Early goal does not save Charlton from defeat

A cheeky first minute goal by captain Greg Docherty put Charlton ahead at The Valley this evening, but Ipswich equalised in the first half and then scored the winner from the penalty spot in the second half.

Charlton remain six points ahead of Oxford and I remain sceprical that they will discover their inner Bayern Munich.

I was surprised that some fans wanted to see the Tractors win to disadvantage Millwall.   If they do go up, we will no longer have to throw six points away.   They will find the top flight challenging and it will be interesting to see the so-called Nigel 'ultras' confront the Spanners.

The Tractors could not have got off to a worse start when Johnson, in at left-back for the injured Leif Davis, was punished to the maximum for his underhit pass inside.

Campbell drove into the box and his angled effort forced Christian Walton to parry into the path of the onrushing Docherty, who put away his first goal for more than a year via a slight deflection off Dara O'Shea.

An energetic Charlton, buoyed by their quickfire opener, made life difficult for Ipswich in the early stages and it took the visitors 15 minutes to have their first shot of the game as Philogene bobbled a volley harmlessly wide at the back post.

But from then on, Ipswich took control and were rewarded when Philogene led a quick break before laying the ball to Azor Matusiwa, who teed up Furlong on the edge of the box to place with precision into the far corner.

Kieran McKenna's side carried on where they left off after the restart by dominating possession and penning Charlton back into their own half.  And, 13 minutes into the second period, Ipswich completed the turnaround.

Furlong was again the architect, drifting in behind Macaulay Gillesphey, (many Addicks were surprised to see him selected) who made a clumsy challenge to bring down the Ipswich right-back in the area and give away a penalty.  Philogene's spot-kick was straight down the middle and not convincing but somehow squirmed under Charlton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski to send the travelling fans behind the goal into raptures.

Shortly after, Philogene produced a bending effort that was beaten away by Kaminski to prevent Ipswich extending their advantage further.

Charlton's home support were enthused when the board went up for eight minutes of stoppage time but it was the visitors who came closest late on as Kaminski produced an astonishing double save to deny Marcelino Nunez from close range.

Richard Cawley commented: 'A performance that was full of spirit and a big improvement on what we witnessed at Hillsborough. Injuries to Bell, Campbell and Godden make it a double whammy alongside the loss.'

Foxes go down

Leicester City have been relegated to League One after drawing 2-2 at home with Hull.  Fans chanted 'sack the board,'

Oxford lost 0-1 at home to Wrexham but remain six points behind the Addicks.  Charlton need one point from the three remaining games to be mathematically safe.

Charlton fell back to 20th after West Brom won 3-0 at home.   However, Portsmouth lost 5-1 at Coventry and have an inferior goal difference to the Addicks.  If we draw tomorrow night we overtake them.

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire and others have questioned the case for a points deduction at West Brom.

Tractors unlikely to concede double

Charlton host promotion-chasing Ipswich Town in a vital encounter at both ends of the Championship table on Wednesday night.  The Addicks are six points above 22nd-placed Oxford United before the midweek round of fixtures and a win would put them on the brink of safety.

However, the more pessimistic Addicks see an away win more likely with Richard Cawley noting Charlton's poor possession statistics. I think that a draw is possible.

If the U's lose to Wrexham on Tuesday evening, Charlton would need just a point to guarantee safety, while if Oxford draw, victory would see Nathan Jones' side survive.

The Tractor Boys currently occupy the second automatic promotion spot but could be leapfrogged by Millwall or Southampton - or both - by the time they kick-off at The Valley.

Kieran McKenna's side also have a game in hand on the chasing pack and even a draw at Charlton would keep their fate in their own hands.

• Following their 3-0 win in October, Charlton are looking to complete the league double over Ipswich for the first time since 2001-02 in the Premier League.
• Ipswich have failed to score in five of their previous eight league games against Charlton, but have netted 14 goals in the three games they have found the net (4-0, 4-4, 6-0).
• Charlton have lost five of their past six home league games (W1) including each of the previous three; they last lost four in a row in February 2024.
• Ipswich, who lost their most recent away league game 2-0 at Portsmouth, are looking to avoid suffering successive away defeats in the Championship for the first time since April 2019 (run of three).
• Ipswich have only won one of their five league games against newly promoted sides this season (D2 L2), failing to win either of their away matches so far (1-1 v Birmingham, 3-5 v Wrexham).

Why I know nothing about football - part 2

I see that the keyboard warriors are out on social media again saying that Jones has to go.  I don't 'love' Jones: I prefer the Curbishley 'cool as a cucumber' style on the pitch, but I think that has done a job for us and deserves a chance with a bigger playing budget and better players next season.   Of course, some gloom merchants are trying to construct scenarios where we still get relegated as Oxford discover they are really Bayern Munich.

Recently I looked at how football has changed since I first watched it in 1953.  It seems to me that it has changed quite a lot in the last few years.

I don't want to get in the controversy about VAR as it is not used in the Championship, but it has revealed how marginal so many decisions are, particularly on offside.   Referees seem to me to be as inconsistent as they have ever been and there is more of the 'it's all about me' syndrome..   Now that linos are called assistant referees, I wish they were allowed to get more involved in decisions.   As it is, they ignore incidents right in front of them as the ref has told them to stick to offsides and throw ins.   And is a keeper ever going to be sent off for time wasting rather than getting a late yellow?

The new fashion is playing out from the back.   I think that to make that work you have to have really good players, especially defenders.  As things stand, it leads to too many unforced errors.  I don't think there is anything with a long ball if it is a directed long ball not a hopeful punt up field.

I do quite like the idea of a sweeper keeper as I think it is what Sam Bartram was trying to do.  At my non-league club Leamington we had the 'barmy binman' who set off on forays down the wing.  I saw him score from the half way line.

The extension of games to 100+ minutes may not the best way of dealing with time wasting and certainly calls for new skills in making substitutions.  

I never see the team training, so I lack vital information that the coach has.

What I do know something about is the economics and finance of football. Of course, there are better people working on this.  Kieran Maguire at Liverpool University is a qualified accountant and is on all sorts of media as well as regularly speaking to meetings of fans.

We would have once called the Swiss Ramble a gnome of Zurich.  He has accumulated an incredible amount of data about clubs across Europe which he subjects to forensic analysis on his Substack platform.

So, wake up and smell the coffee!  Modern football is the playground of billionaires and private equity companies.

Tough times next season

I liked Stevc 'he'll never let you down' Brown as a footballer.  I recall his stand in sessions as a keeper, for example at Villa (a great save) and at Southend United.   I also recall him getting sent off after being injured.

I am less keen on him as a pundit as I think he is a professional moaner, although that doubtless goes down well with some Addicks.

However, I think he is right that the Championship is going to be tougher next season.   There won't be any clubs blighted by massive (or smaller) points deductions.

Wolves have good financial resources and that certainly applies to one of Forest, Spurs and West Ham.  The regulator is looking at the distorting effects of parachute payments but no action yet.

Assuming that Wrexham don't get promoted, we will making three trips to Wales next year following the promotion of Cardiff City and the retention of Swansea City.

Clubs like Norwich and Birmingham City will be formidable opponents.   Only Lincoln look likely to have a small playing budget.

The owners need to dig deep or attract an additional investor.

One is never enough

Charlton moved six points clear of the relegation zone with three games remaining as they drew with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Their inability to score more than goal a game cost them again.

Charlton are limping towards the end of the season, but the objective has always been to stay up and then have a clear out of lower league players.

West Brom won 2-0 at Preston, but it looks as If Leicester City are all but relegated.

Matty Godden gave the Addicks the lead just after the break, having hit the crossbar on the stroke of half-time.

Gabriel Otegbayo tapped into an empty net to level the score after an error from Charlton goalkeeper Will Mannion, while the Owls felt aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty in the first half.

The result moves Nathan Jones' team up to 50 points, while the Owls have become the first team in Football League history to go 37 consecutive matches without a win.

In a match that lacked quality, Charlton were perhaps fortunate not to have conceded a spot kick when Reece Burke brought down Tayo Adaramola on the edge of the area, with the challenge looking very close to the line.

Godden had the best chance of the first half when he acrobatically flicked the ball against the crossbar from Harry Clarke's deep cross right before the break.

But the 34-year-old, who has missed much of the season through injury, broke the deadlock on 49 minutes when he chested down a flick on from Lloyd Jones, took a touch on the turn and finished into the bottom corner via the post for his second goal of the season.

The Addicks came wickedly close to doubling their lead as Sonny Carey's low strike hit the inside of the post and came back out into play.

The Owls equalised with less than 15 minutes to go as Addicks goalkeeper Mannion dropped Sean Fusire's cross when he came out to claim it, under pressure from Jamal Lowe, with Otegbayo tapping home into the empty net despite Mannion's calls for a foul.

Chastened manager Nathan Jones commented: '“I’m disappointed. In the cold light of day it is a positive point because it means we go further away from the relegation zone. But the level of performance, I expect us to be better.'

Yestreday's visit of the Super Hoops to Millwall might have seen a coming together of the two leading Charlton critics from the Spectator.  Rod Liddle actually lives up north so probably doesn't get to the rust bucket much these days.

However, Lord Young of Acton was there, having mysteriously decided to travel to Shadwell station which left him half an hour from the New Den.   He was too upset about losing the double to Millwall to direct any invective at Charlton.

Pompey overtake Charlton

Portsmouth pushed Charlton down to 19th after their 1-0 victory over Leicester at Fratton Park today.  However, as the BBC points out that puts Leicester nearer League One.  Charlton are eight points ahead of them.

With Oxford losing 1-0 at Derby, the Addicks are five points ahead of them.

Should Charlton be able to win this afternoon, they will go eight points clear.

Burke, Clarke, Coady and Godden come in. Richard Cawley talked on his pod this week about expecting Nathan Jones to go with experience for this one. Rankin-Costello, Campbell, Fevrier and Ramsay drop out. Latter not in squad, so looks to be an injury.