Charlton Athletic

By: Rich | 1 Comment

The first of two away games this week took place at StadiumMK, in the spiritual home of the roundabout, Milton Keynes.

This was the first league game of the year, and the first away game ever, sat next to my Dad. I think it took him a bit of time to get used to the extra noise, but towards the end of the game as things heated up he began to get carried away just like everyone else.

The ground is a typical new-build stadium in the middle of nowhere, although the car park at the stadium was gratefully received by my chauffeur (aforementioned father). The whole place feels unfinished. Mainly because it is unfinished. That said, it still feels better than the likes of Coventry’s Ricoh. It was interesting being able to see the pitch from the concourse.

Onto the game. The first half was really all MK Dons. We didn’t seem to turn up and had no response to Dons quick, slick passing. Hollands, poor bloke, had a bit of a nightmare first half, unable to get anything right. The rest of the team weren’t much better. Solly gave a penalty away which was confidently dispatched, at which point it was difficult to see how we would get anything from the game. We were lucky really to get to half time at only 1-0 down.

Second half started similarly, although we seemed to be a little further up the pitch. Dons took off Balanta and Morrison which seemed to give us more time on the ball. Suddenly we were the ones looking to get a foot on the ball and pass it about. Powell made a couple of inspired substitutions bringing on Green and Kermorgant, who linked up to score a lovely goal. Green produced a lovely flick past his man and a great cross. Kermorgant got across his man and powered a header in off the post and possibly the goalkeeper as well.

After that, both sides had good opportunities to grab the three points, with Jackson missing a great headed chance. In the end it seemed both sides were happy to take a point.

A few encouraging performances from Green, Kermit and the back 5, and another example of this team’s grit and determination to dig in to get a point without necessarily playing at our best.

By: Rich | Add Comments

As slightly depressing nu-grunge band Staind once sang, its been a while. Its been a long time since I last wrote and my word (copyright Ray Wilkins), hasn’t a lot changed in that period.

Loads of players shipped out of the club, including Jose “I would sign for life” Semedo, and loads brought in including Danny “Anything Semedo can do, I can do better” Hollands. Lovely.

I am now likely to have a lot more time on my hands now (sadly, in my opinion), so I should have more time to write on this blog again (no doubt unfortunately in the opinion of you, oh dear reader).

Last time out we beat Chesterfield 3-1, although considering I arrived at The Valley in the 62nd minute, I thought we ground out a solid 1-1 draw. Public transport woes ensured I missed out on what sounded like our best half this season, arriving just in time for our obligatory “let the other side back in the game:” period. Luckily, I saw a positive impact from the bench at last in the shape of the decent-looking Kermorgant (ability wise, not attractiveness), and a good cross from Wagstaff and the usual outcome from BWP.

Next up is MK Franchise, I mean McDons, I mean MK Dons. Thanks to the aforementioned extra time on my hands, I will be visiting StadiumMkNuggets with my father who, despite having a season ticket, has managed to miss every minute of league action this year. Yahboo Sucks to those who will dismiss me as someone with all the morals of Gaddafi for going to MK. Yes, it was terrible what happened, but I would rather like to support my own team thanks. I am also looking forward to that big question – who actually DOES support MK Dons?

Given my extra time, it may be likely you see a match report of the game sometime on Wednesday (the day, not Megson’s chumps).

Until then, up the Addicks!

By: Rich | Add Comments

It seems every tweet, blog and comment about Charlton these days contains a certain whiff of resignation.

Yes, our season is over, and in reality it has been for months now.  With every whimper of a performance, just a bit more enthusiasm is drained from us.  For Charlton fans who care about the club to such an extent that we like to write about it, it is a very difficult situation to get to grips with it.

Nothing more can be said this week that wasn’t said last week.  Players are out of contract, there will be a huge clearout this summer, and performances remain unconvincing.  We won against Orient with a second half showing suitable of play-off contenders.  But ultimately it is a futile exercise.  We can show as much form as we want in the next 6 games, but when you bear in mind half the players will probably be gone next year, it is as useful as using last season’s results as a barometer for this one.

So we’re in a weird situation.  Its always nice to see us win and play well, but it isn’t the be all and end all that it usually is.   People can moan about how people have paid for season tickets and so aren’t getting value for money, but so what?  When you buy a season ticket, it is in your blood.  Football is the only industry in the world where you can be disappointed and angry, get the worst value for money in the world, and you will still be there next year, with a renewed sense of vigour.  If you’re stupid enough to go away to watch us at the moment, well that’s your prerogrative and you know full well what you’re getting into.

So where now?  Well Oldham on Saturday, but now we’re just about safe from relegation, it almost matters even less.  We want to see a good performance yes, to see who will suitable for our (hopefully) more successful season next year.  But most decisions will be made based on what has already been seen or what the management already know, or have seen in training.

Most layers will already be aware by this point if there is any interest from other clubs, and likely have made it known to management if this is the case.  Then it depends on how much we will be able to offer.  The likes of Semedo and Racon staying won’t depend on how they play until the end of the season, it will depend on if they find our offer attractive enough.

So really, the remainder of the season will only really help us see one or two things.  One, it will see if Michael Stewart is worthy of an extended deal.  From the brief cameo I saw against Orient, he looked composed and a leader, as well as a bit of talent with his feet too.  Secondly, we will see about the loan players.  Will Bessone, Parrett and Nouble stay beyond this year?  That is for Powell to see if they fit into his preferred pattern.  I think Eccleston is on a short course from Liverpool to encourage him to grow up away from home (why else let him sit on our bench?) – I doubt he’ll be back next year.  John Sullivan is a backup so again is unlikely to be here next year.

There are a few decisions to be made, but in reality, not many.

So again, all we have left of this ultimately disappointing season is a pointless few games.  Lets try and put in a couple of performances eh Charlton, if only for the fools who go and sit in the stand and watch these ropey performances.  Despite the lack if importance, it will benefit us all in the long run.

By: Rich | Add Comments

This bad run is doing an awful lot of harm to people.

Over at Charlton Life, notoriously negative posters are staying positive, famed hardcore supporters are unaware of when we have a game, and one notable travel-shy poster actually went to an away game instead of moaning that everyone else hasn’t.

I assume that Into The Valley is the same vitriolic vanity project/Charlton Loyal Lite that it always has been – I haven’t checked.

An improved performance at Rochdale perhaps, but what a sign of the depths we have sunk to that a slightly marked improvement in effort and ability causes optimism, when in reality we lost 2-0 to a team that visited The Valley for the biggest game in their history just a few years ago. Since then, Charlton and Rochdale have converged to meet in the middle. The same as we have done with Yeovil, Dagenham and Redbridge and Saturday’s opponents, Leyton Orient.

We have more potential than these teams, but only based on the past. We still have the remnants of a big club – the ground, the training ground and academy, but when you look past these, we have no more and no less than these until-now inferior teams. On the pitch, where it counts the most, we are on a level playing field.

Having such a ground can become a bit of a burden in the lower divisions. Lower league journeymen will see the ground as one of the best around and up their game. Everyone sees Charlton as a scalp. We need to have big characters and good players to counteract that, something I’m not sure we have at the moment.

It took Leeds a few years to get it right. Sheffield Wednesday are struggling with the same problem. It isn’t easy to get out of this league, especially if you are one of the big boys.

Sadly for Charlton, a few more seasons like this and we might not be one of the big boys anymore.

The word coming out of the club is that we have direction and a plan. The board have pledged “significant investment” in the summer. The whole Charlton fanbase awaits this season to be over and that investment to begin.

By: Rich | Add Comments

Although  not strictly a Charlton piece, this is an article I wrote following an interview with Nick Hammond back in January.  A lot of the things that are said can be related to Charlton.

After England’s poor performance in the World Cup in South Africa, it was perhaps only a matter of time until adjustments to the national game were suggested with the honourable intention of improving the national team.  So it’s no surprise that new proposals have been suggested with regards to youth academies, the lifeblood of the English game.  What may be a bit more of a surprise is that several of the changes appear to be coming from the Premier League rather than the body that runs the national game, the FA.

However, details at the moment appear to be sketchy at best.  Those details that have emerged appear to benefit the bigger clubs, which tends to support a cynical view on any possible changes, rather than one solely mooted to improve England’s World Cup 2014 chances.  In fact, those well-placed at football clubs lower down the league ladder are worried at how the changes may affect youth development as a whole.

Nick Hammond, the Director of Football at Championship club Reading, shows real concern. “We’re now at a stage where the Premier League are looking to change the rules again on academies which is potentially going to be a big problem to the smaller academies.”

Hammond describes the changes, “The Premier League are looking to potentially do away with time constraints on travel, and looking to change the rules on compensation.  Effectively, the big Premier League clubs are looking to restrict compensation to smaller clubs which is going to kill youth development in this country.”

At the moment, clubs are allowed to sign players that are based within an hour and a half travelling distance.  This restricts the amount of players that are signed, and taking Manchester United as an example, would mean that players from a region in the south, are “out of range”.  With possible changes to academy regulations, this rule would no longer exist in its current format.

Hammond explains, “Manchester Utd could for example set up a centre in Reading, take the best players and sign them, which they can’t do now, then at a certain age, move them to Manchester”.

The bigger clubs, such as Premier League clubs will have the funds and resources to set up and run these “centres” across the country, whereas a club like Reading will not.  This could ultimately lead to a situation where the best young players from all over the country will all be able to join the bigger clubs, no matter where they are based.

However, for those young players that may slip through the big club net, and the clubs that sign them, Hammond believes that a change to compensation is a bigger issue.  Many clubs see their youth academy or Centre of Excellence as an additional revenue stream.  Although clubs do not bring players through just to sell them on, a team outside of the Premier League will always have difficulty keeping hold of their star players.  Reading is in this bracket, as Hammond knows.  “ I brought [Gylfi] Sigurdsson across from Iceland when he was 15, we developed him for 5 or 6 years, he got into our first team, he improved our first team and helped us be more successful and I sold him for £7 million.”

However, if changes were made to compensation rulings, and set at a particular amount, Reading and other clubs would lose out on that valuable income.  “Under the way the Premier League wants to do it, if I had Sigurdsson in my system from 9 years old, I could have him for 5 years, and when he gets to 14 or 15, Manchester United could come along and say ‘we like this boy, compensation levels are set, here’s your £200,000, we’re taking him’”.

Nick Hammond believes that type of thing happening would have drastic implications for youth academies in general.  “If you spend a million, million and a half, two million, running your whole academy and you’ve got one boy in the system that’s an absolute diamond who you can sell to Hoffenheim for £7 million and he’s been in the system for 5 years and then Manchester United say ‘lovely, there’s your £250,000, we’re taking him’ what’s the point in running the programme?  There’s no point.”

Steve Avory, the academy manager at League One Charlton, wrote in his recent programme notes of the prospective changes that he has heard about recently- one of which regards to a “reclassification of the country’s youth development programme”.  The suggested reclassification appears to have been part of a review of standards in youth football, and would perhaps lead to a more elitist academy system.

Avory writes, “under the plans, academies would be judged on a wide range of criteria, such as their coaching, education, sports science and staffing programmes and technical facilities, and it’s clear that finance would be vital in determining the category to which each club is allocated.”

The area causing most concern is that category one clubs would only play over-16 matches against other category one clubs, meaning the top clubs would only ever play against each other.  In addition, there are plans for a European u18 cup, giving the bigger clubs the opportunity to play against the best young players from abroad.  Whilst this sounds like a good idea to increase exposure of top quality football to young Englishmen, potentially to the benefit of England, it only adds to the theory that academies will become more elitist and encourage young players to join the bigger clubs over a smaller one.

Interestingly on the compensation issue, Avory says “we’re told that the compensation process is to be improved so that clubs who lose their best players to bigger clubs at young ages are better rewarded.”

This difference in interpretation seems to highlight the lack of clarity that there has been in the process of incorporating new regulations in youth academies.   Nick Hammond is of the opinion that nobody knows what is going on, something that he puts down to the Premier League not “telling anyone or talking to anyone”.  According to an article in the Telegraph, the main people behind the changes are officials from the Premier League youth development group which is made up of Premier League official and some of its clubs, including representatives from Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea.  These clubs had no comment to make when contacted to investigate further.

Details may be thin-on-the –ground at the moment, but the overall restructuring has been said to be put forward to Premier League Shareholders on February 3^rd, with new rules set to be voted through in June, in time for next season.  You may ask how it will be forced upon the Football League clubs, but Hammond believes it will in exchange for increased payments down from the Premier League to “pave the way to bring in new rules on youth development”.

The Premier League clubs may believe it is in the best interests of the national team, and no doubt themselves, to push through these new regulations, but smaller clubs are certainly unlikely to feel that way.  Smaller clubs may be forced to close their academies due to them being a financial strain.  This would certainly affect youth development in this country, and football as a whole.

Nick Hammond sums it up from his point of view, “There is an enormous amount of good work going on in Academies and Centres of Excellence but if the rules change, if the Premier League clubs push through regulations that restrict compensation on young players, it will kill youth development in this country for the smaller clubs.  If you look at the amount of players that have been produced at smaller clubs, for the long term future of the game it’s very very worrying.”

By: Rich | Add Comments

Well, we stopped the rot against Tranmere, but it was by all accounts, a poor Tranmere side, and a very poor first half performance.

I wasn’t at the game against Rovers or Carlisle due to being in Spain, but I am now back in England so although won’t be at stadiumMK tomorrow night, I will be back in my usual seat for Saturday’s meeting with Brentford.

By not seeing the games, I haven’t got a lot to say tactically.

The one thing I will say is that I am still right behind Powell and confident in his ability, despite recent evidence possibly alluding to that being the wrong position.  I just cannot see Powell being as bad some people are already making out, and I am happy to give him time to turn things around, because I am firmly of the belief that he will be a good manager.

He has played the game for years at nearly all levels and has the respect of people.  I honestly think things will turn out for the best, but then again I probably said that about Pardew too.  The problem for most may be that “the best” might not be this year.  I don’t think that the players we have can play in the style that Powell wants.  Perhaps this was made clear by Powell to Slater early on, which is why promotion was said to be a “bonus”.

What a sad indictment of modern-day football it is that already some people, who can only be described as “divvos”, are calling for Powell’s head already.  After 5 bad results.  In his whole managerial career.  It is such a shame that everything in society, including football, is about immediacy.  Do these people even know what they want for Charlton, because it seems that anything that does happen they have a good old moan about? Old manager, moan.  New manager, moan.  Old board, moan.  New board, moan.  Old players, moan.  New players, moan.  Old potholes, moan.  Get them fixed…erm.  It really makes me quite angry when I think about it too much.

Nice tangent I went off on there, did you enjoy the trip?

Speaking of trips, back to MK tomorrow night.  Who will play?  I really don’t know.  We may have two, or no fit goalkeepers.  We have a disjointed backline, an unbalanced midfield, and a strikeforce of varying quality.  Will we win?  Probably no – we’ve been terrible lately and MK are well in-form.

But does it matter about winning?  Of course it does, if anything to stop people from moaning about Powell etc etc.  BUT, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t know if it matters a great deal.

The reason is because I feel generally quite happy about Powell being in charge.  I feel happy that he is here, and as I said, I feel confident about where the club is heading.  But I don’t see it coming this year.  I don’t see it with McCormack et al in the side.  As far as I am concerned, let Powell and Dyer play about with the squad this year, see what works, see who fits in with their ideals, and treat promotion just as Slater labelled it previously – a bonus.

I think it will benefit us in the long run.

By: Rich | Add Comments

On the 23^rd October 2008, I woke up to receive the worst 21^st birthday present I could possibly have got.  The scrolling yellow bar on Sky Sports News was the bearer of such a gift; its message reading that Zabeel Investments had pulled out of purchasing Charlton Athletic.

Zabeel was our key back to the big time.  They were loaded, and with their financial backing, we would be able to buy our way back up to the Premier League and look straight to qualifying for Europe, skipping the mundane steps of relegation battle and mid-table obscurity.

Instead, we got relegated to League One.  Free-spending Alan Pardew left with a cool £1 million of compensation in his pocket and nice-guy Phil Parkinson was left to try his luck.  He almost managed promotion, but a skied Nicky Bailey penalty meant elimination from the Playoffs, and another season of League One football.

The bigger problem for Charlton fans, as worrying as the performances on the pitch were, was that Charlton were in big financial trouble.  Last summer saw an overhaul in the board room that spawned Chairman Richard Murray’s Baton 2010, and enabled Charlton to avoid administration.  However, it seemed that promotion with an average squad was vital to the club’s very survival.  It was well known that Charlton were looking for investment, but since October 2008, no businessman or consortium had shown an interest.

Then, in November 2010, things got interesting.  Rumours were rife about a Charlton takeover, in part fuelled by Dan Roan of the BBC and his twittering.  Peter Ridsdale and Sebastien Sainsbury were both thought to be interested, but Charlton fears were eased slightly when these rumours were dismissed.  Charlton fears then turned to excitement when on the 2^nd December, the same day England were denied the chance to host World Cup 2018, a takeover bid from a group fronted by ex-Chief Executive Peter Varney was accepted .

On New Year’s Eve, the deal was completed.  Michael Slater and Tony Jimenez were revealed as the owners, although there are reasons to believe that there are other backers with significant financial clout in the background.

Slater as the new Chairman has made himself busy since by saying the right things.  The one point of contention since the takeover has been his first interview whereby he said that he was fully behind Parkinson, only to then relieve him of his duties just days later.  Cue exaggeration from the message board community.  Some supportive, some accusing Slater of being a liar.  Some simply realised that Slater had just seen about 10,000 people leave a game early after another poor performance and getting thumped at home by Swindon on TV.  One of Slater’s plans is to get bums on seats.  What he saw was in contrast to that aim and so, rightly or wrongly, acted upon it.

He brought Chris Powell in as the new manager, a massive favourite at The Valley.  In an instant, the aims of the season changed.  Before it seemed that promotion was a must, now it seems that it would be a bonus alongside growth and improvement.

Performances under Powell have not really changed much.  He has said he wants to implement a more footballing approach, but such changes in player habits take time to cement.  We could have been described as slightly lucky to have won his first four in charge, but equally could have been described as slightly unlucky to have lost the three since.  Playoffs still look possible, but with Slater wanting Powell to coach players to be better rather than just buy players to succeed, and a promotion of all tickets for £5 for the recent Exeter match, there is some argument that Charlton are playing a slightly longer term game.

There has been a shift in the club all at once.  We have new owners, securing the club for the long term with bright ideas, vision and connections, and a new manager with bright ideas, vision and connections.  With the last 3 defeats there has been a dent in the optimism that followed the takeover and Powell’s appointment. But if there is a visible change in performances soon, it could be the most exciting time to be a Charlton fan since the 22^nd October 2008.

By: Rich | Add Comments

The dust has only just settled on Chris Powell’s second victory in the Charlton hotseat, and already attention turns to hopefully-less-wet-than-last-year Huish Park for Powell’s first away game in charge.

Last week, the Rochdale game was called off on the day of the game, so Powell has yet to add his contribution to the good away form that he spoke of on Late Kick Off this week.

Due to the results that happened in the midweek games this week, Charlton remain in much the same position we were before the games.  We still have many games in hand and still remain outside the promotion places.

Yeovil lie in 17^th place after a home victory against Plymouth on Tuesday night and are unbeaten in the last three games, with an away win against Brentford and a 2-2 draw at Hillsborough.  We have seen how difficult to beat those two sides are, so despite Yeovil only moving out of the relegation zone after their last result, it would be foolish to underestimate them.  It would be foolish to underestimate anyone in this league, such is its competitiveness.   Yeovil are actually in good form, with only one defeat this calendar year against Rochdale, and five victories in that period.

We have gained good results in our last two games, but the performances haven’t been particularly impressive.  Powell will still be working his team out and looking at the players.  When at Leicester he would hardly have been giving much attention to the benefits and faults of Paul Benson’s game, so I think it will still take time to find out our strengths and weaknesses to a point where he can fit our gameplay around them.

Against Colchester there were a few players who didn’t quite perform.  Jackson and Wagstaff were possibly the main culprits in an attacking sense, but Colchester’s tactics were as such that there was little time and space for them.  Colchester were organised, and perhaps accounts for Francis’s invention, as Colchester’s two banks were concentrating on the attackers in our team.  Francis was an additional player against that organisation, so was almost an unaccounted for attacker.

Against Yeovil, it will probably be different as we are the away side.

Our form this season has shown us as being perhaps more of an away side.  Wagstaff and Anyinsah’s pace certainly makes for potent counter attacking threat.  With a touch more time and space, Jackson is able to pick a pass, but he is limited by a lack of pace.

Racon has been one of our better players this year, and I think his contribution is vital.  He may not be an Andy Reid type player, but his close instant control allows for an extra split second of time, and his driving runs can also create something different in the midfield.  I think Semedo and McCormack are too similar to play together.  Hopefully Racon will return for Yeovil, but Powell may again choose McCormack in the middle for more solidity.

It could be seen as harsh given McCormack’s improved performances, but I would return him to the bench.  Wagstaff’s athletic ability and attacking threat means he should continue on the right, and Jackson, despite an indifferent performance on Tuesday, offers balance on the left.  McCormack and Jackson together could provide a midfield that is too narrow.

Whatever anyone says, Powell has options.  Not least up front.  Anyinsah and BWP are probably not at the height of fitness, so it could be tough for them to resume up front.  Eccleston is knocking on the door in terms of performance.  Putting Twitter comments aside as we cannot tell what it is about, I believe it won’t be too long before he does get a start.  Benson didn’t look too impressive when he came on, understandable considering he hasn’t played since New Year’s Day.  BWP is likely to start, if fit enough, but who will join him?

It will be tough down in Cider country this weekend.  We haven’t properly clicked yet and Yeovil are in good form.  For this reason I would expect a draw.  Our defence didn’t fill me with confidence on Tuesday night, but we have got goals in us if can provide the right service.

I predict 2-2, with goals from BWP and Eccleston.

By: Rich | Add Comments

The main talking point of this game was clearly the baffling decisions made by the referee with “that incident”.

It is a shame because the goal that Bradley Wright-Phillips scored on his debut was well worth focusing on and reliving over and over.

Instead, it is lost as another detail in a match dominated by the strange goings on in the 63rd minute.

Whether or not the player was offside, once the referee has blown his whistle, the ball is dead and the game stops.  I don’t know why he blew his whistle, as when he spoke to the assistant referee, he gave the goal.  By the criteria they have discussed, the goal was “legal”, apart from the massive issue of the ball being dead, due to the referee’s whistle.

He obviously made a mistake to blow his whistle, and has tried to cover his mistake by allowing the goal.  Of course, as he blew the whistle, the ball was dead before the ball went into the net, therefore he cannot give the goal, something pointed out to him by the Fourth Official.

I was fully expecting a penalty for Colchester at some point in the game, which would have been easy to give as there were about three appeals in a short space of time.  There was doubt enough in all of these for a referee looking to give a penalty to award one.

Credit then to the referee then for not trying to “even” things up, but I shouldn’t think he’ll have a busy day this Saturday after his control on the game.

Credit also to BWP for a fantastic finish.  He had a difficult game due to the way that Colchester were closing down, not giving any Charlton player the time and space to pick a pass.  I think Racon may have made a difference to the style of play, but I think Powell went for the safer, “battler” option in McCormack.  That decision may have paid off, if only because McCormack, or McOxo as he is becoming almost affectionately(!) known, was the man to clear David Mooney’s last minute header off the line.

It wasn’t the greatest performance this season, but there were a few promising signs.  BWP and Bessone gave promising debuts, and Simon Francis was good going forward.  On the other hand, the centre back pairing still looks a little wobbly, and there wasn’t a huge amount of creativity or idea coming from the centre of the pitch.  Jackson was also fairly anonymous.

But the result is the most important thing, and another clean sheet is also a bonus.  We will need to play better later on in the season, but anyone who has seen much of Manchester United this year will recognise that you don’t always need to play well to put an unbeaten run together.

By: Rich | Add Comments

Well after my first preview that I did for The Offside against Rochdale, perhaps it was inevitable that the game would not go ahead!  For the second time, the game was called off due to the weather.

It was a manic day in the transfer window yesterday, but not particularly for anything below the Premier League.  Not that Sky Sports would have let us know if anything had happened at League One level.

The only addition to the playing staff is Federico Bessone, a left back of whom I know very little.  It sounds like he is comfortable on the ball and likes to get forward. If anyone can see a decent left back, we should believe that Chris Powell can.  The deal is an intial loan with a view to a permanent move.

Perhaps more importantly than the incoming player, is the confirmation that Alex Dyer has joined the club as Assistant Manager, making the step up from reserve manager at West Ham.  Again, we have to trust that Powell knows what kind of assistant he needs, and it does seem that Dyer is a very popular man with his players.

Completing the management setup is Damian Matthew and Keith Peacock.  Matthew, from what I have seen of the youth team in previous Youth Cups, is a good young coach who likes to play football the right way.  He will step up to first team coach, in a move that I think will be very good considering our number of former youth players stepping up the the first team.  Peacock takes over yet another new role at his beloved Charlton, this time as Technical Director.  This title can encompass all sorts of different roles, but I would imagine in this case he will serve as a helping hand for Powell, in the same way that Lennie Lawrence did so for Paul Trollope at Bristol Rovers.

I see this as another positive sign with regards to the new owners.  Nothing and nobody has been forced upon Powell, who would no doubt have declined the job had this been a caveat in his job offer.

One player who has left the club is Akpo Sodje, who have left for Hibernian.  I’d like to put on record my good wishes for his move.  I think he was often derided and undeservedly so.  He always put in 100% and probably had a better scoring record than most would expect.  We will see in time whether we kept the wrong striker in Abbott.

Tonight will see a familiar face in the opposition’s ranks in David Mooneywho has some good memories of Charlton, apart from the boo-boys who he this week branded as “idiots”.  It is hard to disagree with his assessment.

Colchester beat Peterborough last time out, and are just a place below us as things stand.

It seems that recently, every time there have been matches on a weekday, we have been one of the teams not playing.  We need to convert these games in hand into points on the board.  Although tonight is a full league programme, it is vital that we keep up the pressure if we have aspirations of promotion.