Wallow
A few words on last night.
I was buzzing today. Absolutely wallowing in it. This Blog has always promoted enjoying the moment and that moment is now.
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Oct 22
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Substack
I am sure most of you have found or heard that Rich Cawley has moved into the freelance world and has a subscription page on Substack.
Rich already has over 2,000 subscribers including me, which tells you how well he’s regarded as a journalist plus how valuable his insight will be into The Addicks’ summer transfer window.
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Nathan Jones signs new 5-year contract
Well that puts Cardiff City back in their box.
“Charlton Athletic are delighted to announce that men’s first-team Manager Nathan Jones has signed a new five-year contract with the club, committing his future to the Addicks until the summer of 2030.” (more)
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Our people
When the samba rhythm starts to play🎵. Still singing.
I’ve been staring at the picture of next season’s Championship clubs. A little foreboding, a lot exciting. Other than Wrexham, we have played regularly against the others since I started watching Charlton in the mid 70’s. In fact Portsmouth (116 times), Middlesbrough, Blackburn and Derby are all among the teams we have played the most in our history.
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Jones’ press conference’s
I wonder if I am the only person still watching Nathan Jones’ press conferences. Don’t worry you aren’t missing much, they are still very much sound bite rinse and repeat’s.
Front footed, aggressive, best pressers in the league, injured players are less injured than they were last week and my favourite, we need to be the best version of ourselves.
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Chris Solly
Only Chris himself and Lee Bowyer will know what happened during a conversation at the end of the COVID delayed 2019/20 season.
Lyle Taylor has since gone on to be loathed by Addicks for declaring that he would not play, instead waiting to run his contract down before he got his big money move to Nottingham Forest.
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Beam me up Scotty
So, what did we find out yesterday.
Andy Scott will be the key decision maker in choosing a new manager, as well as bringing in and selling players this week. Andy is a busy man. Charlie Methven is keeping his counsel and the merry band of other investors and board members are silent.
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Danny Senda appointed assistant manager
This news didn’t get a lot of attention today with most of the Addicks’ atmosphere being taken up by the takeover – who said ‘wouldn’t it be great if we can just get back to concentrating on the football and talk about football stuff’?
Danny Senda has stepped up from the U21’s to being joint assistant manager to Dean Holden with Anthony Hayes.
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No hiding
The one thing about a sloppy start is there is no covering up the misgivings of a skinny inadequate squad.
In past season’s with a similar anemic pre-season but with a much-less caring owner, we have started well against the odds. At Sunderland a couple of season’s back Lee Bowyer carried a half-filled bench, refusing to sing the ‘pathway to the first-team’ crap and just took the players he felt could come on and make a difference.
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Well done Bow
I don’t have a lot of like for Birmingham City. I’ve been to St. Andrews numerous times and most of them have been rather unpleasant, off the field anyway. Yet I have been keeping an eye on their progress under Lee Bowyer, and today a win at ‘Wayne Rooney’s Derby’ secured their Championship safety which looked very dubious upon his arrival in mid-March.
Thanks for the memories Lee
A sad day.
Lee Bowyer gave me one of the best days of my life. 90 +4. Wembley Stadium. Me, my son, my brother, my mates, 39,000 joyous fellow Addicks. Thank you Lee.
This time may well be right for everyone, and although I cringed whenever fellow fans were calling for his head, today’s resignation with a move to Birmingham City expected allows everyone to shake hands turn around, and walk away with a big smile on their faces.
Bowyer resigns
Lee Bowyer told his players this morning that he will be leaving the club. It is widely expected that he will take over at Birmingham City, who are looking for a new manager after they sacked Aitor Karanka over the weekend.
Charlton Athletic 0 Blackpool 3
Amongst the total hopelessness today was the sound of the death knoll echoing around that famous stadium. We couldn’t hear it, but it was there loud and long.
A month or so back we stopped looking like a promotion team. Today we didn’t look like a team at all, shorn of all pride and commitment.
Overreaction?
I am quite a level-headed Addick. There’s thousands of posts below here ⬇️ that would suggest that. What would Curbs say? Don’t over celebrate the wins, nor over scrutinize the losses. Something like that, anyway.
Although it posted on Sunday morning, I did write my post match blog straight after the game against Gillingham. I was frustrated, disheartened and annoyed. Nothing like a good moan in the pub after a defeat with your mates, accept there was no pub, or mates to talk out the sorrow with until you realize there is always next week, and the next pint.
Home form
Lee Bowyer touched on a topic many of us have highlighted as a problem today, and that is our miserable home form.
By my calculations under Bowyer at The Valley since he took over with fans in the ground the Addicks won 26 of their 46 league games that were played. That does not include play-off’s, or games this season with a small number of socially distanced fans allowed in.
Stockley in. Bogle out?
The number 9 shirt has finally been filled after Preston’s Jayden Stockley signed on loan for the rest of the season.
Stockley made an impression last year at The Valley, but this season has found starting hard at Preston with Tom Barkhuizen, Scott Sinclair and Sean Maguire ahead of him and recently they added Ched Evans as well.
Charlton Athletic 0 Accrington Stanley 2
Okay, I’ve counted to 1,000. Something that Lee Bowyer should’ve done last night, but I’m still not really in the mood to write something, but here goes.
There were actually positives. We were certainly more assertive going forward. Millar added some exuberence and with Maatsen may provide a sprightly left side offering. Smyth wants to take people on and is a happy nuisance and we had more shots on goal than we have had collectively for weeks. Ronnie Schwartz made his debut and despite not playing for a very long period wanted to be involved even though the game was up.
Not much to like about this team
Frustrating watching the Addicks at the moment, and I’m thinking I may do something else with my time on Friday afternoon rather than watch the Accrington Stanley game from behind the sofa.
The biggest barrier to watching them at the moment for me is that as a team they are hard to like. What I mean by that is there are no characters, or any sense of leadership. Where’s the midfield terrier, who will chase anything and anyone all around the pitch?
Hull City 2 Charlton Athletic 0
Bloody awful again. Start to finish. Hull so much better than us. No one played well, half of them didn’t seem to know where they were playing and I didn’t sense any type of game-plan.
What the hell has happened since the international break, something is clearly not right. We have just two injuries of any note. Yes, they are key centre-halves, but we have one glued to the bench while Bowyer insists on playing a stream of bizarre cocktails of formations and positions.
Levitt and Oshilaja to leave
The salary cap is an annoyance isn’t it. The first time since our promotion from League One under the spiffs have we got a few bob to spend and we can’t spend it.
January transfer window activity is notoriously hard, even before the current EFL restriction and in the wider context of what the pandemic has brought, but I do foresee Thomas pushing through a fair bit of January turnover.
Comparisons to 2018/19 not easy
A quarter of the League One season gone. Seems like years already, probably because it’s hard to remember much of a gap between last season and this one. Having almost two entirely different squads to support helps press the re-set button though.
Charlton Athletic 0 Plymouth Argyle 1
The first time in 11 seasons that we’ve exited the FA Cup in the 1st Round, and only the second time since 1973, but Lee Bowyer didn’t appear to care much, and he made the point in as many words at least, that if the players had cared more we wouldn’t have lost.
Bow was pretty scathing in his post-match press conference about most things – the players who came back in, bar one or two, the amount of games, the “stupid cup” on Tuesday and the international break. Marcus Maddison was given the benefit of doubt but his expectation of the midfielder’s work rate was left in little doubt.
Chris Gunter signs
This one has been on the horizon for a while, and Bowyer and Gallen have finally gotten themselves a right back with Welsh international Chris Gunter signing on a two-year contract with an option of a third.
Gunter has 97 caps and could make that 98 tonight when England host them at Wembley.
Farewell Macauley
Charlton sold Macauley Bonne to QPR this morning in a deal expected to be worth £2m with an added sell-on clause. He scored 11 goals for us after signing from Leyton Orient last summer.
Lee Bowyer called Bonne a project. I never felt quite sure that he was Lee’s pick, but he took the 24-year old on and Bonne was a willing pupil. That project work is still ongoing and it’ll be interesting to see how Mark Warburton further develops him.
Thomas Sandgaard week one
The dark clouds lifted in SE7, the sky cleared and in walked Thomas Sandgaard. Guitar, sunglasses and all.
It was still the dead of night in Castle Rock, Colorado but a man slept in his bed knowing that the next day he would be the owner of Charlton Athletic Football Club.
It was no dream, Sandgaard had finally closed the deal after getting EFL approval and OADT sign off. With no shortage of help from top law firm Freshfields Druckhaus Deringer, the Dane had navigated the shark infested waters of ESI and claimed ownership of our historic club.
New player. Signs. For 3 years. For a fee!
What a weird time to be a Charlton fan as Ms Meire would say.
On our knees, no money, no owner, not allowed to sign anybody, then just before bedtime a ‘Done Deal’ alert.
MK Dons’ 25-year midfielder Alex Gilbey joins for 3-years for an undisclosed fee. Three years. Fee. Huh.
Farnell terminated by the club
I was awake way before the alarm this morning feeling restless. I avoid looking at the phone because I know that is the day starting. But, first glance of the phone and I’m leaping out of bed.
Solicitor Chris Farnell was terminated by Charlton today as ESI v1 wrestle control of the club back from Chris Farnell and Paul Elliott aka ESI v2. Both Farnell and Andrei Mihail were removed as directors of ESI on Friday.
Williams stays
Johnny Williams has followed Jake Forster-Caskey in committing to stay for the last year of his contract.
Williams could be the best player in League One. He could also be a drain on resources kicking around the medical room with the only playing statistic he leads is that of the most fouls won.
For Willians in the current environment there is no financial downside, but he must harbour hopes of playing for Wales and at a higher level. Assume he thinks he can do that with us.
Statement from non-owner
The non-owner owner is still having a bit of fun with access to the club’s website. He took the opportunity today to stand in the West Stand looking like he’s just stepped out of a 1980’s Janet Frazer catalogue and pen this ditty.
Leeds United 4 Charlton Athletic 0
It’s hard to write this. Hard to take, and even harder to look into our future now.
Of course we shouldn’t have been here. Having to go to the league’s best team needing to win. We’d already blown it. When Birmingham’s scored last week I knew that. Congratulations to Luton and Barnsley. They properly stepped up when they had too, and commiserations to Wigan and their supporters. How about that bottom three f*ucked over by shysters eh?
EFL, you must be proud, and I hope Lyle Taylor and Chris Solly sleep well tonight.
New normal
It was all going so well. The next game then in our mini-season.
The Coronavirus lockdown has changed so many things that became a normal part of our day, week and year. It has changed habits that were second nature to us unimaginably. Question is how does this new normal impact our regular humdrum go around with our friends from SE16?
Off to Cymru
With hotels closed in Wales it will be a day trip to Cardiff on Tuesday for Charlton in their next behind closed doors game as part of this summer’s mini-season.
Cardiff City have propelled themselves into the top six since we re-started. The old adage that every game in this league is tough is no more apparent than our next three games as we now go full steam into a rollercoaster of games until the end of this prolonged season.
Morgan and Davison sign new contracts
Good news today as the club made a positive investment in the future by offering new contracts to Albie Morgan and Josh Davison.
Morgan and Davison, both 20, signed three and two years deals respectively. Davison has an option of a further year.
We go again
The smile on my face from last Saturday has been replaced by thoughts of the next game, which arrives this Saturday early afternoon, early morning here.
We were better than Hull in many departments fundamentally in the areas of fitness and general oomph.
Taylor won’t play if season re-starts
Lyle Taylor has told Lee Bowyer that he won’t play for Charlton again when play resumes. His contract expires on June 30th, and does not want to risk injury and banish any lucrative summer move.
It’s hard to blame Taylor, or any player that doesn’t want to take the risk, but anyone that has seen Lyle’s recent interviews will have seen him disillusioned and infuriated about how the club’ owners have treated him.
June 20th?
Last week Charlton players returned to group training for the first time for 11 weeks. Week one of a planned four-week mini pre-season was non-contact with the players in small groups of five working on three different pitches. Lee Bowyer had 25 players back, everyone was tested and all results came back negative.
The three players who didn’t return were loanees Matt Smith and David Davis, and Tomer Hemed, who by all accounts will return from his home in Israel.
Players back in training
Tomorrow morning Lee Bowyer welcomes his players back to Sparrows Lane to start ‘small group training.’
Bowyer sounded delighted to be able to mix with his staff and players again but there are strict protocols that have to be adhered to.
Nonentities
Albury Addick summed it up quite nicely yesterday. Stop making excuses Tahnoon Nimer, sh!t or get off the potty. What a nonentity you really are.
A little more social media sparring between Southall (still driving his Range Rover) and Nimer, and all the while young lawyer Marian Mihail attempts to explain it, whilst chucking onto the fire that Southall put in another £2m of invoices…. I refer back to Albury’s post.
Football is nothing without fans
Before the EFL turned their attentions to us, they issued an open letter to fans of clubs on the 132nd anniversary of league football.
Rick Parry signed the letter, he only took over as chair late last year, but the overriding message was that when football does return it will be without fans. That has sadly become more and more obvious, but there doesn’t seem to be any other safe way.
What a week. What happens next?
What an extraordinary week, unprecedented since the war years, or possibly 9/11 and 7/7, in my lifetime. The week moved quickly didn’t it. The Coronavirus moving across the world like a tidal wave, changing the way we live our lives almost instantly.
Then we just shake our heads at the farcical but possibly ruinous saga going on at Charlton. From whispers to chaos to realization in the space of a week.
The world’s markets crashed taking savings and pensions with them. Then this week I had my own personal work development, which will be transformational and unsettling at the same time.
Brexit…. All is forgiven.
ESI takeover in shreds as Tahnoon Nimer pulls out
Chaos reigns again tonight after HE Tahnoon Nimer announced on social media to fans that he is pulling out of his Charlton investment. He has blamed Matt Southall and the senior management, which is really only Southall and Jonathan Heller of repatriating money for their own good. The voice note is something else. Listen here.
Later on the OS, Southall issued a statement saying that a letter was received today from Tahnoon Nimer which is in the hands of his lawyers for whom he will discuss what actions to take. Threats have been made to other members of the club’s senior management, about what who knows as East Street Investments morphs into a school playground squabble.
The supposed majority owner of Charlton was pictured outside Dinamo Bucharest on Saturday whilst we were losing to Middlesbrough.
Realism and fight
Lee Bowyer talked yesterday of realism and fight, personal attributes that he lived by as a player and has instilled in his own players as a manager.
During his career Bowyer relied on bloody hard work, mixed with a fair amount of natural talent. A raking 40 yard pass equally as pleasing to him than chasing an opponent around a pitch with the sole purpose of getting the ball back by whatever means.
Bowyer critical of Morgan
Lee Bowyer cheery, positive and brutally honest in today’s pre-weekend press conference.
Cheery that he has an almost full squad to pick from, positive after last week’s crucial win and a high energy week of training, but brutally honest about some of his players.
There’s been many games this season where Bowyer could not name a full bench, but with Cullen, Taylor, Williams, Hemed, Oztumer, Forster-Caskey and Amos all fit enough for action and with Aneke and Lapslie to next two to come back, and then add in the three transfer deadline additions, Bow has for the first time in months choices.
Dodged a bullet with Maddison
Last word on the transfer window.
You have to admire Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAntony who issued a video diary today of his open and honest thoughts of the transfer window. You can watch here, and it gets interesting after about 4 minutes as he discusses Marcus Maddison.
Maddison it seems had no interest at all in coming to us. London was a turn off and he initially refused even to meet Bowyer and Gallen. When he did he demanded too much money like he did to Birmingham and another unnamed Championship club.
Charlton Athletic 0 Fulham 0
A lot to be positive about tonight. Lee Bowyer signs a 3-year contract, a whole throng of players re-appeared on the bench and in the starting eleven. We keep a clean sheet for the first time in 17 games, we hold a promotion chasing Fulham side to a draw and we end the week another point off the bottom three.
New owners offer Bowyer 5-year deal.
Lots of cheesy grins and happy faces watching the Thursday press conference today at The Valley. The press were clearly given the heads up that this was not going to be your regular Sparrows Lane Thursday session, as Sky, BBC and ITV joined the local hacks.
Happy New Year
It’s hard to even fathom that 20 years ago today we were at work unsure as to whether the computers would even come back on after we came back from the new Millennia celebration. Millennials can look up that near calamity here.
2019 has flown by, work has been the busiest I have known it since I’ve been in Bermuda, the results have been bloody good though, but absolutely exhausting and it didn’t surprise me to just be told I have almost 4 weeks holiday left for the year.
My predilection for travelling has thus taken a backward seat this year, for which I’m very disappointed with myself. Good news though is that after years of attempting to renovate a house in Sarasota, Florida, which has veered from the tortuous to the exorbitant, it may finally become liveable so that is an exciting development and will be a home from home.
Derby County 2 Charlton Athletic 1
For all but the last five minutes that was bad. Yes injuries, yes budget, yes 12-year olds but I was worried as soon as I read Bowyer’s pre-match thoughts. It sounded so defeatist. I was much happier with his response after, and of course he is right, there is no excuse for the absence of fight and battle.
Equally we just didn’t go for it. We had a man advantage, maybe throw Sarr up front (he’s a liability at the back) with Davison and not take him off. Jesus we are about as useless against ten men as we are on the box.
Charlton Athletic 0 Huddersfield Town 1
That was dreadful. On an dreary weather night Charlton got what they absolutely deserved. Nothing. No redeeming features, no excuses.
We can’t keep blaming injuries. Huddersfield had a load out injured as well. It was an utter rubbish performance and Bowyer needs to quickly sort it out because what can often takes years to build can be dismantled in weeks, and none of us want to see that. At all.
Basic observations
No answers sat here with a cup of morning espresso, but some observations. Injuries have crippled us, no pun intended. The loss of Taylor, Cullen and significantly Williams has been devastating and clearly effected morale as well as performance.
Sheikh it up baby
Still necking the espresso’s.
After what seems like a lifetime we have our Charlton back. Roland Duchatelet’s ownership has sucked the life of Addicks fans, had burdened us with debt, made us a footballing laughing stock, and has ridiculed men, women and children who have our little football club in their blood.
Luton Town 2 Charlton Athletic 1
This is a tough run, no win in six, and no clean sheets either, and our points total is stuck in the quicksand. The squad is decimated, and now Gallagher will miss Saturday after being booked. Josh Cullen will be out until after Christmas.
We have a bigger squad this season, two players for each position etc, but it is an infliction of Duchatelet’s ownership that once again too many of these players are brought in last minute, cheaply, not fit enough or have never been fit. Or all of the above.
Managerial Addicks
Phil Parkinson’s recent appointment at Sunderland and Gary Rowett’s move to our south-east London neighbours got me thinking of other Charlton connections currently in managerial positions around the leagues.
We all admire Parky, who quietly and almost successfully attempted to rebuild the damage caused by his old mate Alan Pardew with a millionth of the budget. But even the Roman’s would have had difficulty rebuilding the destruction Pardew left behind. The Spiv’s moved him on and replaced him with a certain Chris Powell, and the rest was history. Powell is now part of the England coaching set-up.
Formulae
I wrote the other day that it’s nigh on impossible to guess how we will line up in games. Bow said yesterday that it was the first time the team had played to that formation. It looked like (from watching on Valley Pass) that we were 5-4-1 with Solly and JFC advanced wing backs and a flat midfield. That put a lot of trust in Bonne, but he did not disappoint, despite the fact a year ago he was playing in a FA Cup qualifying tie at Maidstone.
Whilst Jacko and Marsh are drilling the players on set-pieces, Bowyer must spend hours in a room studying opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. Derby and Phillipe Cocu are no slouches but yesterday we picked them off at a corner and targeted the £10m Krystian Bielik. Teams appear to be obsessed in playing out from the back pedestrian like believing they are playing for Man City.
Good times
A lot of smiling Addicks getting a well earned rest during the international break. The Championship is a great league, one of Europe’s most competitive and it feels good to be back and thus far we have not looked out of place at all.
We have played 4 of the top 7 and lost just once. In only one game did we not do ourselves justice, and that was at Wigan. Yet a week later we bounced back in the best possible way, memorably beating Leeds. I’m still glowing from the Fulham game. We didn’t win, but it was a great advert for the league and we played our part and that away corner was, as someone we know would say, bouncing.
The mysterious case of Lewis Page
Ben Purrington maybe the 7/10 no headlines player, but he will be missed greatly at Fulham on Saturday when Lee Bowyer will turn to either Deji Oshilaja or probably Naby Sarr in a back three as we take on the threat of the joint leading goal scorers.
Bowyer described the absence of Lewis Page as “mind boggling.” The 23-year old has not played for over a year after beginning last season so well showing tenacity and a real threat going forward, and quickly becoming popular with Addicks.
Important one
Not a six-pointer or a crucially must-win game but an important one nonetheless as we see how Lee Bowyer’s team can bounce back from last weekend’s first defeat.
Lyle Taylor’s knee injury has been described to similar to one that Patrick Bauer suffered last season. So no surgery but rest, time in a brace and then strengthening and fitness recovery. Bauer was out for 9 weeks. Meanwhile Lyle can dedicate his time to Cancer Research awareness. It’s a great cause, one close to my heart, and the club has dedicated the Derby home game on October 19th. Sadly he won’t be playing.
Grant Basey steps up
“Great stuff. This is my Charlton” fellow Addick @HungryTed called out following the announcement of Grant Basey’s promotion from Kit Manager to First Team Development Coach today.
It’s hard not to agree with him, and indeed another sign that Roland Duchatelet is finally listening to advice given to him, a trait he has rarely shown. There’s been a long-needed liaison between the first team and the U23’s, as young men’s careers can easily make or break at this point. Steve Avory has championed this kind of mentoring and developmental role for a long time, and if anyone should know what level of influence and kinship is required at this stage of a player’s career it is Steve.
Charlton Athletic 0 Birmingham City 1
An unusual feeling yesterday. We simply haven’t been used to losing, but none of us expected that feeling to last well into September. We had to get beat some time and Taylor-less we now have to show how much we belong in this division in the coming weeks.
Yesterday I thought was fraught with classic banana skins. Possibly for the first time this season we were favourites to win a league game, the biggest regular home league attendance for about four seasons, and the 100th Valley birthday with loads of pomp and VIP guests. Probably why I was anxious beforehand.
The Steve Gallen interview
There’s been many people associated with Charlton Athletic over the years that I’ve admired and had many reasons to be thankful for, whether they are players, managers, coaches, owners or fans. Steve Gallen is the latest.
The 45-minute interview with Steve on Valley Pass is insightful and absorbing as he talks about a whole range of subjects from his childhood through to being appointed a Director of the club recently.
Charlton Athletic 0 Forest Green Rovers 0 (3-5 on penalties)
Wembley, Wembley, we’re the famo.. oh.
Come on, we’ve already been there once this year. The Addicks limped out of the Carabao Cup last night, a result I’m not particularly bothered about. Our expectations in cup competitions are so low. Lee Bowyer was scathing of the team’s performance and although he said he put a team out that he thought could win the game, it showed again that our squad beyond the first 18 is still very light.
Nurse….
Oh look. A new pronouncement from our leader.
The old bugger escaped from his ward again this afternoon and managed to crank open the charge nurse’s typewriter.
No…. not a well done message to Lee Bowyer for our very encouraging start, or to the noisy Addicks in the big crowd on Saturday. Or to explain how he supported the manager in the transfer window, even though it meant selling another Premier League star of the future. Not even a pat on his own back by telling the story of turning down Brentford’s seven offers for Lyle Taylor.
