3 sides at the valley

You can't polish a cliche

2005-05-09T15:10:00.000Z

Well it's been a long time (5 month or so to be fairly exact)

An ill advised jump to Euro working under my belt and a return to the faux opulence of Docklands has now allowed me to get back on the blogger trail.

I like many read, more than most of us would care to admit, too much Charlton info on the interweb. Recent times, collective experiences and abundant frustrations have prompted me to be fearful of being the odd one out, so here we go, I return with my biased ill-informed views on all things Addicks.

You may well think the contact is crap, but ask yourself an honest question, none of us can get enough of this cliched punditry, so why should I be the one to let the side down?

It has been a turgid season, deep breath:- Curbs out, Fish out, Jeffers is a lush, Day is fat and useless, Peacock is, well what is he? Reg is a money grabbing new Labour spinner, anyone who writes a blog is a dickhead, Euell should have bought a jag then he would care about the club, Brian Cole has been hard done by, netaddicks and the "list" are full of whingers, Hughes is crap, JJ laughed and is therefore a Judas, there's another Judas we want to return, there's a East London mongoloid who we also want to return, Palace hate everyone apart from us, end of season slump, season ticket prices, new kit, centenary party, food in the ground, the general election, not renewing, maybe renewing, am renewing, Hughes is crap, Missbie is crap/quality/misunderstood, we need a striker/left back/centre back/right back/holding and attacking midfielder and so on and so forth.

To be honest, I have come up with a total solution, let's find that Footballing equivalent to B+Q and go and solve all our problems there. What a bunch of crap.

I think after all that's said and done we are our own worst enemy. Someone quite rightly said that the worse thing about supporting Charlton is the Charlton fans, and you know what, it's probably the most reasoned statement of the entire season. We have whipped ourselves up into a frenzy of paranoia, we've had a crappish season, but mid table still beckons.....wtf!

No, I don't think it's good enough given the progression over recent seasons (I promise not to say last 10 years or portakabins) in the same light it's not bad enough to warrant Percy from Plumstead phoning up 606 to have a pop. It has all gone a bit Pete Tong in the last 10 games. But is it really that bad that we expend so much energy blaming everyone and everything in sight?

I really don't think so.

The missing out on Europe hurts as it always does, but remember things change round in this league so very fast, weren't Man City going down a few months ago, wasn't Everton supposed to be crap (be honest, have they got a team collectively that better than us?) Perspective is a word than needs to come into everyone's mind.

A poor end to the season can be somewhat offset by sending the Eagles down on Sunday, look at it like this, if our first 10 games of the season had yielded 5 points and I said to you on the last day of the season we could secure 10th spot and send Palace down what would you've said....exactly, perspective.

Anyway my rose tinted specs are not that durable, next season is a BIG season for Curbs and the club as a whole. A somepoint the club has to take it forwards, the last 3 season has seen us plateau, and like all sensible reasoned fans (which we of course all are) we don't give a shit if the training ground has more pitches and a mobile jacuzzi with a disco, we want to see better players and better league placings, oh of course almost forgot, plus CAFC ripping every team apart 15-0 with total football.

If we do make that progression next year how do we measure it, better attacking impetus, a higher league placing, Rodney arsh gushing over us on sky, it's a tough question to answer and will produce as many and more arguments than we've already had. Maybe it's time to look at ourselves and what we want and can expect from our team........................

Powell makes the journey through the Blackwall

2004-12-17T13:23:00.000Z

Chrissy Powell is a dying breed, a quality footballer who everyone has nothing but good things to say about him. I for one am sad to see him leave but nothing stands still in this game, including the age of players.

It is indeed sad that the last outing of the famous Powell whhhooooooooooo---way! arm waving and jumping celebration was inside the SKY tardis at Dennis in the last minute park. (did anyone risk a burger over there by the way, oh my god!) Still his last act as a Charlton player was like one of his first, to connect with the fans and to make everyone smile, let's face it he's an entertainer not a surly show pony who demands respect for mediocre skill levels like so many other of his profession today or even another "England" left back at our club.

I like Chris Powell, I have never met him, as I am sure many of you reading this have also never met him. However I know that if I did meet him he would be a great guy to talk with and leave you nothing but impressed with him as a person. So good luck Chris from all of us.

If I had to pick one memory of the man over and above rushing home and pointing at the TV for the first 20 mins at Villa Park when he made his England debut. (Do you remember how proud you felt that a Charlton player was in the England side) it would have to be Steve's Brown Kung fu show against Vicenza a few seasons ago.

It was all very naughty (and in that respect highly entertaining) but it was only days after
the loss of a Charlton youngster and as such feelings were running high. Anyway someone clattered Powelly and he got up and had them round the throat and had to be dragged away by other players.

And after all of that, it wasn't the nature of the game, it wasn't a flash of violence from a normally placid player that made it memorable, it was the fact that you could identify with how the man felt given his reputation as a player to actually make him blow his top because he was so upset with the events of the times.

So good luck Chris, just hope we don't get you in the cup.

Bye Bye to the Mad Hatter

2004-12-16T15:09:00.000Z

So Joe has left Forest, now there's a shocker, I am amazed his tenure had lasted that long. He had supposedly "lost" the dressing room, alienated the fans, dissed Cloughie and taken what is a team with many decent players, into the bottom three.

That's not good Joe.

I saw him on TV only yesterday stiff upper lipped saying he is not affected by the above issue and will carry on. Maybe if you look at the back of Joe's jacket you will see the hand prints of the chairman, if you don't wanna jump then.......

I like Joe, he's a character and a half but the truth of the matter is he has delivered nothing post his crazy gang days and to be honest that was so long ago half of his midfield from that team have now appeared in I'm a celebrity.

Awoooga, the quality street kid, Hollywood superstar Mr Jones and alike included.

Talking of all things Crazy Gang leads nicely into Mr Euell's current predicament. Curbs says there is no problem, Jase says there is no problem, he just forgot to tell his ghost writer for egos, no sorry, Icons.com that this was the case. I hope Jason forces he way back into the team, when he is playing well he is a great addition to our midfield and we need his goals, boy do we need his goals.

Thomas' contract extension news of yesterday was very positive, from what I have seen of him this season the man has great potential and no little skill now. Width is something that we always could do with more of, long may his development and increasing influence within the team continue. One word of warning, if he comes on leaps and bounds he'll be off up the road to Islington or the King's road before you can say fifty grand a week.

I just wish players wouldn't say signing a new deal is a sign of loyalty, look Jerome, you couldn't get in the Arsenal team so you came to us, you look like you're gonna be a great player, just leave it at that.......

One final thought after seeing pictures of the players attending local hospitals, I wonder if they visited intensive care to say hi to Rommendahl's confidence? A Charlton team with two great wingers and a South African human trampoline in the middle, now that would make for a happy Christmas.

Curbs on the couch

2004-12-14T09:06:00.000Z

So I sat down bleary eyed on Sunday morning to watch the previous days goals on "Goals on Sunday" only to spy that media whore Curbs in his trademark "business casual" chinos and a nice shirt.

Curbs then proceeded to roll out his familiar set of cliches from his by now famous "how to give post match press conference" guide.

1: We couldn't finish the game off with the second goal - oh really Curbs how unusual
2: Danny, Franny and Dennis only came in 3 days before the start of the season and it has taken then some time to settle in - that's now wearing a bit thin
3: we lost the spine of the team in the close season

and so on and so forth

Maybe I watch a little bit too much Curbs so I guess it can be me being a little over sensitive to the contents of his pearls of wisdom?

As Peter Beardsley once said, to be fair, I think Curbs gives good TV. He is often on 5 live as a sumariser, does channel 5 as well as SKY and from time to time will be seen in the high brow papers providing his musings on all things football. I, like many, pray for a whole season without the utterance of those two words that all give us nightmares namely, Portakabins and Expectations. I guess we can live in hope.

Curbs was questioned over the much discussed "stick" that us fans have given him so far this season and as ever he gave his opinion whilst retaining his diplomacy. I really think one of the man's great qualities is that he never gets over excited or too down in the mouth. A quality that most of his peers could well do to learn from.

Anyway, like a 13 year old Blue fan I hung on his every word and at the end of it all was none the wiser to the usual questions I want to hear answered

1: when you leaving
2: who you gonna buy in January
3: Are you going to buy a proper striker

Still, Curbs probably pocketed a couple of grand, jumped in his Merc and glided back off to deepest Essex leaving us all, as usual, none the wiser.

Well, it's a start I guess...........

2004-12-13T18:29:00.000Z

I might as well try, I can't resist it any longer. Christmas is coming and I really can't be bothered to work much more prior to then.

Initial post coming soon.........................don't get your hopes up