I know it sounds strange but, look, fact is we are now 90% doomed. Not only are we crap but we are also about as attractive to any new players as a bout of salmonella poisoning.
So, we need to look ahead to at least one year, more likely two, in the CCC and the last thing we need is a larger rival right across the water competing for exactly the same players that we want to get back in the Prem.
Therefore, if anyone is coming down with us and Watford we need it to be Wigan or Sheff United who won't be such a big threat in the transfer market next year.
Funny thing is I was in the pub here in Brissie with a West Ham supporting mate when they beat Preston 1-0 in the POF and I knew it was a terrible result for Charlton because we had a slightly bigger rival now competing for the same players but with more money to spend.
Look at the players West Ham have signed in front of us, Mears, Bowyer and Green for starters and there was a lot of speculation that they beat us to Gabbidon, Collins, Reo-Coker and Mullins as well when they were in the CCC.
So, although it might stick in the craw a little, we should probably cross our fingers that Curbs gets them out of it because we don't want them nicking the best CCC players in the summer.
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Anyone who thinks that we are staying up from here has rocks in their head, pure and simple. Curbs left us with a shite squad, Dowie made it worse and by the time Pardew arrived it was too late to do anything about it.
Can anyone really see that shower of shit getting at least another TWENTY SIX points to make us safe? Come on.
Like I say, we must face reality and say that if we do go down then the last thing we need is Curbs signing all the best south-eastern CCC players for the Hammers because if its a choice between us and them then there is only one winner.
we are going down and 1to 5 looks a good bet to me .....
i left early for the first time in 25 years yesterday due to the sheer frustration in the fact that we are quite simply not good enough
Belief that we have got a decent manager who 12 months time would of shaped the squad nearer to how he wants it.
Anyway, we are going up, Pards will spend well in the summer, and build a squad to get us up playing a good brand of football.
Al Al Super Al!
Hopefully in most cases it'll be to f off
Diawarra?!!!
God, it's depressing.
As for Soccer Saturday, I'm lost all respect for the pundits on there
Pardew has spent 4 years in the CCC in his career and had led his team to the PO's four times out of four, that's a top record in such a tough division.
For my money, next year could be a bit of a transition year but in the following year Pards will have us on all cylinders burning and we will be ready to come back.
But my heart says stay with the fight.
Sure, at the moment we've a mountain to climb and we'll need the proverbial miracle to stay up. But things can still change. As it stands, a couple of wins and we can be right back in the mix.
A couple of new players, Youngy & Dazzler to come back, and a surprise result, it's still very much in our own hands.
But let's not be so limp and lily-livered. I can't believe people just give up so easily and can't get behind the team.
Pardew can't seem to believe it either. He wanted a grandstand finish but, let's face it, half the crowd was silent and the rest were already on their way home.
Things can change. It's still in our own hands.
There's other teams out there like Villa and Wigan who can't get a win for love nor money.
Who's next to go in freefall or a 'Charlton-esque' end of season slump?
Don't forget, there is still lot of football to be played this season.
The problem is simply a lack of quality at this level and being in the position we are in we are going to find it very, very tough to attract anyone of serious quality with ambition to come to the club.
I was just looking at an old programme and saw our team for the 2-2 draw at Spurs in December 2002, our midfield was Parker, Jensen and Euell - all now at other Premiership clubs and PROVEN Premiership class.
Our defence was Young, Rufus, Fish, Rowett and Powell - all (at the time) PROVEN Premiership defenders.
Granted our attack was lightweight with Barts and Lisbie but at least they put themselves about a bit.
What do we have now in comparison? How many Premiership rivals would sign ANY of our players outside Benty and Young as FIRST CHOICE players?
We have somehow gone backwards in terms of the quality of our squad despite spending a lot of money on the likes of Hughes, Elk, Faye, Diawara, Traore, Marcus Bent, Rommedahl, Ambrose et al.
If relegated who would I keep from the current set up? Thatcher, Reid, Ambrose, JT, some of the younger players - Sankosa, Sam, Walton etc, maybe Diawara and that's it. Darren Bent and Luke Young I'd sell, JFH and Marcus Bent I'd release into the care of the community along with Romm, that's an awful lot of rebuilding that needs doing and to gel as a team and squad will take time. Our last season in Division One we had a good squad, had a good strikers and only sold Danny Mills from the team that was relegated, this time around far more extensive surgery is required.
So, we have the best possible man in charge.
Being fair though, and I know the man has his faults, but how good is Harry Redknapp? If we wanted someone to get us out of the CCC and he was available then he would be the best choice, problem is that Murray would not get on with him at all. Can't fault the man's footballing nouse though.
Agree with your sentiments Oggy, but please don't think that though some may already of accepted relegation, they won't still be fighting with every kick. When Boro went 2-1, you could visablly see it drain out of every single player. You can't help the crowd for adopting a similar feeling. I think in general the crowd have been supportive throughout this season.
As for 'accepting relegation', i see it as almost a formality now and am trying to put a positive spin on it, on two fronts. Firstly, we have 6-7 first team players who are simply not good enough at this level, or past their peak. We need a major rebuilding job that will involve gelling a whole new side. The Premier League is simply to cut-throat to be able to gel a new side, and we won't have the funds to buy that extra bit of quality. We will have more chance long-term in gelling a decent side if we drop.
Secondly, even if we do perform a miracle and stay up, and no one will be more pleased than me, the liklihood is it would be another struggling season, and i really don't think a large chunk of the crowd could stomach another season of sturggle. Just my view.
And then there's the question of whether players want to stay - JFH is gone and Lisbie is in his last year but only Henry might know who can force an exit. And Carson is unlikely to sign.
On West Ham I hope they go down as the pressure and disillusionment will be alot greater over there than here. Long term we have to learn to compete with them for fans, academy players and signings.
We will come back on our own merits and as someone said Pardew has 100% record of finishing in the top 6 - His first move on the squad has been excellant - Thatcher in for Traore and he is £500K up! As Les Reid said in the programme the squad lacks balance - personnally I rate Romm, Thomas, ElK and Diawara - I have consistently said we need quality in central midfielsd and another striker or two.
Effectively, yes.
It sounds a stupid and risky strategy, considering the money that is on offer next season, but i don't particularly feel the money would benefit us that much. We would remain an unattractive proposition in comparison to all the other clubs getting the same funds as us, so it would still be unlikely we would attract the targets we would want.
Financially, i feel we are already well stretched, with a wage bill that is spiralling out of control, and a number of key components in that wage bill not performing. We've allowed our house to get out of order, and it needs a good spring clean. If we dropped, so would our transfer targets, but we would become an attractive proposition to the next tier on the view we were likely to have a season challenging towards the top of the championship. If we could get the right policy that Pardew had at West Ham, getting good young 'promising' talent, that would benefit from a year at Championship level (like Reo Cocker did), then long-term it would be a benefit.
I also think the supporters are generally sick of struggle, trying to nick points and fearing that everytime a team attacks they are going to score. We have been out of the habit of winning games, or putting any form of run together for a long-time, and there are a few of us that would simply like to see us win a few games again.
Of course, the worry is we would go down and struggle again, but i've belief that Pardew is a canny manager and that won't be the case.
At other clubs, the roar is deafening in adversity and often retrieves a lost cause. But at The Valley, the crowd sit in abject silence or just go home. It's a real confidence boost for the opposition. And we expect our team to be inspired by that?
In the last 2 years, both West Brom and Portsmouth have pulled off miraculous escapes after looking dead and buried in MARCH - and thanks to us, Palace only missed their miracle by 8 minutes. Look at the excitement and cliff-hanging suspense as they climaxed their seasons. We've all that, well and truly, still to play for. At this stage, you're only down if you throw in the towel.
The team that played against Boro was hardly the strongest we have at the club and within a few weeks could quite likely be very different. Just a week ago, nobody knew that Ben Thatcher would be signing - who else in the next 2 weeks could be joining and changing the whole outlook of the team? Plus, assuming they are not sold, Young & Bent - and we may very well see Walton & ZZ make all the difference in midfield.
Despite everything, we still probably have a better chance of avoiding relegation this year than being promoted next season. Ask our 'friends' at Palace, for example, and listen to what they say.
And, as I said before, there is still a lot of football to be played.
Mate, our midfield is so sub-standard that it is just not funny and we have simply not replaced players of the class of Parker, Jensen, Stuart and Euell with anything like that quality. Fair enough with Murphy which was not our fault but Smertin was only ever on loan and look at the rest of the crap we brought in, Hughes, Ambrose, Faye, Pouso and so on - they don't even come close to replacing the players we lost.