BAAAAAAAAAH Humbug.

Charlton Athletic 1 - Cardiff City 1

Despite an appalling first half display from the Addicks, it wasn't the worst performance on show.

The bloke they found propping up the bar in Greenwich Wetherspoons, who ended up being given the ill fitting uniform and whistle stunk the Valley out with his ineptitude.

If you were there, you know what I mean and if you weren't, lucky you as I arrived at the Valley filled with Christmas cheer but he single handedly sent my blood pressure soaring to the point where I was, indeed, a potty mouth.

It's not big or clever.

The first half was a shambles from Charlton. 

1-0 down and reduced to 10 men, (against 12), I really couldn't see us getting away with anything less than a 3-0 spanking.

Despite turning down penalties, missing goal bound shots being stopped by an arm and 100% of the time giving Cardiff the benefit of every borderline decision, as well as some just plain wrong ones, the referee could do nothing about the way the Addicks pressed forward for most of the second half.

(Actually, that's not true as he managed to get in the way of a promising attack but we'll file that under stupidity rather than blatant cheating).

The best player on the pitch was Marshall in the Cardiff goal. 

I was pleased he was finally beaten after the shameless piece of play acting - pretending to be hurt and rolling on the floor as Charlton were pushing for the equaliser.

AND WHAT AN EQUALISER!!!!

Gudmundsson's 88th minute strike was one of the best I've seen at the Valley.

There was still time to win it as Charlton kept going.

The ball finally fell to Igor, (that's who we'd have chosen for it to fall to), and he raced clear of the defence…….. then blasted the ball over the bar.

Gutted.

A draw that could have been a win.

A moral victory when you're playing ten v twelve but still the single point.

That's 6 points dropped in the final few seconds as George, Bikey and now Igor have fluffed golden opportunities to win games in the closing seconds.

A game that will live in the memory for some time.

Happy Christmas to everyone (except the referee who will no doubt be heading back to the bosom of his family in South Wales).

Happy Christmas

I'm now thoroughly stuffed after a Christmas Day of somewhat overdoing it, and I hope you are too.

Christmas greetings to everyone who has popped by to visit my rather haphazard and irregular missives on this blog.

Miserable Christmas

Miserable in Lancashire

Blackburn Rovers 2 - Charlton Athletic 0

Well what a load of rubbish eh?

As much as we can all agree the club has 'moved on' since Roland shelled out on our particular area of South East London, yesterday was a supreme example of why we will remain a mid table Championship club, at best, for the foreseeable future.

The Valley stadium, the pitch and the behind the scenes set up are all streets ahead of the standard we had become used to last year but nobody supports a club because they share the owners fiscal prudence policy and because the training ground has been given the all clear for a revamp.

It's on the pitch that counts and just now we have holes all over the place where injured players should be or, as yet, quality unsigned players are needed.

We know Roland isn't afraid to make unpopular decisions.

Shafting Chris Powell, (saying to anyone who would listen that Powell had his support and was 'his man', while making it impossible for him to do his job and having his replacement already in the wings for the moment the FA cup run ended), prove his public words mean nothing but even some sort of weak platitude filled flannel hasn't been reported yet on what Roland plans to do with our threadbare squad.

If the first choice 11 were fit and available, with possibly a couple of senior players as subs, we could maybe compete most weeks in this division, assuming everyone managed to play an entire season without any drop in form or injury.

Of course, this is never going to happen.

Yesterday, Jordan Bloomin Rhodes showed just what we are missing. 

Igor hasn't been the same since he had his injury lay off and I'm convinced it's partly due to him being rushed back sooner than he should have been due to there being nobody else of his quality within the squad.

Last Christmas Roland bought the club as a Christmas present to himself.

This year he needs to buy some accessories to go with it, preferably a decent attacking foil for Igor as number one on his shopping list.

January Sales are just around the corner.

Oh No! (part 44)

Charlton Athletic 2  - Blackpool 2.

Charlton threw it away…… again.

I am in rather a funk.
I'm getting totally fed up with walking away from Charlton games knowing it really could, and should have been better.

Today, we played the very weakest side in the division, gifted them a goal through flappy goalkeeping and invisible defending, got back into the game with a cooly taken penalty, then went ahead through a very well taken goal from distance.

At this point, we proceeded to slow the game down and fanny around when Blackpool were there for the taking.
One goal is never enough for this group of players.
How often have we been pegged back this season?
Yet once we go a goal up, the foot is taken off the gas and we invite the opposition back into the game.

With minutes to go, a rather harsh looking free kick was given against us.
We've seen it time and again.
A needless free kick in a not that dangerous position suddenly becoming the game's turning point.

I've no idea what Pope was playing at but charitably I'll say he can use it as a learning point.
All young keepers have stinkers now and again.
He had one today.

A Blackpool supporting friend highlighted his performance as integral to them winning an away point, though a worse culprit was to ruin our day with almost the last action of the game.

Andre Bikey has won himself a huge fan base within the Charlton support but today he managed to blow it quite spectacularly.

With Blackpool high on life at equalising with only minutes to go, Bikey managed to fluff the kind of chance even Stevie Wonder would have poked into the onion bag.
He sent the ball way, way over the crossbar while three sides of the Valley were already up and celebrating the ball being guided into the unguarded net.

I have to say, I did a rather good impression of John Cleese as I grasped my knees, shaking my head while 'industrial language' tumbled from my mouth.

There must be a curse on that particular (North stand) goal in added on time.
In the last 3 home games, Charlton have managed to miss a golden opportunity to beat Millwall, lose to Ipswich and then today miss the most glorious of easy chances, all with the clock showing a time beyond 90 minutes, also all at that end of the ground.

So. Another draw.

Number 12 this season.

A turning point?

Bob Peeters honeymoon period is a distant memory and there were a fair smattering of boos from the home support at the end.

This season started off with us purring over the way our team were performing.
It's turning into a Winter of discontent.