Wet Weekend

Charlton Athletic 1 - Huddersfield 1.

The weekend started off in fine fashion on Friday evening.
Along with Al and my sister, I was at KOKO in Camden for the Wedding Present crashing through the final date of their Seamonsters tour.

I bought the Seamonsters album when it came out in May 1991, (on cassette!) then upgraded to a CD version just a few months later.
Due to multiple home moves, both copies went missing so I ended up buying a newer version a couple of years ago that has some extra tracks added.

I was pleased that none of the 'extras' were played when the band decided to play the album live.
It wouldn't have felt right to me.

Twenty odd years ago, I ended up having to look after a hamster.
Due to a series of events not worth going into on here, the owner ended up leaving it with me long term.
I renamed it 'Gedge' after David Gedge, the lead singer of the Wedding Present.

Before the show on Friday, David Gedge, (the real one), was hanging around in the foyer so Al went and shook his hand, as did I.

Unfortunately, (as younger sisters are expected to do), I had my veneer of cool completely shattered when she told the bewildered bloke he'd had a rodent named after him.

I tried to laugh it off but I was really struggling.

The show turned into a CAFC love in when Louis and Martin spotted us in the Muppet Box we'd strolled into, (well nobody stopped us), and came to join us.

More drinks at the Cittie of Yorke on the way home ended a good evening.

The Valley wasn't a nice place to be on Saturday.
The wind and rain lashed across the pitch and it seemed impossible for (those players from the North) to stay on their feet.

For a team of supposedly hardy tough nuts who look down on us Southern softies, they did spend rather a lot of time rolling on the floor.

The sending off they received may have been harsh in retrospect but in real time, from my angle, it looked a fairly good decision.
I couldn't give a toss at the time though as I was remembering how we'd been well and truly 'Trevor Kettled' by the most appalling refereeing up at their place last season.

They had won 1-0 due to a penalty, (not debated), a sending off, (maybe the right decision but their player had to go too) and the referee being almost their best player.

Perhaps this was a little piece of justice?

Huddersfield are a strong side and looked dangerous going forward but especially in the dicey conditions looked a bit shaky at the back.

Hulse scored after a well worked build up and from that moment there looked like only one possible result.

Fuller seemed to have doubled the lead, and made sure of the 3 points, but the ball squirted agonisingly inches wide with all around me celebrating then grabbing their heads and sinking back down again.

Charlton fannied around instead of pushing forward and we felt sure that at just 1-0 Huddersfield were going to get at least one more chance or there'd be a defensive mistake that could prove costly.

As the clocked ticked towards 90 minutes it seemed as if the storm, (at least the one on the pitch) had been weathered.

Unfortunately, probably due to the extremely inclement conditions, Hamer spilled one and there was a big scramble in the Charlton penalty area.

From our angle it was impossible to tell what had happened but suddenly the referee was walking away and pointing to the penalty spot.

It would seem that Solly was penalised.

Those with a better view than me said it was a soft decision and just the kind of evener a referee might give if he was having doubts about the legitimacy of the earlier sending off.

Huddersfield were probably worth the point they gained but it was extremely frustrating for Charlton to drop 2 points so close to the end.

A few drinks in the Rose of Denmark after the game made the result sting less of course.

We'll all be looking for a reaction on Tuesday evening against Peterborough.

A Casualty Rating
He went from 'Dench' to 'Drenched' in his Charlton debut.

 I was very impressed with our loan from Arsenal, Emmanuel Frimpong.
Up until he left the pitch with what looked like cramp, he had been the midfielder I've felt we've needed this season.

I'm hoping he'll be available for Tuesday and especially our visit to the neighbours at Millwall next weekend.
It's probably not his style but I'm awarding 'the 'Pong', the regularly handed out Lacoste polo.

DENCH?

Yeah, me neither.
Apparently we have signed Frimpong on loan & he's fond of Bond films or something.

Incredible Scenes

Charlton Athletic 5 - Cardiff City 4.

The team at the top of the league, came to visit a side decimated by injuries and low on confidence this evening.

Nobody would have been surprised to learn they managed to stuff 4 goals past the hapless 'crisis club'.

Yet this only tells a mere fraction of the tale.

The lowly new boys at this level managed to score 5 goals of their own to claim the three points.

This truly was the rollercoaster experience when viewed from the stands.

Cardiff went 1-0 up after just 3 minutes and managed to double their advantage with only 23 minutes played.

Oddly, despite having seen a complete capitulation only a few days ago, the Valley support stayed right with the team. Even at 2-0 down, the Addickted were chanting without cease.

Just before half time, Johnnie Jackson managed to score 2 goals of his own and the Valley was rocking.

Cardiff looked completely rattled and once they returned for the second half, they began hoofing the ball in panic and the composure they'd shown for much of the first half had completely vanished.

A ridiculously long range free kick goal by Dale Stephens set Charlton on the path towards victory.
This was amazing!
@!%£
0-2 down to 3-2 up!
Could it get any better?

The answer was an emphatic "Yes!"

Bradley Pritchard managed to hook the ball back for Danny Haynes to head home in front of the North stand.
We cheered and laughed.
Yeeeeeessss!!!!
The cherry was dropped delicately on the top when Rob Hulse knocked in a 5th.

Charlton had scored 3 goals in just 11 minutes.
Cardiff looked spent.

The score remained 5-2 for the rest of the 90 minutes but a remarkable 6 minutes were added on at the end.

Cardiff scored what seemed to be a mere consolation goal, (the Charlton players didn't complain too hard about the ball being clearly controlled with an arm in the build up).

It was squeaky bums all around the Valley though when Cardiff managed to score a second goal in injury time.

Cardiff now lay siege to Ben Hamer's goal.
Eventually, to the sound of encouragement from 3 sides of the ground, the referee blew his whistle and Charlton had claimed a victory that will no doubt go down in Valley folklore.

Phew!

A Casualty Rating
Cardiff showed just why they are up at the top of the league in the first half.
They attacked with purpose and speed.

Their appalling away record just won't go away though.
Imagine scoring 4 goals, away from home, yet leaving without even a point?

A cobbled together Charlton side performed like heroes.
Well done CP , the players and all the staff.

The recipient of the regularly awarded Lacoste polo is Bradley Pritchard.
He will never, ever, have a better game.

Well done Pritch.

Hmmm.

Charlton Athletic 1 - 'Boro 4

Well that wasn't much fun was it?

If you were at The Valley today, you don't need me to tell you it was a bit of a shambles and if you weren't, well, lucky you.

Charlton scored first, a well taken goal from Rob Hulse.
He took his shot early and gave the 'keeper little chance, such was the power and accuracy.

Once Charlton went ahead, 'Boro lifted their game and came back due to a powerful header from Jonathan Woodgate.

Woodgate? 
I had no idea he was still playing.
He's been off my radar since he sat on the treatment table at Real Madrid, only to return to England to be injured again, just closer to home.

Perhaps our defence were of the same opinion as nobody felt it even slightly necessary to mark him when the free kick came in?

Woodgate's free header resulted in the equaliser 'Boro deserved. 

At Half Time, 1-1 seemed to be a fair score.

The second half was a bit of a 'mare.

All you need to know is Charlton made a further 4 mistakes, resulting in 3 more goals, plus an effort that hit the upright and then trickled along the goal line (before being hoofed to safety).

We would probably have got away with all the howlers last season but today Boro ran riot.
Their ability to pounce on errors and break forward with speed was the difference today.

Charlton did make chances and could, (and should), have scored another 2 or 3 but the belief was gone way before the final whistle.

We knew this season was going to be a very different prospect to last season's parade to the title. 
We knew we weren't going to win as many games as last time.

It all seems a long way away now. 
The long list of first teamers currently out of action doesn't help of course but today we were outclassed.

It's Cardiff visiting on Tuesday.
Another tough game is in prospect.

Casualty Rating
Only Chris Solly came out of the game with much credit, though Hulse took his goal well.
A game to forget for all of us, though hopefully Chris Powell will use it to motivate the squad.

Boro supporters came in large numbers.
They made plenty of noise which was a good thing as the Charlton support had little to cheer about.

It was particularly enjoyable to see a few of them rocking the 'look' of 2003, (Burberry scarf and Paul & Shark caps.)
Maybe it was ironic?

Sartorial matters aside, I won't be remembering today as anything other than 'pony'.

If we are going to keep things topical, I'd have to say today was a Halloween Horror Show rather than Guy Fawkes Fireworks.

Well Earned Point.

Leeds United 1 - Charlton Athletic 1

A point away at Elland Road is more than I expected but it could have been more.

Leeds scored with perhaps their first proper attempt on goal, but only after a heavy push on Cort had been missed by what seems to be our typical official this season.

The BBC London team were tearing strips out of the referee at Half Time and even mild mannered Chris Powell had to be guided away from the optically challenged man in black.

Charlton were by far the better side in the second half.
 Dorian Dervite scored an early equaliser and the team pushed on.

Paddy Kenny kept Leeds in it with some remarkable saves from Solly, Pritchard and BWP.

We'd all have accepted a point but a draw always has a feeling of what might have been? when you finish the game on top and it becomes clear you've been on the receiving end of (another) refereeing howler.

In summary, a pleasing performance, especially after the disappointment at the Valley a few days ago.

RIP Krasimira Kishisheva

As far as I'm aware, I never met Krasimira Kishisheva.

I met her husband, Radostin Kishishev a few times.
He was never less than charming, as well as being one of my favourite players to wear the Charlton shirt.

I have a signed picture of him on my wall. He was part of one of the 'best' periods for supporting the Addicks.

Unfortunately Radostin lost his wife to cancer this weekend, at the appallingly young age of 38.

My thoughts, (along with I imagine many of the supporters of Leeds, Leicester and Brighton in this country as well as football supporters around the globe), are with Kish and his two young boys.

You Get What You Pay For?

Charlton Athletic 0 - Barnsley 1.

Charlton Athletic as a business made a decision that was essentially found to be a flop yesterday.

The (approx) 11,000 Season Ticket holders were joined by another 15,000 who were keen enough to show up on a cut price ticket, only to be instructed exactly why they're probably better off spending their time elsewhere on a Saturday.

It was a fantastic achievement by the club to fill the ground but as ever, the end product was poor.
I don't imagine many of those 'floating' supporters would have suddenly become die hard Addicks on the strength of yesterdays performance.

Having said all that, I don't give two hoots about the Johnny Come Lately bunch.
They show up for a Fiver every now and again, make the place look busy, then return to their regular Saturdays at Bluewater or Homebase.

I'm more concerned about the rest of us who'll be at the Valley regardless of how the team are performing, or indeed, (shudder), what division.

Barnsley were the better side yesterday.

Had Charlton managed to get anything from the game, it would have been a robbery.
The midfield looked week and there was little spark or enthusiasm about Charlton's play.

The crowd may as well have stayed at home.
Perhaps the watering down of the regulars with the many thousands of day trippers had an effect but even the Upper North were rarely in full voice.

The majority of the noise being made was coming from the visitors section.
They must have been amazed.

"We're playing Charlton.
At the Valley.
They've got their biggest crowd of the season.
Why are they all chewing toffees?"

A dull first half ended with local Olympic hero Gemma Gibbons being interviewed on the pitch.
The poor girl was made to lie through her teeth by proclaiming she had 'enjoyed' the first half.

The second half was more of the same with just a few changes of personnel.
Razak, who I thought had played well, was withdrawn so that Jackson could come into midfield and BWP came on up front instead of Hollands, again in midfield.

The two forwards made us look more like a 'home' team but nothing really changed.

Barnsley scored a peach of a goal.
Green made a fly weight attempt at a challenge and suddenly the ball was in the back of the net.

Charlton never really looked much like scoring, especially when the referee started to break down our attacks.
He became quite infuriating.

I'm not pretending that Charlton weren't fouling as the team certainly were.
What was very annoying was the man in black became eagle eyed when it was a player in red who was making the errant challenge but suddenly resembled Stevie Wonder when the reds were on the receiving end.

Charlton gave away needless free kicks when players were so angry at not getting what they certainly deserved, they then made poor challenges themselves within seconds.

At times, it really did seem as if the ref had a bet on to see how many players he could wind up.
He certainly wound up everyone near me.

It wasn't the officials fault that Charlton were 1-0 down though.
The players have to hold their hands up and claim responsibility for that.
Poor play allied to very little enthusiasm just didn't cut it.

Towards the end of the game, Fuller went off injured and as Pritchard had earlier arrived in place of Green, all 3 subs had already been used.

Oddly, when down to 10 men, Charlton enjoyed their best period of the game.

A goal mouth scramble ended with Barnsley keeping the ball out but many in the ground felt sure the ball had gone extremely close to crossing the line.
It was impossible to tell from my angle but of course the Wishful Thinking attitude had me and everyone around claiming a goal!

What was not open to debate was the way Chris Solly was clattered as he pulled his foot back to shoot on goal.
Stevie Wonder was quite close to the action and very theatrically motioned that the defender had won the ball.
He may well have done but he had to go through Solly to get there, from behind.

We all know it would have been a penalty up the other end and we'd have been cursing our player for making such a ridiculous challenge in the penalty area.

Barnsley got away with one there.

The game ended with a whimper, we all trudged out safe in the knowledge it'll be much easier to get to the toilets and buy a half time drink next time.

Other than lamenting Charlton's dire performance, there was only one talking point after the game.

Depending upon where your seat was, people were either 100% sure 'it was a pen' or said that it certainly looked like one but they'd have to see it again on the highlights to be sure.

Well done BBC Football League Show!
What a useless bunch of (polite editing) Wallys.

Of course, the one incident we all desperately wanted clearing up wasn't even mentioned.

hmmm.