Charlton 1 Derby 1

It hasn't all got much better in the three days since the Ipswich capitulation, but at least there was some fight, bite, and honest endeavour about yesterday's performance. With Jackson and Pritchard starting, it was Frimpong, Green, and Seabourne who were banished not just from the side, but the matchday squad as well. Doubtless this will be explained away as rotation, but the reality is that heads needed to roll after the Boxing Day midfield performance particularly. Seabourne just had a mare on Wednesday, but it was good to see one of our own left backs in the shape of Evina back in action again.

There was very little to be cheerful about in the first twenty minutes, as Derby pretty much passed us off the park, but the response was a goal that will be difficult to better this season. There was some debate after the game as to whether he meant to do what he did, but as there was nobody at the far post to cross to anyway, I am very much of the school of thought that Haynes absolutely meant it, and what a purler it was, crossing the keeper and burying itself top left of the Derby keepers goal. Even at 1-0 up though, I was still pretty sure Derby would be able to get one back, which they duly did from the penalty spot. This brings me to the subject of Morrison, and referee Boyeson's part in his downfall.

I had been warned before the game that Boyeson was a game changing referee, and not in a good way. Those Addickted who went to Huddersfield away last year testify to an official of bewildering ineptitude who cost us a player that day in the shape of Russell, and although nobody of my acquaintance argues that he didn't deserve to go, they do contest that the two Terriers who were involved in the incident should have gone as well. They got yellow instead. Nothing if not consistent is Boyeson, as he again sent off a Charlton player, Morrison this time, for a second bookable offence. The signs were there that it was coming from way back in the first half though.

Having been booked for an offence in the ninth minute for a foul on Derby youngster Hughes, the referee also gave Morrison a last chance talking to later in the half for another challenge. It was a scenario that he played out with Keogh from Derby as well after his booking for a foul on Kermorgant, so a certain pattern was well and truly emerging, that here was a ref that did not like physical contact in the game. There were many around me urging Powell to replace Morrison with Dervite, and I must say I agreed with them. It seemed obvious that Morrison was on the edge from Boyeson's perspective, and having seen him in action before, there was a certain inevitability in what played out later in the game.

It is a difficult one to call, as the referee is not supposed to be a game changer. Powell had put out a team to beat Derby, and so was he now supposed to change his tactics because of Boyeson? My own feeling is that he should have, but I do understand the strength of the contra argument. If I may lift a quote here from the Charlton official site, “I was thinking of bringing him [Dervite] on earlier than half time,” Powell said. “I asked Michael at half time to play safer, which he did, to be fair. I said to him ‘you have to play with your mind now and make sure that you don’t get yourself in any difficult positions’ but sadly he did with the penalty. Perhaps next time, Powell may make a different decision, but I am not going to criticise him for the one he took against Derby.

Elsewhere, Hamer had flashes of brilliance, and occasional panic in turn. Some brilliant shot stopping to keep us in it, was matched by some flapping punched clearances when the team was under heavy pressure after the Morrison dismissal. Evina showed an understandable ring rustiness, and almost caused Charlton problems early doors, but he improved markedly as the game went on. Apart from his wonder goal, Haynes caused Derby problems all afternoon, until he pulled up with yet another hamstring strain. Speaking of wonder goals, we almost had a second, when a sweeping movement involving Hamer, Solly, Wright-Phillips, and Kermorgant, left Pritchard to lift one over the Derby keeper and into the net. Unfortunately he crashed it off the underside of the bar instead, which was a shame, as it would have been a fabulous team effort from one end of the pitch to the other.

So, a draw to end a run of three successive defeats. Let's hope we have our best away day head on for Tuesday at Watford, as we will need to do far better than we have of late if we are to get anything from the high flying Hornets.

Pantomime Season

How else should I rationalise the rumour that the Spanners current manager Kenny Jackett will be coming to Charlton in January? or indeed that Lennie Lawrence may also put in an appearance from his current berth at Bristol Rovers? Fortunately the Currant Bun also cites that perennial favourite Billy Davies as another wise man potentially to travel to SE7. Pantomime season may start in earnest in January, but nothing beats a little pre-season marketing eh?

And so to Norwich, buoyed (falsely I believe) by cheerier thoughts off the back of the performance against Derby. This was another team in our neck of the league table that really had to be beaten to get any sort of credibility behind statements about escaping the clutches of the bottom three. The fact that we didn't beat them had nothing to do with luck, and everything to do with poor defending, it doesn't really matter whether it was in the 4th or 94th minute, the result is another leaked goal, and another two points dropped.

We cannot afford to draw against teams like Southampton and Derby, and hope to survive. The same is true of Norwich. Nothing less than three points today will be good enough.

Quiet Desperation

Well, we took a point that could have been three. Two points lost in the blink of a prematurely celebrating eye. I think most of us would have taken a point before the game began, and it does take us out of the bottom three, but once again, it feels like underachievement. On to Birmingham, a game where I suspect expectations of a favourable Charlton outcome will be minimal.

As has been reported elsewhere, Pardew will almost certainly not be with us come Christmas, unless there is a marked upturn in Charlton fortunes, and I am interested in what criteria the board will be using to define "upturn". League position whilst important, is too nebulous, unless we are in the bottom three, so I assume that points will indeed make prizes. For me, the logical decision point would be mid December, as by that stage, we will have played exactly half the season, once the Derby County game has been played. The telling games between now and then, are the three games immediately preceding the Derby game, against Southampton, Blackpool, and Coventry. All of these should be winnable, and a decent haul of points from them would probably save Pardew's job until the summer at least.

Over the past ten seasons, the range of points for the team finishing third bottom, has ranged from 42 - 52. Indeed, Leicester's relegation last season, saw them go down with the highest points total in that ten year period. So, using that as the worst case scenario, means that we should really be sitting at a minimum 26 points at the halfway stage. We currently have 16 points, so three wins and a draw in our next seven games is required. I am assuming here, that the board are accepting survival as a positive result.

Pardew has been oft quoted, regarding his dislike of using loan players, and yet, it would appear that we are about to juggle the books, and bring more of them in. Much will depend on Ambrose going out on loan, as I suspect he still retains a Premier League salary level, but does anybody else on a high salary need to go out? As to who comes in, I think this highlights the poor position we are in, as essentially we are looking for a spine to the team, comprising a central defender, central midfielder, and a striker. Quietly desperate times indeed.