Player Verdicts 2007-08

Last minute goals rescued points for several of our play-off rivals today, notably Palace and Wolves. There are still 6 or 7 games to go but I have resigned myself to another Championship season-ticket next year. With that in mind, I spent several days this week thinking about the players we have and trying to decide what I would do in Alan Pardew's shoes during the Summer as he prepares for what will probably be a defining season for him as Charlton Athletic Manager.

Goalkeepers

Nicky Weaver has had a decent season, particularly when you consider the defensive instability in front of him at times. He had a hard act to follow, so I won't be overly critical, but his shot stopping, whilst impressive enough, too frequently leads to goals from the follow-ups. I would keep him on and play him as first choice but we need to be very clear about the second and third choice Keepers. To my mind these need to be players who are pushing for a place on merit and occasionally displacing Weaver when he's had a poor game or two and not there purely for emergencies. I am not convinced Randolph or Elliott are viewed by the club as good enough to displace Weaver other than in an emergency. I haven't seen enough of either of them to draw my own conclusions but if I am close in my suspicions, then I would like to see one of them changed out for an experienced Keeper to be used to keep Weaver on his toes.

Left Backs

Chris Powell has had a superb career at Charlton and deserves to be given the opportunity to show what he can do in a coaching role. At 39 (in September), it would be unfair to expect him to perform again at this level and we have several young guns who are ready to be brought on.

Ben Thatcher will be 33 in November. His chances have been limited by injury this season but he offers good experience and bags of steel, although his lack of discipline on occasions is costly. I would be tempted to keep him for another season unless we could get any decent money for him or if he'sa big wage earner (probably).

Kelly Youga has had a great year in terms of development. He is still only 22 and coming to terms with English league football. After being blooded at Scunthorpe for the early part of the season he made an impressive Charlton start in January. He needs to improve his distribution but looks a real prospect. Could hold a first team place in a challenging side next season.

Grant Basey is only 19 and a Charlton youth product. He made an impressive debut in October and followed up with five more strong appearances. He should be challenging Kelly Youga for the number 3 shirt next season.

That leaves the much-rumoured Cory Gibbs. An international we signed two years ago under the noses of Premiership rivals but who has failed to start a single first team game (was there one?) due to successive injuries. I suspect he's only got a year or less left on his contract and is worth one last fling in August, otherwise we should cut our losses and stop the jokes.

Right Backs

Right-back has been something of an Achilles Heel this season.Yassin Moutaouakil looked like a top performer in the first couple of games but injury stalled his career and we have had to take Greg Halford on loan to cover after Danny Mills sulked off back to Man City at Christmas. Moutaouakil is still only 21 and should be looking forward to starting afresh in August as first choice.

Meanwhile, Greg Halford has proved an able loanee. His indisriminate passing in recent weeks has upset some quarters but for me, he has looked capable of playing in a Championship winning side and I would be keen to secure him full-time if Sunderland are keen to cut their wage bill.

Osei Sankofa is another youth prodigy but at 23 has been around a few seasons without actually establishing himself. He has been unfortunate with injuries and was also competing with Luke Young in the Premiership. Needs to make his mark next season or be moved on. Good enough to keep for now.

Central Defence

Early season wobbles here cost us dear and eventually lead to the loan signing of Sam Sodje which seems to have had the effect of giving us a better player and also getting the rest of the Centre-backs to up their games.

Paddy McCarthy had a nightmare start to his Charlton career after a move from Leicester City. He couldn't put a foot right and showed tremendous character to fight his way back into the team and demonstrate why he was Leicester Player of the Year in 06-07. He has shown fight in games during the last couple of months when no-one else has had any (maybe with the exception of Matt Holland). He is capable of playing in a Championship winning side next season.

Sam Sodje is on loan from Reading but has proven himself a capable Centre-Half and one I would happily watch again next year if we can get him permanently, although I suspect he could be back in the Premier League with someone else next year.

Madjid Bougherra was signed from Sheffield Wednesday last season and hailed as something special and one for the future. I haven't been overly impressed with him so far. He looks to have the height and pace required as well as an eagerness to join the play in midfield, but he is prone to major lapses and unforced errors and desperately needs to eradicate these and get a spell of settled performances. He's actually a year older than McCarthy, which is something of a surprise and I think he needs to prove his value next season or be moved on if we could get our money back.

Jonathan Fortune is our most experienced Centre-Half and the longest serving player? On his day he has competed with the best e.g. Alan Shearer. However, this year he has looked like he thinks he's too good for the Championship and can stroll through games. As a result he's been caught out badly on a number of occassions for soft goals and he has the arrogance to make it look like he doesn't actually believe he was responsible. With hindsight it might have been better for us if he had gone to Stoke. If Sodje could be retained next year or we can sign another competent centre-half, I'd try and sell him on.

Central Midfield

We have struggled in central midfield all season. We have no natural ball-winners and, in the absence of Andy Reid, no-one capable of regularly opening defences or delivering killer through-balls. Matt Holland, bless him, has played his heart out. He looks older than his 34 (in April) years and has always been one-paced. He stopped scoring regularly when we signed him from Ipswich Town, but for all that, he actually tries his hardest everytime he steps onto the field. In a stronger midfield he would not have been so obviously exposed but him and Zheng Zhi are too similar to play togther and hold the middle. I can't see Matt Holland driving a Championship winning midfield and needs better players around him or end up being used as a "20-minuter." maybe time for him to drop down a division.

Zheng Zhi has proven himself capable of competing in the Championship but not of dominating his position. Like Holland he needs stronger players around him and would benefit from playing in a better side than ours. The decision about what to do with ZZ depends on who we can bring in to hold the midfield. His best position might be just behind a front pairing or lone striker but he's a luxury we can't afford with our current midfield options.

Jose Semedo promised much in the Friendlies this year. At 23 he is still finding his feet in English league football but has shown enough to suggest he could yet develop into a special player. He's back in the side after a couple of months out and he is a decent utility player. One to be kept on next season.

Dean Sinclair was a strange signing. A 23 year old pro with league experience from Barnet, he's pretty much been on loan ever since which questioned the wisdom of signing him in the first place.

Thierry Racon was another strange signing. Like Yassin Moutaouakil, a promising French youngester, but unlike Yassin, one Alan Pardew has been content playing in the reserves and now loaning out to Brighton. Presumably he will feature in the fuure?

Left Wingers

A problem position for us this season in which we have often played right-footed Ambrose or Andy Reid, not a natural wide player (not in that sense anyway). A lack of decent supply from the left has been a major contributory factor to the shortage of goals from the strikers.

Jerome Thomas should have sewn this spot up all season and earned himself a big-money Summer move to a Premier side. Unfortunately he has had another unfulfilling season where he has been content to come on as a substitute and show-boat without actually creating the mayhem and damage that wingers are supposed to. Undoubtedly talented on the ball, his crossing lets him down and that is actually better than his shooting. It's no wonder he hasn't scored all year (for Charlton). He needs a move and a kick up the arse which we don't appear to have been able to give him. Perhaps Arsenal realised this a lot quicker than we have done.

Scott Sinclair joined us as a late loanee and has been limited to several poor substitute performances. Rumoured to already want back to Chelsea's third team, the sooner the better for me.

I think it's fair to say that a natural left winger with a supply line of crosses is a major Summer requirement.

Right Wingers

Slightly more to choose from but the same problem as the left flank in terms of shortage of crosses.

Lloyd Sam is 23 and has played all his football at the Valley. A prolific youth player, he has had plenty of opportunities this year to dominate the left flank but has failed to do so. He is comfortable on the ball and has pace but has a tendency to go missing for long periods in games. A mood player, too often this year the mood in the side has not been right for him and he looks unable to up the ante on his own. Needs to watch more John Robinson videos. Definately worth another season but we must have good cover if he's not doing it.

Darren Ambrose is more of a utility player I guess, but right winger is where he should be most effective. I am often hyper-critical of him but it's probably got more to do with him failing to deliver to his potential than him being a bad player. On his day he is a match-winner but there are too many other days when he disappears like Lloyd Sam. Technically he's better than most of the players in our midfield but he doesn't naturally command any position there or up front. Valuable as a utility player, we should have good enough position players in all shirts to prevent him getting a game. When that day comes, it might be time to move him on - it probably won't be next season!

Martin Christensen fits the Thierry Racon and Dean Sinclair model i.e. not quite sure why we bought them. Good enough to play for Denmark but not ready for the Valley when we've been desperate. If he isn't likely to feature in the first team before Christmas, he should be moved on.

Lee Cook is another loanee who has joined with a big reputation and apparently come for the promotion push. Unfortunately that won't be happening and neither will he be appearing in a Charlton shirt next season.

Strikers

Ultimately disappointing for us this year although a lot of the blame for that lies with ineffective midfields often working overtime to prevent being over-run and a dismal supply line from the flanks.

Chris Iwleumo lead the charge up until pre-Christmas with 9 goals including a number of late winners away from home. He will never play in the Premier League and, at 30 this year, this is probably as good as it gets for him. However, he has done everything asked of him and a good bit more. Worth another season but we need better quality options when he's injured or we need to change it upfront. Toss up between him and Varney for my Player of the Year.

Svetoslav Todorov has had a miserable debut year for us. He managed less than ten appearances before a crude and unpunished Plymouth tackle ended his season. He had shown enough though in the games he did play to show he is still capable of playing top-of-the-table stuff in the Championship. Hopefully he'll be like a new signing come August.

Luke Varney will be disappointed with his season. This was his big chance to emerge on the Championship goal-scoring scene and he hasn't taken it. Again, I think there are mitigating circumstances and there is a lot more to Luke's game than scoring goals although he should have had five or so more from the chances he's had. He reminds me of Gary Nelson and if he can match Nelson's return in the seasons to come, that will do very nicely thank-you. A definate starter for 08-09.

Izale Mcleod hasn't managed to make any impact since his arrival this year. Admittedly he has had limited opportunities and has suffered like the other strikers from lack of supply but his substitute appearances have gone almost unnoticed. Bearing in mind the abundance of striking opportunities available, I think we need to cash our chips in on Izale as soon as we can get close to a refund.

Until his freak accident ended his season prematurely, Chris Dickson was the one Summer signing that was an undoubted hit. Unfortunately, much of it was for Gillingham in lower league football, but he has shown enough to provide hope for next year. Again, like Todorov, he could look like a new signing come August.

Andy Gray joined in January to provide the goals we needed for automatic promotion. The fact that he has yet to score isn't the reason we have drifted towards mid-table but he can't have too much confidence right now. He's still our top scorer for the season based on the 16 goals he netted for Burnley, so hopefully it's only a matter of time and opportunity.

Leroy Lita is another loanee who must be wishing he'd stayed put. Four outings so far and no goals and no evidence of getting any soon. He might try harder at Reading next season.

In Conclusion

- Greg Halford and Sam Sodje should be sceured as permanent signings if at all possible. Another right-back is a priority in the event we can't get Halford.

- We need at least one new central midfielder capable of tackling and holding the midfield. Ideally two.

- We need both a right and left winger capable of crossing as well as getting five or six goals each themselves during a season.

- We might consider getting another experienced Goalkeeper unless we are serious about using Randolph or Elliott to keep Weaver motivated.

- If we can get a return, we should consider selling Thatcher, Fortune, Thomas as well as Bent and Faye!

- Powell should move upstairs.

All comments welcomed!

Charlton Forever!