Starter for ten
Most pundits and fans alike put a lot of emphasis on how a league table is blossoming after 10 games, which is a little over a fifth of a season complete.
There are plenty of cautionary tales though, such as Iain Dowie taking Palace from a Christmas relegation battle to the Play-Off final in 2003/4 and after 10 games last season Wolves were 3rd and Hull City were 10th. The season before champions Reading were placed down in 15th at this stage of the season.
So you get my gist, it is early to be making assumptions although Penfold look-a-like Paul Scally already has and so have the chairman at Bury, Sheffield United, Carlisle and Sunderland. In our division Derby dispensed with Nigel Clough, rather suprisingly to the neutral. Mind you I am not in the camp that Steve McClaren is a bad appointment. I think the Rams, a pre-season tip of mine, might still have their say.
Despite Wolves’ tale of woe, QPR supporters must feel pretty confident even though they have 34 games left. Burnley fans maybe a little more sceptical although I am sure the Clarets are enjoing their journey so far. They might be even happier if I tell them that The Championship’s top team after 10 games in each of the last five seasons have gone up automatically. That trend was broken in 2007/8 when Watford and Charlton were 1st and 2nd after 10…. Oh.
So how does the table look with 20% of the fixtures gone firstly from a Charlton perspective? A little disconcerting actually with just one win and four draws from 10 games. It has been a difficult start, although we have on a couple of occasions lived up to our potential. It’s also important to note as the league season starts to shake out that we have played 5 of the top 6 and only lost once.
We have a thin squad which is getting more and more publicity and the spine of the side is missing through injuries and with no new players coming in anytime soon, we simply have to back Powell and his players and hope that blood, guts, spirit and unity will get us through. The arrival on to the scene of Jordan Cousins is cause for optimism as is Richard Wood’s opening games, the desire of Simon Church and the improval of Morrison and Wiggins after a sloppy start.
Despite only just registering our first clean sheet, we have let in just 2 more goals than this time a year ago, but we are way down on goals with the 2nd worst total in the division.
Burnley are this year’s surprise package, Blackpool too have started well and Bournemouth, despite shipping goals, have had a very steady start after promotion. Yeovil are struggling for goals, but Donny as we saw for ourselves have quickly acquitted themselves again.
Barnsley have started poorly and Wednesday have yet to win a game, which was the same at this juncture last season. The bottom club a year ago did relegated, just. It was Peterborough. Although I cannot for the life of me think that this season’s 3rd placed team, Leicester, will ‘do a Wolves’.
I mentioned the spine of a team earlier. A solid defence (QPR), an out and out goalscorer (Blackburn) and a midfield maestro (Nottm Forest) and then you have every chance in this division. Think Rufus, Kinsella and Hunt. Easy isn’t it?
The division has already shown that games are hard to call, although last season’s bunched up effect is not showing so far this time around. A year ago just 8 points seperated 3rd from 21st. This season it is 16 points between 3rd and us in 21st. A warning not to get left behind.
The next phase of the season is vital. Hopefully we can get some players out of the treatment room and back out on the pitch. Long way to go. Come on you reds!
