3 DAYS AGO - It’s now 10 days since Thomas removed Jackson. The general feeling, not least given credit by Junior’s comment to Washington, is that has been on the cards for some time. It’s puzzling therefore, as to why we seem no nearer appointing the new manager than on Tuesday 3rd May. In the meantime, several players have been released with others in negotiation. The big question is who is sanctioning these deals and rubber stamping the decisions? Presumably not the new manager as they have yet to be appointed. That must mean it is a combination of the Sandgaards, Senior and Junior. Don’t forget Junior’s trusty laptop with its wizzo programme and his recruitment system that has blown everyone (well, daddy), away! Steve Gallen we’re told is now reduced to the role of contract negotiating so he merely is an interested onlooker. Given Thomas spends most of his out of the country and with the club devoid of a CEO (as well as a manager) it all comes down to Junior calling the shots. It’s a Collapse

04/05/2022 - Yesterday’s news of Jackson’s departure was something of a shock even by recent Charlton standards. In recent weeks I was feeling that Jackson had lost the spark that he had in the caretaker period. That, allied to his apparent refusal to change systems at any time, made me think that we could expect much of the same if he remained in charge. The football hasn’t been great since he was made permanent despite the awful transfer windows, I did feel the manager ought to be getting more out of an above average League One squad. I’m really disappointed that it ended this way and that things didn’t work out for Jackson. Like nearly all CAFC fans I so wanted him to do well and be a real success. His status as an absolute legend of our club remains of course. Johnnie bore the brunt of the worst of times under Duchatelet’s reign conducting himself in a diplomatic and professional manner at all times. My feelings in respect of the departure of Skiverton are those of indifference. I really fail Collapse

22/04/2022 - Finally, tomorrow sees us reach the last home game of the season. A season that didn’t quite see us blow the league out of the water or emulate Hull City as we were told at the end of last season.  We can look forward to another season of League One football playing against a number of relatively smaller clubs who have mostly achieved more than we have and can rightly consider to have made progress.  As far as The Addicks are concerned there’s been no progress of course. Despite what we might hope are the best of intentions from Sandgaard, we’ve gone backwards. I accept that he has to right the wrongs of years of neglect but increasingly he seems to be going about it the wrong way. We’ve lost some valued members of staff and their replacements or new additions don’t exactly inspire. The latest is Mr De Souza. Time will tell of course but his CV doesn’t fill me with much hope! The one thing that appears increasingly clear about Thomas is that he refuses to learn from his Collapse

10/04/2022 - I have not been over to watch the Wings as many times this season as in recent years. I could have managed a few more but I have been disheartened by a non-stop merry-go-round of player changes. It seems as if there has been an average of three in and three out every week since the season started. So much so that when I have turned up for a game, I can barely recognise two or three names in the squad from the previous visit. You might think that Peter Taylor would have sorted this out or that the better players would have been retained until owner Mark Goldberg felt he had found a winning combination. Sadly, results and performances don't appear to have been anywhere near the top of the priority list and the Wings have struggled all season. Going into yesterday's game they had hit the bottom of the table and are locked with Billericay in a fight to avoid finishing last and dropping into Tier 7 of the football league for, I think, the first time.Ebbsfleet are fighting for a Collapse

03/04/2022 - Another bad day at Black Rock. A performance that in many ways typifies this season. Wasteful upfront, stretched at the back and woeful in the middle. One more pathetic double conceded to a side we should be getting something from at home. Alex Gilbey cost us the game with a first-half sending off that was simply unprofessional. I am going to focus on Gilbey because he simply shouldn't play for us again. On his game he is good enough but we see it only in patches and the bookings he collects are an insult to the coaching team and the supporters. He was booked against Wimbledon back in February for knocking the ball from the hands of an opponent who was about to take a throw-in that he had conceded. Wimbledon weren't in a dangerous position and the delay to the throw-in gave us absolutely nothing. It was a mindless booking that he followed up on with another in the Bolton game three days later. Does he learn? No he doesn't and the first yellow for a deliberate shirt-pull Collapse

25/03/2022 - Typical of Charlton to win in my absence last week. Whilst I may have missed what has been a rarity in recent weeks, it seems the performance was disappointing and that has been rare. However, another win was all important as we seek to remove any lingering worries about relegation. Speaking of the dreaded drop, tomorrow’s oppo, Donny, are deep in it and are one of 6 teams that are most likely. However, aside from Crewe who appear marooned (geddit?) it is still possible for any of the others to escape if they can put a good run together. The relegation battle looks like going to the wire. The upturn in our results has a lot to do with the return of Stockley and Washington. We are so much a better side with those two in it. In addition to that, one must say that a settled side has no doubt played a part. It is ironic though, how amidst all the chopping and changing that went before it didn’t see the poorly performing players drop out. Nor did it allow for the untried and untested Collapse

16/03/2022 - Huge relief at the Valley last night as Charlton ground out a fairly straightforward one-nil victory. In a game short of goal-scoring chances at either end, the home side saw far more possession than in recent months and the quantity of balls into the box was much better, even if the quality wasn't.The win gives us a ten point cushion over Gillingham and Morecambe in the drop zone. Another six points and we should be safe but it will need more performances like this. If the players revert to what we have seen in the last six weeks we could still be in for a nervy last few matches.It was good to Stockley and Washington back in tandem up font and they were ably supported for a change by a central midfield three of Fraser, Dobson and Gilbey who found it relatively easy against a struggling Gills side. Corey Blackett-Taylor made an unexpected return to the left wing. Probably in recognition of his best game for us in the away leg earlier in the season. He wasn't as effective as that Collapse

14/03/2022 - Pleased to say I enjoyed a long-awaited break in Italy this weekend watching Scotland beat Italy in the 6 Nations and drinking cold beer in the Spring sunshine. A break from the depressing news of Russians shelling desperately poor souls in Ukraine as well as the continuing decline and humiliation of Charlton Athletic Football Club back home.News, when I could finally be bothered too look, was as predictable as the Russian onslaught. We had managed to score a goal (a penalty of course) but had then collapsed at the double and failed to take advantage of ten men for the final thirty minutes of the match when we couldn't even manage an attempt on goal. Just how desperate are we? I'll tell you, the latest defeat means we have lost half the games we have played and won only eleven of the other eighteen.Jackson continues to stick with the only formation he appears to have heard about, which we can't play, even when we are losing and should be chasing the game. If I were Thomas Sandgaard I Collapse

05/03/2022 - First the good news. We managed a point to stop the rot and avoid a record sixth successive League One defeat. None of the five bottom sides managed to make any ground on us either.The not-so-good news was that it was another home performance without creating an effort on target. Sunderland dominated possession for long spells and should have been ahead at half-time but they wasting several great aerial chances and Craig MacGillivray made a couple of decent saves.After the break we saw more of the ball but our chances were limited to a couple of headers, the best of which saw Lavelle narrowly miss the near post from a corner. Jayden Stockley might have stole it at the death when he drifted clear of the backline but fluffed his volley.Other than that, Jackson persisted with his 3-5-2 formation even though we don't have the personnel to play it and in practice it was a 5-3-2. The clean sheet was hard earned given Pearce and Gunter were together in the nominal back three with Lavelle. Collapse