Saturday 8 April 2017

Charlton Athletic 2 v Southend United 1

A late own goal by the Shrimpers handed the Addicks a lifeline at the Valley this afternoon. The three points moves the Reds onto 50 points and keeps them 16th in the table, five points clear of the drop. I can't comment on the match as I decided not to bother at the last minute. I did the Upbeats walk this morning and shared a couple of pints with fellow walkers before kick-off but couldn't bring myself to risk sitting through another game like Tuesdays. The walk was another reminder about all that is good about the supporters of Charlton Athletic and the brilliant work of the Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust. In excess of £20,000 raised by the time we set-off.

By all accounts we held our own today and deserved to edge it, although Nouble might have grabbed a point for the Shrimpers at the end of the match but, predictably, fluffed his lines. We should be safe now and the relative comfort gap  may be enough to secure another win that would almost guarantee our League One survival. Ironically, we could end up relegating fellow strugglers and Regime-sufferers, Coventry on Friday if we manage a second consecutive win, although we might be getting ahead of ourselves there.

Katrien Meire carried out her latest PR victory today when she met Valley Gold reps pre-match. Apparently, she said that Karl Robinson will have a transfer budget of "around a million" for the Summer. For once that sounds an honest appraisement but would clearly be insufficient to change this squad into promotion-challengers. News too that "Roland wants to come to games" but feels he can't at the moment. Almost too ridiculous to comprehend given the fact that Meire can swan about at home matches unscathed with only a couple of security men in attendance. She should know that her presence is more inflammatory than the ignorant, absent, hapless President. Still, blaming supporters is the only thing left for his shameful absence. Let's hope that we can all consign this drivel to history in the coming weeks with new ownership.

Elsewhere this week we had to witness the Club Secretary apologising on behalf of his wife  on her Facebook account for her most recent outburst against protesting supporters when she managed to equate the level of hatred towards the Regime with that of ISIS. Mr Parkes has been with his wife for over 50 years and his words were heartfelt but very sad that she couldn't bring herself to say sorry or show some humility. 

On a more positive note, I was pleased to see the Charlton-Welling connection strengthened this week as Alex Dyer gets his first chance in management. A thumping 4-0 win at PVR against relegation-threatened Gosport gives the Wings breathing space as the season winds down. If the Regime are still here come August, I am heading over the hill for my football fix.

1 comment:

  1. Early bird season tickets are £175.
    Watching your local side win whilst standing in the sun with a cold beer in hand.
    What more could a man (or woman come to think of it) want?

    ReplyDelete

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