I Go Away For Two Weeks.......

.....and Charlton perform like men possessed in my absence. There are a couple of sobering reasons for this, but first and foremost, congratulations must go to the team, and Parkinson as well, for forging a club record start to the season.

One note of caution though, is that we have not lost any of the midfield four of Racon, Bailey, Shelvey, and Sam. Famous last words of course, as the transfer window has still not closed, but if it does, with our midfield intact, then hats off to the directors, who besides holding board meetings deep into the night, in a bid to stop the proposed takeover seem longer than a long thing on a long day, have I suspect, held firm in the stance of not bowing to any pressure to release any of our remaining prized assets. We know approaches have been made for at least Shelvey, and Bailey, but other unreported enquiries will almost certainly have happened.

The second note of caution, is that all five of our opponents to date have been in the bottom half of the table, with two of them in the bottom four, and one just outside it. A truer test of our credentials is now upon us, with Brentford, and Southampton next up at The Valley, with the next three road trips being Norwich, Colchester, and Leeds. Once that lot has been completed, I suspect we will have a truer view of how our season is likely to pan out.

In the meantime, I shall enjoy my Sunday paper, and anything else reporting on the latest exploits of our lads visit to Merseyside, or wherever Tranmere is, and try and get used to the British summer again.

Carling Darling?

Charlton maintained their fine tradition of "we don't do Cups" again last night, going out to fourth division Hereford after extra time. The positives to be taken from the game are that some of the youngsters got a run out, with Solly, Wagstaff, and Stavrinou acquitting themselves adequately. Gray also got some game time, which will hopefully assist in keeping him in the shop window, although a penalty miss, will not have endeared him to any potential new employer.

Meanwhile, in the land of the stripey Nigels, Agent Ambrose was showing him how a penalty should be taken, and indeed, how to score from open play as well. What we would do for a free scoring goal machine like Dazza eh? - I'll get me coat.

Charlton Athletic 3 Wycombe Wanderers 2

This should have been so much easier than it turned out to be. Cruising at 2-0 up, the first glaring "error" happened when Llera went off, courtesy of charm merchant Harrold, to have a nasty cut stitched up. It seemed to me that the obvious move would be to drop Semedo, into the centre of defence, but I am not entirely convinced that he went there. Even if you give Parkinson the benefit of the doubt over that one, where on earth was Youga when the Chairboys first goal went in? The same question has to be asked of the same player, when Elliot, Richardson, and Bailey were busy clearing shots off our goal line in the second half. We certainly weren't playing with four at the back, that's for sure. The other defensive failing was that the back line were playing too high. The same problem that allowed them to score their first, was also evident when Wycombe scored their second, albeit that the pass that put Zebroski through was a peach.

The first Wycombe goal tarnished an otherwise blemish free first half, which could easily have seen us go in three or four goals to the good. When Llera scored to put us 3-1 up, the normal order of things seemed to be restored, but then what happened in the last ten minutes of the second half? Let's not kid ourselves here, we could easily have ended up with a draw, which would have been a travesty, particularly after the first 40 minutes of the first half. The reality was that we panicked, with all the old self doubt of last season showing through once more, but for me, the second worst thing about those closing minutes, was that Wycombe were physically fitter and stronger than we were. There can be no excuses for that.

But for me, the worst error was down to Parkinson. Why bring two strikers on for a striker and a winger, who in the case of Sam, was also by some distance, our most effective player? The outcome of that little foible was that we ended up with an unbalanced midfield. Given our position of dominance at the time, I guess he felt it would be safe enough, but the reality was somewhat different, as it encouraged a fitter Wycombe side to press on. If Sam had a problem, why not bring Basey on for Sam, and switch Bailey over to the right side? While Sam was on the pitch, their midfield and defence were constantly pinned back by his antics. With him removed, Charlton were in danger of being overrun. Three points, yes, but a number of concerns as well. I really don't want to be reminded of last season, but towards the end of this game, that is exactly where my mind was being drawn back to.

Once More Unto The Breach Dear Friends

Well, almost time once more, for the Saturday ritual to begin. It will be good to see old friends in the Rose of Denmark again, and I do get a buzz from seeing The Valley turf in pristine condition, ready for another season of toil. Eldest son will, as ever be in attendance, no glory boy tags attached to him, no sir. Was it really a year ago that we "humbled" the mighty Swans 2-0?

So, it is on with the Woolwich shirt again, take a deep breath, and hope that the Addicks don't squeeze my enjoyment out of the season too quickly. Good luck to the boys, and all of us. Enjoy the game today. Why do I get the feeling it will be a draw!