Charlton 2 - 2 QPR

After my rant following our defeat at Carrow Road I did some thinking.

Clearly the Charlton fans are split about that the future holds, and about the best way for us to protect it. I have no axe to grind, but I believe, as I did when Pardew left, that we need a new face and a new attitude at the top for us to see any significant change in the fortunes on the pitch.

After today I am convinced that Parkinson is not the answer. For what ever reason the evidence is compelling. We have now lost four and drawn just three of the seven games we have played since he took over. Away from home we have played well and lost once and we have played badly twice. At home we have played well twice and drawn them both (but could have lost one of them) and we have played badly once and then there is today.

The first half today was as inept as I can remember seeing. For their free kick there were at least three people, other than me, that suggested (a nice word under the circumstances) that we should have had a player on the goal line next to the post. It was obvious that we were vulnerable there. Now I have never been a professional footballer, but I'm convinced that it's the job of the management to rehearse set plays. The crime of not 'coaching' the players for that free kick is enough to convince me that we need a new manager.

The rest of the first half did nothing to change my mind.

The second half we were better. We showed, at times, why this squad, with a decent manager, will be able to climb out of trouble. Add ZZ and Racon into the mix and I am confident that we will not be relegated this season. However, I do believe that we need to remove Parkinson and bring in a new face. I would prefer to remove Kinsella from the first team too. In his case it is more to do with wanting to save him from a situation where all the good he did for this club is destroyed by being associated with such a terrible time in the club's fortunes.

There may well be a time for Mark Kinsella, but if it is now he could well end up being remembered in the same was Les Reed is, and that would just be wrong for such a Charlton Legend.

I guess Parkinson will get Sunday's game, but even if we win 5-0 I want him gone. I truly believe that we have enough to get out of trouble, but I also cannot see it all the time there is anything left of the 'Pardew experiment'. Sorry Phil. I'm sure you're a good man, and I'm sure that you love your Mum and everything, but you are not what my club needs. Not right now.

Anyway, as had been said before, I have literally no say in what will happen, but if you've bothered to read this far you are obviously a little bit interested in what I think, and now you know.

As for the game, it was really exciting, but right now the only thing that matters is for us to get a win, and we failed, again. Southampton lost, as did Norwich and Watford, and Doncaster beat Forrest to leave us one win from 4th. This is the best news we could have had. Despite the fact that we are one game from equalling our worst run ever, we are still (potentially) only game from leaving the relegation zone.

Forrest, who have spent two seasons in tier three and are above us have sacked their manager and his number two this evening. Thus the chase is on. I believe that at least one of us will be relegated in May. The outcome of their new management recruitment and out 'strategic review' may well determine which one of us will get out of trouble (if either of us do).

I'd take a draw at Bramall Lane, but I expect us to lose. That is another potential three points. If I were Richard Murray (or whom ever makes the decisions now) I'd make my New Years resolution to be finding a new manager.

Up the Addicks!

Norwich 1 - 0 Charlton

Well that's six games, no wins, two draws, one clean sheet and more than three points from safety.

The time to appoint a replacement was after one or two games. The message being sent out to supporters is that the board have no appetite for the problems that lay ahead. Derek Chappell, who I know very little about, has been on a forum (Charlton Life) and reassured the fans that he is one of us - a fan himself. What he has failed to do is convince me that he has the faintest idea of how to run a football club.

The case for Parkinson is so weak! He was part of the Pardew regime, so that does not go in his favour. Since he came in he has signed three players and sold one. I am not going to criticise him for selling Varney for less than half what we paid for him, but the other three arrived and now cannot get in the starting line up. I know that McEverly has been injured, but I can see no purpose in having two thirty plus players that are clearly well past their best on the bench.

I genuinely believe that Parkinson will be here for the long term, and I also now believe that we will be relegated. There is an argument that we should have left Pardew in the seat if we were going to give Parkinson the freedom to sign three loan players and then keep the job in the face of two points from six games. That equates to 15 points over the course of a season. Pardew had managed 16 when he left after 18 games. It is Les Reed all over again.

I'm going to say that again because I think the historians are going to confirm that this season is almost a carbon copy of our last relegation campaign. We have managed to allow this shortsighted "save a couple of quid on a manager" attitude to cost us massive games against the teams we really need to beat, twice!

By the time Nottingham Forrest come to The Valley in January we will probably need to beat them twice in the same afternoon to catch them. After today Norwich become another team that is more than two wins away from us. On the basis that it has taken us 22 games to chalk up three wins I think that adequately describes just how hopeless our cause is.

I have little more to add, but at some point someone has got to tell those running our club that the next time they dispense with a manager they should have a plan for a replacement. Despite the fact that he was not sacked you could add the same logic to Curbishley's departure. That replacement took several weeks too.

Thankfully, Wolves have managed to beat Doncaster, so we are not actually bottom at Christmas, but it will not make me feel at all festive come Boxing Day. I can honestly say that for the first time for over 20 years I wish we were away on Boxing Day.

I have just about had enough.

On behalf of the Kings Hill Addick household, I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas to all fans, bloggers and readers.

Next... Norwich away

Before we played Derby I said that I thought the best we could hope for was a draw. I thought we played well on the night, compared with the opposition, and we were clearly unlucky not to come away with all three points.

On reflection a draw is better than a defeat, and we never looked like losing that game, something that could clearly not be said of the Coventry game.

Thus I am taking a positive approach to the Norwich game this Saturday. Despite our terrible run with no wins, there have been some performances which would normally merit a better result. Both Plymouth away and Derby at home we conceded very, very late goals and if you add in the 3-2 defeat at Birmingham where Weaver made two errors, both that led to goals, our position could be much better right now. Those six points would put us above Norwich and on that basis a draw on Saturday would be a very satisfying result.

As it is we need a win to guarantee that we are not bottom of the table at Christmas. Clearly with Forrest being just one goal better than us and Doncaster two goals worse a win should be enough, but technically we could win and still find ourselves bottom. Having said that we could lose and still climb above Forrest.

I am not sure what the significance of being bottom at Christmas is, and it shouldn't really matter, but there is something about not wanting to sit down to eat my Turkey knowing that we are the lowest of all the teams in the league.

Norwich are beatable. Despite the fact that we haven't won in 13, and the fact the we drew at home to Southampton then went away to play poorly at Blackpool, I'm going to go for a win. If I'm honest I'm not 100% convinced that we will get one, but just in case there is any truth in the suggestion that if you believe it enough it will happen I'm not taking any chances.

We will win. We will win. We will win.

Up the Addicks!

Next... Derby at home

Shall I go, or shall I stay at home and watch it on the tele?

A tough call, but despite paying nearly £50 a month for HD TV and Sky Sports I (we - my Dad and I) have decided to make our way to The Valley.

One of the reasons for this is that we have decided to go to the FA Cup game with Norwich and the web site seems determined not to sell us a ticket.

So we have managed to go 12 games without a win. I haven't checked, but that is probably the worst run since I've been going. It only seems like a few years ago that we won ten straight in the Premier League. I guess that would be because it was only a few years ago.

To be fair the whole world is in a mess. House prices are falling, the pound is falling, equities are falling and last weekend my inflatable Santa Claus fell (blown actually) over. Thus Charlton are in good company to be falling through the leagues at this time. Having said that, the same logic cannot be used for all teams, as some are doing ok. Liverpool and Wolves fans are probably going to have a relaxed Christmas this year. We are not!

Anyhow, Derby County. They managed to win promotion via the play offs and were clearly not ready for the Premier League. They were literally rubbish last season, and I think their problems are down to never equipping themselves to be anything more than a mid table tier two side, and now they are where they ought to be. Sadly their miracle promotion has brought high levels of expectations, and I read that they have debt problems too. I don't know what Paul Jewel earns, but it has been suggested that he will be on his way of they lose tonight. Maybe he will ultimately be on his way to The Valley, but I would think that the soon to be vacant position at Blackburn is likely to offer more money, and is nearer to the part of the world that he hails from.

I have reached the point where I have no confidence in us winning another game - ever. I know that it will happen eventually, but I just cannot see it. The fact that Parkinson has been given at least four games would suggest that the pressure must be off a little bit tonight, and again on Saturday at Norwich. However, I would suggest that two defeats in these games, especially if the performances are poor, would be enough to convince me that we are going down. Strangely if that does happen we might as well give him the job permanently with a target of getting us promoted back to tier two next season. I also think that the next two games will determine our January transfer policy.

I would think that all the players with summer expiring contacts should be sold in January if it looks at all like we are going to fail to avoid the drop. I know that sounds negative, but Fortune, and ZZ are worth a transfer fee, and if that totals £2m, that would make a huge difference in the third tier of English football. If they leave for free, which they almost certainly would do if we are relegated we will receive nothing for them.

Maybe I'm being entirely too negative, but I would rather have one season (or even two seasons) in tier three than risk being there for ever by gambling again on short term success. Particularly with our recent record of short term gambles.

So if I can't see us getting a win, I guess that makes a draw the most likely outcome tonight. On the basis that Derby are in a bad run of form too, it makes it possible. The bottom line is that we need to play much better than we did at home to Coventry and, from what I've read, away to Blackpool.

I am convinced that if they play as a team, and with sufficient effort we have the squad to avoid relegation this season. If the performance is as poor tonight as last week then I would be inclined to start the search for Parkinson's replacement. If, after, five games we have had three well below par performances we should assume that Parkinson is not going to give us anything more than Pardew did before him.

By giving Parkinson until January, however, I think we have effectively given him the job. If he gets us a couple of wins he keeps the job. If he loses all four games there will be no point in making a change, and no one that would take on the job anyway. I'm obviously ignoring anyone that would do anything for the money we would pay. My wife would take the job if you offered her £250k a year (actually she would probably do it for £100k, but you get my point).

I know that the above is little short of drivel, but there is not much more to say at present. We are slowly slipping further and further into trouble as weeks go by. I think the fans have been fantastic in the last two home games, particularly bearing in mind the circumstances. I have never been one of those to boo or sing "You're not fit to wear the shirt", but I am struggling to remember a more disappointing state of affairs on the pitch and frankly, some of the players have looked unfit to represent what I think Charlton Athletic is all about in recent weeks.

Anyhow, we are where we are. Let's get behind the team and see if they can prove me wrong and secure the win that starts the march to safety.

Let's put it this way, I'd take a 1-0.

Up the Addicks!

All I want for Christmas...

...is a win!

No seriously, I'm writing to Father Christmas, Jimmy Saville, the tooth fairy and the genie in the lamp to ask for my wish to be fixed for me.

If they can't manage to get us a win then I seriously doubt that that our Caretaker, his debts and the dross that his successor signed can manage it. Did I say debts, sorry I meant to say loans.

During 2008 we have played 45 competitive games (this includes two FA Cup games with WBA - both officially finished as draws and a Carling Cup game with Yeovil). Of these 45 games we have won 10 drawn thirteen and lost 22. Take the cup games out and that reads Won 10, Drawn 11 and lost 21. That's 41 points in a total of 42 games played. At home we have won 7, drawn 7 and lost 9.

That really sums it up for me. I cannot be bothered to calculate the appropriate proportion of the cost of two season tickets nor can I remember what I paid for the cup games (besides my Dad normally pays), but in terms of value for money, or more worryingly value for time and effort spent going, Charlton has failed to deliver in 2008.

With the large number of empty seats at The Valley recently I suspect that I am not the only one that has looked at the relationship between what you get to see and what you have to 'sacrifice' to go. I say sacrifice as there is still the cost of transport and the time you spend travelling and at the ground.

The cost of football in 2008 is ridiculous. Ignoring the recent 25% discount in the club shop; football shirts are £40 (£39.99). You can buy a Liverpool shirt in Bluewater for £26, and designer shirts from many department stores for less than £40. A program at The Valley is £3.00. An M&S employee working as a Christmas temp earns £6 an hour. That means that they have to work for half an hour (before tax) to buy a 'magazine' with interviews that are probably on the internet, and there is no free CD or DVD. To be fair there is the Manager's page. "I'd like to welcome the players, directors and fans of xxx FC for what will be an important/exciting/tough (delete as appropriate) match."

Even a burger (always burned), chips and a bottle of Coke with no lid (how are you supposed to stop it falling over when you get to your seat) is £7.50. That's an hour and a quarter at M&S, and they taste like sh.. (not very good).

I've come to the conclusion that you would get better value for money if you pumped all your cash into HBOS shares. Granted they will pay no return for many months (probably years) and many of the employees earn a fortune and regularly under perform, and those that leave are rewarded with huge pay offs (sound familiar?), but you don't have to sit in the freezing cold while people ridicule you. "You used to be good, and now your sh.. (not)." "Premier ship and you fu.. (messed) it up!" What a great way to spend your limited time off from working eh?

You may have detected a slight tone of disappointment regarding my love affair with Charlton Athletic. However, I am beginning to feel the same contempt for football in general. The Premier League, the fan's choice (me included) is awash with clubs that are lining up to sack their managers, or have done so already. The Sky TV "Sunday Supplement" program used us as an example of why yesterday. The reference (the first since we were relegated) was that you could end up like Charlton Athletic if you are relegated from the 'Gravy Train'. Quick sack the manager or we could end up like Charlton Athletic!

I have to admit that while we were taking the TV cash I didn't care at all about the rest of football. "I'm alright Jack!" As long as we were not relegated I really didn't care. Now suddenly all the promises about us taking the Championship by the scruff of the neck and winning the division sound like the dreams of a certified nutter.

Relegation or not, this season has been a complete disaster. The impact on ticket sales for next season and beyond is now unavoidable. The "Free Season Ticket in the Premier League" offer last summer probably distorted the sales for this season. Take that out of the equation and even if we stay up you'll probably be able to bring a sleeping bag and lie down to watch the game next season. If you bother to turn up at all.

It's strange as I felt this enthusiastic about Charlton just before we played Coventry at home last season, and that was probably one of the most memorable games I've been to. Not just because of the result, but of the emergence of Jonjo Shelvey and that goal scored by Chris Powell. Maybe we are going to re-ignite my passion for all things Charlton tomorrow? Maybe we are not.

We now have five games left in 2008, and ignoring the close season, we haven't won back to back games for over a year. I don't remember us going a whole year in the Premier League failing that feat, let along in the second tier of English football. I'm becoming ashamed to talk about football with my friends now. "We're sh.. (rubbish)." is all I'm willing to say about it.

So, I'm going along tomorrow night expecting us to manage to extend our run without a win to the same number of games that we won back to back under Curbishley in 1999-2000. I'm confident that we will not fail to achieve that landmark, we seem to have everything we need to.

I just wish someone would tell the players that what we really want is 12 games without defeat, not 12 games without a win.

Twelve games without defeat did you say, well why didn't you say so before?

Dear Jim,

Please could you fix it for Charlton Athletic to win a match.

Thanks Jim,

Kings Hill Addick
Aged 37.

Up the Addicks!

Next... Southampton at home

Since I wrote my review of the QPR game a lot seems to have happened.

I have been to France on a booze cruise - except I didn't bring much booze back; We have lost to QPR in another game that resembles the last two away games under Pardew (great stats and 'effort' but no win); Woolworth's have gone into administration; We have signed another two players on loan; all sorts of horrors have been happening in Mumbai; and we have off loaded the striker that scored both the goals scored against Palace in February, and the first goal that my son witnessed.

Ignoring the non-Charlton items in that list, I can't help but thing that the most significant in that list is the 'sale' of Luke Varney. Parkinson suggests "...Luke needed a change of scenery to kickstart his career and it was a chance for the club to recoup a large chunk of the transfer fee paid out for him." A large chunk? What constitutes a large chunk? The fee is to be 'undisclosed'. In our current financial plight would £500,000 be a large chunk? Would £250,000? Does he mean a large percentage of the original fee? Does that mean £1m plus? The fact that he is being sold now - and may well be the only player out for a fee in January - makes it difficult not to assume that the money received for him will be used in the managerial change. I am not going to go as far as to suggest that the money will end up in the bank account of a certain Mr Pardew, but one could argue that the £2m (plus) he paid for him is the actual price of letting the manager go.

I will not fester or go on about the financial implications, but I am happy to say that I'm glad to see the back of Luke Varney. I could well at some point find myself comparing him to Big Chris who is having the time of his life at Wolves, but I just don't think Varney has justified his existence at Charlton at all. The comments from Pardew in the summer, a full twelve months after he got here, that he had at long last started wearing the right jeans said it all really. The lad clearly failed to settle into his new life style. That might be an issue with him being too young at 24 to move away from his family; he might not have adapted to being so rich (relative to his Crewe days - remember he was signed from non league so was probably one of the less well off Alexandra players); he might have found the increased press attention associated with promotion favourites to be too high. What ever the reasons he clearly failed (miserably) to live up to the expectations that we all had for him when he signed for £2m - £2.5m. I don't necessarily blame the player for that, and I don't get the feeling that he was responsible for what he cost us, nor did he ever have an adverse attitude. He just couldn't do the business on the field, and for that reason I'm glad he is no longer on our wage bill.

I think that some managers (in all walks of life) make decisions that do not work out, yet feel afraid of admitting their mistake for fear of increasing the pressure on them. Pardew has been good at 'taking in on the chin' and did drop Varney at the end, but I can't help feeling that it is easier for Parkinson to sell him at a loss that it would have been for his predecessor. It reminds me of the situation with Francis Jeffers. The truth is that you can only make decisions based on where you are. The mistake is not (I hope) the sale of Varney for less than we paid, the mistake was paying £2m for him, or even signing him in the first place. However I think the right decision has been made now.

For the record I was underwhelmed when we signed Big Chris, but I was impressed with what he provided and was a little sorry to see him leave, all be it that the fee received was a benefit and a huge profit as he signed on a free.

So the two new loans will presumably be involved on Saturday. With the restriction of only five being allowed to be involved at a time and the loan deadline it is, of course, possible that they have been signed with a slightly more long term view. I would expect to see both the loan wingers play and I think Primus is a bit of a certainty. I was, personally, disappointed to see Craine back in at full back, but it has to be said that with Mou2 having his first decent run in the side coincide with our worst run since we were relegated it was hardly something I could complain about.

I remember seeing Deon Burton play and score for Derby in the Premier League then Jim Smith came out and made comments that raised some doubt about his attitude. Something that has been borne out a little with him having had 11 clubs. However, he might just be able to provide something between now and the end of the season. On the basis that we are looking for just enough to finish above three clubs that requirement may well be limited, and two goals and two assists could be worth 8 points, which might make a huge difference come May.

The left back slot has been a problem for us this season, and Pardew did say that Youga was one bad performance away from being dropped, and he hasn't looked very impressive in the last two games, so a replacement was to be expected. Just how good McEveley will be is a moot point as he couldn't get into the first team of a side that think Luke Varney is the answer. However, I think he will play, and even if it only gives Youga a bit of a rest it can't be a bad think. Quite what Grant Basey has done wrong I don't know, but maybe his time will come.

I feel inclined to give Parkinson a run of games to see if his influence (including the players he's brought in) can provide us the lift we need. I do still have reservations about his role with Pardew, but on the basis that I can not influence the decision either way I'm happy to let things carry on as they are for now, while reserving the right to complain about it later if it goes wrong.

So a home game against a genuine relegation candidate. Sounds a bit like Barnsley. Strangely enough since we played them Barnsley seem to have carved out an eight point lead over the drop zone. On the basis that we have not won back to back league games for eleven and a half months (ignoring the close season) I think you can assume that it is going to take us at least four games to secure 8 points - and probably more like six - Barnsley are looking very safe now.

Southampton have not lost for two games, including a win at Reading. I'm going to suggest that we will lose tomorrow, not by much, but by enough to make our plight a little worse.

I hope I'm wrong, but right now I just cannot see us winning another game this year. Looking at the fixtures there isn't a match that I'm confident of securing three points.

Never the less I will be there tomorrow, as will my Dad, who has been away for a few weeks. Maybe he'll bring us that little bit of luck that we so clearly need, maybe he won't.

Up the Addicks!

Next... QPR away

With the benefit of another 24 hours to digest what has happened, and the signing of Keith Gillespie, which we've been assured was Parkinson's signing, I am feeling a bit more upbeat about tonight's game.

If you assume that we would probably have lost tonight and on Saturday if Pardew had stayed in charge then we have two potential 'bonus balls' as Curbishley used to call them. He was referring, of course, to Man Utd and Arsenal away, but the principle is the same. I have long believed that, despite the weaknesses of the players in our care, we are a much better side with more confidence. It's an ironic truism that you need confidence to win games, and you need to win games to build confidence. It often only takes the slightest bit of luck and that spiral can change. As New York Addick suggested, one of those moments occurred when Varney failed to score a winner at home to Burnley, the potential of which could mean the end of his career with us. Another one was the flapping of Perez before Richard Rufus scored his first goal for us.

With luck (sorry) we will get a bit of luck tonight. It may be a goal line clearance, it may be a suspect refereeing decision, but if we can come away from Loftus Road with either a point or a clean sheet (I know that latter guarantees the former), we could get that lift for Saturday. I am happy to accept that we probably need more on Saturday than tonight, but both games provide a chance to increase our points total, and more importantly our confidence.

Parkinson has already said in his press conference that all he is focusing on is QPR. I am not a fan of football cliches, but they only exist because they are so right. His financial future is probably safe for now, and his long term reputation will be unharmed if he is in charge of us for a short period with limited success. So we all have little to lose.

In the event that Parkinson can motivate (or get lucky with) the squad and pick up some points I am more than happy to have him in situ for the rest of the season. I would even be happy to give him a season to see what he can do with time. My only caveat is that a permanent replacement needs to be ready to come in if it transpires by the middle of next month that our fortunes are not going to improve.

A week is a long time in football and by Saturday evening we could find ourselves three and four points above two of the teams we are currently chasing. We could also find ourselves eight and nine behind them. It is worth noting that despite going to Bristol City tonight, Watford entertain Doncaster on Saturday, so they are likely to get something this week.

I managed just once to accurately predict Pardew's team selection in 23 months, so I doubt I will get anywhere near tonight, but if we assume that Gillespie is going to play, Sam is likely to be dropped. Sometimes Lloyd Sam looks like he is really going to make it, then other times he looks like he is never going to. I would suggest that the next ten games are not going to be for the faint hearted, or the inconsistent. I would rather see a limited player that you can rely on 100% than an enigma. Sadly, I have little idea what many of the players we has signed can offer with an extended run in the side. Izale McLeod's video on You Tube when we signed him made him look like the next Darren Bent. In sixteen months he has made just 8 starts; Racon has in the same time made 5 starts, Todorov, the player that Pardew claimed we missed last season has made 7. It is conceivable that all of that trio could play in the same team, they may even be the best three players we have.

I am well past blaming anyone for the situation we find ourselves in, but Parkinson may well have some experimenting to do of his own. Clearly he has seen the players in training, but I doubt that is as telling as a run of ten games in the first team. This leaves us back where I started. We need to rely on luck for the next few games. Parkinson needs time, the players need confidence, I need a few good nights sleep, and the points total needs to be increased. In all fairness we haven't had a lot of luck recently, so if it is true that luck evens itself out over the season could we have half a season's worth in the next three games please?

There are a number of problems facing our club at the moment. They all need to be addressed at some point, but for now let's just concentrate on picking up a few points and a bit of confidence. If we can do that I have a feeling that the rest will all start to seem a lot easier to solve.

Either way I hope that those that travel to Loftus Road tonight get to see a decent game and a winning start to a new era.

Having said that, I'd take a point, defo for sure if it comes with a clean sheet.

Up the Addicks!

Déjà vu

In November 2006 we sacked Iain Dowie believing that it couldn't get any worse. Seven games later and it was so much worse that the appointment of Alan Pardew was looked upon as both a chance to keep us up (small chance) but a manager that really knew the Championship so would bring us right back up.

Fast forward to November 2008 and we have sacked our manager believing that it can't get any worse.

It's time for me to come clean. I've never liked Alan Pardew. In fact I hated the man. Not that I ever met him, but he was a Palace player. He was also the player that scored that goal that put Liverpool out of the FA Cup in 1989. I always had a soft soft for Liverpool, and I always had a hatred of Palace.

Then he signed for us, and I didn't particularly like him as a player. He seemed like he would drift in and out of games, and never seemed to be too keen on tracking back and would fail to make tackles that I thought he should. He did score some goals for us, and one of them made my all time top ten - Southend at home the day the East stand opened.

I was happy when he left the club. The only departure that I liked as much was Darren Pitcher, but that was because he called me a "F**kin' C**t" in front of my girlfriend at the Player of the Year award do in 1993. I was pleased when I heard that his career had been cut short through injury. Even happier still when I discovered he was working on a building site - the place where calling someone a "F**king C**t" is much more acceptable than at a company dinner in front of one of your most loyal customers, and his girlfriend.

I digress.

When Pardew turned up at Reading I was a little indifferent as we were a Premier League team, and they were in the third tier of football. When he walked out to go to West Ham I just thought that it showed what sort of a man he was. Also as I hate West Ham with a passion I felt that they were right for each other. I was really in a quandary when West Ham played Palace in the play off final in 2004. On reflection I think I decided that for the good of us it was better to keep West Ham out of the Premier League. It was, however, a bad day in the Kings Hill household.

The following season I was desperate for West Ham to miss out of the play offs as I thought that could dictate a long spell in the second tier of English football for them - their rightful place in my opinion. Sadly he lucked all the way to a victory over Preston. Then a funny thing happened, I started to admire his press conferences during West Ham's FA Cup Final season. Clearly I was very happy that they lost to Liverpool. I was, again, far from being his friend when Pardew tried to sign Luke Young. Rumour was that it was his medical that stopped it. This was after he'd taken Paul Konchesky for a mere £2.5m the summer before.

When he was sacked from West Ham I suspected that they would get out of trouble. It was clear that, for whatever reason, Pardew was completely out of his depth. What Curbishley achieved there was a miracle, one which I think makes the way they treated him seem even more disgusting.

To be fair, when he came in to 'save' us I was probably pleased. Mainly because we had become a laughing stock. For obvious reasons - we had sacked their mate - the presenters on the tele hated us, and Les Reed came across so, so badly that Pardew was a huge improvement.

Now, looking back, it would seem as though all he actually achieved was a little bounce in his first half dozen games. Despite his assertions that he was very good at buying players, he has failed miserably with the ones he has bought for us. He failed to keep us up. I know it was a tough ask, but the worst that could have happened was that we went down, and that is exactly what happened. I don't blame him for it, but we cannot praise him either. We didn't even finish third from bottom, which, on reflection, might be worth millions of pounds courtesy of West Ham and Carlos Tevez.

Last season we started the campaign with arguably the best squad in the division. We spent loads of money (for a tier two team) then went on to loan four players from Premier league sides and still managed to finish eleventh.

The last chapter in this 'Thank You' to Alan Pardew is that The Sun is reporting today that he had a clause in his contract that guaranteed him £1m within 12 days of being sacked. It is ironic that Parkinson was brought in on the basis that if/when Pardew went off to manage Man Utd or England we would have a replacement in place to carry on the good work. It would seem, however, that despite his arrogance (it's much more than confidence) he thought it necessary to ensure that if he turned out to be rubbish he would be guaranteed a pay off. I am, of course, assuming that there is some truth in this story, if there is not then I apologise, in advance, for any upset that I might have caused the man that has single handed destroyed the one thing that I love the most (outside of my family).

When Dowie was sacked I was hopeful that a new manager would give us a lift, and enable us to climb out of trouble. Les Reed's first interview confirmed that he was not the man to do it. He claimed that after seeing us spanked by Reading he now had an idea where the problems were.

So we are here again. Phil Parkinson says that "Now is the time to roll our sleeves up and come out fighting". I'm not suggesting that he should have said anything else, but it sounds a bit like what Pardew has been saying. To be fair he has admitted that we are in a relegation dogfight rather then mentioning how close we are to sixth place, but I worry that if we lose the next two games, Southampton being the important one, we could well be tailed off in the bottom three and that could be too much for our squad to make up with literally no confidence at all.

So this is a crucial time for us. I believe that Parkinson is probably a good manager, but I suspect that this is not the time for him to be in charge at Charlton. It is not my call, nor is it my money, but I think that the sooner we get in a permanent replacement the more likely we will be to get out of trouble. I'm not too worried about a relegation fight, I think we have too many players in their comfort zone, financially, for the battle, but the overall quality in a few (limited) areas should be enough for us to claw out enough points to finish above Doncaster, Forrest and one other side. However, if we slip to six, or heaven forbid, nine points behind safety we could be in the same position as when Pardew arrived.

I have thought for a long time that Pardew wasn't going to get us promoted, so he had failed in his job description, but until he was relieved of his duties I didn't really think that much about what came next. The squad needs, in my view, a lot more than minor surgery. I think we have, due to our recent Premier League years, granted contracts on much more attractive terms than we should have done. I have no inside information, but I would guess that Varney, McLeod, Gray, Hudson, Fortune, ZZ, Sam, Weaver, Todorov and Holland are all earning much more than the division's average. The last two in that list were offered one year extensions last summer, and are probably not going to be here next season. I doubt that we would be able to find another club that would be willing to pay us what we laid out for them, and in the case of McLeod and Varney (and Sinclair for that matter) they are probably only good enough for the division below us, where their salaries would be obscene. I hope these players can prove me wrong, but I just don't see it happening.

Add in the fact that ZZ and Fortune can leave for free in the summer, and sign contracts in advance of that on 1st January, and it does paint a bleak picture for the new manager. Thus you would expect any new man to demand a 'sacking' clause that guarantees him compensation for the damage to his reputation if he comes in and we go down, lose our better players for nothing, and sell the rest to pay for the high wages of players that we can't offload.

Despite my optimism in recent weeks the reality, that I may have accepted a little later than most, is that we are in a real mess.

Right now I'd take forth from bottom in the second division and 10,000 season ticket sales in the summer. I wouldn't have considered that two years ago. I wouldn't have even considered considering it two years ago.

I hope that Phil Parkinson can turn things around. Sadly we need stability, but in the short term we need results. Without results Parkinson will not be given long enough to build stability. So either he gets lucky and we start winning against all the odds, or he becomes another causality of the Pardew 'Boom and Bust' philosophy.

Good luck Mr Parkinson, you are going to need it.

Up the Addicks!

Next... Sheffield United at home

I went to University in Sheffield. I had a really great year there and I made some friends that I still see on a regular basis. The degree that I came away with was, of course, the main reason for going, but the life long friendships (I finished there in 1993) were the main benefit. However, I 'adopted' Sheff Utd as my second team during that time. They were in the Premier League that season, as were Wednesday, and they were regarded as the smaller (weaker) of the two sides, and they play in red! I went to Bramall Lane a few times, I even had a tour of the ground and met Dave Basset (their manager at the time) so I was very happy for them to be my 'local' team for a year.

Today, following the behaviour of Warnock, I find that my affection (if that's the right word) has dwindled. The way he, and therefore, the club conducted themselves in the public arena during their recent Premier League season left a bitter taste in my mouth. I'm not talking about the Tevez affair, I'm referring to his constant whining and complaining about referees etc.

Anyway, that aside, I would still rather have them do well in the absence of Charlton's interests being affected, but tomorrow we could really do with a win ourselves.

From what I've read we gave a very good account of ourselves at Plymouth and especially Birmingham and could, nay should, have won them both. All good news I'm sure. Sadly I fear that we might have stumbled across this 'formula' by accident rather than by design. In all honesty, despite Pardew's suggestions to the contrary, we are not in a challenge for promotion now this season, we are in a relegation fight, and stumbling upon a successful 'formula' by luck is probably all we need to avoid Tier Three. If we were really hoping for top six then we would need to be able to 'make things happen' rather than just keep changing things until it seems to work, but we are now aiming for fifth from bottom on the basis that if we miss it by one place it's no disaster.

As for what happens moving forward, it looks like it will be loans, loans, loans. I don't like this approach particularly, but if we assume that the board are considering Pardew's future while keeping it from us fans, then allowing him to spend money on permanent transfers would be illogical. The good things about loan players is that if a new manager comes in and doesn't rate them he can just send them back. Something tells mew that if we could send Varney back to Crewe for a refund of the £2m we paid for him, and have no obligation to pay his wages any more we would do so. The same logic could probably also be used for McLeod, Christensen, Sinclair and to a smaller degree Andy Gray. If any of those players had been on loan with us for half a season before we bought them we would probably not have paid out for them.

That is all part of the game, of course, but to allow your manager to take those type of gambles - and to be fair to Pardew, he has had some successes too - you need to be sure that he is going to be around long term.

Anyway that has all been covered way too much elsewhere. I am approaching tomorrow's game as I did towards the end of last season, a game of football that we will try to win that will not have any significant impact on the rest of our season. Clearly every game is a potential three points, but if we are going to finish fifth from bottom then anything against Sheffield United is a bonus, even at home.

Having said that I have a funny feeling that we will give a good performance tomorrow, and assuming we can keep them out for the first fifteen minutes or so we should be able to take the game to them a bit more. Iberian Valley author Nelson has already done an analysis of this and it would seem that if we score first we are in for a good day - concede first and it is probably not going to be a Happy Valley.

Thus I have a plan. Let's score first.

See, it's easy. All that fuss about Pardew and his tinkering, his 'formulas', his 'nous' and his 'mental and physical strength'. All you need is to score first. How hard can that be?

Well, on the basis that we have conceded first in our last seven games I guess it's a bit 'tricky' as my my four year old son would say. Quite what the relationship between scoring opening goals and defeating Darth Vader on the PS3 is I don't know, but I'm sure 'tricky' is a good word.

As my Dad is away again I will be going to The Valley on my own on Saturday. I think I have already mentioned my motivation for going to football. It's a social thing that I do with my Dad, and the day is not the same when I go on my own. I have read a lot about season ticket holders deciding not to go to games, and clearly it's true when you look at the number of empty seats. So this week I have caught myself thinking about whether I am going to go or not. My wife and I are going to a Ball at our Son's school tomorrow evening. It's one of those fund raising things, and the school is, apparently, 21 years old. Anyway I will need to get home from football, run through the shower, get dressed up like James Bond and leave in about fifteen minutes. It would be much easier to pass on the game, watch it on Sky Sports News and have a leisurely shower before going out to take on Gold Finger.

Then I remembered that I am a Charlton Fan. I don't only go when we are winning, I don't only go when Man Utd come to The Valley. I just go.

So when I steal a quick look in the mirror as I run past I'll be thinking to myself "Addick. Kings Hill Addick, Lishense to kill" while my own Money Penny will be at the bottom of the stairs yelling "I told you you didn't have time to go to football now hurry up, we're going to be late!"

Not going? Who was I fooling?

Up the Addicks!

CAFC TV

I remember when MUFC TV appeared on my Sky TV guide. I was so jealous! I know they are a much bigger club than us, but they had their own tv channel that would show interviews, features, highlights and everything, all day long!

Well, now we have one, and Man Utd's is £6 a month (I think) where as ours is only £35 a year. What's more you can't have a sneaky look at MUFC TV from your office desk, where as you can with our web based 'tv channel'.

So it's all good then?

Well, yes actually. I know it means I have to stump up another £35, and as I would never entertain allowing my Dad to use my password I can't share that cost, but for what you get you'd be mad not to.

Now I'm not saying that the sales people should go and increase the fee, we are in a recession and all that, but when you think I paid £30 to go to Selhurst Park (plus travel etc.) I think this is good value for money.

My only reservation is that should we storm into the Premier League in May I might not have access to much next season, and my annual subscription runs until, strangely enough, 12th November 2009. However, I'm not going to lose much sleep over that as I don't really think that is very likely, and even if it happens, I'll have a free season ticket so I won't care too much. Of course, I'll also have the benefit of watching Charlton in the Premier League, so it's all win, win, win.

Clearly there is not much in the way of interviews on there yet, but then to be fair, they only started five minutes ago. I just can't wait. All this for less than the price of twelve programs.

You just can't go wrong.

And then there was one

The title of this was going to be "And then there was none", but despite how I tried to massage the figures I couldn't quite get there.

What am I talking about?

Jonathan Fortune
Zheng Zhi
Lloyd Sam
Kelly Youga
Martin Christensen
Matt Holland

That list are the only survivors from our Premier League days. Of that list only Matt Holland was signed for a fee and has played in the first team in the Premier League. There is also a question as whether any of them would be good enough for the Premier League, although I suspect that the first two on the list could end up there next season if they are available on a free transfer in June.

Thus the point of this is that with the sale of Darren Ambrose we now have just a 34 year old in our squad that we signed (for a fee) in the Premier League. This is probably not such a bad thing, I mean, after all, we are not in the Premier League, and don't expect to be there again anytime soon.

The wages that Darren Ambrose was earning are almost certainly too high for the division he is playing in, and in my view, he has found his level. I guess he, like the rest of us at the moment, has to accept that the plentiful days are gone. I could be wrong of course. Ipswich may see something in the next two months that will tempt them to offer him Premier League wages in our division, but I doubt it. I also have a few concerns that if the permanent deal is not already signed, and the loan is a technicality to enable him to move outside of the transfer window, he could be back in January. For this reason I am reluctant to be too critical of him.

Having said that.....

My personal view of Darren Ambrose is that he was expected to develop more than he did, both at Newcastle and with us. The return he gave is probably below what we have received from other players (pound for pound) but more than some. As New York Addick pointed out Francis Jeffers, Marcus Bent and Dennis Rommedhal all provided a lot less for a lot more money, and they also made it clear that they thought little of the club.

What Darren Ambrose thought of Charlton is unclear, but his PR has been good. One could argue that on relegation he was unlikely to secure a better financial package by leaving, and could have always intended to run his contract down and leave on a Bosman. However, he was the only (or one of a small few) player(s) that came out and committed himself to a season of trying to win promotion.

Overall I have a few disappointing memories of Darren Ambrose, but I also have a few great memories. I fear that it could be a few years before we sign another England U21 international, and we may well have a lack of the real class that he showed from time to time. It is, however, really sad that the best thing I can think he brought to Charlton was an association with another Darren who subsequently signed for us in the summer on 2005. I have no idea if Darren Bent's decision to join us was influenced by his long term friend, but I can't help thinking that if it was, the transfer fee we paid to Newcastle for Ambrose was well worth the money.

We now all wait with baited breath to see who the replacement will be. It could be argued that we are more in need of a regular goalscorer, than a lightweight utility player that seems to be a jack of all trades, and a master of none, across the midfield. Time will tell, but in the meantime I would like to wish Darren Ambrose all the best for the rest of his career. Despite what he did (or didn't) bring to our team I never felt that he gave less than his all. He was not a tackler and he was asked to play in various positions that were not his best, but I think he was a good professional. Even if he wasn't ultimately worth what he was costing us, he did, I believe, do his best.

Up the Addicks!

The board back Pardew

Not being shy at completely changing my mind when it suits me I am about to surprise a few people with my latest best plan.

I have little knowledge of running a football club. I have limited experience of management in business, and I think having a team (players or managers) that are independently wealthy is different again.

I have made it clear that I have lost confidence in Alan Pardew, I still believe that the fortunes of the first team would be better served with a new direction, but I am willing to give the board the benefit of doubt.

I have a small reservation about the board's motives. if they just want rid of the club now due to the increasing financial burden then maybe keeping Pardew is the cheapest option until they get out. However, having met Richard Murray and read Derek Chappell's comments on Charlton Live I don't think they would do harm to the club, and are probably looking to sell so that the new owners can invest what we need that they are not able to provide.

Thus I have to assume that there is another reason that they have given Pardew their backing - including agreeing to sign further players on loan. A two minute brainstorming session brings up the following list of reasons that they may be considering:

1> The price of removing Pardew would cost money we just don't have;
2> The board have made (secret) enquiries about replacements and come up with nothing; or
3> They've seen something that the fans haven't - either in training or in meetings etc.

Let me expand on those a little. Point 1 is obvious. These chaps have put lots of their money into the club and it is clear that the cost of removing Pardew will have to come from a cash injection. I'm not just talking about the severance pay, I'm talking about the recruitment costs of the replacement. Unless we want a manager out of work we will have to pay compensation to the club he is currently employed by. Chances are that any unemployed 'Big Name' - Hoddle, Allardyce, Curbishley et. al.- will want a lump sum or a long term contract. This is before we calculate the cost of the new man wanting to remove Parkinson and possibly Kinsella and bring in his own team that will also need to be 'recruited'. There is also the possibility that the new man will want to sign players and if the only option is sell before you buy we could lose our best players at knock down prices to make that change.

I think point 2 is, again, simple enough. I have no idea, but if Curbishley has been approached (for example) and said "No chance", and the agents of other replacements have made it clear that they would prefer to stay away, what can we do. Clearly if you offer enough money you can have anyone you like, but what would it cost to tempt a millionaire football manager to dirty his hands with a relegation fight, no money for transfers, a very demotivated team with no confidence and, let's face it, an unhappy group of fans who have expectations well above their station and are happy to boo their manager, and have, in fact, called for the sacking of the last two? I know this goes back to point one, but it's still a factor. The quality of an out of work manager that will take us on has to be assumed to low.

The third point relates to Pardew as well as Parkinson and Kinsella. The board may see something in Pardew that we fans do not. Either way they are in a better position to judge Parkinson and Kinsella. I have no idea if under good conditions (let alone the mess we are currently in) either of these two men would be able to produce the goods for Charlton, but if the board have few (or no) outside candidates then they have to consider promoting from within. Despite the Les Reed spectacle, I think promoting from within can be a success. The board will have had contact with the two obvious internal candidates and may doubt them. We have no idea, but to do nothing can be the least risky option when you are not confident of the alternatives. Better the devil you know? This is, of course, assuming that either of them would be willing to put their reputations on the line and risk ending up being the next Les Reed?

Over all I am not able, either with this blog or by my behaviour at The Valley, to force the board to act. Maybe if the pressure continues to grow Pardew will have to go. Maybe that is the best way forward, but if the board are determined to keep him (at least for now) we could cause more damage in the short term by destroying the manager's ability to raise confidence in an already fragile group of players.

I also have to confess that I am beginning to feel like part of a witch hunt. I'm confident that the fans only want what is best for the club, but we could be wrong. It is possible that, as horrendous a thought as it is, Pardew is the very best option based on what I have described above (and other things that I've not even thought of). Even if his departure is the correct way forward, I think that the board know how the fans think and continuing to raise the level of 'hate' against a man that is clearly doing his best is just not something I want to be part of.

Thus, for now, I am going to revert to Plan A. I'm going to believe, no hope, no pray that we can turn it around. I'm going to embrace the new loan players and give them (and the current ones) all the support that I can. I'm going to cross my fingers and toes and ram my head in a hole of sand in the ground. At the end of the day there is not much more I can do. The board will make the decision, and they probably don't even read my blog anyway.

I'm not leaving the Redvolution behind, and what will be will be, but in the meantime I will be looking for positives; I will be looking for reasons to be cheerful; I will be acting like the quintessential Charlton fan.

Up the Addicks!

Charlton 1 - 3 Barnsley

Well it wasn't good was it?

To be fair to Pardew there is not much you can do if you go a goal down after two minutes, and the second, like the first, came from a set piece. His suggestion that we were missing someone big and strong at the back is more than credible, after all the third goal came from a free header at the back post.

What worries me though is that it was no surprise to me that Barnsley looked to take advantage of set pieces. After the money that has been spent, particularly on forwards that don't seem to be able to score, we shouldn't be needing to rely on a 35 year old, half fit defender that we only have on loan for three months.

Ambrose was probably at fault for the second goal, but it was evident again yesterday that our biggest failing is our inability to win the second ball. The first two goals came from our inability to clear the ball after we had won the initial header. I have to assume that this must be due to the players not carrying out their duties properly. Then you have to ask yourself if that is because Pardew gives them the wrong instructions, fails to teach/coach them properly, or do they just ignore him.

Both of Macken's goals were well taken but there was clearly a lack of defending on the edge of the box. I have read in various places that Curbishley was obsessive with directives. He would tell all the players exactly where to stand for all different types of situations. The current side seem to be allowed to make that call for themselves. This causes the lack of cohesion that often means that we will win the tackle, then fail to get the second ball. Some teams have so much quality that they can be allowed to play how they want to because they are just too good for the opposition. Maybe West Ham and Reading were a little bit like that, but we are not.

In this modern day everything needs to be catered for. Nothing can be allowed to chance. I think we have allowed way to much to chance and are where we are as a result. Thus either Pardew needs to go and we need to replace him with someone that is much more organised, or we need to bring someone in to work alongside him. I remember the boring disciplined football that Curbishley served up in his last season. We had started that season on fire, but when we lost the creativity we had won games with, he changed things around and we clawed out goalless draws and won close games 1-0. That kept us up in his last season. It was not pretty, but it worked. I seriously doubt that Pardew has the skill set for a campaign like that. The evidence at West Ham is that when the going gets tough he doesn't have the acumen to turn it around.

Pardew thinks that the answer is another loan player. I have played many football games on the computer or the PlayStation, and the answer is normally to get in better players. I'm no football manager, although in the virtual reality of computer games I can hold my own, but in the real world we have seen that approach fail miserably. Maybe it's a bit unfair but it is beginning to look like that is all Pardew has in his locker. When things go wrong he changes the players, when he has run out of players in his squad to bring in he signs more players. If you follow this approach in the end you will either find a winning formula (Reading) or you will run out of time and get sacked (West Ham). The outcome of this season could well define Pardew's career and his financial security. Sure he has earned some serious money, but I doubt he has saved much of it (few of us do) so he can probably not afford to walk away from us and never work again. So the pressure on him right now is massive, and when that happens we all tend to go back to what we know best - in Pardew's case he 'needs' more players.

I can't think of any of the players that are better for Pardew's tutoring. He doesn't seem to bring the best out of players neither in long term development or match by match motivation. The young players in our squad have developed on loan then after a run in our side they seem to go backwards.

All in all I have serious doubts as to the long term benefits of having appointed Pardew back in December 2006. Not that I was anything but vocal in my praise of the decision at the time. Clearly I have the hindsight to be able to make that bold statement now, but it is difficult to come to any conclusion other than that we are further away from starting a season in the Premier League now than we were when Pardew arrived. I'm not blaming the manager for all that, but sadly we have got further away from that goal almost every month since the start of 2007. Relegation this season is unthinkable, but genuinely possible.

The long term future of this great club will, I believe, be determined by the season ticket sales next summer. Already the club (I'm deliberately avoiding pointing the blame at the manager, board or the admin staff) has instilled huge resentment by making the bold statements about the free season ticket before going on to sell players. Even if we avoid relegation this season I think many of those paying customers will not be willing to buy a season ticket at the current price structure (still one of the lowest in our division). If relegation, or even a serious threat of it next season, is a factor then we could be in real trouble. It is no wonder the board were so willing to recommend the Zabeel offer. If things carry on as they are that £20m debt (most of it to the current directors) will have to be written off.

I think it is probably time for us to accept what Richard Murray (and I) was keen to deny in the summer of 2006. Frankly just about all of our success in the last fifteen years has been down to Alan Curbishley. I don't need hindsight to say that I was more than happy with the dire football that kept us in the Premier League, or the collapse that we ended our season with once safety was pretty much guaranteed. I am fed up with continuing to say that I will give Pardew until Christmas as I am convinced that by then it will be too late. I am assuming, of course, that things don't improve between now and then.

I know this will not be popular, but at the Bloggers meeting in June Richard Murray said that he still regards Curbishley as a friend, and still talks to him from time to time. I think we should be approaching Curbishley to see if he wants to come back. Maybe, ironically, as a Director of Football. Maybe he could add something to Pardew's management team; maybe he could replace Pardew's management team.

Either way I think the time for bringing in new faces to the playing squad is gone. Pardew has been given, I believe, massive support from the club. We have spent more on players than just about every other team in this division; we have taken more loan players from Premier League clubs than just about every other team in this division; we have not looked like getting anywhere near the top two positions in this league since 2007; we haven't won back to back league games for eleven months.

I may be wrong, I often am, but I now believe that if the board do not act soon (immediately would be my preference) they will have missed what could be the last chance for Charlton Athletic FC to avoid a decade in the wilderness. We have players on Premier League wages that are not good enough for the Championship; we have five of our senior players on contracts that end in the summer; we will probably have to sell just about everything that has a value to continue to pay those players whose wages are so high we literally can't give them away.

A new face, an improvement on the field, and a genuine belief that next season will be better are the minimum requirements that will be needed to sell enough season tickets to keep this club afloat. I must reiterate that I am not blaming Pardew but I believe that, like many of the players he has signed, he doesn't have the ability to get us out of trouble.

I'm sad to have nothing more encouraging to say, but I fear that without a change we are far from rock bottom. Dreams of returning to the Premier League have now been replaced with fears of relegation, administration and who knows what else?

I am now ready to join the Redvolution.

Up the Addicks!

Next... Barnsley at home

With normal work and family commitments I find it difficult to post before and after midweek games, and Ipswich are one of those sides that I quite like. Thus I have no exceptional passion to say anything about them.

So I have had nothing to say about what I would describe as a very good draw away from home - how much a draw there last season might have changed where we are now - despite the descriptions I have read about how terrible we were.

So Barnsley at home, and a new look to my blog. I am more than willing to confirm that I have literally stolen both the idea from New York Addick, and indeed the image.

In a strange way I am looking forward to this game more than usual. All the 'must wins' last season were, by comparison not must wins at all. It is strange that as a race humankind have significantly less determination to take something than they have to keep something we already have. I know that "The grass is always greener", but we are much more aggressive in defending our territory than we are in taking someone else's. History is littered with such examples.

However sad it was being relegated from the Premier League it was recognised that we were probably punching above our weight, but to lose our status as a Tier 2 club is just to horrendous a thought to contemplate. For that reason tomorrow's game is a little bit massive in terms of the conclusion.

I know we could win tomorrow and still be relegated, just like we could, technically, lose tomorrow and still be promoted come May, but tomorrow is definitely a category 'A' must win.

I have little confidence in Pardew's ability to surprise me with the starting eleven as it has got to the point where nothing is a surprise any more. I am also starting to doubt that we have as much quality as I believed at the start of the season. I did say back in the summer that I would keep off Pardew's back until at least Christmas, and despite a willingness to stick to that, the truth is that I no longer have the energy and/or the enthusiasm for the debate. The football has become uninspiring; the Manager's press conferences have become uninspiring; the opposition are uninspiring; the economic situation the club is in is uninspiring; and the clocks have gone back ensuring that for the next few months it will be dark by the full time whistle blows.

All this has had an effect on others as well as me. The frequency of the blogs in general has reduced as people are finding it hard to have anything new to say about a great club that is, clearly, in decline.

However, tomorrow is a massive, six-pointer, bottom of the table, must win clash. I am probably as excited about the prospect of the tension and nerves as I have been at a Charlton game for a long time. I actually believe that we will start well and be in front early and, following two games where we have come back from behind to secure a point, go on to win comfortably. This is, after all, a must win (certainly a mustn't lose) game for Barnsley too.

What ever the score tomorrow I will continue to be disillusioned with our season, yet I will also continue to come back for more punishment.

Up the Addicks!

Charlton 1 - 1 Burnley

A game of two halves. That's what it was. The starting line up certainly provided some changes. I have to say I agreed with most of them. McLeod starting was a surprise, but as well as quality and effort we needed (desperately) confidence, and that was going to have to come from outside of the current first team squad.

McLeod and Josh Wright have been playing away from the pressure that the current squad have been experiencing, and Bouazza, Andy Gray and Kelly Youga had been under performing in recent weeks. Clearly there is some debate about all of these players, but they were among the candidates to be replaced in the big shake up that Pardew had been promising for a few weeks and really had to deliver this time out.

When the team was read out I thought it might be 3-5-2 with Basey and Mou2 as wing backs. A new formula indeed. Sadly it was nothing of the sort. Cranie's selection as a left back just went further to reinforce my suspicion that Pardew has to play him. There may be a gentleman's agreement, or the player may have expressed a demand to play. I know we could well claim that the player and his club have no right to demand anything, but if he is going to refuse to stay past December if he doesn't play then I can understand it. Pardew's recent suggestions that we will need to sell in January point to the players on Premier League money who are free to leave in June. As well as ZZ and Ambrose that also includes Jon Fortune, who Pardew has been trying to offload since he got here. On the basis that he is on £9k a week and may be worth a few quid in January we may well need Cranie, and he is actually a good centre back - certainly in this division.

The first half was dire. McLeod looked like he needs a few games under his belt. To be fair he has looked like that every time he's played, but then as he has only had a hand full of games for us in 14 months so it's hardly a surprise. Cranie showed (beyond doubt) that he is not a full back. Other than that the players just looked like they were not as up for the game as Burnley. The first half goal that was disallowed seemed to lift Burnley, and we failed to cope with anything else in the first half.

Second half was very different. Cranie looked better in the middle; Basey looked better than Cranie at left back and Todorov was inspiring. I can understand why he didn't start as he looked knackered after about twenty minutes. I have not seen enough of him to know if he ever did much running, and even if he did he has had a terrible couple of years with injuries. However, he was the difference. Mou2 and Sam are clearly a great partnership, but for me the difference was the space that Todorov seemed to have. Even when he had three men on him he just played past them as though they were not there.

Sadly I don't think that Todorov is the answer to all our problems as I don't think we can realistically expect 90 minutes for a further 33 games, but the over all performance in the second half was much better. I believe that we have found a line up/style of play that suits our strengths. One could argue that with the number of changes Pardew makes he was going to stumble across a decent system in the end, but I think that is irrelevant. There is much debate about the quality of the players and even if you have just the smallest suspicion that they are not good enough then there is little point in changing the manager right now. That does mean, however, that one would also refuse to give Pardew any more money to spend, so at some point something needs to be done.

In the meantime, however, the second half line up should be persevered with. I have no problem swapping Primus for Cranie, and I also suspect that Gray will have to be called upon when Todorov tires, but we are clearly most effective with pacey overlapping full backs, so let's keep them in the side.

We do have an issue with Luke Varney, however. I have a lot of time for the lad. The one thing that we as fans find most disgusting is players that look like they are giving less than 100%. Luke Varney is much, much better at football than I ever was. He is also much fitter than I ever was. However, he plays with the kind of enthusiasm that I would do. He runs and runs and runs. I suspect that he has significantly less talent than Jimmy Floyd hasslebaink, but if I had to choose between them I would choose Varney every time.

However, he is clearly missing chances that a player in the first team of genuine promotion candidates should not. I know we are not looking like promotion candidates right now, but bearing in mind his transfer fee, and presumably the wages to match, he has to deliver more. Had he converted the chances he has missed in the last three games alone we could well have 7 points more. That would put us in 4th place. I guess you can now see where I'm coming from? As much as I like his attitude I fear that New York Addick's assessment might be right.

One of Pardew's worst failings in the last eighteen months has been his transfer policy. Despite some successes I suspect that if we need to off load players to balance the books I doubt that many would refuse to sell Varney, Gray and McLeod for a combined fee of £4.65m - and that was just the guaranteed cost, the figure had the potential to rise by a further £1.4m. If those 'extras' have been reached (unlikely I accept) then we have paid £6.05m for three players that are probably on such high wages that the majority of the Championship clubs cannot afford them, and they don't currently look good enough for this division either.

Still I'm sure that they would all look better with more confidence, and to that end I think Varney could do with a run in the reserves. Not as a punishment, but to help him. Sadly I don't see who we would replace him with. McLeod and Todorov are not up to 90 minutes right now, and if you are going to pick either of them you can't really play them both. Even if you put Andy Gray in there somewhere, that just leaves Chris Dickson. I believe that he might be the real deal, but his few cameos up to now have showed him to be a little short of what it takes. Against Bristol City he looked like a terribly enthusiastic player that didn't really look ready. I know that they need to play to get ready, and I know it's never a good time to drop them in, but I think we are on a knife edge right now. We are still only two wins from sixth, but we are also only two draws in front of the relegation zone.

Anyway to finish on a positive, despite a dire 45 minutes, we looked like potential promotion candidates in the second half, and we nearly won it at the end. It was a better performance than the win over Ipswich, and that must be a good thing. As for Varney, I guess we can take heart from the fact that he is getting into the positions to miss sitters. Surely it must just be a matter of time before he comes good?

Charlton 0 - 2 Bristol City

It's strange how different people have different views of the same things. Politics, economics, women and, of course, football. Last night we lost to Bristol City. The general feeling on the blogs today is that we are rubbish and we might as well give up.

Maybe I'm still trying too hard to feel happy about everything, but you know what? I don't feel at all demoralised about the game. We have already established that for the first 25 minutes we were on top. The fact that the result, and the last 60 minutes, were a disappointment takes some of the shine off that first 25 minutes.

I don't remember the last time I have been so pleased, and dare I say it impressed, with the way we played. We were decent at Cardiff on Saturday, but this was a different class. Without pointing the finger, Andy Gray missed the target from eight yards; Bouazza wasted several chances by shooting from just too far away, Ambrose forced the keeper into a great save from distance; Luke Varney had a couple of decent shots that would, on another day, have gone in; and their keeper made a reflection save from a close range header.

We never looked in any trouble. I have now come to accept that the strikers in this division are going to miss (fail to score) many more chances that we have become accustomed to. Jason Euell (in his pomp), Darren Bent, JJ and even Shaun Bartlett hit the target much more that the lot we have now, but we are in a different division, and we are in a different league when it comes to money.

I was convinced that it was only a matter of time before our first goal came-. Bristol City had started defending deeper and deeper, and they only left the strikers upfront to chase down our defenders as we were, frankly, taking the micky out of them. Moo2 was outstanding, both Primus and Creaney looked solid (to be fair, in different circumstances, they could have been playing together in the Premier League, so they should), Ambrose looked like he was having one of his better days, and I've never seen Andy Gray run so much.

Then Nicky Bailey, who I think will be a big player for us, was caught in possession. My first instinct was to blame him, but there was little he could have done with the ball, and he tried to take it round a player when he should have passed it - back if necessary. Suddenly it was three on two, and we understandably failed to win that one.

Once the goal went in Bailey seemed to shrink in stature (understandably) and, not unlike Saturday, the heads dropped. We chased the game for the rest of the first half, but having got a goal in front City seemed to grow in confidence as our's ebbed away.

The second half we started in the vain hope of getting an early equaliser, and by attacking so aggressively we conceded another one on the break. Game over.

After the second goal went in the players knew (just as the restless fans did) that we were going to lose. Confidence is such a fragile thing, and we have failed to win a game from a position of two goals down in the second half so few times that it is understandable that we as good as gave up. There was still a lot of effort, but the team just lost shape. Pardew made some changes to take off players that were not having their best game - also to rest them for Saturday, no doubt, and it got no better.

Ok we lost, but we beat Ipswich at home a couple of weeks ago and we didn't once look like we did in the first 25 minutes last night. My determination to be happy about all things Charlton maybe affecting my view, but I would, personally, love to see us go at Burnely on Saturday in the same way we did yesterday. Sadly, due to Pardew's inability to field the same formation/style two games in a run makes that unlikely. The criticism he has suffered will probably play it's part in that also.

However, I can honestly say that despite the result (which was not really that much of a shock) I enjoyed the game last night. I cannot wait for Saturday.

Up the Addicks!

Next... Bristol City at home

When we played Bristol City at The Valley in March I was in good heart. I even made some joke about calling them Boobies in relation to the rhyming slang for Bristol Cities. March now seems a long time ago, and we find ourselves in a very different state of affairs.

I also noticed from reading my own words that I used to be (well I thought I was) quite light hearted, and dare I say it funny with some of the things I wrote.

I have been feeling nothing like that recently. I must confess that my whole outlook on life has changed following the Credit Crunch. I work in what has probably been the worst industry to be in for the last six months, and that, along with Charlton's fortunes, have taken a bit of a toll on my humour.

All that is, however, about to change.

Years ago I read Dale Carnegie's "How to win friends and influence people". I know you are all thinking "Didn't you have any friends Kings Hill?" The answer is, of course, yes I did, but I would say that wouldn't I? It was because I wanted to convince a member of the fairer sex that I was the answer she was looking for. Just for completeness I can confirm that I did indeed convince her - just before I realised that she wasn't the answer I was looking for.

Anyway, one of the chapters (and remember I read it 17 years ago) talked about people liking you more if you behave like you are happy. There was a suggestion that if you feel happy you behave like you're happy. However the relationship is apparently not one way. If you behave happy (even if you don't feel like it) eventually you will feel happy.

You can already see where I'm going with this can't you?

Following a reminder from Chicago Addick that it was much worse in the 1980s, coupled with the thoughts that followed, I have decided to put Mr Carnegie's theory into practice. Yes, I am going to behave like things at Charlton are making me feel happy in the hope that I end up feeling like it.

So this week we entertain the team with the funniest name in football. Last season we beat them away, and were worth the win at home, but came away with a draw. The first ten/fifteen minutes against Cardiff we could have scored a couple of goals. Thus I am going to go to The Valley tomorrow night fully expecting an entertaining game of football and a win to boot.

If I'm honest I actually think we will come away from the game with a draw, but under the circumstances that will be ok. It's better than a defeat after all.

See? It's working already.

I think the problems at the back will make us nervous, and we will need an early goal to settle the players and the fans. Frankly if I can decide to be happy with what we've seen so far this season then I'm sure the players can play with confidence, even if they have none.

I cannot promise that this new upbeat attitude will last long, but I have little to lose, and besides we will hopefully be the second richest club in the world by the time we play Burnley.

Thus, I invite everyone to join me in being happy about what we have got.

If not look at the picture below and decide if, on reflection, things are really as bad as we think?

Up the Addicks!

Cardiff 2 - 0 Charlton

After the Ipswich game I failed to write a review as I just didn't think I had anything insightful to say. Sure we won, but the manor of the game (which was quite acceptable in all honesty) failed to inspire me after what had gone before. I have been hugely disappointed with the performances this season. The excuses I've heard from Pardew have been both irrelevant in my view, and the same as those that he trotted out last season. My Dad's view, that I have utmost respect for, is that Pardew has had the worst of circumstances in which to work. I don't necessarily have a different view, but either way I am just fed up with the football on offer at Charlton at the moment.

To put this into perspective I have never made a decision about going to Charlton or renewing my season ticket. Right now I'm not sure I'd by another season ticket if I had to make the decision in the near future. I guess the Zabeel investment could change that, but it is a little frightening that I find myself feeling like this. I have, by the way, had a season ticket since 1989, and missed just two games since August 1988.

Yesterday I watched the Stoke v Spurs game on TV. From memory that is the first league game (not involving Charlton) I've watched on TV for over ten years. I'm sad to say I enjoyed it more than any of the Charlton games I've seen this season, and apart from the Coventry game in May, you'd have to go back to the Palace game in February for the last time I remember coming away from a game happy or satisfied. I pay entirely too much money (tickets, travel etc.) going to football for the levels of enjoyment I am experiencing right now.

Anyway, for all of the above reasons I failed to write a preview of the Cardiff game. What do you say when you honestly believe that you are supporting a team that is on the slide? I now don't believe much of what the club's PR machine say - I'm including Pardew's press conferences in this. I used to listen to all the Pardew interviews on Addicks Audio on the web site, but now I just can't be bothered, it is the same old rubbish made up of cliches, one liners, and excuses!

However, despite the lack of interest in the football, when my Dad suggested going to Cardiff I jumped at it. Not because I thought we'd get a result there but I am one of those sad fans that likes 'collecting' grounds and I haven't been to Ninian Park. The main reason for going, however, was to spend the day with my Dad. Strangely that is what got me into this in the first place, and something tells me that it will be enough to keep me going. Heaven forbid we should find another hobby to share because right now if we did it could be curtains for Charlton.

For those that haven't been to Ninian Park it is not a very nice ground, and the view is terrible. To be fair the new stadium that is well on it's way to being build looks fantastic, all be it just like all the other new stadiums (Southampton, Leicester, Derby et al).

By the time we got there I had already had a nice day, and wasn't all that bothered about the result and I expected us to struggle. I couldn't have been more wrong. Despite the rubbish view, I felt that the first ten/fifteen minutes were as good as I've seen for a while. Bouazza had a could of chances, Ambrose put in some good crosses, and Varney missed a great chance. In his defence he did slip just before he got to the ball, but he fluffed it. A few minutes later we were a goal down. We had, after Varney's chance, started to defend deeper and deeper. I had a bad view, but this could well have been that Cardiff raised their game slightly.

After the goal you could see the players lose confidence. I felt that Craine showed, again, why he shouldn't be playing at right back. It took the Cardiff left back that first ten minutes to work out that Craine couldn't cross and then Ambrose was marked out of the game. The wingers switched over, but you really need an overlapping full back, and we didn't have one.

By half time I was just glad to only be one behind. Semedo came on and I thought this would increase our chances. It was not to be. I was convinced it was a penalty, and that Semedo was the last defender. The ITV Championship program showed me that it was outside of the box, and Hudson was coming across. I can't blame the referee as I got it wrong myself. I also think it is harsh to blame Semedo as he was playing right back and the ball was in the middle. I'm not sure if it should have been Hudson or Primus, but it doesn't really matter does it?

Before the free kick was taken my Dad remarked that the wall was so rubbish that if he hits it at the wall it will go in. How can these players be unable to make a wall that can stop a shot going straight through it. This was game over. Hudson was unlucky to be sent off. Again the TV showed that he didn't touch Bothroyd. This makes me understand why my Dad has sympathy for Pardew. What is he supposed to say? Neither of the players should have been sent off. I'm not sure it would have made much difference to the result. I doubt that Semedo would have been in the wall and stopped the second goal, and I doubt that we would have come back from 2-0 if we'd had thirteen men, never mind eleven.

We stopped off on the way home for fish and chips. So, a nice day out, sunny weather, good company, a bit of exercise and some fresh air.

Shame about the football.

Up the Addicks!

Next... Millionaires’ row

Friday I was out in the afternoon and came home to find a text from my Dad asking if I speak Arabic. Now if you knew my dad you could be forgiven for thinking that he had been out to lunch and, having sunk a couple of bottles of wine, was sharing with me the back end of a joke that was probably not aimed at me. I duly replied with a response that I thought suitably funny (it probably wasn't - mine never are). Then I saw the flood of emails on my mobile phone....

Now I have never made a huge impact in the foreign (or even English super rich) ownership of football clubs discussion. I have never really thought it was relevant to me. I know you would think that selfish and negligent as in the end it always affects football in general, but I have never had a real problem with it. Sure, it makes me want to beat these 'spoiled' clubs a little more, but that feeling was every bit as strong with Blackburn in the 90s as it was with Chelsea in 2005.

I remember having a conversation with a Chelsea fan and an Arsenal fan about it. The Arsenal fan was trying to belittle Chelsea's success on the basis that it had been bought, that Chelsea wouldn't have won anything if they didn't have loads of money. I pointed out that Arsenal wouldn't have won the Premier League if they hadn't spent £11m on Henri and £7.5m on Bergkamp. You see the truth is that it doesn't matter where it comes from, money is required to be successful in football. Granted you do not to spend the most to win, but it does help. I found it, on a limited basis, to be satisfying that the Arsenal fan (a friend of mine) started to understand what it's like to have a richer (bigger ?) club than yours. He had to learn his place. Arsenal haven't won the Premier League now for four seasons, and they don't look all that likely to do so in the near future. I have to confess that I said, then, that I would personally prefer not to be taken over by a billionaire and lose the identity we have - to be fair, we were 'safe' in the Premier League at the time.

Without considering where it has come from I, personally, believe that the increase of revenues into football have been a good thing. You only need to look at The Valley and compare it to what we had in 1985 when we left it to see what that money has achieved. I accept that the TV deal in particular has benefited the clubs at the top of the football hierarchy than those at the bottom, but all football clubs have benefited from the extra money.

Clearly there are always disadvantages. The lifestyles of some of the millionaire footballers are distasteful. Am I jealous? Of course I am! However, right now I find the lavish lifestyles of the City financiers a little hard to accept. The huge wealth of mediocre players, and their behaviour is merely the outcome of the society that we live in. Free markets will always reward those better performers, and in the main those that earn huge wages are winning games if not trophies.

The huge debts that football clubs currently have are down the management of the businesses, rather than the level of income. Either way, I believe that the money has made our national game better than it was in the 1980s when I started going to The Valley.

That leads me on to Charlton and our potential new owners.

After I had read a few emails I turned on the TV (one email said that we were on Sky Sports News) and there was a reporter outside the club shop. He didn't tell us much, but the impact of what was happening started to sink in.

I was suddenly so exited! Let me say that again because saying it once doesn't seem enough. I was suddenly so excited!

The thought of signing Brazilian World Cup winners didn't enter my mind, honestly. I was imagining 40,000 fans at The Valley. I was imagining us winning games and promotion. After the week we had seen in the financial Markets I could see complete security for the football club. I have been very open about my fears for the club. Next season we will have no parachute payments, and several of our more valuable players are out of contract in June.

Once the realisation that we will not be plying our trade in league 1 anytime soon I did start to think of what the future could hold. I think I would find a Premier League title before 2020 a little soulless. That would be like what Chelsea had done, and I still don't think I want that. However a game against one of the top four where they dare not lose in case we take their forth place would be incredibly exciting, especially after our recent diet of defeat at home to Colchester et al.

The announcement was probably a bit premature for us to pop corks on Champagne, and we have seen at Man City that one or two superstars do not make a team, but if we have any money to spend in January, along with what we already have must give us a decent chance of promotion this season or next. What happens to Pardew is now somewhat irrelevant. Ideally we would like to win promotion this season, but as the impact of next season with no parachute payments has now been avoided it can take us eighteen months and the club is safe.

Why Charlton? Well I don't really know, but I can imagine that an investment company would want to have a presence in London, and in my opinion we are bet best placed London club that is available for the kind of money they will be paying. The board own the ground and the training facilities and there is the potential to extend The Valley, so no move and further acquisitions would be needed.

I think the crucial thing for us to remember is that people of this wealth do not make decisions like the rest of us. When I play the football manager games I find it more satisfying taking on a lower league club and building up the stadium and the team to challenge the 'big boys'. I rarely choose to Manage Man Utd as it is 'too easy'.

Either way, by talking about home grown talent and youth setups, the statement from the potential new owners suggests that their intentions are exactly what we (I) would have wanted. Clearly they were always going to target their audience, but I suspect that many fans would have preferred to have a new manager (debatable) and (or) £200m spent on players in January. One member of the email list suggested Darren Bent, Scott Parker and Michael Owen. The former of that list I would drive over and pick up myself, but I'm not so sure about the others.

What do we know about the new owners? Not much, their web site looks like many others. They do seem to focus on communities, so I can see a real synergy there. Other than that I think we have to assume that there is no easy buck to be made from Charlton, so they must have motives that we would find acceptable in at least the short term. I think the biggest potential banana skin would be if they gear up the operation (and the running costs) then get bored and leave. However, even if that were to happen, it would be a decent ride in the meantime, and I'm not sure we could be in a much worse position than we are right now anyway.

I got married in 2004 and Mrs Kings Hill and I chose to honeymoon in Dubai. We stayed in the Burj Al Arab. Now I have limited experience of high class hotels, I've stayed in a few but I am not a frequent business traveller or anything so I cannot make a comparison based on any more than a limited experience. However, I have to say that it is a bit special. Now I'm not expecting solid gold taps in the East Stand toilets (although if we are that rich hot water would be nice), but I have every confidence in these group to develop The Valley into something that we can be even more proud of than what we have today if that is, indeed, possible.

Since being so excited on Friday that I hardly slept at all (reminds me of Christmas when I was seven) I have become a little more accustomed to being the second richest football club in the world. That sounds nice doesn't it? The second richest football club in the world - even if it's not actually true.

Up the Addicks!