Charlton 0 v 4 Brighton

What was that all about?

I'm not going to write too much because I don't have anything good to say and as my mum always used to say......

My Dad was away and I text him after about fifteen minutes and suggested that Brighton had a lot of confidence but limited talent. I still believe that, but they beat us 4-0 and despite the fact that the score line could be described as flattering Brighton, it was an easy win for them in the end.

My thoughts in bullet points:

- Benson had an average game compared to what I've seen so far.

- Abbott was shocking from start to when he went off. He looks overweight and cumbersome when he runs. I had very high hopes for him at the end of the season, but I'm now wondering if he was just having a good season last year at Oldham.

- Our players played like a group that had met in the changing room. The suggestion that the team needs to gel is looking like wishful thinking now. We are just not a team in any sense of the word when comparing us to Brighton.

- Kish was the best player on the pitch by a mile (in my opinion) and we released him three years ago (when he was three years closer to his peak) because we thought he wasn't good enough for us any more.

- Anyinsah looked like the best forward we have at the club but came on when the game was lost.

- We chose the worst performance for what could well be the highest crowd we will have for years if not decades - especially if we continue the decline we seem determined to.

- Parkinson could have no excuses if he were relieved of his duties this week, and the pressure of that will almost certainly make it harder to turn things around

- We lost 4-0 at home in the third division. Chicago Addick pointed out on his blog that the last time we lost 4-0 at home it was to Man Utd, who are actually rather good.

- It was rather cold at The Valley yesterday and my Dad was in Tenerife where it was "High 20s". I wish I'd been with him drinking a cold Dorada.

I have been supportive of Parkinson for a long time now. I've believed, or should I say trusted, Richard Murray's insistence that this is the man to lead us to success. However, we are getting dangerously close now to the conclusion that appointing Curbishley was the exception to the norm and that the appointments of Dowie, Reed and Pardew are better indications of his ability to select the right man for the job.

It's almost an admission that if we are forced to sack Parky, Murray should be held accountable for our fall from grace, and that places pressure on him too. The relegation from the Premier League after Curbishley left was, to a small degree, acceptable as we were never a totally established top flight side. However, never in our history have we been a bottom half of the third division side, and that looks like what we are right now.

Let's also remember that, despite his involvement in getting us there, we have never had a better platform from which to grow this club than we had in the first few years of this millennium, so our fall from grace is even more incompetent.

If we are going to turn around our fortunes like Norwich did last season we are going to have to follow their lead and replace the manager. Otherwise we are going to have to get lucky, raise the performances above what we have been seen in the first fifteen games (including cup fixtures), and scrape through the playoffs.

I don't want to be too dramatic after a big defeat, and Brighton were top before the game, but I don't want to watch another season of decline with all the financial implications that come with it.

I think Parkinson has been given plenty of time to prove himself, but take out the first six games of last season and his performance is not good enough to get us where we need to be. To get us where the club can actually survive financially.

So, no pressure then?


Up the Addicks!