Son was at the game spoke to him straight after, he was laughing thats how bad it has become. It cost him £150 to go up on the day and stay overnight...he bought his ticket up there not sure how JJs going to refund him.
I'm sure the players will find a way if he provides proof of purchase and contacts them
If the club are involved with the refund procedure, as JJ insinuated, don't expect it to be straightforward....
The club will probably say that its not for the players to say that refunds can be offered and that unfortunately, the offer has been retracted
Has anyone else noticed that this 5-0 defeat is a few days short of when we lost 5-0 @ Watford last season.
We turned it around after that match, we didn't see that happening after what went on at Vicarage Road... Can anyone else see us doing the same again this season...? - Nope, me neither!!
Watford were a promotion chasing side, Huddersfield are dogshit in comparison.Says is all about us.
I'mlearnt last night Huddersfield's new boss has put in a new training regime.
Twice a a day, every day gentle intensity in the morning, intense at 3pm for a Saturday kick off, and get this 7.45pm for the intense session for an evening game. They came in on Monday night. Conditioning the mind and body clocks for the time of day it's needed. And it showed, we couldn't get near them, they were like a swarm out of possession, creative, pacy when they had it, down the flanks or through the middle.
Every player in their match squad was either youth developed, or had championship experience, with the wisest of heads at the back, Mark Hudson. Martin Crainie on the bench too, remember him.
Their opener is a die hard Huddersfield supporter who made his fortune in the greeting cards industry. And they have fan engagement, bucket loads. Reaccommodated the noisy crew behind the goal, post match supporter briefings to 300+ where I heard players, the academy coach and others talk. I too was allowed to give them an update on the appalling circumstances at our club.
You could sense a renewed energy around the ground, I was in the home end in a friend's box with two other Charlton fans and they were gracious yet astonished at what is going on.
Hendo...gutted at the end of the match and in iphis interview.
Can we sink any lower?
Now this is a match day experience. Not sofas and house music.
Has anyone else noticed that this 5-0 defeat is a few days short of when we lost 5-0 @ Watford last season.
We turned it around after that match, we didn't see that happening after what went on at Vicarage Road... Can anyone else see us doing the same again this season...? - Nope, me neither!!
let's hope, no DEMAND, that history repeats itself ((:>)
Has anyone else noticed that this 5-0 defeat is a few days short of when we lost 5-0 @ Watford last season.
We turned it around after that match, we didn't see that happening after what went on at Vicarage Road... Can anyone else see us doing the same again this season...? - Nope, me neither!!
let's hope, no DEMAND, that history repeats itself ((:>)
I had a new low this morning. I was explaining that all was not well at the club to a friend from up the road who was asking about taking his daughter to her first game. We were on the train on the way into London.
Some random guy joined in and said 'Yeah it's a shambles down there at the minute, an absolute shambles. It's not my club but it's not right.'
Fair enough sentiment. Turned out he was a spanner. Decent bloke but honestly.
I’ve sometimes thought that what is wrong with post-match views is that we know the outcome and it is too easy to be wise after the event. But were we wise during the event? To try and answer this question in my case I’ve attempted to re-create my thoughts as honestly as possible as the game unfolded.
3 mins: we’re playing 4-1-4-1 – going to be defensive, but more sense than some of the recent suicidal formations, so not criticising KF for the set-up
15 mins: we’re offering nothing going forward – defensively we’re playing our system with discipline – could make it hard for Huddersfield to break down
17 mins (first goal): Fox allows their winger to turn past him so easily - gives him a free cross – very poor
40 mins: technically we’ve been very poor – they react much faster – are moving and thinking quicker than us – we didn’t collapse after the goal – have kept shape – could be worse
44 mins (second goal): cross from their right – Henderson comes for it – not under challenge – straightforward catch – oops, it’s slipped through his hands – played back in by H player and turned in by H player standing on goal-line – offside? – not given
HT: bit unlucky to be two down – any good points? – two central defenders have been solid – Poyet is the one player on our side who anticipates - most of theirs do
60 mins: getting a bit ragged at times – Williams is leaving his place in the middle 4 to get forward on occasion – can’t see the point – he doesn’t have the ability to do damage up there
62 mins (double sub): TH-D for MF – makes sense, Fox has been very poor – Reza for Williams – also makes sense – will mean we go to 4-4-2 – an attempt to find some attacking threat
70 mins: shape starting to go
Rest: all rational thought lost in the fog of despair
Final whistle – players wanting to be swallowed up by the ground – Vaz Te first down the tunnel – I am taking against him
Has anyone else noticed that this 5-0 defeat is a few days short of when we lost 5-0 @ Watford last season.
We turned it around after that match, we didn't see that happening after what went on at Vicarage Road... Can anyone else see us doing the same again this season...? - Nope, me neither!!
I went to that one (train gate) as well (it must be all my fault) the difference being we had our very own version (so we were told to hope by KM) of Alex Ferguson sitting in the stands waiting for his work permit .
I’ve sometimes thought that what is wrong with post-match views is that we know the outcome and it is too easy to be wise after the event. But were we wise during the event? To try and answer this question in my case I’ve attempted to re-create my thoughts as honestly as possible as the game unfolded.
3 mins: we’re playing 4-1-4-1 – going to be defensive, but more sense than some of the recent suicidal formations, so not criticising KF for the set-up
15 mins: we’re offering nothing going forward – defensively we’re playing our system with discipline – could make it hard for Huddersfield to break down
17 mins (first goal): Fox allows their winger to turn past him so easily - gives him a free cross – very poor
40 mins: technically we’ve been very poor – they react much faster – are moving and thinking quicker than us – we didn’t collapse after the goal – have kept shape – could be worse
44 mins (second goal): cross from their right – Henderson comes for it – not under challenge – straightforward catch – oops, it’s slipped through his hands – played back in by H player and turned in by H player standing on goal-line – offside? – not given
HT: bit unlucky to be two down – any good points? – two central defenders have been solid – Poyet is the one player on our side who anticipates - most of theirs do
60 mins: getting a bit ragged at times – Williams is leaving his place in the middle 4 to get forward on occasion – can’t see the point – he doesn’t have the ability to do damage up there
62 mins (double sub): TH-D for MF – makes sense, Fox has been very poor – Reza for Williams – also makes sense – will mean we go to 4-4-2 – an attempt to find some attacking threat
70 mins: shape starting to go
Rest: all rational thought lost in the fog of despair
Final whistle – players wanting to be swallowed up by the ground – Vaz Te first down the tunnel – I am taking against him
Kha you say the subs were IYO rational yet you fail to continue your match appraisal whereby THD arguably at fault for giving the ball away for the 4th and made an even bigger defensive hash than Fox for the 5th add to this it would strongly appear Reza got himself deliberately sent off .... I'm not convinced the substitutions made any positive difference at all one could say we only conceded 2 up until the subs then shipped a further 3 within 20 mins
I’ve sometimes thought that what is wrong with post-match views is that we know the outcome and it is too easy to be wise after the event. But were we wise during the event? To try and answer this question in my case I’ve attempted to re-create my thoughts as honestly as possible as the game unfolded.
3 mins: we’re playing 4-1-4-1 – going to be defensive, but more sense than some of the recent suicidal formations, so not criticising KF for the set-up
15 mins: we’re offering nothing going forward – defensively we’re playing our system with discipline – could make it hard for Huddersfield to break down
17 mins (first goal): Fox allows their winger to turn past him so easily - gives him a free cross – very poor
40 mins: technically we’ve been very poor – they react much faster – are moving and thinking quicker than us – we didn’t collapse after the goal – have kept shape – could be worse
44 mins (second goal): cross from their right – Henderson comes for it – not under challenge – straightforward catch – oops, it’s slipped through his hands – played back in by H player and turned in by H player standing on goal-line – offside? – not given
HT: bit unlucky to be two down – any good points? – two central defenders have been solid – Poyet is the one player on our side who anticipates - most of theirs do
60 mins: getting a bit ragged at times – Williams is leaving his place in the middle 4 to get forward on occasion – can’t see the point – he doesn’t have the ability to do damage up there
62 mins (double sub): TH-D for MF – makes sense, Fox has been very poor – Reza for Williams – also makes sense – will mean we go to 4-4-2 – an attempt to find some attacking threat
70 mins: shape starting to go
Rest: all rational thought lost in the fog of despair
Final whistle – players wanting to be swallowed up by the ground – Vaz Te first down the tunnel – I am taking against him
Kha you say the subs were IYO rational yet you fail to continue your match appraisal whereby THD arguably at fault for giving the ball away for the 4th and made an even bigger defensive hash than Fox for the 5th add to this it would strongly appear Reza got himself deliberately sent off .... I'm not convinced the substitutions made any positive difference at all one could say we only conceded 2 up until the subs then shipped a further 3 within 20 mins
I've had my suspicions for a while now but are you Morgan's Dad?
Well its dinner time the day after and am still in shock at what I witnessed last night. This was the first time I have been this season but have followed everything with a growing sense of despair. You could sense it amongst the few of us there and you could see it in the body language of the players even during the warm up. It reminded me a bit of the loss at Donny rovers just before CP got sacked. I've seen many defeats over the years but this was probably the worst in terms of the way in which the side seemed to expect to lose the game. Players seemed pissed off with each other, they had no idea where or who to pass to and made Huddersfield appear to have a number of extra players on the pitch at any one time. They looked like small children playing against an adult team who were asking for a three goal start and could we have rush goalie? On the terraces the atmosphere was gallows humour and a desperate sense of resignation. From the posts on here I was expecting anger and bile hurled at the hapless Fraeye but it was as if we all knew this defeat would happen and could do as little to stop it as he could. At the final whistle I couldn't decide who I was the most angry with but I think it was a tie between Reza getting himself sent off on purpose. Stop his wages til he finds another club, and Vaz Te who clearly wasn't interested, made one challenge all game and then stormed off down the tunnel at the end. Also, thank you for your enquiry @RedChaser, as dates go it clearly wasn't great. Especially as the constant questioning of "Why are they singing and you're not?" and "You are normally quiet what's got into you?" mean this is a relationship unlikely to progress. At least she paid for the tickets....
Kha you say the subs were IYO rational yet you fail to continue your match appraisal whereby THD arguably at fault for giving the ball away for the 4th and made an even bigger defensive hash than Fox for the 5th add to this it would strongly appear Reza got himself deliberately sent off .... I'm not convinced the substitutions made any positive difference at all one could say we only conceded 2 up until the subs then shipped a further 3 within 20 mins
As I made clear at the start of my post, I was stating what I was thinking at the time. My whole point of doing that was to be honest about my views as the game unfolded and to avoid speaking with the benefit of hindsight. My post-match views on the performance of the three players are in my player marks. I did think TH-D did better than MF; Reza obviously didn't work, but the idea of bringing on a second striker when you're two down makes sense doesn't it?
Just hope that Reza never plays for Charlton again. Sad excuse of a cheating player. Never good enough for Charlton. Can't they offer him to Cardiff and get Watt back?
With a quarter of an or so left (even though I couldn't see us getting back in) I thought the game was going to peter out at 2-0 or at worst 3. At that I didn't see 5 coming because they were misfiring themselves. But it's now how we bounce back from this confidence shreader.
Well its dinner time the day after and am still in shock at what I witnessed last night. This was the first time I have been this season but have followed everything with a growing sense of despair. You could sense it amongst the few of us there and you could see it in the body language of the players even during the warm up. It reminded me a bit of the loss at Donny rovers just before CP got sacked. I've seen many defeats over the years but this was probably the worst in terms of the way in which the side seemed to expect to lose the game. Players seemed pissed off with each other, they had no idea where or who to pass to and made Huddersfield appear to have a number of extra players on the pitch at any one time. They looked like small children playing against an adult team who were asking for a three goal start and could we have rush goalie? On the terraces the atmosphere was gallows humour and a desperate sense of resignation. From the posts on here I was expecting anger and bile hurled at the hapless Fraeye but it was as if we all knew this defeat would happen and could do as little to stop it as he could. At the final whistle I couldn't decide who I was the most angry with but I think it was a tie between Reza getting himself sent off on purpose. Stop his wages til he finds another club, and Vaz Te who clearly wasn't interested, made one challenge all game and then stormed off down the tunnel at the end. Also, thank you for your enquiry @RedChaser, as dates go it clearly wasn't great. Especially as the constant questioning of "Why are they singing and you're not?" and "You are normally quiet what's got into you?" mean this is a relationship unlikely to progress. At least she paid for the tickets....
You took her to see Charlton? In Huddersfield? On a DATE?Must have been a memory to treasure for her too..."darling, whatever else happens, we'll always have Huddersfield".
anyone who thinks that the Reza dismissal was a 'turning point' in the game are sorely mistaken .. we were oven wrapped and cooked well before he took the walk of shame
Well its dinner time the day after and am still in shock at what I witnessed last night. This was the first time I have been this season but have followed everything with a growing sense of despair. You could sense it amongst the few of us there and you could see it in the body language of the players even during the warm up. It reminded me a bit of the loss at Donny rovers just before CP got sacked. I've seen many defeats over the years but this was probably the worst in terms of the way in which the side seemed to expect to lose the game. Players seemed pissed off with each other, they had no idea where or who to pass to and made Huddersfield appear to have a number of extra players on the pitch at any one time. They looked like small children playing against an adult team who were asking for a three goal start and could we have rush goalie? On the terraces the atmosphere was gallows humour and a desperate sense of resignation. From the posts on here I was expecting anger and bile hurled at the hapless Fraeye but it was as if we all knew this defeat would happen and could do as little to stop it as he could. At the final whistle I couldn't decide who I was the most angry with but I think it was a tie between Reza getting himself sent off on purpose. Stop his wages til he finds another club, and Vaz Te who clearly wasn't interested, made one challenge all game and then stormed off down the tunnel at the end. Also, thank you for your enquiry @RedChaser, as dates go it clearly wasn't great. Especially as the constant questioning of "Why are they singing and you're not?" and "You are normally quiet what's got into you?" mean this is a relationship unlikely to progress. At least she paid for the tickets....
You took her to see Charlton? In Huddersfield? On a DATE?Must have been a memory to treasure for her too..."darling, whatever else happens, we'll always have Huddersfield".
Don't knock it - I took a girl on a dirty weekend to Swindon soon after we started dating in 1997 (lost 1-0 - Wayne Allison).
19 years later I am happily married to her with three kids.
Well its dinner time the day after and am still in shock at what I witnessed last night. This was the first time I have been this season but have followed everything with a growing sense of despair. You could sense it amongst the few of us there and you could see it in the body language of the players even during the warm up. It reminded me a bit of the loss at Donny rovers just before CP got sacked. I've seen many defeats over the years but this was probably the worst in terms of the way in which the side seemed to expect to lose the game. Players seemed pissed off with each other, they had no idea where or who to pass to and made Huddersfield appear to have a number of extra players on the pitch at any one time. They looked like small children playing against an adult team who were asking for a three goal start and could we have rush goalie? On the terraces the atmosphere was gallows humour and a desperate sense of resignation. From the posts on here I was expecting anger and bile hurled at the hapless Fraeye but it was as if we all knew this defeat would happen and could do as little to stop it as he could. At the final whistle I couldn't decide who I was the most angry with but I think it was a tie between Reza getting himself sent off on purpose. Stop his wages til he finds another club, and Vaz Te who clearly wasn't interested, made one challenge all game and then stormed off down the tunnel at the end. Also, thank you for your enquiry @RedChaser, as dates go it clearly wasn't great. Especially as the constant questioning of "Why are they singing and you're not?" and "You are normally quiet what's got into you?" mean this is a relationship unlikely to progress. At least she paid for the tickets....
You took her to see Charlton? In Huddersfield? On a DATE?Must have been a memory to treasure for her too..."darling, whatever else happens, we'll always have Huddersfield".
Well, just for a very tired SHG, here are my belated thoughts on last night's fiasco.
After a 1.7 mile hike to the Stadium from the pub where we were staying ( "It'll only take 30mins " from Mr F ) we took our seats only 10mins before KO so , in the time it took to find them, I didn't take much notice of the warm up. It was pretty nippy but our black & white scarves kept us warm....oh, plus that large glass of rose consumed at dinner (hic)
It was good to see Capt Courageous back & optimism at Callum's return helped to quell the feeling of doom which kept niggling away at me.
Clearly, in a totally opposite "game plan" , we were set up for a point, especially when it became abundantly clear that Vaz Te had already shown us his best several games ago and was now content to amble lazily around the pitch, sticking a leg out every so often to make it appear he was interested.
Not that he was the only player to deserve criticism .....Williams did little right for me, JBG was lacking in energy & ideas and Rojo did little more. So,when their 1st goal arrived ( why did it take them so long?) it was no surprise, although we didn't expect the deluge that followed.
Not worth dwelling on the rest of the match, TBH as it was abundantly clear that we wouldn't score in a month of Sundays. But I want to repeat what others there last night have already stated...we knew 10 mins before it happened that Reza was looking to be sent off. It took him several clumsy, rash tackles before a yellow was produced and maybe a couple more before he actually managed it ! My take on it was that he didn't fancy Hull in 4 days time ....and who could blame him. I'm certain he'd been coached by a certain Mr Mills who was determined not to miss Christmas with his family.
But also, we commented that JBG could NOT have exited the pitch any faster when he was subbed. It was like he had a firecracker down his shorts that was about to explode....IYKWIM ! ;-)
And so to the final whistle. Throughout the match we had been deafened by the continuous banging of the Town drum & the very noisy fans in the other section behind the goal. Very good support indeed and if orchestrated by their Club, well done. In contrast, throughout the 90+ minutes, our support was as quiet as I've ever (not) heard it. A couple of attempts at Valley Floyd Road withered & died like our attempts to attack and few of us bothered to take our frozen hands out of our pockets to clap ...not that there were many opportunities to do so. When their goals went in, we couldn't even react with audible groans such was the apathy & depression that emanated from our loyal but mad travellers. It was, in effect, a total non event.
When the whistle was finally blown to put a stop to the marauding Town & confirm their well deserved victory , the picture uppermost in my mind was a totally dejected Henders , facing his goalpost but looking down at his boots for some time as if he didn't know what to do. Clearly, together with JJ , Chris S & THD who made their usual point of coming over to clap us , he was devastated at the manner of this defeat - we know how you felt, Stephen. Most of the other players just headed for the Tunnel ....I'll let you draw your own conclusions. We responded with "polite" clapping but looking behind us, most of our fellow supporters had already exited their seats. No booing( well, maybe a little), no " Roland Out" or similar shouts - we were simply cold,numb & too depressed to bother.
We spoke to several long suffering fans on the way out of the ground, including Rock Spectacle & agreed that it's incredible that we still have fans that won't believe there's too much wrong at our Club. OK - maybe Saturday's capitulation to the nearly Div 2 Essex boys had a few more Addicks scratching their heads & last night's rout would have seen some more nervously checking the other Championship results but that would be that. I was aware of last night's meeting in SE7 and trusted in those attending to come up with the necessary plans for awareness & further protests leading up to the Blackburn game & I now know that they have come up trumps, as I knew they would. Together with the departure of KF ( or maybe we should start to refer Charlton managers by their number rather than name...ie no 5 "your time is up") and rumours of A N Other possibly turning down the post offered ( What ! Surely not!) much has happened over the past 24 hours. We KNOW that SHG has used 2 boxes of matches since late last night, but we DON'T know what plans are afoot on the managerial front....Have RD & KM been forced into a corner? Are they starting to crack ? Has Peter Varney been emailed at long last ? So many questions & we look forward to the answers with a renewed degree of optimism, I think.
But, whether Sir Alex has been coaxed from his Old Folks' Home to lead us into the light or Jose M is desperate to return to management by becoming our VERY Special One, it's clearly more than a management problem staring us in the face. Last night, the players looked devoid of ideas, spirit, camaraderie & energy - like empty shells ; players whose heads were so far down they could have licked their boots clean at the final whistle. Rumours of a tussle in the dressing room are very worrying and it will take one hell of an effort to lift them for the trip to Hull. I still maintain that 75% of what's so wrong on the pitch is not their fault and we all recognise the other important factors that have come together & which are out of their control. Whoever does come in ( and maybe RD will be forced to change his policy of a non Brit) will have a huge mountain to climb , that's blatantly obvious. Will he be allowed to bring in any more players of his choice or will he be told that's not part of the deal ? Only one man knows at this moment in time.
But, with the guidance of the CARD initiators, rest assured that all true Charlton supporters who care about not only the current season but also those seasons ahead, will fight tooth & nail to ensure that RD will not destroy our beloved Club.
We await our orders.
Support the team NOT the regime !
** Please note I have edited the above to read "I still maintain that 75% of what's so wrong on the pitch is NOT their fault" Apologies.
Comments
- Players fighting in the dressing room
- Gutless weasel of an 'interim head coach' sends out our shell-shocked GK to do the post-match
That's three new lows all in one evening.
Some random guy joined in and said 'Yeah it's a shambles down there at the minute, an absolute shambles. It's not my club but it's not right.'
Fair enough sentiment. Turned out he was a spanner. Decent bloke but honestly.
3 mins: we’re playing 4-1-4-1 – going to be defensive, but more sense than some of the recent suicidal formations, so not criticising KF for the set-up
15 mins: we’re offering nothing going forward – defensively we’re playing our system with discipline – could make it hard for Huddersfield to break down
17 mins (first goal): Fox allows their winger to turn past him so easily - gives him a free cross – very poor
40 mins: technically we’ve been very poor – they react much faster – are moving and thinking quicker than us – we didn’t collapse after the goal – have kept shape – could be worse
44 mins (second goal): cross from their right – Henderson comes for it – not under challenge – straightforward catch – oops, it’s slipped through his hands – played back in by H player and turned in by H player standing on goal-line – offside? – not given
HT: bit unlucky to be two down – any good points? – two central defenders have been solid – Poyet is the one player on our side who anticipates - most of theirs do
60 mins: getting a bit ragged at times – Williams is leaving his place in the middle 4 to get forward on occasion – can’t see the point – he doesn’t have the ability to do damage up there
62 mins (double sub): TH-D for MF – makes sense, Fox has been very poor – Reza for Williams – also makes sense – will mean we go to 4-4-2 – an attempt to find some attacking threat
70 mins: shape starting to go
Rest: all rational thought lost in the fog of despair
Final whistle – players wanting to be swallowed up by the ground – Vaz Te first down the tunnel – I am taking against him
Would love to know whats going on.
Clearly last night he had the same intention
He should never play for the club again
I've seen many defeats over the years but this was probably the worst in terms of the way in which the side seemed to expect to lose the game. Players seemed pissed off with each other, they had no idea where or who to pass to and made Huddersfield appear to have a number of extra players on the pitch at any one time. They looked like small children playing against an adult team who were asking for a three goal start and could we have rush goalie?
On the terraces the atmosphere was gallows humour and a desperate sense of resignation. From the posts on here I was expecting anger and bile hurled at the hapless Fraeye but it was as if we all knew this defeat would happen and could do as little to stop it as he could.
At the final whistle I couldn't decide who I was the most angry with but I think it was a tie between Reza getting himself sent off on purpose. Stop his wages til he finds another club, and Vaz Te who clearly wasn't interested, made one challenge all game and then stormed off down the tunnel at the end.
Also, thank you for your enquiry @RedChaser, as dates go it clearly wasn't great. Especially as the constant questioning of "Why are they singing and you're not?" and "You are normally quiet what's got into you?" mean this is a relationship unlikely to progress. At least she paid for the tickets....
Sad excuse of a cheating player. Never good enough for Charlton.
Can't they offer him to Cardiff and get Watt back?
They are making him player/manager.
19 years later I am happily married to her with three kids.
After a 1.7 mile hike to the Stadium from the pub where we were staying ( "It'll only take 30mins " from Mr F ) we took our seats only 10mins before KO so , in the time it took to find them, I didn't take much notice of the warm up. It was pretty nippy but our black & white scarves kept us warm....oh, plus that large glass of rose consumed at dinner (hic)
It was good to see Capt Courageous back & optimism at Callum's return helped to quell the feeling of doom which kept niggling away at me.
Clearly, in a totally opposite "game plan" , we were set up for a point, especially when it became abundantly clear that Vaz Te had already shown us his best several games ago and was now content to amble lazily around the pitch, sticking a leg out every so often to make it appear he was interested.
Not that he was the only player to deserve criticism .....Williams did little right for me, JBG was lacking in energy & ideas and Rojo did little more. So,when their 1st goal arrived ( why did it take them so long?) it was no surprise, although we didn't expect the deluge that followed.
Not worth dwelling on the rest of the match, TBH as it was abundantly clear that we wouldn't score in a month of Sundays. But I want to repeat what others there last night have already stated...we knew 10 mins before it happened that Reza was looking to be sent off. It took him several clumsy, rash tackles before a yellow was produced and maybe a couple more before he actually managed it ! My take on it was that he didn't fancy Hull in 4 days time ....and who could blame him. I'm certain he'd been coached by a certain Mr Mills who was determined not to miss Christmas with his family.
But also, we commented that JBG could NOT have exited the pitch any faster when he was subbed. It was like he had a firecracker down his shorts that was about to explode....IYKWIM ! ;-)
And so to the final whistle. Throughout the match we had been deafened by the continuous banging of the Town drum & the very noisy fans in the other section behind the goal. Very good support indeed and if orchestrated by their Club, well done. In contrast, throughout the 90+ minutes, our support was as quiet as I've ever (not) heard it. A couple of attempts at Valley Floyd Road withered & died like our attempts to attack and few of us bothered to take our frozen hands out of our pockets to clap ...not that there were many opportunities to do so. When their goals went in, we couldn't even react with audible groans such was the apathy & depression that emanated from our loyal but mad travellers. It was, in effect, a total non event.
When the whistle was finally blown to put a stop to the marauding Town & confirm their well deserved victory , the picture uppermost in my mind was a totally dejected Henders , facing his goalpost but looking down at his boots for some time as if he didn't know what to do. Clearly, together with JJ , Chris S & THD who made their usual point of coming over to clap us , he was devastated at the manner of this defeat - we know how you felt, Stephen. Most of the other players just headed for the Tunnel ....I'll let you draw your own conclusions. We responded with "polite" clapping but looking behind us, most of our fellow supporters had already exited their seats. No booing( well, maybe a little), no " Roland Out" or similar shouts - we were simply cold,numb & too depressed to bother.
We spoke to several long suffering fans on the way out of the ground, including Rock Spectacle & agreed that it's incredible that we still have fans that won't believe there's too much wrong at our Club. OK - maybe Saturday's capitulation to the nearly Div 2 Essex boys had a few more Addicks scratching their heads & last night's rout would have seen some more nervously checking the other Championship results but that would be that. I was aware of last night's meeting in SE7 and trusted in those attending to come up with the necessary plans for awareness & further protests leading up to the Blackburn game & I now know that they have come up trumps, as I knew they would. Together with the departure of KF ( or maybe we should start to refer Charlton managers by their number rather than name...ie no 5 "your time is up") and rumours of A N Other possibly turning down the post offered ( What ! Surely not!) much has happened over the past 24 hours. We KNOW that SHG has used 2 boxes of matches since late last night, but we DON'T know what plans are afoot on the managerial front....Have RD & KM been forced into a corner? Are they starting to crack ? Has Peter Varney been emailed at long last ? So many questions & we look forward to the answers with a renewed degree of optimism, I think.
But, whether Sir Alex has been coaxed from his Old Folks' Home to lead us into the light or Jose M is desperate to return to management by becoming our VERY Special One, it's clearly more than a management problem staring us in the face. Last night, the players looked devoid of ideas, spirit, camaraderie & energy - like empty shells ; players whose heads were so far down they could have licked their boots clean at the final whistle. Rumours of a tussle in the dressing room are very worrying and it will take one hell of an effort to lift them for the trip to Hull. I still maintain that 75% of what's so wrong on the pitch is not their fault and we all recognise the other important factors that have come together & which are out of their control. Whoever does come in ( and maybe RD will be forced to change his policy of a non Brit) will have a huge mountain to climb , that's blatantly obvious. Will he be allowed to bring in any more players of his choice or will he be told that's not part of the deal ? Only one man knows at this moment in time.
But, with the guidance of the CARD initiators, rest assured that all true Charlton supporters who care about not only the current season but also those seasons ahead, will fight tooth & nail to ensure that RD will not destroy our beloved Club.
We await our orders.
Support the team NOT the regime !
** Please note I have edited the above to read "I still maintain that 75% of what's so wrong on the pitch is NOT their fault" Apologies.