Charlton Athletic Online

Charlton Athletic 2 Plymouth Argyle 0

A well deserved, thoroughly comprehensive, second consecutive home win for Charlton, against a very poor Plymouth team who are in real danger of being dragged into the relegation dogfight. The goals came from midfielders Therry Racon – my one-to-watch (left, with Mark Kinsella after scoring) – and Nicky Bailey in each half, and the Valentine's Day love poured out to them both from fans in the crowd.

Charlton started with just two changes, to defence, where Mark Hudson and Kelly Youga expectedly returned in place of Matt Holland and Grant Basey, and Bailey lined up on the left side of midfield.

The initial skirmishes saw Plymouth waste a decent early chance and saw plenty of long high balls played forward without much accuracy from both teams. It took time for both sides to settle, but then midway through the half, the Addicks started to look dangerous. Chris Dickson had a couple of shots, and Tresor Kandol also fluffed a chance. The first goal came after 32 minutes when Tom Soares took on one defender, but seemed to have taken the ball too far when it clipped the second defenders instep to win a corner on the right; this was disputed and the linesman did take time to confirm the correct decision. While arguments went on, Soares took the corner short to Matt Spring but his low cross was blocked out to the edge of the area. Racon went to shoot right footed, but dummied, bringing the ball onto his left side where he had more time. The Frenchman used it to brilliant effect and curled a lovely shot into the top far corner with the 'keeper left flailing. It was great to see a new goal celebration at The Valley, led by Racon near the corner flag, though some of the teams dancing left a little to be desired!

Immediately though, Plymouth almost equalised with a free kick from the edge of the area which hit the bar. As it came out and was crossed in again, Rob Elliott had to make a very good save to flick the ball off an attackers head at the far post conceding a corner.

Charlton continued to look the better of two average teams, and hung on quite easily until half time.

The start of the second half was frantic, with Charlton having three penalty appeals for handball in the first three minutes of this period. The third (and by no means the loudest shout…) was given by pernickety referee Kettle, and supporters rose to see the rarity of Charlton going two goal in front. Bailey shot well, but straight, and ‘keeper Larrieu saved with an outstretched arm, and the ball was scrambled clear.

The concern was that this miss might let Plymouth back into the match, but Charlton forged forwards, and several attacks only failed due to poor finishing. Bailey himself could have made immediate amends but shot well over, and Spring volleyed high too. Dickson, who improved immensely as the game wore on, broke superbly down the right, cut inside, but when he should really have laid the ball back, he chose to shoot from a narrow angle and the ‘keeper punched clear. Kandol had a similar shot from the other side that was also well saved.

Bailey then made his mark with a well taken goal from a Racon pass inside the full back. Bailey controlled with his body which took the ball wide of the ‘keeper and stroked into an empty net for 2-0. The crowd were now happy, and with 20 minutes left, it was a question of whether Charlton could hold onto their lead, clean sheet, and nerve, or improve their goal difference against this disinterested side.

Plymouth Substitute Steve MacLean had a slight altercation with Kelly Youga, when he failed to move away when Youga tried to take a throw in; words were exchanged, and McLean then got plenty of thanks for his input from those fans sitting near the dug-out in the west stand. Youga had taken about five foul-throws before he was pulled up by the inept linesman/referee, so maybe MacLean was just reminding him to keep his back leg down?

More chances came and went, and with ten minutes left, Phil Parkinson called off the chase and replaced the booked Dickson (left) with Deon Burton, thereby shutting up shop. Burton and Soares still managed to get booked in injury time, but the three points were won.

I thought that the defence looked fairly comfortable throughout, only really looking like conceding when Kandol’s awful back pass gave Fallon a late opening, but he chose to fall over and claim a penalty rather than shoot. Darren Ward and Hudson looked comfortable in each others company, as you would expect, and it was good to see Ward explaining deep into the second half some defensive duty points in a mild-mannered way to Bailey when others may have been more confrontational.

The midfield seemed comfortable without being exceptional; with so much high ball being played by both defences, there was a danger in the first half especially that crooked neck might be an injury concern this week for some of the team. Racon tried to get the ball down and play, but any continued passing coherence was rare.

Up front, Kandol and Dickson’s partnership improved as the game wore on, and Dickson’s pace and skill exposed a poor Argyle side time after time.

For once, the other results seem to have fallen for the club, and Charlton now find themselves only three points from being off the bottom of the league. This win does not mean that the team should think that climbing out of the relegation zone will be easy; it will not, and every winnable game from now in, just like this one, must be won.

Next week, the side travel to Barnsley, who like Plymouth are also in poor form, and sit just one place above the bottom three. This is yet another opportunity to close the gap on the rest of the division, and a chance that must also be taken. The confidence exuded by the experienced team on show was welcome, and provided they play in similar fashion, could see the Addicks climb up a place next weekend. Let’s hope so!

Labels: Charlton, Plymouth

It does seem like an age since we saw Charlton beat our near neighbours, and hopefully tomorrow will bring about the same sort of result for the love of my life. Plymouth will come to The Valley without a win in 2009, and hopefully they will leave still wanting.

This is all presuming of course that the Charlton pitch is up to scratch, following last weekend’s postponement due to snow and forecast frost. I hope that groundsman Paddy Powell is confident of a decent playing surface, and certainly an outfield better than the one in Antigua where England’s cricketers have found themselves beached inland. The weather forecast appears to be better than it has been so we should be confident of the match taking place.

Phil Parkinson has another job on his hands picking the team he wants to start the game; he now has pretty much everyone who has been injured fit once more, and no suspensions to worry about either.

Captain Mark Hudson has now recovered from his ankle problems we are told and Therry Racon (top pic) is now fit again after knee issues and has had match practice to get him up to speed. Racon may not be able to play two games in a week, but as he has had over ten days rest since the Bristol City away game where he revelled, he should be OK. Goalkeeper Nicky Weaver has also recovered from his bump on the hip that he got early in December at Blackpool, so he is in contention too. Kelly Youga is also available after his one-match ban. That just leaves Zheng Zhi of the injured players to get himself fully fit as Andy Gray and Jon Fortune are both out for the rest of the season.

I would expect Parky to retain Rob Elliott in goal, even though Weaver is available, and Darren Randolph has done nothing wrong since the turn of the year. While Weaver may arguably be the better ‘keeper than Elliott (and is certainly paid more...), he was going through a terrible patch just before he got injured, and could directly be blamed for some of the goals conceded. Elliott has also had his moments, but has also made a few very good saves, and he should therefore keep his jersey.

At the back, Graeme Murty has had his loan spell extended for a second month, and he will be hoping to get through 90 minutes without picking up some sort of painful injury; kicks on the shin, a dislocated thumb, and an ankle knock have left him bruised and battered in his first month with Charlton, but his heart is still fine and I expect him to start ahead of Yassin Moutaouakil, the only other viable right back at the club.

If Hudson returns to central defence, as expected, then that will mean he will play with loanee Darren Ward (making his home debut), with Matt Holland making way. Ward has been a rock in his two away games so far, and will probably be happier knowing he has a “proper” defender alongside him, Holland has done his best, and filled a gap in his own imitable way, but this was always a semi-desperate measure.

The left back issue is whether Youga comes straight back in or if Grant Basey retains his place? I think that Parky has made known his choice in this slot and that the Frenchman is his preferred option.

In midfield, both Basey and Holland will be hoping for a start, or at least a place on the bench, but with plenty of other midfield options, both could be out of luck. Tom Soares scored in his last game, so he will be retained on one wing, while Nicky Bailey, Matt Spring (who scored in the last home game) and Racon (left) will all be hoping to play from the beginning. Lloyd Sam may relegate (sorry to use that word…) one of these central players if Parky wants a slightly more attacking option. I looks doubtful that Darren Ambrose, Jonjo Shelvey – who has had a slight hip injury – or Josh Wright will make the starting eleven.

Up front, it is a perm any two from three, presuming the 4-4-2 formation is utilised, as Tresor Kandol (looking for his home debut), Deon Burton, and Chris Dickson all vie to bang in the goals (hopefully). My inclination would be to start Dickson and Kandol (as they did at Ashton Gate) with Burton in reserve.

This is the team I think Parky will send out looking for back-to-back home wins –

Rob Elliott
Graeme Murty
Mark Hudson
Darren Ward
Kelly Youga
Tom Soares
Nicky Bailey
Therry Racon
Lloyd Sam
Tresor Kandol
Chris Dickson

Subs from Randolph, Weaver, Moutaouakil, Basey, Holland, Shelvey, Wright, Spring, Ambrose, Burton, Todorov.

Plymouth are in freefall at present, and also have plenty of injury problems (mainly in defence). They were sitting just behind the play-off places earlier in the season, when Charlton scraped and scrapped to a 2-2 draw at Home Park, but are now down to 17th place after their recent poor run. They do still have a decent looking away record, and have drawn their last two away games, but last weeks home defeat (a 3-0 thumping from an average Derby team ) has left them short of confidence. I’m pretty sure they will set up 4-5-1 and hope to counter attack, and then sit back and soak up pressure if they get the lead at any stage.

Charlton have been in front at half-time in their last three matches, yet have only come away with three points; what we all need to see is this initial period form being continued for the whole match. It may be a fitness issue (which we know Parky has worked on since taking charge), and it is obviously a confidence issue (which the clubs psychiatrist will hopefully have countered?), but whatever it is it needs to be cracked and soon.

Pedro45 is worried about over-confidence creeping in, mainly to supporters who see this as a game that we can win after playing in away games where we didn’t really expect to get results. As long as the players do what is expected, and the crowd do not get too tense if goals don’t come early, then I too hope to see the next win we all crave – Pedro45 is forecasting a 3-1 victory. I do feel that if we can get in front, and then get that oh-so-important second goal too, then we should run out comfortable winners.

My one-to-watch in this game is going to be Therry Racon (surpise surprise, left). This Frenchman hasn’t had much playing time at The Valley so far in his Addicks career (possibly only a hundred minutes or so?), with all his recent games being away from home - I missed the Swansea game in August so didn’t see him start that match – and I’m guessing that many other fans have not seen much of him either. He has skill, stamina, and is not afraid to tackle, and if he puts all these attributes to good use, he can be a very good player for Charlton. I’m picking him to be the stand-out player tomorrow, and lead us to taking the spoils.

Being where we are, which is ten-points shy of everyone else at the bottom of the league, we are in a position where we have to take every opportunity that comes our way; sometimes, you get a run of playing tams when they are in form, and we’ve seen plenty of those runs over recent times. Tomorrow is a chance to play a club when they are struggling too, so we must push home our advantage.

Charlton as a club will (mentally) receive many, many Valentine’s Cards tomorrow, and I hope that the players reciprocate that love and send us fans home happy. We know that the players aren’t going to send us an unsigned card, but that doesn’t have to mean the feelings are unrequited. A few goals, three points, and the smiles of love leaving The Valley will return to faces, courtesy of ther players. Let’s hope so, eh?

Come on you reds!

Labels: Charlton, Plymouth, Therry Racon

Labels: Charlton, Join The Redvolution, Plymouth

Now where have we heard that heading said before? Was it a few weeks back when Alan Pardew vowed to give some youngsters a game? Or was it a couple of weeks later when he said we needed experienced heads on the pitch in these grim times?

Maybe it was last January, just prior to when he got Cook, Sinclair, and Halford in on loan, or maybe it was when he waved the loan players all goodbye at various times not long afterwards.

If Pards did say those words, at any stage, never could they be more true than now: Change is needed at The Valley, but rather than on the pitch, it is the manager who should be changed. Alan Pardew, you should leave the club.

Now I know that Pards is meeting with one section of the supporters club tonight (provided he doesn’t get late advice from the solicitors that it would be better not to attend, as happened during the Zabeel on-off deal weeks with Chappell and Murray), and it would not surprise me one iota to hear from that meeting that he had issued a rallying cry; but where else can he go, but to offer upward hope? The club is in such dire straits on the pitch that Pardew will get a huge verbal abuse tonight. He will have to sit there and hope that whoever chairs the meeting offers him some protection, but I do hope that the fans majority view – which is that he should leave Charlton, and evident on at least two website polls this week – is allowed to be put across for him to answer directly.

Pardew will no doubt be prepared, and maybe if he made as much effort in preparing his team for a game each week, we wouldn’t be in such a low league position!

I cannot support any theory that Pards is just three games away from being a hero (provided we win them all…); quite frankly, we will be lucky to win three games in the remainder of 2008 based on what we have seen recently on the field of play.

No, it is time for him to go, and if he will not resign (and I would not if I were him by the way…), then the Board must act accordingly and do the right thing.

I ought to point out that I have nothing against the man personally, and I do hope that the meeting this evening is conducted properly and he is given the chance to speak – even if it is just to give fans the chance to hear him and listen to any explanation of why things are so bad.

It is my stated opinion, and has been for some weeks now, that he is not the man who should be in charge of picking the team at The Valley, and the Club and the manager are better off going their separate ways.

However, it does look likely that Pardew will still be in charge this weekend, and as such, I want to preview the game as best I can.

Pardew’s wish for any proposed loan signings have so far failed to materialised; whether this is due to negotiations taking longer than envisaged or if the Board are not willing to release the funds that would be necessary is unclear. What is sure is that Darren Powell – who played for the reserves in midweek - is not the answer, or even the question!

So Pardew merely has that enormous squad that he has had all season from which to choose. If only he had a loan signing or two, at least it would make picking the team easier as they would have to play.

The likelihood is that just one of the current loan signings – Martin Crainie - will get a start this Saturday at Plymouth, although after Pards blamed last weeks defeat on the loss of Linvoy Primus through injury, our old, ex-player, on loan, may get a look in if he has recovered.

The other certainties, as named by Pardew a couple of weeks ago are Nicky Weaver in goal, plus Mark Hudson, and Nicky Bailey.

So the rest of the team that Pards will need to choose from are:

Right Back – Yassin Moutaouakil or Jose Semedo; well, Yassin has done OK but without making any big splashes since he got back in the side, maybe that is him simply concentrating on cutting out any defensive errors? I’d stick with this Frenchman.

Left Back – Straight choice between Kelly Youga, Grant Basey or Semedo; I’d pick the Frenchman again, as he is a better defender which is what we need away from home. Some of Basey’s defensive play last week was awful, though he does offer more going forwards than Youga. Close one…

Right Wing and Left Wing – Lloyd Sam, Luke Varney, Hameur Bouazza, and Darren Ambrose are all playing for just two positions. Of course, the formation will go some way to deciding where Ambie plays, but I suspect that the 4-2-3-1 may get another start, and as such, Varney and Bouazza will get the nod out wide.

Central Midfield – If Pardew does go for this formation, then Ambrose will slot in behind the front man, and behind him, we can expect to see Matt Holland get the chance ahead of Josh Wright. Josh hasn’t done much wrong (although he is very raw) but Pards intimated last week that he needs more experience, and that can just mean Holland in midfield. Semedo would be good, but that experiment (which worked) last season seems to have been completely dropped…and JonJo Shelvey seems to be behind Wright in the current pecking order as far as Pards is concerned, though I’m not sure why?

Striker – If only we had one eh?!? Well, if Varney plays out wide, then it will be Andy Gray up front again, if his personal issues are resolved enough for him to travel, or we could be looking at another trial where we play Dickson, McLeod, or Todorov (who had a nice rest last weekend!). Mind you, if Toddy gets a go then I think Varney will be pushed up, with Ambie out wide, and Toddy in the hole. Pardee has lots of choicy!

This is the team I think he might start with –

Nicky Weaver

Yassin Moutaouakil
Mark Hudson
Martin Crainie
Kelly Youga
Matt Holland
Nicky Bailey
Darren Ambrose
Hameur Bouazza
Luke Varney
Andy Gray

Subs from – Elliott, Primus, Semedo, Basey, Wright, Shelvey, Sam, Dickson, McLeod, Todorov.

Sadly, as the T-shirts aren’t ready yet, Pedro45 will not be making the long trip to Devon this weekend, but as I predict a score forecast of another defeat – this time 2-0 – then I won’t be sorry. Even with the best Addicks side possible taking the field of play, without firm leadership, I cannot see any upturn in results. The sooner Pardew leaves, the sooner we can start to think positively about winning a game or two!

While Plymouth had a decent season last year before falling away toward the end (that seems familiar!), they were thought to have a weaker squad this season. That seemed to be evident from early results, but recently they have picked up, and did win five out of seven games. They then lost last weekend so will be hoping to bounce back. Without Ebanks-Blake; without Halmosi, they shouldn’t be feared, but then again, Charlton are petrified of anybody these days it seems.

My one-to-watch this week is going to be Mark Hudson; Gawd knows what he is thinking after joing a few months back. We need his leadership on the pitch as we are not getting enough off it. Oh, and maybe he can point out to Varney where the goal is?

I want Charlton to win, but I know that will only delay the inevitable for another ten days or so. With no Charlton fan expecting any points from the Plymouth or Birmingham games, I would rather lose if it meant confirming Pardew’s fate. If the Board will not make that judgement call soon, then I hope that we can at least get the odd-point here and there, because when a new manager takes over (and we will need one at some point this winter), he will need everything that we have in the pot if we are to survive relegation this season.

The Redvolution is now – it is change we need!

Up the Addicks!

Labels: Charlton, Join The Redvolution, Plymouth

Although it very much feels like the end of the season, Charlton do still have some games to play, and this weekend they take on Plymouth at Home Park. With nothing to be won, or lost, the result doesn’t really matter (in this blogs humble opinion), so maybe the Addicks team can play with a flair and hope, and maybe win a match?

I will not be there as one of the 90-odd who have bought tickets though, and a match report will not be forthcoming. It’s not that I’ve joined the ranks of Doctor Kish’s ever increasing ex-Addick fan converts, it’s that I will be out of the country on holiday, away from texts, email, the internet and (most of) the worlds news. Yep, I’ll even miss out on the Grand National, FA Cup semi-Finals, Bahrain Grand Prix, and much more no doubt, including Charlton news and results!

So in my last missive for a few weeks (I should be back for the Barnsley game), here’s the team I think would be best suited to our end of season run in. This team may not make the starting eleven on Saturday – as Pardew still thinks we have an outside chance of getting in the play-offs, ho ho! – but I would hope that some of the players will at least be considered so that they can be tried, gain experience, and help Pardew plan for next season’s promotion push –

Nicky Weaver
Greg Halford
Madjid Bougherra
Paddy McCarthy (capt)
Kelly Youga
Jose Semedo
Zheng Zhi
Darren Ambrose
Scott Wagstaff
Chris Iwelumo
Leroy Lita

Subs – Elliott, Moutaouakil, Sodje, Fortune, Thatcher, Basey, Holland, Sam, Thomas, Cook, Uchechi, Varney.

In defence, I think that it best that Sodje be left out, simply so that those who are not on loan get preference should they be required next year. I am hoping, though, that Halford may stay, but if not, I think that his goalscoring will keep him in the team until Yassin is required. Youga is the future, so there is no point playing Thatcher or Powell again this season; alternatively, Basey is an option.

In midfield, we are quite short, with Racon and Wright out on loan, Arter injured, and Dean Sinclair only just back after knee problems. Semedo is the future so he should play, and it would be nice to see if he can work with ZiZi; Holland is back up on the bench. The wide men are an issue – none of them have had as good a season as they would have hoped, except youngster Scott Wagstaff; I think he should be given a chance in the closing stages of the season, after leading the youth team to such heights. He can do no worse than Thomas, Cook or Ambrose, while Lloyd Sam is also returning from injury and may be a week or so away from starting in the team – I’d play Ambrose until Sam is fit.

Up front, the Iwelumo and Lita partnership did look as if it was starting to gel last week; I would prefer Varney to start, but I cannot see that happening now that Lita has been kept on loan for the rest of the season. Without any other options, due to injuries to Todorov and McLeod (other than to play a wide man in attack), why not bring Danny Uchechi forward to the bench and give him a small taste of first team action as the season winds down.

As a fan, Pedro45 want the best for Charlton; of course I want and hope that they win every game. In order to do this, you need to play your best team. But there are times when we must look forward, and give people a chance; otherwise, you may not actually know who your best team is!

A classic Curbishley error was not playing the youngsters when he had the chance, as he didn’t want to upset the “older” players; Pardew has picked and dropped squad members all season, so there is little point in trying to placate them now.

Some, like Jerome Thomas, Ben Thatcher, Zheng Zhi, and Jon Fortune will want to play, so they are in the shop window – all could be sold on by Charlton this summer in order to raise funds (I also suspect that each has just a single year left on their contracts, so maybe now is the optimum time for them to go…?). And maybe Pardew will play them in the hope of maximising the incoming funds? Others, like Sodje, Halford, Lita, and Cook will want games so they can show their worth, in the hope of possibly joining Charlton on a full time basis. Pards may want to play them too…

But the future is with the younger players who are committed to the Addicks, and I believe that Pards needs to concentrate on getting them into the team and giving them more experience. If Yassin hadn’t got injured after just three league games in this country, maybe six months later he wouldn’t have made such a hash of the clearance he messed up at Scunthorpe. Now is the time for further opportunity, and it must be grasped.

Chat in a few weeks!

Labels: Charlton, Plymouth

Charlton Athletic 1 Plymouth Argyle 2

This chant wasn't being sung about either of the teams, though neither would look very good in the top tier at the moment, but it was aimed at the referee - Rob Styles.

Mr Styles completely ruined this match as a spectacle, starting with his stupid booking of Svetislav Todorov, and ending with his winding up of Danny Mills that earned him a yellow card too. In between, eight other players (four from each side) saw the dreaded yellow card lifted from Styles breast pocket and waived high above their heads.

The problem with Styles is consistency; he books one player for kicking the ball away, but lets others do the same and go unpunished. One player back-chats him and gets booked immediately (McLeod), while others (Andy Reid waving his arms around several times for instance) were allowed to show obvious and consistent dissent until eventually they end up in the book too. His style (sic) is to loudly blow the whistle and attract as much attention toward him as he can at every stage of the game. He is just very annoying and not fit to referee in the Championship let alone the Premiership!

Is this all bleating as Charlton lost - I think not. Ask any Plymouth fan, and they will also say that Styles was awful - and they won!

In fairness, he wasn't helped by some of the things that Charlton players and staff did; if Alan Pardew had been a player, he would have been in the book too after kicking the ball away from a Plymouth player who tried to retrieve it for a throw. Pardew's obvious assertion that he was kicking it toward another Argyle player was twaddle! Mills was very wound up and he could have been in trouble for telling the linesman loudly that "the referreeing is a joke", well before he was booked (for running the ball up behind a slow retreating visiting player!).

He really did spoil the game...

And Charlton's play didn't really make the fans happy either! A weak opening goal conceded after a tame cross took a deflection just five minutes in, and what turned out to be the winner after an atrocious midfield pass from Izale McLeod and some more kamikaze defending. Iwelumo missed two chances and took some stick - a first half scuffed shot after being beautifully set up my Reid, and a flicked header just wide in the early stages of the second half. Varney was embarassingly inept out wide right, and McLeod totally lacking in confidence. Add to that the fact that the Charlton central defence was so pourous in the first half that the pitch was in danger of becoming waterlogged! Even the Charlton equalising goal after ten minutes was lucky; Mills left foot shot from outside the area went through a crowd of players, was pushed onto the post and then rebounded in off the back of the goalkeepers head!

Plus points could go to Reid who kept urging the team forward; Thomas who was at least direct when on as sub for the last twenty five minutes; and the full backs coped well with both attacking and defensive duties. Sadly Todorov went off injured after 30 minutes, and he looks like he could be out for a few weeks.

This was pretty depressing from the Addicks, and even the crowd became dissillusioned for the first time this year, with Sodje, Varney, Iwelumo, and McLeod all getting venomous stick from sections of the fans.

Saturday now brings a must win situation; Charlton are now down to sixth place in the table after around a quarter of the season. The form reversal needs to be stopped quickly and QPR on TV on Saturday afternoon is a good chance to do so. Whether the team that has consistenly started recent games is on show again is unlikely, as it is now time for Pardew to whip the players into shape and bring a few Champioship home truths into play.

Labels: Charlton, Plymouth, Rob Styles

You really don't get time to draw breath in the Championship; as soon as the weekend game is out of the way, along comes the midweek fixture and off you go again.

Labels: Charlton, Chris Iwelumo, Plymouth