Feb 1
Those little tight turns, that scurry of pace with the ball at his feet, the tumbling over under the slightest challenge, the lung-bursting I really don’t want to do this chasing back, the goal at Portsmouth, the ginger beard, the Play-Off Final, that massive smile. We’ll miss you Jonny.
I suspect if we hadn’t been relegated Dillon Phillips would be in goal for us today, but he honourably and respectfully made his career ambitions known and he finally got his move yesterday.
I’m unsure that Cardiff was a team and place he dreamed off when he and his family came to the conclusion that after 17 years at Charlton it was time to move on, but Cardiff have added well in the window and will be in the promotion mix I’m sure.
A great point to bring home from Wales tonight.
Another defensive blockade and when we needed him Dillon Phillips delivered with the one big save of the night from Adomah.
The result was all the more significant as Lee Bowyer made seven changes to his line-up and changed the formation. Adam Matthews and Tomer Hemed didn’t travel due to small knocks and Sam Field and Jake Forster-Caskey started in a three-man midfield after long lay-offs.
It was a good, open game for the Sky cameras, but we can’t afford to give away two-goal leads, but in the end we have to be pleased to take a point and after their second I was happy to see us go for it and try to get the winner.
We started slowly but took the lead with our first real attack. Gallagher showing great awareness and desire to continue his run into the box and slot home after Leko missed a pass from Bonne, who deserved the assist.
We relaxed after and got the passing game going as the Covered End turned the volume up.
One week on. Are we over it yet? Nah, me neither, even though my brain has been through an abundance of senses travelling with work in Nevada and California this past week, that final few minutes plays over and over.
The international break is an annoyance, even though I noticed that England qualified for next year’s Euro tour. Shocking to hear Joe Gomez getting booed too, some people are such idiotic lemmings.
After three dark seasons in League One we are back in The Championship, and although I don’t think any of us are under any illusions how hard it’s going to be, it feels good doesn’t it? We’ve spent the majority of our history in the 2nd tier, this will be our 46th season and we hope and support Lee Bowyer to continue us on this journey.
The Championship is stuffed full of clubs who ‘used to be’ with large parachute payments, and those that ‘want to be,’ clubs with lofty ambitions and budgets. Then there are also many ‘that can be.’ Sheffield United the last to prove that with a good manager, stability, a team ethos, great supporters and importantly a plan then the Premier League is not just a dream.
Over a few posts I’m going to attempt to look at our opponents in this season’s EFL Championship, and will do so in alphabetical order.
Is this the week Roland Duchatelet clears his football clubs from his wardrobe?
Today Duchatelet sold his Spanish club AD Alcorcón to Crystal Palace’s American investor David Blitzer and Ivan Bravo of the Aspire Academy of Qatar group. The deal is said to be worth between €12 million (£10.6 million) and €14 million (£12.4 million).
In January 2014 Duchatelet bought Charlton and AD Alcorcón just a couple of weeks apart, which may be a good omen because this afternoon it broke in Wales that current Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman maybe close to buying the Addicks.
Although he is meant to be on his holidays Russell Slade’s current club Cardiff City have announced that he has left the club by mutual agreement.
Slade was made Cardiff’s head of football at the end of the season, moving upstairs after leading the Welsh club to an 8th place Championship finish. Clearly Slade wasn’t happy with losing his managerial job and has been in the frame for a host of vacancies since.
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1 point from 2 home games is not good enough. The 4 goals at Rotherham seems like a long, long time ago and Jose Riga has been unable to galvanize the side since then, even with the addition of three new players.
The first half sounded miserable and the crowd only being able to cheer anything late in the game as the Addicks finally threw themselves at the Welshmen following the introduction of Poyet and Sanogo. Before then Cardiff should have pocketed the 3 points, but the point takes us off the bottom, although with our dreadful goal difference we are now 7 points from safety. One plus was that it was our first clean sheet in over 2 months.
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“Cardiff City have been placed under a transfer embargo by the Football League following a breach of financial fair play rules. The Bluebirds become the fourth Championship club currently under a transfer embargo, joining Bolton, Fulham and Nottingham Forest.
The embargo will be in place for the rest of the January transfer window.” (more)
Tony Watt will play his last game for Cardiff tomorrow and then return to Jose Riga’s Charlton. The sale of Watt was worth £2m, which may have just financed the deals for Roger Johnson, Rhys Williams and Diego Poyet, and possibly allowed Jose Riga to enter the transfer market, or the majority of the money would have been placed in the credit column of Duchatelet’s football project account. However any plan to cash in Watt have been scuppered by Cardiff’s transfer embargo.
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Half of the Covered End and probably every kid under 16’s favourite player, my son included, is being sent out on loan. Tony Watt, one of the club’s best players is set to leave for rival Championship club Cardiff City.
Dave hinted at this yesterday and his fears have been confirmed by the SLP tonight. The ludicrous decisions continue apace down at The Valley.
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Part II of my look at our Championship rivals. Part I is here.
Using the bookie’s predictions, the following are the 8 teams they think will be knocking on the door of the play-off’s.
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After a 1st half where the Addicks showed all the Boxing Day spirit of an empty stocking, the 2nd they shimmered like a star on top of the tree.
Sadly once again we very slow out of the blocks and 0-1 down before we’d even broken sweat. Bob had changed it, and left out youngsters Pope and Fox, hopefully with some good man-management skills, but it was hard to argue against the change.
Gomez played left back, Johnnie Jackson returned from injury to take his place in central midfield and it was George’s turn to start up top as Igor began on the bench. No place for the perennial bench warmers Wilson or Bulot.
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Sad to see that Oscar Garcia has stepped down as Watford boss following his recent health concerns. Garcia had only been in charge for 27 days and only oversaw one game, the 0-1 defeat to The Addicks at The Valley.
Watford say that Garcia’s health “is of no further cause of concern” but he needs time to recuperate. I hope that he gets back to full fitness soon and can return to the game.
Watford have appointed Northern Ireland’s assistant manager Billy McKinlay as their new head coach, the Hornets third of the season, yet they remain in 4th place. McKinlay was on the caoching staff at Fulham up until the end of last year and joined with Garcia’s involvement last week.
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In America’s National Football League yesterday is known as ‘Black Monday‘ the day after the regular season ends. Six of the 24 franchises that did not make it through to the end of season play-off’s released or fired their head coach and the majority of the coaching staff on the one day. None of them were really a surprise and following the play-off’s NFL owners may still reach for the axe if coaches don’t live up to lofty expectations.
So, how is this different to English football? Well it’s not, except for one thing. Owners nearly always wait until the end of the season before making a head coach change, this despite the frying pan heat to win every week that a 16-game season brings, which for me makes the NFL season far more exciting than say a 162-game baseball regular season.
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Chicago Addick 