Curbs stays at Fulham

Ray Wilkins has been shown the door at Fulham, but Alan Curbishley is staying. Indeed, he is now referred to as 'Director of Football' rather than just 'Technical Director', a role that seemed to involve being the lone 'Man in the Stands': Curbishley

On another matter, Ivy the Terrible has pointed out that the Husky who invaded the pitch at the start of the Crewe Alexandria v. Brentford game today was not an accredited member of the Association of Canine Match Analysts and indeed such conduct would be a clear breach of the Association's code of conduct as can be seen here: Totally Barking .

You can see the dog invasion here: Dogged

Paul Hayes departs

Paul Hayes has left Charlton on a free transfer to Brentford. Some feel that he did not get enough of a chance after his signing by Chris Powell, but he was eclipsed by Yann Kermorgant.

Although there is no fee, his departure will ease the wage bill at The Valley.

Down the Football League we go!

Charlton slipped to 11th in League 1 after a 0-1 home defeat to Brentford. After a largely lacklustre first half, the second half was somewhat more interesting to watch, but the Addicks were unable to take any of their chances and the Bees made good use of a corner to score the winner in the 88th minute.

After a long absence, my wife accompanied me to today's game, although someone suggested that it was mental cruelty. She thought that the Addicks were very poor and it is impossible to disagree.

The game did not start well with Fry missing a simple ball. Racon then gave away a silly free kick. Fortunately Craig Woodman put it well wide. McCormack put in a good ball right across the pitch. Scott Wagstaff and Carl Jenkinson combined to win Charlton a corner.

Ross Worner had to make a good save from Bees striker Lewis Grabban after the ball had been given away once again by Charlton. The Brentford corner was headed away at the far post.

Wright-Phillips fed Nouble well. Racon put in a good shot which Lee had to push over the bar. Wagstaff burst through and shot over the angle of post and bar. Jenkinson won Charlton a corner and Semedo put in a shot that was just over.

A Brentford corner was dealt with well by the alert Llera. A Brentford corner was sloppily conceded. The Bees won a free kick in a dangerous position, but it was saved.

In the time added on Brentford were awarded a free kick and Christian Dailly was given a yellow card. Worner saved well from the free kick.

Half time: Addicks 0, Bees 0

Dailly had to be pulled off after the break and replaced by Fortune. Brentford took off Saunders and brought on former Addick Myles Weston.

Wright-Phillips turned provider for Racon, but although he had plenty of time to line up his shot he blasted over six minutes into the half.

A free kick led to Llera hitting the crossbar, how he managed to get a shot in at all in the mad scramble in front of goal is an interesting question. A Charlton corner led to a save and former Watford stopper Lee had to make a class save from Llera on the line.

Myles Weston received a yellow card for a foul on Jenkinson. Brentford took off Byrne and brought on Marcus Bean. In this period of the match Charlton were living dangerously and under pressure from the Bees.

Jenkinson had to come off and was replaced by Solly. Grabban was withdrawn in favour of Bignall by Brentford. Racon was replaced by Reid.

A Bees corner was caught by Racon. Brentford won two corners in succession and from the second Legge rose to head the ball in the net from Weston's effort. Four minutes were added on, but if Charlton were not going to score in 90 minute, they were not going to manage in 94.

Reflecting on the match, a draw would not have been an unfair result. Neither team was that inspiring. There have been the usual calls for Chris Powell to go, but if one thinks that an experienced manager would have done better, Nicky Forster has no more experience and is younger. The fact of the matter is that the players are simply not good enough and we need a major reconstruction in the summer.

Leamington also won away with a last minute goal at Evesham and have gone third in the Zamaretto Premiership.

Ivy the Terrible initially withheld the Silver Bone. However, having chewed on a bone overnight, she felt that a deserving recipient was once again Miguel Llera.

Match analysis

Ross Worner made some decent saves and I wouldn't fault him for the goal. But he is very hesitant about getting the ball out again once he has saved it which allow Brentford to assemble their defence. Chrsitian Dailly had a competent first half, I think that he may have strained a muscle when he made a defensive run from one end of the pitch to the other to prevent a one-on-one with Worner. Llera was one of the better players on the pitch and came close to scoring. Jenkinson was very capable in his preferred position of right back but had to be taken off because he picked up a knock. Fry was competent enough without being very impressive. Semedo made a few errors, but picked up as the match went on.
Racon weaved his way through on occasions, although he is not really a left winger. However, the final product was disappointing. Wagstaff put in some good runs, but again there was not enough final product. McCormack at least showed some commitment and effort even if there was not much finesse. Wright-Phillips had a few promising moments, but was not involved that much. Sometimes he seemed to be half asleep. Nouble was disappointing and at times didn't seem that interested. At times he seemed to be a less skilled version of Carlton Cole.
Fortune was competent in a ragged sort of way when he came on, although I am not sure where he was for the goal. Solly showed that he is a work in progress with some good interventions but also sending the ball high in the air in a moment of panic when he should have cleared it. Reid was hardly an impact player.

The officials generally did well and no Hiss of the Match has been awarded.

'Looking forward' to Brentford

Morale is rock bottom among the Addickted at the moment and I am not particularly looking forward to my trip to SE7 tomorrow. I usually start the day optimistic, which you have to if you are making a long trip, but this may be an exception.

Brentford have acquired a new manager in the form of one time Charlton loan player Nicky Forster. A busy Bee of my acquaintance comments: 'Despite the premature sacking of Andy Scott, the period since his departure has brought some stability to the team. A good run of results has meant that a relegation battle is less likely (though still a possibility). That, combined with the forthcoming Wembley appearance in the JPT Final (for which, I understand, we have already sold 20,000 tickets) means that there is an air of optimism at the club that belies our rather inconsistent season. Nicky Forster has been appointed until the end of the season, which is sensible, but it would not surprise me if a reasonably high profile replacement was brought in over the summer (high profile for League One, that is).'

In a not uncommon sign of desperation, many of the Addickted are calling for youngsters to be played on the grounds that they couldn't be even worse. Well, they could be and I don't think these outbursts of Academy oriented sentimentality do us any good.

In the specific case of Calum Harriott Chris Powell has made it very clear that starting him at this stage would harm his development. Having him on the bench is part of that development, but he will only be brought on in exceptional circumstances. Replacing Francis with Solly is a different case as the latter already has first team experience which was only halted by injury.

We have a team at the moment that is drained of confidence. Unfortunately, the crowd is likely to get on their back at the first sign of a misplaced pass or a hoofed ball. If they ever needed our backing, it is now.

I am going for a 1-1 draw.

Addicks go out on penalties

A much changed Charlton side including 18-year old Carl Jenkinson making his debut at right back started brightly at Griffin Park, reports Paul May. Kyel Reid was the subject of a bad challenge early in the game and Wright was booked.

Jenkinson was very involved in the early exchanges. Doherty had to concede the first corner as the Bees buzzed down the right. There was a clash of heads inside the penalty area and both physios were waved on. McCormack, making his 10th start for the Addicks, was the Charlton player involved.

Reid advanced well on the left and put in a cross, Abbott did a run forwards and tried to turn the ball goalwards, but it went into the side netting. Three Charlton players went for the same ball, allowing the Bees to break. Doherty put a poor ball forward.

Brentford had a good chance which they created well, but Alexander headed over the bar. Dailly was out of position and hauled down Charlie McDonald giving Brentford a free kick in a promising position right of centre about 25 yards out. Elliot pushed out Simpson's free kick for a corner which was headed away by McCormack.

An inflatable pink flamingo brought by an Addick was confiscated by a jobsworth of a steward. The Addickted were in good voice and included a postman in his uniform, recalling the milkman who used to attend The Valley.

Charlton were defending deeply and Jenkinson over hit a clearance to Abbott. Parky was not looking happy at his side's performance. Abbott got a yellow card from referee Hill for deliberate hand ball which seemed harsh.

Reid went for goal himself when Martin was running into a good position and Brentford were able to clear.

Charlton were start to pass the ball more effectively. However, both sides lacked real quality in the final third. A Brentford free kick created a half chance for Alexander when Fry failed to clear.

Dailly put in a good tackle. Brentford did not defend well and Richard Lee in the Brentford goal had to dive on the ball. With a little more luck Martin could have scored.

Charlton won a late corner, but it was ultimately unproductive. Phil Parkinson had words with the referee, clearly unhappy about the Abbott booking.

Half time: Bees 0, Addicks 0

Brentford came out of the traps quickly and Doherty had to clear on the goal line within the first minute of play.

Simpson unleashed a shot from about 30 yards out but it went wide. Brentford were passing the ball better and won a corner. Bean chopped down Reid and received a yellow card.

O'Connor was booked for a late challenge on Reid who was taking a battering.

Brentford won a corner, but it was defended well by McCormack. The very short lino spotted some pushing and shoving and a free kick was awarded to Charlton. Bean was taken off and replaced by Wood on the hour.

Racon fed Martin with a decent ball who should have done better but headed over the bar.

Parky made a double substitution. Anyinsah replaced the subdued Martin and Johnnie Jackson replaced McCormack.

Charlton won a free kick just outside the area after Anyinsah was fouled. Fry's effort was poor. A Brentford free kick bounced off MacDonald's shoulder.

Spillane came on to replace Simpson. Abbott who was looking tired was taken off and Benson came on. An effort by Racon led to a Charlton corner. Dailly put the ball over the bar.

A Brentford free kick ended up with the ball on the top of the crossbar from Osborne. Another fire cracker went off. Three minutes were added on. McDonald had a chance to score, but it went wide. Sam Wood had a chance in the dying seconds, but it went wide.

Jackson was denied by Lee with the first penalty kick. It was powerful but went straight at the keeper. O'Connor scored in the bottom corner to make it 1-0 to the Bees. Lee saved well off Racon, punching the ball on to the post. Former Addick McDonald scored to make it 2-0. Lee then saved off Reid quite brilliantly. Spillane's rather soft effort was saved by Elliot. Doherty powered the ball into the back of the net. Alexander scored to sent the Bees through to take on the Grecians.

Should we let the paint dry?

Charlton play their third game in five days when they face Brentford at Griffin Park tonight in the paint drying trophy. Even for clubs with a big squad this would be a tough ask and I hope that Parky brings in some fresh legs tonight.

Certainly there are many Addicks who argue that we shouldn't take this game seriously. Our main objective is to leave this hoofball league and get back into the Championship.

But it's not an either or choice. We could get promoted and win the paint drying cup. I know that there are those who argue that winning it last year derailed Southampton's promotion bid. But perhaps the Silver Fox was not quite the tactical genius that he thought he was.

If we did fail to get promoted, winning the Johnstones Paint would be a nice consolation prize. It would mean a trip to Wembley and a sizeable sum to replenish our depleted bank balance, takeover or not.

We don't seem to do well at Griffin Park and Brentford are a form team. On the other hand, Charlton do often play better away from the tetchy Valley crowd. I am forecasting a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes. I believe that the game then goes straight to penalties and I think that the shootout will be won by Brentford 5-4.

You see him here, you see him there, you see him everywhere: Erith Addick Paul May is a martyr to the cause and he will be your match reporter tonight. He likes the occasional drink so buy him one if you see him. Even in the depth of winter he sometimes wears his trademark sun glasses.

A Busy Bee Writes

Charlton take to the field of play little more than 48 hours after their abject display against Walsall. It's difficult to keep up, so I asked a busy Bee of my acquaintance to provide an analysis of Brentford's current strengths and weaknesses:

Recent form: Brentford’s season has been puzzling – excellent wins against the better sides (e.g. Sheffield Wednesday) and Everton (Carling Cup) followed by poor displays and defeats to lowly sides. But, in the past month, there has been more consistency and we have now won 5 away games – more than anyone else in the Division – against teams like Southampton and Colchester. Early in the season we were bottom, or floating around the relegation zone. We’re now two points off the playoffs. This erratic form led to some questioning whether Andy Scott was still up to the job (not helped by Martin Allen apparently circling). But recent form has confirmed Scott’s pedigree.

Strengths: Our attack is coming together well with Charlie McDonald (ex-Charlton), Gary Alexander(ex-Millwall) and Robbie Simpson (on loan from Huddersfield) now regularly getting on the score sheet. In goal, we’ve had a resurgent Richard Lee (ex Watford), who on the back of some excellent displays in the Carling Cup has displaced long-term loanee and fans’ favourite, Ben Hamer. We’re very lucky to have strength in some depth in goal.

Weakness: Despite the presence of long-term Brentford hero, Kevin O’Connor, Marcus Bean (ex Blackpool) and David Hunt (ex Palace, Northampton & Shrewsbury), we’ve tended to be a bit overrun in midfield, although Toumani Diagouraga seems to be coming into his own more now.

Bees looking to end their bad run

I dodn't realise that Epsom was natural Bees territory, but the only preview of tomorrow's match I could find from a Brentford perspective was in the Epsom Guardian: Bees

The line from the Epsom supremo is that the Bees went through a bad spell last season, but they turned it round with one game and this year that game will be against Charlton. They will then head for a play-off place. It sounds a bit like whistling in the dark to me.

I had this down as a score draw at the beginning of the season, but I think we could just nick it. So I am going for a 0-1 to Charlton with the goal scored by a defender.

I will be watching Leamington play Oxford City at the New Windmill Ground tomorrow and at the moment it looks as if this will be the only Charlton blog covering the game.

Things are looking up

I had a poor start to my sporting year. With the disappearance of Bello in a tantrum about things said about him on the fans' form (you would think he heard worse in his day job as a police sergeant) Leamington seemed to have difficulty in finding the back of the net. But they have now had two successive away wins, 3-0 away against Halesowen with 10 men for most of the match on Saturday and 2-0 away at Bedford on Tuesday night.

After winning the Elite League last season, Coventry Blaze experienced a run of defeats. But they recovered at the weekend with a 9-2 demolition of new boys Dundee Star and a 5-1 cup win over the Steelers and last night at the Skydome they beat Edinburgh Capitals 6-3. Eleven fanatical away fans faced a long trip back to Scotland.

Above all, things are looking up at Charlton. Our 1-0 win over MK Dons was hardly emphatic, but we kept a clean sheet. Those who were there agreed that Jon Fortune made an encouraging return to the defence, while despite the occasional fumble, Ross Worner looks like a promising young keeper.

One must be careful about reading results off the table or even the form table. But we can go into Saturday's match at Brentford in a reasonably confident mood. No team is dominating the division, least of all Southampton who were tipped to run away with the title. Our local Saint tells me they are playing off teams off the park which perhaps explains the point gained at mighty Yeovil.

Our current position in 7th place is a promising one at this time of the season and we just need to build on what we are starting to achieve. Questions remain about the midfield, but whether it is a lack of creativity or too much lumping the ball forward from defence is an interesting question.

Midlife Olympics

The one sure name on the Charlton teamsheet is Rob Elliot (we hope), but in an emergency we could always call on Merryn Smith. Seen here at the Garrison Field in the World's Smallest Football League, the hapless Garrison Gunners don't seem to be troubling the Woolpack Wanderers keeper all that much.

On Christmas Eve, I watched Victoria Wood's Christmas programme. It was a bit of a curate's egg and one of the least successful skits was the 'Midlife Olympics' which were staged at Brentford's Griffin Park. Makes sense: it's just down the road from the BBC Television Centre and no doubt the Beehive comes cheap.

A good friend of mine is a lifelong Brentford supporter. By lifelong I mean lifelong: he has lived all his life in the same house in Acton. But now he has having a struggle to prevent his children becoming Gooners or even Super Hoops.

Brentford were at one time a more successful team than they are today. I have a DVD of the Arsenal Stadium Mystery: when asked to explain the murder, the manager says 'I didn't see it.' There are extensive excerpts from a game between Arsenal and Brentford: it all looks very kick-and-rush.

By 1936-7 Brentford were the 8th best supported Division 1 club. However, they got relegated from the top flight in the first post-war season, never to return. In West London, they have to compete with the Super Hoops of Queen's Park Rangers and Chelsea as well. There has been talk of moving to a new stadium in the direction of Heathrow, but it never seems to come to anything.

Some people dismissed our hard fought victory over them in front of the Sky TV cameras at The Valley as just another one over a lower table side, but many pundits were tipping them for at least a play off place at the start of the season. They are clearly a decent enough League 1 side.

Charlton have managed to create problems for themselves. Passion can be a double edged sword and Sam Sodje has been banned for four games as it was his second red of the season and his third straight red since joining the club. Some people have been suggesting that Mambo should be recalled from the Staines Massive, but Semedo will have to slot into the centre back role. With Dailly still ill, Llera will have to try and match his heroics in attack on Boxing Day by showing sufficient sharpness in defence.

Charlton Athletic Online has already made the point that a 4-5-1 formation is a likely reaction to the absence of Deon Burton. Burton will be missed because he is a very effective player, not just in terms of scoring goals. Whether he thought that punching the ball into the back of the net was some sort of Christmas comedy routine I don't know, but it was as unfunny as many of the Christmas offerings on television and one can hardly blame the referee for applying the laws of the game.

The bookies have now decided that Norwich are the hot favourites for automatic promotion along with Leeds and that seems to be the agenda of the Football League programme on television. However, as Alan Curbishley used to say, 'It's a long old season.' Norwich are away to Walsall which should be relatively straightforward for them if they are as brilliant as some people claim, but Colchester have a trickier match at home to Southampton.

Charlton are turning into draw specialists and I am forecasting a share of the points at Griffin Park at 1-1, but it could well be a defeat. I won't be going, partly because of the difficulty of parking and partly because, having taken a few days off, I need to catch up with work. Paul May will be there and will be providing his usual authoritative commentary.

Myles Weston sets out to prove a point

Former Addick Myles Weston is out to make a point when Brentford play Charlton tomorrow. In an exclusive interview in the Hounslow Chronicle he blames Alan Pardew for getting Charlton in a mess: Weston

The Bee here in Toronto is looking for a sports bar that will show Charlton v. Brentford at 7.15 a.m. This strikes me as a futile quest, but Inspector Sands may have more luck in New York City where he will be tomorrow.

The Bee in question has lived all his life in the same house in Acton. I'm not quite sure what the geography is that makes you Brentford rather than a Super Hoop, but I can't stand QPR. Their fans always seem to have an exalted view of themselves and then there is Rodney Marsh who was always slagging off Charlton.

I have a DVD of a rather good 1930s film called the Arsednal Stadium Mystery. This is not about how Arsenal managed to escape relegation at the end of the First World War, but the murder of a player of an opposing team. It contains quite extensive footage of a Arsenal v. Brentford match. It all seems very kick and rush.

This reminds us that Brentford were once a top flight club. Recent encounters with the Addicks include a 3-2 win in a cup replay at The Valley when Salmon managed to concede an avoidable goal and a 3-1 victory in the cup when Michael Turner was playing. He was mot that impressive that day, but I am certainly pleased with the money he has brought us.

Optimism comes hard to Charlton fans, but I am going for a 2-1 win tomorrow with goals by Bailey and Llera.

Fording the Brent

When I went to the theatre in London (England, not Onatrio) last week a free copy of the Evening Standard was given to me as I entered Piccadilly Circus tube. Although the Standard has been boosted by the imminent demise of The London Paper its hold on the affections of Londoners is clearly far from secure.

Given that the paper's previews of Charlton games are so much appreciated, I am fortunate to have obtained an advance copy of this week's offering:

It's been a Happy Valley this week as Phil Parkinson's boys came through the transfer window without losing any of their few talents and managing to add on a crock, a non-league nonentity from North Wales and a player whose enthusiasm for the Charlton cause suggests a strange view of reality. Word is that the petty cash at The Valley is so low that they may have to borrow match balls from the club shop. The Addicks have fared well so far against basement clubs, but fording the Brent will be a tougher test.

The Sub-Standard says: PHIL'S BOYS GET CAMERA SHY