From the
Evening Standard
No footballer likes being on the bench. But to keep things on an even keel in the Benson family, it was the safest place for me to be for Charlton's game at Southend on Tuesday.
My Mum has always come to watch my matches for Charlton, Dagenham and Redbridge and Essex League side White Ensign but my Dad is still a fanatical Southend fan. So for our 1-0 win at Roots Hall, we had the bizarre situation of my Dad in the home end and my Mum in the away end.
We got together after the game, though, and my Dad was good enough to say Charlton deserved to win. Had I scored the winner, though, he might not have been so fair, so perhaps it was best all round that I was a sub and I didn't get on.
It has been a busy few weeks for me, so our manager Phil Parkinson decided I needed a rest. Since my last column, though, things have gone really well for us.
I scored twice in our 4-3 win at Carlisle — my agent Dan Fletcher had made the long journey to watch us as well — and got another in the 3-0 win at Swindon. In between those, we had a solid 1-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at The Valley.
We're now fifth in the table, only one point from second place, and we go to Peterborough on Saturday feeling good.
My old Dagenham team-mate Craig Mackail-Smith is there and he has proved what a good player he is for them. I really enjoyed playing in attack with him for Dagenham, we had a good partnership and I knew he would go on to play at a higher level.
In fact, he is probably a Championship player.
We have been texting each other a bit this week but I don't want to go too strong on the banter in case it winds him up and he has a great game against us.
It's now six goals in 11 games for me and, while I'm still finding my feet with Charlton's style of play, it is coming along nicely and I'm
improving along with the team.
We owed it to the gaffer to go on this good run as he'd stuck by us after we were beaten 4-0 at home by Brighton and he didn't rant and rave, even though we were thrashed. In that moment, he showed what a good manager he is.
We're going well in League One, we have a chance to reach the second round of the FA Cup if we beat Barnet in Tuesday's replay and we're three games from Wembley in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy after beating Southend.
I played for Dagenham at Wembley in May when we won the League Two play-off final. As soon as I came off the pitch, I was telling everyone I wanted to play in that stadium again, and it would be fantastic if it came around again this season.
Some clubs don't seem to take the competition all that seriously but, at Charlton, we really should be getting to the final of tournaments like this.
Charlton are a big club in this league and we need to be making an impact in the JPT, not just in League One.
So I'm desperate to get back to Wembley, not least because it would help my Dad get over Southend being knocked out. He's now saying they'll just have to win the FA Cup this year but I think I might resist the temptation to put a bet on them.
Comments
Joke.
"...and you can bring your f+++ng dinner because by the time I am finished with you you're going to f++ng need it, do you f==king hear what I am saying or not?"
Best rant ever, FACT.
League 1 players only get to romp with page 24 matrons.
But I wil admit to be slightly concerned when I heard that he hadn't ranted at the players as I felt they needed a kick up the ar$e. However, part of being a good manager - in any circumstances - is about knowing what motivates your staff. He was obviously aware that the 'I'm not angry, I'm just disapointed' reaction, would motivate his staff better than a 'what the bloody hell was that' reaction.
But I can't imagine Kins staying quiet.