Charlton Athletic 0 v Accrington Stanley 2

Oh the pain. Once again humbled live on Sky to the footballing nation. Thankfully most will have chosen to watch one of the two F A Cup ties on terrestrial TV but us Addicks were left to suffer once again.

For me the result was a milestone this season. It was the match that saw our hopes of automatic promotion disappear. We are now 9 points off Lincoln with six teams above us. It would take a winning streak of Inniss/Fanewo proportions to move us back into contention but those two are still weeks if not a couple of months away from active service.

The ignominy of losing to a side who were non-league not so long ago hurts but you have to accept that Accrington Stanley are in League One on merit and when they outfight, outthink and outplay you, it's time to show some respect. Especially so when next up are forever league whipping boys, Rochdale.

We were undone by a defensive howler from Jason Pearce who failed to get enough on a long kick from keeper Baxter and Stanley's Bishop nipped in to lift the ball over the advancing Amos and run on to head in from two yards. In the second-half, Bishop scored again, this time selling Oshilaja a dummy and leaving him on the deck before side-stepping him and making an angle to score as Pearce slid in hopelessly from the right. The absence of Inniss and Famewo couldn't have been more painfully underlined.

To be fair to Andy Holt's club, Accrington Stanley bossed the match. They peppered our goal-frame from the start and must have had at least a dozen shots from the 20 yard mark in the first-half alone. In the second-period, with the lead, they were more defensively minded but still got forward at will.

Lee Bowyer's post-match anger was evident and those who believe he has lost the dressing room will not have been discouraged by his Sky TV rant when he openly called out most of the team and was directly critical of Marcus Maddison for pulling out of a tackle late on. Maddison had taken a knock seconds before and limped off afterwards but Bowyer was incandescent and said that players who don't put in the effort won't be playing for the club. This sounded a little desperate given we have been seeing this for weeks now with the same players being rotated back into the side.

For what it's worth, Oshilaja and Pearce were both woeful at the centre of defence but for me, the problem is they are seeing far too much of the ball because our midfield can't hold it and they have been schooled to pass it around between themselves and Amos, which they do religiously, even when we are losing. 

Ian Maatsen is a tidy little player but he is guilty of over-playing and loses possession too much. He should be given strict instructions on his job. Gunter was tidy enough but part of a mis-firing back-line.

Midfield was the big problem. Morgan and Gilbey were missing in action during the first-half. It was the 23rd minute before I even saw Morgan and I only noticed he was hooked at half-time because Anneke came on. Gilbey should also have gone but Bowyer instead preferred to take off our man-of-the-match, debutant Liam Millar. He may have been tiring but Gilbey was asleep. Millar had been lively down our left and was unlucky not to have created more but until Anneke arrived there was nothing to aim for. Washington and Smyth run around a lot but neither are going to win a towering cross in the middle of the box. Millar reminded me very much of Jerome Thomas. Gloved arms out wide for balance and a slaloming, stopover, running style.

Forster-Caskey was a little more engaged but couldn't stop Accrington playing through us at will. He had a decent effort towards the end of the first-half which might have impacted the match but Baxter made a smart save to stop the cross shot. Smyth was ok on the right too and was one, like Millar who at least put in a shift.

Upfront poor Conor Washington was left looking busy but with little service and little chance as he was marked out of the game by Burgess, Hughes and Nottingham. 

The bedwetters are screaming for Bowyer to go but these are largely the same people who post "in Bows we trust' after we win a couple of matches. 'Fickle' is the word and it's an understandable reaction to what we are seeing but you have to ask yourself why are we struggling and who, realistically, would do better quickly? We all know that central defence without Inniss and Famewo is a major problem. It's been clear since August that we don't have a forward line that will lead us to promotion and leaves a midfield that looks worryingly short of confidence and commitment.

Andrew Shinnie is proving a big miss. Marcus Maddison has not yet made his mark and his stay could well now be over. Gilbey has been promising since arriving but nothing more and he has been coasting since his return. Not sure what's happened to Albie Morgan but he's lost whatever he was showing when he broke into the side. Jonny Williams can't manage more than 20 minutes and Forster-Caskey is a bit of a luxury for his contribution. That leaves Ben Watson who we rely upon too much and who is often embroiled in the back-four's passing-it-around game. Darren Pratley's energy might help slow the opposition in the middle but too often he's been playing in central defence or inclined to drift back where he is a bit of a liability. 

Replacing Bowyer won't help, even if we managed to get a new manager-bounce which hasn't really applied to us previously. The fundamental problem is our squad. It was woefully short in July and hurriedly assembled in August. At full fitness we can compete in this league but we have been well-short of that for two months now. 

We need to focus on some basics now and use this season to consolidate. Bowyer needs to pick players who are going to put in the required effort as a minimum. I'd like to see us settle on a side and stop rotating players. Accrington Stanley showed us last night what you can do with a settled side and a limited squad. Players who are just so-so aren't good enough for this club and we have too many of them. 

A brutal clearcut is needed in the Summer when lots of them have contracts that expire and the loanees are likely move on anyway. That would free-up the wage bill under the salary cap and allow us to rebuild. In the meantime, we have to suck it up as the Yanks would say.