No, we cannot rely on a squad overhaul every summer. But when was the last summer Charlton had a properly managed squad overhaul without major distractions wrecking it - distractions like a demented owner, a spotty geek in charge of player recruitment or a bunch of thieving spivs robbing the Club blind? I would argue the summer of 2011 (OK, the owners were spivs, but they were not taking the absolute piss like ESI). That's an entire decade ago. We badly need a new start - and this summer is the perfect opprtunity. New owner with bags of enthusiasm. New ways, new ideas. Summer 2021 must be the beginning of a renaissance at Charlton Athletic.
Before the January transfer window Bowyer and Gallen agreed we needed young energetic midfielders. We got Miller, who has been the success of the three, Smith, and DJ who have both been anonymous. So we end up with Watson back with Pratley, and Oshilaja who was more of a threat than either Smith or DJ going forward. Gallen and Bowyer must do better.
Sadly I think the players are now lacking self-belief. Something I never thought I would see in a Lee Bowyer team. There are echoes of what happened under Pardew shortly before he was sacked. I recall Charlton would start games brightly, but that initial energy drained away after 10 or 15 minutes. And once things began to go against us there was no fight back. Heads would go down, the game would just drift away from us and end in a whimper. I haven't been watching games, but from posts others have made, and following the BBC website commentary notes, that is the impression I'm getting. Even our substitutes are making no impact now.
Pretty much the view I have @lardiman ! It's hard to see the actual problem - and sadly, Lee doesn't seem to have a solution either. No disrespect to Burton, but when you go one up at home to the bottom club in the first ten minutes, it should set you up to play some football, and get a comfy win margin. The inverse happened, and in the last ten minutes, it felt more as if Burton were going for a third goal to wrap it up, and any chance of even an equaliser had gone for us. A complete opposite of the nervy end of match scenarios we have to endure when we are winning. I genuinely don't see an easy solution. Bowyer still seems to be tinkering - Millar on the right being a perpetual oddity. I wasn't happy that Chuks started on the bench last night, but at 1-0 up it seemed that Bowyer knew better, and we even had the prospect of a fresh attacker to bring on in the second half. But the problems seem to be a lack of belief, and interminable small details - the endless worldies we concede suggest we allow the other teams too much space, the lack of decent service to the strikers. Every time I read on a Charlton forum that so and so should never start another game, you can gaurantee everyone will be clamouring for the same player to start two weeks later, so for all the fans criticism, there isn't any easy solution on the (online) terraces either. However, man management by Bowyer is a definate problem. Hanging players out to dry in public seems to have finally gone away, but it probably caused some serious anger back stage, and both Madisson and Williams having been mucked about in starting line ups, both got moved out when they potentially had a lot to offer. Scwarz must be wondering why he bothered coming to England - if you play a striker, you need to give him quality service, and it simply hasn't happened this year. The defence isn't really a defence,just a bunch of mates who have a kick about in front of the keeper. But finally, the spirit of the Bowyer team that took us up has evaporated. i remember being at a couple of games when everyone was singing the Allez Allez song and we were united as a club despite the ownership. Bowyer and Jacko got that to happen. Could they reignite it now? Sorry, but it just feels like a pipe dream to be honest, and it's gutting to see how quickly everything has disintegrated, just when the management team have a bit of cash and an owner who backs them, But the one thing this team always offers is that once they go behind, they don't have the fight in them to turn the match on it's head, and in the last two games, they just withered. If Bowyer is on his way out, it would be a good idea to bring in someone decent and give them time to set us up for next season - this season is just about finished for us.
I really can't see where the next win is coming from with Bowyer in charge. The players confidence is on the floor. It is time for Bowyer to go.
I’ve almost given up on top 6 this season, which in itself is probably optimistic. Whatever manager we have needs the summer to get the team to gel. LB didn’t get that last summer, instead he was fielding questions about whether Charlton would start the season. I think LB can take us up next season, given the opportunity. Maybe I’m just being sentimental, overlooking our recent home record, defending and general on pitch apathy.
It's galling when we see other teams doing well. Peterborough are on fire right now - though I think this is their 8th season in League One. Imagine 8 straight seasons like this! Sunderland are doing the business - even though their new owner still needs his proof-of-age ID at the supermarket
As fans we have little choice but to stay with them. I do get the feeling by now that there would be frustration vented at the Valley if anything like our normal number of fans were in the stadium on a home match-day. So many home games without a win - in the 3rd tier as well - is very deflating. The players need a kick up the arse, but for all their contrite tweets they seem to have become immune to Bowyer's efforts to motivate them. I fear this is because LB himself is no longer motivated, quite possibly because he is at loggerheads with Ged Roddy. And supporters cannot even tell them to wake up from the stands anymore.
