Don’t think this lies on KR. He’s done a good job, a better job than most who have worked under RD, and potentially so too (though that’s a bit of guess work). It’s one defeat in 9. Let’s see how he gets them to bounce back.
Fair enough, but we are still 6th in a very, very poor League 1 (currently being dominated by Shrewsbury Town) We really should be doing a lot better, fully accepting that the owner & CEO are morons
I agree. Charlton won't get an automatic promotion place unless there is proper strengthening in January. If we end up in a play-off place (likely 5th or 6th) again we will probably fail to overcome the play-off rivals we face in the two-leg semi-finals because of the weaknesses and imbalances in our squad. Admittedly if we make it to Wembley anything can happen in 90 minutes. But to gain promotion by that route is a road beset with obstacles, all of which need to be overcome. Our target must be an automatic promotion place. Karl Robinson is a better manager than Russell Slade. But that's all that can currently be said for him. And he is still Duchatelet's man. Nobody forced him to take the job, he sought it out. And nobody forces him to accept the regime's terms or promote their policies. EDIT: One hopeful sign for Tuesday evening's game against Peterborough; Their away form is apparently very poor. It presents us with a good opportunity to get back to winning ways.
At the start of the season I think most were predicting mid table with hopes of the play offs - citing the lack of depth as being the problem. It could still factor in, I think it will personally.
Karl Robinson has now lost his 14th League game as Charlton manager. That's 14 out of 45. It took Phil Parkinson 68 games in League One before he had lost 14.
Maybe Robinson has more power than he realises. He is Roland's last throw of the dice. Where else will he find a manager willing to act as a human shield for the regime? Nowhere, that's where. Robinson can say "Ok don't back me. I'm out. Go and find Nobby Vinegar or some poor sap do do your dirty work better that me". What's Roland going to say?
http://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/loan-watch-the-football-league-stars-of-the-nation-42704 I guess we will sell Regan to either Woking/L2 Club/L1 Club in January for £100K in total.... I can see it coming
As a daily reader of the football media, I haven’t seen a single other manager yet say that so and so will definitely be leaving in January. Or ‘we will be lucky to hang on to them’, even. So why does Robinson feel the need to keep saying it about Ezil Konsa? It is not only disrespectful to Valley Gold Members and Charlton fans generally, it also tells other clubs we are desperate
This is part of the deal that Robinson freely accepted. In an odd way it's almost less insulting that he doesn't even bother to pretend Konsa won't be sold. If KR tried to convince Charlton fans that he and the Club would try its best to hang onto the player, everybody would know he was telling bare-faced lies. But by publicly resigning to the 'inevitability' of something which is not inevitable but is in fact Regime policy, Karl Robinson is not being neutral on the issue. He is actively promoting the regime position by encouraging fans to trust his view and take the same one themselves.
Just a theory I have: 90% of Charlton fans are idiotic romantic driven fools so they love the bollocks Robinson spouts. He is scarily popular for his "passion".
If Robinson wasn’t so “gobby” then we wouldn’t have made as many signings this summer. I saw first hand (said this in the summer, so it’s not new, but for the benefit of new members) the restrictions he works under. I think if he wasn’t so energetic/excitable, motivated is another word I’ll use, then he would have given up on some of the deals that were pushed (forced) through. We’re in league one, and have a league one manager. His tactical naivety can be questioned, his post match comments divide the fans, but his heart is in the right place. I don’t mean to be cliched, and this isn’t a cry to change perceptions, but over the last few years we’ve had yes men and frauds in charge of the club. I don’t think we have either of those things right now.
A well presented argument. Not sure I agree with it; I still suspect Robinson is less sincere than he sounds, and not as much a 'fans champion' fighting his corner as he would have us believe. But either way he has done well so far this season. January will show us the truth I guess.
Probably saying more than I should, but KR wasn’t even meant to be having the convos he was when designing some of the deals with agents. For want of a better word, the embarrassment he felt when he had to tell seasoned professionals “I’ll have to ask her/she’s not going for it” was something that opened my eyes. That’s when I thawed on him.
Marshall & Reeves both look poor Robinson signings based on what they have produced for us to date. MM must be capable of better than this based on his showings for Bradford last season. Reeves I am not so sure about. Magennis is looking predictably flat and tired - who’d have seen that coming after Novak, Ajose, Hanlon and Watt left? I currently give us a 50% chance of making the play offs (we won’t finish higher than 5th) IF we spent some proper money on two proper strikers in January. Failing that, another 18 months minimum in L1 looms.
If, as seems likely, the season fizzles out, I refuse to blame Robinson. We need new owners. Curbs was talking about when we got back to the Valley, there was the feeling that everybody at the club at every level was pulling together with the fans, and there is never ever going to be that sense of common purpose under the present ownership. We might rally a bit for the Portsmouth game, but in the long term.......................just sell the club.
I still have some hope for this season. We are currently six points clear of 7th place with a game in hand. But performances are beginning to become unpredictable. I thought we might grind out a result yesterday, but I did not expect our defence to just wave Peterborough through about five times in the first ten minutes. On December 9th Portsmouth won't just be turning up to admire the scenery. That will be a tough game. And sadly I agree about the lack of unity or momentum or sense of common purpose anymore. The celebration will be an empty one in some ways, and it should not be. It's also a good thing we don't have to play that game for another 10 days. Time for the journeymen and kids to shine in the Cup clashes. I will be annoyed if AFC knock us out of the FA Cup though - naturally I always look forward to 3rd round day much more when we are still in the competition.
