Relegated and Watch it all over again!

Imagine the scenario; your team is rooted solely to the bottom of the Championship with hells chance of escaping relegation. Would you part with a substantial amount of money for a DVD that highlighted that very season?

I’m probably thinking you wouldn’t.
Charlton Athletic are asking fans whether they would like a deluxe extended DVD packed of highlights of their worst season in many years.

I’m sure not many diehards will be screaming for a copy as they should be trying to put this season firmly behind them. Relegation DVD’s are not, surprisingly, the best sellers.

They didn’t release one last season, the first time since 1987, and many fans were left disappointed but Charlton had realistic hopes of playoffs and playing some good football. This season is quite the opposite.

The six wins this term may have to be the constant highlight through the DVD or the sacking of Alan Pardew that made many fans pleased. Perhaps the supposed buyout for this foreign consortium that never was. The first win under Phil Parkinson – it took a while.

It has been a poor season for the Addicks and their loyal fans, and they won’t be flooding to the clubs shop for a copy.

It’s a shame that a good club like Charlton has fallen like this, many good players have come and gone and they probably have to hope for a really good youth set up to sustain themselves.

No doubt in League One they would have a much more exciting DVD release at the end of next season.

No Way Back for Charlton!

Let’s face it, being five points adrift at the bottom of the Championship is not the most ideal position to start giving up hope especially with so much riding on it. Newly installed Charlton Athletic manager Phil Parkinson gives his somewhat subdued rally cry to his players and fans, “Once we get that first win we’ll go on to get several very quickly.”
I’ve heard more sense coming out of Gordon Brown. It’s quite the ordeal.
Charlton are rooted to the bottom, scoring 28 goals so far this season, as their defence has more holes than a colander shipping an awful 47 goals. It’s a cause without hope.
Parkinson has dug deep and somehow managed to conquer the loan signing of Reading’s captain Graeme Murty, in all honesty it was probably not for his defensive ability but more for his bottle and character; A leader, something that Charlton have desperately missed.
It’s a matter of too little too late.
There latest defeat to another relegation candidate Nottingham Forest left nothing to the imagination, Charlton are stuck in a rut.
They have passed the point of no return and as ex-Premier League clubs shown previously, Charlton should be preparing for a massive clear out and establish themselves once again, even if that is in League One.
Leicester City and Notts Forest are the inspiration to aspire to, but these are two massively supported clubs unlike Charlton. They really are going struggle whatever the outcome at the end of this season.
Leeds United have been struggling to get back. Swindon Town and Bradford City have gone through the whole cycle all the way down to League Two. Southampton are so far in debt their playing their under 14s and still are doing a lot better than the Addicks.
There is a genuine chance of Charlton going out of business (Takeover must be immediate), and a sensible plan should be put in place to guarantee the future of the club rather than rely on Championship football next season. There should be no gung-ho.
Let’s remember this team was a whisker of a play-off last term and were even candidates for European football a couple of years back.
This club have fallen quicker than the government’s popularity and fans must be worried. They must start saving their pennies, especially in the time of recession, to fund the luxurious trips to Carlisle, Brighton and Yeovil.

Pardew has finally gone

For a first time in a long while Alan Pardew will get to eat his Christmas Turkey stress free as he and Charlton Athletic have parted company by ‘mutual consent’.
Following Charlton’s 5-2 defeat by Sheffield United at the Valley, the Addicks had no other choice but to relief Pardew off his duties as they plunged into the relegation zone.
Phil Parkinson looks likely to be in temporary charge for the game against Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday as more than 300 fans protested against Pardew’s position.
The ex-West Ham manager took over from Les Reed nearly two years ago but could not help Charlton from avoiding the drop that season.
Now in the Championship, Pardew has struggled to rekindle any of the form that saw them well last term. They narrowly finished in ninth place, on the brink of a play off place.
This current season they have lost 10 games already and it was no surprise that Pardew left and the club would be pleased to see the back of his high wages. The clubs finances have struggled to come to terms without the Premier League money as the position they find themselves in is concerning, relegation would pretty much destroy the infrastructures of the club and send them into further financial trouble.
The major fact to Pardew’s dismissal was the 31 goals leaked in just 18 games, the defence simply were not playing their part.
The 21 goal in return is also not good enough. The whole round team performances have been woeful.
Andy Gray have been the only notable player this term scoring six goals, as his closes rival have been midfielder Nick Bailey whose chipped in with three.
Luke Varney, who Pardew paid an astonishing £2 million for, has not made the impact he should have. The two goals he has scored from the 16 games he has played this season have been pitiful. He was signed from Crewe Alexandra where he was not the most prolific, so it seemed that Pardew spent most of his budget on a player that did not guarantee goals.
That was probably the beginning of his downfall. It got considerably worse after that.
The speculation regarding the foreign ownership of the Addicks was altogether distracting with regards to the clubs financial vulnerability. This did not allow Pardew to improve his much depleted squad.
Charlton received an indicative offer from a Dubai-based diversified investment company but that eventually fell through.
The club is heading into dire straits and Pardew had to go, he had lost the dressing room and new blood is required immediately to save them from going under.
It would seem that there is a ready made replacement out there to save them free falling further down the divisions, fans favourite Alan Curbishley.
A return might be unlikely but a manager that knows the club and can work within a shoe string budget is required.

Pardew needs a Strikeforce

Alan Pardew has always been a worthwhile success with any club he touches. He transformed Reading into the team they are today, he took a depleted West Ham United side from the gutter and managed to get them into Europe and was on the brink of a famous FA Cup victory with only Steven Gerrard preventing a deserved win. So what is happening at Charlton Athletic?
Fans are calling the board to sack Pardew whose team lies scarily in the relegation zone.
No one can condemn a 3-1 lose to Barnsley at home as Charlton do have some quality players to rely on and should be able to achieve results.
Matt Holland is a fine midfielder with the ability to carry a team, unfortunately for the Addicts he is the very wrong side of 30. His impact is obviously missing.
Svetoslav Todorov looks a shadow of the player that sparked Portsmouth into the Premiership circus. He is a fluent goal scorer but lacks confidence, when he suffered that bad ligament break he has failed to be the player that he once was.
He compliments other strikers at the club including Andy Gray, Luke Varney, and Izale Mcleod and they certainly have goals in them it is just a matter of time.
Goals have been the solidarity problem this term as they have suffered from the lost of last season’s top scorer Chris Iwelumo and had little money to replace him.
Having been relegated in 2007, the club and chairman Richard Murray had to readjust and cut costs to live with life in the Championship. Darren Bent proved heroics in that relegation season and was swiftly sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a massive profit but only a small percentage of that money was available.
With the parachute payments, Charlton were able to make a half-hearted attempt to push for promotion last term but finished a disappointing eleventh, still only a mere 3 points of the playoffs. .
Pardew, who took over from Les Reed on Christmas Eve 2006, must be concerned with his current position now as the distraction of the proposed Dubai-based diversified investment company takeover has deteriorated.
Iain Dowie can be arguably blamed for the start of the rot as long term manager Alan Curbishley did a great running of a football club beforehand.
Pardew needs new idea and tactics to get these players firing on all cylinders. The strikers need to take an important role in this. it is a poor cliché to say that goals win games but unfortunately for Pardew and Charlton this has came too apparent.
Focus is now solely back on the football and it is time to produce results.