Albury family trip to Milton Keynes

Heaven knows why, but wifey decided that a Boxing Day trip to Milton Keynes would be an excellent opportunity for family bonding. This was her second away game in 35 years ,the last one being the day Bob Bolder single handedly secured a 0-0 draw for us at Old Trafford, somehow saving at least 10 certain goals. She was disappointed to learn that Bob wouldn’t be playing in goal at MK Dons, a team who had actually been invented since the last time she attended an away fixture.

In truth our visit to Milton Keynes was spent mostly on the M25 , particularly on the journey from Surrey, which lasted 2.5 hours and was a nightmare.Nevertheless we arrived just in time for a family feast of tepid meat pies.

The game was awful – MK should have been a couple of goals up in the first quarter. After that I think there was only one shot on target from anyone and that was the goal from our Ademola after a wonderful pass from Crofts .In the 2nd half we played a kind of passing game that Mr Robinson is known for. There are some tactical things that I just don’t understand – why is Ajose playing so deep ? He isn’t a midfield player or a winger or a wing back, at one point yesterday he was playing behind Fox. Secondly, I don’t understand why Konsa is playing at right back. He is an excellent player and will be a brilliant centre half, but he gets caught out too often , whereas Foley is a steady experienced right back, who should be playing.Finally, why on earth is Roger Johnson even on the bench. He spent about 3 minutes on the pitch yesterday and was lucky not to concede a penalty. Aside from his well publicised unpopularity with the fans, Harry Lennon or indeed Konsa (if Foley is playing) are better options for the future.

Anyway, who cares, we won, we won , we won. The trip home was dreamily easy and the whole family took part in the annual flip the paper fish up the hall after 6 pints and name the unusual dog picture Boxing Day games in the rare state of collective Charlton victory euphoria. That’s a feeling we’d like to get used to.

Our idiot owner talks again

Despite the club employing PR companies galore so that we can’t approach the Internet without some new exciting and generally unintelligible quote from KR or club initiative, our idiot owner is at it again, see

http://addicksdiary3.blogspot.co.uk

Katrien has wisely decided not to say anything at all for the last few months because every time she does it’s embarrassing.

Fresh from the revelation that Roland decided to explain what 4-4-2 and the diamond formation was to England international,Chris Powell, he also tells us that Chris didn’t recognise how good Anil, Illiam, Pieter, Loic, Astrid, Reza, Christophe and all those other useless tossers were.

I sat with my friends yesterday and my friend commented as we looked over the vast empty Valley spaces that the CARD boycott has been a disaster for the club. It is very difficult to be a Charlton fan at the moment and it is so sad that so many fans have given up but when you listen to our idiot owner, you are reminded why.

It is nice to get a Christmas card from the club, “Our family to your family” – well that’s lovely and I know who my family is I’ve no idea who is in your family ?  We all used to be part of the same family but we aren’t any more .

Different Manager- same players

Another awful performance today, swamped in midfield as usual and ineffective up front. I can’t see what difference any manager will make by shuffling the same unbalanced pack of players. You have to laugh when Karl Robinson says that he has found it more difficult than he expected to find a winning formula. He could have asked any of us that have had to sit through lots of awful performances – the most astonishing of which was when we made Oldham look like Barcelona at The Valley.

We need energy, creativity and possession in midfield and a striker (unfortunately not Ajose) who knows how to score goals and create havoc. We are too lightweight up front. Botaka is a luxury player. We need at least 4 new players in the middle and up front.

Defensively we are OKish , although I feel for Morgan Fox. I think jeering your own players is bonkers and I never do it. Nevertheless the guy needs a rest from the first team. Successive managers have kept faith with him but it’s not working. Hopefully he will come back stronger.

The best bit of the day was after the game in Crosssbars when I was sitting next to a group of older guys in their 60’s . One bloke said ohh I bet Robinsons got them in there now giving them the hairdryer treatment – what do you reckon Harry –

Harry says ‘yes I can see him now, he’ll be in there saying ok lads now that’s over, hands up those who want a curry and now hands up who wants a Chinese’

That was my only highlight of the afternoon .

 

Karl- you need to understand something

When you have been going every week for 50 years and you have endured low crowds, relegations, disappointments galore and for the first time in your life you actually loathe, detest and distrust the owners of your football club to the extent that you couldn’t really care less what the result is or whether your team score or who scores – then you know that something is seriously wrong.

Karl – mate- that’s how thousands of us feel – its not just me -or tens – or hundreds, its thousands.

We all wish you luck and those few of us who can still bear to attend matches will support you and the team – we will cheer as much as we feel able. Results are massively important and if we get good ones, that will help, but the extent of the damage done to the Charlton fanbase is enormous and probably irreversible.

The only solution is new owners not a new manager.