Charlton Athletic 2 Morecambe 3
A dreadful, pathetic performance from Charlton today in a morgue of a stadium against a team with just one away win all season. Morecambe were better and hungrier. Charlton lacked leadership and heart.
Dean Holden was honest in his assessment as always but these defeats and performances are not a good look on him. Quick and decisive changes have to be made after the end of the season if they have a hope in hell of moving some season tickets.
I understand new signings take time and there will player’s contracted until the end of June, but there has to be positive actions not words on and off the field once we get this god forsaken season over with.
All game today our passing if you can call it that was shocking. Aimless and careless time and again balls going to the opposition or to no one at all. The body language stank, and when Henry gave the ball away, Stockton picked it up just inside our half and scored with one of the sweetest strikes at The Valley this season.
The same player, who was on everyone’s shopping list last season, but has had a disappointing season this, should have scored another to make it two, but just before a chorus of boos was set to engulf The Valley, Rak-Sakyi bailed us out again in first half stoppage time. For once we moved the ball with more purpose and got men into the box for the Palace loanee to score.
Alright then, draw a line under that 45 minutes and turn it on second half. We started okay, and Leaburn should have done better with a header, but another defensive cock-up let in Stockton to score his second, before Weir wrapped up the points not long after.
Fraser on as a sub for Henry, who had a terrible game, pulled one back, but kicking into the unfamiliar Jimmy Seed stand in the 2nd half, Morecambe fight to live another day, whilst we withered and died.
There were rotten performances all over the pitch including from Dobson, Leaburn, Hector and Clare. If that was Henry’s audition then he badly fluffed his lines.
My brother and mates were back in The Oak well before the end, and when the final whistle went the deserted stadium was a depressing sight.
Dean Holden: “For us, certainly where we want to be next season, that’s not good enough. You can’t be losing at home to Morecambe, with total respect for them, if we want to do anything serious next year. Not good enough. We never started the game. We gifted them a goal, gave cheap possession away.“
Stats (CAFC first): Possession – 69% / 31%; Passes – 586 / 276; Accurate passes – 487 / 178; Shots (on target) – 19 (6) / 12 (4)
Can’t argue with your summary CA !
Possibly the worst performance of the season and players need to remember that the fans are spending hard earned money to watch a game and we were let down badly today.
Get this season done….re-group with new signings and build for a better season ahead.
That’s not his team , there is two low budget idiots to blame and it’s not Holden, maybe you should try coaching a side that’s not yours , you pis – me off you know all s , Holden has kept us up.
Are you okay my dear?
What ????
Take your blinkers off Chris, the players don’t give a flying f**k about the fans. I would not mind betting in the last 6 months, 40 plus games, there have been just a handful where they have earned their money – rather than the other way round. As for new signings – no hope and Bob Hope, other than cast offs and Div 2 journeymen Rather TS cashing in on his “assets” – Leaburn played today as if his head has already been turned by an extra 0 on his salary.
You know the biggest worry, for me at least. Is not this abysmal season. It’s will next season be any better.
Still no takeover, if it happens? will the new man/consortium be any better than what we have.
Will they be able to fund the rebuild required and let’s not kid ourselves, we need about ten players in.
And will any new owner(s) think Dean Holden is the right man or will they want their own manager in place.
Despite Holdens wish for a strong finish to the season, players struggle to be motivated when they’re just treading water at the end of the season.
Some may have decided or know they won’t be here next season, so can’t be arsed. No Pride is there in wearing the shirt?
I’m not convinced we can judge Holden yet?
And as Daggs said, at the moment there’s no guarantee it’ll be any better next season.
I was at the game and fully agree with what has been said above, which i usually do.
The STATS echo one thing, we are very poor in both boxes and error strewn, even without Innis to contribute.
Uncertsin who is out of contrsct in June but i see little evidence of a squad for next season barring our youth.
Successes this season inc a decent cup run and AMB, Ness, Mitchell, Campbell, Leaburn, Henry, Chinn and Kanu all coming through.
Loans are loans and Jes follows some other huge players such as Gallagher and Cullen.
Senior players to put in the above inc Woolacott who did nothing wrong but break a finger. Appears an expensive number 2 in wages. Hector i would retain. Clare is a difficult decision but worthy enough in league 1.
Scotty has imoroved as has CBT but a difficult one has to be our own Albie who blows hot and cold and appears our Marmite player.
Jack Payne again is a tricky decision but at league 1 maybe decent as a squad option albeit not first choice.
Bonne – sorry no albeit still settling in.
The big man must be finished due to injury.
Innis – enough said.
I feel the recruitment and investment team will have their work cut out to build a squad capable of targetting a return to the championship but the options are frightening as relegation was a real concern this season and doing nothing will repeat the fear level.
As of today with Millwall sat in the play off places, a commercial threat to revenue increases if they venture into the top flight for the first time in their history.
Addick til i die but a bleak outlook
In mitigation the referee was awful…
But we weren’t much better, Morecambe were fighting for survival and we knew that but it seems too many of our players are already on the beach.
The rebuilding has to begin early so we can get a full pre-season out of the new squad but we’ll need money to do that, TS is reluctant to fund another campaign and the two consortiums that were said to be interested in buying-in have both got cold feet. Can you blame them?
Putting yesterday’s result aside, ( what more can be said about that totally abysmal performance )I’m thinking, I wouldn’t be surprised if the prospective consortiums interested in buying the club pulled out before the start of next season. After all, what will they be buying ?….A club that doesn’t own it’s own ground or it’s own training facility, only half of the squad with contracts, vast investment needed in playing staff to get out of the current division and a £6.3 million loss in the last year. Would you buy it ?
Heart yes, head and wallet no.
Your report makes for depressing reading CA……but is an honest assessment from other reports I’ve read and the low-lights I’ve seen. I wouldn’t know for myself as I haven’t been to a home game this season – I’m beggered if I’ll spend 8 hours on a return train journey to the Smoke to watch a team and a club that is clearly going backwards.
No, this isn’t Holden’s team and he has done well to get the points to keep us up – but for every step we go forward, it’s two backwards. A thumping at Ipswich, away win in midweek, then lose again pathetically at home. At least the dead-wood is showing exactly what they are and they should be the first out of the door next month. For goodness sake, I know that Inniss is a liability and has been caught out far too many times this season (and sent off as a result…) but it just shows how bad the rest of the back line is without him. Looking at the 90 second horror story of low-lights from yesterday’s game (on top of what I saw of the Ipswich goals) it looks like our defence is already on holiday there was that much space for the Morecambe to play with at the back yesterday – it looked like a rainy day on Morecambe beach…
More frighteningly it doesn’t look like Holden can motivate a team for more than one game, before they revert back to a horror show – and either he can’t change tactics during a game or if he tries nobody bothers to implement his instructions.
Is he the man to get us out of this mire? I’m afraid that the jury is still out – and I doubt that he’ll have the funds to “do a Chris Powell” and get rid of 12 players and bring in the 12 to make a promotion team.
Which takes me onto Sandgaard. It’s looking like we are going to be stuck with him (or him with us…) for another season. God help us all and I really do fear that the 2nd division trapdoor may be looming for us this time next year.
The highlight of this season has been watching JR-S – a loanee from our deadly rivals – who will want to develop him further in the Championship, not division 1, next season.
I’m afraid it’s going to be another grim summer watching the few comings and goings in SE7 and a season of even more dross to come.