Not sure I agree with the comments about us "not being good enough". We kept the nucleus of the team that won promotion: Phillips, Solly, Pratley, Pearce, Lapslie, Taylor, Sarr, Cullen, Williams, Purrington, Forster-Caskey, Morgan. Between July and September we added 11 more, and they were a fair mix of experience, quality and potential. We also kept Bowyer and Jackson. All of that and the natural momentum from coming up made me feel right through to the last few games that we would probably be ok, whatever the dealings off the pitch.
Given we ended up going down on the final day of the season by a margin of 2 points...I think we're looking at some very specific reasons for this relegation:
(1) Taylor clearing off and refusing to complete the season - completely self-inflicted, and the most selfish decision taken by a Charlton player in living memory
(2) The loss of Gallagher - something we had no control over
(3) The throwing away of the January transfer window, by the clowns who "owned" the club at that point - completely self-inflicted
(4) We lost 17 games by a margin of 1 goal (and drew another 12 matches). That's 63% of our fixtures. Many of these were after we took the lead as well. Are we really sure that the team was always set up effectively at the start of these games? I'm not sure it always was...we often seemed to finish with a stronger XI after bringing on substitutes on the hour but not managing to get back in the game. No fingers pointed here, and no blame attributed, but could we not have dragged 3 extra points out of the season from these fixtures?
Very frustrating. I fear for the clubs future.
An excellent post. Well summed up at this difficult time. Simon, have you ever tried ranting? Admire your measured assessment and erudite observations, but this seems such an appropriate moment to go for it! Let the anger flow!
Done my share of ranting in other areas about other things...but can't see where that gets us now. We need to be focused on the reality. The current "owners" have until 2025 to purchase the ground and training ground...but I've no idea they will do so. Will they invest in a strong squad for 2020-2021? I'd hesitate to think they will. I can see a real struggle ensuing to stay in the League structure.
Have to add one point of sympathy for the job Bowyer and the players have done this year. Looking back over the last 7 seasons, 48 points would have been enough to keep us up in all but one of them. In fact, most of the time anything over 40-41 would be enough to avoid relegation. Really frustrating.
Have to add one point of sympathy for the job Bowyer and the players have done this year. Looking back over the last 7 seasons, 48 points would have been enough to keep us up in all but one of them. In fact, most of the time anything over 40-41 would be enough to avoid relegation. Really frustrating.
Yep, there are many ways the dice have been loaded against us this season, but the bottom line is we probably just needed to score one more goal in the right match, and we did have some really really good chances to do that, and we’d be staying up. We should’ve stayed up despite all the other stuff that has gone against us.
There is very little to say about that game, other than it’s the most comprehensively I’ve seen Charlton outclassed - from start to finish - for many years. Leeds, restoring seven first teamers to the line up, were rested, fluent and on an entirely different level.
The ownership situation is critical, as there is a real question as to whether the EFL will allow us to start next season if the pretend ‘owners’ haven’t got the money to see the next season or two out. I doubt that the present bunch have a pot to piss in (metaphorically or physically) and I do wonder if the wages last month were funded by some kind of loan with a hugely prohibitive interest rate, which will come back to bite us.
One tiny (and I do mean tiny) sliver of hope in finishing third from bottom (subject to Wigan’s hopeless appeal) is Sheffield Wednesday’s potential points penalty of at least 9 points, given that they finished only 8 ahead of us. Their disciplinary hearing concluded around 3 weeks ago and the verdict should be imminent - although we’ve all heard that before. According to the BBC, Wednesday have 2 weeks to appeal from the date of the verdict and the appeal must then be heard within 21 days - so a period of 5 weeks. However, with further time elapsing before any appeal verdict is announced and with Sky demanding fixtures for TV, the ultimate determination will almost certainly run into next season.
In short, I think that Wednesday will, in all probability, be able to kick the can down the road and that Chalton are buggered.
To be fair, when you’re really second bottom on points gained, you can’t really complain too much, albeit that 48 would have kept us up in most seasons. As the great Lennie Lawrence said, there are no false positions after 42 games (as it was in his day). It was mighty close but Luton and Barnsley delivered when it mattered and we wound up with 7 games without a win.
Bowyer did well to keep us in with a shout but multiple obstacles over the last year proved too great in the end. He’s had a ton of crap to contend with. Duchâtelet was an awful owner but the next bunch of chancers have been even worse. Unless we get some decent owners in pronto, I feel that Bowyer will be off. It will be very hard and demoralising for him to start again, especially with the few decent players we have - Phillips, Doughty and Mathews (a free agent anyway) - likely to leave.
I can only see two conceivable consolations amidst tonight’s misery:
first, Roland will not be collecting his contractual £1.5 million bonus from ESI for the club staying up. In reality, of course, ESI would almost certainly never have paid this and it might (but probably wouldn’t) have helped Duchâtelet to understand that his £50 million deal for the Valley and the training ground is a total fantasy; and
secondly, at least there will be no difficulty in social distancing at The Valley in League 1, if and when supporters are eventually allowed back in. I think we’ll relocate to an obscure wing of the East Stand (maybe the infamous Block A) where we can have access our own private washroom.
Let's hope that the club can survive this latest blow and the potentially lethal cocktail of Duchatelet, ESI and the EFL.
Literally one goal would have been the difference in us staying up. Like the goal we scored but had chalked off against Reading. Or any of the penalty appeals we missed out on. Or not conceding in the 90+ minute seemingly every other week.
I don't want another season in League one the football is appalling. That Leeds team today played some lovely stuff. That is what we should be aspiring to.
Waking up in the cold light of day , one thing that stands out is that the 3 sides which have gone down in the end all have had shit shows of owners. Same as with Watford in the prem , it will catch up with you in the end of you dont run your club well.
Woke up feeling like I have a hangover ffs we were fuckin pony for ages and still could have got out of it but in all honesty didn’t deserve to , as a football club we are a shambles
Maybe the situation will flush out of the scene the potential buyers ESI were waiting on and allow Varney and Barclay to take over at a reasonable price. They have come in and done immense damage. But Roland needs to get real. His lack of reality created this situation and is allowing it to continue. If we get rid of these cnuts and have decent owners we will be back.
It would be helpful for the Wednesday situation to be clarified one way or the other as if there is going to be some sanity from these pricks, they need to know we are down. Maybe it is better we go down in the long run if we get rid of them. Duchatelet, Nimer, Southall et all should be ashamed of themselves.
League 1 looks tough next season Sunderland Ipswich Posh Pompey Wigan Hull Oxford think we're do well to compete with that lot given were under a transfer embargo
I don't want another season in League one the football is appalling. That Leeds team today played some lovely stuff. That is what we should be aspiring to.
Surprising what you can do when you hire one of the worlds best managers, have a wage bill of nearly 50m, get top premier league youngsters on loan and have strikers worth 10m+.
Couldn’t watch after the 3rd went in. Leeds absolutely tore us apart could have been any score they wanted. Haven’t seen us that outclassed and outfought in a long time. It was painful to see us being comfortably taken apart from a team who had nothing to play for.
Been awake all night, couldn't sleep and feel awful this morning. I kept telling myself there's a glimmer of hope that the EFL will do the right thing and dock Sheff We'd for cheating, but those TWATS don't have the balls do they?
Comments
Done my share of ranting in other areas about other things...but can't see where that gets us now. We need to be focused on the reality. The current "owners" have until 2025 to purchase the ground and training ground...but I've no idea they will do so. Will they invest in a strong squad for 2020-2021? I'd hesitate to think they will. I can see a real struggle ensuing to stay in the League structure.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-boss-lee-bowyer-we-had-a-chance-of-staying-up-and-we-never-grabbed-it/
There is very little to say about that game, other than it’s the most comprehensively I’ve seen Charlton outclassed - from start to finish - for many years. Leeds, restoring seven first teamers to the line up, were rested, fluent and on an entirely different level.
The ownership situation is critical, as there is a real question as to whether the EFL will allow us to start next season if the pretend ‘owners’ haven’t got the money to see the next season or two out. I doubt that the present bunch have a pot to piss in (metaphorically or physically) and I do wonder if the wages last month were funded by some kind of loan with a hugely prohibitive interest rate, which will come back to bite us.
One tiny (and I do mean tiny) sliver of hope in finishing third from bottom (subject to Wigan’s hopeless appeal) is Sheffield Wednesday’s potential points penalty of at least 9 points, given that they finished only 8 ahead of us. Their disciplinary hearing concluded around 3 weeks ago and the verdict should be imminent - although we’ve all heard that before. According to the BBC, Wednesday have 2 weeks to appeal from the date of the verdict and the appeal must then be heard within 21 days - so a period of 5 weeks. However, with further time elapsing before any appeal verdict is announced and with Sky demanding fixtures for TV, the ultimate determination will almost certainly run into next season.
In short, I think that Wednesday will, in all probability, be able to kick the can down the road and that Chalton are buggered.
To be fair, when you’re really second bottom on points gained, you can’t really complain too much, albeit that 48 would have kept us up in most seasons. As the great Lennie Lawrence said, there are no false positions after 42 games (as it was in his day). It was mighty close but Luton and Barnsley delivered when it mattered and we wound up with 7 games without a win.
I can only see two conceivable consolations amidst tonight’s misery:
- first, Roland will not be collecting his contractual £1.5 million bonus from ESI for the club staying up. In reality, of course, ESI would almost certainly never have paid this and it might (but probably wouldn’t) have helped Duchâtelet to understand that his £50 million deal for the Valley and the training ground is a total fantasy; and
- secondly, at least there will be no difficulty in social distancing at The Valley in League 1, if and when supporters are eventually allowed back in. I think we’ll relocate to an obscure wing of the East Stand (maybe the infamous Block A) where we can have access our own private washroom.
Let's hope that the club can survive this latest blow and the potentially lethal cocktail of Duchatelet, ESI and the EFL.We surely must face the brutal reality of our situation with an unswerving hope for the future if we are to have any chance
Thanks Lee and Jacko and team for exemplifying the clubs values when successive owners have done anything but !!
we were fuckin pony for ages and still could have got out of it but in all honesty didn’t deserve to , as a football club we are a shambles
It would be helpful for the Wednesday situation to be clarified one way or the other as if there is going to be some sanity from these pricks, they need to know we are down. Maybe it is better we go down in the long run if we get rid of them. Duchatelet, Nimer, Southall et all should be ashamed of themselves.