Change of attack

Having looked at our defence and midfield performance during the season, I am left thinking about how our forwards performed and what we might hope for next season.

The first thing we have to acknowledge is that there will be new striking options come August. We featured six out-and-out forwards during 2012-13, in Wright-Phillips, Kermorgant, Fuller, Haynes, Hulse and Obika. I think I am right in saying that only Yann Kermorgant remains a Charlton player today. Wright-Phillips was let go to Brentford as his contract expired, Hulse'e loan was not renewed and he featured for Millwall where he struggled. Fuller and Haynes have been released at the end of the season and Obika has returned to Spurs.

Looking through the programme, we featured 15 different striking combinations during the season. Some of that was enforced tactical changes when we chose to play an extra midfielder, especially away from home, but it was surely too many and a result of not having clear first choice strikers and reflective of the fact that Fuller and Haynes both suffered from repeat injuries and absences. 

In short we can do much better next season and Kermorgant deserves two partners whom we might expect to cement a more consistent and productive strike-force. I would love to see Jonathan Obika as one of those but he remains a hot prospect for Spurs (he played in the U21 final at Old Trafford last night) and he still has personal ambitions for the Premier League.

I am not forgetting 21 year old Michael Smith but I don't think the eight games he played for Colchester United will have equipped him to start next season. I would like to see a Premier League experienced striker as well as a proven Championship goal-scoring joining.

Jamie's Greenwich

I spent a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at Jamie Oliver's new restaurant in Greenwich today. I am 50 on Tuesday and this was my preferred way of celebrating it with my closest family. 

I am fairly familiar with Jamie's Italian having frequented the Cambridge and Edinburgh ones on a number of occasions over the last few years. It's formulaic and it's a chain, but I can't help going back to them and the newly opened Greenwich one was rife for a visit. They have taken over the Bar Du Musee, which was something of an institution, so from that aspect it's a disappointment but it's good to have a bigger themed restaurant in south-east London, especially one that's away from the O2 collective. 

Given that the menu is fairly basic (it's Italian themed), what makes it special is the staff and the extra thought and effort that goes into it. When  we arrived at 2.15pm it looked fairly chaotic and I was a little apprehensive when our lone waitress appeared and was struggling to sort the drinks. However, she quickly got to grips with everything and when the serving started she was joined by a colleague who made all the difference. 

They give the kids a plastic viewer with a photo-disc (remember those things? - I had one of the 1969 moon landings) showing what they might expect to eat. I thought it was a great touch when they arrived offering the kids a complimentary salad in a sealed glass dish with the promise of a gift if they ate it. My kids are pretty good but the youngest held out for three gifts before caving in - three badges declaring "I ate my greens at Jamie's."

I arrived home feeling warm and happy to see Arsenal once again freeze Tottenham out of a Champions League place. Life can be cruel, although somehow I don't feel too much sympathy for Spurs, a club with an over-inflated size of it's own importance with insular supporters who can't see beyond the end of their noses. Taking of noses, where's the Carta Roja?

Fixing the engine room

A year ago I thought we were short of a holding midfield general. Lawrie Wilson was recruited but he was clearly a right-sider. Salim Kerkar also came in but he was a left-footer. So, we started the season with Danny Hollands and Dale Stephens in the middle.

Stephens had been the subject of a much publicised bid from Aston Villa that I thought we should have gobbled-up. After ten games Hollands was dropped and loaned back to League One and Dale Stephens was also rested. We had dropped to 16th and it wasn't working, especially at home where we had failed to win in five consecutive home matches. We were being over-run in the centre of midfield and visiting teams were being encouraged to come forward and attack us.

We struggled for much of the season at home to find a settled pairing and we began to rely on five in the middle which left us short up front with the obvious consequences, especially when played at home when you expect to take games to your opponents. Bradley Pritchard and Johnnie Jackson were the other obvious options but Dervite was tried early on and Manny Frimpong loaned in as we looked for the winning formula. It wasn't until the last eight games that we found a workable solution in the over-looked Hughes with Jackson and by then we had also brought Mark Gower in from Swansea.

If we are to challenge seriously next season I believe we need to sort centre-mid and we probably need two better options. Danny Hollands returned from loan but I suspect the die is cast in terms of his long-term future. Dale Stephens is again subject of transfer speculation and I think he needs to move for the sort of money we were offered a year ago. He may well look a better player in Villa's side. With Kerkar and Wagstaff being shown the door, there aren't many left to consider.

Johnnie Jackson came in for some stick half-way through the season which looked hard and he came back to resume scoring and help fire our winning finish. He is good enough at this level in my mind and his goal contribution is invaluable. He is our Frankie Lampard.

Bradley Pritchard has worked his socks off but I do wonder where his place is in the side as he's not a wide player, nor a holding midfielder so you would rely on him to create and I am not sure he is good enough for that role just yet.

Andrew Hughes (he refers to himself as Andrew) added much needed bite but I wonder if he could sustain that for another full season. His contract is up in July and I suspect he might jump at the opportunity of a northern club where can be closer to his family and which might give him a chance to play his way into a management position when he finishes. I would like to see him stay for one more season.

That leaves the wingers and we have been short here and we need much better to fire a promotion bid.With Kerkar and Wagstaff gone, we look certain to bring new faces in. Callum Harriott has made the transition from boy to man and he should command his place next season on the left. Lawrie Wilson is capable on the right but hasn't nailed the position. He works for me but may find he has competition. Danny Green is still there but he has blown hot and cold like Scott Wagstaff and, like Waggy, always looks better from the bench. 

In summary, we need a classy, experienced midfielder general and probably need to find a Premier League player who may be struggling to get into his side or who might be looking to go down a league. We could do with another centre-mid option, ideally a left-sider who could cover Harriott, although Johnnie Jackson could fill that role if we were better covered centrally.

With Ricard Fuller and Danny Haynes being released, my assessment of our striking options won't take long when I get around to it.

Case for the defence

Pre-season attention turns inevitably to the changes likely to be made to our squad as we prepare for season two in the Championship and what we will optimistically expect to be progress on our 9th place finish. I will start today with the defence as that is easiest in my mind.

As first choice keeper, I am satisfied with Ben Hamer. He had a cavalier approach to kicking out and a tendency to leave it to the last second which has resulted in him being in caught in possession on several occasions, one of which lead to an embarrassing goal but he appears to have learnt from that. His shot-stopping is very good but he needs to work on his judgement to balls deep into the penalty area because he has been at fault too often this season coming for crosses and missing them altogether leading to goals. Whilst keepers must focus on the ball, they should also be aware of where the intended targets are when balls come in. At 25 he still has plenty of time to mature into a top class keeper and to represent us in the Premier League. I am happy with Button and Pope given their ages and what little I have seen of them.


In Rhoys Wiggins and Chris Solly, I believe we have two full-backs capable of playing Premier League football. The challenge will be to hang onto Solly during the close season. If he moves on, we must be prepared to spend sll or most of the money on a quality replacement. Wiggins missed most of the season but his return to the side and particularly his return to full fitness coincided with our 8 game unbeaten finish. Andy Hughes has been acknowledged for making the difference in midfield during this spell but we shouldn't overlook Wiggins' contribution. We have cover for both with Cedric Evina and Lawrie Wilson and a few emergency options such as the centre-halves. Again, satisfied at full-back.

At the heart of the defence Michael Morrison has been a monster again this season. No player takes more responsibility and he reminds me so much of Simon Webster which is about as big a compliment as I can pay him. I am surprised no-one has come in for Morro but let's be content with that and watching him lead our rearguard again next season. Leon Cort played alongside Morro for much of the season and I was happy with him. He gets criticised for the odd faux pas but no defender is perfect and against really quick and experienced strikers, the best centre-halves will be exposed from time-to-time. Cort is good in the air and is worth the odd goal, although our big defenders managed only five this season which could be improved upon next year. 

Dorien Dervite has broken into the team for the last eight games and given our form during those deserves to be considered first-choice alongside Morro. He scored twice as well and clearly has more to show us. In a small squad, three centre-halves is probably enough although I was sorry to see Matt Taylor's contract not extended as he was ideal cover.

So, in summary, I don't see any need to spend in defence. We have options from the promising youth teams although there is always more concern about pressing young players into first team duty in defence but that's always an option in an emergency if we couldn't get a loan.

Zaha shows his class

In a painful evening's viewing for Addicks, Wilfried Zaha showed why Sir Alex considered him worth £20m. After an ineffectual showing in his first leg, he threatened briefly in the first-half but came to life second and scored two devastating finishes that killed Brighton off. We will now need to rely on Italian mercenaries to do the job in the final if parity is to remain south of the river.

Albion looked capable of completing their mission in the opening period but once again Julian Speroni looked like he had made a pact with the Devil to ensure he kept a clean sheet. Brighton should have scored when Ashley Barnes got in one-on-one with Speroni with his first touch having come on from the bench but Speroni managed to get a finger on the spot and it was just enough to divert it up and onto the bar. After that Palace seized control of the match with a series of quick counter-attacks that had Brighton all-at-sea. 

Having reversed their recent league form, Palace will be more confident about the final in a fortnight's time. Let's hope Gianfranco Zola can gain revenge for his pal Gus Poyet. 

The play-offs - bloody hell!

Doncaster's last-gasp win at Griffin Park a little over two weeks ago was astonishing footballing drama and we were all sure we wouldn't see a finish like it for some time. Well, it was topped at Vicarage Road in a superb Championship play-off game.

With the match at 2-1 and the tie at 2-2 on aggregate, Watford were pushing for a winner in the final minute when Leicester got forward in front of their own fans and Antony Knockaert went down very easily to win a penalty that should have taken Leicester to Wembley. Leicester and last-minute play-off penalties don't mix - ask Yann Kermorgant. I suspect the rest of the Leicester players were too embarrassed to take the penalty so Knockaert did it himself. I half-expected to see Alumina coming charging out with a leg up in a threatening manner like he had done throughout the match, but instead he dived left as the ball went down the middle. His foot blocked it and he saved the follow-up from close range which saw the ball spin out and be pumped long. With the Watford faithful still bouncing from the justice of it, a cross was swung back-post and knocked down for Troy Deeney to ram home and create pandemonium in the stadium. Deeney himself vaulted the advertising hoarding and was enveloped by fans.

Let's hope Brighton do the business this evening because a final between them and Watford promises to be a great game.

All set for Monday

Brighton were held 0-0 at Selhurst last night but did enough to have won it. 
Julian Speroni made two trade-mark point blank saves from headers that I'll wager he won't manage on Monday at the Amex.

Palace improved after half-time but they still look a shadow of their early season form and short of confidence. Moxey had a mare at left-back and Gabbidon appears simply to launch every ball into touch irrespective of pressure and other options. Palace also lost Glenn Murray and Jonathon Williams to injury. Zaha sounded like he'd given up on Palace's chances when interviewed at the final whistle and Brighton must be confident of repeating their 3-0 league victory of March.

On the basis of who might afford us more points next season alone, we should be glad to see Brighton win through and get promoted at Wembley. Palace will need to spend some of their Zaha money if their slide is not to continue and league regulations should prevent Watford from fielding Udinese's team next season. 

Breathe easy everyone.