The more you think about the state of this club and what's gone on in the past and what is happening now the more I talk myself into believing this club is well and truly fucked.
Oh dear Karl, this is really is one massive cock-up of an interview on every level. You interchangeably went from depressed, speechless and frustrated to jovial and humorous. That is not normal.
I am totally confused by the criticism of the 40% of players when you then go on to name all of the top players as either (1) unavailable (2) putting a shift in or (3) having an acceptable off-day.
I don't get the 'too many have been getting away with it for too long' and 'dead-wood' comments when, as others have said, they are all relatively new to the club and include some of his signings. Apart for Mavididi (now gone from us) and Holmes, Konsa and Aribo, I have seen nobody else worthy of praise this season but blame your ability to get players to perform as much, if not more, than them for the abject displays this year.
I rarely agree with Katrien but she is right to state that we should be expecting 50 goals a season from th signing of Ajose, Novak, Magennis and re-signed Watt. How many times will be see failing strikers leave the club only to feature week in, week out on the score sheet at their next club. It's ludicrous.
For me, the club is now rotten to the core. I am desperate for it to change but am struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I just hope that I am wrong in my cynical view that Roland's payday comes from selling estate assets as a result of the failing of my beloved CAFC.
Putting aside the issues of the ownership we have had far too many players under-performing and that includes the likes of Solly and JJ let alone those who he claims are not giving their all.
We cannot keep on blaming the manager who may have made mistakes it is clear that the desire from some players is definitely lacking.
He cannot either be in a position of "Naming and shaming" of those he suspects as it would decrease their value or attraction from another club (at the end of the season)
Putting aside the issues of the ownership we have had far too many players under-performing and that includes the likes of Solly and JJ let alone those who he claims are not giving their all.
We cannot keep on blaming the manager who may have made mistakes it is clear that the desire from some players is definitely lacking.
He cannot either be in a position of "Naming and shaming" of those he suspects as it would decrease their value or attraction from another club (at the end of the season)
Too many loan players as well
Why do we need to put aside the issue with the ownership, the club is rotten from the top down, the top being the owners the bottom being the players. You do not need to be a genius to work out what the atmosphere must be like around the ground and the admin staff.
In all my 49 years of supporting Charlton I have never heard some of the accusations being banded about mentioned before, players used to be proud to wear the shirt and put in a shift for the owner, manager and tea lady.
Still - in 5 years when it's all a distant memory we can look back on results like the Shrewsbury game and remember how dark it was - and then revel in in the 27,111 sell outs once again under Manager Johnnie Jackson as he leads us to victory against reigning champions West Brom.
Now - where did I leave that massive pile of drugs I was taking earlier
Still - in 5 years when it's all a distant memory we can look back on results like the Shrewsbury game and remember how dark it was - and then revel in in the 27,111 sell outs once again under Manager Johnnie Jackson as he leads us to victory against reigning champions West Brom.
Now - where did I leave that massive pile of drugs I was taking earlier
Still - in 5 years when it's all a distant memory we can look back on results like the Shrewsbury game and remember how dark it was - and then revel in in the 2,111 sell outs at The Duchatalet New Valley under manager Karel Fraeye Junior as he leads us to victory against National League South reigning champions Concord Rangers.
My suggestion to Robinson would be to apologise for his comments to the players today, explaining that he was hurting and he doesn't believe them. He has to find a way to take them with him for the remaining games. This is the time to get as much experience as you can out on the pitch, not bring in more youngsters!
I think there is probably some truth to what he is saying. This group of players shouldn't be doing this badly and that's under two separate managers both of whom have decentish records for this league. That said he clearly thinks he has not contributed at all to the problems the club is going through at the moment when in reality he has to take some blame. He'd get a lot more sympathy if he admitted that he has made some cock ups. There's a big difference in saying "the place is a shambles and it's all the players' fault and nothing to do with me" to saying "the place is a shambles, I have to take some of the responsibility but so do many of these players".
I find this all so immensely saddening and frustrating. I rarely if ever criticise any professional coach or manager, especially where the executive have blatantly denied them the required support.
We are on another poor run of form. In such circumstances any workplace and notably a football clubhouse can be very difficult. Dissenting voices, whispers in corners, the pointing of fingers are all too commonplace.
It is the responsibility of the head person in the clubhouse to dispel not promote such division. Everybody muttering under the breath or not needs to pull in the same direction.
One thing you learn in training as a teacher, is when you have a bad lesson, the teacher does not get to blame the pupils. The teacher is the adult in the room.
I strongly recommend our manager reflects on that very basic principle.
I suspect one problem is indeed those players who have played for PL and Champions League clubs. They will have expectations in terms of the quality of the professional staff.
So when they view the tactics being pursued in relation to the players available then they will challenge the coaches and managers. It is part and parcel of a "grown up" working environment. It tests your metal and ability as a manager and coach.
The football clubhouse is an unforgiving environment when you are consistently failing - if you are not up to the task - you will be found out.
I could opine on any number of dissatisfied players but people generally do not go to work to fail. So it is no good talking about 10 v 10 battles if you have not regularly structured the players within a system and style which supports and complements their strengths and weaknesses.
The challenge is not that 7 "battles" were lost - it is why they were lost.
Last nights squad contained 5 loans, 6 players in the first full season and "7 senior professionals."
So you sit down with your coaches and the individual players and the game video and work out why they lost their "battles". Then you can decide to challenge their professional commitment to the cause.
In such circumstances you need say nothing publicly. Lock the dressing room door, bring them in for extra training, sit them down and sort it out.
The next team sheet will say it all.
Mr Robinson you can either get the job done, as is, or you cannot. No excuses, no finger pointing, no deflection, no ifs or buts or maybe's or spin.
You need say nothing more.
The results of your efforts will speak for themselves. Pray god they at least speak to next season being in League 1.
My suggestion to Robinson would be to apologise for his comments to the players today, explaining that he was hurting and he doesn't believe them. He has to find a way to take them with him for the remaining games. This is the time to get as much experience as you can out on the pitch, not bring in more youngsters!
I can see what your saying Mutts because we want all the players on board for the run in but there's no way he can apologise. He's made his bed now and needs to see his actions through otherwise what little credibility he had left in the game will be completely gone.
He'll have to drop those who are swinging the lead and go with what's left, far from ideal but he has no other option. His position is untenable for the whole squad to remain available for selection IMO.
After thinking this over last night and seeing the interview with Karl and jj I have soften a bit.
Although Karl could learn from the way jj got the same message out in a controled way, you can see he is angry with something and without knowing the details it's hard to judge if he is right to say what he has said.
I just fear that short term too much damage has done to get him through the summer to get rid of the ones who don't care.
Northampton will be very telling both in team selection and performance
We keep saying that we can't get any lower but somehow we seem to achieve it each week. I keep thinking the sun might shine tomorrow but it hasn't done for a few years. How sad.
Still - in 5 years when it's all a distant memory we can look back on results like the Shrewsbury game and remember how dark it was - and then revel in in the 27,111 sell outs once again under Manager Johnnie Jackson as he leads us to victory against reigning champions West Brom.
Now - where did I leave that massive pile of drugs I was taking earlier
I think there is probably some truth to what he is saying. This group of players shouldn't be doing this badly and that's under two separate managers both of whom have decentish records for this league. That said he clearly thinks he has not contributed at all to the problems the club is going through at the moment when in reality he has to take some blame. He'd get a lot more sympathy if he admitted that he has made some cock ups. There's a big difference in saying "the place is a shambles and it's all the players' fault and nothing to do with me" to saying "the place is a shambles, I have to take some of the responsibility but so do many of these players".
I think there is probably some truth to what he is saying. This group of players shouldn't be doing this badly and that's under two separate managers both of whom have decentish records for this league. That said he clearly thinks he has not contributed at all to the problems the club is going through at the moment when in reality he has to take some blame. He'd get a lot more sympathy if he admitted that he has made some cock ups. There's a big difference in saying "the place is a shambles and it's all the players' fault and nothing to do with me" to saying "the place is a shambles, I have to take some of the responsibility but so do many of these players".
The main issue with that interview is it's not as if he can make sweeping changes for the next game. That squad last night is pretty much all we have available, so unless he's going to play more kids, then he has to pick from exactly the same bunch again at the weekend.
Putting aside the issues of the ownership we have had far too many players under-performing and that includes the likes of Solly and JJ let alone those who he claims are not giving their all.
We cannot keep on blaming the manager who may have made mistakes it is clear that the desire from some players is definitely lacking.
He cannot either be in a position of "Naming and shaming" of those he suspects as it would decrease their value or attraction from another club (at the end of the season)
Too many loan players as well
You mention the likes of Solly and JJ. Can you honestly blame them for not giving their all?
They are the last 2 from Powell era. How many shit managers and teams mates have they seen come and go Post Powell?
Make no mistake, if JJ was 4 or 5 years younger he would have been gone long ago. If Solly could pass a medical somewhere else he wouldn't be here either.
Yes, they are paid to do a job, but it must be soul destroying to turn up to training each day, be trained by god knows how many different coaches and inept managers. Then on a match day turn up play in front of 7000 home fans, knowing it should be at least double that....but it isn't because of the amount of supporters stay away because they can't bear to be associated with a club that's cancer ridden and being run in to the ground.
5 mins of listening to Jimmy Tarbuck and I'd lose the will to live, let alone go out and perform for him.
As for blaming the manager. Maybe he should put up or shut up.
He seems to be clinging on for dear life. He's looking for a mass clear out in the summer but given his purchasing and recruitment thus far I'm not sure he can be trusted with a war chest of cash.
I want to believe in him, I really do, but I fear it's more for my love of the club than it is a love of KR.
Putting aside the issues of the ownership we have had far too many players under-performing and that includes the likes of Solly and JJ let alone those who he claims are not giving their all.
We cannot keep on blaming the manager who may have made mistakes it is clear that the desire from some players is definitely lacking.
He cannot either be in a position of "Naming and shaming" of those he suspects as it would decrease their value or attraction from another club (at the end of the season)
Too many loan players as well
You mention the likes of Solly and JJ. Can you honestly blame them for not giving their all?
They are the last 2 from Powell era. How many shit managers and teams mates have they seen come and go Post Powell?
Make no mistake, if JJ was 4 or 5 years younger he would have been gone long ago. If Solly could pass a medical somewhere else he wouldn't be here either.
Yes, they are paid to do a job, but it must be soul destroying to turn up to training each day, be trained by god knows how many different coaches and inept managers. Then on a match day turn up play in front of 7000 home fans, knowing it should be at least double that....but it isn't because of the amount of supporters stay away because they can't bear to be associated with a club that's cancer ridden and being run in to the ground.
5 mins of listening to Jimmy Tarbuck and I'd lose the will to live, let alone go out and perform for him.
As for blaming the manager. Maybe he should put up or shut up.
Actually I would blame Solly and Jackson if they were not giving their all. They certainly must be hugely disapointed at the circumstances surrounding the whole club but they get handsomely paid for doing a job that we all just dream about.
In any case I don't think it's Solly and Jackson that are the problem.
He seems to be clinging on for dear life. He's looking for a mass clear out in the summer but given his purchasing and recruitment thus far I'm not sure he can be trusted with a war chest of cash.
I want to believe in him, I really do, but I fear it's more for my love of the club than it is a love of KR.
Really not sure where we go from here
Excatly this.
Whatever he thinks of the players he needs them to ensure they pick up at least 2/3 win before the end of the season to avoid the drop.
You can only play the 'openly criticizing' card once or twice. I think he has used his final one already. I would start worrying about next season after he gets those wins because if it carries on as its going then he won't even get to next season.
If he survives a defeat on Saturday and the protest in Belgium I expect he will stay until at least the end of the season.
Grapevine is right. Footballers like a moan at all levels and you can't keep them all happy. But to accuse them of not trying is crossing a line. There may be all sorts of reasons they are not performing and it is far better to have individual conversations with players. Some may be thinking - does he mean me?
Oh dear, what a mess. This has the hallmarks of KR preparing for his inevitable departure by letting the wider footballing world know that this shambles is not of his making. Trouble is, some of it is of his making.
He has been shown up in his time at Charlton as being a naive and inflexible manager. Contrast with the classy way in which Nugent conducted himself in his all-too-short time as caretaker.
But as he's our manager right now (unless anything has changed as I've been typing this), we must hope that he is able to turn it around enough to keep our League One status. He needs to make peace with some of the players and show some flexibility in his tactics. I'm not convinced that he will.
Incredible that it has come to this: the start of March, and we're desperately hoping that we will still be in League One next season
I think Tex is the problem - not sure exactly why, but KR mentions Lennon and Pearce - almost as if he would rather have them in place of Bauer and Tex. Pearce is OK but Lennon has not been at his best this season.
Not sure Bauer and Rudd get on all that well either.
I think Tex is the problem - not sure exactly why, but KR mentions Lennon and Pearce - almost as if he would rather have them in place of Bauer and Tex. Pearce is OK but Lennon has not been at his best this season.
Not sure Bauer and Rudd get on all that well either.
I know Bauer hasn't been at his best of late (who has?) but if Tarbuck thinks Lennon is a better option than him or Tex then he's an even bigger clown than we thought.
He probably thinks he's talking about another scouser - John Lennon.
Comments
I am totally confused by the criticism of the 40% of players when you then go on to name all of the top players as either (1) unavailable (2) putting a shift in or (3) having an acceptable off-day.
I don't get the 'too many have been getting away with it for too long' and 'dead-wood' comments when, as others have said, they are all relatively new to the club and include some of his signings. Apart for Mavididi (now gone from us) and Holmes, Konsa and Aribo, I have seen nobody else worthy of praise this season but blame your ability to get players to perform as much, if not more, than them for the abject displays this year.
I rarely agree with Katrien but she is right to state that we should be expecting 50 goals a season from th signing of Ajose, Novak, Magennis and re-signed Watt. How many times will be see failing strikers leave the club only to feature week in, week out on the score sheet at their next club. It's ludicrous.
For me, the club is now rotten to the core. I am desperate for it to change but am struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I just hope that I am wrong in my cynical view that Roland's payday comes from selling estate assets as a result of the failing of my beloved CAFC.
Gutted.
Putting aside the issues of the ownership we have had far too many players under-performing and that includes the likes of Solly and JJ let alone those who he claims are not giving their all.
We cannot keep on blaming the manager who may have made mistakes it is clear that the desire from some players is definitely lacking.
He cannot either be in a position of "Naming and shaming" of those he suspects as it would decrease their value or attraction from another club (at the end of the season)
Too many loan players as well
In all my 49 years of supporting Charlton I have never heard some of the accusations being banded about mentioned before, players used to be proud to wear the shirt and put in a shift for the owner, manager and tea lady.
Now - where did I leave that massive pile of drugs I was taking earlier
We are on another poor run of form. In such circumstances any workplace and notably a football clubhouse can be very difficult. Dissenting voices, whispers in corners, the pointing of fingers are all too commonplace.
It is the responsibility of the head person in the clubhouse to dispel not promote such division. Everybody muttering under the breath or not needs to pull in the same direction.
One thing you learn in training as a teacher, is when you have a bad lesson, the teacher does not get to blame the pupils. The teacher is the adult in the room.
I strongly recommend our manager reflects on that very basic principle.
I suspect one problem is indeed those players who have played for PL and Champions League clubs. They will have expectations in terms of the quality of the professional staff.
So when they view the tactics being pursued in relation to the players available then they will challenge the coaches and managers. It is part and parcel of a "grown up" working environment. It tests your metal and ability as a manager and coach.
The football clubhouse is an unforgiving environment when you are consistently failing - if you are not up to the task - you will be found out.
I could opine on any number of dissatisfied players but people generally do not go to work to fail. So it is no good talking about 10 v 10 battles if you have not regularly structured the players within a system and style which supports and complements their strengths and weaknesses.
The challenge is not that 7 "battles" were lost - it is why they were lost.
Last nights squad contained 5 loans, 6 players in the first full season and "7 senior professionals."
So you sit down with your coaches and the individual players and the game video and work out why they lost their "battles". Then you can decide to challenge their professional commitment to the cause.
In such circumstances you need say nothing publicly. Lock the dressing room door, bring them in for extra training, sit them down and sort it out.
The next team sheet will say it all.
Mr Robinson you can either get the job done, as is, or you cannot. No excuses, no finger pointing, no deflection, no ifs or buts or maybe's or spin.
You need say nothing more.
The results of your efforts will speak for themselves. Pray god they at least speak to next season being in League 1.
He'll have to drop those who are swinging the lead and go with what's left, far from ideal but he has no other option. His position is untenable for the whole squad to remain available for selection IMO.
Although Karl could learn from the way jj got the same message out in a controled way, you can see he is angry with something and without knowing the details it's hard to judge if he is right to say what he has said.
I just fear that short term too much damage has done to get him through the summer to get rid of the ones who don't care.
Northampton will be very telling both in team selection and performance
Every time you speak you're full of shit
You don't get it
Just shut your mouth Karl Robinson
No-one believes a single word you say
Just go away
Hey hey hey
(with apologies to Simon and Garfunkle)
He did state that he must take some of the blame
They are the last 2 from Powell era. How many shit managers and teams mates have they seen come and go Post Powell?
Make no mistake, if JJ was 4 or 5 years younger he would have been gone long ago. If Solly could pass a medical somewhere else he wouldn't be here either.
Yes, they are paid to do a job, but it must be soul destroying to turn up to training each day, be trained by god knows how many different coaches and inept managers. Then on a match day turn up play in front of 7000 home fans, knowing it should be at least double that....but it isn't because of the amount of supporters stay away because they can't bear to be associated with a club that's cancer ridden and being run in to the ground.
5 mins of listening to Jimmy Tarbuck and I'd lose the will to live, let alone go out and perform for him.
As for blaming the manager. Maybe he should put up or shut up.
In any case I don't think it's Solly and Jackson that are the problem.
Whatever he thinks of the players he needs them to ensure they pick up at least 2/3 win before the end of the season to avoid the drop.
You can only play the 'openly criticizing' card once or twice. I think he has used his final one already. I would start worrying about next season after he gets those wins because if it carries on as its going then he won't even get to next season.
If he survives a defeat on Saturday and the protest in Belgium I expect he will stay until at least the end of the season.
He has been shown up in his time at Charlton as being a naive and inflexible manager. Contrast with the classy way in which Nugent conducted himself in his all-too-short time as caretaker.
But as he's our manager right now (unless anything has changed as I've been typing this), we must hope that he is able to turn it around enough to keep our League One status. He needs to make peace with some of the players and show some flexibility in his tactics. I'm not convinced that he will.
Incredible that it has come to this: the start of March, and we're desperately hoping that we will still be in League One next season
Not sure Bauer and Rudd get on all that well either.
He probably thinks he's talking about another scouser - John Lennon.