Radio Representation

Well, so much for my comment about the Park View Road game enlightening us as to what Iain Dowie considers to be his preferred formation, and so much for my hopes of it providing an insight into which players he favours. We ended up giving trialists and prospects a run out, and promptly got our noses rubbed in it by the non league footballing dynasty that is Welling United. Yes, yes, it's only a friendly but we have now lost three of them in a row, and I'm a great believer in the old cliche about winning becoming a habit. Reserve side or not, defeats damage morale, and right now we could really do with a couple of resounding wins. A clean sheet would be nice aswell.

Due to work comittments I'm having to turn down the option of corporate hospitality at the New Zealand game on Saturday, so the next time I see Charlton live will be at our first home game against Man United. Dowie commented this afternoon that if things go according to plan over the next fortnight, there will be another five new faces at The Valley before that happens:

"I know the type of areas I want to strengthen. That is not being critical of any of the players here, absolutely not. I feel, and the coaching staff feel, that we need to strengthen in one or two areas. We have said that four or five is about the level we need. If we get three in, if they are the right quality, then great. But I would like to get five in and I think that's important" - Iain Dowie (Full interview here)

On another note, I was listening to Talksport on my way home from work tonight. We were the subject of debate for a quarter of an hour on their evening programme, and Mickey Quinn (I think it was him) considers us 4th favourites to go down next term behind Watford, Sheffield United and Reading. I had a good mind to ring up and have a moan at one stage because he claimed that Iain Dowie would be lucky to make it through the season and still be in charge. He alleged that Charlton fans were ringing up in droves last year and moaning about Curbishley, and then claimed that we will all be on Dowie's back if we don't have a strong start to the coming season.

I can understand where he is coming from in the sense that over the last few years we have had decent starts and poor finishes, but over the course of his 10 minute attack on the club he made our fans out to be a bunch of fairweather supporters with ideas above our stations, who didn't appreciate the job that Alan Curbishley did for us, and who will be calling for the head of the new manager if we aren't upper mid table at Christmas. Any non-Charlton fan who heard it will now view our club in a totally different light to the one in which we should be viewed. For all my life we have been a 'family' club, who have consistently and steadily improved our League position due to continuity of management, sound financial dealings, and passionate support from the fans. To lambast us like he did in front of the listening millions was unfair and inappropriate.

I listen to Talksports phone-in every weekend after the Saturday games have finished, and I often download BBC's 6-0-6 equivalent at some point during the following week. Last season there were certainly a few idiots who called up and misrepresented the majority of Charlton fans' views, but there was always one sensible Addick who called up half an hour later and set the record straight for the rest of us. With the new season approaching, and the tough start that we've been handed fixture wise all of us have to prepare ourselves in advance for the fact that we may find ourselves close to the foot of the table after the first month or so.

Players are going to have to adapt to the fresh ideas being presented to them by the coaching staff, and the coaching staff will need time to coax the best out of the players. These things will take time, and I'm going to try and make a conscious effort to stay as positive as a Cynic can during this transitional period, and I implore the various muppets who have given our club an image that we do not deserve in front of the footballing nation to think before just calling the phone-ins and letting loose if we lose our first three matches. Im sure the players listen on the coach back from the games, and it can't do them any good.

We are not the little club that we used to be anymore, but there's no reason why we can't still present the image of a united front, who don't turn on the manager or the players when things don't go right out on the pitch. Tonights tirade against a club you don't normally hear a bad word about really shocked me, and I don't want that to become a common occurrence. Times are-a-changing at the Valley, so lets embrace the change and give the all players within the squad a fresh chance to prove themselves anew next term.