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Posts from the ‘Parky’ Category

Oct 22

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.

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Jul 27

He’s only 5ft 3

A big day for Chris Solly, one of our most popular players in what has been a topsy turvey last decade for the club. Solly’s debut was as a substitute in the last game of our wretched Championship relegation season in 2008/9.

That team and the one the next season never really gelled with me as we missed out in the play-offs under Phil Parkinson. Yet youngsters like Solly, Scott Wagstaff and Jonjo Shelvey were little specks of light in a dark tunnel that Chris Powell drove us out of at full speed.

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May 13

9 Comments

Shrewsbury Town 1 Charlton Athletic 0

We just weren’t good enough were we?..

Charlton ended the season how they started it back in August. Short on options, quality and goals. Lee Bowyer and Johnnie Jackson brought back togetherness, spirit and pride, but they had no way to address the continuous issues that Roland Duchatelet has besieged every single manager or head coach that has taken the team since the old bastard walked into our lives.

Shrewsbury over-powered us, roughed us up and played to a style that they have perfected under one manager for almost two seasons. We can bemoan that their goalscorer should have been sent off, and we were refused a blatant penalty, but the best team won over two games.

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Jul 29

2 Comments

Keeps signs

The goalkeeper spot has been a summer priority and it was a surprise that so few names had been mentioned in dispatches. Dillon Phillips has appeared not have grasped the opportunity during pre-season and an experienced ‘keeper became a necessity. Ben Amos was linked with us a few days ago, and signed on a season long loan this morning from Bolton.

I personally would have liked to have seen a permanent signing but there are a whole raft of young or out of favour keepers around and a loan was always more likely. The last negotiations came down to how much we would have to contribute to Amos’ hefty salary that he negotiated for himself when he joined Wanderers from Man U on a free in 2015.

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Jan 22

4 Comments

New head coach bounce

“He’s met the players, he’s had some chats and they are well aware of how he wants to play as well, so we tried that in the first-half.” – Damian Matthew

So Guy Luzon has his work permit, and the Israeli officially becomes the Addicks 24th manager in it’s colourful history.

At the end of the day he will get my support, because wanting the team to be successful is the only way I know. Life and in particular being a Charlton fan is complicated and draining enough without wishing ill of something that has been part of me for 40 years.

When football fans set off for games it is not to support the owner, or the CEO, it is to support a collection of footballers wearing a shirt, representing a club in a community that they have an emotional connection with, and that will be no different on Saturday.
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May 19

2 Comments

Good on Parky

Riveting wasn’t it? The battle to finish 4th. I nearly wet myself when Newcastle got a free-kick in Arsenal’s half with a couple minutes to go….

More exciting and relevant to us Addicks was Yeovil’s first ever promotion to the 2nd tier. Gary Johnson, who was mentioned in dispatches for the Charlton job post Parky only re-joined the Glovers in January last year. He kept them up and then took them to promotion today, 10-years after he brought them into the league. Welcome to The Championship Yeovil, lets hope it doesn’t rain on our trip down there next season!
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Feb 20

1 Comment

Local hero

Next Sunday’s Capital One Cup Final doesn’t only have fans from Bradford and Swansea excited, but around these parts Bermudians are eagerly anticipating the game too.

The reason for that? 22-year old Bermudian born striker Nahki Wells, who left the island in 2010 in attempt to make it as a professional footballer in England. Wells paid for himself to attend the then brand new Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy in Headingley, near Leeds where ex-pros Mark Ellis and John Hendrie are heavily involved.

Whilst there he had a season with the Academies affiliated non-league team Eccleshill United in the Northern Counties East League (6 levels lower than Bradford City in the pyramid) and after a couple of trials he ended up at the unlikely outpost of Carlisle United. I have spent time in both Carlisle and Bermuda and they’re unlikely to ever be twinned.
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Aug 29

2 Comments

Kings of Leon

Yado Mambo will be a bit peeved I would suspect after Charlton signed centre half Leon Cort on a season-long loan from Burnley this morning. Mambo impressed against Reading in the week and was on the bench at Gigg Lane on Saturday but there may still be reservations about his ability to do a long stint in the first team, definitely I’d be worried if an injury to, say, Taylor and a suspension for Morrison resulted in Mambo and Doherty lining up in the first team together. Mambo needs a break-out year though and I think Powell will have him higher up his list of plans than Doherty as the season progresses.

I was surprised at how old Leon Cort was (he’s 31) and he’s had some clubs but has played mostly at a higher level, since he helped Hull to promotion from League One in 2004/5 anyway, and he’s also scored a fair few goals.

A striker has to the next port of call for Powell and there are plenty of rumours – take you pick from Crawley’s Matt Tubbs, Southampton’s Lee Barnard, Leicester’s Jeffrey Schlupp or Bury’s Ryan Lowe.
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Mar 29

2 Comments

Pointless in Rochdale

Rochdale 2 Charlton Athletic 0
Another defeat, this time to ruddy Rochdale in front of 2,589 people and whilst I really want to believe in Michael Slater and Tony Jimenez, I am fast losing the will to live. That is now an embarrassing 3 points from 33. A thoroughly depressing and horrible stat.
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Mar 14

5 Comments

Ignorance

Charlton Athletic 0 Brentford 1
I was ignorant to what was happening at The Valley on Saturday and frankly, I wish I still was. I did manage to switch my phone on as we rushed to get our Chicago connection at Miami just around the 88th minute of the game. Timing is everything.

I was very disappointed to see the starting line up. Too many out of form players, although Francis was dropped but there was not enough adventure or hope in the team. The top 6 is way beyond us now and spectacularly those chasing promotion all appear at the top of the form table whereas us and Oldham are stranded at rock bottom. Thank heavens for those first four, some would say fortunate, wins under Powell.
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Feb 11

What has changed?

Next Saturday I will get to see for myself Chris Powell’s new look team, but in the mean time I’m left to listen to the radio and witnesses and observe the results. 

So, forgetting the minor thing of results, what else has changed? Powell has signed BWP of course and added left back Bessone (have we ever had an Argentinian play a first team game before?). Fry’s loan has been extended until the middle of March and Akpo Sodje was moved onto Hibs.

Also significantly Alan McCormack has been preferred to Racon, although the Frenchmen impressed when he came on for him at Yeovil. It’ll be interesting to see if the boss reverts back to McCormack tomorrow. Powell has clearly tightened up a previously porous defence (12 goals conceded in 4 games) and by all accounts got our full-backs working higher up the pitch. Francis in particular has come in for some praise. Chris also appears to have gained favour with referees and linesmen, as for the first time in an age we have been on the receiving end of some very good officialdom fortune.

But, and Powell has been honest on this, we haven’t been playing anywhere near an expansive game and our performances are patchy, especially in the first half. The reason then for all of this? The same players mostly, but a different motivator and definitely a more patient crowd.

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Jan 4

5 Comments

New era arrives with a bang

Quite a day. Phil Parkinson was indeed a good bloke, decent and hard working but after yesterday evening the writing was on the wall and the difference between this week and last, is that the board could afford to pay him, Breacker and Kinsella off.

Let’s deal with the backroom staff first. It is sad to see Kinsella go, but as a coach, I don’t think he has anywhere near the qualities he had as a player. Very different skills of course. As for Breacker, well he was a Parkinson appointee and as in 99% of cases a new broom sweeps every corner of the room as it probably should have done two years ago. I wonder how long Phil Chapple will last when a new managerial team come in?

As for Parky, many Addicks will point to our league position, last season’s play-off finish and a 39% win rate, but despite the club’s ongoing financial situation, he’s still had one of League One’s largest budgets and free-reign and support in the transfer market from his chairman.

But for me and a growing band of other Addicks it was the dour style of play (and I mostly only get to listen to it on the radio), lack of ambition in games, especially at The Valley plus more and more glaringly obvious, Parky’s tactical limitations. Sadly too many times he has stood on the side lines and been out-thought by his fellow managers, some or most of whom, have a fraction of the resources that he has had.

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Jan 4

3 Comments

Parky and backroom staff sacked

Sky and the South London Press are reporting that Parky and the whole backroom staff have been sacked by the new board.

Some Addicks will be thrilled by that news. I’m not sure what kind of light this puts the new owners in after backing him just a couple of days ago. Nonetheless football is a cruel game and Parky, Breacker and Kinsella are now all jobless.

Who do you fancy to takeover?

UPDATE: Now official. Michael Slater: “The team has not won in the league since November and recent performances have simply not been good enough. Last night’s defeat convinced us as a board that change is required now we are still in the hunt for promotion, and that we must appoint a new manager to give us every chance of going up.”

Jan 3

4 Comments

Woeful

Charlton Athletic 2 Swindon Town 4
The last time Swindon visited The Valley Addicks fans ended the evening distraught but with at least a sense of pride. There was no pride this evening, just despair.

From start to finish this was a woeful display. For the umpteenth time this season we were lacking in ideas and any kind of creativity. With our first meaningful attack Johnnie Jackson scored again, this time from a lucky deflection and we were fortunate to see the goal stand. TV replays showed a handball and an offiside. But it did and it was a great opportunity to push on.

But we didn’t, Swindon continued to dominate while we just launched long balls forward and the midfield ran around in circles trying to work out Parky’s 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 system and Swindon fully deserved their 41st minute equaliser.

At the break Michael Slater would have been hoping along with 14,000 others that Parky would demonstrate some managerial skills. He didn’t.

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Jan 2

Fight back

Colchester United 3 Charlton Athletic 3
I didn’t manage to get over to Colchester on Saturday (about an hour from where we were staying with friends), but sat in front of the BBC’s Football League Show last night to watch some highlights of what must have easily been the best game in the division yesterday and they gave us a couple of flipping minutes. They didn’t even show Benno’s disallowed goal. What a joke programme that is.

Anyway onto the game…. once again we just don’t have enough about us to dominate games against 11 or 10 players, a problem that both Brighton and Southampton don’t seem to have. However to come from behind 3 times showed a lot of character and it has been rare this season that Addicks have had cause to complain about lack of fight within the side. Whether come May this alone will be enough only time will tell.

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Dec 9

1 Comment

Parky collects his Spurs

Luton Town 1 Charlton Athletic 3
Well that was a turn up for the books. I didn’t see that coming and the snippets I managed to watch on a feed on my computer at work didn’t put us in a good light, especially the first half giving away a lot of the ball and defending deeply but we got the goals at the right time and it is another fine away victory for Parky and the lads.

The win was all the more sweet after Parkinson picked up the Manager of the Month and Johnnie Jackson the Player award today, normally a precursor of a big fall but for once we came away from a potential banana skin with our pride intact. Parky deserves his little bit of television time tonight especially after his old boss has been hogging all the limelight today.

The Spurs game is something to look forward to, and a reminder of glory days past but there is a lot of league action before then.

The hardy few at Kenilworth Road: Addicks Diary;
CA fact: Wagstaff, Jackson and Anyinsah have scored all of our goals in this season’s FA Cup run.

Dec 1

Birthday wishes

I felt better about myself this morning. When I looked in the mirror after another restless night’s sleep. Tired after another night out, suitcases under my eyes and more chins than a Chinese Yellow Pages I still looked a hell of a lot younger than birthday boy Parky, 43 today. Happy birthday Phil.

According to the local news Rochdale got covered in snow today and Saturday’s game must be suspect. With four games in eleven days coming up (including two televised) a postponement will not be welcome. Meanwhile the SLP is suggesting that Semedo and Racon will be offered new contracts. The Frenchman was widely expected to be sold in January to any suitors before the season started but from what I understand he is playing his best football of his Addicks career right now.

What I did miss last week was the loan deadline. The most surprising move in my mind, which appeared to go almost unnoticed was high flying Bournemouth selling their top scorer Josh McQuoid to Millwall. He’s on loan at the New Den until January when they will sign him permanently. McQuoid has scored 12 goals this season for the Cherries and with the FA still enforcing their transfer embargo on them, even the impressive Eddie Howe may have his work cut out keeping them challenging.
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Nov 14

5 Comments

Five star

Peterborough United 1 Charlton Athletic 5
Yesterday I spent the duration of the game sat poolside in the autumn sun sipping on a rum swizzle catching up with an old friend from Chicago. Across the glistening and heated pool was Castle Harbour and lush rolling hills and palm trees.

It’s easy to take Bermuda’s beauty for granted, and I often do, and it’s not very often that I wish I was in Peterborough instead but believe me I would have given anything yesterday to swap my lazy afternoon for standing behind the goal at London Road to witness with my own eyes what 1,358 other Addicks did, everyone of whom will justifiably be talking about this day for a long, long time.

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Oct 22

2 Comments

What is Richard Murray thinking?

Richard Murray probably doesn’t attend every game but one would think he might make the long trip up to Brunton Park tomorrow, home to many great Addick memories but potentially a graveyard for Phil Parkinson.

The future direction of the club is now Murray’s sole responsibility. Personally I felt the club suffered from having too many directors and divergent opinions previously. That is no longer the case, and in many circles it is acknowledged that Alan Pardew would have gone earlier if he hadn’t cleverly worked the copious amount of decision makers at the club. 

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Oct 16

6 Comments

Parky’s days numbered

Charlton Athletic 0 Brighton & Hove Albion 4
All week I was trying to buy into the concept of us improving against better opposition. We needed to looking at our approaching fixtures. New York Addick’s preview on Friday suggested that our league position might have flattered us considering the opposition played so far.

Today we came up against worthy promotion candidates and the performance and final result was both embarrassing and shocking. 

Brighton completely outplayed us today and not for the first time Parkinson showed to be tactically inept when up against a better manager. 3,000-odd Brighton fans celebrated noisily and will head back to the south-coast dreaming of good times ahead and rightly so. For us we face more woe and our suffering shows no signs of ending.

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Oct 14

Kelly’s not charmed

I’d almost forgotten about Kelly Youga to be honest. It seems a life time ago he was turning in some sparkling performances (after perhaps finding his level) in our unbeaten run at the beginning of last season.

Some have said that his injury problems were more in his mind than his knee and that he had also taken some poor medical advice back home in France, however according to the club he was back at Sparrows Lane training. No one will be heartened to see his problems compared to those of Cory Gibbs, although Gibbs is now playing again in the MLS for New England.

Let’s face it the club were only hoping to cash in on Kelly anyway in the transfer window, so he was never going to be a key player for us this season but one has to feel sorry for the 25-year old and for Parky, who has stood by him.

Oct 6

3 Comments

Reid all about it

MK Dons 1 Charlton Athletic 2
Forgive me but I don’t get to watch my team much. So when I get the opportunity to see them live, not least witness them win in the final minutes, I can get a bit over-excited.

When Waggy ran into the arms of joyous Addicks after getting the winner last night I couldn’t have cared less if it was the paint pot, the tea pot or the piss pot trophy. A win is a win and it is worth celebrating…. and I did last night by the way but that is another story.

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Oct 2

4 Comments

Buzz off

Brentford 2 Charlton Athletic 1

Well I’m kind of getting into my 3rd Division mojo, I reckon we could be living down here for a few years yet. Days like today do nothing to prove to me that Phil Parkinson has what it takes to get us out of this division.

It doesn’t matter what your ambitions are, but not beating the bottom team three times in a matter of a few weeks is not inspiring.

I really thought after Benson’s late winner on Tuesday that today with the benefit of a short trip and good backing we wouldn’t only win but win well. The first half performance by all accounts was nothing short of abysmal.

10 games in (12 including cups) and we have yet to play well this season but implausibly still find ourselves a point off the play-off places. This is a poor division and we belong in it.

Addicks deserving of at least a beer in each one of Griffin Park’s pubs: Drinking During the Game; Doctor Kish.
CA fact: We have now not won at Griffin Park since 1980.

Sep 27

5 Comments

Leveller

Charlton Athletic 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 2
I don’t know what Lennie Lawrence and Robert Lee thought at the end of Saturday’s game but at least they won’t have to go again on Tuesday. And I worry that a lot of other Addicks will be thinking the same this morning as a dark realism descends upon us. That stark realism is that for the first time in four centuries this could be our level for a few years.
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Sep 24

2 Comments

Precipice

I dreamt last night that I was at the game tomorrow, and in the excitement I got lost confusing the Covered End with the Jimmy Seed Stand. Strange, but I was excited, I was, it’s a London derby after all.

Dagenham & Redbridge are surely the most merged football club in the country with the Daggers roots being in Ilford, Leytonstone, Walthamstow, Redbridge and Dagenham. Quite different from next Tuesday’s opponents who had their identity stolen and not combined.

As others have more eloquently said our season so far sits on a precipice. If we look down then it has been a season lacking in creativity, goals and continuity. If you look upwards then the season smells of a promising work in progress with no serious barricades in our way.
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Sep 18

2 Comments

Rovers and out

Tranmere Rovers 1 Charlton Athletic 1
I got home too late from hospital to listen in to the game. From reading reports it sounded like we got off to a blistering start but couldn’t keep up the pace in the 2nd half and a point was probably fair.

How much we should read into this result after our 4-0 win at Prenton Park at around the same time last season I don’t know. What I do know is it’s proving more and more difficult for me to pass comment on team performances and our prospects for the season as unusually by this stage I haven’t even seen the boys play yet.

So I try not to be a fraud and take my leads from friends and other bloggers but then again hardly any one player is getting a run in the team at the moment and PP is making on average 4 to 5 changes a game. PP calls it “picking teams horses for courses.” I call it not knowing your best team and for me we still look like we are in an extended pre-season.
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Sep 5

3 Comments

Devon cream puffs

Exeter City 1 Charlton Atheltic 0
Addicks beforehand were suggesting that a draw would be a decent result yesterday, so I wonder if there would’ve been as much derision if we hadn’t lost to an injury time penalty, one which according to the Radio London commentator never was. Television evidence mind you points to another rush of blood to Miguel Llera’s head.

Despite the invaluable service CAFC Player and Radio London provides, listening to radio commentary will never replicate actually being there especially on days like yesterday when Radio London insisted on switching constantly to action at other games, such as the pearler between Hayes & Yeading v Histon!

As a boy I used to listen under the bed clothes to BBC Radio 2’s midweek sports specials and my young imagination would craft flawless images of the game being relayed from my small radio, but I learnt very young that there is nothing like being there.

Nonetheless the Radio London commentator did not need to be Peter Jones or Bryon Butler for me to decipher that it wasn’t much of a display by Phil Parkinson’s newly ensembled side at St James Park. Lacking in creativity and attacking prowess once again we never got to grips with the game and a point would have been more than we deserved.

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Aug 13

4 Comments

Solly good show

Leyton Orient 1 Charlton Athletic 3
A Charlton performance to warm your heart tonight in East London. After a decent first half with the ball being played along the floor more than is normally expected in Div 3, we held a 1-0 lead but after the break the O’s cranked up the pressure and ex-Addick Scott McGleish scored against us again and then within minutes for the second league game in a row we were reduced to 10 men.

Dailly’s second yellow was clumsy and with 30 minutes left I was sat at my desk thinking a point would be a good result. However Doherty and particularly Llera showed great resolve heading and kicking every cross away whilst in front of them Racon and McCormack formed a human shield.

Abbott ran his socks off and Martin was a clever outlet but it was Scott Wagstaff, disappointing in the two games so far who caused the damage with a finish that Super Clive would have been proud off to put us surprisingly back in front. Then a fantastic burst of pace down the right by Waggy deep into injury time ended with an inviting cross to be met by a jubilant Chris Solly to end proceedings.
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