Saturday 6 December 2008

End of the pier show

The weather was cold but sunny as Charlton faced Blackpool at Bloomfield Road today in front of a crowd of 6,648, including 321 Addickted among them away correspondent Janice Styler. An early Tangerines corner was cleared. Blackpool then won another corner out of nothing. The corner was taken short and Gillespie volleyed clear. Bouazza put in a good cross but it was a few yards ahead of Andy Gray. Hudson had to deal with a Blackpool attack.

A fierce shot from Bouazza was blocked in a crowded penalty area. Charlton were playing some good passing football in a low key start. After McEveley put in a good ball to the far post and Burton headed back Gray hit a shot from five yards out on the turn and the keeper (ex-Addick Rachubka) made a good diving save. The Charlton corner was poor.

Bouazza gave the ball away and McEveley had to intervene. Blackpool won a corner which the Addicks had to defend into the low sun, but Weaver caught the ball well. The Tangerines won another corner. Charlton were able to clear. The home crowd was very quiet.

Bouazza forced a corner kick, but it was disappointing again, but Charlton played the ball back in, and Rachubka had to put the ball over the crossbar. The corner was defended well as Burton threatened. Bouazza put in a shot from outside the area that was not too far wide as Charlton continued to dominate.

A crunching tackle from behind came in on Burton and the yellow card was shown to Evert. McEveley continued to be very lively. Bailey had to scramble the ball away as danger threatened. Cranie blocked a cross well. A header from Burgess 3 yards out went up in the air and over the goal. Blackpool were getting more involved.

A Blackpool effort came off the crossbar, a chip having beaten Weaver, and bounced out for a dubious corner. Weaver pushed the ball out for another corner and the Tangerines headed wide. Semedo did well with a good ball forward which nearly caught Blackpool out.

Blackpool won a free kick and two blocked shots led to a corner. Blackpool had a chance, but Cranie and Fortune converged on Dickinson to deny him the opportunity. Hudson required treatment before the corner could be taken and limped off in some difficulty. The ball from the corner was cleared off the line by Bailey.

Three minutes of time were added on. Blackpool won a corner which was cleared by Cranie and was followed by a second which ended in an Addicks goal kick. The referee had a word with Semedo.

Half time: Tangerines 0, Addicks 0

Blackpool threatened, Weaver made a good save with his feet, but the flag was already up. Then from a corner Dickinson headed past Weaver at close range to put the home side ahead. Charlton showed themselves vulnerable to a set piece once again. The home crowd came to life.

A shot from Semedo took a deflection and the keeper had to dive to his right. Blackpool won another dubious corner. The defence did not look too secure, but Charlton cleared. Then Dickinson burst through the centre to make it 2-0 for the home side on the rebound after Weaver had saved his first effort well.

The Addicks won a corner but were not able to make anything of it. Bailey put in a good shot which was tipped on to the crossbar by the keeper who then saved it. Bouazza ran forward well, but was tackled. A cross from Gillespie went into the arms of the keeper after a good interchange of passes.

Bailey felt he was fouled inside the penalty area. An effort by Burton making use of a low cross in from the right went just past the post. Chris Dickson and Lloyd Sam came on for Andy Gray and Keith Gillespie.

Dickson used a ball from Cranie to put in a stinging effort but it was straight at the keeper. Hudson defended well. Sam lost out, but Semedo was able to put in a powerful challenge. Weaver had to concede a corner after Fortune unwisely played the ball back. Cranie required treatment. Weaver collected from the corner but fell awkwardly and required treatment while Cranie was led away with a shoulder injury. Weaver was hobbling and in some degree of discomfort. A defender had to take the goal kick.

Holland came on to replace Cranie and Semedo moved to right back. Blackpool had a free kick 35 yards out. Dickinson's effort was straight at Weaver. Blackpool had a chance to make it three but the unmarked Southern headed past the far post. The Addicks didn't really like look getting back in the game. Dickinson was taken off so that he could receive his standing ovation.

There were four minutes of stoppage time but Charlton went a second 90 minutes without a goal and eleven games without a win. Sadly, relegation form and the Seasiders chanted 'Going down' at the end. The Addicks went to the bottom of the table.

After a good start in the first 30 minutes the Addicks were rocked by two Blackpool goals early in the second half, fulfilling the New York Addick's prediction of a 2-0 defeat.

Elsewhere it was Bones 0, Brakes 6 as Leamington maintained their run for the BGB Midlands Division title.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Grim reading Wyn. Feel sorry for the board having to make an unenviable decision re manager now, having seen recent decisions fail to bear fruit.

Anonymous said...

Very hard to be optimistic isn't it. We are really suffering from Pard's failure to get it right when buying strikers. We have no real quality upfront and nobody who seems to be able to finish. You always get chances in games even when things are going badly and you just have to take them and then ride your luck. We simply aren't doing that and it is very hard to see how we are going to get enough wins to survive. By my reckoning we've now taken just 44 points from the last 46 games. Last season that would have placed us behind Scunthorpe and 9 points from safety. I haven't seen the odds but we must be strong favourites for the drop.

Anonymous said...

Don't know about 'end of the pier' It's beginning to look like the end of the road for Charlton Athletic.
I can see relegation leading up to administration! Where then?

Anonymous said...

'And now the end is near'
Nothing can turn this arund, the result of so many bad decisions.

Anonymous said...

To make it worse I see Varney scored yesterday


DPFC

Anonymous said...

There are the quick and there are the dead. I am afraid we qualify as the latter and despite this dreadful situation the board are paralized into taking no action. We need to be decisive but we seem blinded by the light unable to move.
Parkinson is part of the problem. We clearly are not going to get Big Sam so we must go for next best option. I say Billy Davies or Aidy Boothroyd. I predict a defeat Tuesday night and we must make a new appointment by end of week.It already appears too late. Those hoping some other clubs hoping for others to go in administration are whistling in the dark. We have to take responsibility for our future and not rely on others.

Anonymous said...

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The problem is we need a new board not necessarily a new manager.

Charlton's success over adversity from the mid 80's stemmed from having a board seeking to move the club forward. Initially the aim was to get back home, then to expand the stadium and support. The current board (who can blame them in the current economic crisis), neither have the money or will to resolve our problems.
Without resources no manager can turn our season around. Those dismissing Parkinson - wake up - he has had 3 games. We are in a deep hole - bring back Lennie.

Anonymous said...

If you took a poll at the match tomorrow no one will say Phil Parkinson is the man for the job. The board are no good and nor is the chief executive. We need a root and branch clear out. The board can only be restuctured if they sell so in the interim ibn order to make us more marketable we need to do everything possible to retain Championship status, that means we must change the manager. After the match on saturday Parkinson said "the better team one". Exactly we have not a team because of player failings and the failure of the management to create a team ethos.