The alarm bells on the good ship Charlton Athletic are ringing loudly this evening. In the space of four days we have been hit by two torpedoes and the engine room is filling with water. There is still some way to go before the Captain considers abandoning ship and we are still able to return fire. However, many of our supporters are panicking wildly with many having jumped overboard already.
Yes, it's been a tough few days. I watched both games on TV and they were painful. Wednesday's horror-show was infuriating given the manner of the 95th minute loss and today's tonking had the added embarrassment of significantly reducing our ability to boast about goal difference. I have to say, both performances were abject and worrying given how hopeless we looked and the fact that having messed the bed on Wednesday we simply did it again today.
Personally, I am not panicking. The fact remains that we have more players to choose from - Lockyer's unfortunate suspension apart - the overall position has been improving and we mustn't lose site of the fact that we have managed three wins in the last seven after just one in seventeen. I don't believe Bowyer has lost the plot or that he has somehow been found out having steered us through the whole of last season to an unlikely promotion and having shown very conclusively that he is able to compete in this league against the best sides. Our destiny is still very much in our hands and with Boro, Hull and Wigan still to come, things could quickly look just as different as they have proven in recent weeks.
What no-one would have legislated for was that the hitherto hopeless threesome of Luton, Barnsley and Wigan would all find form at the same time or that it would be as impressive as it has. Wigan have won three in-a-row (five in eight) including beating top-of-the-table West Brom at the Hawthorns today. Luton have won four in their last eight and have taken ten points from the last fifteen Barnsley lost at Reading today to end their three game winning run, although that did include victories over Hull and Boro, both of whom are in free-fall. I don't believe these runs will continue in this vein but they have done enough to keep us in the fight and drag Hull and Boro in too.
So, once again we have a must-win game on Saturday. Just like the Luton and Barnsley home games in recent weeks, we have to get the points against Boro. They play Forest at the Riverside on Monday but haven't won in eleven. They have lost the last three, including to Barnsley and Luton. Now is the time to play them and we could find ourselves five points clear of them next Saturday evening with a better goal difference. We may be firing on half our cylinders but Boro have, arguably, been even worse. Hull's form is worse still and the loss of talisman Jared Bowen has clearly hit them hard. No wins in eleven for the Tigers and they have lost nine of those!
Time then to hold our nerve and focus in backing Bowyer and the players again next week. If we mess this up, then they will only get what they deserve. By 'they' I mean Bowyer, the squad and ESI. There are large unanswered questions about ESI, in spite of the impressive PR, and these will only get louder if the club fails to maintain it's Championship status. Matt Southall needs some good news and if I were him, I would be chasing down that due diligence on the Valley and Sparrows Lane to lay to rest any remaining doubts that ESI don't have the funds to run the club any better that Scrooge Duchatelet and that they may have left him with a controlling interest in the future of our club. That might at least help offset the ongoing negativity about the team's performances or the players ESI brought in during January, at least until Lee Bowyer relieves the pressure by guiding us to safety.
Yes, it's been a tough few days. I watched both games on TV and they were painful. Wednesday's horror-show was infuriating given the manner of the 95th minute loss and today's tonking had the added embarrassment of significantly reducing our ability to boast about goal difference. I have to say, both performances were abject and worrying given how hopeless we looked and the fact that having messed the bed on Wednesday we simply did it again today.
Personally, I am not panicking. The fact remains that we have more players to choose from - Lockyer's unfortunate suspension apart - the overall position has been improving and we mustn't lose site of the fact that we have managed three wins in the last seven after just one in seventeen. I don't believe Bowyer has lost the plot or that he has somehow been found out having steered us through the whole of last season to an unlikely promotion and having shown very conclusively that he is able to compete in this league against the best sides. Our destiny is still very much in our hands and with Boro, Hull and Wigan still to come, things could quickly look just as different as they have proven in recent weeks.
What no-one would have legislated for was that the hitherto hopeless threesome of Luton, Barnsley and Wigan would all find form at the same time or that it would be as impressive as it has. Wigan have won three in-a-row (five in eight) including beating top-of-the-table West Brom at the Hawthorns today. Luton have won four in their last eight and have taken ten points from the last fifteen Barnsley lost at Reading today to end their three game winning run, although that did include victories over Hull and Boro, both of whom are in free-fall. I don't believe these runs will continue in this vein but they have done enough to keep us in the fight and drag Hull and Boro in too.
So, once again we have a must-win game on Saturday. Just like the Luton and Barnsley home games in recent weeks, we have to get the points against Boro. They play Forest at the Riverside on Monday but haven't won in eleven. They have lost the last three, including to Barnsley and Luton. Now is the time to play them and we could find ourselves five points clear of them next Saturday evening with a better goal difference. We may be firing on half our cylinders but Boro have, arguably, been even worse. Hull's form is worse still and the loss of talisman Jared Bowen has clearly hit them hard. No wins in eleven for the Tigers and they have lost nine of those!
Time then to hold our nerve and focus in backing Bowyer and the players again next week. If we mess this up, then they will only get what they deserve. By 'they' I mean Bowyer, the squad and ESI. There are large unanswered questions about ESI, in spite of the impressive PR, and these will only get louder if the club fails to maintain it's Championship status. Matt Southall needs some good news and if I were him, I would be chasing down that due diligence on the Valley and Sparrows Lane to lay to rest any remaining doubts that ESI don't have the funds to run the club any better that Scrooge Duchatelet and that they may have left him with a controlling interest in the future of our club. That might at least help offset the ongoing negativity about the team's performances or the players ESI brought in during January, at least until Lee Bowyer relieves the pressure by guiding us to safety.
Voice of reason ? God, I hope so.
ReplyDeleteJanuary window is never great, not just for us, for most teams, however, that said, I thought our Jan signings smacked of desperation, very uninspiring, especially after losing Gallagher.
Relying on the return of long/mid term injured players to change our trajectory, was never a good plan, we needed some decent signings to help Lee.
For me, it's not the lack of signings that truly concerns me, there's something that is just....well, just not right.
I hear what you say regarding recent wins, but Forest aside, we've looked very poor, even against Luton.
I trust in LB and I think we'll survive but in terms of ownership, have we gone from frying pan to fire ?
PH