Lee Bowyer has a nice plot - but he has resigned

I gather he didn't just kiss the bottom.... he had his tongue right up there!.... it's called 'brown nosing' for a reason

 

Reasonable gafferage from the boss, whether we agree or disagree.

Gafferage is my word of the day: the action of management of a football squad (informal)

 

Your gafferage is acceptable Mr Lardiman.

 

Like Joe Pigott against Millwall.

 

Poor gafferage by Lee Bowyer tonight.

Blaming the fans for not lifting the team? That's plain disrespectful.
It's difficult to be sure without all fans being allowed back, but I think Bowyer is beginning to lose the fans.

It's not too late to turn things around, but I don't think Thomas Sandgaard will put up with this slump in form beyond the next four weeks.
He's a smart man. I believe he'll already be looking at other options.

 

Really poor comments by Bowyer. There were two thousand fans there in a stadium that holds 27500. What does he expect? In all honesty I am seething with his comments. Was it our fault that the players played badly and were out of position?

 

I agree. Bowyer is out of order blaming fans for a dreadful performance.
He's done himself no favours at all with that attitude, and if he thinks he's above reproach with Thomas Sandgaard (because TS is aware of how popular Bowyer was with Charlton fans because of previous circumstances) he should think again.

Lee Bowyer did astounding things with virtually zero support for more than two seasons. He will always be respected and praised by the huge majority of Charlton fans for the 2018-19 season - just as Chris Powell will be forever remembered for 2011-12.
But there has been a massive change since those days.
As other fans have pointed out, instead of a disinterested old man across the sea or a bunch of self-serving petty crooks - both of whom pretty much ignored LB and left him to his own devices - we now have an ambitious, energetic and savvy new owner who expects results. A man who'll back his management team, but won't sit by and indulge anybody who isn't doing their job.

Let's face it - despite the good start we had to this season (not dissimilar to the cracking start we had to 2019-20 in the Championhip) the form wheels have pretty much come off now, at about the same stage they did last year.
Ipswich recently was a good result for sure. But the three other most recent matches (Gillingham, Burton and MK Dons) saw poor performances against beatable teams, and 1 point from a possible 9.
It seems the 'right balance' in our starting XI is so delicate and fragile that the absence of just one or two players causes it to collapse completely.
Even the substitutions last night had no impact in the end, even if they did liven up a dire display a bit. They could scarcely have made it worse from what I've heard.

Those players were all chosen and signed by Lee Bowyer & Steve Gallen.
If they do well, credit goes to LB & SG. But the buck stops right there too, if they turn out to be poor choices.

So far, the Burton & MK Dons debacles still only add up to two games out of 14.
But Russell Slade or Karl Robinson would have been massacred by the fan base if they had dished up that tripe while they were in charge.
And we're not punching above our Roland-diminished weight in the Championship anymore.
This is League One. And far from a 'vintage' season at this level.

The last month or so is not a blip. Something needs to be done or we're going nowhere but back down to mid-table.
But can Lee Bowyer be trusted with the January transfer window?
Looking at it from Sandgaard's perspective, I sadly don't think he can.

PS:

Thomas Sandgaard has been very vocal and 'hands-on' about all kinds of things since he bought the Club.
I wonder how long he will remain quiet about what he saw last night. No more than another few weeks I would guess, unless there is a big turnaround.

 

4th in the table & the Welsh Bandit wants Bowyer out

 

2,000 fans, many of whom were family groups.

They can hardly be expected to raise the roof like a packed covered end.

 

So boring was that game last night that I spent the second half playing on line poker as well. I’ve just read through all the social media comments including from good people on here & some very ardent fans on Twitter, who were at the game.

Many make the point that last night was not a comfortable experience from a physical point of view. In addition to the cold weather, the lack of facilities, and the long waits, arguments with other fans for “getting too close”. You also had to wear a mask throughout the game, and were spoken to if you talked with other people.

This is not Charlton, or football, as we know it, it’s actually the polar opposite of what CAFC should be about. Many of the fans there last night have said that they won’t return.

In this context, Lee Bowyer’s decision to criticise the fans - many of whom would be risking their own health to attend - is really poorly judged. He should apologise today IMO.

 

Agreed. Sounds like a poor excuse. MKD didn't have any fans there but passed us off the park. A manager should never blame the fans especially when the owner is TS who loves the fans.

 

I have calmed down a bit now. Last night was not a pleasant experience both on and off the pitch. I turned up at my time slot of 6-45 and had my ID checked and also my temperature. I made my way into the ground and had to sit in my seat for an hour, as we weren't allowed to go anywhere apart from the toilet. Wearing a mask all game for somebody who wears glasses is not easy as they keep on steaming up.
Then had to wait another ten minutes to exit the ground.
For Bowyer to criticise those fans for not making enough noise is completely out of order and he should apologise.
There was plenty of singing and encouraging going on. It was only the second half when the fans got a bit restless.

We were totally inept. Every MK Dons player, apart from Amos, was better than ours.
We were second best to all the second balls. We just pumped the ball long and it came back again. We were lucky we didn't lose by four or five, that was down to Amos.
I don't want to see Maddison play for us again, he just goes through the motions.
The constant tinkering with the team is not working, that is down to Bowyer, it is not the fans fault.
I have been Bowyers defender on here, that has stopped.
This is the last game I will go to at the Valley until the restrictions are lifted.

 

Sorry to go on about it but I can’t let this go, that first sentence is complete rubbish Lardi, he hasn’t blamed the fans for a dreadful performance.
1. We played terribly, Bowyer knows this I’m sure.
2. The fans weren’t great, Bowyer simply pointed this out.
The two aren’t mutually exclusive

 

The implication is plain.

Fans didn't get behind the team enough, didn't lift the team. If the fans had been louder, the performance wouldn't have been so awful.
Aside from being 100% wrong, that doesn't explain the Burton fiasco, or the poor showing against Gillingham.

That performance and result would have been the same even if had been behind closed doors.
LB was right to backtrack on what he said.

 

My allocated entry time was 6pm which was before I finish working so I knew I wouldn't be there in time. It also meant I'd be waiting in my seat for longer than the actual match.

A bit selfish of me but I ignored the time, finished what I was doing and got there for 7:15, I had no problems with entry.

I can't blame the club for much though, football gets enough stick from govt and the media in general so will be in the spotlight for Covid compliance, that said it's still a pretty miserable experience.

 

Maybe you’re right Lardi.

MTJ, were there staggered exit times? I left after 86 minutes last night, was kept behind for 20 minutes or so after the Donny game, and didn’t fancy that again last night, and I know some disagree with the whole leaving early, I don't always do it, but I love beating the traffic

 

Yep exit in theory row by row, but then they said over the tannoy that anyone leaving via Landsdown Mews is free to go so the whole east stand got up and left together. I assume they didn't mean that the leaving protocols could be ignored but it was too late