Charlton manager Phil Parkinson questioned the character and desire of the team after the Addicks slumped to a 4-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday today. The scale of the defeat is shown by the fact that Francis Jeffers scored his first goal for a year. Spring got the consolation for Charlton.
Parkinson described the performance as 'the worst of my managerial career.' He added: 'We were out-fought and outplayed in every department. It was unacceptable and I would like to issue a public apology to our supporters who spent good money coming here to get behind the players.'
'We got our first win for a long time on Tuesday but failed to build on it. I won't be calling the players in for extra training on Sunday because I think it's in the best interests of everyone that the players and myself take a break from each other.'
Charlton are now 7 points behind Southampton in the Championship table and have little prospect of avoiding relegation.
The stats from the game tell a clear story. There were 18 attempts on goal by the Owls to 8 by the Addicks. Only three of the Charlton efforts were on target, compared with 13 for Wednesday. The home side secured seven corners to Charlton's two.
It has been my view for some time that the players collectively, in any combination or formation, are not good enough to compete in the Championship.
16 comments:
I agree, with the exception of the Reading game, the team has not looked capable of competing in the Championship. However, are they entirely to blame? We have also had a large number of loan signings who have failed to make any impact. It all seems to indicate that Parky is carrying on where 'Not so Super Al' left off. You only have to look at Forest or to see what a decent manager can do with a shambolic team. League 1 here we come and if the board don't sell up quickly or make the decison to commit themselves fully to the club, I fear we may struggle to avoid another relegation next season.
Does anyone know how the EAST STAND SECOND TIER PLANNING APPLICATION IS COMING along?
I took a 15-year old German lad to his first ever football match in England today. Charlton is not an obvious choice for him living in Birmingham but I thought he would enjoy the match. He was polite enough to say he did afterwards, but I did not.
I am not one to criticize my team easily (and I told fans sitting behind me singing "This is why we are going down" when our strikers missed the goal to shut up today) but other than for Darren Randolph there were no positives today.
This team is not good enough. We have also got plenty of new loanees/signings in during the season but things have got worse and worse. I don't want to see any new signings anymore. I especially don't want to see any more loan signings. Most of them seem to be content not to make a mistake so that when they go back they can make their Charlton teammates responsible for Charlton's defeats. And who can blame them? Players who are not fully committed is an inherent fault of the loan system. Let us not make use of this system anymore.
I have so far considered the calls to throw out the more established and to field the Academy players instead as thoughtless. I have changed my mind after this week. I can think of many instances where teams which did look ok on paper (as does ours) were relegated because things did not fit together. I can think of fewer occasions, if any, where a team got relegated because it fielded all young players. Football is developing so quickly these days, it is quite likely that young players know more about a lot of things and are better trained than the older ones.
And whilst none of the outfield players were good today, at least the homegrown players Sam and Jonjo tried.
And lastly, what is there to lose? The odds are we are getting relegated. Let us see whether these young players can get us somewhere.
I was also at the game today. Sadly, it is now clear that not only are we the worst team in the Division but that the reason is that we have the weakest squad of players. That, of course, is an appalling indictment of Alan Pardew.
I feel that a lot of nonsense has been talked about loan players. The right loan signings can make an important contribution. Has everybody forgotten Alexander Song, for example? If you don't have a full back, it makes sense to sign Murty and McEveley, though the injury to the latter illustrates how fate has continually kicked the Club when it is down. However, survival would now take a miracle and we must be close to the point where keeping any loan players makes no sense; the Club might as well save the money and give its young players experience. By the way, why has McCleod gone out on loan? That seems a very strange decision when Dickson (clearly not good enough) and Todorov (clearly not mobile enough) were on the bench today.
Does anyone know why Ambrose wasn't playing? I know he has plenty of critics, but at least he scored the other day.
On loan players it does have to be realised that this is not just something that is happening at Charlton but more generally in the Football League. The notion that players are 'committed' to a team whether they are loan players or not is a bit of a myth: they are hired hands who, as Andy Hunt once pointed out, will play for several teams during their career. In any case, skill is more important than commitment and passion (those are the qualities of the supporters). And this team, collectively, is simply not good enough which is an indictment of Pardew as much as anything. As for using Academy players, I can go to my local non-league side and see former Academy players. There is a thin line between success and failure at that level. The one thing that really worries me about Charlton supporters is this 'Roy of the Rovers' mentality which wants to see feats of glory from youngsters. The point about youngsters is that their inexperience often leads them to make serious errors that would not be made by more experienced players. By all means have one or two, but don't overdo it. Of course, we may be forced back on it in League 1 but it is not a package that would attract me to The Valley.
===== I think it's in the best interests of everyone that the players and myself take a break from each other.'
Permenently ?
After a brief appearance of the "real" Charlton it looks like pretenders were largely back on display yesterday. Quite clearly our loan players and some of the higher paid regulars do not want to play for the team - look at how many scurry off elswhere as soon as they get the chance (or their agents manipulate the creation of such chances). Parkinson needs to discipline those responsible and take charge of the team from such individuals - perhaps they should have been given double training this Sunday - and in the meantime he should only play those who show obvious commitment. If he doesn't want to take charge then he should do the decent thing (and if he talks about bringing in more players with character etc. he should be taken outside and shot - he is hoping that such imports will do his job for him)
Wasn't the situation similar when Pardew left West Ham with the players thinking that they were in charge. Perhaps Mr Murray could seek Curbs advice on clearing up such a mess.
As for defensive coaching - perhaps they could do some for the first time this Sunday ( I always laugh when they practice headers in position during the warm ups) - a little bit of co-ordination among the back 4 would have stopped half the goals this season.
You are right about everything you are saying, Wyn, but yesterday was awful. The team as it appeared yesterday will not win any matches at this level. The players clearly had "their trousers full". Whilst I would not say they could not be bothered I would say that they were afraid to make a mistake that would jeopardy their chances to play for a decent team next season. This is why I am for bold changes now. Yes, the players are all hired hands but the younger players will be attached to the club where they were educated and they will show some courage.
My other team, Germany, turned its fortunes around when Jürgen Klinsmann (to a chorus of criticism) had the courage to throw out established players like Didi Hamann and replaced them with younger ones. Yes, they made terrible mistakes initially but the German national team is so much better off now than it was four years ago. Whilst I am aware that I am the only visitor of this blog that takes friendly to the German national team, there may still be something to learn from this.
Ambrose was injured I think.
Wyn - I don't disagree with your point that it is entirely romantic, Roy of the Rovers stuff to believe that blooding academcy players makese sense, but when I said above that "the Club might as well save the money and give its young players experience" I was referring to players like Moutaouakil, Basey (both or whom were very poor yesterday to be fair) and Josh Wright. If we were down in a mathematical sense would you still play Murty and Soares, for example, and deprive Moutaouakil of a game? I doubt it and the point is that, in a practical sense, we are now close to that point.
I am afraid that our pathetic performance is entirely of our own making. on that display we will have trouble staying in division 1 next year.
Parkinson speaks as if it has nothing to do with him.
Perhaps he, Murray, chappell and waggott should take a break from the club they have destroyed
I wasn't there yesterday as I feared a tonking and I feel for those who did go. I think we could well stabilise at mid-table in Division 1. If we go down to Division 2, then there are so many unavoidable costs associated with our expensive infrastructure, the club might well not survive.
On paper I still think that the team should be hovering around the mid to low reaches of the division. The root of our problem is the defence.
They need some intensive defensive coaching. Since Curbishley left we've been woeful in this department. If you look at any other modestly successful teams (i.e those that avoid relegation) then their defence is well organised and wins the team points. I saw Watford the other week - who without doubt have a far worse team than us - but their defence was well organised and the y eked out a win (admittedly against Scunthorpe). Parkinson and the other coaching staff need to focus on this area and forget any notion of trying to play attacking attractive football, because we definitely aren't good enough for that.
Fortune and Hudson, have enough quality to suggest on paper we should be doing better. But as soon as a team attacks us with any pace the back line panics and melts away. I blame this squarely on the coaching staff, and to a lesser extent on Hudson (as captain). We can't sack Parkinson but at least the board should try and bring in a supplementary coach - even on a temporary basis - who knows how to organise a defence.
Parkinson is so inept that he could employ a brickie to build a wall in the goal but we would still let in goals because he supplied the wrong mix for the mortar!
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