Positive Thinking?

I really do not enjoy posting negatively the whole time, but the club are really making it impossible to do otherwise at present. So what has happened this past week?

The Results

No, not the ones on the pitch, but the annual report from the club. The only shock for me is the size of the wage bill for the playing squad. Even if we were pushing for promotion right now, this represents an unsustainable percentage of the clubs total turnover. Next year, that bill will need to be about a third of the size it is now, just to allow us to survive.

Can anybody question the directors commitment though, when you see how much per week they are having to plough into the club just to keep it above water. For those that think we will go into administration though, I don't believe it will happen. Look where the debt is, and the vast majority sits with the directors of the club. To go into administration would wipe out them rather than avoid the taxman, or some other governmental body.

Murty

So yet another unfit loan player, looking to play his way back to match fitness at our expense. He is not with us long enough to make a significant impact, and then at the end of the month, he goes back to the Royals, fit and ready to help them with their promotion push. Two years ago, Murty would have been a decent loan player for us, but not now, and not for a month.

Spring

One for Division 3, and the first sign for me that the club are now looking towards a campaign in the third tier next year. He should be able to do a reasonable job there, as that is where the majority of his career has been conducted to date. An obvious replacement for Matt Holland who will be released during the summer.

The Game

For the record, the first goal was a defensive mix up between Murty and Hudson. Not altogether surprising, given that they only met for the first time a few days before. The second was a horrendous header by Holland in midfield that took out two Charlton players allowing Forest in for an easy second. Before the game, there was a minutes applause for those connected to Charlton who have died in the past year. By the end, fans were streaming for the exits long before the final whistle had blown. It was not a fitting game to remember the dead, and a club record that nobody wanted came with it.

Perversely, Charlton will now probably win at Norwich in the FA Cup