Sense of dread

I woke up uneasy. Feeling a sense of dread and deja vu, or whatever the Flemish equivalent is.

Yesterday was disappointing, very. Blackpool are decent but it was another missed opportunity. No win in four, and a creeping impression that we are suddenly easier to play against and we haven’t any solutions. Or goals.

Three points behind 2nd and four behind 1st as we approached the end of the January transfer window. Since then we have fallen away badly thanks to one man. The richest, most obtuse and neglectful owner in our history.

Bowyer, a novice leader, is currently a captain on a large ship with a hole in the stern. Second mate Jacko is sticking his thumb in the holes and chief engineer Gallen is trying to find bolster wood, but the ships owner won’t let him.

Heaven knows what sort of role Richard Murray plays these days, but with no one to lean on except each other, these three men have steadied the Charlton ship and we have to believe in them, even though the test for Bow in particular is great.

Bowyer never shirked a challenge, and had to climb out of a few spots of bother. He played for some big clubs and in some considerable games. He’s confident, grounded and honest. With us, and with his players. Strikes me he likes a bit of a challenge too.

Bowyer has talked of nine-block games, attempting to achieve 17-18 points in each block. The recent nine-game section (started at Shrewsbury) hasn’t gone to plan. Yet, we still have three games left in this current block of nine. Three massive games starting next Saturday.

Grant’s departure shook everyone, no more than Lyle Taylor, who spoke out against Duchatelet this past week. That was great to see, although Bowyer felt obliged to publicly admonish him. I’m sure it was more, ‘let’s forget that and get ourselves back on track’, but it underlines how the owner has derailed our season.

Taylor is perceptive and intelligent. He’s also no shrinking violet, possibly another reason why he has spent his entire career at this level, but Bowyer and us need him to lead, not sulk.

Two other pieces of news from the end of last week was the sudden departure of Katrien Meire from Sheffield Wednesday. I wondered how long the wily old fox Steve Bruce would endure her folly.

Finally CAST has succeeded in gaining Asset of Community Value (ACV) status for The Valley for a further five years. This means that The Valley is unable to be sold from under us. Read more on the advantages of ACV here.

A Sunday with a sense of dread, and those bloody two are through to the FA Cup quarter finals. What fun it is being an Addick. Nonetheless, let’s not give up on this. Giving up is not one of ours or Bow’s qualities.