It doesn't look better in the cold light of morning

It says something when the highlight of a game is an Addick successfully completing the half time crossbar challenge.

I wasn't happy to see Conor Washington on the bench, even if he had been playing for Northern Ireland.  It would have been better to start with him and withdraw him later.  Elliot Lee is not the same kind of player.

Cheltenham went ahead after six minutes, Blair smashing late into the bottom corner from a tight angle after MacGillivray had saved Perry's initial effort by pushing it out.   On 32 minutes a cross from Blair was tapped in by Perry at close range.

The punt from Famewo from 10 yards in his own half out of play for a goal kick just before half  time summed up Charlton's first half performance.

The Addicks had a chance to get back into the game just after the break, but DJ blasted his effort high and wide with just the keeper to beat.   Jayden Stockley was next to go close but headed over.

Flinders in the Cheltenham goal kept time wasting, but earned no more than a rebuke from the referee.  The referee and the lino on the east did us no favours, seizing Stockley and pushing him down appearing to be acceptable.  However, that is no excuse.

On the hour mark two substitutes combined with Washington setting up Leko to side foot home.  Increasingly desperate efforts failed to produce an equaliser even with six minutes added on.

If we had a plan it is not clear what it was.   We certainly had no shape.   There was a lack of energy and urgency.   We kept losing possession.  The midfield kept disappearing.  Kirk was a great disappointment and was rightly substituted at half time.   Leko made a real difference.  The attack looks unbalanced.

Nigel Adkins said the first half performance was unrecognisable from what he had seen since he had been at the club, 'just 11 individuals all over the place.  We talk about "stop the cross, deal with the cross."  We didn't stop the crosses and we didn't deal with the crosses that came in.'

Predictably some are calling for Adkins to go.   I am never in favour of a rapid turnover of managers.  Our greatest successes have been when we have had a manager in place for a long period (Seed, Lawrence, Curbishley).  It's also a big assumption that there are good managers out there who want to come to Charlton.   Johnnie Jackson would be a big risk.

Kevin Nolan's take on the game is here: https://charltonchampion.co.uk/2021/09/12/kevin-nolans-valley-view-charlton-athletic-1-2-cheltenham-town/

Worst start to a season in 15 years

Having just watched the victory of Bromley's Emma Radacanu in the US Open I can confirm that sporting excellence is possible in South London, but seemingly not at The Valley.

There was much wrong with our performance today I don't know where to start, but I will sleep on it and give my views tomorrow.

Cheltenham were well-organised and we were not, but you would think they had won 'El Glosico'.

Meanwhile some thoughts from Louis Mendez on our worst start to a season in 15 years: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/four-takeaways-from-charltons-home-loss-against-cheltenham-the-worst-start-to-a-season-in-15-years-continues/

Lee talks about his football upbringing

In an interesting interview, Elliot Lee talks about his football pedigree.  His dad is his biggest influence and his biggest critic: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/paul-gascoignes-magic-tricks-and-playing-five-a-side-football-with-alan-shearer-elliot-lee-on-his-football-upbringing-and-making-charlton-history-with-dad-robert-lee/

Robins see themselves as underdogs

Cheltenham Town boss Michael Duff says that his side go into tomorrow's match at The Valley against 'ex-Premier League' Charlton as underdogs, but that will motivate his players: https://www.ctfc.com/news/2021/september/preview-duff-on-charlton-athletic/

Cheltenham are currently 16th in the table.  They have drawn two and lost one on the road.

Last Saturday they drew 1-1 at home with MK Dons with Swansea loan player Kyle Joseph firing them ahead on his debut.   Dons manager Liam Manning said that Cheltenham were well-organised and difficult to break down.   I rate their keeper Scott Flinders.

Four Four Two reckons that a sturdy defence and a long throw threat may not be enough and forecast a 21st place finish for the Robins.

The CAS Trust preview is here: https://www.castrust.org/2021/09/cheltenham-three-more-points-please/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cheltenham-three-more-points-please

What would be the effect of streaming home matches?

Addicks living outside the UK (and the crown dependencies) can currently pay to stream Charlton games.  For those of us who live a long way away from SE7, it would be good to be able to top up our season ticket with a streaming option.  Sometimes a five hour return journey is not feasible.

Article 48 of UEFA’s statutes allow member nations to select a two-and-a-half-hour weekend slot where live football is banned from screens. Some reports suggest its origins date back to the 1950s but in England, the rule only emerged in 1987 when ITV struck a major television deal with the Football League.

A little-known clause of Article 48 is that it requires 50 per cent of matches in England’s top two divisions to kick off at 3pm for it to come into effect. That means that during international week, for example, clubs in League One and Two could actually broadcast matches at that time.

The question of whether a TV blackout really does encourage people to attend in person has been studied. Jack Genovese, a senior analyst for Ampere, a leading data and analytics firm specialising in media, says that for top-tier events, the evidence is somewhat mixed.   [It has to be said that the evidence quoted relates to top flight leagues and different factors might well apply to League One].

“The Bundesliga offers the perfect counterpoint to the assertion that live broadcasting deters fans from going to see their favourite teams live,” he says. “In Germany, all Bundesliga matches are televised and the occupancy rate of stadiums is steadily above 90 per cent, in line with the Premier League.

“In Italy, where Serie A games are all available live on TV, the stadium occupancy rate is markedly lower: less than 70 per cent. This suggests that there are more factors than merely the live broadcasting of matches that influence football match attendance — such as prices, the quality of the infrastructure and the overall match-day experience.”

Genovese also points to a study conducted by Ofcom in 2016 which polled viewers’ attitudes towards a range of elements in football, including the 3pm blackout. He says: “The study showed that a TV broadcast had a ‘high’ impact on the decision to attend a live Premier League game for 42 per cent of respondents (‘mid’ impact on 26 per cent of respondents, and ‘low’ impact on 33 per cent). The day of the week and kick-off time, the teams involved, whether the match was an important one, and ticket prices, were all generally deemed more important factors in the decision to attend.

“The study also showed that the Saturday 3pm slot was by far the favourite time for Premier League fans to attend games (68 per cent, followed by Saturday lunchtime, which was selected by 33 per cent of respondents). In fact, 32 per cent of Premier League viewers said they were reluctant to attend matches at a time other than 3pm on a Saturday. It also showed that only about eight per cent of Premier League viewers were dissatisfied with the amount of coverage of the Premier League on TV.”

That is an aspect Harvey picks up: “Even broadcasters will have to ask themselves the question about saturation. The pandemic established that people picked and chose what they wanted to watch. Audiences were generally lower per game.”

Genovese says this is reflected in piracy issues as researched by Ampere: “Across 13 major media markets, the proportion of internet users who access illegal streaming websites or platforms in the last month has declined on average over the past three years. In quarter three of 2020, 4.4 per cent of UK internet users consumed online video content on pirate sites, down from 5.8 per cent in quarter three of 2017.”

Ampere drew the conclusion that “as more people have access to content legally online and on an affordable basis, their use of piracy websites decrease”.

Genovese adds: “The number of live matches available on TV is at an all-time high — to put it another way, consumers have never had access to as many live Premier League matches as they do now. Furthermore, the likes of Sky and BT have now resorted to sharing clips and highlights as closely as possible to the event — even during the events themselves — on their social channels to make up for the shortfalls in the live coverage due to the 3pm blackout, and limit the appeal of piracy websites.

“There is no doubt that the issue of piracy is a problem that deserves attention from the rights holders; however, I think that it increasingly less to do with the 3pm blackout itself.”

'Some areas still look short'

Louis Mendez of the SLP and VOTV editor Rick Everitt give their verdict on the transfer window, noting that some areas still look short and giving an overall score of 7/10.  You have to scroll past reviews of the Glaziers and the Spanners: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/south-london-press-verdicts-on-the-transfer-window-business-for-palace-millwall-charlton-and-afc-wimbledon/

Grounds for hope

One can only judge the level of success in a transfer window when it comes to an end and I think we can be satisfied with the acquisitions made which offer good value for money.

Negativists have been struggling to put together a critique.   Probably their strongest point is that an ideal window would have seen a left back and another striker.

Purrington should be back for Cheltenham and in any case Gunter has now settled into the role.  An injury to Jayden Stockley would be a real problem, but strikers are like gold dust, even at League One level.

I am pleased to see Jonathan Leko back.   As Louis Mendez says, he is quick, unpredictable and can score goals.

The Covered End Choir blog reviews the transfer window here: https://coveredendchoir.com/2021/09/01/deadline-day-shopping-spree-caps-off-a-bumper-summer-of-signings/

Although it's a minor competition, the 6-1 win over Crawley had a number of positives: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/mason-burstow-debut-goal-tops-off-charltons-papa-johns-trophy-thrashing-of-crawley-town/