It’s definitely not the worst team I’ve ever seen because if we had our strikers fit then it would be a half decent team . ( still not good enough to go up though ) . I do think we aren’t out of the woods as regards relegation yet but if we get two of our strikers back soon then we will be fine .
It’s the sheer predictability and repetition that gets me. We continue to sign has-beens, crocks and misfits. Time after time. We continue to have the worst injury record imaginable. Time after time. We continue to play countless players out of position. Time after time. We have nepotistic owners (allegedly) fiddling beyond their expertise. Time after time. I’m beginning to feel like Cindy Lauper here! This may or not be the worst team ever (it’s certainly in the top 3 in my memory). But we are becoming habitually shite. From top to bottom we are a pile of poo. And we’ve got used to it. How did we manage to throw away everything so quickly from the crest of the wave we were on in May 2019? It’s only three years ago. Look at the team we had. Roland was on his bike. 40000 Addicks at Wemberlee. It was a blip. Our moment in the sun. We’ve reverted to type in spectacular fashion. Apathy abounds. Is it the worst team ever? Or is this just normal?
I'll check the records tomorrow, but let's cut to the chase.
An inept bunch of mediocre League 1 players. We can look forward to another few years of the sicknote that is Tommy Cooper (aka Aneke) and the lump that is DJ.
Gallen needs to be replaced ... for every Gallagher, Cullen and Bielik, he has provided Smith, another Smith, Bogle and ... well, you make up your own list.
There is little or no empathy between the fans and this current squad.
Worst team ever? I don't know ... maybe.
But that's hardly the point. Sandgaard has underdelivered spectacularly on all fronts. No competitive team on the pitch and a failure to acquire our main assets.
He hasn't bought the Club ... he has inherited the debts and running costs ... and he will not find additional investment as there is nothing to invest in.
And here's another thing ... if I was an employee at Zynex, I'd be less than impressed that my CEO was swanning around Europe playing at football director while my Company's share price was plummeting.
Get your act together, Sandgaard. Everything you touch is turning to lead.
For me, not the worst in terms of pure miserable failure, that was the 08/09 shower that finished bottom of the Championship when they were supposed to be pushing for promotion back to the Premier League. A squad featuring players who went on to play in the Premier League or have decent Football League careers not long after just waving teams through for free wins. Think we were 12 points off safety that season. In terms of squad quality, it's the 10/11 team. Abbott, Sodje, McCormack, Nouble, Worner, Fry. Just despicable. That team at least had a bit of justification though, there was absolutely no money at the time, and when Powell came in while it was abject, you could at least see what he was trying to do, the players just weren't good enough to do it. It was no wonder Michael Stewart looked the best player, because he'd at least been drilled in the Manchester United academy and understood what Powell was getting at. All that setup needed was the right players, and we got them. This squad I can't really get my head round. The 10/11 team would have been infinitely better if it had had just two or three of the players we have now. I don't even think these players lack effort, they lack imagination, and then when there's no imagination they don't even seem to have a plan to fall back on. I really do think there's a core coaching issue at the club. I love Jackson but you can all but guarantee if we sacked all these players tomorrow they'd go on to be immediately successful at better-run squads. We've become a place that footballers go to torpedo their careers for a little bit. I honestly do think we'll ruin Scott Fraser and turn him into a two-dimensional bystander, just like we converted Stockley, DJ, Famewo, Lee, Gilbey and Kirk into shadows of themselves, often after bright starts. Those we don't destroy we cripple. It's really weird.
I've been supporting Charlton for 60 years now and during that time I have seen some really good teams and some pretty bad ones. The team that was relegated in 71/72 towards the end, displayed the same lack of motivation that we are seeing today, which considering just a couple of years before were very unlucky not to get promoted to the old first division. As a supporter I always thought that your team should have one player that you look forward to watching, whether that be Stuart Leary back in the day or Lyle Taylor recently. Teams need a talisman, somebody who the crowd loves and this motivates the other players. Who is the talisman in this team today? Certainly the best and most consistent player is George Dobson, but does he get the pulse racing? Not really he does the hard yards and the housework but he doesn't set the game alight. This is a team with no real leaders, you need more than one, lacks a cutting edge both from midfield and up front and cannot defend, allied to a goalie who not only can't catch but seems reluctant to try. I ask myself why it is that we seem to have big squads but suffer inordinately from injuries? The team that Chris Powell achieved 101 with was more or less the same every week, injuries were few and far between. Yet a few years on our run in The Championship in 2019/2020 was largely derailed by continuous and onerous injuries to key players. What is it that we are not doing? because it must be something, other teams do not appear to lurch from injury crisis to injury crisis like we do. So in conclusion I find it hard to say whether this is the worst team I have seen at The Valley, although league position would suggest it is, but it is certainly up there with the very worst and not improving.
The thing that really gets me down is just how boring and tedious the whole thing is. I find it increasingly difficult to give a shit any more. I don't feel disappointed when we lose, but I don't even feel that happy or excited when we (somehow) win either.
The whole season (and arguably for a while before that) has just become a purely joyless trudge to grind out just enough points to stay safe, and even then its barely on merit and more about there somehow being enough teams even worse than we are.
We can all have our ideas about how things could be improved, but hand on heart I really don't think they will. The Roland years were awful but I cared because I felt connected to the club that the Belgian lunatic was slowly throttling to death. Now? I. Just. Don't. Care.
I think it's the worst and the least fun I've had going to watch Charlton. There is not one player I look forward to watching.
The 16/17 season although was a low placed finish had some quality players in it. Lookman, Konsa, Bauer, Holmes among others. The next bad one was 10/11 season and you had some v good players there. Jackson, Wagstaff, Wright Phillips, Semedo, Francis.
It's so boring to watch.
I've never known the fanbase to be so apathetic. It's awful down there.
The unease, anger and disappointment is tangible in the supporters around us. A vicious circle and joyless experience. Season ticket sales must surely plummet at a post covid time when we all wanted something to cheer. Something better change.
The issue TS has is that attendances will start for fall off a cliff. The amount of people on here ( appreciate it is only a small sample of overall support ) that are saying that they cannot bring themselves to go and watch the matches at the moment will be ringing alarm bells. I'm down for work next week and would normally without doubt 100% go to the Sunderland game. However I'm leaning towards not bothering as tbh like most I think we all know what too expect and I honestly dont think I need to put myself through it.
If I and others are thinking along these lines then it wont be long until TS starts to ring some changes
What I don't understand though, every season we seem to have a major injury crisis, are we just unlucky, do all teams have one?
Yes all teams do have injury issues at times for sure but I think ours are made worse by the fact that we do like to sign a player that has "history" of injuries. When a player like Lavelle gets injured and is out for 3 months after never having been injured in his career so far that is unlucky. When a player like Chuks picks up an injury that is just odds on to happen pretty often. We need to stop signing players with these constant issues it doesnt matter how good they are if the likes of Innis & Chuks are unavailable half of the time whats the point ?
The thing that really gets me down is just how boring and tedious the whole thing is. I find it increasingly difficult to give a shit any more. I don't feel disappointed when we lose, but I don't even feel that happy or excited when we (somehow) win either.
The whole season (and arguably for a while before that) has just become a purely joyless trudge to grind out just enough points to stay safe, and even then its barely on merit and more about there somehow being enough teams even worse than we are.
We can all have our ideas about how things could be improved, but hand on heart I really don't think they will. The Roland years were awful but I cared because I felt connected to the club that the Belgian lunatic was slowly throttling to death. Now? I. Just. Don't. Care.
And I really, really wish that wasn't so.
I think this is more life reflective tbh. We’ve been massively overwhelmed with ‘entertainment’ over the last 30-odd years with the growth of technology and people’s thresholds have shifted with it. Concentration levels are much shorter, satisfaction levels with it. People are simply less easily pleased than they used to be.
First off there are obvious things that go some way to explaining the last 4 games, the injuries are a huge factor, I don't think many if any teams in the league could win games with 3 strikers out injured. Second, we do have to bear in mind with have played 3 top 6 sides and the other being top half so with that and the injuries it was always going to be difficult.
However, Jacko has to be doing better, a lot of these goals could have been avoided, poor decision making, men out of position and for me that falls down to the tactics/coaching being used. We've said for a while that this 352 isn't working, it works quite well with Stockley and Washington as it plays to both their strengths, without them it's completely ineffectual. It's not always going to be plain sailing for a manager, there will come times when they have to overcome injuries, players out of form etc. but doing nothing to change any of the other variables sits squarely with the manager.
During his caretaker run I always had a suspicion that those performances and results were masking a lot of issues. To me the main reason for the improvements came down to the players working a lot harder, this has also been confirmed by players saying the intensity of training sessions increased a lot after Adkins left. Running around a lot more will only get you so far, it isn't sustainable either. I'm not going to blame that for the injuries that have been picked up but I'm sure it doesn't help but you can't expect a paper thin squad to be working at the highest possible intensity for sustained periods of time with no impact whether that be injuries or loss of form.
The jury is very much out on Jackson for me, he still has some credit in the bank given the circumstances but if we see no improvements between now and the end of the season then maybe he should be included as part of that mass clear out.
The thing that really gets me down is just how boring and tedious the whole thing is. I find it increasingly difficult to give a shit any more. I don't feel disappointed when we lose, but I don't even feel that happy or excited when we (somehow) win either.
The whole season (and arguably for a while before that) has just become a purely joyless trudge to grind out just enough points to stay safe, and even then its barely on merit and more about there somehow being enough teams even worse than we are.
We can all have our ideas about how things could be improved, but hand on heart I really don't think they will. The Roland years were awful but I cared because I felt connected to the club that the Belgian lunatic was slowly throttling to death. Now? I. Just. Don't. Care.
And I really, really wish that wasn't so.
This is about where I am with it all. It’s all just so disheartening. A group of players that don’t really care, an owner who has bitten off more than he can chew, nobody (CEO) based at the club doing the day to day business, a manger who is out of his depth (I feel sorry for the fella and hope it doesn’t tarnish his reputation and association with the club - I’m sure it won’t).
From a Jackson point of view, we all want it to work out. Yes he has had injuries to deal with - but all managers do. What do we do when we know we are light up front? Bring in another injury prone player for a fee…the very same player that left only a few months earlier. And he is now injured, but with the safety net of a 3.5 year contract - Whoever sanctioned that deal should be shot.
Inniss - How long can we persist with him? When fit he is a top player, and let’s face it, the only reason he is with us is because nobody else would take the risk.
This stupid formation we play - yes it worked at the start, but that was more to do with the players running through brick walls for the manager. Since he got the job permanently they have stopped doing that. Jackson said that the very least he expected was hard work and 100% commitment - so what’s changed? He hasn’t had that for ages.
As for the recruitment - it’s been a shambles. I understand that at our level you are not going to get real quality, but is it too much to ask for players that work hard and aren’t match fit for very long?. Gallen needs to take responsibility - he has pulled a few gems out of the bag, but mostly they are a waste of time and money.
I’m also unimpressed with Skiverton. I’m can’t say what he contributes on the training ground, but on the bench all I’ve seen him do is drink endless cups of tea.
It looks like another rebuilding job coming up AGAIN. I just hope we don’t flood the team with loan signings.
It probably isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen, but I know it’s the least interested that I have ever been.
We've not had a credible centre midfield all season, is the main issue here. Gilbey is a monstrous fraud and he kills most of the hope we have of progressive forward play. Morgan is trying but he can't do it alone. Dobson is extremely good at what he does but he needs two accomplices who can progress the ball. He has maybe one, if you combine the 80% of Morgan who can and the 20% of Mr Headless Chicken. Frankly I'd give Nile John the rest of the season, unless Karoy Anderson or Jason Adigun are deemed ready for a go
My dislike of Pratley was largely aesthetic - he got stuff done. My dislike of Gilbey is so much more intense. I can't think of any other player I've hated the football (or lack of it) of more. He's like if Matt Smith 1 was regarded as the cornerstone of our team by half our fans
I’m not sure it is. Personally I think the team who finished 13th in L1 in 10-11 and the one who finished 24th in Champ in 08-09 we’re possibly worse.
Have to skip back to the 70s then for a next possible contender I reckon.
Ah yes, the days of Roger Smart, Paul Davies, Ray Tumbridge and Bobby Goldthorpe! Then there was Lawrie Madden and Peter Shaw, Leroy Ambrose and little Johnny Harrison...
We may be poor right now but we aren't that bad...
The season will be defined by our last ten games, and hopefully we will have a striker or two back by then?
The thing that really gets me down is just how boring and tedious the whole thing is. I find it increasingly difficult to give a shit any more. I don't feel disappointed when we lose, but I don't even feel that happy or excited when we (somehow) win either.
The whole season (and arguably for a while before that) has just become a purely joyless trudge to grind out just enough points to stay safe, and even then its barely on merit and more about there somehow being enough teams even worse than we are.
We can all have our ideas about how things could be improved, but hand on heart I really don't think they will. The Roland years were awful but I cared because I felt connected to the club that the Belgian lunatic was slowly throttling to death. Now? I. Just. Don't. Care.
And I really, really wish that wasn't so.
I think this is more life reflective tbh. We’ve been massively overwhelmed with ‘entertainment’ over the last 30-odd years with the growth of technology and people’s thresholds have shifted with it. Concentration levels are much shorter, satisfaction levels with it. People are simply less easily pleased than they used to be.
That’s my theory
That's probably fair. But whatever the reason for the decreased margins is likely to bite the club very hard.
I know all the stuff about no club having devine right to anything but much of the current fan anger and frustration I believe stems from there not being one Charlton supporter out there that in their hearts at least, feels that we’re currently punching a long way below our weight. That happens from time to time of course but ours seems to me to be almost terminal. Certainly I can’t see anything to encourage me to think that anything will be better soon. I have great respect for Thomas Sandgaard because I think he does have the clubs best interests at heart but he’s getting a lot of things wrong in these early years. For the clubs sake I hope he’s a quick learner because as things stand we’re at the very best stagnating and at worst still in a decline. Get advice Thomas. Talk to Messrs Varney and Curbishley pdq. Both will be only too happy to give the benefit of their vast experience.
The thing that really gets me down is just how boring and tedious the whole thing is. I find it increasingly difficult to give a shit any more. I don't feel disappointed when we lose, but I don't even feel that happy or excited when we (somehow) win either.
The whole season (and arguably for a while before that) has just become a purely joyless trudge to grind out just enough points to stay safe, and even then its barely on merit and more about there somehow being enough teams even worse than we are.
We can all have our ideas about how things could be improved, but hand on heart I really don't think they will. The Roland years were awful but I cared because I felt connected to the club that the Belgian lunatic was slowly throttling to death. Now? I. Just. Don't. Care.
And I really, really wish that wasn't so.
I think this is more life reflective tbh. We’ve been massively overwhelmed with ‘entertainment’ over the last 30-odd years with the growth of technology and people’s thresholds have shifted with it. Concentration levels are much shorter, satisfaction levels with it. People are simply less easily pleased than they used to be.
I know all the stuff about no club having devine right to anything but much of the current fan anger and frustration I believe stems from there not being one Charlton supporter out there that in their hearts at least, feels that we’re currently punching a long way below our weight. That happens from time to time of course but ours seems to me to be almost terminal. Certainly I can’t see anything to encourage me to think that anything will be better soon. I have great respect for Thomas Sandgaard because I think he does have the clubs best interests at heart but he’s getting a lot of things wrong in these early years. For the clubs sake I hope he’s a quick learner because as things stand we’re at the very best stagnating and at worst still in a decline. Get advice Thomas. Talk to Messrs Varney and Curbishley pdq. Both will be only too happy to give the benefit of their vast experience.
It's funny you should say this, but I had a conversation with someone yesterday on this topic. Besides the ground, I am personally beginning to think of Charlton as being a third-tier club. I also believe that the gap is widening between the top three divisions, maybe all four. It is becoming harder and harder to climb a level. As things stand, we are a million miles off being a steady Championship club, the level many perceive Charlton to be. If anything has closed up, it is the gap between the National League and League Two - there are some decent National League clubs out there that are well run. I am not sure what the solution is at Charlton, which is, of course, where my interest lies. Whilst summer recruitment is important, attracting the right players at first team level and youth level gets more difficult as outsiders will be viewing us as a third-tier club. Not everyone is saying it but the perceived solution is to spend big and we will get out of this division. I really don't think it is as simple as that. Whether you blame the years rotting under Roland or the seeming inexperience of Sandgaard and/or Jackson, I think there is a long way to go - probably, a minimum of three years. I hope I am wrong.
The thing that really gets me down is just how boring and tedious the whole thing is. I find it increasingly difficult to give a shit any more. I don't feel disappointed when we lose, but I don't even feel that happy or excited when we (somehow) win either.
The whole season (and arguably for a while before that) has just become a purely joyless trudge to grind out just enough points to stay safe, and even then its barely on merit and more about there somehow being enough teams even worse than we are.
We can all have our ideas about how things could be improved, but hand on heart I really don't think they will. The Roland years were awful but I cared because I felt connected to the club that the Belgian lunatic was slowly throttling to death. Now? I. Just. Don't. Care.
And I really, really wish that wasn't so.
I think this is more life reflective tbh. We’ve been massively overwhelmed with ‘entertainment’ over the last 30-odd years with the growth of technology and people’s thresholds have shifted with it. Concentration levels are much shorter, satisfaction levels with it. People are simply less easily pleased than they used to be.
I know all the stuff about no club having devine right to anything but much of the current fan anger and frustration I believe stems from there not being one Charlton supporter out there that in their hearts at least, feels that we’re currently punching a long way below our weight. That happens from time to time of course but ours seems to me to be almost terminal. Certainly I can’t see anything to encourage me to think that anything will be better soon. I have great respect for Thomas Sandgaard because I think he does have the clubs best interests at heart but he’s getting a lot of things wrong in these early years. For the clubs sake I hope he’s a quick learner because as things stand we’re at the very best stagnating and at worst still in a decline. Get advice Thomas. Talk to Messrs Varney and Curbishley pdq. Both will be only too happy to give the benefit of their vast experience.
It's funny you should say this, but I had a conversation with someone yesterday on this topic. Besides the ground, I am personally beginning to think of Charlton as being a third-tier club. I also believe that the gap is widening between the top three divisions, maybe all four. It is becoming harder and harder to climb a level. As things stand, we are a million miles off being a steady Championship club, the level many perceive Charlton to be. If anything has closed up, it is the gap between the National League and League Two - there are some decent National League clubs out there that are well run. I am not sure what the solution is at Charlton, which is, of course, where my interest lies. Whilst summer recruitment is important, attracting the right players at first team level and youth level gets more difficult as outsiders will be viewing us as a third-tier club. Not everyone is saying it but the perceived solution is to spend big and we will get out of this division. I really don't think it is as simple as that. Whether you blame the years rotting under Roland or the seeming inexperience of Sandgaard and/or Jackson, I think there is a long way to go - probably, a minimum of three years. I hope I am wrong.
I’d take that right now. I think we’re miles and miles off.
Just for fun, I thought I'd check the Zynex website for any similarities between what is happening in Colorado and SE7.
In the Job Opportunities section, there are several vacancies ... over 200 ... and most of these are for sales reps (Are you listening, Adkins?).
Some of the other senior roles are interesting ... I was taken by the Quality and Regulatory positions which, among other attributes, ask that the candidate is "able to stand or sit for extended periods of time."
The Masterplan becomes clear. Watson will be the new Director of Regulatory and Compliance, while Gunter is a shoe-in for the Quality Assurance role.
Just for fun, I thought I'd check the Zynex website for any similarities between what is happening in Colorado and SE7.
In the Job Opportunities section, there are several vacancies ... over 200 ... and most of these are for sales reps (Are you listening, Adkins?).
Some of the other senior roles are interesting ... I was taken by the Quality and Regulatory positions which, among other attributes, ask that the candidate is "able to stand or sit for extended periods of time."
The Masterplan becomes clear. Watson will be the new Director of Regulatory and Compliance, while Gunter is a shoe-in for the Quality Assurance role.
Maybe they are advertising for fans who they will fly over on match days.
Comments
I do think we aren’t out of the woods as regards relegation yet but if we get two of our strikers back soon then we will be fine .
2) 2 strikers injured at the same time is ... a bit unlucky!
3) 3 Strikers injured at the same time.... what the heck is going on here?
4) 4 Strikers injured at the same time... if the alarm bells weren't ringing before, wake up and smell the coffee!
I ask myself why it is that we seem to have big squads but suffer inordinately from injuries? The team that Chris Powell achieved 101 with was more or less the same every week, injuries were few and far between. Yet a few years on our run in The Championship in 2019/2020 was largely derailed by continuous and onerous injuries to key players. What is it that we are not doing? because it must be something, other teams do not appear to lurch from injury crisis to injury crisis like we do.
So in conclusion I find it hard to say whether this is the worst team I have seen at The Valley, although league position would suggest it is, but it is certainly up there with the very worst and not improving.
We can all have our ideas about how things could be improved, but hand on heart I really don't think they will. The Roland years were awful but I cared because I felt connected to the club that the Belgian lunatic was slowly throttling to death. Now? I. Just. Don't. Care.
And I really, really wish that wasn't so.
The 16/17 season although was a low placed finish had some quality players in it. Lookman, Konsa, Bauer, Holmes among others. The next bad one was 10/11 season and you had some v good players there. Jackson, Wagstaff, Wright Phillips, Semedo, Francis.
It's so boring to watch.
I've never known the fanbase to be so apathetic. It's awful down there.
Season ticket sales must surely plummet at a post covid time when we all wanted something to cheer.
Something better change.
If I and others are thinking along these lines then it wont be long until TS starts to ring some changes
That’s my theory
However, Jacko has to be doing better, a lot of these goals could have been avoided, poor decision making, men out of position and for me that falls down to the tactics/coaching being used. We've said for a while that this 352 isn't working, it works quite well with Stockley and Washington as it plays to both their strengths, without them it's completely ineffectual. It's not always going to be plain sailing for a manager, there will come times when they have to overcome injuries, players out of form etc. but doing nothing to change any of the other variables sits squarely with the manager.
During his caretaker run I always had a suspicion that those performances and results were masking a lot of issues. To me the main reason for the improvements came down to the players working a lot harder, this has also been confirmed by players saying the intensity of training sessions increased a lot after Adkins left. Running around a lot more will only get you so far, it isn't sustainable either. I'm not going to blame that for the injuries that have been picked up but I'm sure it doesn't help but you can't expect a paper thin squad to be working at the highest possible intensity for sustained periods of time with no impact whether that be injuries or loss of form.
The jury is very much out on Jackson for me, he still has some credit in the bank given the circumstances but if we see no improvements between now and the end of the season then maybe he should be included as part of that mass clear out.
Inniss - How long can we persist with him? When fit he is a top player, and let’s face it, the only reason he is with us is because nobody else would take the risk.
This stupid formation we play - yes it worked at the start, but that was more to do with the players running through brick walls for the manager. Since he got the job permanently they have stopped doing that. Jackson said that the very least he expected was hard work and 100% commitment - so what’s changed? He hasn’t had that for ages.
As for the recruitment - it’s been a shambles. I understand that at our level you are not going to get real quality, but is it too much to ask for players that work hard and aren’t match fit for very long?. Gallen needs to take responsibility - he has pulled a few gems out of the bag, but mostly they are a waste of time and money.
I’m also unimpressed with Skiverton. I’m can’t say what he contributes on the training ground, but on the bench all I’ve seen him do is drink endless cups of tea.
It looks like another rebuilding job coming up AGAIN. I just hope we don’t flood the team with loan signings.
I have a few friends that want to come along for the Sunderland game but i'm half tempted to just spend the afternoon in the pub with them instead.
In the Job Opportunities section, there are several vacancies ... over 200 ... and most of these are for sales reps (Are you listening, Adkins?).
Some of the other senior roles are interesting ... I was taken by the Quality and Regulatory positions which, among other attributes, ask that the candidate is "able to stand or sit for extended periods of time."
The Masterplan becomes clear. Watson will be the new Director of Regulatory and Compliance, while Gunter is a shoe-in for the Quality Assurance role.
"I think this is the worst team I've ever seen"