Sunday 18 December 2022

Charlton Athletic 1 v Bristol Rovers 2

First, credit to all those who got this game on against the odds. The decision to have another pitch inspection at 12.30pm following the 10am one was diabolical. I don't know the F A process here but there is zero consideration for supporters when they can't make a call at 10am. If the referee had postponed the match at 12.30, the best part of a thousand visiting fans would have had their day ruined at some expense to themselves and that should be unacceptable. As it was, the match went ahead and they had a cracking day out.

Not so for the Sufferers. Loyal Pete and I were together in person for the first time this season. The driver was his 60th and a return visit to south-east London from his south coast idyll to celebrate with friends. He was adamant he wanted to be there but we got precisely what we expected and left on 75 minutes to cheer ourselves up.

Not a lot to say really. Rovers looked second-rate for the opening twenty minutes when thy failed to make an attack. Instead we buzzed around them with Rak-Sakyi and Payne in particular moving them about and creating chances. Ryan Inniss finally opened the scoring with a trademark dunk from a corner and you thought, for a few minutes that this might be a routine home win.

Once again we failed to capitalise and we took our foot off the gas, quite literally, and the game slowed. This encouraged the visitors and they mustered a few attacks before the break.

After half-time we came out even notably slower than we went in. Rovers responded by increasingly taking the game to us as they attacked the Jimmy Seed where their supporters were huddled together. I said to Peter after ten minutes that Hayes should make a couple of early subs because we had to change the tempo. I didn't expect him too and on the hour we witnessed another Inniss blunder that let John Marquis in for an easy finish. After that we went to pieces and ten minutes later another Inniss mistake gave Marquis his second. There was no response after that so we fled the scene trying to expunge another pitiful display from our memories.

We need a permanent manager and cannot dilly-dally as points are pissed away. Sandgaard is now directly liable. 

I join the chorus, too, calling for an end to Ryan Inniss' Charlton career. He has had too many chances already and we cannot afford to hand him more. His arrogance on the pitch is painful to watch. Either striding away from a howler as if it has nothing to do with him or was just one of those things is not something we can tolerate. If you add his frequent red carding for late and dangerous tackles, then there remains no argument. He is a liability and we can't afford it any longer.

I will also take aim at Jayden Stockley. Back in the side after a break and he did nothing. Failed to get the ball in space once and won nothing decisively. He appears to feel happier shoulder-to-shoulder with a centre-half and wrestling to get to balls than finding space and being able to take a touch or create a chance. His performances this season have been two steps down on previous seasons. Our style of football when we do get forward hasn't helped him but we are persevering with it so need to make changes up front. 

That goes for Chuks Aneke too who also appears to be firing on only two cylinders. We did see Miles Leaburn back in the shop window yesterday although he looked limited in the ten minutes we saw of him. 

Things need to change quickly. We have to get an experienced manager in before New Year and we need to change a number of personnel to try to reinvigorate this squad. As I keep saying, we lack leaders in any department. No-one is barking and urging their team-mates on. We can't sustain any tempo other than too slow and too many players are League 2 standard. This is all Sandgaard's fault for adopting a break-even club priority and under-resourcing the side this Summer. 

We also need some honesty about the operation of the club's fabled undersoil heating. There are strong rumours that the boiler is oil-fired and had insufficient oil and that we managed to cover the wrong parts of the pitch in the days leading up to the match. There may be no truth here but it's becoming typical of the malaise across the club, so you can see why rumours like this are being seized upon.

We are also steaming towards League Two and footballing oblivion. Pete and I have had enough after nearly 50 years of non-stop support. It's been painful for most of the last ten years and we agreed last night that life is too short to continue doing things you don't enjoy or that make you unhappy. Neither of us can be there on Wednesday, or we would have bought tickets (largely to support Varney's request). Following yesterday's performance, I am glad we aren't forced back on Wednesday because it promises to be another 90 minutes of pain and dejection.

I am currently catching up on the Netflix 'Welcome to Wrexham' series and have been struck once again about how many clubs are vulnerable to owners who run the clubs down in the hope that they can separate the club from the stadium and cash in on their assets. We are already asset-less but League Two at the Valley would simply be too big and too costly for us and another move could be foisted on us. This time it would be terminal. We cannot go down. 

It's high time Thomas Sandgaard feels the heat and noise of what he has orchestrated - Wednesday evening will be irresistible. The white lies on so many issues have gone on for too long and are coming into the open one-by-one. Nothing will change now whilst he remains. He needs to abandon ship and quickly. Time for Charlton supporters everywhere to encourage him.

1 comment:

  1. There's absolutely no point in hiring a new manger before Sandgaard gets on his horse and f*cks off to America permanently.
    If he hasn't sold up while there is still some January window remaining. The club needs to be boycotted by total absence of fans.
    I hate what is happening to MY football club. We've been through some shit in the 55 years I've been a fan. This current malaise feels, as you suggested, terminal.

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