Charlton Athletic - A fan's view
Thursday, 07 Jun 2007 13:58
Good, bad or just the same old, same old. What the fans made of the 2006/07 season.
Life after Alan Curbishley was always going to be difficult, but the appointment of Iain Dowie, on the surface, seemed a good one.
However a slow start to the season, and trouble behind the scenes, saw Dowie depart and Les Reed take over. This, perhaps, was where the wheels of the season really came off. Reed was clearly unable to motivate the players to produce the goods on the pitch and this message was quickly transmitted into the stands.
The arrival of Alan Pardew gave the whole club a massive lift, his positivity helping the players believe Premiership survival was possible. Regrettably, it proved to be too little too late, as the team simply had too much to do after the turn of the year.
Relegation clearly means the season can only be regarded as a huge failure, but improved performances towards the end of the season gives Addicks fans every reason to be optimistic about life in the Championship next season. With 17,000 season tickets snapped up already for 2007/08, the belief is clearly there.
Grade: E
High Point
The appointment of Alan Pardew. After the shenanigans surrounding Iain Dowie and Les Reed's departures, there is real optimism now Pards is at the helm.
The reaction of the fans to the way he picked the team up shows an immediate return to the Premiership is a distinct possibility.
Low Point
So many. Obviously the home defeat to Spurs which confirmed relegation, with Defoe scoring the decisive goal, hurt.
And the 1-0 loss to Wycombe Wanderers in the Carling Cup wasn't pretty. The competition might not have been a priority, but the manner of the defeat was humiliating.
Fan's Player of the Year
Scott Carson
The keeper, on loan from Liverpool, was voted the Supporters' Player of the Year, after a string of impressive performances between the sticks for Charlton. He proved himself to be one of England's finest young keepers and has a big future ahead of him.
He just got the nod ahead of last year's Player of the Year, Darren Bent. The striker may have missed a clutch of games midway through the season through injury, but he still notched 13 goals, the Premiership's leading English goalscorer second only to a certain Wayne Rooney. Holding on to Bent in the Championship will be a tough ask, while Carson will return to Merseyside. Life out of the top flight could prove tough for Pardew's men without those two.
Needs for Next Season
Trying to keep the bulk of the squad together for a promotion push will be vital. A lot will depend on the future of Darren Bent, clearly. The second highest scorer of the season was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, with a paltry four. He has left the club, so a proven goalscorer will be a priority for Pardew. Recent signings Luke Varney, from Crewe, and Chris Iwelumo, from Colchester, could be the answer.
Pardew will also need to get his midfielders firing on all cylinders - the likes of Jerome Thomas and Darren Ambrose should be more than a handful for most Championship defences, but adding some more steel to compensate for the ageing Matt Holland will also be important in a weary 46-game season.
At the back, Carson helped cover up a lot of flaws last season and, coupled with his return to Liverpool, Pardew has work to do in finding both a new keeper and a proven centre-half to cope with the rough and tumble outside the top flight. The news that Hermann Hreidarsson could be on his way out of the club is a big blow in this respect.
James Amar
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