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This is not a what if thread but...

A lot of credit needs to go to Chris Powell. The man kept us in it until he got the boot. With the team we had (on paper) and the lack of support from the board, he done a bloody good job to keep us in it.

He introduced the likes of Cousins and Poyet into the squad and also Fox.

We can't say 'what if' because anything could've happened. We are Charlton.

Saying that, Riga has done a very good job since coming in. He's mixed it up and kept faith in players who have come into good form at a good time (Sordell and Harriott). It was only a couple of weeks ago when Harriott looked like he was stealing a profession, and then tonight, a completely different player.

It's fair to say well done to Powell and well done to Riga. It's also fair to say well done to the board for getting the right man into replace Powell.

Brilliant day! Get in!

Comments

  • We've had a few what if moments.

    What if JJ hadn't scored vs QPR

    What if the Donny game carried on

    What if Kerms had jumped instead of letting Dervite have a free header

    What if Hamer hadn't of saved the pen vs Leeds

    What if Harriot had buried his chance vs Sheff Utd? Powell would probably still be in charge
  • Its all speculation but I think, and it hurts me to say it, if Powelly was still here we would still be in the mire. Riga seems to have given us a better structure and organisation that has patched us up just enough for survival, whether he can build a squad for next year is the big one.
  • I can't give Powell any credit for this season and where we were when he was sacked but give him full credit for the previous two seasons and he still is and always will be a legend at this club.Very special credit goes to Riga and what he has achieved because without him and the change we would now be heading to League One! I really hope Riga is here next season.
  • He fucked it up and got sacked.

    We'd still be waiting for the substitutes against Yeovil.

    And that's the truth.
  • PL54 said:

    He fucked it up and got sacked.

    We'd still be waiting for the substitutes against Yeovil.

    And that's the truth.

    Ouch!

    I think if CP had stayed we would have lost fewer , drawn more, conceded less but won fewer, taking us at least to looking for a result against Blackpool

  • edited April 2014
    Powell could not read a game it's that simple
    Never made a sub till we were losing
    Even now the Powell lovers just won't have it
    Yes we loved him but our hearts were ruling our heads as the simple fact was he wasn't
    Very good this season
    The fa cup against sheff utd game we never a shot on goal Ffs
    He's gone what's done is done and somehow we have survived and not done it the Charlton way as we still have a game to spare!!
  • And it didn't take long for Jose to realise church wasn't very good!
  • Today is the day to reflect on the season as a whole and staying up is a bloody good effort

    Without the points Powell accrued the points that Riga got were meaningless

    It's a good day today
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  • Powell's legacy has been considerably discredited by what has occurred since he left. Riga's team has played (more) attractive football and picked up results, whilst ironically making significant use of the Academy and very little use of the 'network'.

    If you consider he took over midway through a terrible season and in the wake of a shocking FA Cup exit, it is remarkable to consider a win at Blackpool would imply near play-off form over his 16 games in charge (1.5 points per game).

    His team selections have appeared experimental at times, but you could usually see the logic and they were often quite bold (eg. starting Pigott at Leeds). No squad player could reasonably claim not to have been treated fairly.

    Likewise his substitutions were intelligent and logical - always early enough to be able to make a difference (perfectly evidenced by the Sordell/Obika switch last night).

    We were led to believe by some on here that the departure of Stephens and Kermorgant would hasten an embarrassing relegation - instead Cousins and Poyet stepped into the breach left by Stephens with great maturity, whilst our goals-per-game ratio under Riga has improved despite Kermorgant's absence. We thus begin next season with the potentially expensive pair off of our wage bill and with their transfer fees pocketed.

  • Well said damo
  • edited April 2014

    Powell's legacy has been considerably discredited by what has occurred since he left. Riga's team has played (more) attractive football and picked up results, whilst ironically making significant use of the Academy and very little use of the 'network'.

    If you consider he took over midway through a terrible season and in the wake of a shocking FA Cup exit, it is remarkable to consider a win at Blackpool would imply near play-off form over his 16 games in charge (1.5 points per game).

    His team selections have appeared experimental at times, but you could usually see the logic and they were often quite bold (eg. starting Pigott at Leeds). No squad player could reasonably claim not to have been treated fairly.

    Likewise his substitutions were intelligent and logical - always early enough to be able to make a difference (perfectly evidenced by the Sordell/Obika switch last night).

    We were led to believe by some on here that the departure of Stephens and Kermorgant would hasten an embarrassing relegation - instead Cousins and Poyet stepped into the breach left by Stephens with great maturity, whilst our goals-per-game ratio under Riga has improved despite Kermorgant's absence. We thus begin next season with the potentially expensive pair off of our wage bill and with their transfer fees pocketed.

    You are, so, gonna get it for saying that!

    I bet your wife never asks you if her bum looks big! *

    ;-)

    * I'm not suggesting, for a second, that it does, by the way.
  • Would Kermorgant improve our team/squad if we swapped him for Polish Pete
  • His legacy will only be discredited by those that seek to discredit it.
  • CP was fantastic for us and deserves credit for everything that he has done, including holding a troubled ship together this season, when it could easily have fallen apart. However, by the end he did seem to have been worn down by the relationship that was simply not working with RD (I make no comment at all on who was at fault for this) and, IMO, we would have been long-since relegated if he had stayed.

    So, to me, it was right to move on (for both the club and CP, who will, no doubt, go on to great things) and the reality is that the change has worked. JR has worked wonders with this side and done enough in incredibly difficult circumstances.

    Now, like others have said, I am really optimistic about what he can achieve with a bit of investment and a full Summer to work with the players.
  • Would Kermorgant improve our team/squad if we swapped him for Polish Pete

    Yes,obviously.

    Would RJ have a greater points per game than CP if he had Kermogant .. possibly ... neither events hap[pened, what did, is that we retained championship status.
  • I thank Powell for the great job done last year and in our League 1 title winning season. But what is this OP all about - we were on a one way ticket to League 1 in terms of mindset at the club and form when he left. The last two years were about Powell. This achievement is about Jose so let's give him his dues. All we ever heard were people saying that Powell was doing miracles with the squad he had this year at his disposal. Simple fact was that he wasnt. An 'unknown' stepped in and did even better.

    The games in hand have actually been a hindrance I think. I would like to see Riga managing a team that has 6 days rest on average between games instead of 3. The way he has handled this has been superb IMO.

    Yep!
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  • Sometimes changes work for both parties. Lennie did wonders for us, but by the end of his time it was clear both parties needed a fresh challenge. Powell clearly was struggling with the new owners, which was having a negative affect on him and the team.
    When you see Lee Clark, you see a broken man, a fresh man in charge may have done better for them for example.
  • Powell's legacy has been considerably discredited by what has occurred since he left. Riga's team has played (more) attractive football and picked up results, whilst ironically making significant use of the Academy and very little use of the 'network'.

    If you consider he took over midway through a terrible season and in the wake of a shocking FA Cup exit, it is remarkable to consider a win at Blackpool would imply near play-off form over his 16 games in charge (1.5 points per game).

    His team selections have appeared experimental at times, but you could usually see the logic and they were often quite bold (eg. starting Pigott at Leeds). No squad player could reasonably claim not to have been treated fairly.

    Likewise his substitutions were intelligent and logical - always early enough to be able to make a difference (perfectly evidenced by the Sordell/Obika switch last night).

    We were led to believe by some on here that the departure of Stephens and Kermorgant would hasten an embarrassing relegation - instead Cousins and Poyet stepped into the breach left by Stephens with great maturity, whilst our goals-per-game ratio under Riga has improved despite Kermorgant's absence. We thus begin next season with the potentially expensive pair off of our wage bill and with their transfer fees pocketed.

    You are, so, gonna get it for saying that!

    I bet your wife never asks you if her bum looks big! *

    ;-)

    * I'm not suggesting, for a second, that it does, by the way.
    Have you been seeing my wife? (ps - yes, she has let herself go a bit)

    More seriously, a reasonable argument against my point of view is a mathematical one ie. Riga's 15 games don't constitute 'statistical significance'.

    However regardless of the (improved) results, I can't help thinking that in a somewhat subjective sense, we are simply playing better and this would have been a big positive, even if results had remained disappointing (which they may have given after all 5 of our 6 wins were by a single goal).
  • edited April 2014
    Early,bold substitutions can be good. They don't look so smart when you are subbing Wilson on when he should have been starting, or when you are bringing Reza on when trailing against a big old Blackburn side.

    He has done ok and thankfully hasn't used the network players as much as I thought he would. He has had nothing to lose and no concerns about the direction the club is taking. Powell clearly refused to be RD's nodding dog, hopefully Riga stays and RD has had a wake up call about what is required.
  • edited April 2014
    I think Kap10 was right when he said we would have won few games, but lost fewer too. For better or worse it seems to me that Riga has had the mindset of getting three points, or none - presumably thinking he would leave at the end of the season anyway. Powell would probably have tried to hold onto draws where possible and keep it tight and fight for every single point. There have been a few games when it seems to me that Riga gave the game up as a lost cause and removed the likes of Sordell (his first choice striker it seems) and Poyet to save them for the next game, and it seems to have worked.

    All hypothetical but with the form we were on and the tension between manager and owner I don't think CP could/would have kept us up - though I would not have placed all the blame at his door if we had gone down either. I don't think Riga was ever bought in to dance to RD's tune, simply that he was someone RD knew and trusted to keep his expensive new club from being relegated - and no more.
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