a tough game. The strong blustery wind didn't help either team, and Wigan came to make a game of it - no lieing down here. Neither side really carved out a decent chance, and both keepers had just to keep concentrating and get their shorts dirty by other means than diving around. But it was Charlton who emerged victorious, and this could have been due to the fantastic support they received during most of the game.

The clappers, that Peter Varney told the bloggers meeting would be given out, seemed to work well - it was hilarious seeing young kids whacking their clappers onto their dads head as hard as they could - and so did the opera singer again. Sometimes we are so very civilised down at The Valley! Several times during the second half the crowd raised the noise levels in an attempt to lift Charlton from a pretty mediocre display. In my book, these two extra points could definitely be due to the fans!

Pardew had started with Rommedahl and Thomas as the wide players, with Zhi playing in support of Darren Bent. Sadly, the one down side of the crowd was two fans sat near me abusing our Danish wide man consistently during the first half. We all know by now that this is not the way to help the players, and certainly not our Dennis!

With the wind playing havoc with timing of headers, neither side carved out anything worthwhile in the first forty five minutes. Wigan had more of the ball, and plenty of corners, but didn't have much of a cutting edge. Charlton came into the game slowly, and El Karkouri put one free kick well wide and high of the goal. Outmuscled in midfield, Pardew changed things at half time by bringing on Marcus Bent and moving Zhi into the right midfield slot. This helped, but Wigan had the best chance when the ball was poked against the foot of the post after the whole Charlton back line went to sleep and left responsibility to each other. Luckily, the ball bounced the right side and out for a goal kick. Words were exchanged (which is a good sign!), and mentally the players did seem to be of one mind.

With fifteen minutes to go it seemed obvious that just one goal would win the match, and Pardew brought on Ambrose for Holland in an ambitious gamble. Zhi moved positions once more, now playing centrally in midfield. Wigan huffed and puffed, but didn't seem to want to claim anything more than a single point (which would have kept Charlton "comfortably" six points behind them).

The penalty was won, and immediately Pardew switched tactics again, taking off the still fresh Ambrose (great ten minutes Darren!) and bringing on the more defensive Amdy Faye in the centre. Again, Zhi moved wide...

The last four minute, plus three more of injury time were nail-biting and tense. Wigan threw players forward, and humped balls into the box. Second balls were hoofed away by the desperate red shirts. The final whistle blew, and then the scoreboard gave the Bolton match score. Cheers all round!

The results give Charlton a fantastic chance of saving themselves for relegation - a win on Good Friday will move them out of the bottom three for the first time in about six months (or is it all season?). Other late goals prevented it from being a fabulous weekend of results; West Ham are battling to survive, and Manchester City, whom Charlton meet on Friday, have also put back-to-back wins together to pull themselves a little clear of the drop zone. Fulham are also thankful of a late goal that makes them less likely to be drawn into the mixer.

Having looked at the fixtures that everyone has left to play, I do think Charlton can do it. I'm not sure that we will be able to get another ten points, but it is entirely feasible that 36 points may be enough to save the club (though 38 would be a little more safe come last game...).

This was a match that could have gone badly wrong - the team didn't play well (it was tough trying to think of a man-of-the-match...) but still came away with a win. Other weeks, this season, we will not be so lucky, but we must still try, still have belief, still put in the hard miles.

I think we can do it; the players think we can do it; you all think we can do it - so let's just do it!

Onwards and upwards!