Charlton's 1996-7 Season

A Goldfish Writes

Rick Everitt (whose many roles will be known to most readers of this page) has compared football supporters to goldfish: they can't remember where they've just been. Well, I can remember some of the places I have been in the 1996/7 season and many of the memories are not good ones. The season started on a sweltering day in Huddersfield's McAlpine stadium where at least I had enough leg room to watch Charlton go down to a 2-0 defeat against a far from strong side. This match, as the opening match often does, set the tone for the season. At Fratton Park, which must rival Roots Hall for the title of worst ground in the division, we lost 2-0 after failing to make any use of early domination. We froze on the open end at Swindon as Charlton went down 1-0 to another weak side. And at Port Vale, Charlton more or less gave up after going 2-0 down. And then there were those home defeats by the likes of Bradford and Grimsby, while Port Vale took us to the cleaners at The Valley.

Well, I'm starting to sound like the Bloke Behind Me who must be in line for the title of Chief Whinger in the East Stand. There were some good moments. The 2-1 win at QPR showed what the team was capable of (unfortunately I missed another good away performance at Norwich with a stunning Kinsella goal selected by Central TV as Goal of the Day). The 1-1 draws at home to Liverpool and Newcastle generated fantastic atmosphere. And for me and many other Addicks one of the highlights of the season was the 2-1 defeat of Palarse at the Valley.

But it has been a disappointing season for the denizens of the transpontine wastes of South London (to borrow from the Independent on Sunday's description of the Palarse game). Why? Basically, we can't score goals. We missed our leading goalscorer from last season, Lee Bowyer, and also, IMHO, Gary Nelson. It wasn't all the fault of the strikers: the quality of the service they got was often poor. Our wingers often failed to get quality crosses in. Although we did make good use of some free kicks, our corner kicks were often a waste of time. Especially at home, we tended to play too defensively, not making full use of the pace of players like Newton. We often played some neat football, but possession was not turned into goals. And to cap it all, a team which had been tight defensively in the preceding season, made some basic defensive errors. Indeed, if it hadn't been for goalkeeper Andy Petterson we could have been in more trouble.

In praise of the board

All too often these days it seems that the boards of football clubs are dominated by Stalinists, publicity seekers or sleazebags (or some mix of the three) who have no real loyalty to the club they are running. Hence, we are very fortunate at Charlton to have a board that is dedicated to the club, receptive to the fans and has a clear vision of the club's future. The board members have all proved themselves in different walks of life and the board has been strengthened during the year by the addition of new members such as Michael Grade. The board has pursued a cautious strategy of growth. This year's flotation has raised the money needed to rebuild the West Stand, giving the club additional seats and much improved hospitality suites, offices and dressing rooms in place of unsatisfactory temporary accommodation. Members of the Charlton E mail list like Jaundiced George think we have got it all the wrong way round: better performances on the pitch will lead to higher income. In one sense, he is right, but in order to buy and pay a higher standard of player the club needs more money at its disposal. That is what the board's strategy will achieve (the one thing that is still needed is a bigger club shop to give the staff adequate working conditions). As I think the board recognises, it is important that Charlton remains a friendly, family club. Considerable efforts are being made by the club to ensure that the ethnic diversity of the local population is better reflected in the club's support.

Curbs Must Go?

Understandably, this season's disappointing performance has led to calls for the replacement of manager Alan Curbishley. It is clear that, for the time being at least, he has the full backing of the board (he has not received the dreaded 'vote of full confidence'). As this goldfish is one of his kit sponsors, and also has a book dedicated to him coming out shortly, I am not one of his leading critics (whatever some people might think). But I accept that if there is not a marked improvement in performance next year, there will be renewed calls for a change of manager - which could unfortunately divide supporters. One of the big questions is who would replace him: the still limited resources at Charlton do not make it attractive for many managers.

The criticisms of Curbs fall under a number of headings. His performance on the transfer market has been criticised. However, one has to put these criticisms in the context of the resources available to him. 400K is not a lot to pay for a striker these days. There were criticisms of the delay in signing Mark Kinsella, but the real story here seems to have been quite a complex one. Taken in the round, I think that the criticisms related to the transfer market are not justified. The club could be more adventurous in looking at foreign players, but that is not its style. (One wag said that to be considered you have to come from within fifty miles of Greenwich and be injury prone). Criticisms of team selection may also be exaggerated. Most of the time, all the fans can agree about is the selection of Petterson and Kinsella. Clearly, there has been a lot of criticism of the role of Carl Leaburn in the side which I shall return to below in my discussion of individual players. Where I would personally be more critical of Curbs (not that I could do his job!) is in relation to tactics and substitutions . Our tactics, particularly at home, often seem to be too defensive and do not make enough use of the pace of some of our players. On substitutions, even Richard Murray has been critical of Curbs in this respect. I am not saying that one necessarily has to make any substitutions in a match. If the team selected is playing well, there is no need to make any changes. But, if things are not going well, there is no point in leaving changes until late in the match when the chances of making a difference are significantly reduced. That doesn't mean that one needs to imitate Barry Fry in his Birmingham days and make three changes at half time!

Curbs is a good coach and a nice bloke and I really hope he makes a success of things in the next campaign.

The squad

• Ever since I watched Sam Bartram as a kid, goalkeepers have been special to me at Charlton. But not, unfortunately, Mike Salmon . He's certainly a reliable keeper, but he's not a very adventurous one and comes across as a rather dour personality. Hence, my pleasure at the development this season of player of the year Andy Petterson . His save against Palarse surely ranks as world class, and he has made a number of other great saves. He is not frightened to come off his line and challenge for the ball.
• In my view Steve Brown is one of the most improved players this year. I'm not saying he's a great player, but he is competitive and as he showed again in the Wolves match he can keep goal if the need arises.
• Stuart Balmer is also very competitive, sometimes too much so as he is inclined to pick up unnecessary bookings (albeit it sometimes from over fussy referees, but there are a lot of them about). He has made a few silly defensive mistakes this season, but redeemed them with a couple of good goals.
• Anthony Barness was IMHO a good signing from Chelsea. He makes the occasional mistake, but he is generally solid in defence, and can pack a good shot as well. No wonder he has almost been an ever present this season. Should he be captain as he is a steady presence in the team?
• Gary Poole Plagued by injuries which perhaps is why I have a less clear view about him than almost any other player. But I would share the hope expressed in VOTV that we will see the best of him next season.
• Left back Paul Sturgess is to leave the club while Jamie Stuart is to stay. Quite a few people find this a strange outcome. One wouldn't expect Sturgess to be a first team regular, but he is a battler with some skill as he showed against Newcastle. Many poeple would rather have him to draw on in the squad than Stuart. Jamie Stuart is a likeable young player who has probably been brought on too quickly. He is prone to unforced errors.
• Phil Chapple's problem is that when he makes errors they tend to be serious ones and we remember them. There are few players who are as committed as he is which means that he has his defenders, What I find more worrying than his contributions on the pitch are the damage he inflicts on the English language in his contributions to the Official Matchday Magazine where he displays his skills as the master of the mixed metaphor. He is clearly a decent guy who always tries his best whatever he does; unfortunately, sometimes his best isn't quite good enough.
• Richard Rufus's season has not been as good as last year, but he remains an excellent centre back who attracts Premiership interest.
• Brendan O'Connell is a battling player who makes a nuisance of himself in midfield. He is not very accurate when he is shooting and it was a mistake to put him 'in the hole' behind Leaburn during the ill fated 4-5-1 experiment. He seemed to lose form towards the end of the season, perhaps because he was already being affected by what turned out to be a perforated ulcer. Everyone at The Valley will wish him a speedy recovery as he is a player who gives his all to the team - which one can't say of everyone.
• Keith Jones is one of the players whose kit I sponsor and when I talked to him at the sponsors' night he expressed his concern about to the extent to which his season has been blighted by injury. It goes without saying that I have a lot of time for Keith who has an excellent work rate and brings a good blend of skill and experience to the team.
• Another player plagued by injury has been Paul Mortimer. IMHO, we have missed him. Many of our attacks come down the wings, but he is one of our few players who can make real progress through the centre. As we didn't have many penalties this season, we didn't miss his skills in that department as much as we might have done. I have to confess that Morts is a real favourite with me.
• Another player I real enjoy watching is Shaun Newton . His pace can devastate the opposition when it is used to effect; he has scored some lovely goals; and he has real crossing ability. OK, he has a bit of an up and down season, but we shall miss him if he goes elsewhere.
• We haven't seen much of Kevin Nicholls this season but what I have seen fills me with hope for the future. He shows some very nice touches with the ball and is neat at passing. There is plenty of scope for improvement, but also lots of potential.
• I realised after I had first put this page up that I had missed out Mark Kinsella All I can say in my defence is that I was blinded by his brilliance! Signed from Colchester, Kinsella has scored some scorching goals this season, notably at home against Newcastle and away to Norwich (the latter featured on Central TV as 'goal of the day'. Charlton fans think that it is only a matter of time before he gets a call for the Irish Republic.
• I am sorry to see Mark Robson leave the club and not just because he was Man of the Match for my 50th birthday game. He picked up some more MoM awards. In my view he has been one of our better players at set pieces, can cross well and has good ball control. OK, he is inconsistent but then so are most of the squad. So why get rid of him? Surely they can't have listened to the Bloke Behind Me who has a particular dislike for Robson (I won't repeat what he says).
• John Robinson was player of the year last year and came a distant third this year and that about sums things up. Being a Welsh international seems to have done him more harm than good. He is still a great player down the wing, but his crossing and finishing has often been disappointing. And I wish he wouldn't keep losing his rag with admittedly useless officials.
• Bradley Allen has been another injury victim. For me, his high work rate is not so much a sign of skill as a lack of it. A striker should hang about waiting to be a 'killer'. But against QPR Allen did show what he can do at his best. So let's hope for next season. We have seen so little of Steve Jones that one cannot decide how good he will be.
• Kevin Lisbie With his electric pace, Lisbie holds out great promise for the future. My only slight reservation (admittedly based on one reserve game) is about his stamina over ninety minutes. He isn't another Lee Bowyer. but I am convinced that he will have much to contribute in the future.
• Last of all, our two problem players David Whyte and Carl Leaburn . A bad injury in the reserves ended a problematic season for the temperamental and increasingly horizontally challenged Whyte. His relationship with Curbs was clearly fraught. The match at Reading reminded us what delicious goals he can score, but he is unlikely to have a future at Charlton. A sad story. As for Carlo, nothing causes more controversy among Addicks. The programme notes at away matches (obviously supplied by Charlton as they are virtually the same each time) refer to him 'as one of the most feared strikers outside the Premiership' and 'a cult figure at The Valley.' He still has his backers, but they are a dwindling minority. I have to admit that I, like others, am sometimes inclined to make him a scapegoat for more general problems with the team. The problem is that his presence encourages a long ball game in which attempts are made to hit the 'target man'. In some ways it would be better to play him as an advanced midfielder and make better use of his undoubted skills at trapping and holding the ball. The problem is that he has just been around too long and his commitment to the club is in doubt. But it seemed strange when he wasn't in the squad for the Sheffield United game and it will even stranger when he finally goes. Who we will have to blame then?

Most of my comments about individual squad members have been positive. So why have we had such a bad season? Well, when they are good, they can be very, very good (especially against strong opposition). But against less good teams, they often seem too casual (particularly in the first half) and play too defensively. We just have to hope for better things next season. By then this goldfish will have blanked out the 1996-7 season.

This page has been visited times.

Links