Semedo returns trophy

Jose Semedo has returned his Player of the Year trophy to Charlton which means that it will now be presented to the runner up, Chris Solly, on the pitch before the game against Huddersfield on Saturday.

Andy Hunt once pointed out that most players will play for several clubs during the course of their careers and it is unreasonable to expect them to have a special attachment to any one of them. Indeed, most players support other clubs, e.g., Chris Powell and Spurs.

Nevertheless, returning a trophy you won through the votes of fans is a little unusual, although no doubt many such trophies are hidden away in bottom drawers. Semedo told the Sun, 'I was very happy at Charlton but this one is the true happiness, I’m a 100 million times more happy here.'

Semedo has, of course, become very popular at Sheffield Wednesday, forging a special bond with their fans. At Nottingham Forest on Saturday Owls fans staged a special Semedo Day or Portugal Day complete with Semedo masks: Semedo. Nothing wrong with that: indeed, living in a town with a large Portuguese speaking population, I have asked for a course to improve my very limited Portuguese for Christmas.

Of course, it could serve as a distraction from Wednesday's current position just above the relegation zone. However, Dave Jones said after Saturday's match, 'There's no one in this division who's any better than us.' Admittedly, former Addick Miguel Llera deciding the match with a own goal was unluckly, but there's a limit to how much can be put down to bad luck or biased referees.

Saddled Up

Seoul: It's a stormy Saturday morning in Korea and a little dificult to focus on event alongside the M6 later today when Walsall will attempt to the double over Charlton. The home defeat to the Saddlers was one of the worse in our season. It is generally acknowledged that Walsall were a poorer team then they are now, but they had nothing to lose and had a go realising that a Charlton team lacking confidence could be taken apart.

Now we are playing for pride, a possible top ten finish and to do the decent thing to other relegtion contenders. I am forecasting a 1-1 draw (don't put any money on it as my recent run of luck will come to an end).

Rumour has it that Elliot, back from injury, will be returning between the posts. Is this a good idea as Sullivan seems to have done quite well?

Miguel Llera is on the way out of The Valley when his contract expires. He has been a professional but erratic player who has scored some important goals but been insufficiently reliable in defence,

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.

'You're better than this Charlton'

That was the despairing cry of a fan in front of me as Charlton lumbered through their dismal first half performance against Tranmere Rovers this afternoon. The problem is: they're not better than that. The squad is going to need serious reconstruction before we can challenge for promotion from League 1. We need a team that can challenge for 90+ minutes rather than put on a performance for one half as happened today.

Of course we have been beset with injuries. Practically everyone in the squad who was not in the starting sixteen today was injured including some key players. Hopefully we can have better luck soon in bringing in loans to cover the gaps.

Charlton started the game in desultory fashion and it was no great surprise when Tranmere seized on an error by Francis and broke down the middle to go 1-0 ahead which remained the score at half time.

The Addicks came out with renewed determination in the second half which relieved the pressure on substitute keeper Ross Worner after Elliot had gone off injured at half time. The equaliser came through a free kick from Miguel Llera but despite maintaining almost relentless pressure and creating a few chances, the winning goal never came.

Llera had to make an early key block in the game. Elliot punched a free kick out. Dailly was resolute in defence. Semedo may a good intervention and Racon shot just over. Jenkinson conceded a corner. Racon put in a good cross but no one was available to connect with it. Wagstaff made a good run.

A mistake by Francis, which was typical of a somewhat casual attitude on the part of some members of the team allowed Showunmi to storm down the middle of the pitch and Elliot was unable to prevent him putting the ball in the back of the net to make it 0-1.

Welsh received a yellow card for a foul. Wagstaff put in a good shot but it was straight at the keeper. Elliot had to make a save at the expense of a Tranmere corner. Elliot went down with what appeared to be a thigh injury.

Half time: Addicks 0, Tranmere 1

Worner came on in place of the injured Elliot. Semedo provided good defensive cover. Charlton won a free kick and Llera put it in the net, although it may have taken a deflection.

There was a push on McCormack in the area which the referee saw but he blithely waved play on. Wright-Phillips won Charlton a corner but the keeper caught it. After another Charlton corner, the keeper was at last given a yellow card for his antics.

Racon was tackled behind from Labadie in a typical example of Tranmere tactics and the charm merchant received a yellow card. Worner made a good save, although it led to two Tranmere corners in succession. McCormack put in a good tackle. Wagstaff won a free kick.

Once again carelessness in the middle led to the ball being given away and Tranmere won a free kick as an attempt was made to retrieve the situation. Charlton made a double substitution with Wright-Phillips and McCormack going off and Eccleston and Reid coming on.

Wagstaff put in a good cross and the ball was cleared off the line for a Charlton corner. Dailly's header went wide. A good ball was put in by Francis which went at an angle across the goal. This was the golden chance to go ahead, but three Charlton players advanced and none of them was able to make contact.

Semedo received a yellow card, I'm not sure why, perhaps because he is Portuguese. Four minutes were added on. Eccleston was cynically brought down as he advanced down the wing. McChrystal received a yellow card, but it was a cheap price for what could have become a goal scoring opportunity.

Charlton remain 7th but they are seven points behind MK Dons where they play on Tuesday. There are rumours that Worner is injured as well as Elliot. The play offs look like an increasingly distant prospect.

My day was made complete by encountering returning Millwall fans at Euston. 'Are they Stoke?' asked a police officer.

Match analysis

The coveted Silver Bone has been awarded by Ivy the Terrible to Miguel Llera who not only scored but provided some good balls forward and defended well. Elliot was one-on-one for the goal and it would have been a high quality goalkeeper who stopped it. Apart from that he had to made one save before he was injured. Dailly was scrupulous in defence and actually powered forward at times. Apart from gifting Tranmere their goal, Francis made some other errors, but he did put in some good crosses. Jenkinson is playing out of position at left back, but performed his role well. Semedo made some good and important defensive interventions. McCormack was more involved than is often the case and made some good interventions. Racon was lively and had a shot on goal and put in one very good cross. Wagstaff made some good runs and was particularly impressive in the second half. Benson contributed very little in my view.
Wright-Phillips failed to maintain his scoring run and often did not seem that involved. Worner made one good save at the post, but showed a worrying tendency to drop the ball. Reid made very little impression when he came on Eccleston was cynically fouled as he made excellent progress down the wing.

Hiss of the Match The time wasting Tranmere goalkeeper, former Spanner Tony Warner was one candidate, but Juneau the Soccer Cat selected the referee, the appropriately named D Coote. Tranmere had come to play for the draw as exemplified by their fans singing 'Tranmere are staying up' after the match. They set out to achieve this by a mixture of spectacular diving agonies (no surprise that they have a physio as a manager), blatant time wasting and cynical fouling. The referee simply failed to get a grip on the game although he was fussy enough about exactly where a spot kick was taken from.

The time wasting was aided by two balls often appearing on the pitch and in the end the Charlton bench asked for all the spare balls to be gathered in.

The crowd was announced at just over 14,000, but I doubt whether there were 12,000 in the ground.

Benno puts his case

Paul Benson has put his case for a place in the team on Saturday whilst heaping praise on Chris Powell in the Sub-Standard: Benno

Gary Doherty is out for at least a couple of weeks with a muscle injury: Doherty

Whether this is a 'blow' as the News Shopper describes it is a matter of opinion, although perhaps it is when you look at the alternatives. Chris Powell is rightly cautious about who will replace him on Saturday, particularly after what was apparently an unimpressive performance by Jon Fortune on Tuesday night.

It may be a case of step forward, Miguel Llera. Steve from Petts Wood saw him storming away from The Valley when he was not even on the bench one Saturday, but although the Spainard is error prone, he is also capable of scoring from set pieces. And he is probably more mobile than Fortune.