Where is everyone?

I’m always secretly pleased that we lose a pre-season game. It dispels thoughts that we are great and don’t need more personnel. At least, it should.

I notice the club stance has gone from ‘we remain unbeaten’ to ‘a nice little run-out for the lads’ after today’s defeat to Jacko’s AFC Wimbledon where by all accounts we were poor.

Almost a 1,000 Addicks gathered at Cherry Red Records Stadium and would have been disappointed by what they saw.

Mind you, I try not to pay attention to pre-season, especially this early. There has been many seasons when we have trounced all and sundry to then not win a league game until late September or times when we’ve lost every friendly, but then the night before the season opener someone switched our team for that of Man City’s and we’ve started the season brilliantly.

Writing about friendlies has reminded me of the last time I went to one. I went mostly as an excuse to have a couple of beers with my old mate Dave Thomson (Drinking During the Game 💔), and my son and a couple of mates were at Bournemouth to see us play quite well and win 2-1.

It was 2009 (and I wrote about it of course). Bournemouth were in League Two and that season we did make the League One play-off’s but lost to Swindon.

Anyway, fast forwarding to today. Those Addicks’ faithful will also be asking where the hell were half the players?

It was considered too soon for Karlan Grant and Danny McNamara (no pre-season as yet for both). Collins Sichenje is being slowly returned to action, likewise Josh Edwards. Micah Mbick is yet to begin training after a knee injury in March whilst on loan at Colchester.

Charlie Kelman’s shoulder injury looks a concern. No inside information, just intuition. Otherwise no sign of Rob Apter or Will Mannion.

Nathan Redmond, who has been on trial at Sparrows Lane, did not feature either this afternoon.

Another friendly on Tuesday away at Colchester. We are on countdown and this squad as it stands is not going to be anywhere near good enough for next season’s Championship.