Model Behaviour

Watford 5 (FIVE) - Charlton Athletic 0.

Our club used to be considered a 'model', a decent blueprint for other aspiring clubs to follow.

We are still a 'model', it's just I can't imagine there'll be any other clubs looking at this particular way of doing things and wanting to follow the lead.

Yesterday, not one person I spoke to pre game thought we would be benefiting from the supposed New Manager Bounce.

If anything, the events of the last week had made the obvious cracks in the Charlton set up develop into great yawning chasms.

The away support stayed with the team- but didn't stay with each other.

I had to delay a (really quite necessary) trip to the toilets due to a bout of pushing, shoving, raised voices and the inevitable piling in of friends to support their mates, blocking my way to the sweet relief I was needing.

Watford will never have an easier game. 

I'm sure they have to put more effort in when doing their warm down sessions at the end of training.

It's lucky for us we were playing a team who were quite ordinary on the day. 

That's it. 

They were nothing special, yet still managed to give us the biggest hiding I can recall since a rather ineffective  and non festive Boxing Day trip to West Ham back in the Premiership.

We were that bad.

Imagine if we'd been playing a team who were really on fire? 

It could have been time to start rewriting the record books.

Etheridge, the latest in our revolving door of goalkeepers had a good game. Yet we still lost FIVE - nil.

On another day, if our keeper hadn't made some decent stops, it could very easily have been nine or ten- or more.

The only goal he was at fault for was the final free kick. 

From our position behind and to the left of the goal, we called exactly where the shot was heading and where the gap was. It was a well taken strike but the door was well and truly left open.

The game was up well before then though. 

With only 20 minutes on the clock it was clear to see there was only one team in it.

The Charlton crowd split into factions. There was a very large and vocal amount of people chanting for Roland and his smoking pants to leave us alone.

Then there were those people who seem to think they have an inside knowledge, announcing that if it wasn't for him we'd be in administration.

Yeah? And?

The fact that he 'saved' us from the situation with the spivs does not mean we have to agree with everything he ever does, from now until he grows tired of his experiment. 

History has shown that just because you've been on the receiving end of a 'helpful' gesture, it doesn't mean you are indebted forever.

Charles De Gaulle, way before he had been relegated to being known as an airport to the North of Paris, was looked after by the British in London throughout the Second World War.

 It's probably not an exaggeration to say the British saved his life. 

Instead of having a feeling of "merci" towards our country for the rest of his life, he actually turned into one of our greatest thorns, not least when he was the massive party pooper, blocking our entry to the 'Common Market' as it was then.

We don't owe Roland anything. 

Each decision should be taken on it's own merits and when we can see he's not acting in the best interest of our club, or telling porkie pies, he should be told and reminded we were here way, way before he was- and we'll still be here, long after he's just a footnote in a paragraph to be read by future Addicks with a shudder.

I still believe in our club but I don't believe in the arrangement of 'football incest' Roland has set up.

Maybe Guy Luzon is an amazing coach and motivator? I've no idea. 

I do know his English is crap, (as seen on the rather appalling press conference), he has the personality of a damp towel, he knows nothing of our club or the Championship and he's not allowed to work here due to work permit issues.

- Yet Roland says he's "the best man for the job".

Imagine how devastated the fictional 20 other applicants must be feeling to be thought of as a worse prospect than Luzon?

So.

Any positives? 

The new 'Reg Dwight' stand at Watford looks quite tidy.

Johnnie Jackson made the effort to come towards the away section at the end- but even he couldn't bring himself to come nearer than the edge of the penalty area- to applaud the fans who without fail had kept with the team.

Tony Watt made it to the front row and gave away his shirt.

We can get on our high horses and snigger about Watford supporters doing a 'Mexican Wave' but it's grasping at straws.

We were rubbish, Watford won at a canter and we were lucky they didn't go for the jugular.

It's time for us to lick our wounds.

Liar Liar Pants On Fire.

Step forward Guy Luzon.

From the moment Bob Peeters was shown the door, we all knew Luzon was heading for the Valley.

Despite the moans and groans of the Standard Liege supporters, who rather successfully campaigned for his exit from their club, I've nothing (yet) against him. 

Time will tell if Guy Luzon makes a good go of his reported 18 month contract in South East London, though of course Roland may well pull the plug way before then.

Charlton supporters have been treated as mugs. 

A lot of people would say that every single active football supporter of every club in the world is a mug. 

If I went to a restaurant and they served a bad meal I'd be unlikely to return.

 I'd certainly receive some questions about my sanity if I then started making arrangements to visit the establishment most weekends. 

Football is different to real life.

It doesn't matter how often we get to 5 o'clock on match days, feeling like we've had a kick in the knackers, thoroughly miserable, having had a joyless time.

 We all turn up at the next fixture, waving the hope over experience flag.

What I'm not prepared to accept though is being treated like a mug who won't recognise when he's being lied to.

On Saturday we were told The Bob Era had been a success so far.

By Sunday evening it had now become such an appalling disaster he had lost his job.

Apparently the decision was made after the Brighton game. 

Rather a hasty decision there Roland.

Either you're an impetuous hot head, (the kind of person who is unlikely to be a success in business) or your pants are quite obviously on fire.

Multimillionaire business tycoon Roland surely had Guy Luzon waiting in the wings, yet we were fed the garbage about the club making sure the next appointment of Head Coach was the 'right man'. 

Time would be taken. The search would be exhaustive.

We were lead to believe there would be shortlists drawn up and interviews held. 

What we weren't told is that we would get another jockey from Roland's managerial merry go round. 

We knew it would happen yet we are being asked to believe it's purely a coincidence that somebody already employed by Roland is that 'best man' for the SE7 hotseat.

Roland should be honest. 

He should say, "In my opinion, it wasn't working out with Peeters, so a few weeks ago I asked my old mate Guy Luzon to step in to steady the ship".

Why all the pretence that there'd be interviews and shortlists?

Katrien has come out of all of this with rather a large portion of egg on her face.

As the public face of the organisation and supposedly the voice of what is going on, she's ended up admitting in print that she's not aware of what's going on and is out of the loop.

She's looked less informed than some of the more active Charlton bloggers, many who were guessing aloud that Bob was on his way to be replaced by 'that bloke from Israel who got chased out of Standard Liege'. 

Sometimes my football club makes me feel very flat.

Now is one of those times.

Bye Bye Bob

Thanks for your efforts Bob.

The rumours that Bobby Peeters had 'lost' the dressing room had been floating around since a few days before the Blackburn FA cup game.

Anybody who was at that fixture would never have believed the players wearing red shirts were doing anything other than the bare minimum for their boss.

I sat with Hungry Ted in the East stand and we both despaired at the lack of application and honest endeavour. 

Though there were periods throughout the game yesterday against Brighton when Charlton looked to be making some pretty shapes, the end result of zero goals along with a, (at that point in the game), against the run of play goal conceded lead Bob to wonder aloud if luck was against us.

Hardly the birthday present he had hoped for, a 1-0 defeat with the sack the following day.

The fact that his contract was only 12 months means Roland won't have to shell out too much to pay him off but with every speedy dismissal, he makes it less and less likely we will be able to attract the kind of manager we all crave.

The good ship Valley has entered rocky waters again.

Four (at least??) head coach/managers in a year is not the Charlton we all got used to in the Murray- Curbs years. 

Let's all pull together and support the team.