Addicks 2- Magpies 4.

Most certainly a 'game of two halves'.

The first half was as poor a half as I've seen at the Valley.

It was a collapse that will long be in the nightmares of all connected to Charlton Athletic.

Our defence has been rock solid over the season.
Throughout the first 45 minutes today it was clear that Hamer was having another off day and the back four were joining in by playing like they were strangers to each other.

Forte was just too good.

His hat trick in just over 20 minutes was a fantastic demonstration of the strikers art.
He played like BWP played in the period up until his mini goal drought started in November.

Every time he went near the ball he looked ridiculously dangerous.
He was helped by some extremely sloppy defending but he made his own luck by exploiting a defence that was coming apart at the seams.

Forte built upon the excellent long range strike from Judge that found the back of the net after around a quarter of an hour.

Up until that moment, I had been pretty impressed with our efforts to shake the midweek defeat to Colchester from our memory.

Haynes had looked lively but came off just before the first County goal, presumably due to an injury.

4-0 down at half time.
I joked we'd come back to win 5-4 but it was all just hot air.
I didn't believe a word of it.

Charlton started the second half like a team on a mission.

Within ten minutes BWP had scored a peach of an overhead goal and Haynes replacement Waggy, had scored a diving header.

The comeback was on!

It was at this point our hapless referee (Bugsy?) Malone got involved and killed the Charlton momentum.

How in EARTH he failed to give the penalty for the foul on BWP I still fail to understand.
It wasn't even debatable.
It was as clear a foul as you are ever likely to see but he just wasn't interested.

Perhaps, looking at his physique, he had been over indulging in the festivities of the last few days, part of British Pie Week?
Maybe he just wasn't up with play enough to spot it?

Whatever the reasons, he must have realised he'd made a cock up, yet when he had the opportunity to redeem himself, he again denied the Addicks.
A goal bound Kermorgant effort was stopped by an arm and again, our tubby official seemed oblivious.

Notts County had done far too much in the first half to be pegged back today.
They did go down with rather a lot of fake injuries and their time wasting was especially annoying but I'm pretty sure our team would have done something similar in the circumstances.

I did find it odd that the referee didn't make a point of speaking to the 'keeper, especially when we look back on the yellow cards Hamer has received for supposedly time wasting this season.

So, another game ticked off and still ten points clear at the top of the league.

It's hardly panic stations.

Last season Brighton started having some odd results around this period but still cantered on to win the league.

Let's just keep calm and keep the faith.
Today was a bad result but the team showed their quality after a dismal first half.
Notts County deserved their win but we are so far ahead of them, we can quickly put the result to one side and concentrate on next weekend.

A week without a midweek game may be the tonic the team needs.
They've looked fairly tired for a while now.

COYA!

A Casual Rating.

A poor first half from a Charlton perspective and total dreamland from a Notts County one.

They won the first half with ease and we won the second.

County were so worried about a comeback they started to waste time with 30 minutes still to play.
The theatrics while pretending to be injured wouldn't have looked out of place in a sixth form Shakespeare production.

The award of a Lacoste polo isn't going to a Charlton player this time.
I'm presenting it to Forte for his tremendous hat trick.
Any chance he fancies a move to South London?

The dreaded Primark novelty slogan t- shirt isn't being awarded today.
Instead, there's going to be one of those rather stupid rugs that the Sunday papers seem to advertise to people who want to wrap up on the sofa.
Our defence can have one for their collective shambles in the first half.
I expect them to all sit on a bench at Sparrows Lane, wrapped up snugly as they sit through a DVD of their woeful first half display!

Ref Watch.
My criteria for deciding if a referee has been on form or not is thinking about how his decisions shaped the game.
He had absolutely nothing to do with Charlton going 4-0 down. That was purely our players who let that happen.
However, his refusal to give the penalty at a critical time certainly did effect the game.
For that reason, he's getting a 3 out of 10.
As ever, a third rate referee for the third division.
Nobody should be surprised.

Magpies Stuffed.

Notts County 1 - Addicks 2.


I can't add anything to the first hand accounts of our fully deserved victory at Meadow Lane yesterday as I spent the afternoon on my sofa.

I listened in online, (moments of football threatened to break out between the mentions for people following on twitter), and it sounded to be an accomplished performance from the Addicks.

A first half ended with the Londoners 2- 0 up, though it could have been more.

Waggy is making it very difficult for the supposedly first choice Green to get a look in after scoring 2 goals in 2 appearances.
Having now seen his strike on television, I'd have to say he made the most of his chance, cutting in and scoring from a tight angle.

Goal number 2 was Hayes first for the club and owed plenty to the awareness of BWP who placed the ball at his feet so precisely, he'd have to have been half asleep to have missed it.

Luckily, Hayes didn't have an attack of 'the Lisbies' and Charlton exited the pitch, two goals to the good.

Mad Dog Allen tore into his players at half time and they sounded much more lively in the second half.

The home side scored from a corner that left County substitute Montano free to tap in at the far post.

Everyone's pantomime villain Lee Hughes was another County substitute but luckily he never really got going.

Even over the internet, the cheers for returning Charlton old boy Jason Euell were clear, when he came on for goal scorer Hayes.
(It could just have been a spontaneous sing song of Gold by Spandau Ballet but I doubt it).

He only had around ten minutes to make his mark but it was great to have him back.
The Doc came on as the final minutes arrived to add some steel to the defence and that was that.

There was a bit of handbags at the end.
Magpies skipper Bishop showed his, 'ahem', passion by booting the ball into the Charlton support as the final whistle blew.

Hollands and Euell went to bend his ear and the commentating team told us that it wasn't what we wanted to see.
(Wish I'd seen it though!)

Hollands and Bishop received yellow cards, after the game had finished.

So, not a classic but as CP said after the match, the Charlton side had a game plan and it worked.

Tuesday can't come soon enough.

A Casual Rating.
It's very difficult to grade a game when you weren't there so I'm going to award Jason Euell the Lacoste polo, purely as a welcome home gift.
The Primark novelty slogan tee shirt is going to Notts County captain Neil Bishop for being a bad loser!

**A special mention must go to the travelling Addicks who were making themselves clearly audible above the fairly muted home support, even before the goals.

Robbed!

Notts County 1- Charlton Athletic 0.


Not content with having a murderer playing for them, County added theft and GBH to their portfolio this evening.

On another night, County would have been down to 9 men.

A wrestling move in the penalty area and the most clear cut 'red card' horror clattering on Anyinsah lead to no sendings off and a feeble BWP missed penalty.

There was only one team in it this evening yet when the luck was being handed out, it fell squarely onto the buttocks of Bishop who glanced the ball goalwards off his shorts.
Francis added an extra touch to give Elliott no chance.

We are in danger of becoming that side who plays other teams off the park, yet regularly loses to a set play or the one clear cut chance the opposition get.

Of course, Paul Ince was watching a completely different game.
He claimed in his post match yack yack that County fully deserved their win!
His opinion means nothing, especially when we recall his ludicrous outburst after we thrashed MK Dons 5-1 last year and he blamed it all on the officials!

So, 3/3 losses for Chris Powell after a previous 4/4 win rate.
We need to turn it around and fairly quickly.
In fairness to SCP, we weren't bad at all, we just didn't take the chances.

The penalty in particular was especially poor.

I know footballers have a reputation for being a little, (ahem), 'intelligence challenged' but surely trying to place a low shot on an extremely sticky surface was asking for trouble?

Anyway. It's game over now and it's not like we've never been here before.
A bit of belief, a bit of encouragement from us and a slight nudge from Lady Luck and we'll be smiling again.

Casual Rating.
Joe Anyinsah gets the coveted Lacoste polo this time.
He was too good for County in the first half and only faded late on, when the pitch really did look as if it had been hosting a ploughing match.

The dreaded Primark novelty slogan tee shirt is going to BWP for his appalling penalty 'effort' and also the County keeper Stuart 'full' Nelson, for trying to do a Harald Schumacher.
How he didn't get sent off is beyond me.
You just know Robbie Elliott would have been back to the showers if it had been up the other end.

Ref watch.
I don't think he was watching actually.
A 3/10 score from me.

No excuses. We came undone due to our own shortcomings.
Our abysmal record on live television continues.

Flukey Win

Charlton Athletic 1  - Notts County 0


This won't take long.

I said to a friend last night, if I think back to the hundreds and hundreds of Addicks games I've seen over the years, our encounter with Notts County yesterday would probably fall into the bottom 10 games.

It really was that bad.

The first half was woeful beyond belief with individual errors being compounded by bad decisions from both players and officials.

Both teams were pretty poor but if anyone deserved to be in front at the break it was County.

The much maligned Lee Hughes, fluffed his chances to stick one on those members of our crowd who were in no mood to forgive him for returning so speedily to his football career after taking a life and serving time in the Big House.

Hughes could have been back in the changing room at half time with 2 goals under his belt, or even a hat trick but for a lineman's flag.

Charlton were so bad I was regretting my decision not to buy a programme.
I attempted to check my emails but the signal in the East stand was so poor it took nearly 4 minutes for one to load.
It was still more entertaining than anything on the pitch.

The second half was more of the same.

Perhaps a turning point was Lee Hughes, (yes him again), blasting an undisputed penalty straight down the middle, only for Robbie Elliott to send it over the bar with a trailing leg.

With around ten minutes to go, Benson and Abbott were withdrawn for Akpo Sodje and new boy Joe Anyinsah.

Suddenly Charlton looked as if they'd been given a caffeine boost and were more lively than at any time all afternoon.

Racon, who had come on for the very, very disappointing McCormack at half time, sent a pass through to Anyinsah who (skillfully?) managed to blast the ball through the onrushing keeper's legs.

1-0 up after being absolutely appalling for about 80 minutes.
It's a funny old game.

The referee became very annoyed at Reid and Racon who held the ball in the corner to eat up added on time.
He became so annoyed, he decided not to award another corner they had won and gave a goal kick which lead to a rather lardy looking Ben Burgess having a last gasp chance to equalise.
Luckily for Elliott, he headed into his arms.

I don't think anybody at the game yesterday would believe the best team won.
I'd have been happy with a draw, such was the lack of ideas.

A Casual Rating

What a load of rubbish!
Our entire team, except Robbie Elliott, are being awarded the dreaded Primark novelty slogan tee shirt for the first half display. It was so bad, I'm struggling to find the words.
The Lacoste polo is being awarded to new boy Joe Anyinsah for his debut goal, we really didn't deserve.
Robbie Elliot can have one too for his penalty save.

It's my birthday today so we are going to pretend we are tourists and take the boat from Greenwich into town.

It'll be better entertainment than yesterday I hope.

Playing With Yourself?

Today we meet the 'Oldest Club In The World' at the Valley.

My schoolboy memory, (unchecked by google so I could be way off the mark), leads me to believe that Notts County are so much part of the history of our beloved game, the mighty Juventus took their black and white striped kit from the East Midlands club.

Being the first club in the world, really is a bit pointless.
Surely, it's a bit like being the first person in the world to have a telephone?

I'd say that being the second person to own a telephone is rather more critical to the sequence of events.

Who did Notts County play against when they were formed?

They really should have been known as Notts Onanists until they found some people willing to give them a kickabout.

It's my birthday weekend, (the 'big' day is tomorrow).
In recent years we've not won to help me celebrate.
Last year I believe Alan P*****w returned and Southampton managed a draw they didn't deserve.
Wolves gave us a bit of a stuffing the year before.

Unfortunately, I have to start my weekend by heading over to Beckton to pick up a parcel from my 'local' depot.
Local?
I've never had to go there before for a pick up. I've always just popped over to the Greenwich depot near to Sainsbury and been home again in not much more than 10 minutes.

If you fancy a preview of todays game, click here.
I'm hoping for a win yet somehow I believe we are still a team in transition. A draw at best with a loss just as likely is my rather morose view.
I really hope I'm wrong.

September 11th is always a day for reflection.
I cant believe it's 9 years since those horrific scenes in Washington, Pennsylvania and of course, New York City.
Lives were lost and ruined on that day which only makes my ramblings seem rather pathetic.

RIP.

Right, I'm off to East London.
Hope the tunnel is open.