The Big Games Keep Coming….

Monday was a huge game, a draw was a satisfactory result, in the context of being 1-0 down with 10 minutes to go, it was a great result. With the games rapidly counting down, for automatic promotion to be in our own hands, is a good situation to be in, without going too cliche heavy, all we can do is take it one game at a time. Big games vs Charlton are not something we have a great affinity with, we took 4 points off them under Ross, we drew, (should have won), down there this season, but when the stakes have been high, they’ve broken our hearts twice. Thankfully past results mean absolutely fuck all and I’m hugely confident we will win on Saturday.

Are Charlton Any Good?

They were unlucky to come down last season given they got 48 points and Barnsley performed a Great Escape that OJ Simpson would have been proud of, realistically we’d have probably come down with less points than that? They weren’t great in the reverse fixture in October, although I watched their game at Doncaster the other day and they looked decent, it’s definitely not an easy game, but realistically is there ever? I don’t really know anything about their squad, obviously I could research this, but if you can be arsed to read this you can probably do that yourself?

Redemption?

Given the heartbreak Charlton have inflicted I really don’t have a feeling of owing them one? When we dispatched Portsmouth, in the play off semis, even though it was irrelevant unless we finished the job, I really revelled in their misery, primarily because ‘some’ of their fans had behaved like such pricks in London regarding the Tinpot Trophy. Charlton deserved to beat us at Wembley and they did, lots has been, (rightly), made of how Ross approached the 2nd half, but the margins are so fine…. their keepers error for our goal was an absolute shocker, but his save from Grant at 1-0 was absolutely sublime.

The Management….

Lee Bowyer did a fantastic job at Charlton, let’s remember they couldn’t even name a full bench when they visited the SOL. Similar to Barton, he’s not hugely popular, but he got the absolute maximum out of Charlton and did it through desire and fitness, we really should have had too much for them at Wembley. The lure of Birmingham tempted him away, Nigel Adkins has recently taken over, he did remarkably well leading Southampton through the Divisions, it’s good to see him back.

Being a Complete Prick 0 vs Not Being 1, (Adkins 55)

Whether footballers should be role models is a contentious issue, but they are, the rewards of the pro game are healthy and the responsibility is substantial. The difficulty for footballers is they are judged on face value, last week I went in Cafe Nero in Harrogate and I was stressed to fuck about work stuff, I was a bit short with the Barista, (coffee maker), on reflection I felt a bit of a twat – it wasn’t his fault I had a load going on? Given I’m not, (as yet), earning a living from professional football, it’s been quite easy to go in a few times since and have some Top Bantz with said Barista, he now hopefully doesn’t think I’m a twat, he reads the Blog, (not had official confirmation of this), and he’s got a new t shirt, but…. those in football aren’t generally afforded the equivalent luxury?

So here’s the thing, it doesn’t define them as people as it’s a straw poll of a couple of fleeting meetings, but…..

• Admittedly a few years ago, Bowyer was in a restaurant I was in in Leeds, he quite openly humiliated the waitress and is conduct and language was something that I didn’t enjoy.
• About 4 years ago I was on a flight to Faro from Leeds and the Hull City Squad were on the same flight headed to pre season in the Algarve, travelling is stressful for many. One of the Hull Players was approached by a young lad, (11 ish), for photo, chat etc… the player just blanked the kid, he got upset etc…. Nigel Adkins was the Hull boss at the time, he witnessed this exchange and tore a strip off the player like I’ve never fucking seen. The player didn’t sit with the rest of the team on said flight and Adkins went out of his way to make the kid feel a million dollars, (pics etc). Like the Bowyer example, just a snapshot of a few minutes, but Bowyer was a knob, Adkins was a true gent… it’s always nice to be nice, it’s not always easy, but if you’re a dick it has a negative impact on others, the reverse of this naturally applies.

Fucking hell, whole new level of going off at a tangent. Win Saturday 2-1 – onwards and upwards for the Red & White Wizards of Wonderland 🔴⚪️⚫️